echoshifting
Banned
I wasn't talking about you, so we're good! I didn't want to single anybody out.
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Diablo III Spoiler Thread - Solving the Mysteries of the Mighty Barbarians
- Thread starter CarbonatedFalcon
- Start date
I wasn't talking about you, so we're good! I didn't want to single anybody out.
Haeleos
Member
There's a lot to be said about subtlety though. That's where I feel Diablo II really excelled, and games like Left4Dead 2 and Portal are lauded for their storytelling efforts. It becomes blasé when the story is constantly being thrown at you in hamfisted ways and every piece of dialogue is so overwrought with cliche. Diablo, for instance, was a more menacing villain when we didn't hear him quip on and on about how he's going to murder us in the next room. He was always presented in the background and served almost like a Sauron-esque presence in the past games (outside of the Wanderer's dialogue in D2, which is very different in tone to the Diablo in this game). There's a certain level of authority over the story that you need to give to the audience, where they can fill in the blanks themselves.
The Hermit
Member
I am actually surprised Diablo III dissapointed in so many aspects... story being the most shocking since the trailers and the lore before were nice.
I thought the story wasn't great, and wished it was longer.
The CG was amazing, especially the one at the beginning of act 4. I don't know if its a problem with my PC but the CG had some serious noise/blocks in some scenes.
I don't know how the expansion story is going to be, but hopefully its interesting.
The CG was amazing, especially the one at the beginning of act 4. I don't know if its a problem with my PC but the CG had some serious noise/blocks in some scenes.
I don't know how the expansion story is going to be, but hopefully its interesting.
bengraven
Member
I think my only issues with the story were that some segments were very mediocre, forgettable,"videogamey" eg: find the wizard's blood in two caves.
But the overall story and such, I liked. I liked Tyrael's arc, loved him as a character outside of his moment of doubt, I loved Leah and her tragic story - I only wish you got to talk to her a bit more after Adria joined the party. Act IV was awesome, epic and awesome. I felt it was actually just right - any longer or shorter would have been annoying.
Overall, it was very solid where game stories come to mind. Only the Witcher comes to mind as a better story. Maybe NV. It's certainly a better story then, say, Skyrim and out of the dozens of click-frantic ARPGs of the last 10 years, it's much better than all of them.
No worries!
But the overall story and such, I liked. I liked Tyrael's arc, loved him as a character outside of his moment of doubt, I loved Leah and her tragic story - I only wish you got to talk to her a bit more after Adria joined the party. Act IV was awesome, epic and awesome. I felt it was actually just right - any longer or shorter would have been annoying.
Overall, it was very solid where game stories come to mind. Only the Witcher comes to mind as a better story. Maybe NV. It's certainly a better story then, say, Skyrim and out of the dozens of click-frantic ARPGs of the last 10 years, it's much better than all of them.
No worries!
Finished this game. Loved it. Started Nightmare; it's faster and more exciting already. Can't wait to play it again and again for years.
The story...some parts worked better than others and I think it was the victim of sky high expectations but I explained it to my girlfriend, who is a big fantasy fan but has never played the Diablo games and she was fascinated by it. So maybe it plays better if you're telling the story rather than playing it but I was engaged and always ready to see what happened next.
Certainly, the parts like storming the Arreat Crater and the road to the Silver Spire were epic, exciting moments on par with anything in the series thus far. And I liked the character of Leah, thought the twist was pretty interesting, and hope that we get some closure on that arc in an expansion.
Plus, watching the behind-the-scenes Blu-Ray made me appreciate the game even more. An insane amount of effort and talent went into making it happen, and it sort of glosses over some of the rough spots as a result. Overall, it is my GOTY so far.
The story...some parts worked better than others and I think it was the victim of sky high expectations but I explained it to my girlfriend, who is a big fantasy fan but has never played the Diablo games and she was fascinated by it. So maybe it plays better if you're telling the story rather than playing it but I was engaged and always ready to see what happened next.
Certainly, the parts like storming the Arreat Crater and the road to the Silver Spire were epic, exciting moments on par with anything in the series thus far. And I liked the character of Leah, thought the twist was pretty interesting, and hope that we get some closure on that arc in an expansion.
Plus, watching the behind-the-scenes Blu-Ray made me appreciate the game even more. An insane amount of effort and talent went into making it happen, and it sort of glosses over some of the rough spots as a result. Overall, it is my GOTY so far.
The thing is that this problem is so egregious it's almost impossible to brush off. Like these are some of the dumbest antagonists and protagonists I've seen in a video game in years. It's nonsensical to the point where it stands in front of everything going on in the plot with a hot pink jumpsuit on.
The only time the writing was working in this game was Shen and the mercenary blurbs. That kind of shit is what I expected the storytelling of the rest of the game to be like. It was like that stuff was buried under a bad children's cartoon.
The writing is bad comic book level writing, or fan fic, because they had similar problems to comic book writers to address in this game. Mainly that the titular villain is dead. So they have to bring him back to life somehow.
The issue with the story is that neither of the B tier villians seemed legitimately threatening enough for the main characters to do the risky things that end up bringing him back. Then they go and create the same situation with the Leah character, cause you know they didn't put that much work into creating a character if we aren't going to see her later, so now they have to pull some comic book contrivance out of their ass to explain her return as well.
A simpler solution would just be the Zelda solution, have the story just be a repeating cycle that takes place in the same world..
The issue with the story is that neither of the B tier villians seemed legitimately threatening enough for the main characters to do the risky things that end up bringing him back. Then they go and create the same situation with the Leah character, cause you know they didn't put that much work into creating a character if we aren't going to see her later, so now they have to pull some comic book contrivance out of their ass to explain her return as well.
A simpler solution would just be the Zelda solution, have the story just be a repeating cycle that takes place in the same world..
Beat it on Nightmare today and started Hell. The level of polish and richness really shines in the beginning. Things fell apart after the 2nd half of Act 3. Act 4 is like a corridor for loot games and the locale is boring and bland. It's like they ran out of time at the end which makes no sense.
UnluckyKate
Member
I don't get something : how could Adria trap the soul of the evils if the Soul Stone was trapped inside the archive ? Did she took it from there and put it back ?
They just got sucked in there as soon as the stone was revealed. The souls were tagged or something, so they automatically got trapped. The thing is... We smashed Mephisto's soul stone in the previous game. It was one of the few quests in Act 4 of D2. What was the purpose of that, if not to kill him for good?
i saw it too and i blame their compression. i want to see it on Blu-ray.
btw guys, you should replay the game with the NPCs meeting themselves until one of them leaves. i thought it was a nice surprise. the dialogue was amusing.
I think I like the Diablo universe far more than I like the Diablo story.
I mean, take Azmodan for example. He's got a badass design. The concept of an inferior demon rising up and essentially staging a coup in Hell is pretty cool. Everything told me that I was going to like him going into this game.
Then I'm actually playing the game, and the whole thing basically falls apart.
"And I would have gotten away with it too, if it wasn't for you meddling nephalem!"
I mean, take Azmodan for example. He's got a badass design. The concept of an inferior demon rising up and essentially staging a coup in Hell is pretty cool. Everything told me that I was going to like him going into this game.
Then I'm actually playing the game, and the whole thing basically falls apart.
"And I would have gotten away with it too, if it wasn't for you meddling nephalem!"
SmellyHands
Member
I kind of wished the main villains of hell in this game were a bit more...menacing. As others have said, they were a bit comical. Kinda like Cyrus from the Trailer Park Boys or something. A lot of talk and just downright stupid. Great game, but it feels like such a missed opportunity when the characters don't help an already kinda bland atmosphere.
elrechazado
Banned
The very pants I was about to return
I think the artifice by which the CG videos didn't include your character in Diablo 2 was better. That's the main complaint I have with the CG bits. And the act bosses really were stupidly silly in their "I'll get you next time, Gadget!" nonsense in act 3 and 4. Just really hard to take seriously, but also not self-aware enough to take as a joke.
But I liked seeing Tyreal's story unfold. I honestly think the CG sequences should have been entirely Tyreal's POV, telling his backstory. Leaving in-game scenes to explain what's going on in the present. I think that worked fine in D2 and would have worked fine here.
I like the explanation for the Nephalem and the worldstone and why it's important, though I still don't entirely understand what Baal thought he could achieve with it that it was so important to corrupt it, or why Tyreal had to destroy it.
Also, I find it really strange that there was no hook to the final cinematic. D2's hook in the Act 4 ending cinematic was great and left me wanting more. This one was just a little too saccharine. I mean, obviously Imperious won't be happy and that's probably the trigger (no real evidence the angels are any better than the demons is ever actually given).
Overall, story was about what I expected and filled out the world a bit more. I do think D2+LoD did a better job of telling a compelling story, but D3 did a lot of really great stuff with the story elements between acts. Kind of reminds me of scanning in the Metroid Prime games, except far far less annoying.
But I liked seeing Tyreal's story unfold. I honestly think the CG sequences should have been entirely Tyreal's POV, telling his backstory. Leaving in-game scenes to explain what's going on in the present. I think that worked fine in D2 and would have worked fine here.
I like the explanation for the Nephalem and the worldstone and why it's important, though I still don't entirely understand what Baal thought he could achieve with it that it was so important to corrupt it, or why Tyreal had to destroy it.
Also, I find it really strange that there was no hook to the final cinematic. D2's hook in the Act 4 ending cinematic was great and left me wanting more. This one was just a little too saccharine. I mean, obviously Imperious won't be happy and that's probably the trigger (no real evidence the angels are any better than the demons is ever actually given).
Overall, story was about what I expected and filled out the world a bit more. I do think D2+LoD did a better job of telling a compelling story, but D3 did a lot of really great stuff with the story elements between acts. Kind of reminds me of scanning in the Metroid Prime games, except far far less annoying.
Fuck just played act II and was reminded of the best area and character in the game: Kulle and his archives. The man had interesting motives, was a badass with excellent voice acting and his goals were fascinating even with the questionable methods. The whole story of him going too far and getting sliced by fellow horadrim was 1000x more interesting than anything else happening with the dumb as a boot evils.
The archives are also the best area in the game. Nice atmosphere with great music and enemy palette.
And then Kulle gets completed and for some stupid reason you have to snuff him instantly. What a joke this games story is...
The archives are also the best area in the game. Nice atmosphere with great music and enemy palette.
And then Kulle gets completed and for some stupid reason you have to snuff him instantly. What a joke this games story is...
Awkwardly, I think I sympathize with his plans. Fuck the demons and fuck the angels, they're all assholes. Eliminating them both seems like a great idea.
Yeah , in terms of story /pacing .. hell even world design, the first act of diablo 3 is totally ace, it felt bigger then the rest of the game in many ways. Then you get to act 2 and it starts off kind of bleh, has annoying wasps that spit out tinier wasps but... eventually you do the ressurection of zoltan khul quest and that was actually pretty cool. It's almost as though no one was sure where to take it after that though and you just suddenly have to fight belial because well, you do.
Act 3 I didn't mind at all, generic I suppose, god warrior shows up saves everyone, goes to bad guys base, kills bad guy. The CG up to that point was all great stuff too.
Act 4 ... was super short, I swear it wasn't even half as long as act 3 which felt about 30% shorter then act 2 which felt 10% shorter then act 1... and so on. The entire premise behind the story was just a tiny bit predictable , I actually groaned when adria turned out to be evil and sighed when leah became diablo. Fun to play sure but a bit ho hum to watch unfold.
Someone above mentioned that tyrial had a much more interesting story and it's true, if you just focus on him as a character, his fall and rise, it actually works quite well. It's just, the rest of the story is only kind of "meh".
I imagine an expansion will tie up some loose ends- lilith and whatever the fallen angels name was, the fate of leahs soul (you know they're going to have a sappy CG of her running an inn when the whole plot is said and done).
I've been told by friends that were fans of diablo 2 for the last 10 years that gameplay wise, barebones d-2 was kind of a mess but when lord of destruction came out it became super awesome. I wonder if a forth coming diablo 3 expansion will change things up enough to make it even better ?
Act 3 I didn't mind at all, generic I suppose, god warrior shows up saves everyone, goes to bad guys base, kills bad guy. The CG up to that point was all great stuff too.
Act 4 ... was super short, I swear it wasn't even half as long as act 3 which felt about 30% shorter then act 2 which felt 10% shorter then act 1... and so on. The entire premise behind the story was just a tiny bit predictable , I actually groaned when adria turned out to be evil and sighed when leah became diablo. Fun to play sure but a bit ho hum to watch unfold.
Someone above mentioned that tyrial had a much more interesting story and it's true, if you just focus on him as a character, his fall and rise, it actually works quite well. It's just, the rest of the story is only kind of "meh".
I imagine an expansion will tie up some loose ends- lilith and whatever the fallen angels name was, the fate of leahs soul (you know they're going to have a sappy CG of her running an inn when the whole plot is said and done).
I've been told by friends that were fans of diablo 2 for the last 10 years that gameplay wise, barebones d-2 was kind of a mess but when lord of destruction came out it became super awesome. I wonder if a forth coming diablo 3 expansion will change things up enough to make it even better ?
Bravo good sir.
Not just assholes, but zealous and stupid old farts. Fuck them indeed.
Kulle needed his own expansion... why Blizzard. Why did you tempt us with him and then just dispatched him almost like saying that you can create interesting stuff, but won't just to torment me. It's so hilarious because I thought Kulle would become a staple in the series and he would carry the story and fight against hell and high heavens... but noooo we need to keep the OMG SO EPIC hooded bastards of angels in the story or the fanboys aren't allright.
I thought the in-game dialogue with Deckard Cain clearly stated that he sought to control all the humans through the stone, which would ultimately give them territorial and numerical advantage in the war against Heaven because the neutral realm would cease to exist.
Wait, does the CE have the cutscenes in the DVD/Blu? I haven't checked the contents.
I agree.
Honestly I found all the side stories much more interesting than the main story. Kulle, your Followers, Covetous Shen and Tyrael were all much more interesting than the demon lords and Leah and Adria. Still felt bad for Leah though. I'd like one expansion to cover the Adria and Imperius plot threads, and another to allow you to help out each of your followers and then a final one for Shen.
Adria will make a fine successor to the dumblords I'm afraid
Yup, but I just want to kill her. Which is why I want her in the same expansion as Imperius, so I can just kill the two fuckers that pissed me off then get on to actually interesting expansions.
XANDER CAGE
Member
So I only just got around to finishing my first playthrough a few days ago thanks to all the current releases. I have to say, my favorite part of this game is when the person who was helping you turned out to be bad.
Jokes aside, I dunno. I guess they left room for expansions/sequels with the soulstone still being out there, but that just seems dumb. That whole last cutscene (other than Tyrael's awesome LASER STAIRS) just had me thinking "good job guys, that doesn't seem like a terrible idea at all!"
Jokes aside, I dunno. I guess they left room for expansions/sequels with the soulstone still being out there, but that just seems dumb. That whole last cutscene (other than Tyrael's awesome LASER STAIRS) just had me thinking "good job guys, that doesn't seem like a terrible idea at all!"
Did you talk to Covetous Shen and your Followers after each quest? So much room for expansion there it's ridiculous.
XANDER CAGE
Member
Yeah, I liked Covetous Shen's stuff. I'd totally be down to go and fight new different bad dudes.
One of several ingredients for a joke dungeon. There, no reason to spoiler that shit.
Hold onto it until you're ready to look up how to get the other stuff that would have taken you a lot (a whole lot) of random stumbling around to find.