Gameplay Movie Analysis

Like it's 52 MB brother, this video starts out with the electric Blizzard logo.  It starts out with the Amazon walking in the Act I wilderness region with her Exploding Arrow skill equipped.  She fires it at a small group of monsters off-screen, then fires it at a stonework fence.  This is proceeded by the Necromancer as he lights a small torch in Lut Gholein and prepares to enter the Sewer levels.

Then we come to the desert wilderness of Act II as the Sorceress calls down the power of an Ice Storm to rain devastation down on a group of creatures.  She uses the Ice Storm about three times, killing everything on the screen except a newly appearing Dung Soldier.  It is worth notice that even as she sits inside the Ice Storm's effect, the Sorceress doesn't take any damage.  This may not hold true in later builds though.

Then we come back to the Amazon making her rounds in the Act I wilderness.  We see three Corrupted Rogues, but they are trapped by the stone fencing around them.  Following the transition we come back to Act II, this time with the Barbarian in the town of Lut Gholein.  The Barbarian just walks a little, showing off the torches and scenery that comprises the Lut Gholein town proper. 

Thrust back into action, the Amazon is taking on some Corrupted Rogues in Act I.  She uses her normal arrows on one, killing it after only two shots.  For the other two she relies on Exploding Arrows, watching as the beautiful explosion takes both of them out with only one hit for each one.  Each Corrupted Rogue still has that wonderful death animation with the soul escaping upon their demise.

We join up with the Paladin in Act I as he deals death to one of the Orange Fallen, killing it in a single hit.  Then we join up with the Necromancer in the underground regions of Act II, using his Teeth spell against several Hunters.  It is quite strange how the spell seems to veer; perhaps it is in actuality a heat-seeking spell of sorts, able to hunt out its prey in a limited fashion.  Unfortunately the Teeth spell doesn't seem to be doing much good against the cat-like Hunters.

Back with the Sorceress in Act II as she squares off against two of the vulture-like creatures in the desert area.  She is using Firebolt against them, to little effect it seems.  Act II's creatures seem to have a natural affinity for fire, both in using it and being resistant to it.  Returning to the Paladin, we see him using Blessed Hammer to lay waste to several Zombies.  The spell is effective as ever, killing in one hit.

Then we come back to the Necromancer as he casts Bone Armor on himself, granting him some protection from the enemies of the crypts.  Then, without accessing the quick spellbook at all, he changes to the Clay Golem spell and summons two of them to deal with the approaching Hunter.  Perhaps he has the Clay Golem spell as a hotkey.

The Amazon is getting a lot of practice with that Exploding Arrow as she uses it on another Zombie with great results.  The spell has a large area of effect, and at max could probably take out four to five tightly clustered enemies.  There is a quick intermission with the Barbarian exploring Act III, it gives the impression that this build doesn't have much of Act III done except for the basic tileset.

We come to the Sorceress using her Inferno spell to attack three skeletons without much effectiveness.  The skeleton to her immediate left seems to be immersed in a pale blue aura until she strikes it several times with the Inferno… interesting.  Then we come back to our Necromancer as he detonates a corpse with Corpse Explosion, creating a mess but not killing the Hunter that is attacking his Clay Golem.

Now a scene that anyone who watched the 58 MB Gameplay movie should be familiar with, that of the Barbarian surrounded by several attacking creatures.  At the end of this particular scene I counted the Barbarian being menaced by 10 Hunters, with one extra one trying to worm his way into the fray.  There is quick transition to the Sorceress, still using her Firebolt spell to try to kill the vulture-like creatures with no apparent success.

Rejoining the Barbarian in Act III, we see that he is now in the town area that I believe is called Kurast.  No one seems to be out in the city at this point, and it is likely that NPC's for this area have yet to be implemented.  Back to the Amazon in Act I, this time in the Caves area.  She uses her Immolation Arrow to attack a Fallen Shaman as she runs from his barrage of Firebolts.  The Immolation Arrow, though it bathes the Shaman in flames, doesn't seem to do the trick.

Still in Act I, this time with the Paladin in the wilderness area as he slays an Orange Fallen with what appears to be a scimitar.  He then chases down another Fallen and after missing one attack kills it in one hit.  A lumbering Zombie makes the mistake of getting too close, and the Paladin kills it with another of his Blessed Hammer spells.

The Necromancer is still dealing with that one last Hunter, as the rest of the opposition was killed by his Corpse Explosion spell.  The Necromancer is hitting the Hunter with his Teeth spell, and it takes four close-range applications of the spell before the Hunter dies.  The Teeth spell seems to be a favorite for these players, as it is one of his more popular purely damaging spells.

Another clip of the Barbarian walking through Act III, this time wielding two hand-axes as he does so.  There isn't any action in this small scene, but seeing Act III is always nice.

We haven't left the Barbarian, but we have changed locales, now we are back in the Act II crypts as he is still surrounded by Hunters.  Things are looking up though, in this scene he uses that massive axe to fell three of the Hunters, thinning out those seemingly overpowering ranks.

Back with the Sorceress again, this time exploring Lut Gholein's tavern in the dead of night.  She simply walks around the patron's area and then into the pantry, exploring the place.  It is also interesting how when she exits the tavern use see her light radius spreads out past the doorway, spilling out in a very realistic way.  We team back up with the Sorceress in the Act I wilderness, kicking an Orange Fallen around.  After two kicks he seems to tire of Fallen football, using his spear to kill the creature.

The Amazon explores the Rogue Encampment in the next scene, venturing past a Rogue Mercenary, as she seems to exit the makeshift town through a fortress wall.  Joining back up with the Necromancer we find in him in hot water - surrounded by a Firewall.  He runs out of the Firewall and into a wall as a skeleton and a floating Vampire Lord close in.  The next scene is another with the Barbarian exploring Act III's Kurast city some more.

Time has put the Sorceress back into the thick of combat, but this time she has her Fireball spell equipped to deal with trouble.  Despite the spell's obvious power, the Burning Dead's fire resistance seems to win the day.  There is a quick clip of the Amazon in Act I's wilderness and then we close with the Sorceress using her Nova spell to slay those two encroaching Burning Dead skeletons.

Excellent movie with a lot of good coverage, it is also a download I suggest you see sometime soon.  Things are coming together excellently at this point, and the pure desire to finally sink our teeth into this game is quite immense.  If you have anything you would to add, or any suggestion or criticisms you would like to make, please let us know. 

 

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Skill of the Week

Iron Maiden
Harkening back to an inquisitional torture, the Iron Maiden curse causes all damage an enemy does to you to be returned to that enemy as well.  Part of the Necromancer´s
Curses, it is a powerful addition to his arsenal.

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