DIEHARD Pinoy Diablo fanatics can now relieve their childhood memories on mobile as Blizzard Entertainment has finally opened the doors for Southeast Asian players to give Diablo Immortal a try.
The free-to-play, action RPG game was launched last June 2 globally, but only became available on July 8 for the region. It can be played on mobile devices and PC. (The latter is currently at the open beta phase. )
As players open the game, they'll be given the option to choose among the classes featured in previous Diablo games: barbarian, crusader, demon hunter, monk, necromancer, and wizard.
Afterwards they can explore the dark setting of the Diablo universe as they grind their way across the creepy and eerie dungeons and towns. Familiar enemies like the Skeleton King and Baal also appear in the game.
Fans of the franchise can try the game by downloading via the Google Play Store and Apple Store as well as the Battle.net client. The game consumes 2.0 to 4.0 GB of memory, depending on the device.
Is Diablo Immortal worth playing?
The game received mixed reviews from critics. The biggest issue stems from the microtransactions that are tied to the PvP experience, as players are forced to spend credits to acquire items and equipment for them to gain the advantage in online battles.
Blizzard has defended itself in the outcry against the game's microtransactions, with CEO Mike Ybarra pointing out that the studio has opened up Diablo to millions in an interview with the Los Angeles Times.
"When we think about monetization, at the very highest level it was, ‘How do we give a free ‘Diablo’ experience to hundreds of millions of people, where they can literally do 99.5% of everything in the game?" he said.
"The monetization comes in at the end game. The philosophy was always to lead with great gameplay and make sure that hundreds of millions of people can go through the whole campaign without any costs," he said.
The microtransactions have proven to be an effective moneymaker for Blizzard. It was reported that the game is currently making more than $1 million per day.
Meanwhile, the other features of the game, like the combat system and graphics, were heavily praised.
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