Diablo III

After a decade of desperation, the prayers and ritual sacrifices of Diablo fans have been answered with the announcement of Diablo III. But with an eye to the past, not everybody’s happy about Diablo’s future. Here’s what we know - and what we think - about Blizzard’s next (best?) thing.

The Graphics

What we know: Diablo III is powered by a proprietary new 3D engine (with no catchy name as of yet), and the first screens and game footage offer a taste of what it’s been built to do. The world’s depth is immediately apparent: for instance, instead of simply spawning offscreen, ghouls scramble up the walls from the unseen depths of the Forgotten Tombs, only to fall off bridges back into the mist when they’re killed. And yet, even though the objects are built in a 3D space, many of the elements look painted, particularly in the autumnal Leoric Highlands. Ankle-deep water, hazy rain, fog, smoke, and swaying grass are all benefits of the modern tech beneath the gameplay - not to mention the splattery hunks of meat and gore that come from dispatched enemies. Diablo III will support both DirectX 9 and 10, so if you haven’t upgraded your rig in a year or two, you’re not completely sunk.

What we think: Diablo in 3D? It’s not heresy - it’s about time! Or rather, it’s about every game being a product of its time. Diablo II made excellent use of 2D graphics, but that’s because it came out eight years ago. Don’t let nostalgia upscale the screenshots in your mind: Diablo II’s maximum resolution was a paltry 800x600. Diablo III’s overhead isometric view keeps the game’s look consistent with the series; the camera stays clear of the action and we’ve seen no gimmicky use of 3D so far. We really don’t see a downside to this one - it’s logical progress.

The Environment

What we know: Destructible environments are the order of the day, and they go hand in hand with the 3D engine. Some of it’s eye candy, like furniture that splinters after bearing the brunt of a magical attack, doors that can be blown off their hinges, and ancient bookshelves that spill dusty tomes (and their individual pages) onto the floor as they collapse. But some of it’s tactical, too: the Barbarian, for instance, can slam a wall in the Forgotten Tombs to make it collapse on and eliminate a crowd of walking dead. When he lunges into a wall, rubble falls away from the edges. Bits of concept art suggests a city desert environment with cave-like apartments, an Arabian palace dungeon reminiscent of Diablo II’s Lut Gholein, and the dilapidated town of New Tristram, which isn’t nearly as shiny as its name suggests.

What we think: We like wrecking stuff, so here’s hoping that the environmental destruction won’t be too cookie-cutter. It’s fun to see worlds collapse, but it becomes invisible if it always collapses the same way. We’re also curious to see how this feature plays out in outdoor environments - we’ve seen man-made structures fall apart in the early footage of the game, but no trees were toppled and grass remained curiously flameproof in fiery battles.

The Barbarian

What we know: The Barbarian was Diablo II’s ultimate melee badass, and the only class that could dual-wield. He’s back with a beefy update, but many of his old attacks have been seriously enhanced. The Leap was more like a hop in Diablo II; now, it’s truly a vault, as the Barbarian bounds about six feet into the air, both arms cocked behind his head, then lands with a thunderous shockwave and the crimson explosion of any nearby monsters. The Ground Stomp stuns enemies in the immediate vicinity, leaving them open to Cleave attacks that send corpses and body parts flying for several dozen feet. The Seismic Slam combines both those skills into a directional attack; smack the ground and a shockwave ripples the earth, liquefying anything in its path. And the fan-favorite Whirlwind - the best way to plow through hordes of encroaching monsters - is gorier than ever: the Barbarian spins as he moves, slicing enemies into bloody chunks.

What we think: There was no better class for tanking in Diablo II, so the Barbarian’s inclusion in Diablo III is really no surprise - what would a dungeon crawler be without a bruiser bashing open the doors? And the updated skills we’ve seen make the Barbarian much more dynamic - not merely a piece of meat, but a piece of finely trained, combat-honed meat - the filet mignon of fighting. The new Leap conveys impact and damage in a way the old attack utterly failed to do, and the updated, gory Whirlwind makes the Tasmanian Devil look like, well, a cartoon character.

The Witch Doctor

What we know: The only other playable class shown so far is the Witch Doctor, new for Diablo III. Hailing from the Tribe of the Five Hills in the Tegonze jungles, his specialties are disease attacks, mind control, and commanding other creatures to do his bidding. The voracious Locust Swarm not only skins enemy monsters down to the bone, but once the bugs have made their first kill, they seek out new targets automatically. Those swarms can ride shotgun with summoned Mongrels, giving the dog-like creatures an extra kick of disease damage when they strike.

When it’s time for defense, the Witch Doctor can summon a Wall of Zombies, effectively sealing off a pathway and letting the undead tear any approaching enemies to shreds. Soul Harvest does what it says, sucking the life essence out of enemies within range and transferring it to you. And when it comes to messing with people’s minds, Horrify and Mass Confusion offer mental anguish in two flavors: the former disperses packs of enemies in fear, giving you time to summon pets and pick off a few stragglers, while the latter turns the mob members against each other. Despite a penchant for violence by proxy, the Witch Doctor can still do direct damage with Firebomb, which immolates foes (and furniture) from a distance of about 10 feet.

What we think: If you’re going to call inter-Blizzard shenanigans with World of Warcraft, here’s the place to do it. The use of pets and pestilence - not to mention the Horrify skill, which is practically a clone of WoW’s Fear - make the Witch Doctor a close cousin of the minion-controlling Warlock. But he sounds like a great match for players who want to do indirect damage and control mobs for the party. Personally, we were sold by three little words: Wall. Of. Zombies.