"I live my life like there's no tomorrow
and all I've got, i had to steal.
Least I don't need to beg or borrow
yes I'm livin' at a pace that kills!"

- Van Halen, "Runnin' With The Devil"

Yes, I'm still here. I was gonna wait for GameSpot to fix all the bugs here, but, well, I'll be too old to operate a computer at that point.

Besides, there's nothing terribly interesting to impart. I'm still playing Diablo 3, and my buddies and I are enjoying the hell out of it. As you've already read a thousand times, it does nothing terribly new with the formula, but the gameplay is so slick and elegant that you can't help but tip your cap. The story has been utterly disposable so far - Cain dies with embarrassing predictability before the first act even ends - but nobody plays Diablo for the plot, so who cares. It's the LOOTS, baby, the loots.

I'm also enjoying Torchlight's effect on the franchise. To change with the times, Diablo has been completely streamlined. All non-magical loot is worthless, the town portal spell is just something everyone knows, and everyone can identify their own rare gear now with a click of a button. It's nice that the rares don't self-identify, though - the excitement of watching the identify bar fill up is good fun as the party eagerly awaits the new goodies.

On the portable tip, well, there hasn't been squat. (To be fair, I only have the 3DS. No Vita yet.) Luckily, my aging memory cells reached back deep and reminded me that there was a second Devil Survivor game for the DS I never got around to buying, and I whipped out the wallet. (Viva backwards compatibility!) I replayed the original - still a classic - and am loving the sequel as well. Obviously, if you're not a Shin Megami Tensei fan, these won't win you over, but they're wonderfully brutal RPG goodness. Not quite as enthralling or deep as the latter Persona games, to be sure, but the terrific combat and demon-fusing systems make the train commute disappear.

It's all devils, all the time here at Rottenwood Corner. Make of that what you will.