BLIZZARD'S DIABLO II ACT III, BARBARIAN FINALIZED

Blizzard to show Act III and Barbarian Character at E3

IRVINE - April 14, 1999 - Blizzard Entertainment unveiled today some new details about the status of Diablo II, the much-anticipated sequel to 1997's highly acclaimed role-playing game, Diablo.

Blizzard has finished developing Diablo II's five new character classes: the Amazon, the Paladin, the Necromancer, the Sorceress and the Barbarian. Each character can develop 30 unique, class-specific skills and spells throughout the game. In all, Diablo II offers 150 special abilities.

Most recently, Blizzard completed design and animation for the final character, the Barbarian. Armed with supernormal strengths and combat abilities, the Barbarian's skills include Crushing Blow, Stun and Howl.  With Crushing Blow, players will be able to "charge up" attack power by holding down the mouse button before battle. Stun temporarily renders the target inactive. Howl allows the Barbarian to ward off attacks by forcing weaker monsters to retreat.

Additionally, Act III is now finished, making the game nearly 70 percent complete. In Act III, characters will explore an ancient civilization long overgrown by the surrounding tropical jungle. The city of Kurast, capitol of the Eastern Empire, is built on a river delta area. Zakarum, the Religion of
Light, was born here, but an evil darkness has since settled upon the land.

In all, Diablo II will encompass three Acts and a finale. Act I takes place in and around the Monastery of the Sisters of the Sightless Eye, and Act II is set in and around the town of Lut Gholein. While the setting for the finale remains unannounced, Blizzard will be displaying the game, including the
Barbarian and Act III, at the Entertainment and Electronic Expo in Los Angeles (May 13-15, Los Angeles Convention Center, South Hall, Booth 600).

In Diablo II, players return to a dark world plagued by evil forces. After possessing the body of the hero who defeated him, Diablo resumes his nefarious scheme to shackle humanity into unholy slavery by joining forces with the other Prime Evils, Mephisto and Baal. Players face a new series of
quests to rid the world of Diablo and his vile brethren forever.

When Diablo released in 1997, it was an instant hit among gamers and debuted as the number-one selling game its first month in stores. The game has sold nearly 2 million copies worldwide and was the number-one selling role-playing game in 1997.

Diablo II is being developed by the Blizzard North design team and is expected to release later this year in Windows®95/98/NT format. The game will be available at most computer and software retail chains worldwide. The game will also be offered directly from Blizzard at (800) 953-SNOW and
www.blizzard.com.

 

Recent NewsFilesArchiveLinksFeatures

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.

Counter courtesy of
TheCounter.com


 
Click Here to Access Blizzard Entertainment...