I put on my robe and wizard hat...

So more Diablo 3 news broke over this weekend's Blizzcon. This time, around another playable class - The Wizard. I personally can't wait to one, as in most RPGs (action or otherwise) I tend to gravitate to the mage classes. Something about big flashy explosions really appeal to me, you know?

The trailer for the class is freaking awesome and totally confirms all the explosions and badassery I can expect with the Wizard when Diablo 3 comes out.

And if you haven't seen it, there is about 5 minutes of gameplay footage of the Wizard as well. Not as dramatic as the trailer, but gives you an idea of the gameplay and some more of the locales/enemies.

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Diablo 3 rumblings

I'm rabid for just about any details of Diablo 3. You may or may not have seen these already, but recently some information was disseminated by Blizzard via its forums.

The entirety of my life, circa 2010 (or whenever Blizzard releases the game)
First, there is going to be a new death mechanic. In previous Diablo iterations, you were kicked back to town when you died and that was that. The Diablo team has realized this takes away from the action of game and the town was always a safety net for the player. Instead, they plan on using a checkpoint system, where when you die you restart at the checkpoint (possibly with a death penalty). Sounds interesting.

Also, monsters will behave more like, well, monsters. Thus far, the monsters of Diablo all seemed to work in perfect harmony to kill you the player. None of them ever fought with, or even did indirect damage to, each other. It appears that they're going to address this, though monsters won't naturally attack one another without reason.

Lastly, they are working on items in the inventory and rehauling its UI. The UI (of anything) is one of those things I typically have to see to truly appreciate, but this is freaking Blizzard. By definition, whatever they do is correct.

Death Mechanic article: http://hellforge.gameriot.com/blogs/Gaming-Rampage/Die-die-die/
Monsters and Inventory article: http://hellforge.gameriot.com/blogs/Hellforge/Bashiok-on-Monsters-and-Inventory/

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Stay awhile and listen...

OH. MY. GOD. Diablo 3!

Yes. Just... yes.
For those not in the know, Blizzard is one of the leading video game companies in the industry. They have revolutionized the Real-Time Strategy genre (Warcraft series, Starcraft), have the most successful Massively Multiplayer Online game (World of Warcraft), and have set the gold standard on the Action RPG genre (Diablo series). This is not hyperbole. If you're a gamer and Blizzard speaks, you listen.

And speak they have. This past week, Blizzard was posting a cryptic image as a splash page to their website. Each day, the image revealed more (but still never enough) until this Saturday, where Blizzard spilled the beans at their invitational event they held in Paris: Diablo 3 is coming!

The Diablo games hold a very soft spot in my heart as a gamer, as I've probably spent more time pointing and clicking my way through hell and back than is probably healthy for me. Diablo 1 occupied a lot of my time in high school, whereas Diablo 2 was most of my college days. I've got a bajillion stories that I could relate and likely will as time goes on and more details about Diablo 3 are released. But for now, let's bask in the initial deets.

Though Blizzard's set a target date for "when they're done" (grr), I couldn't be any more excited about the game. Already, they have revealed that two of the playable classes are the Barbarian and a new class, Witch Doctor. Check it out for yourself at their website:

http://www.blizzard.com/diablo3/

This is something I'm keeping a close eye on and will add my reactions to it each and every time some new details are released. Right now I'm still fawning over the cinematics and gameplay videos. BRING ON THE SECRET COW LEVEL DIABLO!

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