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On the Diablo III announcement, you're probably in one of two camps. You're either a long time Diablo fan who's vomiting with excitement, or you're someone who has bypassed the whole phenomenon and are now sitting there wondering what in the hell all of the geeks are making a fuss about.
But whichever side you stand on, you really should be looking forward to Diablo III. Hardcore series fan or doubting newbie, there looks to be something to appeal to all in Blizzard's new iteration of the franchise. Here are our favourite reasons to love it so far.
#1 - Diablo is an RPG with much bigger balls than the norm
As beset as we are by the wishywashy conventions of Japanese RPGs these days, it’s easy to forget that there’s another, often much more satisfying way to do things. RPGs don’t have to be about mopey androgynous bores pontificating over their woes and engaging in protracted, balletic combat via a distancing menu-driven interface. It’s just as much fun to get knee deep in the guts and livers and start destroying anything that gets too close until you’re surrounded by naught but a fine red mist. And this, friends, is where Diablo comes in.
And aside from the hack-slash-kill-profit focus of the Diablo gameplay, the setting is far less polite than you’d expect from any JARP. No quietly tense political machinations between bland, faceless kingdoms or slow-burning threats from generi-empires here. Diablo is about the titular big bastard demon tearing the world to pieces simply because he is a big bastard demon. Men, women and children alike have already been murdered en masse, many by the hero of the first game after he became possessed by Diablo in the sequel, and things only show signs of getting grimmer and more violent from this point on.
#2 - The current gen upgrade has been very kind to Diablo
Just like Starcraft II, the new Diablo has received an astonishingly appealing visual overhaul. Looking at the screens and watching the videos, it’s impossible to not be won over by its deft blend of the cartoon and the gritty. Character designs and animations burst – often literally – with personality. Every living thing onscreen is instantly recognisable through the way it looks, behaves and moves, and some subtle but mightily effective lighting effects bathe everything with a sense of solidity that makes killing the shit out of things look almost dangerously satisfying. No small feat for a combat-focused RPG using stacks of tiny monsters.
