Diablo III Starter Edition and Other News
Diablo III launches tomorrow.. woop!
For those who aren’t planning to buy the game right away, there will be a Starter Edition and Guest Pass!
Information about this was originally leaked, as Battle.net account holders discovered they had access to the Diablo III beta client.. and that they were able to create characters tagged with a Starter Edition label. Blizzard have since taken the beta down to address “an issue affecting the beta accessibility”. (more…)
Five Days Till Diablo III and Other Stuff
There’s just five days left till Diablo III is released!
The Mark of Valor Sigils are now unlocked on the website, so you can create your own banner for each character to use in-game, using your own uploaded photographs or designs. Blizzard have also made a Launch Day Preparation Guide.. purchasing, downloading, creating a Battletag and so on.
They don’t suggest what to do while waiting these last five days, tho 😉 (more…)
Diablo III Beta
Although the Diablo III Beta was made available on Friday, we weren’t able to get in right away. Unsurprisingly, there was rather a lot of interest in the game, and Blizzard had to limit the number of concurrent logins while dealing with various server and login issues.
The beta contained the first four chapters of Act 1: after defending the town against the rising dead, players go to the Cathedral to find out what happened to Deckard Cain, go in search of the mad King Leoric’s crown, and then put an end to the Skeleton King and free the land from his army of the dead!
All five classes were available to choose from, though you could only level each up to level 13 during the beta.
Mists of OMG So Many Pandas
I finally got my own invite to the Mists of Pandaria beta this morning, having checked my email only minutes after finding out that the Diablo III beta is open this weekend as well! Another weekend of beta gaming? I nearly picked up some Relentless when we went shopping, too.
I’d been told the Pandaren starting area was busy.. but I don’t think I knew the meaning of “busy” before now!
Diablo III Open Beta Weekend
Blizzard have announced that the Diablo III Beta will be opened up this weekend!
From Friday, April 20 at 21:01 CEST, until Monday, April 23 at 19:00 CEST you’ll be able to log in, team up with friends, and play each of the five heroic classes to level 13 as you fight to save the world from the impending demonic invasion.
Woop! 🙂
Rediscovering Old Games: Diablo II
We were talking about old games during our lan week, and ended up heading for the spare room and the piles of older games stored in boxes up there. There was excitement as we found copies of Rollercoaster Tycoon, Theme Hospital, Homeworld 2 and others.. and more mockery from the guys as it turned out I had a copy of Supreme Commander, after saying no, I didn’t know the game. In my defense, it was in a multipack which I had picked up for Titan Quest and its Immortal Throne expansion, and the Company of Heroes Anthology.. 😉
I also found my copy of Diablo II, plus the Lord of Destruction expansion, which I had thought lost when we moved house! After a bit of messing around.. updates, copying files to allow the game to run without the CD, registration to Battlenet.. I rolled a Sorceress and went out into the world..
Back to World of Warcraft
It had to happen eventually.. I’m back playing WoW! I’ve also signed up for the Annual Pass, which will allow me to play with the beta for MoP as well as granting me a copy of Diablo III. I suspect I won’t be playing a lot of WoW when I get my hands on Diablo III, but still.. I think it’s a good deal 🙂
I’m levelling a Troll Hunter alongside a friend’s Priest, at a somewhat relaxed pace.. enjoying the quests, especially when they involve explosions 😉
Diablo III Releases on May 15th!
Diablo III is to be released on May 15th.. a global release (or at least nearly global) with both retail and digital being made available at the same time. You can pre-purchase the game now from Blizzard, for £44.99.
Those who have signed up for the World of Warcraft Annual Pass will get the game for free, along with the Tyrael’s Charger mount and beta access to the next expansion: Mists of Pandaria.
I’m really looking forward to the game. Two months to clear my backlog first, though? Unlikely to happen! 😀
Something for the Weekend
Diablo III will apparently not have PvP at launch, as the systems aren’t up to scratch yet. Instead, they’ll be patched in when they are ready. In the meantime, Blizzard are apparently putting the finishing touches on the game.. for which there is still no confirmed release date.
CryEngine 3 is now available for free non-commercial use! AI, animations, dynamic lighting.. check out the preview from IGN:
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-TtgW20IEm0] (more…)
News of the Leaked Variety
Almost all the news that has caught my eye today has been leaked in some way or other.. maybe this is the new thing for bored PR? 😉
Ubisoft have released a CGI launch trailer for the American Revolution-themed Assassin’s Creed III:
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BVUMPrv8oRw] (more…)