Springing forward: Diablo III (2012)

The third installment arrives this month with always-online gameplay and a new approach to the dark fantasy world.

Deckard Cain, an NPC who has survived since the first Diablo, returns. His niece Leah, a new character, will occasionally accompany players on quests, along with three types of NPCs called Followers. This time the story involves two Lesser Evils, Azmodan and Belial, and a mysterious Black Soulstone.

The destruction of the Worldstone in Diablo II: Lord of Destruction has reshaped the geography of Sanctuary, which now features two main continents and a few minor islands. Among the environments players will explore are New Tristram and the ruins of the old town, including its church.

Players can choose from five character classes: the Wizard who relies on magic, the Witch Doctor who assaults his enemies with spirits and the undead, the Demon Hunter who packs crossbows and other projectiles, the Barbarian who can dual-wield, and the Monk who can channel great energy.

Health globe drops from enemies will replace the potion bar, which now serves for quick-mapping skills and spells. In addition, Runestones can modify skills to make them more effective and powerful. Two types of Artisans will be available to sell, craft, and enhance equipment and rare or magic items.

Another new component is the Auction House, where players can spend in-game gold or exchange items for real-world currency and vice versa.

Features like an enhanced quest system and random level and encounter generators will ensure a new experience accompanies each playthrough. Class-specific quests will also boost replay value.

A PvP mode, along with related aspects, will follow via patch after the game’s release on May 15. Blizzard is admittedly “very, very serious” about bringing Diablo III to consoles at a later date.

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A second chance: Diablo II (2000)

Diablo II followed a course of four acts, with more complexity to the story and more locations. Players controlled one of five classes: the Amazon, who could equip bows, spears, and javelins; the Necromancer, a spellcaster and summoner of the dead; the Barbarian, a melee fighter and the only character capable of dual-wielding weapons; the Sorceress, a witch proficient with ice, fire, and lightning spells; or the Paladin, a crusader with holy power.

Occurring after the events of the first game, Diablo II brought back the Warrior who futilely trapped Diablo in his own body. The demon had since burned Tristram and wreaked destruction upon the lands of Sanctuary.

An adventurer who listened to stories and rumors of the evil lord (known now as the Dark Wanderer) decided to find the demon and end his terror. First he faced two Lesser Evils, Andariel and Duriel, and two of the Prime Evils, Mephisto and finally the Dark Wanderer, who had by this time completed his transformation into Diablo and released Mephisto and Baal from their Soulstones.

The game also introduced a crude form of crafting. Its expansion, “Lord of Destruction” (2001), housed a whole fifth act, new weapons and armor, gameplay tweaks, and the Assassin and Druid classes.

Although it launched with Diablo in 1996 (leading to problems with game hackers), Blizzard’s Battle.net service was much more impressive by the time Diablo II released, allowing players to run the game from the server and participate with up to eight players.

A false rumor that started in the mid-90s about a secret cow level inspired Blizzard to include such a hellish dimension in the sequel.

Blizzard Entertainment owns a powerful trifecta of video games: World of Warcraft, StarCraft, and Diablo. The third game in the Diablo series is landing on PC and Mac on May 15, so now’s the perfect time to brush up on the history of the massively popular franchise.

Origins: Diablo (1996)

Blizzard began the series with a name as simple and fierce as “Diablo.” The first game pitted the forces of Heaven and Hell in opposition, and a dark mutiny brought the three Lords of Hell — including the demon Diablo — to Earth. The Archangel Tyrael managed to seal the trio away in Soulstones, hiding Diablo’s deep beneath a monastery.

Generations passed, but with the small town of Tristram came King Leoric, who rebuilt the monastery as a cathedral of rule. There, Diablo haunted the nightmares of Lazarus, the Archbishop of Light, willing him to destroy the Soulstone that contained the demon’s power. Once free, Diablo possessed the king, sending his knights and priests to war with peaceful kingdoms. He also took hold of the king’s son, Albrecht, whose restless dreams filled the earth below with vile creatures.

Those who tried to prevent the evil at Tristram vanished, unable to dethrone Leoric. Even after the army captain Lachdanan killed him, Leoric resurrected as the cursed Skeleton King.

After the hero fought and killed the king, the Archbishop Lazarus, and finally Diablo’s mortal form, he banished the demon to his Soulstone. But the Warrior then drove the relic into his skull in an attempt to contain the Lord of Terror. Diablo overtook him and corrupted the fellow Rogue and Sorcerer — changing them into the Blood Raven and Summoner, respectively.

The game’s multiplayer supported up to four players who could work together or attack each other at will. The Warrior excelled at close quarters combat and started with the skill to repair possessions. Rogues mastered ranged weapons and could detect environmental traps, and Sorcerers were naturally gifted with magic, although physically weakest of the three.

An expansion pack, “Hellfire,” arrived in 1997, produced this time by Sierra Entertainment. It added two dungeons as part of a new side story, different items and magical item properties, spells, and a fourth class (the Monk). Two other classes, the Barbarian and the Bard, and two quests never made the final cut but could be enabled with a specific Command.txt edit.

In 1998, Electronic Arts published a port to the PlayStation console, requiring a considerable 10 blocks of memory (a standard card held 15). The version also lacked online play but introduced a cooperative mode and allowed players to learn the story through a narrator, rather than in-game books.