Diablo II, announced by Blizzard at
the ECTS trade show in London, is the followup to 1997's Game ofthe Year
and best selling title - Diablo. Diablo II, currently scheduled for a late
1998 release, will return tothe same dark, dungeon-filled world, with Diablo
still in control and plaguing the world with his evil minions. However,
Diablo II promises plenty of changes as well. The usual dungeons, dark
caverns, and crypts will dot the landscape, but there are also four towns
from which to begin exploration. Wilderness areas will also accompany each
town. Within the vast world of Diablo II, new quests and monsters will
be incorporated to make the game unique.
On the online front, Blizzard's Battle.net
remains one of the busiest gaming networks, even though currently the only
game offered is Diablo. Battle.net has nearly a million registered users
and more than 18 million games have been played on the network, so naturally
Diablo II will build on that success. Diablo II will add new multi-player
options for Battle.net, including an online trading post and a comprehensive
system of rankings players. According to Blizzard Entertainment, Diablo
has sold one million copies worldwide. In a formal statement, Allen Adham,
president of Blizzard Software, commented, "With the sequel, we will push
the game's concept and design in new directions."
