In the late 90's a small team of programmers from Blizzard North developed Diablo, a game which would create a genre of Action Role Playing Games, which would later be defined by it's sequel Diablo 2. D2 (and subsequent expansion) was enormously successful and still has a large following today, well over 10 years after release.
The concept behind the Diablo games is character building and constant improvement through collection of items. The isometric view of the character whilst he fights and adventures his way through the world is quite refreshing and in usual Blizzard style is immersive and fantastically detailed.
I won't go into the details here as the likes of the unofficial Diablo fan site, Diablo Incgamers.com and its information database counterpart DiabloWiki.net have more information and regular updates than a lazy gamer's sticky sausage fingers (see Diablo Incgamers Podcast) could possibly consume.
It has taken them a while but Blizzard are fine tuning the details of Diablo 3 which is shaping up to be a superb game. It seems to be more refined and looks better than any ARPG has even got close to. The inclusion of an Auction House and a yet to be tested high level skill free spec system will make this epic.
There are elements of the D3 development process which seem to have taken the Diablo Lore and feeling of character customisation further away from the core than some of the die hard fans would like.
Having kept up with the hype I think it will be a great game that is likely to be around for a long long time!
..... and I can't wait!!!
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