Great Video Games While High: Diablo 3, Reaper of Souls

Blizzard Entertainment, the company that brought World of Warcraft into the lives of millions of people across the globe was initially famous for making the old school Warcraft games, Diablo, and Starcraft, but they really struck it rich with World of Warcraft.

A couple of years ago, during a lull in WoW production, Blizzard finally released Diablo 3, the much anticipated follow up to the hugely popular Diablo 2. It took about 15 years, but we finally got D3 and it was glorious. Some fans tired of the game quickly, however, as it seemed bogged down with too much structure and a lack of “roaming.” In Diablo 2, you could literally wander nearly anywhere on the whole map, you would just get horribly murdered if you went somewhere that was too advanced for your character’s level and equipment. It added a lot of richness to the game and allowed some freedom from following the quest chains. Another issue with the new D3 was a poorly thought out loot system. You ought to be able to pick up useful and better equipment as you hack and slash your way through the game. D3 was awful at this. You could only find crappy equipment that was way lower level than your character. It really made the game feel futile.

I still enjoyed the game because I love to rip a fat bowl and mindlessly kill zombies and skeletons for hours, but it didn’t have that heroin-in-your-arm addictive quality that Diablo 2 had.

Well, just a few weeks ago, Blizzard released the first expansion for Diablo 3. It goes by the moniker Reaper of Souls and they have fixed the aforementioned issues and blown my expectations out of the water. The loot system is better than ever with amazing, level-appropriate gear dropping all throughout the game (not just at the high levels) and created “Adventure Mode” which is essentially a frenetic, non-stop dungeon crawl with unending enemies and boss fights that will power level players and deck them out with top-tier equipment with quickness.

I spent my whole Sunday with my lips to a bong and my hands on my keyboard playing this game. I went for 9 straight hours without so much as a hint of boredom (that hasn’t happened to me since I was a teenager and first played Final Fantasy 7). On top of fixing the nagging gameplay problems, they created a new class of character (the Crusader, who is a badass, by the way) and added an additional Act to the quest line.

This game has it all. If you like intricate, well-written quest chains and compelling game lore, follow the campaign mode and save the world from evil. If (like me) you primarily like to get high, crank the Ice Cube and gangsta your way through millions of enemies, Adventure mode will not disappoint.

This game works on PC, Mac, Xbox and Playstation. I highly recommend giving it a shot unless, you know, you have a job and life and responsibilities. This game may very well put an end to the rest of your life.

Check out more Great Video Games While High.