Someone fetch original Diablo producer Bill Roper a rainbow unicorn t-shirt, as the former VP of Blizzard North explains that Diablo III just doesn't feel like a Diablo game.
Roper worked with Blizzard back when there was a Blizzard North. His studio was responsible for the Diablo series, while Blizzard proper in Irvine, California worked on the 'craft' titles - StarCraft and WarCraft. Bill believes the merging of the studios resulted in a more cartoony, less-Diablo version of Diablo III.
"I think that one of the things that we always tried to get across was that Diablo was Gothic fantasy and I think there was just a need that was put in there from the visuals that I didn't necessarily get. I got it from the architecture and to a degree from the character design but not the feeling of the world. I can't say that I dislike it. I didn't look at it and go, oh my God that's horrible. But I looked at it and went, it's not really... to me as a player it just didn't really ring with Diablo."
Cutting words, but you have to put things into perspective with this sort of thing. Bill Roper went on to form Flagship Studios, who created Hellgate London, and we all know how well that game went.
Diablo 3: What Bill Roper thinks [VideoGamer.com]