This seems like an appropriate enough place to put this: The Diablo 3 beta? Not that good. I put thousands of hours into D1 and D2 but have zero desire to keep playing the D3 beta.
That's not really very surprising. You probably wouldn't have played D2 for very long if it was only normal difficulty, and only the section before Blood Raven.
Personally I quite enjoyed the beta, a lot more than I enjoyed the same period of the D2 game. I'm anticipate spending many, many hours enjoying D3.
It's not even the length or difficulty, I just didn't feel motivated to get through it. Maybe the rest of the game will be better but I felt the beta had really terrible pacing, claustrophobic corridor-style level design and an odd Tim Burton-Warcraft universe fusion art style.
In a game that is so progression based, knowing that all the power you accumulate will go to no useful end can be a real motivation killer. The point of Diablo games has always been to get nice stuff so you can murder progressively more difficult enemies. When there isn't going to be a progressively more difficult enemy, why get nice stuff?
I didn't have any problem with the pacing, somewhat agree on the problem of corridor level design, and again I had no problem with the art style. But some of that is a taste issue where our priorities just don't align.
Maybe the rest of the game will be better but I felt the beta had really terrible pacing, claustrophobic corridor-style level design and an odd Tim Burton-Warcraft universe fusion art style.
Blizzard CM Bashiok basically came out last week and said don't expect too much of Diablo 3, keep your expectations low and you'll be pleasantly surprised but if you're expectations are too high you might be disappointed.
Major buzzkill for a lot of people but the handwriting was on the wall with the release delays, the annual pass giveaway, word of mouth on the beta, etc.
The reference to my time spent with D1/D2 was to make the point that I like Diablo. I've put about 2 hours with the D3 beta and had to force myself to finish it.
I was in the D2 beta back in the day, and I had a similar feeling I did now in the D3 beta. It was kind of tiring that the best thing that could be done in the game was killing the countess I think it was (fairly early in act 1) and getting the best low level items and using the first couple tiers of skills. I think there was even less to do in that one, even. Both games are definitely fun in the beta, but lacking something. I think D3 will be pretty fun when it's actually released and we can do everything in the game.
Also it sucks to hear about the lay-offs.