Analyse This: The Next Gen Consoles (Part 2)...

Originally, I wanted to update the previous post with further supporting observations but during that research and thinking, along with newly released information, it ended up ballooning into a whole new post.

Why magic users are often boring to play...

Looks cool, plays a little boringly...

With the release of the teasers for Diablo IV in full flow in the games media I've been reminded of a recurring problem within games: balancing the gameplay for magic users.

This all started when I was listening to the Game Informer coverage of the Sorcererss' gameplay from their few hours of playing the game across the three available classes. The recurring theme throughout the 10 minute video was "this just isn't as fun to play as the other two classes". In fact, the Barbarian gameplay was 24 minutes long and I wonder how long the comparable Druid gameplay video will be - especially since the reporters were mostly talking about the Druid playthrough in this video and practically anything else they could... they event skipped parts of the gameplay.

So, what's the problem and how do we (potentially) fix it?

Diablo IV and the re-Diabloisation of the series...

Diablo IV was announced during this year's Blizzcon in a beautifully-produced CG trailer. I have to say that the game looks really nice, though it is important to remember that this is baically Alpha footage of a game that is not meant to be released any time soon - so anything could change in the intervening period.

I am quite hopeful because the direction of this game is already leaning more towards the aesthetic spirit, if not the identity, of Diablo and Diablo 2 than Diablo 3. However, these early indications really show that Diablo 3 still has its claws deep in the series' beating heart.

So let's take a brief look at what we've seen and why there might still be reason to worry...