Path of Exile Provides Interesting Solutions to Diablo III's Problems

Posted: February 19, 2013

"Let's see you do better."

It's a common response to criticism. The Jamie Kennedy documentary Heckler puts forth this misguided notion that, unless you personally have done standup, written a novel, acted in a play, developed a game -- whatever the form of expression may be -- your opinion on that matter is somehow invalid.

I'd like to think that most people could smell this sort of logical fallacy from a mile away. You don't need to be a great chef, after all, to know that the slop they serve at Applebees is anything but fine cuisine. But, because most of us aren't in a position to outdo every piece of substandard entertainment that crosses our path, "Let's see you do better" continues to be a well-worn defense mechanism.

Every once in a while, though, someone not only accepts this ridiculous and cynical challenge -- they actually manage to do better. Imagine that.

One look at the official website for Path of Exile and you can tell the developers at Grinding Gear Games have a beef with Diablo III, and, to some extent, Torchlight. They never say it outright, of course, but the site's marketing copy is filled with statements like, "The game is completely free and will never be 'pay to win,'" and, "We're sick of the recent trend towards bright, cartoony RPGs."

In interviews, Grinding Gear co-founder Jonathan Rogers has been much more specific about the studio's feelings toward Blizzard's game. "Diablo III was obviously going for a huge number of sales and they really succeeded in doing that, but we really wanted to stress character customization and sort of interesting builds and that kind of stuff," the lead programmer told VG247 last month, continuing, "Diablo III didn’t really deliver that for me, personally. I personally prefer our game, obviously. "

You'll find this attitude reflected in Path of Exile's design at almost every turn. Name something Diablo III players complained about and you're likely to find it addressed here in some respect.

By eliminating currency altogether, for example, Path of Exile doesn't struggle with gold farmers the way most online RPGs do. In place of a traditional economy, the developers have opted for a pure barter system; players trade gear for other gear, determining for themselves what their loot is worth, while NPCs exchange unwanted equipment for useful stuff like town portals and orbs that randomly adjust the stats on magic items.

Along those same lines, Path of Exile has no auction house -- real-money or otherwise. It's a controversial subject for trade-focused players, but even Diablo III senior game designer Andrew Chambers recently admitted, "We don't really like that, for most players, all of your current gear is very likely to be something you've found on the Auction House. This can create a situation where it doesn't feel like you 'own' the gear you've obtained; instead, it feels like you are renting it."

Diablo III also caught flack for its somewhat limited character customization options. Path of Exile remedies this with a leveling system not unlike Final Fantasy X's sphere grid. Essentially, each character class starts out in a different spot on a massive network of more than 1,300 skill nodes; every node confers a passive ability, and, just like FFX, one type of character can eventually level its way deep into another class' section of the grid. Furthermore, all of the powers in the game are tied to gems that slot into equipment, meaning any class can use any skill in the game.

Path of Exile isn't immune to every criticism leveled at Diablo III, however. As with Blizzard's game, Exile requires a constant internet connection in order to play. I wouldn't mind this so much if the servers were more reliable, but I've died far too many times now due to random disconnects and latency issues. While I understand the need for a free-to-play title to maintain a persistent online connection -- both to deter cheating and direct customers toward microtransactions -- stability remains a huge concern for the game.

Path of Exile has some unique problems of its own to sort out, as well. Dungeons in the game are programmed to reset automatically following a very short period of inactivity; this causes headaches when, after clearing the first part of a lengthy, multi-level map, you die and have to fight through the entire bottom floor again. Or, worse yet, you simply get disconnected and have to start the mission from scratch.

I'm also not convinced that the game's current business model is sustainable. Grinding Gear doesn't charge anything to play Path of Exile, and the only things on their cash shop are a handful of cosmetic effects, non-combat pets, and dance emotes. There's also an option to design a custom in-game item for $1,000, which, silly and expensive as it may sound, I think is actually a pretty cool idea. These guys have gone out of their way to avoid typical microtransactions -- your bonus experience potions and the like -- but I worry that not enough players will care about vanity items to keep the business afloat. I'd love to be proven wrong, though.

But is Path of Exile a better game than Diablo III? I guess that depends on how you felt about Diablo. Personally, I enjoy both games for very different reasons, but I can see how fans of Diablo II might prefer Exile over Blizzard's most recent effort. The thing is completely free, so you should probably check it out for yourself at pathofexile.com.

A Look at DC Universe Online's Home Turf DLC

Posted: January 26, 2013

In DC Universe Online, the super-powered denizens of Gotham City and Metropolis have a problem that's just as troublesome as any of Lex Luthor's schemes: They're essentially homeless. Imagine a world of Batmen without Batcaves to call their own; an army of Supermen and not one Fortress of Solitude between them; a million Booster Golds without... wherever it is Booster Gold lives.

Sony Online Entertainment aims to fix all that with next week's Home Turf update. I sat in on a recent gameplay demonstration with creative director Jens Andersen, who explained the ins and outs of lair ownership in DCUO's latest add-on.

As of Tuesday, January 29, every DCUO player above level 12 will be able to earn a customizable base of operations. Non-paying members get a basic hideout without much in the way of extras; subscribers, on the other hand, gain access to a multi-floor lair outfitted with optional amenities like special vendors, an auction house broker, and sparring targets. Free-to-play users can always upgrade to the full lair by purchasing the $9.99 Home Turf DLC, of course.

Decorating your personal den of justice and/or malevolence looks to be a fairly straightforward process. Placement of furniture and other adornments is initially restricted to décor nodes that dot the floor, walls, and ceiling of every base; once a sufficient number of these nodes have props attached, then you're free to stick items just about anywhere. The first round of 400-plus decorations ranges from everyday household appliances to stuffed wooly mammoths and enormous, disembodied clown heads.

You'll have your choice of a variety of locations to serve as the entrance to your headquarters. Iconic spots, such as Arkham Asylum's bell tower, will sport a higher price tag than, say, a sewer grate a few blocks south of The Daily Planet. Based on the maps I saw, there should be dozens of locales to choose from in both Gotham and Metropolis, and Andersen expects some of the more recognizable, high-traffic pieces of real estate to serve as emergent PVP hotspots once the update goes live.

Speaking of PVP, lairs aren't just for showing off your nightmarish collection of circus memorabilia; Home Turf features a one-on-one deathmatch mode that takes place inside player housing. These best-of-five brawls include short intro cutscenes, Mortal Kombat-style transitions between rounds, and fully destructible props. Unfortunately, only furnishings placed inside the previously mentioned décor nodes appear during PVP, because, as Andersen pointed out, "couch forts" became a major concern during development. This is why we can't have nice things, people.

Inside every lair you'll find a mainframe, one of Home Turf's other big additions. The mainframe grants players who purchase the expansion access to new abilities and equipment upgrades -- stuff like orbital bombardments, supply drops, and weapon socket items. It also allows players to call in for assistance from NPC sidekicks and henchmen, both of which you can tailor to fit any currently-owned lair themes. They're only a temporary combat buff, but, much like the newly-added player bases, these AI-controlled assistants help keep DCUO true to the source material.

During our demo, Andersen also briefly touched upon the non-housing-related content in Home Turf. The DLC is set to add new activities to the following areas: Steelworks, Arkham Asylum, Ace Chemical, and Stryker's Island. Hero characters can complete daily quests in the latter two regions and unlock a pair of new instances in the process; likewise, villains will be able to do the same in Arkham and Steelworks.

From what I've seen of the update, I'm pretty impressed. Not nearly enough MMOs let users put together their own persistent, custom play spaces, and SOE could have easily used this opportunity to add hundreds of new microtransactions to the game. But, to their credit, I'm told every decoration will be available as a drop in-game rather than on the cash shop. The eventual plan is to sell additional themes (the DLC includes three: dive, deco, and gothic), which seems like a fair deal to me -- I, for one, prefer that approach over spending real money on individual lamps for my imaginary superhero pad.

Wishful Thinking: An RPG Fan's Hopes for 2013

Posted: January 17, 2013

Last year brought plenty of ups and downs for fans of stat screens, dialog wheels, and level-ups. 2012 gave us a new Diablo and a new Torchlight, for one. It was also the year that, driven by the relentless support of an online community, both Xenoblade Chronicles and The Last Story finally saw localization in the States. Meanwhile, Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning marked a decent start for the would-be franchise only for its developer to fall victim to one of the most spectacular implosions in recent memory. And, love it or loathe it, Mass Effect 3 happened.

While I could never claim to accurately predict how 2013 will turn out for RPGs, I can certainly make a case for what I'd like to see happen over the next year. So here's a wish list of sorts outlining my personal hopes for the next 12 months. Feel free to chime in with your own ideas in the comments section below.

Bethesda reveals Fallout 4 for next-gen platforms.

Bethesda Game Studios has been real quiet about its plans for the future outside of producing additional content for Skyrim. Still, a quick glance at the company's track record reveals a pretty distinct pattern: Elder Scrolls, Fallout, Elder Scrolls -- each with a two- to three-year gap between them. Considering that the most recent Elder Scrolls game came out well over a year ago, I'd expect the first details on Fallout 4 any day now.

It wouldn't surprise me to see the next Fallout on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. Skyrim released on both, after all, and any upcoming Fallout sequel would likely leverage a lot of the same technology. But Bethesda's well-documented struggles with the current crop of consoles leads me to believe that they might hold off on Fallout 4 until the next wave of machines hit the market. Remember how much Oblivion benefited from releasing early on in the Xbox 360's life cycle?

Side note: Ideally, I'd prefer to see Obsidian Entertainment handle Fallout 4 over Bethesda. I never really cared for tracking my character's deadbeat dad across the Capital Wasteland in Fallout 3, but Obsidian's post-apocalyptic tale of tribal turf wars and sweet, sweet revenge made New Vegas one of my favorite stories this generation. Unfortunately, the studio likely has its hands tied between working on its Kickstarter-funded game, Project Eternity, the South Park RPG, and, in some capacity, Wasteland 2.

South Park: The Stick of Truth makes up for more than a decade of lame South Park games.

Speaking of the South Park game, The Stick of Truth is one of the many great looking titles stuck in limbo as publisher THQ slowly bleeds out. Prospects might seem grim for the licensed RPG, but, with numerous potential buyers looking to pick up THQ's properties, South Park shouldn't have much trouble finding a new home.

As for the quality of the game itself, I'm optimistic. South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone seem genuinely enthusiastic about the project, and their involvement with the game's script is clear from the few trailers we've seen. Obsidian's also managed to nail the look of the television show, which is more than you can say for a good chunk of the previous attempts to cash in on the South Park name. Really, all they have to do now is deliver a fundamentally sound RPG -- given my fondness for the developer's previous efforts, that sounds like a safe enough bet to me.

The PlayStation Vita catches on as the handheld RPG platform of choice.

Sony's new portable got off to a rocky start in 2012. Blame it on the rough economy, the increasing relevance of tablet- and phone-based gaming, or the success of the 3DS -- no matter how you slice it, things could have gone better for the Vita last year.

But there's one thing Sony's gadget does better than pretty much all of its competition: long-form experiences. My ridiculous man-hands make playing a 3DS for extended periods agonizing, which breaks my heart (as well as my wrists) since I'm kind of obsessed with Pokemon. For whatever reason, I'm also not terribly interested in staring at my iPhone for hours at a time. The Vita's comfortable form factor, on the other hand, turns marathon gaming sessions into a much more appealing prospect. I've lost entire days to Tactics Ogre on the thing as a result.

RPGs in particular have proven an excellent fit for the system so far. A few more must-have titles like Persona 4 Golden and the Vita could blossom into the preferred way to play RPGs on the go. There's a solid foundation in the form of the massive PSP and PS1 back catalogs, and, looking ahead, Phantasy Star Online 2 has the potential to be huge for the Vita. The device simply needs more developer support to really get off the ground.

Who knows? When faced with yet another spike in development costs as the next generation of consoles makes its debut, RPG developers might just flock to handhelds like the Vita in protest. A guy can dream, right?

Blizzard finally reveals Titan, complete with monthly fee and real-money auction house.

In terms of sheer commercial success, it seems like no MMORPG can topple World of Warcraft. Sure, plenty have tried to loosen Blizzard's stranglehold on the genre -- some even stumbled upon sustainable business models along the way -- but, despite these efforts, the eight-year-old MMO remains virtually unchallenged.

At this point, WoW is so entrenched in its position at the top that there's only one developer I can think of with the creative and financial resources to supplant it: Blizzard. The company's kept a tight lid on Titan, its next-generation MMO, since word first got out about the project in 2007. Now, more than half a decade later, all we really know about the game is that it won't rely on the studio's established IP, and that Blizzard expects it to be different enough from WoW to allow both games to successfully coexist.

I'm willing to make a few educated guesses about Titan, however. For starters, I fully expect the game to require a monthly fee. Free-to-play MMOs may be gaining ground, but Blizzard continues to get away with charging a subscription for Warcraft; I doubt they're looking to change that with Titan. If anything, they'll likely try a value-added proposition along the lines of their annual pass deal, which gave a free copy of Diablo III to anyone who committed to a year of WoW. Perhaps a Titan subscription will, in turn, grant free access to Blizzard's previous MMO.

Other clues, such as a job posting involving in-game product placement, indicate a desire to tap alternative revenue streams as well as suggesting a possible modern-day setting for Titan. Also, try not to be surprised when Diablo III's real-money auction house becomes the model for Titan's player economy. If you can't stop the gold farmers outright, why not monetize them?

Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn gets troubled MMO back on track.

Whether it succeeds or fails, the relaunch of Final Fantasy XIV is destined to be the biggest non-Blizzard-related MMO story of the year. Personally, I'm rooting for FFXIV; Square Enix deserves a great deal of credit for not only recognizing how bungled the original release was, but also for investing so much time and money in its attempts to correct the game's problems.

Alpha footage of FFXIV: A Real Reborn looks encouraging. And though Square's game has probably lost too much momentum to really shake up the genre, it does have the potential to at least make good on the MMO's initial promise. For customers burned by FFXIV at launch, you really couldn't ask for more than that.

Well, other than for games to be finished and enjoyable when you buy them, I guess.

Dragon Age III: Inquisition restores Bioware's reputation.

In the aftermath of an underwhelming Dragon Age sequel and the extremely divisive Mass Effect 3, the Bioware name doesn't carry the same weight it used to. Worsening matters are the recent departures of founders Dr. Greg Zeschuk and Dr. Ray Muzyka, who largely stood as the public faces of the company. Even EA's own confidence in the studio appears to be floundering as, one-by-one, Bioware prefixes quietly disappear from developer names across the globe.

Dragon Age III represents Bioware's strongest opportunity to regain some of that lost goodwill. Fans have been pretty vocal about which aspects of Dragon Age II didn't work for them, and lately, for better or worse, Bioware seems interested in catering directly to this sort of user feedback. Heck, most of what we currently know about the game comes from leaked surveys and other solicitations for player input.

If this approach leads Bioware to create a worthy followup to Dragon Age: Origins, then they have my blessing.

Pokemon X and Y to offer accessible, asynchronous multiplayer.

I'm not looking for radical changes with Pokemon X and Y. Don't let the cutesy exterior fool you; these games have already grown incredibly complex over the years. While developer Game Freak does a fine job keeping the competitive metagame interesting with every release, they don't fare so well when it comes to explaining their increasingly convoluted systems.

In fact, I'd wager that most people breeze through a typical Pokemon game without anything more than a baseline understanding of the rules. It might not bother me so much if Pokemon were a purely single-player experience, but this lack of information leaves your average gamer totally unprepared to deal with multiplayer. The competitive scene as a whole suffers when newcomers are too intimidated to continue playing online.

It's time the dev team brought the proverbial fire down from the mountain. You shouldn't have to go to some obscure forum to learn that Rock-type Pokemon get a 50 percent bonus to their Special Defense stat during a sandstorm. Why hide the fact that, in addition to causing periodic damage, the Burn status ailment cuts a creature's Attack in half? And don't get me started on the intricacies behind breeding, effort values, and individual values.

Once they've cleared that stuff up, I think the next major step for Pokemon is asynchronous multiplayer. Turn-based games like Words With Friends, Hero Academy, and Draw Something all gave me a reason to check my iPhone obsessively throughout the day. By utilizing StreetPass and SpotPass to conveniently manage battles with friends and strangers, Pokemon X and Y could do the same for the 3DS.

Monster Hunter finally reaches an audience in the West.

From the moment I heard that Monster Hunter drew inspiration from Phantasy Star Online, I just knew I had to play it. Alongside Pokemon Blue, PSO counted among the first games I ever stuck with for more than 200 hours. If Monster Hunter could recapture even a fraction of what made PSO special, I'd be hooked for sure -- or so I thought.

I'm ashamed to admit that, to this day, I've never so much as tried a Monster Hunter game. By the time the original hit the United States, I already had active subscriptions to Final Fantasy XI, Star Wars Galaxies, City of Heroes, and Phantasy Star Online: Episode I & II. Once World of Warcraft joined the rotation a few months later, there simply wasn't room in my life for Capcom's action RPG.

Of course, Monster Hunter would've stood a better chance if I'd known a single person who wanted to play it with me. My friends were always willing to try stuff like WoW or FFXI, but Monster Hunter proved a tougher sell for a number of reasons. First of all, not everyone owned a PlayStation 2 network adapter. Secondly, the series lost a considerable amount of momentum with Western audiences by transitioning to the PSP and limiting multiplayer to local wireless. I suspect that Capcom's tendency toward frequent remakes and expanded re-releases might have also contributed to Monster Hunter's lack of popularity on this side of the Pacific.

Capcom doesn't need to convince me. I'm ready to care about Monster Hunter. It's the rest of my hunting party that they should worry about.