As we mentioned last week, this past Tuesday, May 15, marked the official launch of Blizzard’s Diablo III, and the Internet, as always, runneth over with feedback that runs the gamut from praise, to complaints, to out-and-out trolling. Good times for all! Sadly, as a victim of a delayed pre-order, I am one of the many gamers still waiting to set foot onto Blizzard’s servers; however, at least my wait isn’t due to Blizzard’s server issues, so I won’t belabor the point. With that said, if you, like me, are stuck at work and are looking for a way to satiate your clicking finger, here’s some news to tide you over.
Throughout the course of its launch week, Diablo III has brought us Error 37, angry gamers in full nerdrage mode, another Metacritic controversy, and millions of hours of reduced productivity around the globe. Impressive!
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As has happened with every Blizzard game release in the past, as is now happening with Diablo III, and as will happen with every game Blizzard releases from now until the end of time, the official game servers are being hit hard by a mad onslaught of nerds. Predictably, this has led to the servers crying uncle and shutting down frequently in the first few days since launch, and has also vaulted Battle.net’s Error 37 into Internet meme infamy. The furor has also created a rallying point for those who have been advocating for an offline single-player experience for Diablo III from the start (an argument which has merit). However, some perspective is needed here. Server protest was inevitable for one of the biggest game launches in history, and Blizzard rarely lets connectivity issues hang around longer than a week or so after release. I have to admit, though, all the complaints have made waiting for my copy to come in somewhat less painful. I remember the frustration of Battle.net outages all too well. - In other outage-related news, gamers are complaining of lost in-game Achievements, sowing outrage and discontent amongst players who feel robbed of what basically amounts to Internet respect points. Blizzard QA quickly assured the hard-done-by masses that Achievements were not lost, but simply lagging due to the pressure on the servers, and the issue would be resolved in due time.
- The official specs for a number of the game’s Legendary and Set items have made their way onto the official Game Guide webpage. Browse around and plan out which items you can base your build around.
- Metacritic trolls are out in full force again for Diablo III, once more highlighting the flaws of gauging the worth of a game (or anything, really) by the word of the masses.
- If you’re looking for some extensive, spoiler-free first impressions of the game while you wait to play it, Diablo IncGamers has got you covered.
- Finally, a few preliminary reviews of the game are now filtering out, although frankly, I don’t see how anyone can make any kind of a complete assessment of the game without completing at least one entire playthrough and making their way into the higher difficulty levels.
Tor.com’s review will be coming in a week or two after we’ve had an opportunity to make a full evaluation. See you then!
Pritpaul Bains is an avid gamer and an alum of the 2008 Clarion West Writers’ Workshop. He may or may not return from the lands of Sanctuary sometime in the next year.
