ATLANTA, May 28 1998 — At the Electronic Entertainment Expo starting today, Blizzard Entertainment previewed for the first time Diablo II, the sequel to last year’s runaway hit Diablo. The real-time game is currently slated for release next year.
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 summoning the powers of the other Prime Evils, Mesphisto and Baal. As one of five heroes, players face a new series of quests to rid the world of Diablo and his vile brethren forever.
New features in the game will include
• Five all-new character classes with unique attributes and abilities, including the Amazon, Paladin, Sorceress, Barbarian and Necromancer.
• Four different, fully populated towns complete with wilderness areas.
• Multiple dungeons, caverns and crypts in every town for players to explore.
• Expanded world filled with all-new quests, weapons, spells, armor, monsters and non-playing characters.
• Composite character animation system enables dynamic display of differences in weapons, armor and items.
• Ability to play as monsters in multiplayer games.
• Advanced combat system which incorporates class-specific fighting techniques and spells.
• Free multiplayer competition over the Internet via Battle.net for up to eight players. Access to the Internet is required.
• New Battle.net options including multiplayer quests, an on-line trading post, guild support and worldwide rankings.
Diablo was an instant hit among gamers and debuted last year as the number-one selling game its first month in stores. Since releasing, the game has sold nearly 1.5 million copies worldwide.
Best known for the number-one selling Warcraft series and the blockbuster hits Starcraft and Diablo, Blizzard Entertainment is a premier publisher of entertainment software, and a division of Cendant Software, subsidiary of Cendant Corporation.