Diablo III New Monk Class Reveal!

Blizzcon 2009 is going down this weekend but it seems Asia got the jump again. A website revealed (leaked?) the fourth class for Diablo III.

The Monk will follow the Barbarian, Witch Doctor and the Wizard and will feature hand to hand combat. The official announcement came with a trailer like for the Wizard class.

It might be just me but it’s the first time I’m disappointed by a Blizzard trailer… The flow is fine but for some reason the graphics look very old generation. The Wizard trailer was much much much better in my book.

In any case any Diablo III news is good news.

Diablo Creators Unveal Torchlight

The two Schaefer brothers, Max and Erich (no, not Tim) were the co-founders of Blizzard North and…well we all know what happened to the Diablo franchise.

That being said after leaving Blizzard North and founding Flagship Studios to have more creative freedom, they worked on their new baby which would end up having a very short life. Hellgate: London was a poor commercial success and also had very mixed reviews. Flagship Studios shut down last year and Max and Erich went on to found Runic Games.

Now we finally have two screenshots to see what they are working on. The game is a hack ‘n’ slash (surprise) with a more cartoony art style which may not please everyone but I personally like it. The one thing you may notice is that the color tint looks very VERY similar to some Diablo III screens we have seen.

Torchlight obviously has potential but it bears a heavy legacy. A lot hangs in the balance for the Schaefer brothers to show that they still have the magic touch.

Screenshots courtesy of Runic Games Insider and The Original Runic Games Fansite

Wednesday October 15, 2008

RetroBeats Session 13 Out!

Well I’m back so with me comes a new RetroBeats on RetroWare TV.
This time I’m putting some of Mega Man‘s best tunes across various series in honor of the release of Mega Man 9.
Thank you Capcom!

TGS 2008 Tops Attendance

This year 194,288 people showed up at the show up from 193,040 last year. Maybe it’s time the people who organize E3 stopped their BS and paid a little attention.

Gone Gold

Far Cry 2 and Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3 have both gone gold.
The UbiSoft title will be released on PC, PS3 and 360 October 21 while the EA title is a bit more messy. It will be released on PC October 28, on 360 November 11 and on the PS3….whenever, the game is on indefinite hiatus on the Sony console.

BlizzCon 08 Media Blowout!

You all really need to check out the footage from the convention featuring the two upcoming blockbusters from Blizzard. If you just woke up from a 25 year slumber I’m talking about StarCraft II and Diablo III.
I’m not an RTS fan but I have to say I wish I were because the sequel to the 1998 game simply looks stunning. The in-game off-map footage looks just like a cinematic it’s scary, the ambiance and lore look amazing and make me hope for a StarCraft MMO someday.
On the other hand I’m a huge, HUGE Diablo fan and the Wizard trailer made me cry just a little. The game is going to kill.
Anyway go here to check the footage, courtesy of GameTrailers.

Wednesday August 13, 2008

Diablo III to Conclude Story Arc

In an interview with MTV Multiplayer, Jay Wilson, lead designer for the game, said that Diablo III would conclude the story arc set up by the first two games. He also mentioned that some old characters would be coming back, especially from the first game because while “Diablo II seems to get a lot of the focus, Diablo I started it all”. True enough.
I’m sure we can expect at least one expansion to close out the story and Jay Wilson assured that even though this story arc would be done, the franchise would see more titles in the future.
Good news all around basically.

Empire: Total War, At Sea!

The Creative Assembly, the British studio famous for their acclaimed Total War series such as Rome: Total War and Medieval: Total War have release a new video (poor quality for now) for their upcoming game set to be released on February 6, 2009. The video focuses on naval battles which the player will be able to execute in real time.

Crysis Warhead Dated

Electronic Arts and Crytek have announced today that the game will be released on September 12 in Europe and September 16 in North America. On a side note if you preorder the game from the EA Store you will receive an instantaneous $5 discount.

08-08-08 (Hey It’s a Once in a Lifetime Thing Right Here!)

Diablo III Art Director Quits Blizzard

It’s funny to think that a bit more than a month ago the game wasn’t even confirmed. Since then we’ve some very good, if not great, trailers in typical Blizzard fashion. Then some fans were up in arms against what they called a brighter version of the game which looked more like Warcraft III than Diablo (obviously these fans had neither played Warcraft III or been to Lut Golein in a while) and launched a petition for a “darker Diablo III”.
This all seemed at least to me like another wishful thinking endeavor until Blizzard issued a statement earlier this week basically saying “Thank you for your passion about this project but this is what we’re doing and if you don’t like it…tough luck”. And then today we learn the the Art Director on the game, Brian Morrisroe, has quit and is to be replaced.
It appears that the official story is that the two events aren’t related and that he left because he wants to start his own company and the art direction will stay on course as planned. Funny how sometimes things that seem naturally related occur so close to each other and yet there is no connection whatsoever (Gamespot Vs. Jeff Gerstmann anyone?)

More LEGO Games on the Way

Jon Burton, president of Traveller’s Tales, has said that his studio has signed a deal with Warner Bros. to make more adaptations of their franchises. Considering the catalog of the movie studio could we see Superman, Harry Potter or The Matrix in all its cubic splendor soon?

New Suikoden?

Konami seems to be trying to block the Suikoden Tierkreis which should mean that a new game is coming. Whether it is a full-blown sequel, a port of past games on the DS or the PSP, or a different game altogether, remains to be seen.

Gears of War 2 Special Edition with Life-Size Lancer!

Following in the footsteps of Halo 3‘s Legendary Edition which came bundled with a somewhat underwhelming Spartan helmet replica, Epic Games is set to release an edition for $139.99 which will come bundled with the GoW staple weapon. The replica designed by NECA will need 3 ‘C’ batteries and will vibrate, produce chainsaw noise and feature a removable clip as well as adjustable side handle. Geek heaven on the way?

Fable II Pub Games Next Week

Microsoft announced today that the special feature will be available on August 13 for 800 points (you can also get it for free if you preorder the game). The casino type game has an interesting feature which allows you to transfer your gains into the main game when it’ll be released on October 21. This should help people get money since the only ways to gain money in Fable II will be to work or gamble, eschewing the money drops on animals and other unrealistic mobs.