Orogogus wrote on May 21, 2012, 20:28:

Slashman wrote on May 21, 2012, 19:44:
I don't get it, but I'm sure someone will tell me I'm crazy if I say it. Starcraft was a good game in its time and so was D1 and D2. But they weren't 'earth-shattering, world-creating' good. World of Warcraft is the most bewildering success story I have ever seen and I have no real explanation for it.

SC/SC2/D1/D2/WC/WC2/WC3 (and apparently WoW for a good stretch) ran on relatively low specs for their time. At my workplace people were able to play them on their work computers, which were bottom line machines not bought with gaming in mind. Turns off hardcore PC gamers, but appeals to everyone else.

And aside from that, they're simple to play -- the polish helps -- and Blizzard knows how to make a summer blockbuster movie in game form while exposing hints of a broader lore. I know people were saying that story doesn't matter in an ARPG, but with regards to TL1, god damn but I didn't care about the Ember, the girl, her teacher, or anything else in the game. I can't speak to WoW or D3, but in their other games they've done a good job of putting in the extra bit of work to make the world at least a little interesting. Even in D1, which had barely any cutscenes to speak of, there was decently-written background lore in the manual.