Here is the conclusion of our in-depth look at Diablo III!

Those who have been following the game for any length of time know that the art style has been the subject of unending controversy. The designers went for a ‘painterly’ style, and a vociferous group of fans claimed that it was too cartoony and colorful. While it is true that Diablo III looks different from its predecessors, the new style works. The scenery in this game is some of the best I have ever seen. It is true that there is a lot of color, but you need color to make the areas distinct and interesting. Wandering through four acts of darkness and gloom would get old very quickly. The autumnal areas of Act I and the luminous halls of Act IV deserve special mention for their superior execution.

Diablo III also features a stunning array of monsters. Each act has a diverse bestiary, with few overlaps. The monsters also deploy an equally diverse arsenal of attacks. The Dune Dervishes of Act II spin wildly, deflecting projectiles in the process, while the Morlu Casters of Act II can call down meteors from the sky to cause your character a world of pain. Champion and Elite monsters also receive special modifiers, such as ‘Vortex’ (which allows them to pull you into melee range) and ‘Waller’ (where they cause walls of stone to rise up and block your path). In Normal mode, Champions and Elites get one modifier, but in subsequent difficulty levels they get an additional one, which means they can have up to four in Inferno. Running into a pack of foes that are Wallers/Jailers/Arcane Enchanted/Invulnerable Minions is enough to give even the hardiest adventurer pause.

One area where the game fell flat was the story. For the past four years, the developers have been bragging that Diablo III would have the best story of all the games. But while it had some really cool moments, it also had some glaring plot holes. The random lore books that you find scattered throughout the world are really well done though. One also has to wonder why they felt the need to bring back no fewer than three minibosses from earlier games. Nostalgia is all well and good, but in this case it felt a bit forced. Blizzard also needs to realize that having villains explain their plans in a gloating fashion is the worst kind of cliché.

There are also times when the game feels… incomplete. Acts III and IV feel rushed, though the designers have maintained that this was a deliberate design decision to heighten the feeling of suspense by rushing the player toward the climax. But it is not just a question of pacing: those two acts seem to have fewer random areas and events than the two previous acts. It is also regrettable that the final act does not feature its own ‘town’ like the other three acts did. Given the final act’s spectacular setting, it would have been cool if we had had the chance to interact with more NPCs. In Act IV, you encounter a hostile NPC and it looks like you are going to have to fight him, but then he suddenly falls over (well, it is a bit more complicated than that, but I do not want to spoil it for those of you who have not seen it yet). It seems obvious that Blizzard had to cut the fight for some reason (perhaps to save it for an expansion pack?), but the change seems quite bizarre.

But do not let these quibbles dissuade you: Diablo III is still a fantastic game and a worthy addition to the series. It is every bit as addictive as its predecessors, and chances are you will find yourself staying up until all hours of the night as you try to clear out one more area or get one more skill. The little pockets of randomness that are sprinkled throughout the world make the game seem fresh, even on the tenth playthrough. All in all, it is an excellent piece of game design, and it is well worth the insanely long wait.

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After nearly twelve years of development, Diablo fans can finally return to Sanctuary to fight the forces of the Burning Hells once more. Diablo III hit store shelves with a great deal of fanfare, and it is scarcely an exaggeration to say that it was one of the most eagerly anticipated titles of the decade. But does the game live up to its hype? In a word: yes.

Diablo III follows the same basic formula as its predecessors. Players choose one of five classes (Barbarian, Witch Doctor, Monk, Demon Hunter, and Wizard), each of which has its own unique set of skills. You must then journey through four different acts, ridding the world of Sanctuary of monsters as you go. As you gain more experience, your character gains access to different abilities. He or she also finds progressively greater loot, and the hunt for better items can become a game-within-a-game. Although the default mode is single-player, fans can also team up with up to three other people to fight demons cooperatively. There are four difficulty levels, ranging from Normal to Inferno. Inferno is meant to be brutal, and only characters who have reached the highest level will have a chance of surviving. But it is also where the best loot will be found.

Each of the five classes plays very differently. As you might expect, the Barbarian is a tank who specializes in dealing (and taking) huge amounts of damage. The Wizard, on the other hand, has been described by the design team as a ‘glass cannon’ who can dish out quite a bit of punishment, but cannot take much in return. The Monk is a martial arts master who strikes quickly and deploys special auras to heal himself and his teammates. The Witch Doctor is the spiritual successor to Diablo II’s Necromancer, and he makes use of poison, curses, and pets to kill his foes. The Demon Hunter is a ranged class who plays like a cross between the Amazon and the Assassin from Diablo II. Her primary attacks use bows and crossbows, but she is also capable of laying down deadly traps.

The skill system has been one of the most controversial aspects of the game. In Diablo II, players had to invest skill points to access skills and improve their performance. Now, skills simply unlock based on character level, and players eventually have access to all of their characters’ skills. However, you can only have six skills active at any one time (by default, they are bound to the left and right mouse buttons and the 1-4 keys), and while you can switch skills at any time, there is a 15-second cooldown if you do so outside of town. Because a skill’s damage is now tied to the character’s weapon damage, there is no need to put points into a skill since skills now ‘level up’ as the character gains better gear. This also means that you can continue to use your first skill throughout the game, if you choose.

Skills are divided into categories, and each category is bound to a mouse button or key unless you go into the game options and enable Elective Mode, which gives you the freedom to bind your skills to whichever button/key you please. Unless you are brand new to the action-role-playing genre, you will probably want to go ahead and enable Elective Mode. The default settings are way too restrictive, and can actually make the game more difficult in higher levels.

Each skill also has five runes, which are also unlocked as you progress. Activating a rune modifies the skill in some way. Sometimes, it is as basic as adding more damage, but it can also change the nature of the skill entirely. For instance, the Sleet Storm rune changes the Wizard’s Ray of Frost skill from a beam of cold energy to a swirling vortex that freezes enemies in her vicinity. Runes are an exciting addition to the game, and they help keep the leveling process interesting after you reach level 30 and have unlocked all your basic skills.

Some fans have complained that the skill system does not allow for sufficient customization. They argue that, since everyone has access to everything, players will eventually resort to cookie cutter builds. In actuality, this does not seem to be the case. Because Blizzard has made a concerted effort to ensure that all skills remain viable to some extent throughout the entire game, players have a lot more freedom to tailor their builds to their own particular play style. In my own experience, my friends and I end up using completely different skills, yet our builds still manage to work. In Inferno difficulty, your skill choices become a bit more limited, but Blizzard has said that they plan on rectifying this in a forthcoming patch.

Combat also feels a lot more tactical. In Diablo II, players often focused on spamming a couple of high-level skills, but now you have to be much more careful when deploying your skills. Cooldowns and resource restrictions force you to deploy your skills carefully instead of just mashing buttons. You have to balance offense, defense, and ‘crowd control’ in a way that was largely absent from earlier games. Finding the right combination of skills to defeat a particularly difficult pack of elite monsters is much more rewarding than just blitzing them with one or two skills.

Followers have also received a big upgrade in Diablo III. You can choose either the Templar (a melee character), the Scoundrel (a ranged character), or the Enchantress (a mage). As in the previous game, you can give them weapons and armor, but now you can also choose the skills they use as they gain experience. For example, the Templar can heal you, while the Scoundrel can spray his foes with poisoned arrows. Followers also have distinct personalities, and they will converse with your character throughout the game. Some of their lines are quite amusing, though they can get repetitive after a while.

Stay tuned for part 2 of our in-depth look at Diablo III!

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The launch of Diablo III made headlines, but not in the way Blizzard Entertainment would have liked. After waiting for twelve years, Diablo fans learned that technical problems could be more fearsome than any demon when the game’s servers crashed spectacularly on release day.

Unlike the earlier games in the series, Diablo III requires players to be connected to the Internet at all times, even when playing the game’s single-player campaign.

Over two million people pre-ordered Diablo III, and there were over 8,000 midnight launch parties worldwide. But when eager fans tried to enter the world of Sanctuary, they put an enormous strain on the company’s servers. They were confronted with an esoteric group of error messages, the most popular of which was Error 37, which was so widespread that it became a trending topic on Twitter. While whiling away the hours of downtime, frustrated players vented their frustration by creating numerous Error 37 memes.

Blizzard was forced to take the Diablo servers offline no fewer than three times for ‘emergency maintenance.’ Players also experienced numerous random disconnects. When I attempted to play the game, I was disconnected no fewer than five times throughout the day. Lag remained an issue as well, with combat becoming a mess as characters and monsters rubber-banded all over the screen as the main servers struggled to keep up with gameplay.

The final bout of maintenance ended at 11:21 pm PST, which was actually ahead of schedule for a change. Thankfully, Blizzard seemed to have gotten things under control, and the game played very well, without any of the login problems, random disconnects, and terrible lag that marred earlier play sessions.

These connectivity woes cast fresh doubt on Blizzard’s controversial decision to make Diablo III online-only. When the decision was first announced, Blizzard claimed that it was a necessary step to combat hacking.

They rejected the idea of having separate characters for single player and multiplayer, alleging widespread anger among Diablo II players who were unable to play multiplayer games with their single player characters. However, another (perhaps more plausible) explanation might be that, because real money is at stake in the game’s Auction House, Blizzard has to be even more vigilant about hacks and dupes.

Diablo III’s technical woes have generated a firestorm of bad press for Blizzard, and media outlets from Kotaku to the Daily Mail covered the glitches in excruciating detail. Despite these ‘teething troubles,’ the initial reviews of the game are generally positive. The Toonari Post will have its own review posted in the near future, so stay tuned!

Image Courtesy of    http://eu.battle.net

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Diablo fans around the world can finally rejoice! Blizzard Entertainment announced on March 15 that Diablo III will hit stores exactly two months later on May 15.

“After many years of hard work by our development team and months of beta testing by hundreds of thousands of dedicated players around the world, we’re now in the homestretch,” said Mike Morhaime, CEO and cofounder of Blizzard Entertainment, in a statement uploaded to the company’s website. “We look forward to putting the final polish on Diablo III over the next two months and delivering the ultimate action-RPG experience to gamers worldwide starting on May 15.”

Diablo III will be released for both Windows PCs and Macs. The standard edition will cost $59.99, while the collector’s edition will be $99.99. The collector’s edition includes a range of goodies, including the game’s soundtrack, an art book, a behind-the-scenes DVD/Blu-Ray two-disk set, and 4 GB flashdrive in the form of an in-game artifact called a soulstone. It will also feature bonus content for other Blizzard games, such as World of Warcraft and Starcraft II.

Diablo III’s development cycle has been unusually protracted, even by Blizzard’s notoriously slow standards. Although it was first revealed to the public at the Blizzard World Wide Invitational in Paris on June 28, 2008, most observers believe that the game had already been in development for eight years by that point.

Blizzard North, the division that produced the first two Diablo games, is said to have started on Diablo III shortly after the completion of Diablo II in 2000. But in May 2003, Blizzard North was rocked by the departure of four of its top executives, which set in train a chain of events that ultimately led to the division’s closure in 2005. Blizzard Irvine ultimately decided to scrap all of the previous work on Diablo III and start from scratch. For the next few years, there were occasional rumors about the game’s development. While Blizzard maintained that the Diablo franchise was not dead, it was not until 2008 that the game’s existence was publicly confirmed.

Back when the game was announced, few people expected that it would take four more years before it would hit store shelves. Almost from the get-go, the game was controversial. Everything from the art style to the in-game chat functions have been criticized by fans. Of course the seemingly glacial pace of the development process did not do much to calm fan anger, either. Through it all, Blizzard clung tenaciously to their vision for the game, promising fans that the finished product would be phenomenal. In two months, we shall see whether they are right.

Image Courtesy of  Blizzard

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Jay Wilson, the Game Director of Diablo III, has taken to the game’s official blog to explain some of the changes that have delayed the game’s release.

Blizzard is notorious for their iterative approach to game design, and Diablo fans have had to endure a development cycle that has tried the patience of even the most patient gamers. The game was originally slated to be released at the end of last year, but in September, Blizzard CEO Mike Morhaime announced that the release window had been pushed back to early 2012.

It turns out that the delay was caused in part by the decision to introduce major changes to some of the game’s core elements. The Nephalem Cube and the Cauldron of Jordan have been removed entirely. The former allowed players to break down items to obtain raw materials for use in crafting, while the latter let them sell goods without visiting a merchant in town.

They were originally introduced because the designers wanted to limit the amount of time players spent in town, but now that players can return to town whenever they want, these items were no longer deemed necessary. “It’s a good idea to break up combat so that players have a moment to evaluate their gear and crafting options before venturing back out,” Wilson said.

Another big change is the removal of the Mystic artisan. Artisans were touted as NPCs who would follow the player from town to town performing various services. Unlike regular NPC merchants, artisans would be able to level up, which in turn would improve the services they could provide. Like everything else in Diablo III, the Mystic changed over the course of development, but she ended up having the power to ‘enhance’ items by a random magical effect.

Ultimately, the designers came to realize that the enhancement system essentially duplicated the effect of the socket/gem system. “It would prolong the release of the game even further to go back to the drawing board and differentiate it, so we’ll revisit the Mystic and enhancements at a later time,” Wilson said. Like the other artisans, the Mystic played a role in the game’s story, which complicated her removal.

Character attributes have also undergone major revision. Attack, Precision, and Defense have been removed, replaced by Strength, Dexterity, and Intellect. Vitality remains untouched. As Wilson explained, “Armor is taking over for what Defense used to provide, Physical Resist will take over for Armor, and Chance to Crit will fill in for Precision.”

Furthermore, certain attributes will provide class-specific bonuses to bonuses. Strength will help the Barbarian, Dexterity will help the Demon Hunter and Monk, and Intellect will help the Wizard and Witch Doctor.

Wilson also announced a host of minor changes:

• Scrolls of Identify, long a feature of the Diablo series, are now gone. Instead of using a scroll, players will simply click on an unidentified item, and it will be identified after a brief time delay.
• Common items will no longer be salvageable. Originally, the designers believed that every item in the game should be useful. Common items (which are often referred to as “white” items because their names are shown in white) are not usually worth equipping, but at least players could salvage them for their raw materials. Those materials could then be used to craft powerful items. On reflection, the designers decided that having useless items was not necessarily a bad thing. “Diablo II captured the loot-piñata feel by dropping a lot of crap, mostly arrows and bolts, and we of course still very much want that feeling of item explosions. To do that we need to be able to balance the value of items to how many we’re throwing at you,” Wilson said.
• The Stone of Recall is now called the Town Portal. This is basically a case of the designers deciding to call a spade a spade.
• Character statistics will now be displayed alongside the Inventory screen. This will hopefully make it easier to figure out how items will affect you.
• The fifth quick slot button is now a dedicated potion button. Unlike the earlier games, health potions will play a relatively minor role in Diablo III. Instead, players will replenish their health through health globes that are dropped by enemies, but cannot be picked up for later use. Although health potions now have a somewhat lengthy cool-down time, they can still save a life, so it was decided to make them easier to access.

Fan reaction to Wilson’s announcement has been mixed. The changes themselves are not necessarily controversial, but their timing is. The fact that the designers are still tinkering with core game mechanics has led some fans to accuse them of lacking focus. It certainly did not help that Wilson also indicated that skills and runestones are undergoing revision as well.

Naturally, many fans are wondering what effect these changes will have on Blizzard’s stated goal of releasing Diablo III in “early 2012.” However, it has been confirmed that they have already been implemented in the game, and the vast majority of them will be rolled out to beta testers in a patch expected within the next few days. However, given Blizzard’s track record, this may not be the last word on the subject.

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Friday the 13th turned out to be Blizzard Entertainment’s lucky day. After a series of lengthy delays, the South Korean Game Rating Board has finally issued a classification for Diablo III. The game has received an “M-18″ rating, which means that its sale is restricted to those over the age of 18.

Normally, the board issues a rating within 15 days of a game’s submission. But in the case of Diablo III, board members were concerned about the proposed Real Money Auction House (RMAH). The RMAH would allow players to sell their in-game loot for cold, hard cash. This provision seemed to run afoul of South Korea’s strict restrictions on gambling.

Even before Diablo III was submitted, the Game Rating Board had issued a report arguing that selling randomly-dropped items for money was too similar to gambling, and so games incorporating that feature should be denied classification under Article 1 of the Gaming Industry Promotion Law. Since games must have a classification in order to be sold in South Korea, refusing to classify a game is essentially the same as banning it.

Despite intense media speculation that Diablo III would be denied a rating because of the RMAH, Blizzard went ahead and submitted the full game, including the RMAH feature. In a press conference held during Blizzcon 2011, Blizzard’s Chief Operating Officer, Paul Sams, denied that there would be a problem.

“Legally, we decided that there’s no issue. Therefore we plan to apply for rating including the full auction house. Of course this may change in the future, but we always want gamers around the world to play the same version of our games,” he said.

However, Blizzard’s optimism proved to be misplaced, and the Game Rating Board repeatedly delayed a final decision on Diablo III. Blizzard tried to placate the board by resubmitting the game with the ‘cashing out’ feature removed. This would have prevented players from converting the proceeds of their sales into real-world money, but the board was still uncomfortable with the game.

It wasn’t until Blizzard removed the RMAH entirely that the board finally handed down an M rating. It is possible that Blizzard may try to implement the RMAH at a later date since a different government agency would then be responsible for the decision.

There is still no official release date for Diablo III, leading some fans to wonder if the problems in South Korea weren’t delaying the game’s worldwide release. Blizzard officials have tried to nix those rumors, but their vague denials haven’t done much to dampen the speculation.

Image Courtesy of   http://eu.battle.net

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When I first heard that Blizzard Entertainment was going to produce an authoritative guide to the world of Diablo, I think I let loose a very undignified squeal of glee. Like many fans, I find the long wait for Diablo 3 to be a bit dispiriting, and the ‘Book of Cain’ looked like it might help tide me over until the game is released in 2012.

Historically, the Diablo series tended to emphasize action over storytelling. Players do not have to engage in elaborate conversations with NPCs, and it is possible to play the games without paying any attention to the underlying lore. As the series progressed, its mythology inevitably became more and more complicated, and Blizzard eventually commissioned several novels set in the Diablo universe. While their prose often left something to be desired, these books introduced important story elements to the series’ backstory.

The ‘Book of Cain’ takes material from the previous game manuals and the novels and reworks it into a coherent whole. Written by veteran screenwriter Flint Dille (if you are a fan of the old ‘G. I. Joe’ or ‘Transformers’ cartoons, you have probably seen his work), it purports to be an in-game artifact created by recurring NPC Deckard Cain.

As Cain reaches the end of his life, he plans to impart his knowledge to his adoptive niece, Leah. In doing so, he provides her with a narrative guide to the world of Sanctuary, starting with the creation of the cosmos and working his way down to the events that mark the beginning of Diablo 3. Longtime fans of the series will find much that is familiar, but there is enough new material to make the book a worthwhile read.

The inclusion of new material may rankle some fans. There are a number of places where story elements have been retconned. For example, the nameless Warrior from the first game is now called Aidan, and he has been transformed into the eldest son of the grief-stricken king whose madness played a central role in the Diablo story.

Some of the material from the Sin War trilogy has also been adjusted. While purists may greet these changes with angst, more sanguine fans will likely be able to accept them as inevitable side effects of writing about a fictional world whose ‘history’ has steadily evolved over the past fifteen years.

The ‘Book of Cain’ is lavishly illustrated, including several pieces by legendary fantasy artist Brom. Some of the illustrations have already been released, but many of them have never been seen by fans. The depictions of the battle between Anu and Tathamet and the angel Inarius in chains are particularly striking.

My only complaint about the art is that it is always rendered in monochrome. Of course, that makes sense considering this is supposed to be a handwritten manuscript, but I think some of the pieces would have been even more dramatic had they been in full color.

Video game tie-ins can be something of a mixed bag, but the ‘Book of Cain’ is definitely worth purchasing if you are at all interested in the lore of Diablo. It is not an essential part of the Diablo experience, but it will make your journey through Sanctuary much richer.

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Although Diablo III has been postponed until 2012, fans of the series can tide themselves over by picking up the first issue of Sword of Justice, which hits the shelves this week. Set in the same dark-fantasy world as the game, SoJ is a five-issue comic series published by DC Comics which takes place during the twenty years that elapsed between the ending of Diablo II: Lord of Destruction and the beginning of Diablo III.

The issue starts with a nice little summary of the overarching story of the Diablo universe.  Sanctuary (the world of mortals) was created by angels and demons as a place of refuge. Despite the best intentions, Sanctuary was almost destroyed twice, and each time it owed its salvation to Tyrael, the Archangel of Justice.

We then segue out of the past and into the present, where a young wanderer is confronted by an old beggar who claims to be able to see the future. He knows that the young man’s name is Jacob and that he is being pursued by hostile men. He tells Jacob to seek out a mysterious mountain.

At first, Jacob doesn’t believe the old man’s ramblings, but after almost dying of thirst in the desert, he stumbles upon the mountain that the old seer described. Inside, there’s a great cave whose walls are carved with scenes from his past, and a shining sword protrudes from the stone.

Seeing the scenes on the wall bring back painful memories for Jacob, and the reader finally starts to understand what the young man is running from. Video game tie-ins often leave a lot to be desired, but SoJ manages to be a compelling read. Scriptwriter Aaron Williams has a done a nice job with Jacob’s characterization, and he has a knack for incorporating subtle humor into the dialogue.

The story he’s crafted appears promising, and it will be interesting to see how SoJ fits in with the storyline of Diablo III when it’s finally released. The art, however, may not be to everyone’s liking. If you’re one of the fans who thinks that Diablo III isn’t dark and gritty enough, then you might want to steer clear of SoJ.

Joseph Lacroix’s work is visually appealing, but his highly-stylized drawings may not appeal to those looking for gritty realism. All in all, SoJ is a promising addition to the world of Diablo. It could have easily become a cliched ‘young warrior finds a magic weapon’ story, but it looks like they’ve managed to create something fresh and new.

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Blizzard Entertainment has announced that Diablo III, the latest installment in their hugely-popular action RPG franchise, won’t hit shelves until 2012. “With every game we make, the temptation is always very strong to launch as soon as possible. However, we didn’t put so many years of work into Diablo III to release a game that was almost ready,” said Blizzard CEO and co-founder Mike Morhaime.

“The beta test is going very well, and we look forward to making the most of the extra time we’re taking to deliver an experience that lives up to our vision for the game and the expectations of our players. Next year is going to be an incredibly busy one for Blizzard, and we hope an incredibly fun one for Blizzard gamers,” he continued.

The announcement was not entirely unexpected, as Blizzard is notorious for the slow pace of their development process. Although Diablo III was announced in June 2008, its designers have adamantly refused to tie themselves to a release date, telling impatient gamers that the game will be released “when it’s done.”

Previously, Blizzard had hinted that they were hoping to release the game by the end of 2011. However, many fans began to question whether they would meet that target when the closed beta test didn’t begin until September 20.

Furthermore, feedback received during the initial stages of the beta test have convinced Blizzard to make some significant changes to the game, including a major overhaul for the Demon Hunter, one of the game’s five playable character classes. During the course of its extended development cycle, Diablo III has weathered a number of controversies.

Shortly after its initial unveiling, a vocal group of fans protested against the new art direction. They claimed that it was too colorful and too reminiscent of Blizzard’s other hit franchise, World of Warcraft. Despite howls of outrage on fansite forums, Blizzard refused to change direction.

More recently, Blizzard has caught flak for requiring players to be connected to the internet at all times while playing Diablo III, even when playing the game’s single-player mode. Additionally, they announced that players will now be able to purchase (and sell) in-game items for cash via an auction house, giving rise to claims that players who are willing to spend top dollar for items will end up having an unfair advantage.

In spite of the controversy, Diablo III remains one of today’s most-anticipated games, and the response to the beta has been overwhelmingly positive.

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