1. Summary
2. Background
3. Hype

While Diablo III is greatly anticipated (much like all Blizzard games), it is the continuation of a series that the current Blizzard had little involvement with. All of the old Diablo team has left to work on other games, including the brilliant composer Matt Uelman. It's not invalid to wonder if the current Blizzard can live up to Blizzard North's legendary legacy. After all, Diablo is the measure by which almost every action-oriented RPG is judged over a decade after its initial release. Saying that Blizzard has a lot of history to fit into the game is a massive understatement.

The most controversial decision of Diablo III was the change in art style. Rather than the gloomy art of the first game and most of the second game, Blizzard is taking a more cartoony, colorful approach to the visuals. This reflects their work on World of Warcraft, and while other games have taken a similar route and been successful (such as Fate or Titan Quest), fans argue that Diablo's uniqueness comes from the art style as well as the gameplay. Dark, disturbing architecture and visuals are essential for a Diablo game. Whether or not this is true or not will be apparent once the game is released, but it is certainly a point of concern.

Another reveal is that most of the player classes from Diablo II will not return in the sequel. This caused significant uproar in the community, which slowly died down as time went past. The only confirmed returning class is the Barbarian, which acts as the warrior of the group. The two new classes are the Witch Doctor and Wizard, which roughly correspond with the Necromancer and Sorceress from the second game. It's also interesting that a non-canon class, the Monk (from Diablo: Hellfire), is a confirmed addition to Diablo III as well. It's worth noting that the class and skills system changed incredibly between the first and second games, so these new classes are less of a drastic change and more of a gradual evolution. Much like the art style, this is something that can really only be judged when in action.

The story for Diablo III expands greatly upon the mythos of the previous games, which arguably kills the gothic mood. Rather than having only what is directly relevant explained to the player, the world has been expanded into a planet called Sanctuary, with many of the details about races and history being revealed. While it's always cool to know more backstory, it's also directly opposing to the mysterious mood of the previous games. After all, when you know the entire history, a lot of the drama and tension is taken out of the story. It transforms the story from one of forboding darkness to one of epic conflict. Turning Diablo into Lord of the Rings. A neat backstory is always cool, but sometimes you should not reveal it to maintain the element of surprise about the story.

There is no question that Diablo III will be a stellar game. After all, the basics of the sub-genre it created have been gradually refined over the years into some truly incredible games. The real concern is if Blizzard can finish what Blizzard North started. Will Diablo III end up more like Warcraft, or will it stay faithful to its roots? It's a hard judgement to make, as the Wrath f the Lich King shows that Blizzard can do dark and foreboding, but other titles show that cartoony and epic are their forte.