Looking for Diablo-esque PS3 Game(s)?

davee123

Ok. We just got a PS3 for Christmas. I like a wide variety of stuff, but my wife is interested in something that may or may not exist. She likes Diablo II. Ok, "likes" probably isn't sufficient. Somewhere between "loves" and "would consider marrying if Diablo II could be a good dad." And I'm not sure if there's anything really similar in terms of gameplay for the PS3. But I figured if anyone has any ideas, it might be you guys here at Penny Arcade. If not, I guess I'll continue my quest elsewhere (anyone have any ideas where else?)

She doesn't really like games where timing and hand-eye coordination are key. Most games require you to have some sort of "run-and-jump-at-just-the-right-moment" skill, as well as "shoot-at-the-apex-of-your-jump", or "grab-onto-the-lever-as-you-fall" or something like that. She gets bored with that sort of thing pretty quickly.

Ideally, she's looking for something similar. 3rd-person view angle with a hack-and-slash mentality that allows plenty of room for character customization. Networked play unimportant.

Anyway, that's what she's lamenting over not having. Anyone have any suggestions?

DaveE

UncleSporky

Marvel Ultimate Alliance plays similarly to the Diablo games, from what I have seen. Same overhead view, RPG elements, but I don't know if it has much in the way of Diablo-style random drops.

Maybe a game to look into, should be cheap now since it was a launch title.

devoir

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sacred_2

Mortal Sky

Demon's Souls might be worth a try, but it is infamously difficult if the player is an impatient type. But I still recommend it.

Antihippy

Demon's souls?

DarkPrimus

Ah yes, Demon's Souls. The game I bought because I wanted to make sure I had it the day I get a Playstation 3.

Scosglen

In terms of games that are *actually* like Diablo, Borderlands is probably the closest match.

In terms of games that are like what you described you were looking for however, Demon's souls is probably closer.

It is tough though, but it's more a matter of having somewhat unforgiving game systems than the gameplay being particularly difficult.

Hahnsoo1

Sacred 2 is the closest match to Diablo 2 on the PS3 that isn't total crap (like the PS3 Untold Legends game... avoid this game, for the love of god!). It is very much a Diablo-esque hack and slash game with a ton of gear, ton of skills, ton of levels. It's not exactly like Diablo, but the differences in mechanics are minor (cooldowns instead of Mana, basically). Furthermore, it's quite fun to play on same-screen co-op and online.

Both Marvel Ultimate Alliance and Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 are similar to Diablo in terms of hack-and-slash, leveling, and similar mechanics, but they are very much Comic Book games. Thematically, it's a stretch, even if the mechanics aren't.

Borderlands has FPS mechanics, but you can pretty much let your gear carry you IF you make it past level 20. Before then, well... there are fairly substantial brick walls that can prevent you from progressing in the game (namely, the Bonehead encounter first off, followed by most of the bosses up to New Haven, though the sting of the later encounters can be removed by grinding missions).

She doesn't really like games where timing and hand-eye coordination are key. Most games require you to have some sort of "run-and-jump-at-just-the-right-moment" skill, as well as "shoot-at-the-apex-of-your-jump", or "grab-onto-the-lever-as-you-fall" or something like that. She gets bored with that sort of thing pretty quickly.

Demon's Souls is NOT her game, from this description. I'm sorry, but a slight mistiming in Demon's Souls is unforgiving. I know people who like hardcore games that have dropped Demon's Souls because of various unforgiving mechanics. It's not a game I would recommend for someone who isn't a seasoned vet at video games.

EDIT: Oh, and as far as Diablo II clones on PC, I can highly recommend the following:
* Dungeon Siege II
* Titan Quest
* Torchlight
All three of these games aren't necessarily the "BEST GAEM EVAR!", but they are definitely decent Diablo clones. Torchlight in particular is fairly well-done. Sacred 2, oddly enough, is a far better PS3 game than it ever was on PC.

Alfred J. Kwak

Borderlands is the best Diablo clone ever, better then D2, even. Just sayin'.

You can also play coop/splitscreen so that you can introduce her to the FPS genre. Give it at least a rent.

Hahnsoo1

You should get Borderlands. However, you shouldn't get it as a veiled attempt to appease the wife with a Diablo clone. It's a good game, but buying it for the wife (when she clearly loves Diablo II and wants a hack-and-slash sword-and-sorcery game) is akin to Homer buying a bowling ball for Marge. It has Diablo-like elements in terms of skill trees and leveling, but it's definitely not even close to Diablo in gameplay.

Alfred J. Kwak

Instead of click-click you shoot at your enemies. And I guess the skill trees are not as complex as Diablo's. And there's a 4 player limit in multiplayer. That's about all the major differences I can come up with.

devoir

First person shooting is completely different to third person isometric. Some (action) RPG gamers aren't very into the whole twitch-orientated, first-person nature of Borderlands as compared to Diablo.

Xagarath

If you can get past the limited amount of co-ordination required (different strategies are much more important in the single-player game), Demon's Souls is an awful lot like D2 otherwise, except much better.

PeregrineFalcon

There isn't enough facepalm in the world for people suggesting Demon's Souls when the OP said

She doesn't really like games where timing and hand-eye coordination are key.

I haven't played it, but if it's anything like the PSP version, Untold Legends: Dark Kingdom should be more up her alley.

Louie

PeregrineFalcon wrote: »

There isn't enough facepalm in the world for people suggesting Demon's Souls when the OP said

She doesn't really like games where timing and hand-eye coordination are key.

I haven't played it, but if it's anything like the PSP version, Untold Legends: Dark Kingdom should be more up her alley.

Yeah, Demon's souls is not comparable to D2 really, it is awesome but we are talking about a game that can really piss off people who do like games requiring timing and hand-eye co-ordination.

Untold legends is kind of crap but if you can find it cheap it's worth a shot. MUA and Scared 2 are your best bets.

Skexis

Dark Kingdom might be her kind of game. It doesn't have the same kind of wide variety of loot drops that DII has, but it is a hack-and-slash, and you do get to change the type of weapon you're using with gems, as well as the armor you're wearing. There's a little bit of platforming in it, but for the most part it's just straightforward monster killin'.

Sacred II would probably be the other one. I haven't played it myself, but everything about it and all the press just screams Diablo clone.

For options a bit farther out you might also try Rise of the Argonauts (more Zelda than Diablo) or Lord of the Rings: Conquest (a game I feel is pretty underrated).

Dashui

Sacred 2. It's been said, but it hasn't been said enough. It's probably exactly what she wants. It has lots of room for character customization (lots), a huge open game world to explore, hundreds of side-quests and items, unique class mounts, and other goodies. It's a lot of fun to play online or locally, too.

Radikal_Dreamer

While it's not really Diablo 2 like, I'd recommend Dragon Age to her. Even though on paper it isn't really much like it, it's probably the most Diablo like thing I've played on consoles (except of course when I played Diablo back on PS1), mostly because it's really just a PC RPG. Sadly, it doesn't have the randomized loot (that'd be fucking awesome if it did), but it has plenty of character customization through sort of Diablo like skill trees and equipment finding. And, it requires no timing skills at all.

RainbowDespair

I don't want to disparage Dragon Age because I'm sure it's a good game (haven't gotten around to it since I want to play the PC version and my PC isn't up to the task), but randomized loot is like half the appeal of a Diablo-esque game.

Radikal_Dreamer

RainbowDespair wrote: »

I don't want to disparage Dragon Age because I'm sure it's a good game (haven't gotten around to it since I want to play the PC version and my PC isn't up to the task), but randomized loot is like half the appeal of a Diablo-esque game.

I realize that, but there really aren't enough games that have stolen that randomized loot thing. I guess Borderlands does, but I wouldn't recommend that since it's an FPS. There's enough loot grabbing in Dragon Age that you can forget at least for a bit that the items themselves aren't randomized. That and you have enough customization of your character and others to fulfill that part of her needs.

TheSonicRetard

I'd describe Demon's Souls as more of a 3D Rogue-like than a Diablo-esque game.

Xaviar

I'd describe diablo as a 3d-esque roguelike. =P

TheSonicRetard

Xaviar wrote: »

I'd describe diablo as a 3d-esque roguelike. =P

I'm struggling to think of a time you move vertically in Diablo, stairs not withstanding.

I count only two dimensions.

Mortal Sky

Wait, Sacred 2 is out on the PS3? Well, then, go for it. My uncle was actually on the volunteer testing team for the pre-alpha, alpha, and beta (huge fanboy of Sacred right there)

Mahnmut

Dragon Age is a good game, but Diablo-esque it is not. Combat is slow, skill trees barely deserve the name, you're probably controlling more than one character by hand. Plus, you know, there's the whole plot and characterization and lots of dialogue thing.

Radikal_Dreamer

Sure it's not really Diablo-esque. That's what I tried to say in my post, but there are so very few games that do what Diablo 2 did (I'm not really sure why... I'd love some more of that). I'm recomending it since I think a person that likes Diablo 2 and for the reasons she did may also like Dragon Age, despite its differences. The OP didn't mention whether she also liked games with huge stories or character development, too, so if she doesn't then yeah she can ignore this one.

But anyway, he said she wanted something with:

No hand eye coordination - It has this. You don't have to be good at doing anything gamey at all
3rd person viewing angle - Yep, it has this.
Hack and Slash Character mentality - Sure you can control a bunch of characters, but for the most part on the console version you don't really have to that much. If you pick a rogue or something you can set some tactics and be good just getting behind enemies and hackin' and slashin'. But, I'll admit it's a bit of a stretch for this category.
Plenty of character customization - Your character has a decent amount of customization. Not quite as much as Diablo 2, but it's definitely there. You divy stats like Diablo and pick skills like Diablo (though not quite as many in both cases). And then there's more customization, though, in that you have more party members.

Alfred J. Kwak

It has such mindless combat that you might as well throw it in the hack&slash corner, if you ask me.

Mahnmut

Well, I guess you're never really wrong to recommend a Bioware game. And sure; it's an RPG, which makes it closeish. Still and all, it's way closer to Baldur's Gate than Diablo.

DarkSymphony

if you have a BC PS3 or a working PS2, get both champion's games, both balder's gate games and sacred 2 for ps3. that's more than enough diablo style loot fest to be had.

Nalouto

another vote for Sacred 2, if it's anything like the PC version (which I played the fuck out of) it should provide a lot of that good ol' Diablo 2 flavor, with a lot of nice character customization. (The Hunter (Dryad?) is probably the most fun I'd had grinding XPs in a long time.)

Nerdtendo

I've never played the newest one, but the Dynasty Warriors games might be up her alley. They're mindless hack and slash, and a quite a bit more forgiving than Diablo 2 in many ways. The primary differences would be the lack of a skill tree, the fact that it's a hack and slash beat em up, and the lack of huge amounts of loot (but you still do get excited about getting an upgrade that's only a point or two higher). The biggest problem with the Dynasty Warriors games is that they haven't changed at all, but that's not really an issue if you've never played it.

Also, really, Borderlands is quite awesome, and also quite forgiving. It's obviously twitchy, since it's an FPS title, but you may as well grab it for yourself and see if she gets into it. As it's been said, though, don't get it for her, get it for you and maybe she'll get interested.

McCly

Valkyria Chronicles.

I don't care if it's not like Diablo. Hand-eye coordination and timing are crucial for all action games.

Sturmvogel

McCly wrote: »

Valkyria Chronicles.

I don't care if it's not like Diablo. Hand-eye coordination and timing are crucial for all action games.

Sure it's an awesome game... actually thinking about it I would recommend it myself if it wasn't for the nonexistant character creation, the in-depth story and the countless cut-scenes. If you aint to slowpaced jrpg don't go there. (Durr... all jrpgs are slowpaced)

Kay

I know it's a bit of a deviation from the topic, buuuut.

A few people mentioned how Sacred 2 was better on the PS3 compared to the PC. How does the 360 version of Sacred 2 compare to the PC version?

(I want to get Marvel Ultimate Alliance, he wants to get Sacred 2. Phatlewtdropgame versus flashy superhero game, I guess.)

Venkman90

Kay wrote: »

I know it's a bit of a deviation from the topic, buuuut.

A few people mentioned how Sacred 2 was better on the PS3 compared to the PC. How does the 360 version of Sacred 2 compare to the PC version?

(I want to get Marvel Ultimate Alliance, he wants to get Sacred 2. Phatlewtdropgame versus flashy superhero game, I guess.)

Sacred 2 is identical on PS3 and 360 (I have owned both), the reason it is better than the PC version is that the controls seem to work better, which is unusual for this genre...

Kay

Sounds good! Looks like I'm picking up Sacred 2, Lord of the Rings: Conquest and Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 on the 360 for some multiplayer fun here.

(I'm in the minority in our home - I prefer the PS2/PS3 controllers, everyone else prefers the 360 controllers. So 360 it is.)

Venkman90

Sacred 2 is the best Diablo clone for consoles by far, it's just a shame Torchlight isn't being ported cos that would be zomgamazing.

Sacred 2 has a free play mode where you can farm bosses and the like, it's got a 200 level cap and tons of loot, if you get into it you can play it till the next decade. Torchlight however has the atmosphere and charm of Diablo / WoW and an infinite dungeon, oh and it's my GOTY 2009.

greeble

DarkSymphony wrote: »

if you have a BC PS3 or a working PS2, get both champion's games, both balder's gate games and sacred 2 for ps3. that's more than enough diablo style loot fest to be had.

This. If you have a ps2 or a oxbox, Baldur's Gate Dark Alliance is very much a coop Diablo II type game. Same with the sequel and both Champion's games. (Champions of Newerth is ps2 only but I think both Baldur's gate games were on the oxbox)

Also its not a Diablo type game, but try to get your wife interested in Pixel Junk Shooter and Monsters. Shooter, despite its name doesn't require precise aiming since you can shoot homing missles. Also my wife tended to focus on rescuing the people while I fought most of the enemies. Monster's doesn't require any reflexes at all.

Stigma

If the OP hasn't made this decision yet, go with Sacred 2. It's absolutely the closest thing you can get to what you're looking for. It's a bit rough around the edges but has alot going for it in this thread.

My second options are Borderlands and Dragon Age. DA doesn't have co-op going for it though, and Borderlands is a shooter and people have talked about the issue there.