PDA

View Full Version : Diablo 3 Announced!



LA_MERC_Onji
June 28th, 2008, 11:30 AM
Blizzard announced Diablo 3 today at the World Wide Invitational event in Paris.

http://www.blizzard.com/diablo3/


Said to feature more quests than ever, the anticipated sequel will stick to its roots by being "first and foremost a cooperative game."

Diablo III will feature old standards such as the quotable Deckard Cain, as well as a new version of Tristram and a fresh class dubbed the Witch Doctor. The jungle-born warrior will use ancient tribal magic to cast disease and mind control spells, in addition to utilizing pets such as locust swarms and mongrels.
The game will also include several control improvements, including full zoom capability and a hotbar to easily access skills. Players will be able to quickswap between skills using the mouse wheel or tab key.

Armor will now be class-specific, designed to provide each character a unique look. Classes themselves are more diverse, as it was noted that there will be female versions of both the Barbarian and Witch Doctor.

In a demo of the Barbarian class, the company noted that less of an emphasis will be placed on potions for health. Instead, red orb-like items will drop that immediately recover health once the player picks them up.

Environmental destruction was also shown off, with a character at one point busting through a solid wall. The environment can also be used to kill enemies, as in the case of objects that fell from a wall, killing a group of monsters.

Enemies were shown to be larger in scale than in past games, with giant evil trees and a massive demon called a Siegebreaker.

Blizzard has released a set of official features and a story description, which can now be conveniently viewed below the fold:

Two decades have passed since the demonic denizens, Diablo, Mephisto, and Baal, wandered the world of Sanctuary in a vicious rampage to shackle humanity into unholy slavery. Yet for those who battled the Prime Evils directly, the memory fades slowly and the wounds of the soul still burn.

When Deckard Cain returns to the ruins of Tristram's Cathedral seeking clues to new stirrings of evil, a comet from the heavens strikes the very ground where Diablo once entered the world. The comet carries a dark omen in its fiery being and it calls the heroes of Sanctuary to defend the mortal world against the rising powers of the Burning Hells--and even the failing luminaries of the High Heavens itself.

* Explore a fully-realized Sanctuary--the living, breathing gothic fantasy world of Diablo III rendered in gorgeous 3D.
* Battle the unholy forces of the Burning Hells with all-new character classes like the otherworldly Witch Doctor, or with re-imagined warriors from Diablo's past: such as the fierce Barbarian.
* Rain Hell on your enemies wielding the interactive environment as a weapon: lay cunning traps, turn destructible objects against your foes, and use environmental obstacles to your advantage--all powered by the Havoc physics system.
* Experience the intensity of multiplayer Diablo III over an all-new, wickedly-enhanced Battle.net platform with numerous enhancements to make connecting with your friends easier--and cooperative gameplay more fun.



Go here for screenshots, trailers, gameplay videos and everything else:
http://www.blizzard.com/diablo3/

the noxious
June 28th, 2008, 12:36 PM
NERD-GASM!
Seriously, I AM STOKED!
HAPPPPPY!
Blizzard, You are teh ROCKS!

waltersw15
June 28th, 2008, 08:58 PM
I just checked this out. My brother told me about it today. I must say that it looks pretty cool. It will probably be several years before we see it :)

LA_MERC_WBHighwind
June 28th, 2008, 10:35 PM
blizzard has been busy lately...

LA_MERC_Dirge
June 30th, 2008, 06:21 AM
Is it me or does it look like kinda undwrwhelming?

LA_MERC_Dirge
June 30th, 2008, 06:29 AM
Okay I take it back. The screenshots didn't impress me, but the gameplay video is bad ass. Strangely enough, the interface looks a LOT like wow. lol

LA_MERC_DocSparky
June 30th, 2008, 07:16 AM
I was a little concerned when the previous team left Blizzard, but seeing the unimpressive game (pile of dung) that they created (Hellgate London) I think Blizzard was better off without them. Like Dirge said, the gameplay video is pretty impressive. Even though Titan Quest borrowed a lot of elements from D2, D3 looks like a nice step up from TQ.

The graphics looks great and are a very faithful 3D rendering of previous versions. Destructable environments look pretty cool. New trap system seems pretty sweet. Still curious about how the heath orbs will work out. Sounds are awesome and it seems like they retained a good portion of their voice actors. Can't wait to check out all the new LOOT!

Like I said in the other thread, I'm pumped about this game. My only worry is that Blizzard hasn't bitten off more than it can chew. Starcraft 2 was announced several months back and we don't even have an estimated release date.

waltersw15
June 30th, 2008, 07:38 AM
It's too bad that Iron Lore went under. Because I think a little development sparring between Iron Lore and Blizzard could have paid huge dividends to gamers of this genre. I thought Titan Quest did good to mock Diablo 2, but at the same time I think Titan Quest improved on elements that were lacking in Diablo and made the game play and graphics better.

After looking at the D3 gameplay video, you can see that Blizzard now took some of the things from Titan Quest and implemented them into D3 and then made their own improvements. So I think it would have been cool if Iron Lore was still around to make their follow up to what Blizzard does in D3.

I agree with Doc that I don't know how the health orbs will work out or if that will be a good thing or not. After all, you would now be reliant on a timely health orb to drop to keep going. I would have to think that they would still have some form of health potions. After all, what will happen if you are facing one of the big bosses at the end of a section. You would not just get a health orb to drop if you haven't killed anything. There was also no indication of how the mana gets handled, via potions or orbs.

It will also be interesting to see what all character classes they come out with. I thought the witch doctor was an interesting addition (the equivalent of the nature class in Titan Quest), however, it sort of is a break from some of the traditional D&D type character classes that we have all come to know.

However, I am quite excited to see how this game turns out, as it mentions that it is going to be a huge story line with more quests than ever, etc... With that being said, I'm in line with Doc that it will probably be some time before we ever see this game hit the shelves.

By the way, I reserved my copy today ;)

42d3e78f26a4b20d412==