When you review something, you review it as a package. To say the game is great because one is not having an issue that exists and others are is disingenuous and inaccurate. A professional review should try to be fair and objective from different perspectives. The problem DOES exist, and to not mention it and how it can potentially affect people (as it has millions) is a flat out a disservice to buyers. She did touch on the online requirement, but not much.
Technical problems like this demand their due attention, because they are not subjective as enjoyment is. Especially considering how widespread a problem these server issues have been since launch. Hardcore mode is busted. The checkpoint save system is quite frustrating due to having to be online constantly. These are not even touched upon!
But I don't want to get in a huge argument here. Considering how much trouble this DRM has caused, it deserved more than she gave.
But it does very much affect the experience. Read my post below about how the game stutters, server dropouts, maintenance and how all of these when combined with the checkpoint save system makes being connected all the time a major headache.
The DRM absolutely, 100% impacts gameplay, it's not just getting in. This was ignored in GS's review, and these problems are not things that can be viewed as subjective.
@Zylaris You can pause? I stand corrected then, my bad. I did hit esc at one point and when I came back I was disconnected. Are you sure it pauses and is not still running in the background?
I made the mistake of buying this. An 8.5 is generous, and she barley touches on how much the online affects the experience.
Online only is not only a burden trying to get in the game (not so much now, but still happens and this is not to mention the mandatory maintenance...off for 9 hours last night), but much worse than all the log-in errors is the fact that it affects the game badly once in as well. There's stuttering, spikes of lag which kills you in seconds which effectively breaks Hardcore mode. I was OK with simply being online all the time, but this "always on" compromises the integrity of the game itself.
The save system sucks. It is one of the worst I've ever seen in any game ever, because it's checkpoint based but contingent on the stability of something that is inherently unstable and unpredictable, the net. The fact that maintenance is constant and there's random dropouts makes this frustrating beyond belief. I've been forced to replay sections many, many times over as if I get kicked for no fault of my own, or am in the middle of a dungeon or map and see the "Server shuts down in 5 minutes", being unable to save at any moment screws me over.
Just awesome. If I could save where I want and not where Blizzard decides it would of course be a non-issue, but since I can't it's a major hassle. Plus there's no way to pause. Is this really the way PC gaming is going? F**k that, I'll never spend another penny on a game that does this.
Aside from always being online because of item duping and the RMAH, there's got to be a better way to combat piracy. If this continues, I'm fairly certain this will destroy PC gaming, or any gaming that uses this method.
MirkoS77's comments