Diablo III

Diablo III is a continuation of the story that started in Diablo and Diablo II. The third installment of the series can be played without having played the first two, but some characters and themes may be confusing to new players.

The player character, who can be chosen from a number of different classes, is visiting a small town called Tristram, the setting of the original Diablo game. Deckard Cain, a familiar character, and his adoptive daughter Leah are searching the old cathedral when a falling star strikes. Leah and the hero must venture into the monster-filled cathedral to rescue Cain. In this pursuit, the two also encounter the angel Tyrael, who has cast off his angelic nature in protest against the actions of the other angels, who have abandoned humanity to demonic forces.

The hero must defeat other major demons who have descended upon mortal realms and seal them within the Black Soulstone. The Hero's actions backfire, however, when they are betrayed by an old friend. They must then travel to Heaven to stop Diablo from invading.

While the game does save automatically at certain checkpoints, map data will not be saved upon leaving the game. For instance, if a player were to drop an item or kill an enemy, that item would disappear and the enemy would come back to life after leaving the game and coming back. The player character, inventory, and story progress, however, will be saved no matter what.

Beginners can get started fairly easily, especially if they're familiar with any roleplaying game. But at higher levels the game can be difficult and it can be challenging to build your skills to the level needed to play well.

You can set the game to various online settings (i.e., open to anyone, friends only, invite only or offline play only). The online community tends to be relatively tame.

• There is a great deal of Judeo-Christian imagery in this game. Do you think it is appropriate to use this imagery for a fantasy setting? Is it respectful?
• Do you think demonic possession might be scarier for people whose religious traditions contain a lot of stories about possession?
• Do you think the use of Judeo-Christian imagery would be a more or less complicated issue if the game was not made by a traditionally Christian culture? Are there elements of cultural borrowing in other senses (for example, the area that resembles Persia) that made you uncomfortable?