I'm semi excited about D3, never really played the first two (by the time I played D2 it was already too old of a game and couldn't keep me entertained). That being said, knowing D3 is a long while away, can anybody recommend me any PC dungeon crawlers? Preferably something that can be played online with friends, preferably free or easy to pirate.

Dungeon Siege  II is pretty fun (never played the first one).  It's not anything special but it'll keep you entertained for the time being

you should really just try getting into d2, dungeon siege 2 is pretty crappy compared to d2. it suffers all monsters act the same syndrome. that and the game practically plays itself. When I played though it I opted for only a pet and none of the party members because the AI on the party members will pretty much clear the screen for you, or mess you up on hard battles.

Man I havent played a ton of Diablo 2 but I really didn't find the monsters VARIED enough to warrant "monster variation" to be a logical selling point for the series. In the end, I end up holding down the attack button in any hack and slash I play, regardless of whether or not the enemies just swarm you or have ATTACK PATTERNS.

Me and a few of my friends are going to to piratepurchase D2 and DS2. I actually already own D2, cousin gave it to me years ago, but as I mentioned, never really got into it. Going to give it another shot, I figure it should be awesome playing with friends and vent, so I can't really go wrong.

you should buy D2 because it is EL CHEAPO and anyone who pirates it will basically be completely missing the entire point of the game.

I'm a bit curious as to how customizable weapons are going to be. The guy in the gameplay video mentioned that the axes were enchanted, yet I know that I also saw a gem drop from one of the mobs killed (amethyst, I think). This makes me wonder.. Will we see gear enchantment as well as gear socketing?

And I wonder how open the world will be. If the leap forward is as vast as the one between D1 and D2, then hopefully we'll be able to go to many more places at any given time. If they make the world really open-ended or something, that would be cool.

Also I think it is silly to condemn this for being the "same old Diablo." We don't know that yet, and it's a bit weird to jump on that sort of bandwagon. We have one gameplay movie that really does not show us a lot of the game. I think Blizzard will reveal more features in the coming months. Yes, if this is as good as it gets then I might be a bit disappointed, but I doubt it is. Regardless, I will buy this. Both Diablos provided me with hours of entertainment, so I expect this one to as well.

Lots of stuff people like in WoW wouldn't exist without diablo, as handsome lamb said they brought a lot of new elements to the table. We are excited because it is a fucking legacy.

you should buy D2 because it is EL CHEAPO and anyone who pirates it will basically be completely missing the entire point of the game.

I'm looking for a dungeon crawler I can play with my friends. I already have D2, just can't find the expansion. My friends downloaded it all last night and I downloaded the expansion, and we played together, and it all worked out good. The game isn't bad, but it's soooo crappy. Like, it really is something you should play when it comes out, not years later. But yeah I've grown to appreciate it a bit more definitely can't wait for D3. Yay for polish.

What is crappy about it? I think the game is very playable and very polished, even today. I am assuming you are just talking about the graphics?

What is crappy about it? I think the game is very playable and very polished, even today. I am assuming you are just talking about the graphics?

Graphics, more specifically the animation is really bad. The controls aren't all that great and I've noticed a few things that just awkward. I'll try to remember a few of the things next time I play. I assume the reason why this game is so popular is due to the simple fact that it's an addictive dungeon crawler with good online play.

you should buy D2 because it is EL CHEAPO and anyone who pirates it will basically be completely missing the entire point of the game.

internet in d2 was great but the entire point? i don't think so

and either way, if you warez it and get people to play with, USE HAMACHI.


you don't want to mix with the bnet population these days anyway. oh god no you don't.


sweet god.

This is one of the least surprising announcements ever but it's definitely good news to me.  The Diablo games invariably get boring pretty quickly but I think they're fun and all and I would probably buy this on day one.

internet in d2 was great but the entire point? i don't think so

and either way, if you warez it and get people to play with, USE HAMACHI.


you don't want to mix with the bnet population these days anyway. oh god no you don't.


sweet god.

Yeah, we've been using Hamachi to play this. =) I'm an assassin in martial arts, but they are kinda boring so I might switch to something else.

Lots of stuff people like in WoW wouldn't exist without diablo, as handsome lamb said they brought a lot of new elements to the table. We are excited because it is a fucking legacy.

ya like the GRIND lololo

You haven't lived until you've grinded out 256 Gul runes from doing the Hellforge quest over and over just so you can craft the highest rune or wait for it to drop lolz. (which might never happen in your lifetime for you pretty much)

but QFT. Each of the Diablo games have always pushed the genre and envelope with stuff that everyone else decides to copy, and I can't wait to see what Diablo 3 will add to that.

internet in d2 was great but the entire point? i don't think so

and either way, if you warez it and get people to play with, USE HAMACHI.


you don't want to mix with the bnet population these days anyway. oh god no you don't.


sweet god.

man who warez Diablo, seriously. it costs like 4$. For both. <.<

I guess if you never plan on experiencing the real part of the game, then sure. But pretty much the game is entirely built around the min/max, competitive, and trading communities, all of which exist online only. Playing with friends cooperatively to experience the areas etc is cool, but you're missing out on the best parts of the game.

ya like the GRIND lololo

You haven't lived until you've grinded out 256 Gul runes from doing the Hellforge quest over and over just so you can craft the highest rune or wait for it to drop lolz. (which might never happen in your lifetime for you pretty much)

but QFT. Each of the Diablo games have always pushed the genre and envelope with stuff that everyone else decides to copy, and I can't wait to see what Diablo 3 will add to that.

man who warez Diablo, seriously. it costs like 4$. For both. <.<

I guess if you never plan on experiencing the real part of the game, then sure. But pretty much the game is entirely built around the min/max, competitive, and trading communities, all of which exist online only. Playing with friends cooperatively to experience the areas etc is cool, but you're missing out on the best parts of the game.

If I wanted to grind and worry about min/max, I'd probably play a better game for it. Don't say it's the best part of the game, when that's just the best part of the game FOR YOU. Only reason I want to play the game is to go through dungeons and slaughter shit with my friends. But I'll probably try a different game until D3 comes out.

If I wanted to grind and worry about min/max, I'd probably play a better game for it. Don't say it's the best part of the game, when that's just the best part of the game FOR YOU. Only reason I want to play the game is to go through dungeons and slaughter shit with my friends. But I'll probably try a different game until D3 comes out.

for me and pretty much everyone who plays online on the ladder. This is pretty much what the multiplayer is about is those 3 things, and I'm not really talking about the people who group to kill monsters because while that's obviously what the game is "about" at face value, you are severly missing out on the best parts of the game, which is building a character to be its best. There's a whole metagame beneath the game to touch. If it was just me I wouldn't say it, but there are a ton of communities built around it, the ladder got reset so that is equally true now, and well, basically the majority of people who play the game online really. And I'm not even counting the french, which get really really hardcore on it.

it's like trying to tell me the best part of StarCraft is not analyzing the maps and building unique strategies to counteract your opponent with micro/macro and knowing the exact metagame for each map with the exact way each unit from all 3 races interact with each unit on the competitive level like the Koreans and everyone who bothers to play competitively seriously does. It is the best part, and it is what StarCraft is known for, being the most balanced RTS to date. That isn't to say there isn't people who just play the single player, or just play with friends, but you are basically missing the best part of the game, and what the heart of the game is about. Yes, there is other stuff to do in StarCraft besides the highly competitive parts to it, and there is more to Diablo than the competitive, trading, min/maxing metagame, but there's also a single player mode to Street Fighter, and the similarity between all 3 is all 3 are something no one really takes seriously. It's fun to bash monsters in D2 with friends (I do it too), but there's more to it than that.

for me and pretty much everyone who plays online on the ladder. This is pretty much what the multiplayer is about is those 3 things, and I'm not really talking about the people who group to kill monsters because while that's obviously what the game is "about" at face value, you are severly missing out on the best parts of the game, which is building a character to be its best. There's a whole metagame beneath the game to touch. If it was just me I wouldn't say it, but there are a ton of communities built around it, the ladder got reset so that is equally true now, and well, basically the majority of people who play the game online really. And I'm not even counting the french, which get really really hardcore on it.

it's like trying to tell me the best part of StarCraft is not analyzing the maps and building unique strategies to counteract your opponent with micro/macro and knowing the exact metagame for each map with the exact way each unit from all 3 races interact with each unit on the competitive level like the Koreans and everyone who bothers to play competitively seriously does. It is the best part, and it is what StarCraft is known for, being the most balanced RTS to date. That isn't to say there isn't people who just play the single player, or just play with friends, but you are basically missing the best part of the game, and what the heart of the game is about. Yes, there is other stuff to do in StarCraft besides the highly competitive parts to it, and there is more to Diablo than the competitive, trading, min/maxing metagame, but there's also a single player mode to Street Fighter, and the similarity between all 3 is all 3 are something no one really takes seriously. It's fun to bash monsters in D2 with friends (I do it too), but there's more to it than that.

Once again, you're assuming being an obsessive hardcore gamer is the best way to play a game. You don't understand that I'm NOT missing out, that's what I'm saying. Just because you enjoy taking the game beyond into the metagame, doesn't mean everybody does or should. I can worry about min/maxing and ladders in other games that I'd rather play for the core gameplay. The sole reason I'm playing D2 right now is to crawl dungeons with my friends.

edit:

And your StarCraft comparison didn't really make sense as most of the things you described weren't so much metagame, so much as a staple of any RTS, and any of it that was RTS, is once again counteracted by the fact that I'd rather play the game instead of studying it.

You know, before they even announced SC2, they said they were debating whether to do Diablo 3 or SC2. So it's really no surprise to me that after so much work done on SC2, they started up on Diablo 3. I don't get how everyone's so surprised, or excited. I love Diablo 2, and am even NOW playing it with some friends for the first time in years. But even I am not that excited over something that eventually, like you guys said, gets a bit tiresome. After you've leveled all the chars (or at least your most favorable ones) and seen just about everything the game has to offer, the game loses it's charm to me.

Once again, you're assuming being an obsessive hardcore gamer is the best way to play a game.

it isn't even obsessive hardcore man, its not like uber french know the exact drop rates of every single item in the game to the exact decimal or something. It's building a character to be the best it can be. In the end it becomes less about the monsters you are slaying, and the character you are making (heh...that rhymed..). Getting a maxed out Bone Necro, a Glass Cannonzon etc is very fulfilling to us because you've reached the peak of your characters potential. It isn't HARDCORE at all, pretty much if you know any builds in this game and try to build one you are taking part in this, or working towards it."I am going to build a blizz sorc" is all it takes to get started, then you have to get stuff to build a blizz sorc. It isn't like other dc's were its just about OH WELL GET TO BOTTOM OF DUNGEON or OH WELL SLAY 1000000 ENEMIES FOR NO REASON AT ALL, it's about the character building, whether that's you building as best a blizz sorc as you can without grinding too much, or doing the Hellforge quest over 600 times to get amazing runes thru the Cube. That's pretty much the best part of Diablo is the character depth and customization aspects (tons of options, etc), even if you only know the basics or if you know the insane stats. Titan Quest did a pretty okay job at this, but the rest of the game had so many down falls in it, which is what makes D2 special, the rest of the game doesn't suck. Add in mods (like Eastern Sun) etc to the mix and you can have a near unlimited amount of character building to last you a life time. All i was saying is that by "just playing with friends" or whatever for fun, you are missing out on this. You guys could build your characters to be a team build and flow with each other, but I bet you aren't! I guess its instead of just replacing items on your guy because they have better stats, you actually have an end game plan and build, and work towards that, instead of just hitting the end game and being all "yes this wep is a whole +4 better than my wep" and replacing it without a thought.