1) Agree, only only is an attempt to cash in on RMAH, which is one of the flaws of the game. Although the connectivity itself is actually par for the course.
3) Your only point was that greys and whites can't be sold for gold, which is the only way they differ from D2. If you used whites in D2 you sucked. If anything, the range of possibilities of items is quite a bit larger, making the drops more exciting. However, you are less excitable, because you are 12 years older than you were when you first played D2.
5) Your total disagreement is based on short sightedness alone. Permanency (which was eventually taken out of D2) is not a requirement for customization. Yes, D2 did have a skill tree that required more planning, however it did NOT require more thought. D2's customization was choosing what skill you wanted to kill with, maxing it, and maxing all synergies relating to it and maxing vitality. While it seems like there are tons of possibilities, there really aren't. Also, D3 has customization of stats, it's just moved from a click when you level up into items. Around 75% of my attributes are from equipment at the moment, and that could have gone to other stuff instead, such as attack speed, life steal, etc. depending on my build.
There are also a crud ton more skills which are designed to work with each other to create interesting combinations of play styles and builds for each individual class. D3 just dominates D2 in the customization and character building combination. It's just a shame people don't see it because they are stuck on the idea that D2 was perfect, and that D3 should copy it.
Flaws with D3: Online only. Few skills that allow interaction between party members. Weapons have been reduced to statistics to enhance your skills, as opposed to things to kill people with. Extremely gear dependent (which will be a problem w/ pvp).
1)Every online game has this problem in 2012. D3 may have more frequent spurts, but I expect that should level out and not be a huge impact on a review.
2) Just flat wrong. Go play D2 again and check out the first act.
3) Okay, if you really like the "feature" of being able to get lots of gold from running back town every forty-five seconds, then you have a point. You're the only one in the world who does, however.
4) Nightmare D3 > Nightmare D2. However if you have an effective build the difficulty in normal can fluctuate, since unlocking new skills which go with a build can drastically change your character's effectiveness. Also gear plays a bigger role in your character's power, so that can cause fluctuation as well.
5) You can dislike D3's skill system, however saying that it's watered down, simpler, or that it makes it so that all characters are the same is pure lunacy. The new skill system is far more complex, and creating a build out of just a handful of the numerous skills allows for way more customization than putting a few no brainer attribute and skill points ever was.
There are a lot of issues with D3 (ironically, none of which you'd mentioned), however it should not be rated down for any of the following reasons.
a) It's too much like D2.
b) It's not enough like D2.
c) You were young and excitable when D2 existed.
d) You want the game to be bad.
e) You are too biased by nostalgia to see the good and bad of features from a game design perspective.
Most surprising thing to me: Marketing teams have learned that people crave these emotionally artistic moments, however developers and publishers have never tried to take advantage of this fact through gameplay. Some games tie in through cut scenes, such as final fantasy games and ME3, but these are not gameplay.
@BigBadR Obviously the "story" would have to be part of the gameplay to make this work, otherwise you are right. That's why LA Noire was a great game to use such a system. If a game is designed to have a set "gameplay" and a seperate "story happy break nap time", then yes, this feature should obviously not be added to that particular game.
@generalnene You make comments about a Bioware retort, yet say nothing about the attacks that were made in the first place? Talk about the very definition of entitlement! In my book if someone is flinging poo, they should expect to get some flung right back. And if it hits them in the face and makes them cry, I will laugh and not feel bad about it. Also story != dumbed down. Focusing only on combat and ignoring other systems = dumbed down. You are wrong.
Games as a whole are not utilized as well as they can be as a stroy-telling medium. Some great recent Indie games showcase that there is still plenty of room to grow. I think Jennifer's suggestion is great, if only to help break us out of the mindset that a video game is nothing but: 1) Combat 2) Breaks you can take to listen to people talk if you're one of "Those People" Gameplay needs to involve the entire gaming experience, not just combat. Help grow the industry people. Don't be a cancer.
Review gets the small issues plaguing the game correct. I found myself having fun more frequently then Kevin was and running into less glitches. Its a 7.5 for those who have as smooth an experience as I had.
Considering the issue of online quality being hard to determine with an early review, perhaps some reviewers may consider providing TWO reviews for the games, one for single player and one for multiplayer. A little unorthodox, but might be something to consider.
Sythion's comments