Diablo III is finally here, and if you can get past the initial shock of playing a game with single player always-on DRM, you can experience it yourself. With five classes ranging from the Wizard, Monk, Barbarian, Demon Hunter, and Witch Doctor, there’s pretty much something for everyone here to experience — personally, I couldn’t resist the demonic gaze of the Demon Hunter.

For the purposes of this impressions piece, I have a level 30 Demon Hunter that just finished Act 4 (the final episode), but I have dabbled in every other class, and found them all fairly exciting in their own way. Join me as I muse on various aspects of Diablo III from levels 1-30, which encompasses all of the game’s Normal level difficulty.

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[Update - I experienced this part of the game myself, and can safely say that as long as the Templar is your follower officially, you should be ok on this one. I personally waited until my companion was level 13 before testing this just to be sure, in case there was a certain low level range this could trigger in]

Without resorting to any spoilers, this PSA is fairly simple. Whenever you obtain a Templar follower in Diablo III, do not equip him with a new shield. In fact, don’t equip him with anything just to be sure.

Eurogamer is reporting that this issue apparently is restricted to the Demon Hunter class (wouldn’t you know it, my favorite class), but just in case, I wouldn’t recommend trying it with any class if you value your playtime.

If you engage the glitch, you’ll not only be booted out of D3′s servers, but you’ll be unable to re-enter them until Blizzard pushes a fix. An absurd workaround is noted by some users, consisting of creating a new Power User Windows account, and attempting to log in that way. Read more… »

IGN has uncovered the “officially unofficial” release date for Call of Duty Black Ops II. According to a Target reservation card, the game is set to drop November 13th, 2012. Right now it looks like there are only placards for the PS3 and 360, but a PC and money-grubbing dumbed-down Wii release is most likely soon to follow.

There have been a lot of rumors lately about Black Ops being set in present day, which for me would be a bit jarring, as it would start to blend with the Modern Warfare line. While this is pretty much a final confirmation, the “official” reveal will be on May 1st, to celebrate the NBA playoffs.

[IGN]

Blizzard is totally for serious this time, guys. They just announced Diablo III‘s official release date of May 15, 2012. You can pre-purchase digital copies right now, and the game will unlock at 12:01 am PDT on the 15th.

The game will also be available at retailers in the USA, Canada, Europe, South Korea, Southeast Asia, Australia, New Zealand, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau. Other regions like Latin America and Russia will have to wait until June 7th. Blizzard’s press release contains more details about other fully localized versions. While I can’t confirm that this May 15th release date is because of my birthday, I can’t deny it either.

Prototype was a game about somebody with mutant powers and killing helicopters. I never played it, so that’s the extent of my knowledge. But the new Blackwatch Edition for Prototype 2 that was revealed today just might convince me to get into the series.

Read on for more info about what this collector’s edition includes. Read more… »

While it’s not quite a firm release date, mega-publisher Activision confirmed a Q2 2012 window for the highly anticipated Diablo III in their most recent earnings call. This narrows the release date down to sometime between April and June of this year.

The game has already undergone changes, including some based on player feedback from the latest beta, but knowing Blizzard’s track record, it’s probably the safe bet the game’s going to be a hit. Diablo III takes place twenty years after the events of Diablo II. Though some familiar faces like Deckard Cain will make an appearance, the game features an all new set of heroes.

[Source: CVG]

Today word got out that Activision will be launching a new subscription based service called Call of Duty Elite in conjunction with the launch of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 this fall. Activision is still trying to determine the right subscription pricing for the service which is said to “provide extra content that isn’t offered on game discs sold in stores, including downloadable map packs.”

Aside from extra content, Elite will also provide gamers with stat tracking tools that analyze their performance and tendencies in game, in hopes of directing the player to guides and tutorials on how to improve. “These can cover things like the best way to employ a certain weapon, pros and cons for their attachments, or how to make the best use of different perks. Video tutorials will also be part of the package.” Read more… »

About a month ago, I reported that Activision had killed off its Guitar Hero franchise “due to continued declines in the music genre.” Apparently Ubisoft has something to say about that. Today, the developer announced that it is currently working on a guitar based rhythm game call Rocksmith. Now before you call Rocksmith a Guitar Hero clone, please note that there are some major differences. Most importantly, you play Rocksmith with a real guitar, not some plastic toy.

Apparently Ubisoft has come up with some sort of converter that allows you to plug in your guitar cord into a USB drive. Now I know some of you are saying, “What about Power Gig: Rise of the Sixstring? That game let you play with a real guitar!” Please note that with Power Gig, you had to play using their plastic “guitar.” Sure it had strings and plugged into your console of choice, but it still wasn’t a real guitar. Also the fact that the gameplay was just trash didn’t help Power Gig‘s reputation. Read more… »

In light of Activision killing off the Guitar Hero franchise, John Riccitiello said some interesting things when he spoke at this year’s Goldman Sachs Technology and Internet Conference.

The EA CEO mentioned that “If you go back seven years, we were the leader. And we dropped the ball. Our IP deteriorated, our costs went up, and we didn’t really have an answer for the rise of digital. Need For Speed ended up flat on its back. That annual sequel thing got to us. That was a very tough business run. We just didn’t have the portfolio.”

Now if only EA could lighten up on the yearly sports releases, and give us more awesome stuff like Dead Space 2, Dante’s Inferno and the Medal of Honor reboot I’d be a really happy camper.

[Via GoNintendo]

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Last week, we reported that Activision is killing off the Guitar Hero franchise “due to continued declines in the music genre.” While we’re certain that the folks over at EA and Harmonix are quietly celebrating, not everyone is so happy to see the music behemoth go the way of the dinosaurs.

RedOctane was the publisher that teamed up with Harmonix back in 2005 to make Guitar Hero I and II. They were subsequently acquired by Activision in 2006, and dissolved last year. Their former CEO, Kelly Sumner, doesn’t have the nicest things to say about Activision’s management of the franchise.

His words await you after the break.

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Yesterday Activision announced some news that has some pretty major effects on the gaming industry. First off, the publisher has canceled the open-world action title True Crime: Hong Kong.

While this may be upsetting to some gamers, the real heavy hitting news is that Activision has eliminated its Guitar Hero and DJ Hero franchises “due to continued declines in the music genre.” Both teams working on the GH and DJH franchises have been hit with “severe layoffs.” Read more… »

All you Call of Duty junkies out there better cancel your weekend plans – it’s double XP weekend! Everything you do, from something as simple as killing another player for +50, to shooting down an enemy spy plane for +150, counts double. After all the dust clears, I predict an awful lot of 15th Prestige players out there by the time the sun comes up Monday morning.  The double period starts at 1PM EST today, and ends sometime Monday morning (my guess would be around 5AM EST).

Personally, I don’t have a real big problem with double XP weekends, but I can see why some people don’t like it. There are a lot of people out there who have spent tons of time in Black Ops honing their skills the last few months, and achieving 15th Prestige in a short amount of time, only to be matched by people who happen to log on this weekend. Either way, make sure you at least try some Demolition, because anytime you plant a bomb, it’ll earn you a sweet +1200. Read more… »