Blizzard to Show Act III and Barbarian Character at E3

Blizzard Entertainment has released some new details about the status of Diablo II, an upcoming sequel to the original 1997 role-playing game.

Blizzard has finished developing Diablo II's five new character classes: the Amazon, the Paladin, the Necromancer, the Sorceress and the Barbarian. Each character can develop 30 unique, class-specific skills and spells. In all, Diablo II offers 150 special abilities.

Most recently, Blizzard completed design and animation for the final character, the Barbarian. Armed with supernormal strengths and combat abilities, the Barbarian's skills include Crushing Blow, Stun and Howl.

Additionally, Act III is now finished, making the game nearly 70 percent complete. In Act III, characters will explore an ancient civilization long overgrown by the surrounding tropical jungle.

While the setting for the finale remains unannounced, Blizzard will be displaying the game, including the Barbarian and Act III, at the Entertainment and Electronic Expo in Los Angeles, May 13 through 15, in Los Angeles.

Since Diablo was first released in 1997, the game has sold nearly 2 million copies worldwide and was the No. 1 selling role-playing game in 1997. Diablo II is being developed by the Blizzard North design team and is expected to release later this year in Windows 95/98/NT format. The company's web site is at http://www.blizzard.com .