action rpgs Archives - Intensive Gaming Diary

Hogwarts Legacy

Posted on June 13, 2025 by Viljami

I spent about two weeks playing Hogwarts Legacy for Xbox Series X. This game has received several good, or maybe excellent, reviews. It is not the newest game since it was released in 2023. So, it is about two years old. This also means that you can get it with a cheap price. You definitely don’t have to pay 80 euros for it today.

Hogwarts Legacy is a role-playing-game with lots of action included. The basic gameplay operates on completing quests, finding new areas through map and also fighting against enemies with many spells. You also get some gear from time to time. You get to upgrade your gear and also your skills.

The open-world environment is fun to explore. You face some enemies while you are finding these new places. You can also sort of “unlock” waypoints so you can travel to these locations just by selecting them from a map and clicking the button.

The game gives you full statistics of how much of the game have you completed. There are different areas of these challenges like how much of you have explored, battled and how many quests you have completed.

It took for about 40 hours to finish the game. There are several difficulty levels to choose from. They actually make the battles harder. Hogwarts Legacy offers a lot to play even after you have finished the main quests. You can develop your character and explore even more.

The graphics, or visual, are very nice in Hogwarts Legacy and so is the music. The world is the world of Harry Potter. I have to say also that I am not so familiar, actually not at all, on Harry Potter. This might be the first game that is placed in the world of Harry Potter that I have finished. Nor do I have memories of any books or movies. Still while I was playing it didn’t really bother me so much.

It is nice to see a game where battles are structured to just swinging your wand instead of shooting with a gun or fighting with a melee weapon (like an axe or something. I did enjoy this game. It really isn’t still something that I would like to spend more time on. As I am writing this I have just begun playing the newest Dead Space. I am trying to really play these games and they have been in my game shelf already for a good amount of time.

I am also waiting to get my hands on the Nintendo Switch 2. So, I really don’t have many reasons to go and play some Xbox Series X titles. I am already waiting for some new Switch 2 titles to play. I bought the version of Switch 2 that has Mario Kart World bundled. I would have liked to buy some other game for the first game of the console but this is now the game I have to start my journey with Switch 2. The console seems already really promising.

I also read that there is a new handheld Xbox console coming. It is interesting to see how huge game console companies are moving towards handheld gaming. It hasn’t been a long time since we were first introduced to Steam Deck. There might be something new coming from Valve, also. And of course we have all our Windows 11 handheld PCs already in the markets and selling very nicely.

Do we see something new in a form of an operating system from Valve in the near future? We will have to wait and see. I am very interested in seeing how Linux can operate with some applications that are usually utilized with a Windows PC. We have already seen how PC games bought through Steam can already function on a Linux operating system. They seem to work fine.

Is Diablo III (Switch) Worth Playing in 2023?

Posted on August 17, 2023 by Viljami

Diablo as an RPG series is definitely something. The story first started back in 1997 when the first game of this series was released. My first experiences playing Diablo were achieved as I played it on my PS1. I remember my brohter playing it more than I did. He really liked the game. There were many limitations compared to Diablo 1 on PC. I can definitely confirm this.

The second Diablo game was so effing awesome that I spend one weekend six hours straight playing it. This happened in 2000 and I was playing it with a PC. Playing this fast-paced game trying to find rare and powerful items and developing you character made me an addict. I ended up finally finishing the game a bit later.

Diablo has brought action to role-playing. It might have created a completely new genre of video games. It was among first real time role playing games. As turn-based games have their supporters moving and making attacks in real time is really something else. It is said to have taken inspiration from this hockey game of Sega Mega Drive called NHL 94 which was released only some years earlier.

Blizzard had really hit the jackpot. There are many other games, like some strategy games, that were released. I am talking of course about Starcraft and Warcraft. Games seemed to be moving forward and starting to form as real time games where quick thinking is definintely a requirement.

Today, we are seeing the rise of Diablo 4. It has been released for latest consoles just couple of months ago. It has received good ratings from many reviews. We are still waiting for it to take its final form as there are many updates and patches also being applied to this game.

Is it still relevant to go back one step and play some Diablo III? After over ten years of being developed, the third game of Diablo series was released, finally, in 2012. It even caused a serious problem in which the internet was heavily used and the connection was finally lost. This happened globally when Diablo III was released. The game required the player to connect after the game was installed.

We are still waiting how Diablo 4 will take its final, or at least stable, form. I found Diablo III to be a bit of a disappointment when it comes to graphics. Well, the game is over ten years old. I am currently playing it with Nintendo Switch. Controls are fine. I am satisfied in what the game actually offers. It can take tens of hours to finish Diablo III one more time.

I really like graphics of Diablo 4. Also, I really like the game pad of my Xbox Series X. It is a bit better than Switch’s Pro Controller. I really think Nintendo should include Pro Controller or a similar to the package in which the console is sold in. It is cheaper than some other consoles although. We are also hearing some rumours about the next Switch console being released next year. We might see, finally, 4K graphics in a Nintendo console.

Still Waiting for Diablo IV

Posted on June 4, 2023 by Viljami

I am eager to get my hands on the newest game in Diablo series. I got information on Friday that the game shop has delivered the package and it’s on the way. I know that some people have already got to play this game. I am jealous. As I am still waiting it might be a good time to go through what my relationship with Diablo series currently is.

I wasn’t a big fan of the first game of this action role playing game series. It was the second game, Diablo 2, that got me excited. I also played Diablo 1 with my PlayStation back in the late 90s. Diablo 2 I played with a PC. I think it wasn’t even released to other platforms. And of course there is this one game that I like also. It is, of course, Diablo 3. I enjoyed it also very much.

A friend of mine sold me these Diablo 2 PC big boxes. There is the original Diablo 2 and there is also the expansion, Lord of The Destruction. I am very lucky to have this items. I think they are valuable also when it comes to money. I am not going to sell them. Not any day soon, after all. As you might have figured I have lots of love for PC big box games. I have currently 16 boxes in my collection. I just love the way they look on the self. It makes me feel like a real gaming professional.

I also have played Diablo 1. I have completed it several times. There is this thing that makes Diablo games re-playable. This is the way that you can choose your character class and have a different experience and play the game through with a different character.

What makes Diablo games so spectacular? I think it is the way it combines action, strategy and role playing elements. I have read that Diablo was very much influenced by a Sega Mega Drive hockey game (would you believe it). This game was NHL 94. The first Diablo was released in 1996. The company that first released it was Blizzard. You might find a book called “Stay Awhile and Listen” interesting. It tells you the story of how Diablo came to be. It is written by David L. Craddock.

Diablo has always offered its players a great overall gaming experience. For me it has also brought me a step closer to role playing. While Diablo has many roguelike elements, it isn’t fully a roguelike game. In 100 percentage roguelike, or the oringinal game, Rogue, there are some features that aren’t as rough for the player. One difference is that when you die you don’t have to restart the whole game with a completely new character. Instead you leave a body to the spot where you died and when re-spawning you have to collect the body to keep all your gear and potions and so on.

I like this series of games very much. I hope to see one great game. I might write another blog post about the game. By the way – I finished Forza Horizon 5 after playing it for almost 20 hours. There could be some other achievements to unlock but I am not that interested in continuing to play that game anymore. After all, the latest and maybe the greatest Diablo game is just around the corner.