First Look: Diablo III

Has it really been eight years since Diablo II first hacked and slash its way into our fantasy RPG-craving hearts? Doesn’t seem long ago since we were rampaging through the gloomy areas of Tristiam, fending off hordes of demonic creations and hoping rare loot dropped from their unholy carcasses.

Okay, so a sequel is arguably long overdue, but with thousands of people still keeping Diablo II alive, Blizzard could afford to torture us with half-confirmed rumours and rampant speculation, before finally confirming that Diablo III was official, thus making us drop to our knees, crying tears of joy … well, maybe.

Before we get down to the ‘meat’ of the game, let’s take a look at the plot:

[Courtesy of Diablofans.com]
“It has been twenty years since the events of Diablo II. Of those who faced the Lords of Hatred, Terror, and Destruction in the battle over the fate of Sanctuary, there are few still living who can bear to remember the horrors that the Prime Evils wrought upon the world. And of those who did not witness the terrible events firsthand, most believe the stories to be little more than myth. But something evil is stirring once again in Tristram, and it may already have claimed its first victim: Deckard Cain.”

From the looks of the trailer on the official Diablo III website, the gameplay seems to be quite similar to Diablo II.

It is somewhat understandable that Blizzard wouldn’t change the formula – after all, that title did break all sorts of sales records on release - the trailer does indicate that Blizzard has been keen not to fix what isn’t broken.

The emphasis this time out seems to be more on refining the Diablo experience, rather than completely revolutionising it.

So what will Diablo III bring to the money-covered Blizzard table? Well, the gameplay looks set to flow much better, thanks to the improved hotbar interface.

This could allow for more tactical gameplay, which the trailer indicates as being potentially vital; your enemies are either smarter, more powerful or both and you can’t just go stand in one spot, spamming the most powerful move all the time (well, that’s my plan scuppered then).

The world of Diablo is a gloomy one and even places that offer ‘hope’ have an element of darkness to them.

Diablo III carries on this tradition and, though the graphics are brighter, the world of Sanctuary and beyond still emanates evil and despair.

That’s not to say playing the game will make you depressed, although we’d recommend not listening to a My Dying Bride album while playing.

The Havok-based physics engine is sure to alleviate the gloom somewhat with a comically flailing corpse or two.

Perhaps the most exciting new addition to the game is destructible scenery. At one point in the trailer video, you see the Barbarian use a skill to destroy a wall and make it collapse on a bunch of demonic creatures, whereby they fall to their deaths.

However, don’t get too cocky as this could also work against you - there are times when you may have to use an ability to work your way through obstacles. The great thing is that it seems to fit in with the chaotic nature of Diablo. Major battles could get that much more epic.

The two classes featured so far - barbarian and witch doctor – have some pretty impressive abilities.

The barbarian looks to be the choice character for beginners, with immense strength and fortitude to see him survive the most intense battles and skills that offer power, speed and range to help him (or her – PC Ed) survive impossible odds.

The witch doctor, while not as physically powerful, has his own set of moves that make him very powerful in his own right.

For example, the locust swarm doesn’t just allow breathing room, but also has the advantage of hitting multiple targets.

The firebomb is slow but powerful and best used as a distance weapon, while the Horror spell causes your enemies to go crazy with fear for a certain amount of time.

We mentioned tactical play before, Horror could be used for getting free hits or simply buying time for a swift retreat. The Confusion spell grants you the opportunity to see enemies fight amongst themselves – very handy when surrounded.

However, the best spell (of the ones on show) is the Zombie Wall. Yes that’s right, a wall made of Zombies that consumes any foe stupid enough to it. Just the idea of a wall of zombie protectors is exciting; seeing it in action is just fantastic. Walls of fire are so last-gen, people.

Though only the barbarian and witch doctor have been revealed, Blizzard says that there will be five classes overall for players to choose from.

What these will be, well, Blizzard only knows, but we’d hazard a guess at them being the Amazon, the Mage / Warlock and the Cleric. Just a guess, mind, so don’t chastise us later if we got it hideously wrong.

Blizzard is being vague (for good reason) about other features in the game, but they have said that players will see familiar faces (we have already seen Deckard Cain, the legendary old scholar), visit familiar places (what would Diablo be without a trip to Tristiam) and use the famous Battle.net to find people to help save the land of Sanctuary … or better yet, go on some raids.

Blizzard has promised Diablo III will be the “definitive action role-playing game, and a true continuation of the Diablo series”.

It will feature “rich and varied settings … an epic storyline and [players] engaging in combat with hordes of monsters and challenging bosses.”

If the trailer and presentation on the official Diablo III site are anything to go by, it seems Blizzard are well on their way to fulfilling this promise.

Gabriel May