Ten Ton Hammer - Taking MMO Gamers to the Next Level!

Being a hero is hard work. You face off against the most evil thing the darkest, hottest, flame infested pits of hell can throw at you and you come back for more. Diablo, the Lord of Terror, has been imprisoned in a stone, stabbed, shot with ice orbs, set on fire, struck by lightning, beaten with a maul, cursed by a necromancer, and shanked by an assassin, and yet, like that demented goalie from Friday the 13th, he just keeps coming back.

I’ll be the first to say that I was pretty excited when I heard they were finally making a new sequel to Diablo, one of the games that really helped turn me into an online gaming addict, but how will this game stack up to its predecessors? If taking your time to get it right is in fact a good thing then Diablo 3 should be one heck of a ride, so let’s take a look at what this game has to offer.

There are many people who will say that a developer needs to take their time and get the game right. Well, Blizzard has certainly taken their time with Diablo 3 and it’s looking gamerlicious. I’m trade marking that. The first Diablo game launched in 1996 when online computer gaming was still in its infancy and Diablo 2 came just a short four years later. Diablo 3, however, has had a long break of close to ten years and fans are still foaming at the mouth in anticipation. That’s a sign of good game making if there ever was one. Three games over a span of 23 years and your player base is still reacting like meth addicts looking for a fix.

A Little History Lesson
The Prime Evils – You can’t have a good game without evil villains and they don’t come any more evil than these guys. The Prime Evils consist of three very evil brothers: Mephisto, the Lord of Hatred, Diablo, the Lord of Terror, and Baal, the Lord of Destruction. These were the main enemies of Diablo 2.

Mephisto – Mephisto is the eldest brother of the three Prime Evils. Considered very strategic and intelligent, Mephisto was once imprisoned beneath the Temple of Light in Kurast, but he managed to influence the priesthood of the Zakarum to free him. In Diablo 2, Mephisto’s Soulstone was destroyed in the Hellforge, banishing him from Sanctuary.

Diablo – Diablo is the youngest of the three Prime Evil brothers, but he is also considered the most powerful. He is the main antagonist of the first and second games. Diablo was once captured and imprisoned beneath the town of Tristram, but over time he was able to corrupt the Soulstone holding him and extend his evil over the land, possessing King Leoric of Tristram. At the end of the first game, the hero that reaches Diablo ends up being the vessel of his escape as Diablo corrupts his spirit, turning him into the Dark Wanderer.

Baal – Baal is the middle brother of the Prime Evils and he was once captured by the Horadrim in the desert beyond Lut Gholein. Unfortunately, the Soulstone that was to be used to imprison Baal was broken and the mage Tal Rasha volunteered to be a human extension of the stone to imprison Baal for all eternity. Tal Rasha was sealed in the tomb with Baal inside him. Baal would eventually prevail over Tal Rasha, but the Soulstone kept him from escaping until the Dark Wanderer came with a man named Marius who inadvertently released Baal. Later, Baal laid siege to Mount Arreat, where he managed to corrupt the Worldstone before his defeat.

Mephisto D2	Diablo D2	Baal D2

Classes
Diablo 3 thus far seems to have a different breed of classes than its predecessor Diablo 2. New classes such as the wizard, monk, and witch doctor embody some similar properties from classes in the second game, but they also bring something new to the table. Returning to the series is my personal favorite, the barbarian. Keith Lee, Diablo 3's Lead Producer, also stated in an interview that there will be a 5th class.

Monk – The monk looks to be a martial arts-style fighter using such attacks as Impenetrable Defense, which looks a lot like he’s playing baseball with enemy attacks, and Seven-Sided Strike, which technically could just be called the pimp slap from hell. The monk isn’t overly strong defensively, but he is agile and very deadly. This is David Carradine’s Kung Fu character Caine on steroids with magic.

Witch Doctor – The Witch Doctor seems to be loosely based off of the Voodoo arts. This class is capable of controlling the minds of its enemies, summoning disease to infect their foes, and even raise the dead when needed. The witch doctor in some ways reminds me of the necromancer from Diablo 2. The ability to summon multiple mongrel pets is similar to the old necromancers Summon Skeletal Minion skills, but the witch doctor can also summon a wall of zombies that looks much like the necromancer Bone Wall skill, but with swords. The witch doctor also possesses the ability to confuse his enemies or scare them into running away, making him a valuable class for both damage and crowd control.

Wizard – The wizard can probably be best compared to the sorceress in Diablo 2 as it embodies some of the same types of skills like Teleport, but it also has some new stuff that will leave many enemies a smoldering pile of sizzling ash. Veteran gamers might remember another classic skill, Magic Missile. These crazy arcane wielders aren’t the most durable, but they can pack a nasty punch and even slow time in a given area, making them not only a valuable as an untamed instrument of destruction, but also a little crowd control.

Barbarian – The barbarian holds a special place in my gaming memories. The people and creatures I slew in PvE and PvP were some good times and It's good to see this class return. The barbarian is traditionally what we could refer to in MMOG terms as the tank. He is strong defensively and very adept at melee combat. The barbarian can cleave his enemies and send them flying with attacks like Seismic Slam, but most importantly, the Tasmanian Devil-style pwnage that is Whirlwind is back.