Has Armageddon Come Early?

Thankfully, no. It's just Diablo 3.

Wait, what am I saying? It's Diablo 3! That's right, for any out there who have been following the mystery surrounding Blizzard's splash screen teaser on their site, this comes as no surprise. However, for those who don't display quite the same level of obsession as the rabid Blizzard afficionados it may come as a shock to hear that Diablo 3 has been officially announced by Blizzard over at their 2008 Worldwide Invitational.

Now, if you would rather experience the glory (i.e. a teaser trailer and lengthy game play trailer) for yourself rather than read up on my thoughts, (and who could blame you) the official site can be found here. If your browser won't load up the videos for you to bask in their magnificence however, there's worse you could do than hear my thoughts on this monumental announcement.

Now, there may have been a great deal of exaggeration in my preceding statements so let me get one thing straight here: I am not one of the Blizzard faithful. I hate World of Warcraft with what could be seen as an unnatural passion and I don't much care for the Warcraft series in general, I thought the original Diablo was okay and liked the sequel but could never bring myself to finish it out of eventual boredom, and I quite enjoy Starcraft though I generally only played it with friends while hidden away in the computer lab at my old high school as a convenient means to escape work. That being said, from what I have seen so far of Diablo 3, which is very little of course, I am very much looking forward to the latest entry in this esteemed series.

I should mention however that initial impressions of the game play for me were kind of meh. It really just seemed like more of the same, only with a fresh coat of paint. But it didn't take me long to realize that that isn't necessarily a bad thing. The moment of realization? It was probably when a fat hulking blob monster, vaguely reminiscent of Oogie Boogie from Nightmare Before Christmas, was defeated and proceeded to explode into what seemed to be a horde of moray eels. To put it simply, it was freaking awesome and I cannot wait to do it myself!

Which brings me to why I am liking this new incarnation of Diablo. For a series centered on the slaughter of countless demons and undead, coupled with an elegantly simplified control scheme, the only real sense of satisfaction to be had (aside from the collection of a seemingly endless array of loot) is in the feedback rewarded upon delivering the killing blow. And while I may have ultimately been left unsatisfied with previous titles, Diablo 3 looks poised to quench my inner blood lust with combat that looks a great deal more visceral than it ever has before.

Adding to that sense of carnage are the destructible environments on display here. With almost any object in the game world seeming to be fair play, combat in Diablo 3 doesn't seem satisfied with simply leaving behind the ravaged remains of the fallen, it seeks to bring the roof down with them! Watching the game play trailer, as the developer's Barbarian character waded through a throng of zombies, pitching them to and fro with each swing of his mighty axes, the hapless undead would smash into the stone railing lining the sides of the walkway and the rails gave way beneath the relentless onslaught, crashing to the empty abyss below. This, needless to say, seems profoundly satisfying.

Now if only you could pitch that old geezer Deckard Cain over the edge with them. I mean, come on, when is this old guy going to kick the bucket already? Still, perhaps this will be his final outing as Blizzard seems more intent on telling an engrossing story this time around, a perfect stage for ending Cain's overdrawn career. The dev illustrated their newfound focus with an interesting summoning ritual and by showing off the new dialog system. Still, there really wasn't much to show and the dialog was far from engaging from a player's point of view. Being fair though, the game has only just been announced so I a looking forward to seeing whether or not Blizzard can take their storytelling to the next level.

The first half of the trailer showcased the returning Barbarian class from Diablo 2, yet there were some surprises in store during the second half with the introduction of the new Witch Doctor, a virulent pet class with a propensity for warping the minds of others. This newcomer certainly looks quite interesting with its disease-ridden pets and swarm attacks, but all you really need to know is that it can summon a wall composed of zombies. Yeah, a wall of the damned. That is purely awesome incarnate.

So, with all that being said, the visuals in Diablo 3 are looking exceptionally lush, and the game play is certainly well on its way. It's anyone's guess as to how far along they are in developing content however. For one, they boast of 5 classes for the finished game but so far have only released details on 2 (again, this has only just been announced so even that is somewhat impressive) and who knows how long it will be until any more information is forthcoming on the other 3. This is Blizzard though, and given how high they set the bar for quality in their titles this will be one game that looks to be well worth the wait. Diablo 3 will be available on Windows and Macintosh computers, whenever it is released.