Blizzard has finally announced it’s third installment of it’s ever popular Diablo franchise. I know we’re a bit late on the news, but I’m still thrilled about it.

So far Blizzard has put up their usual web page (Archangel Tyrael looming on the main page) which will give us incremental updates. Exploring the site you’ll find our old friend the Barbarian and a new class the Witchdoctor along with a massive map. Will we be getting back the necromancer, amazon, wizard/sorceress, or paladin? With five characters total I’m betting on the staples and hopefully a few more new characters. Another cool thing is being able to select between the sexes of the the characters so we’ll no longer have to be stuck playing the female class like we did for the sorceress in part two.

The cinematic is pretty cool as is the surprisingly long gameplay video. The latter shows off the new attack bar and the removal of the belt storage option for potions. Healing is now done by the dropping of blue and red orbs from creatures you defeat. The view is still the same but with a lot more depth. Stairs don’t seem to bring you to a different stage, but to a separate part of the same level. How nice of them to put that in there. Thanks to the Havok physics engine the environment is now destructible beyond your usual barrel from the older iterations. Walls, tables and other objects and be used to crush, push and mutilate your opponents.

Like I mentioned earlier we’re getting a new character to play with; the Witchdoctor.

Judging by his attacks, I’m thinking they’re nixing the Necromancer. The Witchdoctor has a summon ability with a twist. He’s able to summon these hounds but then is able to cast an attack on the hounds to supplement their own attacks. In the video you’ll see this in action when he summons the hounds then casts locusts (think chain lightning that eats everything, leaving nothing but bones) to make them that little bit more effective. The other thing is being able to explode the hounds, hence my theory of no more necro. He’s also got a wall ability that I think is amazing. We’ve seen wall of fire, ice, and bone. How about a wall of zombies that tear your opponents to shreds? Interested? I thought so.

The demons and other creatures look pretty intense too. There’s one creature that I saw in the video that I’m going to call the Oogie Boogie monster. Seriously, I kid you not. I don’t know if they got rights from Disney, but it’s a spitting image of the character from Nightmare Before Christmas. It’s a glowing blue walking bag that if you hit it enough, explodes with a bunch of worms that attack you. Check it out, he’s there. We’ll also be seeing baddies come at us from different angles, like up walls and bridges. It’s a cool effect and adds more depth to the layout of the game.

Diablo III has been on my want list since the last one ended. I knew they were working on it, it was only a matter of time (and seven years has been too damn long!!). I’ll be keeping my eyes glued to the site for more updates and character classes. I know the rest of my colleagues will most likely be doing the same. Hopefully we’ll be getting a release date, but till then we’ll take whatever crumbs they offer.