Blizzard Worldwide Invitational 2008: Diablo 3 unveiled

No, my friend – that logo is not fake. Diablo 3 has just debuted at the opening ceremony of Blizzard‘s ongoing Worldwide Invitational over in Paris, France. Catch up on the details that were unveiled so far over in the full article.

Forget Arthas – it looks like Blizzard‘s got bigger, badder fish to fry at today’s Worldwide Invitational. The company has just unveiled during their opening ceremonies that their new mystery title is none other than Diablo 3.

Presenting the game at WWI was Diablo 3 lead designer Jay Wilson, who was more than happy to demonstrate the game’s features by playing through a dungeon with a dual axe-wielding barbarian. Here’s a couple of details on what he unveiled in the gameplay (via Gamespot):

• Beautiful new graphics
• New improvements include a hot bar, where you can use the mouse to cycle between the skills you want to use. It’s where the potion bar used to be.
• The quest giver from Diablo 2 is back, along with the same voice actor
• New character class: The Witch Doctor, which can summon pets, mind control/ enemies, and summon a devastating locust swarm.
• Witch Doctor’s pet, the mongrel, gets an attack bonus when buffed with locust swarm
• Female characters for Barbarian and Witch Doctor introduced

Jay ended the demo by slaying what appears to be a level boss – one much bigger than the previous bosses from both Diablo and Diablo 2. In line with this announcement, Blizzard’s also set up the game’s official site, which will carry screenshots and a clear copy of Jay’s demo video from WWI.

We’ve posted the link below, though we warn you – the site traffic’s pretty heavy at the moment. Now if you absolutely can’t wait to get a glimpse of the game or its accompanying trailer, we’re posted copies of them below.

Via Diablo 3