Comment: Diablo III

Thanks to Aidan for the heads-up on this one...

It's been a long time since I got excited about a video game. I used to be a pretty hardcore gamer, having started at the age of 5 with the awesome old Commodore 64. Like many others, I progressed through the evolving consoles: Gameboy, Megadrive, Gamecube, Xbox, Xbox 360, etc...

But I've always been a PC gamer at heart. I've played some damned fine RPGs: Ultima VIII (well, I think it's good), Daggerfall, Baldur's Gate 1 + 2, Icewind Dale, Guild Wars and Diablo I + II...

Diablo II was a particular favourite. I liked the way it concentrated on combat without ever becoming boring. So when I found out that after several years Diablo III is finally going to be released, I got rather excited. 

I have to say, from watching the promo videos, that the game looks awesome. It's distinctly Diablo, looking similar to Diablo II, but totally next-gen at the same time. But everything just seems to have been taken up a notch: the graphics, interface, storyline...all promise to be superior to the last game (which is no easy feat - Diablo II is a bloody good game). Right from the start where the Barbarian says in his tomb-deep voice "This place has the stench of ghouls" I was totally hooked. And then the combat started...and it was, to be blunt, total carnage. Plus, the new witch-doctor character looks damned cool. 

I don't play many video games these days, as in the spare time I can cobble together I tend to focus on my writing projects. I might have to make an exception here though. Having beaten back the forces of Hell in Diablo I + II, I think it's time to take my axe again...