PC Games Movie Analysis

We open with a good look shot of Bill Roper at his laptop, obviously having a blast playing Diablo II as you can tell by the smile on his face.  A quick transition brings us to a quick pan of Blizzard´s offices, and then back to the studio where the PC Games team from Germany is staring raptly at the action of this preview of Diablo II.

Then we are shown the game, at this point the Amazon is in Act I, walking away from a relatively small pack of Fallen Ones.  After closing a good distance, she wheels around and fires at the pack of Fallen and fires her Exploding Arrow, probably killing the entire pack of Fallen in the process.  As you can tell by the accompanying pic on the left, the graphic for the Exploding Arrow´s explosion has changed a great deal.  This might also be due to Bill Roper´s laptop not being able to support 3D enhancement, meaning there may be different graphics depending upon the display mode.

The next transition brings us to the Sorceress fighting Andariel and a small detachment of her Dark One guards.  The Dark Ones appear to be the final and toughest species of Fallen Ones in Act I.  There might be stronger creatures of this type in Act II, however.  Andariel herself is also quite dangerous, as the first attack shown is her firing a crescent-shaped cloud of poison.  After that, she advance forward and makes an attack with all four of her spike-tipped tentacles.

The next transition brings us to Bill Roper discussing how level load times have been eliminated, then to him in an Act I dungeon firing off the Nova spell.  The strange, blue swirling arch you see near the Sorceress is indeed the current rendering of the Town Portal spell.  It is strange to note that as the Sorceress´s Nova spell effectively slays the Dark Ones in this dungeon, after a mere second they are resurrected.  This is odd because there is not a Dark One Shaman in sight, as he would also be firing Firebolts into the fray if he was present.  This lead to a frightening hypothesis: what if Andariel´s magic constantly resurrected this creatures as long as she lived?  Perhaps this fight, even though it is still in the first Act, will not be as easy as some think.

Another transition brings us to the bow-wielding Amazon in Act II´s Lut Gholein, standing beside an as yet unknown NPC in that area.  The Amazon slowly walks out of the this particular area, showing as a few of the torches that will light the way in the city nights.  A quick cut of Bill Roper expelling the moving elements in Diablo II brings us to the famous bridge scene in Act I as Amazon walks over it, totally ignoring two Fallen Ones who like they can´t decide whether to fight or flee.

The next cut and transition brings us to the Amazon walking around in the Lut Gholein proper, showing us some of the trees that grow here.  I think they are Joshua trees from the spiky looks of their blade-like leaves.  You can also see a member of the Act II wildlife walking around, I believe this critter to be a scorpion.  These small things are not truly enemies, they are present to make the environment feel dynamic and alive, instead of static like the way Diablo´s environment was.

A cutscene of Bill Roper explaining Diablo II´s vastness to us is followed by the Amazon entering Lut Gholein´s famous tavern, demonstrating the ceiling cutoff as characters enter a room or building.  The Amazon explores the tavern for a moment before the action cuts to the Sorceress battling creatures shown as "Afflicted" with her Firewall spell.  The Firewalls make short work of these brutes.

As we continue, Bill Roper explains how Blizzard has split their art team into two teams, one for stationary graphics and another for all moving characters and graphics.  After this we join the Sorceress again as she battles a Dark One and a Ghoul in one of Act I´s dungeon levels.  The Dark One only takes one Firebolt before it dies, the Ghoul takes one without recoil.

The next cut brings us to the Necromancer checking out some of his equipment.  He drops a "Low Quality Short Sword" into his inventory, and also has Crystal Sword, a Cracked Dagger, a Cap, and some Crude Quilted Armor (all these items and their stats are in our Dueling Grounds section).  He also makes a show out of replacing his Scythe with his Cracked Dagger to show the effect of changing a weapon out on your character.

After a long cut with Blizzard at PC Games studio, showing him playing the game at different angles, we go back to some gameplay.  This time we are back in Act I with the Amazon squaring off against a Hungry Dead.  The Amazon sends a flurry of about eight arrows at the Hungry Dead, which shows no sign of really being damaged.  Perhaps this particular Amazon isn´t all that powerful.  A quick transition brings us to another scene where the Sorceress´s Firewall has just run out.  The Dark One, however, still looks hesitant to advance.