Aye, I was jesting of course. I'll give you a shout if/when I can be arsed to reach the required character level / expansion pack purchases that qualify me to follow you into battle. 

 

Is Diablo3 worth playing for the graphics and design? Or is it like many top down games, just a game where you look at a bunch of cobblestones and transparent walls?

Just finished playing borderlands2 which was fantastic, that has a very unique art style and just generally fantastic design everywhere. Plus it has just about every setting you could think of, even fantasy with dragons and dwarves in the last dlc.

I imagine the skills and looting is similar to B2 though, just with hack n slash combat. 

I enjoyed Diablo for the first few runs. I bought the game at launch too. 

I think D3 is gorgeous ... if you're into 3D graphics, it's worth checking out. I wish it was on Steam because I would probably rack up a few hundred reference screenshots playing it. 

If you're in to pre-2010 graphics, blurry textures, limited zoom options etc.

Try the demo. It looks nice enough, lighting and style are nice, but it is quite underwhelming.

Then get Path Of Exile instead. 

Man, I really disagree. Diablo 3 has some of the most solid art direction and execution I've seen in years. But to each his own... 

Solid art direction, that's for sure, but it's still Blizzard art direction, which can get a bit tired at times now.
But yeah Diablo 3 looks overall better than Path of Exile, but Path of Exile is such a better "Diablo" game... :)

Diablo 3 does suffer more from the flashy-multicolored-lights during fights and such though, I like games which manage to not become rainbows when 3 or 4 spells are on screen at the same time (there aren't many though...) 

Looks incredible if you are looking for painterly textures and slightly stylised architecture, which just happens to be what tickles my ptarmigan.

And Shambler is quite simply:
https://youtu.be/McAeQiLmEYU 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YaG5SAw1n0c 

Sniff my crack. 

Yes I've been tossing between D3 and Path of Exile. Maybe I'll get the latter. Anyway here's some recent games I've played


Alien Rage (City Interactive) - 52% - 7.5/10
This is why I play the badly rated games. If you want something with a 90s type of gameplay, Alien Rage is perfect. I guess it got hammered because #1 it's City Interactive, #2 a lot of people can't accept that it's JUST an action based fps in pretty sci-fi environments, and #3 it's too hard for them.

It is a hard game. Even on easiest settings (which is called Challenging) it's about a normal games hard difficulty. Enemies are tough, especially the grenade cunts, and they rush and flank you fast. It reminds me of those Assassin whores in Halflife. So often your left cowering in a corner, scoped with the only usable weapon in the game (machinegun) aiming for there heads. You pretty much need to make headshots to take enemies down, and do it fast.

The boss battles are right fuckers though. I ended up just godmoding half of them, the rest I put on unlimited ammo to make ammo collection no longer a concern. Because I'm not that good a gamer anyway and don't like tough games. But this was a fun kind of tough, because you usually do make it through a fight.

There's upgrades, but I didn't unlock any until about the last1.5hrs of the game, which then made the last couple of levels much easier. In fact the lass boss was probably the easiest in the game.

Oh and the design is fantastic. I haven't played Mass Effect 3 or Dead Space 3, this is only the second game I've played from 2013, but it's easily the best looking sci-fi setting game I've played. CI owned the Unreal Engine in this. However, it is mostly walkways, corridors, and rooms with a door that closes behind you. Not too different to Doom 3. But the graphics and level of detail is pretty impressive.


Ride to Hell: Retribution - 16%
Only played about a half hour, realised half of it is on-rails motorcycle rides with QTE's, the rest are bare handed fights based on QTE's. Graphics crap, story crap, voice acting and script done by 13 years olds. Developers should be embarrassed with this.


Assassin's Creed III: Liberation - 64% - 6/10
Just more Asscreed. Came out the same years as AC3, but more difficult with lots of "don't get detected" missions. Less than 10 hrs, obviously more budget than the main games because less work is put into the environments, but still fairly enjoyable, for what it is. This must be my 5th AC game now. I don't really enjoy the gameplay much it's just always the same thing, but the graphics and story is always decent, and the only reason I keep playing them.


Deadpool - 63% - 6/10
Really hilarious, although anyone that hated DNF should hate this as well, because it's all the same kind of humour. But it's just average hack n slash combat with a bit of rubbish shooting. I must have upgraded my skills poorly or something, because I found some sections to be quite difficult. Taking on 5 Mr Sinister clones at once at the end, for instance, would have taken me like 20mins. Then I look on youtube and find others cleaning them up in about 30 secs. WTF. Some of the design looked good, such a Deaths underground and all the floating bits of Genosha, but then other parts looked really, really shit, and I found myself wondering how this was the same studio that made the last 2 Transformers games. But anyway, worth playing for the laugh, I guess. 

"with lots of "don't get detected" missions"

God, those missions always chap my ass. I hate that shit, especially since the stealth system is so god awful. 

are 90% of your game's mechanics geared specifically toward not being detected?

yes -> do stealth missions.
no -> don't do stealth missions. 

I don't really see Path of Exile and Diablo 3 to be in competition, Path of Exile is more along the lines of Diablo 2, and Diablo 3 is more along the lines of Serious Sam meets Golden Axe. They share a common mechanical lineage, but 3 is a big departure from that, and into something more casual.

Both games look good to me as well, though the animations in PoE are a bit stiff for my tastes. 

Well I got hyped by....

Alien Rage (City Interactive) - 52% - 7.5/10
This is why I play the badly rated games. If you want something with a 90s type of gameplay, Alien Rage is perfect. I guess it got hammered because #1 it's City Interactive, #2 a lot of people can't accept that it's JUST an action based fps in pretty sci-fi environments, and #3 it's too hard for them.


And since there was actual demo, I could be bothered to try it.

Yup, perfect 90s style gameplay, as defined by:

Nauseating headbob (with extra bonus headbob for sprinting (which the "toggle on/off" option doesn't work for, and crouching too)!

Being able carry a whole two weapons at once!

No health bar, little damage level indication, and regenerating health!

Jumping that doesn't even allow you to get over ankle-high crates!

Cover-based combat!

Hitscan enemy everywhere!

Invisible barriers even more everywhere!

Completely linear with not even the slightest side-room and no interaction!

Constant instructions from the navigator!

Nice big glowing indicators to show you the next 30m of linear platform you're herded down at the one area of wall you can actually jump up (using your use key of course)!

Door opening animations measured in minutes!

Environments that are so drenches in fancy lights and over-detailed textures you can't actually make out any design!

TRULY IT IS LIKE QUAKE, Q2, AND UNREAL HAD A GIANT ULTRA-FPS BABY. 

a ring that dropped somewhere in Act 1 called the Nagelring. .... each goblin (and there are up to four of these at any one time remember) - I shit you not - explodes dealing 10,000% the damage that your character does..... why the fuck does a ring like that even exist and why does it drop in Act 1?..... This game is stupid as shit.

hahaha, the fucking nagelring is crazy. the fact that it dropped for you so early, well, you're supposed to feel lucky.

You bellends. Couldn't even finish the demo without this happening:

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--xB6dy3HWEA/Vn7Fc6LNvlI/AAAAAAAAAew/4nKJoiHwA0w/s1600/vondurbrokeit.jpg 

What is "cover based combat" and what would be better, in your opinion? 

<@Shambler> holy fuck those fat little goblins look like i'd imagine kinn
<@Shambler> no wonder he found it

<@Shambler> okay
<@Shambler> just salvaged the ring
<@Shambler> that is broken as fuck! 

 

combat where attacks can't be avoided without staying out of view by standing behind something and not moving (ie boring combat), as opposed to movement based combat where speed is your armor and you're safest not remaining in any one spot for too long (ie fun combat). 

something about too much hitscan enemies. 

Oy, that Nagelring... I've got two maxed out characters with over 100 paragon levels, and one of every other class between levels 15 and 40. Never seen that ring once. The Fallen Lunatic summon sounds very useful. 

Nub ;)