The World Ends With Me

Diablo Thank You Thank You Thank You

2008-06-28T07:04:00.001-07:00

Confirmed!

Diablo 3

So far a limited amount of information is available. The story takes place twenty years after Baal, Maphisto, and Diablo himself we're supposedly destroyed.

Deckard Cain is still around.

The game is in true 3D.

New profession: Witch Doctors.

I have to run to work in about 20 minutes, so I'll post more tonight (with screens!) when I get back!

Diablo Please Please Please

2008-06-27T09:31:00.000-07:00

7 Years ago to the day, Blizzard released one of the most successful and beloved expansions to one of the most beloved... and successful.. PC games ever created.

This game became notorious for Blizzard's death angel for destroying social lives, jobs, and relationships, at least until World of Warcraft took the scepter. I myself indulged in the lands of Sanctuary for around 5 years, first becoming obsessed with PvE and building/trying as many characters as possible, to Magic Finding and item farming, to finally the frantic and pure pwnage PvP aspect. There were times in my life that Diablo 2 took precedence over sleeping, eating, and relationships. But I didn't mind, cause I was pwning noobs.

Thankfully, and maybe a teensy bit regretfully, I haven't played in two years, but I think about it pretty often. I can't tell you how long I've been waiting for an announcement for the release of Diablo 3.

Well, it might almost be the time to start making sacrifices once again. Blizzcon is this weekend, and fueled by an enigmatic slowly revealing image on Blizzard's website, there has been increasing speculation that Diablo 3 is on the tip of Blizzard's tongue. Let them shout it down from upon a mountain of fire. Many of us will graciously bow with appeasement.

Interestingly, it appears as if the rest of the image has been leaked. Then there is the old leak from a few years ago.

According to the rumored leak, the game will be taking place in Heaven, with Hell trying to take over. The game is much larger, with more classes, skills, items, and is much better looking in true 3D environments and characters. There supposedly are two factions (heaven/hell) and two different variations items (light/dark).

Finally, the most important part of the leak: the game has been in development for over 4 years. Could this mean a much smaller wait between announcement and release? Perhaps. The same source of this leak speculates that it might not be released until 2010 or 2011 even- which I find pretty hard to believe. Starcraft 2 is slated for late 2009, and the new WoW expansion this year, but I don't know why D3 would have to ever be pushed back as far as 2011, especially with supposedly having been in development for so long.

And here is the supposed revealed image. It looks legit to me.

If this all turns out to be nothing more than rumors, I will be one very unhappy person for a few days...weeks... Tell you what--let's not specify.

If its all true, or mostly true.. I'm sorry in advance if you know me and won't be seeing me as often.

Nintendo's Summer Announcements

2008-06-26T10:10:00.000-07:00

...Thus far.

E3 is coming up in July, so expect to hear a lot more then, but here are some games Nintendo announced yesterday.

Mario Super Sluggers (Wii), August 25

Here's a game I think I'm going to want to take a swing at. (Pun intended)

Looks like a glorified version of Wii Sports, but hey, that's fine with me. The casual crowd is likely to eat it up, but I doubt hardcore gamers will put down their 360 controllers or abandon their keyboards unless the rest of their family coaxes them in on the action. This game seems to be in line with Nintendo's new focus to get people in the same room to play a game together. "Wii" would like to play, right?

Pitching and Hitting is a little different than what we experienced for Wii Sports. Using the Wiimote, pitchers can twist their wrist at the end of a pitch to add spin to the ball. Batters can occasionally use a super-charged shot, unique to each character, after saving enough power earned from making good plays. Thankfully, there are also running and fielding elements this time, instead of letting the computer do all the work.

And of course, this being a Mario game, there are bound to be a solid amount of mini-games.

Kirby Super Star Ultra (DS), Wario Land Shake It!(Wii), September 29

Niiiice.

Kirby Super Star Ultra is a remake of none other than Kirby Super Star for SNES, arguably the best game of the series. I'm pretty pleased to hear the news because I can't emulate the original on my DS :-/

Here are some screens of the JPN release:

Wario Land Shake It! is the first game from the Wario Land series (not counting Wario World) that is making its way to the Wii. Not much is known about the game other than that it is going to be a 2D platformer(with 3D elements) that takes use of the Wiimote (shaking?) to trigger some of Wario's moves. The Wario Land series has always been excellent, so here's to hoping we get another great entry.

No word yet if this is going to be a Wiiware game. Probably not, but I feel a game like this might be best suited for it. At any rate, if it isn't, it better be a damn fine game if they price it at $50.

Summer of Sequels part duex

2008-06-20T12:36:00.000-07:00

Ok, I promised I would finish what I started with my last post, plus the title didn't make much sense what with there being only one announced sequel in there.

June 24

Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift

A2 is set in the same locale as its GBA predecessor, and apparently plays pretty much identically to it also. One of the biggest changes is that of a mission timer that keeps track of how long you have played the game. You will miss the opportunity to complete missions if you wait too long to do them.

I don't know a whole lot about this game yet, mostly because I had only played through the first few missions on the GBA game and got bored. I'm planning on giving this one a try however, and I'll put up my impressions once I do.

Mega Man Starforce 2:

I'm personally not planning on playing this game, because I simply do not have the stomach anymore for the constant bland, rehashed concepts offered up from Capcom concerning the blue bomber. Though the recent Mega Man Advent games we're somewhat worthwhile and entertaining, I haven't enjoyed this new style of Mega Man game since the first Battle Network game for GBA.

Why they are releasing these games in pairs of two's and three's is completely beyond me. I suppose it's helping their sales marginally, but it just doesn't make any sense to me.

Despite my lack of enthusiasm, I know there are a lot of people who actually enjoy these games, which is why I'm bothering to mention it.

I suppose if you haven't already played a Battle Network game (I believe there were 6), or the first Starforce game, then you might enjoy this as a fresh experience. Be warned though, it appeals to a younger audience than you might expect (maybe you don't need a warning, check out the box art).

July 1

Trauma Center 2

Now here is a game I can get behind. The first TC for the DS was a fresh, frantic, and challenging experience unique to the system. It was one of those perfect games that showed just how much potential the DS had in its early life. The Wii releases of TC were moderately successful, praised by critics but largely ignored by consumers, which is a shame. TC: New Blood offered a multiplayer mode that was simply unbeatable as far as third-party efforts on the Wii.

It's been two years, and now we are finally getting a sequel with a new story, new characters (though some have stayed), and new viruses to cure. The game takes place in Africa during a period of civil war, and Dr. Stiles is there to help out with the growing medical emergencies.

Trauma Center 2 looks and sounds a lot better

No word about any Wifi or multiplayer support yet, but I'll keep my fingers crossed.

Summer of the Sequels

2008-06-15T16:33:00.001-07:00

As I mentioned in my last post, this Summer is shaping up nicely for the DS. Here are the some of the upcoming releases that are worth keeping an eye on:

June 17th:

Etrian Odyssey 2

I can't say I'm the biggest fan of EO, as it requires a lot of patience and grinding, but there are a lot of old-school dungeon crawling RPG fans out there that love the game. One of the more interesting aspects of the game is the cartography- players must map out the dungeons as they progress, marking their map for doors, resource locations, and other places of interest.

The game is set in a new place, and there are three new classes: gunner, war magus, and beast. Other than that there haven't been many, if any real big changes to the game. If you liked the first EO, than you'll like it again. If not, than you should probably dodge this one.

Space Invaders Extreme

This game ROCKS! Between the frantic shooting, awesome power-ups, the colorful style, and the pumpin' techno music, this game is exactly what it claims to be. Extremely challenging, also. There are 16 stages ranging from pretty easy to frustratingly difficult. Fortunately, this is the kind of game that makes you want to continue trying.

Extreme enough for you?

The game is also compatible with a paddle peripheral that is inserted into the GBA slot of the DS. This allows you to control your ship by turning a knob left or right. Unfortunately it is only available in Japan for now. Hopefully we'll see a stateside release.

The game also works with the rumble pak, and actually is the best use of rumble I've experienced with a DS game. It goes with the music perfectly. Speaking of the music, you just have to play this game with headphones, much like Ouendan/Elite Beat Agents. It enhances the experience quite a bit.

June 22:

Guitar Hero: On Tour

I'm hesitant to mention this one, because it's been getting bashed a lot in the forums I regularly post at. I also am not a big fan of the Guitar Hero series after Harmonix left. Rock Band just completely blows it out of the water in my opinion (though we'll wait to see what GHIV can do)

On Tour uses a peripheral that mimics a guitar fret bar. Holding the DS book-style, players must "strum" the touch screen with the stylus while pressing the appropriate buttons. Whether it works to consumers liking is yet to be seen, but there is a lot of skepticism and probably equal curiosity surrounding the gimmick.

Consensus: No clue if this will be fun

How about some WoW now?

2008-06-13T13:19:00.000-07:00

Two years ago, while working on campus over the Summer at my university, I was approached by a few friends who were starting accounts on World of Warcraft. It seemed like a good idea, though I was hesitant because I knew a few people who were completely consumed by the game. However, my account on my then favorite game Diablo 2 had recently been banned (for a maphack of all things) so was ready to move on to something new.

Needless to say, I didn't need too much convincing. I rolled a Gnome Warlock on a PvP server with my friends and couldn't get enough of the game, until I got to Stranglethorn Vale. I shall never forget the name of that place. After getting ganked for the 100th time by characters 10 to 20 levels higher than me, I decided I had enough with the game. Aside from the constant frustration of being unable to make consistent progress, it was just simply too much of a time-consuming experience. Aside from work, my social life was becoming predominantly limited to the confines of my non-air-conditioned bedroom (which meant I spent a lot of time at a screen in my skivvies). When I left, I never looked back.

That is, until I recently moved into a new apartment with a friend who has been an avid Everquest and EQ2 player for a number of years. Seeing him playing really instilled a renewed longing to get back into the grind. After casually browsing the WoW website, I came across Blizzard's 10-day trial for the new (to me anyway) expansion. I couldn't resist. And somehow, my roommate also decided to join in on the fun.

It's almost been a week and my level 30 Blood Elf Warlock has been a blast to play, especially without the looming shadow of hostile players. Yes, I'm a "carebear" as the hardcore PvP players would say. But I'm also a newb. And newbs like myself just can't understand or respect the idea that it is a "good time" camping corpses and one-hitting lowbies. But I digress.

The ten days are almost up, and I need to decide whether to continue playing. One of the main reasons I'd like to continue is because of the marketing internship I landed with GotGame. This Summer, GotGame is going to be releasing the beta version of a gaming-oriented social networking application that is integrated with popular online PC games, WoW being one of them. Trying the application first hand, in a game that I have some experience in, would be beneficial to my understanding how I can best perform my responsibilities and assignments.

However, between a job (still working on that one), an internship, and a girlfriend, do I really have time for WoW? Also, playing WoW probably means I won't have time for other games.

Over the last two years (since giving up WoW the first time) I have become quite the aficionado of the Nintendo DS. I try to play through (or mostly through) the latest noteworthy games, and stay current on the dev-scene. Since starting WoW again, the only time I have touched my DS is for CrossworDS during the commute to my girlfriend's apartment.

I can't tell you how much I am looking forward to this game, coming out in July:

My inner DS fanboy will be sorely disappointed if it takes me all Summer to beat this. And that isn't the only game. There is no drought of worthwhile games to play this Summer... I've got a list of about 10 games I'm eager to get into before next semester starts.

I still have this weekend to decide. God help me.

Not You.

2008-06-13T12:20:00.000-07:00

Welcome to my humble blog.

Here I will be sharing my humble opinion on games, music, movies, and whatever other sources of infinite entertainment that I care to divulge upon you, my beloved reader.

I will also be chronicling my experience working remotely as a marketing intern this Summer. More details to come.

Opinions are opinions, and being such, you are entitled to laugh, sneer, smile, or cry after reading mine.

Let's start this off the right way.

I present to you the greatest GIF image based on a video game. For great justice.