When Diablo 3 was first released a few years back it was all the hype in the local Internet cafe and while I never had played any of the previous titles in the fanchise I was familiar with hack n' slash RPG's like Champions of Norrath for the Playstation 2, so when my friends expressed their eagerness to play I was really pumped for my first Diablo game. Sadly after only a few months we all quickly lost interest and stopped playing. While Hack n' Slash RPG's have a simple, fun and rewarding premise (kill monsters, get better loot, kill bigger monsters), I couldn't put my finger on why after a certain amount of time I would loose interest and stop playing these kinds of games and the answer is the same reason why I like Hack n' Slash RPG genre, they are so simple that they can quickly get repetitive and tedious as you are forced to play the same linear story over and over gain through the same dark caves, killing the same Skeleton King over and over again. Unfortunately Diablo 3 in its early stages fell victim to this inherent issue like so many games of this genre do.
Flash forward 2 years later and Reaper of Souls is now being released and to be honest I was really skeptical on whether or not Reaper of souls or Diablo 3 for that matter would be worth my time playing again only drop it and loose interest again. But when a friend suggested I try the title again I logged in and patched my old client to see what kind of changes had been made to the title and I was happy to see the game did have some much needed improvements to the loot system, community features, and the controversial removal of the auction house. For the most part these don't seem like major changes, but the improved loot system really does improve the since of reward and accomplishment immensely, and as an added bonus new legendary items add more depth to the title with interesting new and fun characteristics that let players build fun and different skill combinations that may not have even been considered as an option before.
The removal of the Auction house has mixed reactions for me on the title. Online RPG's in general should have some sort of barter system incorporated into the title, however for a title like Diablo a full fledged auction house made too many things accessible and really took away from main premise (kill monsters, get better loot, kill bigger monsters). The since of accomplishment though grinding for hours, obtaining your hard earned gear seemed stupid, why grind for it when you can simply just spend real money and get it. While I like the idea of a barter system in any game I find I enjoy player to player trading much more than a devoted place where everything I could possibly dream of is available for the right price.
So is Diablo 3 worth revisiting? Is Reaper of Souls worth my hard earned money and precious gaming time?
In my opinion Diablo 3 is definitively a more enjoyable title in its current state and deserving of a second evaluation. The only concern I have for Diablo's future is the lack of endgame, and different game modes. Diablo needs some kind a place to test your geared characters limits and still feel fresh every time. With a fun end game Diablo 3 could be an immortal title like its previous installment was for so many people. I would love to see something like an endless dungeon where you are constantly trying to get as far as you can with each level of the dungeon becoming harder and more profitable. A PvEvP system like monster waves would also be a good addition. Overall the game is taking steps in the right direction I just remain unsure if its enough steps.