Diablo 3 finally arrives after 11 years
Diablo 3, the third of a massively popular franchise and one of the most
awaited titles ever, finally arrives after eleven long years.
So, it's almost here. If it's May 15 when you read this, Diablo 3 would have hit, and possibly flown off, the shelves worldwide. Productivity worldwide will take a hit, undoubtedly, as millions of frenzied gaming fans will be too busy killing monsters in spectacular ways to get any work done.
This is important. It's important because Diablo 3 ends an eleven-year wait. This makes it arguably the most anticipated game of all time. Also, Diablo has always been the single best reason to click on things.
It all began way back in 1996. That's when gamers worldwide descended into the depths of hell, from where they did not want to return. Diablo, released by Blizzard Entertainment on an unsuspecting public that year, became an instant classic-igniting a whole genre, spawning tons of clones which never surpassed the original, and gave birth to one of gaming's most powerful franchises. Diablo was a breath of fresh air for the action-RPG genre, which was at the time rife with overwhelming complexity and geeky design. Diablo was simple-all you needed to play the game was to know how to click a mouse. That was it. With this super simple control scheme, Blizzard's designers created a compelling game with great depth and an unmatched fun factor that made it one of the most addictive games ever made. You could be a warrior, rogue or spellcaster. You wandered random dungeons and killed all sorts of terrifying monsters using combinations of interesting weapons and spells. The production values- music, art, animation-were off the scale. People simply could not stop playing Diablo.
The designers of the game perfected what is known as the 'loot cycle'-you get cool loot, use it to become more powerful, kill bigger baddies, get better loot, repeat. Diablo was certainly not the first game to use a loot cycle, but no game implemented it better. You were never more than a few minutes of play away from some amazing reward-so there was always something cool around the corner to keep you playing. It's a formula for addictive gameplay. Millions of players with twitchy click fingers were proof of its effectiveness.
And then, in 2001, Blizzard hit us with a bigger, better sequel. You had five classes (Barbarian, Amazon, Sorceress, Necromancer, Paladin) which played completely differently from each other-with completely different skills and abilities. The game also now featured a wider range of locales and better graphics, which made killing things even more fun. Diablo 2 also had animated cinematic sequences that advanced the storytelling art in games to unprecedented levels; the animated sequences were on a par with feature films of the time (a craft that Blizzard would continue to hone to perfection with Warcraft 2, World of Warcraft and Starcraft 2- all of which feature some of the best cinematics ever seen.)
Diablo 2 was also specifically designed for online multiplayer-Blizzard's Battle.net servers were soon chockfull with people playing together online, both cooperatively and competitively. Online play was an absolute blast, and Blizzard's experience from taking Diablo 2 multiplayer contributed greatly to success with that other tour de force-World of Warcraft.
But just as the Diablo franchise was peaking, Blizzard would move on to other things. Warcraft 3 would be next, and shine bright for a while as the brightest star in the RTS world. And then, World of Warcraft happened. And everything else was secondary. WoW became the world's biggest gaming juggernaut- and the only thing that mattered to Blizzard. For a decade, it remained the world's most played game and became as much a part of popular culture as Superman or Star Wars. For a decade, it effortlessly fended off challengers and held its position. And for a decade, Diablo fans had to wait for the next instalment of their beloved franchise. Even Starcraft 2 eventually arrived-but no Diablo happiness. That wait is now over.
Diablo 3 is almost here. In fact , fans worldwide already have access to the open beta-and anticipation is at fever pitch. The beta showed off a game that promises to be every bit as good as fans expect it to be. Five character classes (The Barbarian returns-accompanied by The Demon Hunter, Witch Doctor, Monk and Wizard] to play with. An amazing new graphics engine. Item crafting, NPC followers, an auction house to trade with other players-lots of reasons to believe that Diablo 3 could be the biggest, most addictive of the series yet. Deckard Cain, along with bad guys Belial and Azmodaan, returns from the previous games, but the rest of the cast is all new.
This is important because in the intervening years since the release of Diablo 2 and its expansion, no game has managed to keep this genre alive. Sure, there have been many excellent titles that have come along-Dungeon Siege, Torchlight, Titan Quest-but none have managed to deliver the same class of experience. Which is why Diablo fans have waited patiently for over a decade without deserting the franchise. Will the patience of the faithful be rewarded? We'll know on May 15. Until then keep that click-finger in shape, people. You're going to need it.
This is important. It's important because Diablo 3 ends an eleven-year wait. This makes it arguably the most anticipated game of all time. Also, Diablo has always been the single best reason to click on things.
It all began way back in 1996. That's when gamers worldwide descended into the depths of hell, from where they did not want to return. Diablo, released by Blizzard Entertainment on an unsuspecting public that year, became an instant classic-igniting a whole genre, spawning tons of clones which never surpassed the original, and gave birth to one of gaming's most powerful franchises. Diablo was a breath of fresh air for the action-RPG genre, which was at the time rife with overwhelming complexity and geeky design. Diablo was simple-all you needed to play the game was to know how to click a mouse. That was it. With this super simple control scheme, Blizzard's designers created a compelling game with great depth and an unmatched fun factor that made it one of the most addictive games ever made. You could be a warrior, rogue or spellcaster. You wandered random dungeons and killed all sorts of terrifying monsters using combinations of interesting weapons and spells. The production values- music, art, animation-were off the scale. People simply could not stop playing Diablo.
The designers of the game perfected what is known as the 'loot cycle'-you get cool loot, use it to become more powerful, kill bigger baddies, get better loot, repeat. Diablo was certainly not the first game to use a loot cycle, but no game implemented it better. You were never more than a few minutes of play away from some amazing reward-so there was always something cool around the corner to keep you playing. It's a formula for addictive gameplay. Millions of players with twitchy click fingers were proof of its effectiveness.
And then, in 2001, Blizzard hit us with a bigger, better sequel. You had five classes (Barbarian, Amazon, Sorceress, Necromancer, Paladin) which played completely differently from each other-with completely different skills and abilities. The game also now featured a wider range of locales and better graphics, which made killing things even more fun. Diablo 2 also had animated cinematic sequences that advanced the storytelling art in games to unprecedented levels; the animated sequences were on a par with feature films of the time (a craft that Blizzard would continue to hone to perfection with Warcraft 2, World of Warcraft and Starcraft 2- all of which feature some of the best cinematics ever seen.)
Diablo 2 was also specifically designed for online multiplayer-Blizzard's Battle.net servers were soon chockfull with people playing together online, both cooperatively and competitively. Online play was an absolute blast, and Blizzard's experience from taking Diablo 2 multiplayer contributed greatly to success with that other tour de force-World of Warcraft.
But just as the Diablo franchise was peaking, Blizzard would move on to other things. Warcraft 3 would be next, and shine bright for a while as the brightest star in the RTS world. And then, World of Warcraft happened. And everything else was secondary. WoW became the world's biggest gaming juggernaut- and the only thing that mattered to Blizzard. For a decade, it remained the world's most played game and became as much a part of popular culture as Superman or Star Wars. For a decade, it effortlessly fended off challengers and held its position. And for a decade, Diablo fans had to wait for the next instalment of their beloved franchise. Even Starcraft 2 eventually arrived-but no Diablo happiness. That wait is now over.
Diablo 3 is almost here. In fact , fans worldwide already have access to the open beta-and anticipation is at fever pitch. The beta showed off a game that promises to be every bit as good as fans expect it to be. Five character classes (The Barbarian returns-accompanied by The Demon Hunter, Witch Doctor, Monk and Wizard] to play with. An amazing new graphics engine. Item crafting, NPC followers, an auction house to trade with other players-lots of reasons to believe that Diablo 3 could be the biggest, most addictive of the series yet. Deckard Cain, along with bad guys Belial and Azmodaan, returns from the previous games, but the rest of the cast is all new.
This is important because in the intervening years since the release of Diablo 2 and its expansion, no game has managed to keep this genre alive. Sure, there have been many excellent titles that have come along-Dungeon Siege, Torchlight, Titan Quest-but none have managed to deliver the same class of experience. Which is why Diablo fans have waited patiently for over a decade without deserting the franchise. Will the patience of the faithful be rewarded? We'll know on May 15. Until then keep that click-finger in shape, people. You're going to need it.
"THE NEW MAX PAYNE IS DARKER AND DANGEROUS": MCCAFFREY James McCaffrey is Max Payne in real life. The American actor had earlier voiced the character of Max Payne in the two earlier games. For the third Max Payne game to release in mid-May, McCaffrey fully acted out the character via fullmotion capture. An interview with the actor: Your role is going to experience some radical changes in this Max Payne 3 videogame. How do you feel about these alterations? The changes aren't that radical under the circumstances. Max goes through a lot of changes over the course of the story. If you see Max in New York he doesn't look much different from the guy he was in the original games. Max is a real character who changes and grows, and I think that's why a lot of people like him. In the third game, he's older, he's been through a lot, and it shows through his personality, the way he dresses, the way he looks. You're playing Max Payne for the third time. How was the reunion with the charismatic character? It was surprisingly comfortable. The guys at Rockstar have done a fantastic job at creating a story that fits perfectly with where Max might wind up in his life after so much time. It's been several years since we've seen Max Payne. Did you miss him? I guess I did. People would come up to me many times a year and ask me "what's going on with Max?" Since I'm not a gamer-I don't have a console at home-at first it was surprising to me how much of an impact Max has had, but games have come a long way and I can now see why has stuck with people more than most. This is the first time you have done full motion capture, and you are now the face and body of Max Payne as well as the voice. What was that like for you? The Rockstar guys had created huge sets for us to act out the scenes on, so bringing that physicality into the character made things flow more naturally. The Rockstar guys would have me running up stairs and diving off objects-it was more physically demanding than I had expected, that's for sure. What can you tell us about Max Payne 3? Can you tell us something about the emotional and physical journey your character has gone down? Max has spent a lot of time drinking and taking painkillers as a way of trying to avoid what he's been through. He still misses his wife and daughter and he's caught up in the past. When he meets up with Passos, an old colleague from his days at the police academy it's an opportunity to leave everything behind and start again. Security work protecting a Rich family seems like a cushy job, but it turns out to be darker and more dangerous than anything he could have expected. Courtesy: Gadgets and Gizmos |
