The thing about Diablo II in particular was that it was such a unique game. Everything from the dark atmosphere to the free online play really made the game stand out. I remember when I first heard about, it seemed like such an incredible thing – really? Free online play? What was this madness? Remember – 2000 was right when the Internet was really starting to become mainstream, and that was also when Everquest cost $10 a month to play. It seemed like we were living in the future.

Now it’s 2012 and Diablo 3 is the most pre-ordered game of all time on Amazon and Blizzard. I seriously appreciate that they retained that millenial feel so common in the early Diablos and games like Baldur’s Gate. You know what I’m talking about – that bubbly, jeweled, ornate HUD. Say what you want about Blizzard, but they are pretty good at making the games they really want to make.

In the end, even though I personally don’t understand the Diablo fuss, I know what it’s like to be hyped for a game. I can’t wait to see the excitement and enjoyment that comes from the release.

What’s your favorite part of Diablo, and what are you excited about for Diablo 3?

Bethesda has finally announced the first DLC for The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim!

“Dawnguard” is the title of Skyrim’s long awaited DLC. Dawnguard will be released this summer on the Xbox 360. When will it be announced for PC or PS3? Who knows! Bethesda has said before that the Xbox 360 exclusivity would only last for 30 days, but we aren’t certain yet.

Unfortunately, no other details have been announced. But e3 is coming up soon! Just under a month away, and we will know more information!

Another groundbreaking piece of information has come from Bethesda!

Have you ever been in the middle of killing a few giant spiders and thought, “I would probably be able to hold my bowels if I only had a friend with me!”?

Well get ready to keep your waste inside!

The Elder Scrolls Online has been announced by Bethesda and ZeniMax Online Studios! Set in the land of Tamriel, the game will take place 1000 years before the events of Skyrim. Again, nothing aside from the anouncments have been confirmed by Bethesda, or ZeniMax. We are sure to see some news when e3 comes up! Of course, if we get hold of info, we will post it here!

Well, we hope you are pleased with this information. I’m pretty excited to be able to wreck some dragons/trolls/spiders/etc with my friends! We look forward to next month, when we can get some more news on these exciting announcements!

Since Chris is in Austin, I was able to revert to my typical gamer ways and play pretty much nonstop all weekend, with only some small breaks to do chores. Since it’s an open beta, I wanted to write up my thoughts and give you guys some sweet, sweet screenshots.

Salty McGee hanging out at night

I tried out three classes and three races – a human Mesmer named Salty McGee, a charr ranger named Rye Pumpernickel, and a nord engineer named Chef Boyardee. What amazed me the most was how each of these races had different stories, and that everyone liked a different story from everyone else for all different reasons. While I adored the rambunctious, glory-seeking backstory of the nord, another person in my guild found the Klingon-like betrayals in the charr story to be the best. There’s truly something for everyone.

Even if you hate MMOs, you’ll love Guild Wars. It doesn’t feel like the typical MMO: get a quest, complete the quest, grind some baddies, level up, move on to the next area, prepare for a raid, literally queue up to complete said raid, etc. The typical MMO is not fun – it’s artificial fun in the same way playing Farmville is artificial fun. You play to maintain your status instead of to achieve new things and to have fun. Guild Wars 2 is totally different. You play to experience events around you, to explore, to dynamically fight in a group, and to have fun. For those of you who don’t know much about Guild Wars 2, let me briefly explain. Fighting enemies is probably the crappiest way to level up – each enemy gives something like 10-20 xp, and if you’re a masochist, you’ll level up by grinding. A better way to level up is to merely explore and wander. Exploring a new area of the world nets you in the hundreds of experience; as does completing a world event. World events trigger as you walk by. Imagine you’re roaming around, trying to trigger those experience points. Then an event triggers, and you realize there are centaur attacking the village! You’ll run over and help, and naturally so will other people, and so grouping up to defeat a boss is totally natural and fluid. These events can go from mundane, like helping to repair a village after the attack, to epic, like fighting a boss ten times your size who is opening portals to the underworld all the while.

These portals were under construction in Lion's Arch by the townsfolk. Bonus: behold my amazing conversation with my friend

The game was incredible. Exploring is my absolute favorite thing, and I think you’ll agree too. Nobody likes a grind, and Guild Wars 2 understands that. They have truly outdone themselves. The beta itself, while definitely a beta, was refined, polished, and awesome. My only regret is that I can’t play until the next beta weekend.

If you haven’t pre-purchased yet, and you think you want this game, PRE-PURCHASE. I am not joking – this is going to be the best MMO ever created. If they released it half-done like it is now, I’d still buy it and play it happily. It is only going to get better, and I already love it so much. Pretty much every conversation I overheard went like this:

• Person 1: Has anyone tried X yet?
• Person 2: I have – it’s incredible.
• Person 1: This entire game is incredible.
• Person 2: Word.

I absolutely cannot wait for the next beta weekend!

1. Deus Ex: Human Revolution. I can’t stop calling this game Hunan Revolution, thanks to Thomas. This is one of the greatest games I’ve ever played. I haven’t loved a game this much since around the time of Mass Effect 1, when I played that, and Vampire: The Masquerade, and Bioshock. So good.

2. Portal 2 Co-op. Actually, I think Chris and I might have beaten this by now. Either way it was really good. I did a single player review awhile back and thought the game was decent. The co-op was far better than I was expecting as well, and we had a good time playing. I probably won’t do a full review, since I felt about the co-op pretty much the same as I did single player.

3. Phoenix Wright: Justice for All. Replaying this for the second time. I had forgotten how much I hate the stupid circus trial (saddest trial EVER and not compelling at all), but the 4th trial more than makes up for it. That is some good fine attorning.

4. Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages. Good but I’ve been distracted. Let me tell you a secret. I’ll make a post about this later but I’ve been working on playing every single Zelda game ever made by Nintendo. Oracle of Ages is second to last on my list. It reminds me a lot of Link’s Awakening for obvious reasons.

What have you been playing lately?

Yesterday Bethesda announced Dishonored, a steampunkish assassin game. It looks really interesting, and I’m glad they’re doing something fresh. A lot of people seem to be disappointed that their big announcement was for this and not Skyrim DLC, but I have no idea why. From the blog:

You are the once-trusted bodyguard of the beloved Empress. Framed for her murder, you become an infamous assassin, known only by the disturbing mask that has become your calling card. In a time of uncertainty, when the city is being besieged by plague and ruled by an oppressive government armed with neo-industrial technologies, dark forces conspire to bestow upon you, abilities beyond those of any common man – but at what cost? The truth behind your betrayal is as murky as the waters surrounding the city, and the life you once had is gone forever.

What do you think? Looks exciting, no? I love original content and I have a teensy secret love for Bethesda, too, so hopefully it’ll be good!

No, I’m just kidding. I’m not THAT obsessed, but it’s close. There’s just something about the games that is perfect. It could be the detailed and interesting art, the hilarious dialog, the compelling cases, the catchy music, the fascinating mysteries, the memorable characters… or it could be all of this and that the games are just FUN.

They recently announced the Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney movie. It looks completely ridiculous and is directed by Takashi Miike, who has made some pretty over-the-top movies in the past. I would be lying if I said I didn’t want to see it. I will watch it the instant I possibly can. Fortunately for all you non-Japanese-speaking Phoenix Wright fans, they’re going to be subbing it in English, so you don’t have to rely on fansubs to watch.

Can’t resist, huh?

And then of course, there’s this:

Ridiculous cosplay guys, wherever you are, you are fantastic and special like snowflakes. Don’t ever change.

If you’ve only played Fallout 3 and Fallout New Vegas, you should know that Fallout is turn-based. The gameplay is more like Baldur’s Gate than Fallout 3 for sure. Still, it’s a comedic game, and has that amazing retro-futuristic feel that we all know and love. Fallout is also quite a difficult game but I recommend you be patient with it! It’s definitely fantastic when you get into it.

While you’re there, I also recommend you check out some of the other games on GOG. All DRM free! In addition, GOG was created by the wonderful CD Projekt RED, who also made The Witcher. If you like action RPGs and you haven’t played the Witcher, stop what you’re doing immediately, and go purchase it now!

This post, like all of our posts, is NOT sponsored. I just love GOG that much.

• Regular edition – Comes with the item, three-day headstart, and beta weekends.
• Digital deluxe – Comes with everything the regular edition does, as well as an elite spell, a miniature figurine in-game, and a few one-shoot items, like a banker that follows you around for five days.
• Collector’s edition – Comes with everything in digital deluxe and some physical items as well, like a 10″ figurine, some beautiful art and frame, a book, and the sountrack.

I’ve been thinking about which version I’ll get. I’ve budgeted for GW2 to be the only new game I get this year, so I don’t mind spending a bit extra. I’d love to get the collector’s edition, but I would have no use for a 10″ figurine and the price is a bit excessive given I don’t want the figurine. I wish the digital deluxe edition came with a pdf art book! I’m leaning toward the digital deluxe right now, but I still have to think about it. I’m so excited though!

Will you be prepurchasing? What version are you going to get and why?

If you’re interested, the source code is up on Git! It’d be fun to check out and play around with. I hope this enables people to more easily make games!