Diablo II and its expansion are two of my favorite games of all time. Ever since they first came out, I’ve sunk countless hours into the world of Sanctuary, hunting Diablo and then his older brother Baal. For the past ten years I’ve installed Diablo II, gotten addicted, ended up uninstalling it, and then repeating the process all over again a few months later.

I’ve waited for Diablo III ever since I saw the end of Lord of Destruction. Tyrael destroys the Worldstone? What’s going to happen next? For twelve years I wanted Diablo III to arrive and sink its hellish claws into me the same way its predecessor did. Sadly, I don’t think that’s going to happen. Not even close.

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Today the developer of the hit PSN games Flower and Journey, thatgamecompany announced that they’ve received $5.5 million in funding from Benchmark Capital.

With the new funding, the studio is now fully independent. And with their three-game deal with Sony completed, thatgamecompany is gearing up to make sure its games reach an even bigger audience.

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Another E3 has come and gone; and despite favorites being uncovered from the heaps of announcements and demos, the overall verdict was that there was no clear winner. Rather, the whole event was quite underwhelming — a lot of focus on already known IP with very little surprises.

If anything, 2012′s E3 was a textbook study of company philosophy. On a high level, Microsoft played a familiar hand showcasing its tendency to favor 3rd party partnerships ala Nike. Sony touted its tried and true dedication the developer network, letting Quantic Dream take the stage with Beyond: Two Souls and front runner Naughty Dog with The Last of Us. That left Nintendo.

Many knew Nintendo had a lot to prove, as it was the only one with new hardware to promote. Its strategy was a savvy one with three presentations strategically placed: one just before, one at the beginning and one toward the end of the expo. Of course, the goal was to put Nintendo and the Wii U at the top of everybody’s minds. This strategy didn’t quite work, however, but not because its lineup or hardware was lackluster as many may think.

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Almost a full month after the release of Diablo III, the real-money auction house is finally live. For the past few weeks the in-game gold version was the only option for players to buy better gear.

The real-money auction house lets players use real currency to buy and sell in-game items. The currency earned for selling items can be converted to Battle.net credit or transferred to PayPal. However, know that to use the real-money auction house you will need an authenticator.

[Battle.net]

Suda 51 never ceases to amaze me. The eccentric potty mouthed developer’s multiple design philosophies echo with his numerous releases, to the point where fans can immediately point and say “that’s a Suda game”.

So given the natural expectation of quality, does Lollipop Chainsaw live up to the creator’s legacy? Read more… »

No one is afraid of a “Jeffry”. Except of course, the great Jeffry McWild. Imagine a bulky, towering man with no shirt and fury in his eyes stomping his way toward you Mike Haggar style.: to be blunt, there is no way that encounter will end well. Luckily, Mr. McWild is relegated to the fictitious world of Virtua Fighter.

The latest installment, Virtua Fighter 5 Final Showdown, is a reprise that boasts better tuned fighting mechanics, among other enhancements that SEGA has been rolling out since 2007. For diehard VF fan, the game hits on all the high points. It’s those who are on the fence who need some convincing.

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Nintendo wasn’t satisfied just bringing you one press conference, so they broke the Wii U into two, and added an extra 3DS conference.

The unfortunate part of this strategy is that none of the conferences packed any major punches. While the main Wii U conference was satisfying enough in my opinion, this 3DS event fell completely flat. Read more… »

We’ve already presented you with some highlights from Microsoft’s and Sony’s press conferences, so now it’s Nintendo’s turn. As expected, Nintendo showed off it’s upcoming next-gen console, the Wii U. However, some of the aspects they decided to showcase left me with mixed feelings.

Here are some of the biggest highlights from Nintendo’s E3 2012 press conference.

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Yesterday evening Sony presented their E3 2012 press conference, and in stark contrast to Microsoft started by revealing a brand new IP. For the most part Sony focused much more on games than supplementary services or features.

Here are some of the biggest highlights from Sony’s show.

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In a press release today, THQ announced that they reached a deal with Zuffa, LLC that will see “resulting in Zuffa licensing to Electronic Arts Inc. the right to publish videogames based on the Ultimate Fighting Championship brand.” While the release also mentions an “undisclosed cash payment to THQ,” it failed to mention the bad news. Today, THQ shut down its San Diego studio.

In a statement to Destructoid, THQ confirmed that “the UFC license transition will affect the company’s San Diego studio. THQ is working closely with those relevant staff to either find possible employment within the company, or potentially with EA.” THQ’s San Diego studio was responsible for the UFC Undisputed games and WWE All-Stars. I hope that all those affected by these waves of layoffs sweeping through the industry land on their feet.

[Destructoid]

Microsoft wrapped up their E3 2012 press conference earlier this morning, and while there weren’t any mind-blowing new announcements, it wasn’t the worst conference E3 has ever seen.

Here are a few of the biggest highlights from Microsoft’s show.

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Capitalizing on all the E3 hype, Valve announced the release date for the upcoming Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. CS: GO will launch simultaneously on XBLA, PSN, PC, and Mac on August 21, 2012.

The original Counter-Stike came out almost 13 years ago, and this new release will feature new maps, characters, and weapons. It will also have updated versions of classic maps like “de_dust.” CS: GO will cost around $15 or 1600 Microsoft Monoply Money Dollar Points.