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.

Diablo III hits you fast and hard, and immediately sucks you into the action. Unlike Diablo I and II, which can be fairly vague in explaining everything to you in-game, D3 pretty much tells you everything you need to know at all times. That isn’t to say the game is holding your hand, as you still have to fight the denizens of hell all on your own, but it makes it easier to identify what new skills you’ve earned on a level-up, for example.

For the hardcore D2 fans who re-rolled and deleted entire characters, you don’t have to worry here: you can change all of your passive and active skills at will at any time without any penalty. Your character will trek through Normal, Nightmare, Hell, and Inferno difficulty levels, but of course, a true Diablo fan knows that the real fun of the game is found in hundreds of runs of the highest difficulty level.

The character I beat Normal mode with, and the one I have the most experience playing, is the Demon Hunter. Simply put, I think this class is probably the most fun I’ve ever had in a Diablo game. My build is basically centered around AOE damage and maneuverability. Using a smoke screen and a battle flip, I can move around the field at will, increasing my movement speed with one of my passives — it basically means that at any point, I can escape a boss characters special attack, or get out of a sticky group enemy situation. It also means that I’m a glass cannon — able to die  in mere seconds if I don’t act quickly.

At first glance only being able to use 6 skills at a time looks “dumbed down”, but that notion couldn’t be far from the truth. In essence, your character is more open to options than any other dungeon crawler to date. Using the insane amount of passive skills, you can custom tailor you build to pretty much any play style within reason. Do you want your Demon Hunter to do lots of base arrow damage, and increase your damage when you’re extremely far away? You can do that. Do you want your class to do tons of up close damage, inside the action, and have a bit more survivability? You can do that as well.

While the Monk and Barbarian classes inherently take 30% less damage than the other three, making them more survivable, every class to their own limits can make themselves bulkier. The ability to instantly change builds depending on the situation also helps heaps, and this only gets better after you’ve beaten the game and know what’s coming — making it more raid-like in nature than a typical dungeon crawler. Each class also has it’s own unique resource system. For instance, the Demon Hunter has both Hatred and Discipline, which allow him to use different types of skills. Hatred can be gained by using your standard attack (which is kind of like a Berserker class in most RPGs), and Discipline naturally regains over time (or through certain parameters depending on your setup). Having both resources to micro-manage adds to the strategy of the game, and allows you to further your build if you wish. Other classes like the Barbarian have Fury, which you gain from taking and inflicting damage (which subsides over time), or the Wizard’s standard Mana resource.

Speaking of “raids”, the boss encounters are set up to basically be just that. Instead of aimlessly following you around like most dungeon crawlers (Diablo II included), bosses will have environmental implications as well, and nearly every class has a dodging/dashing ability to quickly move out of harms way. The notion of “staying out of the fire” in a raid is present here, as is the imperative nature of constant movement. I can’t wait to see what higher level difficulties can bring, because if normal boss encounters are any indication of future fights, I’m extremely excited.

Another antiquated D2 notion, “mules”, is completely eliminated. For non-Diablo fans, “mules” were characters that were created for the sole purposes of exchanging items between characters. In order to give say, your Wizard alt a staff that you found with your Amazon, you had to make a game, have someone stay in it, quit, then come back and grab the item either on the ground (which could be lost if the game was ended), or from the other trusted player.

Thankfully this time around Blizzard not only implemented a system where all characters share the stash chest (your bank), but you share gold as well. When I say “share gold”, I literally mean that all of your characters will have a running gold purse between all of them — if you start a new level 1 character after beating the game with your main, you’ll have all of the main’s gold. This is a smart move on Blizzard’s part, as it allows you to skip the pageantry when making a new character and get right into the thick of things. Blizzard knows that you can still only find the best loot through.

The full “real money” Auction House isn’t up yet in the US (it’s set to drop on the 22nd), but I have dabbled a bit in the in-game gold currency AH. To be blunt, it’s pretty much what you’d expect out of an Auction House. There’s tons of drop-down menus to select exactly what sub-series of gear you want, and there’s tons of parameters you can input to get your perfect piece. Gold prices are extremely high right now, but I expect them to subside as the game progresses, and certain loot becomes more common. As for the effectiveness of the AH, I can safely say that I have sold a few rare items over it with hardly any effort on my part.

If it’s story you’re looking for in this iteration, I’d probably search elsewhere. Sadly, outside of some Diablo fanboy revelations (a group that I am proudly a part of), the story is extremely lacking. Other than some particularly boss action cutscenes, the narrative is both extremely predictable, and fairly droll. After your initial “oohs and ahhs” at some character reveals, there really isn’t anything to write home about. But of course, old fashioned dungeon crawlers aren’t going to give two Wirt’s Legs about the story — I’m just warning the newly converted here.

The Acts themselves however, are pretty incredible, and I can easily say that D3 is more equally yolked in terms of Act balance than the other two games (even if D1 didn’t technically have “Acts”). Each Act sort of builds up in a crescendoed manner, and the final conclusion is nothing sort of amazing in terms of the setting. Unlike Diablo II, there’s no clear “throwaway act” like Act III (at least in my opinion, and the opinion of my D2 community): everything feels equally fun and entertaining

Overall Diablo III is a pretty incredible game. I can’t say for certain whether it will have the 10+ year staying power of it’s little brother just yet, as I haven’t experienced Inferno Mode, but I’m excited to see what it can bring to the table. With a planned PVP patch and two potential expansions on the way, it’s safe to say your purchase will probably be justified in terms of the long-haul. If you’re worried about the DRM issue and whether or not Blizzard will support your characters in say, 15 years, I’d point to both Starcraft I and Warcraft III, which Blizzard is still supporting after all these years.

Also, I’d like to think that years down the line, Blizzard may implement or patch in some sort of offline play to placate people who are afraid of server loss. Of course this is all speculation, but Blizzard has a history of supporting their games, and I feel fairly comfortable with my purchase. It may be a while before my official review drops, because I want to experience everything before I pass a final judgement, but I hope this helps answer some of your questions if you’re on the fence regarding Blizzard’s latest dungeon crawler.

[As you may have heard, Diablo III is not immune to disconnecting you from the game, also known as "Error 37". In-game I haven't actually encountered this more than a few times, but it was extremely frustrating. Actually, it happened twice in a row when I was fighting the final boss, which is a fairly long encounter, and I nearly pulled my hair out, as I had to start the fight all over both times. Although Blizzard expects to have these issues ironed out as early as this week, keep in mind that this sort of thing can happen]

[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.

Blizzard is investigating. As a temporary workaround it suggested players not give the Templar any gear until after they have accepted him as their follower through the user interface pop-up.

[Eurogamer]

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.

Like most special editions, the Blackwatch Edition includes a hardbound art book and the game’s official soundtrack. It also gives you access to all the RADNET content, the first DLC pack “Colossal Mayhem” for free, a Prototype digital comic by Dark Horse, and a 20% coupon to the Prototype merch store.

Ken Rosman, Studio Head for Radical Entertainment, says about the collector’s edition, “We knew right off the bat that it would have to be something special for our most hardcore fans [...] the ones who are eagerly waiting to jump in feet first and experience all that Prototype 2 has to offer.” If that sounds like you, the Blackwatch Collector’s Edition will be available to pre-order for $79.99.

[Source: Activision]

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.”

Elite will have some features that are available to everyone, even those who don’t subscribe to the service. For example there will be a social media aspect that allows gamers who share similar interests to meet up online and blow each other away.

Gamers will be able to access Elite in several ways. Primarily, it will be built into Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 as well as future CoD titles, so you can access the information in game. You will also have access via the CoD Elite website as well as on iOS and Android phones and tablets.

What do you guys think about this? To be honest, I haven’t played CoD in a long time and generally stayed away from the multiplayer. Maybe I’m a gaming hipster or whatever, but I just always stuck with my old favorite Counter-Strike for multiplayer FPS action. I’d be curious to hear what the hardcore members of the CoD community think about this.

If you’re a big CoD fan, leave a comment below letting us know what you think.

Source: Shacknews

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.

According to Rolling Stone, Rocksmith will teach gamers how to play guitar, as well as 45 songs from artists including: the Animals, the Black Keys, David Bowie, Interpol, Nirvana and the Rolling Stones.

For those of you who have no experience with a guitar, don’t feel too left out. Apparently Ubisoft has found a way to dynamically shift the difficulty of songs. This means that, rather than failing out of a song like in Guitar Hero, Rocksmith will adjust the difficulty while you’re playing. If you’re like me, and actually plan on using Rocksmith as a tool to help your guitar playing, you should note that there will be a practice mode where you can loop parts, adjust the speed, etc.

I don’t know about you guys, but I’m absolutely thrilled to hear about this. I’ve been playing guitar for a few years now, but I’m still trash. I never really took it seriously and just kinda spent my practice time pounding out covers of Misfits songs with my friends. The thing is, I don’t really have time to take actual guitar lessons. I’d much rather have a videogame that walks me through a regimented practice system at my own pace.

What about you guys? Is this something that interests you? Are there are guitar players who can weigh in on this game? Do you think that a videogame can teach you how to play an instrument? Let us know what you think with a comment below.

Source: Shacknews.com

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]

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.

“Not every game can be a billion dollar franchise, but maybe that’s what Activision wants,” Sumner added “I’d be surprised if they sold the brand as it’d prove to the world there is still a market for this product and show them up.”

“[Activision] tried to get too much out of the franchise too quickly. They abused it,” he said ”There’s no reason why Guitar Hero cannot continue. It’s a great product. My gut tells me there is still a significant market for Guitar Hero.”

I can’t help but agree with Sumner. Activision released NINE different iterations of Guitar Hero in 2009, and they’re complaining about the decline of the genre? Talk about market saturation. With business practices like that one can only wonder how long they can stay the top dog.

[Via CVG]

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.”

According to Activision these cancellations are “based on the desire to focus on the greatest opportunities that the company currently has to create the world’s best interactive entertainment experiences.”

I don’t know about you guys, but I haven’t touched a Guitar Hero game since GH3. Regardless of that fact I’m still a tad bit sad I won’t see any more Guitar Hero games. A lot of my High School memories involve hanging out in my friends basements rocking out on little plastic guitars.

Setting nostalgia aside, this decision also upsets because I believe Activision is directly to blame for the decline in the music game genre. I mean, what do you expect to happen when you saturate a market with rehashes of the same game without really innovating (sure they did the whole band thing… but Rock Band did it better). I can’t wait to see what happens to Call of Duty in a few years.

But that’s just what I think. Let us know your take on this situation by leaving a comment below.

Source: Shacknews.com

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.

Source: Black Ops Blog