“It has been said…”

Lately, there’s been a lot of discussion about graphics and the power consoles and computers have to produce a greater amount of detail.  Most notably, the Playstation 3 is notoriously powerful and has just recently benefited from the release of Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots.  There’s no doubt in anyone’s mind that games like MGS4 or the previously released big name, Grand Theft Auto 4, are in fact some of the best looking games on the market, that will not only sell consoles, but will be discussed for years to come.  Yet the question that must be asked, is whether or not anyone will be playing these games come the release of the next console?

In some ways the PC is immune to this phenomenon.  The lines are not as clear cut with computer hardware as they are with console gaming.  There are issues that PC gamers face when dealing with new versions of their favorite games and whether or not their rig can play it.  At some point a piece of software that used to be a benchmark becomes ultimately irrelevant merely because very few people play it any more.

But what about when a game that transcends these lines in both consoles and gaming is released?

If you want the answer to that, you need look no farther than at what Diablo II has accomplished since it’s release in 2000.   Blizzard Entertainment, the company behind franchises such as Diablo, Warcraft, and Starcraft, took a simple concept for an action MMORPG and turned it into one of the most enduring legacies in gaming history.  For years players have been choosing one of the five (later seven) classes, developing build concepts for characters, making strategies, engaging in Player vs. Player games, killing monsters and looting treasure.  A simple formula that has proven both rewarding and fun.  The subsequent release of Diablo II: Lord of Destruction gave the game a significant upgrade when in 2001, and was followed by many patches designed to improve playability and add content.   As years began to pass Blizzard gave no indication of the release of a sequel.  With the release of World of Warcraft, two subsequent expansions for it, and the announcement of Starcraft II, many players have spent a significant amount of time speculating Blizzard was in fact actually working on the sequel to Diablo II without announcing it.

As it turns out, these players were right.

This past Saturday in Paris, France,  Diablo III was announced publicly at the Worldwide Invititational event.  The first thing unvailed at the show was the trailer for the game (which can be found below).  While the game is set twenty years after the events of Diablo II, several veteran players have already begun speculating on how it’s possible for the game’s timeline to work out.  They claim it isn’t possible to have a Diablo game without Diablo.  Blizzard has overcome this problem in the past, but will gamers really accept another stretching of the storyline?

Additionally, Blizzard showed actual gameplay footage of Diablo III.  The game looks nothing short of spectacular, and the controls, seem to be designed for fluid play.  This is of course difficult to discern from a video of gameplay, but conceptually, the arguments Blizzard is making for the game design are sound.   While the interface is essentially unchanged, the dynamic skills are greatly improved for depth.  It additionally appears that the effects of weapons, especially elements, and now the environment will also play a significant role in gameplay.  While the weapons were previously true, even from the small demo it became apparent that armor and weapons will be more significant than ever.

Blizzard has announced that players will be able to choose from five classes.  Currently announced, have been the returning Barbarian and the new Witchdoctor, who can seemingly be best described as a mix of the Necromancer and Druid.   Essentially, for those who haven’t seen it, there’s too many changes made to the game to be described in a paragraph or two, let alone several pages.

So to help make more sense of it, here are the videos [Although the quality is significantly worse the than those hosted by Blizzard. For best quality please click on the gameplay trailer on here]

Part 1

Part 2

Without a doubt speculation as to story, areas, weapons, and classes are going to be running rampant until Blizzard provides more details.  Is it possible the sorceress will return like the barbarian, or could it be that the amazon and the assassin will be combined?  Are the weapons as limitless as the developers make them sound?  What new skills will players have to look forward to, and how will this change gameplay dynamics in both single and multiplayer?  Only time will tell, but for now, Diablo III is showing real promise.