About two years ago, I purchased a year of World of Warcraft as part of a promotion. Among a host of other things, the promotion included a free copy of Diablo 3. I did not think much of it, more concerned with a hideous horse mount decked out to look like Tyrael and beta entry into World of Warcraft’s new expansion that I barely bothered to play. But now, as Diablo 3 offers bonus experience as it prepares for the Reaper of Souls expansion, I find myself drawn into the world of Sanctuary, ready to hunt demons and score some loot.
Next up, a review of Diablo 3: Reaper of Souls through the eyes of the Crusader!
Diablo 3 is a relatively easy game to get engrossed in. The storyline is straight forward and does not require you to play the previous installments, the gameplay is simple to learn yet difficult to master, and contains quite a few of Blizzard’s signature cinematics. The choice of class, abilities, and even follower shapes the play style of the game, allowing players the choice between careful movement and avoidance, massive defense and resistance, or wanton destruction. Playing a Demon Hunter, I chose the latter, picking up a well armored Templar companion to take the beating while I rained hell upon the enemy.
Perhaps the only major flaw of Diablo 3 is also Blizzard’s greatest boon: the Battle.net system. While it was certainly great having a friend drop into my game on his Barbarian and fight through a few dungeons, it was odd seeing what all my friends were up to in World of Warcraft, Starcraft, and Hearthstone. While this function has always been available, I found myself wondering why Blizzard would make their Battle.net system so integral to all their games. Then, hours later, while looking at the Reaper of Souls and Warlords of Draenor collector’s editions, it struck me.
Reaper of Souls comes with the standard Blizzard package; an art book, soundtrack, making of DVD/Blu-Ray set, and a mouse pad. But the digital rewards go far beyond Diablo, including a Treasure Goblin pet in World of Warcraft and a series of portraits and decals for Starcraft. What purpose does that have within Diablo? Nothing, but it certainly says a lot about Blizzard’s thinking. Warlords of Draenor‘s recently released digital deluxe edition includes more portraits for Starcraft and a cosmetic banner that players can wear in Diablo.
Hearthstone may be free, but the game makes it very tempting to dump cash into booster packs.
Blizzard is building something greater than their individual games, and with their two new IPs, Hearthstone and Heroes of the Storm, an online TCG and a MOBA respectively, they may just achieve it. With a solid RPG, a bizarrely competitive RTS, the most successful MMO in the world, and now an upcoming online TCG and MOBA, Blizzard will have five player bases, so why not intertwine them? A World of Warcraft Account will soon cost ninety dollars, and charges an additional fifteen dollars a month. Starcraft and Diablo paired with their expansions cost eighty dollars each, and while Hearthstone is free to play, one can purchase individual packs of cards or buy package deals priced up to fifty dollars. This is not even mentioning the services and goodies in World of Warcraft, like twenty-five dollar mounts, or the new sixty dollar level 90 boost.
Most of these things are reasonably priced. The games themselves cost around the same as other competitors in the same genre. Hearthstone‘s micro-transactions are entirely fair, considering that it is a free to play TCG, and surely Heroes of the Storm will have similarly priced micro-transactions when compared to games like League of Legends.
There is also the matter of Blizzard’s Battle.net launcher, which conveniently allows you access to all Blizzard games right from one screen. It is a seamless feature which automatically logs you into any of the games you launch, and allows you to see what games you can play. It has a long way to come, but it looks to be on the road to where one can chat outside of any Blizzard games, and of course, purchase a variety of Blizzard products and services.
All in all, it is fascinating to see Blizzard’s goals beyond their individual games, and to see the incentives they give for those who play both. The only worry is that perhaps one day, one will have to play other games to get rewards in another.
Do you plan to purchase Reaper of Souls? What are your thoughts about Blizzard’s Battle.net system? How many hundreds of dollars have you spent on Hearthstone? Let me know!
