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Fans of the Diablo series have finally gotten their wish; Diablo III is under development. Blizzard confirmed this at the Blizzard Worldwide Invitational yesterday in Paris, France.

According to Mike Morhaime, CEO and co-founder of Blizzard Entertainment, Blizzard has wanted to expand the Diablo series for a long time. Mike said, “We know that players for many years [have been waiting for] a return of the series, so we are very excited to share this announcement with all of you here in Paris and the whole world today.”

I logged onto the Blizzard website as soon as I heard the news, and Diablo III already has its own website and forum. Blizzard also has the Diablo III cinematic trailer. If that isn’t enough to whet your appetite, you can watch 20 minutes of gameplay footage. Those familiar with the Diablo series will see Deckard Cain make a return in Diablo III. What his role will be in game is unknown.

There will be five different classes to play in Diablo III; however, the gameplay video focuses on the Barbarian class (which is the class I usually played in Diablo II). The Barbarian will be able to use Cleave, Ground Stomp, Seismic Slam, and Whirlwind. We’ll also see the introduction of a new class: the Witch Doctor. This is a powerful class that really lays on pain with spells such as Confusion, Firebomb, Horrify, Locust Swarm, and Soul Harvest. He also has pets that he can call to lay on additional damage. You’ll need all the power. Checking out the Beasitary on Blizzard’s website, you will encounter at least five different enemies in Diablo III. Currently there are four beasts that will be in the game: Undead, Khazra, Gnarled Walkers, and the Dark Cultists.

There will be tons of new visual and special effects added to the game. Additionally, there will be a random level generator so each level will be unique. Diablo III will also be getting a brand-new 3D graphic environment. It’s based on Havoc physics, so players will be able to interact with and destroy their environment…but watch out; the environment can work for you and against you!

Other features we’ll be seeing are full-zoom, a customizable hotbar (which I’m loving) which will enable you to get to your items in your inventory a lot faster. I got into them when I was playing World of Warcraft. I’m hoping we can make our own macros.

What we won’t see are more health potions or mana pots. Instead players will have to walk across floating orbs to get health benefits. I’m not sure how I’ll feel about this at the moment, I’ll just have to wait and see for myself.

I’m a huge fan of the Diablo series. I was introduced to the series in 2000 while in my local Best Buy. The Diablo II cover intrigued me, so I picked it up and read about the game. I liked what I read, so I was sold.

Diablo is an action role playing game involving a lot of hacking and slashing in dungeon environments…I loved it. I preferred playing the Barbarian in Diablo II, and had a blast hacking and slashing my way through dungeons and laying on the pain to any zombie that foolishly got in my way.

I’m also a big fan of solo gaming, and that is mainly how I played in World of Warcraft and many of my Xbox games which, at times, made the tasks challenging. Diablo III will focus on cooperative play. I might like having to group up with other players in order to complete some of the missions. P2P gameplay will be available online at Battle.net. Unlike World of Warcraft, which is subscription based, Battle.net is free. Battle.net launched with the original Diablo in 1997.

When will the game be released? Blizzard isn’t saying. It most likely will be released after Starcraft III. To say I’m looking forward to this game is an understatement. Although I’m hoping we’ll see it released next year, I don’t want Blizzard to rush the game. Take the time, make it great and I’ll be playing this Blizzard III on my MacBook Pro for a long time.

Product [Diablo III]