• 1Jul 08

  Diablo III

  Now, I know this post is gonna be like thousands already out there on the tinterweb, but I don't care! It's finally official:
  
  DIABLO 3 IS COMING!!

  

  I hope other Diablo fans are excited as I am about this. I have been wanting this game for years. Eagerly awaiting the announcement that its in development. Seeing the release of Warcraft 3, Warcraft 3 expansions, World of Warcraft, World of Warcraft expansions and even Starcraft 2, just made the wait that little bit more unbearable. I think deep down I always knew it would come one day, its just too popular and too lucrative not too. However from all the preview coverage I've seen, the decision to create a new addition to the series appears to have been the result of love for the series and creative desire as least as much as monetary rewards for big-wigs in suits. Which brings me too my next point, and arguably the most exciting. This looks (so far, still early doors, lets not get carried away here) to have been implemented and executed brilliantly. From the drop-in, drop-out co-op to the destructible/interactive environments, its like Diablo 2.0....or is that Diablo 2 2.0........or Diablo 3.0 HaHa

  From what I've seen, this is shaping up to be the new Diablo, that personally, I always wanted. For one I didn't want this to be some MMORPG type effort akin to WoW. Now don't get me wrong, I enjoyed playing WoW and millions of people around the world can't be wrong, but it just wasn't the experience I was wanting from my next Diablo installment. Now inevitably, there will be detractors. Those who were maybe hoping for the aforementioned MMORPG experience or those who think this is a 8-Year Old Rehash with little innovation here and there....but all being said, you can't please everyone. I'm just happy that I'm one of those who seems to have gotten what they wanted. Hmm, its like Christmas come early!

  • Posted Jul 1, 2008 12:40 pm GMT
  • Category:
  • 9 Comments
  • Tag
  • Print
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Digg
• 13Jun 08

  Alone in the Dark - First Review

  Well its the first review I've seen and I've checked on Metacritic and GameTrailers and theres nothing on there yet either!

  Now Alone in the Dark has been a title I have kept my eye on for quite some time. I don't believe this to be because I'm a fan of the series or even the genre, although both statements would be true. I think it simply comes down to the fact that this game intrigues me in so many different ways. Let me explain.....

  First off this is a game which ticks alot of boxes for me. It looks like it has some cool new mechanics (the fire mainly), it is set in New York (who doesn't like a game set in the Big Apple, just look at the sales figures for GTAIV) and it is a survival horror title (something to tide my horror fix over until Silent Hill 5 and Resident Evil 5).

  Next up the game is from Eden studios. Now this is one studio which I have history with over the years for various reasons. One such example is their title from the early 00's for the PS2 and PC which had you controlling a team of 4 agents each with varying abilities, requiring you to change between them on the fly to get the job done (quite a unique concept for its time). This was the first game I ever bought for my first ever PC (am sure everyone has games like this they remember for similar reasons, regardless of their quality). Now Eden studios over the numerous games they have now worked on, have always seemed a bit of an enigma to me. They seemed blessed with the ability to come up with great ideas and game mechanics, but always come up short when its comes to implementing them into a top of the range title. Great game mechanics seem to be in abundance here again, from the unique inventory system, the way the environment can become engulfed in flames and the episodic story approach. However, once again from the previews I have seen the "open-ended" central-park approach leaves me with a sense of great reservation.

  Finally this game comes from Atari. The great company itself. Now that "Big-Phil" himself is in charge over there, they have already announced that the games currently in development, Alone in the Dark included, are to be the companies final forays into the world of "hardcore gaming". Their future exploits are firmly fixed with the casual gamers in their sights. Am sure I am not the only one who would like to go out with a bit of a bang!

  So this game carries alot of weight behind it for a number of reasons. The time has come and the first verdict is in. It has come from the adolescent male focused pubication known as FHM UK and they have awarded it a rather impressive, and may I say, higher than I was expecting, 4/5.

  • Posted Jun 13, 2008 1:41 pm GMT
  • Category:
  • 12 Comments
  • Tag
  • Print
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Digg
• 31Mar 08

  God of Disappointment: Chains of Pre-Order

  Hello Everyone,

  This is a blog post consisting of good news and bad news!

  Am going to write this in a negative attitude and start with the bad news, so here goes.

  I have owned a PSP from release day in the UK. Its gone through periods of ups and downs, from being constantly used to gathering dust for months, however one thing has been consistent for some time now: I couldn't wait to get my hands on the God of War prequel exclusive to the platform. This is the kind of thing I bought the PSP for!

  There were many hurdles along the way, the main one being whether or not the game would live up to my expectations and deliver the kind of experience I was hoping for, but thankfully it leaped over that obstacle without much of a problem.

  Well the day has arrived....and past, but I still do not own a copy. WHY? You ask! Well I have order a copy, I did so over 5 weeks ago now. I pre-ordered the game from Play.com thinking in my moment of madness that I would get the game on release day at the latest hopefully maybe a day or two earlier if the post was running well....but no.

  They didn't process my payment until midday thursday (with the game due out the next day). They e-mailed me on release day saying the game had been dispatched and was on its way to me within 3-5 working days!! So here's a lesson for me:
  Order a game weeks before its release and you won't get it until potentially a week AFTER its on store shelves (due to a lot of releases being on a Friday and no post being delivered over the weekend).

  Lets just say that this is the last time I will pre-order. I can simply call into the local supermarket on my way to work and pick up a copy and have it ON THE DAY OF RELEASE!!!

  Now moving on, the good news.

  GamerScore has surpassed the 18k mark.

  GamerScore now stands at a total of: 18,720

  The majority of the points came from LOST: Via Domus. The girlfriend is a huge fan of the show and this was a great opportunity for us to spend some time together via the power of Xbox. HaHa

  We both really enjoyed the game and I have to say that it was better than I was expecting, when she first suggested we rent it. I think movie/tv tie-in games have made such a bad impression over the years, that my expectations are so low, when I actually play them they don't play as badly as the impression in my mind. I think this whole poor tie-in rubbish over the years was just some long-winded reverse psychology experiment!!

  Apart from that there have been the odd achievement here and there, but nowhere near the level you would expect and theres a good reason for that. I'm currently spending 90% of my game time playing Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare multiplayer - which carries no achievement points....but I can't stop playing it, it's just so good!!

  • Posted Mar 31, 2008 9:30 am GMT
  • Category:
  • 7 Comments
  • Tag
  • Print
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Digg

See Previous Blog Posts