Diablo III ReviewOne of the most anticipated RPGs, Diablo III looks like it will take all of the great things from the previous games in the series and further improve them.  The game will be developed by Blizzard, the fantasy game titans responsible for all of the Warcraft, Starcraft, Diablo and World of Warcraft games.

Overview

The game takes place in Sanctuary, the same world from the first two games.  It picks up where the previous instalment left off, with the heroes that you played as saving the world from utter destruction.  Unfortunately, the participation in so many huge battles has taken its toll on the heroes, driving them to insanity and rendering them incapable of fighting any longer.  Twenty years later, a new threat is looming over the decaying world, and this time might be overwhelming even for a new group of heroes.

Gameplay

Diablo III's game play will be familiar to fans of the previous games as it will utilize many of the same controls.  Point and click will be a main part of the control scheme, as it will dictate where you move and what spells you will cast.  Several other features from past Diablo games are making a return such as the enormous need to constantly upgrade to better items, deep player customisation, large item database and randomly generated levels.  Though some levels will indeed be prefabricated, Blizzard has chosen to allow generated levels as well to add some replay-ability  after the game 's story is completed.

New to Diablo III will be the addition of three new armour categories; arm guards, leggings and shoulder plates.  Players will also be able to play as either a male or female avatar, and this will be a purely aesthetical option as the gender you choose will have no impact on the main storyline or character development.  The potion belt has now been replaced with an action bar that can be linked to the keyboard in order to allow faster casting, much like World of Warcraft and their action bar system.

Perhaps the most unique addition to the game is the inclusion of two different types of Auction Houses: One for players to trade in-game items for in-game gold, and another where players can actually sell their in-game items for real money.  This will be a new face for Blizzard, who has previous looked down on this type of business.

Multiplayer will once again take place over Blizzard's Battle.net system, and will include several multiplayer options that resemble Starcraft II's.  The biggest change will be the addition of PvP matches, where players can use items and equipment  they obtain in the main game.  Players will be able to join pre-existing games, and just like in Starcraft II, can participate in both ranked and unranked matches.

Release Date & Platform

As of September, players who received a private invitation from Blizzard employees can take part in a closed beta version of Diablo III.  Since there isn't a non-disclosure agreement, many videos and comments have been posted online for all to see.  Blizzard has expressed interest in porting the game over to the Xbox 360, but nothing is concrete at the time of this writing.

Although the game has no specific release date, Diablo III is scheduled to launch sometime during the first quarter of 2012.  It will run on both Windows PCs and Macs running OSX, and the game has various different slider settings that will allow most computers to run it.  For fans of the hack and slash RPG games that seem to be dying off, Diablo III looks to be just what the doctor ordered.


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