In public Blizzard remained adamant about the art direction but since then they have let the Art Director go and lo and behold – the updated screenshots look very much LIKE Diablo 2!

Check out the desert screenshot below – I did some minor sharpening in Photoshop but I must say it looks like Act II (Lut Gholein). Mercifully, the green grass has been removed and the characters look dark and desperate!

To be honest, this looks like a cheap way for this (unnamed) site to get your pre-order. Now, I’m not saying they’ll grab your money and run… but you’ll be looking at a LOOOOOOONG wait, possibly a year.

That’s the reason I’m not going to post a link to the site. Instead, I suggest you head to Cologne, where the Gamescom is taking place in 20 days. You’ll be able to play Diablo 3 there:

We’re pleased to announce that Blizzard Entertainment will be attending gamescom 2009 in Cologne, Germany next month. We look forward to welcoming old friends and new to our booth, which will feature hands-on gameplay with our upcoming games. Our booth is open to the public from Thursday 20 August until Sunday 23 August.

Anyway, Blizzard aren’t going to launch the game without a beta, so make sure you enter your email in the Diablo 3 beta notification list.

“Being born out of pits of human misery, these beings feed on human suffering. Wherever bodies are dumped together unceremoniously, the unburied may rise.”

That’s neat. I wonder if my Barbarian should pack a shovel to dispose of bodies in individual graves now. Or God forbid, the unburied will arise again.

Anyway, check out the updated media section.

Frankly, I’m not sure I’d buy a book where the superhero is a female Tauren (a.k.a COW). What’s her special power? MOO power?

Anyway, I think a Diablo comic book will have longer legs. A Frank-Milleresque type of dark and contrasty comic book might work great.

The superhero ends up getting a new super skill (Death Ray) at the end of each book. Also, he loots rare swords or armor from the boss… Is that cool or what?

I’m a big fan of all super-monsters. As a kid, one of my favorite movie was Gamera Super Monster (宇宙怪獣ガメラ). I later found out it was the WORST of all Gamera (ガメラ) movies but as a kid, I wasn’t that critical. I saw it probably a dozen time over a summer break at my grandparents. I still remember the tune that the kid played on the keyboard to summon Gamera to help. The battles were pretty hilarious but I was entralled.

It’s funny how super monsters always hit Japan first (usually Tokyo). Diablo (ディアブロ in Japanese) should be no different. I can see him scortching busy Tokyo streets with his special fire attack. And once they send in the army, he’ll switch on the lighting attack. It will take at least three Gameras (ガメラ) to take him down.