With the current trend of game sequels coming out annually to capitalize on the momentum of a series, especially considering the insatiable appetite of today's gamers, it's baffling to think that Diablo III will be launched over a decade after its predecessor. This is even more mystifying as the second game of the series has been heralded and mimicked by other developers, and fans have never stopped pleading for the third installment. But Blizzard hasn't been completely silent on this much anticipated game. In fact, Blizzard North began development on the new game immediately after Diablo II launched, but the production standards didn't meet with the head executives' expectations, and thus Blizzard North was shut down and the project restarted at the company's parent headquarters.

Since the official announcement back in June of 2008, diehard fans have been checking weekly—if not daily—for any fresh content, news, or a release date. Now, with the beta released, some of the game's real meat has been thrown out there for us to devour, and the door should open soon with a shimmering light on the other side. (Although in Diablo, that usually means passage to a new catacomb with a fresh army of undead inside.)

If you've just played your millionth Diablo II romp in anticipation, you'll definitely find a lot of similarities in the gameplay. But you'll also find various technical and interface elements drawn from more current gaming trends—especially from two of Blizzard's other popular series, StarCraft and World of Warcraft.

One of the biggest announced features, which has been met with both fervor and fury, is the constant requirement of an online connection. The downside, of course, is that players will be more susceptible to lost connections, and we can probably expect frequent update downtimes. However, this will make the co-op and PvP elements much smoother to navigate, and should also keep live another element that has received strong criticism from the fan base: the Auction House.

Diablo III will have its own in-game currency, but will also allow for real-money purchases. The system will not be without limitations—most notably there will be a strict cap on the amount of free postings a player can make—but it appears to be Blizzard's way of regulating a system that's been trampled by World of Warcraft players. Also, it will potentially be profitable for both Blizzard and Diablo players.

Every aspect of the multiplayer appears to have been streamlined and simplified so players will be able to quickly hook up and stay in the action. The title screen allows you to access your friends list, check recent players, and go to the public chat lobby to find a group. If you or your friends will be late, you can quickly teleport to wherever they are by clicking on their banner in the town center. Enemy difficulty will automatically adjust whenever a group member enters or leaves a game. Also, each enemy drops loot for individual players, and your loot won't even be visible on your teammate's screen. In Diablo III, you won't have to worry about sleazy kleptomaniacs stealing a rare drop.

Certain items have been removed to keep the action moving. Mana potions will no longer drop, and the skill resource refreshes at an accelerated pace to keep you dishing out powers. Health potions are still present, but downplayed, and healing orbs dropped by defeated enemies will be the main recovery source. Also gone are Scrolls of Town Portal; instead you will have a Stone of Recall which functions the same way but has a several second casting time (much like the Hearthstone in WoW). However, you won't need to use it every five minutes to sell mundane items. Along with a diminished item-to-slot ratio (all armor and weapons only take up two slots, and everything else one slot), you carry the Cauldron of Jordan that lets you sell items anywhere in the world, as well as the Nephalem Cube which breaks down items into crafting materials.

In New Tristram and other town centers, three artisans will be available in the form of a blacksmith, mystic, and jeweler, who will take your materials and fashion magic items, which should be better than most found at the merchant stalls. Also, with the proper training tomes, a little extra coin, and some other materials, these artisans will level up, expanding both the physical size of their shop as well as their recipe list.

The combat and skills will also be more refined. Each character class will have access to three different skill sets (much like in Diablo II), and each will be unlocked after reaching a certain level. However, they, as well as ability score, will scale automatically, so there is no more point allocation to contemplate after leveling up. This also means that even lowly powers like Magic Missile will be a plausible option several acts into the story. Skills can be upgraded further by using runes, and there are even passive skill slots to fill. Many of the combinations—both in a single class and in tandem with multiple players—will have combined effects, offering a robust level of experimentation to maximize the effectiveness of your powers.

More extras—like a handy minimap, a quest and objective tracker, audiologues (for both quest texts and enemy lore), new armor slots, experience bonuses for skillful combat, and customizable player banners—are just some of the mentionable features Diablo III will offer.

Loot-centric games are certainly sought after by the dedicated, hardcore gaming community. One could hardly deny that the Diablo series stands as a pioneer among them, though the bar for success in this field has certainly been set high by others in the meantime. But with Diablo III finally in the polishing stages of its creation, we've had a nibble of what to expect, and so far, it tastes good. Hopefully the current Q1 2012 release date will turn into something more concrete very soon.

By Sean Engemann
CCC Contributing Writer