Diablo II
     (ROLE PLAYING)


   Perhaps the most highly-anticipated game of 1998 is officially now a
   1999 release. According to Blizzard's Bill Roper, the company decided
   it could rush to make the holiday season or give itself the time it
   needed to thoroughly test the game. And as evidenced by the recent
   cancellation of Warcraft Adventures: Lord of the Clans, Blizzard has
   proven it places a premium on quality.

   A brief look at Diablo II showed a game that, without exaggeration,
   looks like it will improve upon its excellent predecessor in almost
   every way. There are more character classes this time out (five in all
   - amazon, paladin, necromancer, barbarian, and sorceress), each with
   distinct skills and attributes. The character skills actually are an
   interesting aspect unto themselves; as you gain experience, so do your
   skills. The skills work as a mini-tech tree, and you cannot access
   certain skills without a prerequisite number of points in another.
   Skills can also be assigned to both the right mouse button and the
   left mouse button, letting you replace your primary attack if you
   desire.

   Many technical innovations are looking quite promising as well. The
   new realistic line of sight features should make the game a bit more
   sinister, as characters hiding behind objects won't be visible simply
   because you're in the same room. The promised lack of load time is an
   actuality, and we watched a Blizzard employee run across an expansive
   wilderness, into a dungeon, through a few rooms and back out again
   without the slightest hesitation.

   Other gameplay additions will be interesting to long-time players. For
   instance, ranged weapons actually require ammunition (bows use arrows,
   crossbows use bolts). A host of tiny enhancements should also improve
   the game in many ways (you can see what an item is before picking it
   up, and you can see how much space an item will take in your inventory
   before purchasing). The composite imaging effects are equally
   impressive, and we were shown an amazon in a variety of armor and
   helms, each which appeared individually on the character.
   Diablo II is shaping up to be a worthy successor to the original.