Diablo 3
Diablo 3 arriving soon? diablo3.com

Diablo III, Blizzard's latest dark fantasy/horror-themed action role-playing game, is arriving May 15. This is heartening news to most Diablo fans who have long waited for the arrival of a new Diablo with more intense gameplay and improved graphics. So why should you make a point to spend money on the new game?

Here are eights reasons.

Reduced Downtime and Improved Graphics - Diablo III has introduced some brand new mechanics which makes it a completely different game from Diablo II. The developers, Blizzard, have introduced a few much needed modifications to make the game less monotonous and problematic. Now you won't have to use mana and rejuvenation potions after every fight, and your HP will be restored by touch-and-heal red orbs. Remember that only the Witch Doctor uses the traditional power source of mana, and the Wizard fuels the magical attacks with Arcane Power and regenerates the magical energy from time to time.

The most distinctive energy mechanic in Diablo III belongs to the Demon Hunter, who survives on Discipline and Hatred. Hatred can be quickly attained by the Demon Hunter. This allows her to attack her foes. Discipline, nonetheless, is harder to attain, and it strengthens her defensive abilities. The Monk, on the other hand, runs on spirit while the Barbarian relies on Fury.

Multiplayer Benefits - The developers have done well to apply significant changes to the online mode of Diablo III by removing the different Battle.net area-specific servers. In its earlier days, the online mode was split into separate sections with players in different parts of the country having to log into area specific Battle.net servers. Now with everything merged together, you won't have to worry about picking a certain server and try and hold on to it.

What merged servers mean is that you'll be able to play Diablo III with your current friends and the ones you've known for a long time.

Unlocking Achievements - Every gamer who is dedicated to playing will tell you exactly how much it mean to him/her to unlock achievements. Achievements have always had a compelling power over the gamers, and make us play for extended hours through harsh and difficult gameplay, just to experience that sweet taste of glory at the end of it.

Now Blizzard, like they did in World of Warcraft, will notify you of your achievements no matter how big or small they are. This could be enough for most of us to go that extra mile with the game and take down the bosses quicker than we might have otherwise. Moreover, some achievements will unlock special banner designs that will let everybody know that you actually unlocked a major achievement. This will be mostly helpful for those whose friends think that they are boasting.

More Cool Cutscenes - Remember the poorly-rendered yet cool cutscene in the first Diablo where a raven was eating from the eye-socket of a corpse and in Diablo 2 where Diablo bursts out of his fleshy, human disguise? Well, the new Diablo is set to take the whole business of cutscenes and achieve new heights with visual rendering and fidelity, courtesy its talented team and a massive budget.