Diablo III will hit stores in Manila, Philippines May 15, 2012 – the same day Blizzard announced the much-anticipated sequel to its successful Diablo series in North America.
I can’t help it. I just have to blog it. I was hoping to write something else – something more attuned with my network engineering blogs. Then it happened. I was walking at the Annex of SM North Edsa with my wife when I saw a box of Diablo III prominently in display on ‘i-Tech’ (I know, it seems hip nowadays to name everything with an ‘I’: like i-Surprise, or i-Eager ; but that’s for another blog). The shop was offering reservations for P500.00 (~US $12.00). Prudence got the better of me and held back on the reservations since the shop can’t give me any specific price for the retail yet. The shopkeepers was ‘guessing’ that the retail price is somewhere in the P2,500 range (~US $59.00). If that would be true, then the price is less than Starcraft 2, Wings of Liberty that I bought for about P3,000.
It had been more than a decade since I last played Diablo II. I was at the University then, I was constantly juggling playing through Starcraft, Diablo and Counterstrike – that is, I would play any of the three depending on what my other ‘team mates’ would like. When you grow tired of playing the standard game, play hardcore – just make sure you immediately pull the power off the PC when your character is about to die. Better yet, play around the platoon of character editors available and give your Barbarians ‘Paladin auras’, or your favorite characters all the money and items you can ‘create’.
I loved of all of it – the good and the bad. I loved the boring game mechanics of hacking through a throng of enemies to level up; the single story line; the simple and un-unique way of building your character classes; and, the single game play view. I can go all day about how many other role-playing hack and slash games there are at the time, but Diablo is the game we play – I don’t know why, but it’s just it. The same way people liked Mario and Luigi perhaps. Diablo was not the best in its genre in terms of game-play mechanics, story plot, or visuals. But it was engaging. For us back then in 1999-2000, Diablo II was among the best of its kind.
Diablo III will be true to its classic form. A hack and slash genre of game that features five (5) character classes. Of the five character classes, only one character class will make a comeback. The Barbarian class debuted in Diablo II and is now back in third installation of Diablo. All the other four characters are new. In my humble opinion though, they seem to be rehashes of the old character classes.
I was a little disappointed that the Paladin, a mainstay in past Diablo series, is absent in Diablo III. You would have loved the way it hacks and slashes through all those bugs. He is the beacon of light in the middle of a swarm of insect-like things (more like cockroaches). He just can’t be killed. I was hoping the new class Demon-hunter would be like the Paladin but more mean-bad-ass type. However, the Demon-hunter is more like an archer/hunter type of class. In fact, Blizzard seems to have removed any cavalier knight-type class in Diablo III! Nevertheless, this would definitely be the character class I will try first in Diablo III. 
The Witch doctor seems to imitate the makings of the Necromancer class but Blizzards is fast to clear out that the Witch Doctor is not meant to replace the latter. Blizzards, even hinted that the dead-animating spell-caster might return in subsequent expansions of Diablo III. The Wizard looks like a version of the Sorceress (or Sorcerer in Diablo I) with most of its spells based on the elements.
Now the Monk is an all-new class altogether. Blizzards characterization of Monk as a character capable of “rapid-fire attacks unarmed or with a variety of well-balanced weapons”. After I grew tired of the demon-hunter, I’ll try this out. I am guessing this is the new class to beat in PvP. The new game mechanics is also a welcome change. All character classes can now be started in any gender (male
or female). Each character now has a group of abilities that require other ‘sources of power’ other than mana. I’m not sure how this works but the way it’s described, it is a potential way of making each character builds unique. I’ve heard that Blizzard has customized a new graphic engine and will not be using the old Havoc engine.
Deckard Cain also makes a comeback. He should already be an immortal – having been present in all Diablo series. It would be good to have a secret level where players can control Deckard Cain. Perhaps Blizzard can include a three-level dungeon where players can level-up, equip, and smash through enemies using the Deckard Cain. That is wishful thinking but still nice to have in future expansions.
If you do not have a WOW annual pass (because if you do, you can get Diablo III free), you can call i-Tech at +632 332 2871 to make a reservation for P500. The store’s not mine so I don’t get anything for posting them.
Come on guys (and gals). Don’t play copyright-infringed copies of the game (aka pirated). We had fun in our days but now, I’m sure we can spare some few bucks for it. After all, if it is really good, it is worth buying. If not, why bother? J
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