Diablo III Previews

The latest previews for the most anticipated upcoming hack’n’slash title come from the folks at VGRevolution and GameRant, and as for what title we’re talking about, it’s obviously Blizzard’s Diablo III, whose beta provided both writers with plenty of material for their pieces. Here’s a sampling from the first:

Another feature new to Diablo 3 is the ability to make armor and weapons. In the older games you can insert runes into your armor and weapons, but in this one you have the ability to fully create your own weapons and armor. This will give players the urge to explore all corners of the dungeons and world to find more items and weapons to turn into scrap and subtle essence. Also you have the (Cauldron of Jordan) in your inventory, which lets you sell items from anywhere you are in the game, and buy them back if need be. So there will be no getting over encumbered on quests in the fourth level of dungeons, and then having a self battle over the (Short Bow of Thrashing) or the (Cloth Tunic of the Lion(.It will be hard to be over encumbered as the inventory has grown from Diablo 2.

On the questionable side of changes, you can no longer use potions as much as you wish. There is a cool down on them now, that last thirty seconds, but in my opinion this will add more team strategy and planning on boss battles and catacomb cleaning. The big reason for this change is probably for the multiplayer or arena system that will be in Diablo 3. There is no form of multiplayer available in the beta but it’s on the main menu interface. There is also no potion for your resource pool like in usual Blizzard games. In the place of the town portals of old there is a (Stone of Recall). There is no cool down on the stone and it functions the same as town portal scrolls of Diablo 2.

And from the latter:

Everything about the action RPG experience feels polished. The controls are tight and responsive ensuring that attacks land where they are intended to, loot is plentiful and varied, allowing the player to outfit their character however they please, and attacks have real heft and power to them. This feeling of power was one of the most pleasant surprises going into the game. Thanks to Diablo 3’˜s physics engine, a player’s attacks seem to have real inertia.

As players land attacks, particularly as the barbarian, pieces of the environment fly across the screen, structures and nearby objects crumble, grass sways, and dead enemy bodies react accordingly as they make use of the game’s rag-doll physics. Landing a particularly strong attack and seeing an enemy fly across the screen into a tree is extremely rewarding and gives players the sense that blows actually have weight behind them.

This is evidenced by all five of the game’s classes who each have a distinct role on the battlefield. From the newly announced demon hunter who excels when fighting at range (while keeping enemies at bay through the use of their trickery), to the witch doctor who summons creatures to keep the enemy threat low (while making use of damage over time spells), each of the classes provides a wholly unique experience.