I will briefly remind you WHY i (and anyone else) shouldn’t trust you at face value.
Let’s start with a bit of history and then summarize what this means for D2.
[Disclaimer: there will be also positive things to explain where the disappointment comes from and i will use my as well the ‘general vibe’ coming from other fans+media while comparing it with other publishers/titles for a bigger perspective (even if saying some of it breaks my heart)
First, there was Starcraft HD
It was a decent HD MOD. or rather HD SKIN. That’s it.
- Were any issues and balance problems addressed? No.
- Were any quality of life features fixed? No.
- Clunky menus sorted out? Of course not.
It was 100% just a skin job. Apparently, the balance is “holy” (aka given up on) despite even Pro’s and ProCommentators pointing out ancient flaws. The fact that balance was what saved the franchise (aka Broodwar!) doesn’t matter eh?
A mediocre job… but i suppose at least it worked?
Starcraft 1 is a strong game but it did not age well. At all. Sadly so.
Just try to compare it to Command and Conquer HD (by EA!? which made DK mobile!) … you can’t. SC eats dirt all day long.
Again! Sadly so!! I would have killed for that kind of TLC for SC.
Then we have Diablo Mobile, but we don’t talk about that…
Then there was Diablo III
It looked fine. The Cinematics were darn good.
Oh and it had massive LoginErrors, a REAL MONEY storefront (a little field test) and of course the classes and items and any skill/spell were absolutely meaningless. Dumbed down more so than any cookie clicker. (not kidding 'TapTitans2 had more depth! Not f kidding). oh and… pet drop rates were a joke. I tried it.
I played the witchdoctor and long story short:
- he carried a TWO HANDED AX… a NON-enchanted one… and his damage output rose. I just went with the biggest ‘dmg summary’ and in fact, it worked. Walk in the park. The main game was such a bore. Not just was it baffling how pointless any item choice war (because of this ‘do whatever, don’t care’ approach)…
- spells also were 100% meaningless.
It did not matter if i used toads or spiders or whatever… it was just the dmg split up differently. 5x20% 3x33% 4x25% … whatever. The 3 cosmetic choices we had.
Sigh.
I played D1 and was freaked out at times.
I played D2 over and over and had a blast!
I played D3 and just wanted for it to end… i struggled to even finish. It was a chore. There is nothing i ever want to see again. I get the cinematics and story on YT.
Now i throw Warcraft the movie under the bus.
People said for years that these cinematics should be a movie… and again: this was the ONE thing making D3 bearable for me. The Starcraft II broodwar story is one of the best (across several franchises!) [even if the protoss one was a bore. proppheheeccyyy jaja] … but we also had FrozenThrone! hrmm<3
My point is: YOU CAN tell good stories. You can make them look great.
And then this … i don’t even. It was horrible and i get why (without dubious china sales) you just managed to keep it a ‘success’ (for investors).
At last: Warcraft 3 … REFORGED
Do I even need to comment?
Blizzard itself said that ‘we had higher standards for them’… and yes, we did, but those didn’t come from thin air!
-D1+2 were exceptional
-SC1+2 are great
-Overwatch exists
-Apparently, some enjoy hearthstone?
And across those and other titles was always a polish so bright it blinded other studios! … (well, except Rockstar i suppose)
… but as of late the turnout was a deliberate MESS.
We ain’t stupid. We KNOW there is sooo much outsourcing, so much carelessness, so much ‘oh, but our arbitrary deadline’ … and whatnot of excuses, after which FANS like YOU and me… were gut-punched.
My D3 was a gift from by brother who thought i enjoy it!?
I didn’t even HAVE reforged… [luckily so! stood away from it after D3]
and STILL… i sit here shaking my head.
And NOW… Blizzard wants US, their fans they kicked around like Bethesda employee, to thrust THEM on another remake cause they said so!?
No.
Just No!
No way. I don’t trust this. I don’t want to hear anything from it. I won’t go near it with a stick. Others will, i am SURE of it. Good for them. But i watch this for a LONG TIME from AFAR… and only once the dust settled…
and it turns out to be a ‘CnC HD’ (and by god check out that love letter to the fans!! THATS the ONLY right way to make it! and i buy the next one right away!!) < have to stress it!
I might consider buying it.
Still, i am very afraid of a lackluster remake, broken software, and implementation of D3 skills to which i can’t even connect 37
And quite frankly, that’s how everyone should do it, otherwise, you end up with games like (see above) which managed to drop harder than Fallout 76.
TLDR: one too many times Blizzard. EARN our loyalty. We know you can… IF you want.
ps. and F shareholders. How is it good for shareholders if everyone refunds and a shitstorm breaks out? Jesus… F… Christ… - how braindead is that approach!?
luv