Diablo III: New Class, Old Concern

Diablo III is still shaping up a little too much like World of Warcraft, isn't it? That's not necessarily a bad thing; Warcraft's world is captivating and beautiful, it's characters diverse and memorable. Diablo has always had a dark and dying setting, one whose appearance parallels the state of things in the world of Sanctuary; Hell is trying to run shit.

Fanboys are up in arms about the world of Diablo III resembling WoW's Azeroth a little too closely. Dark towns, grimy dungeons, and the fires of hell are starting to give way and coexist with lush forests set on a backdrop of waterfalls. One of these things is not like the others. Although a little variation doesn't hurt, maybe the Diablo faithful are jumping the gun here. A wide range of of settings to spill demon blood can't possibly be a bad thing, can it?

Diablo III features a cast of five playable classes, and for the first time in the series, each class can choose male or female variants. In the rich fantasy world, with the ability to create a near endless amount of classes, Blizzard has ripped one archetype straight from the books of Warcraft; the Witch Doctor. A questionable choice, the Witch Doctor's initial screen shots, trailers, and lore has gotten nothing from me but yawns. I'm not even hating that Blizzard is jacking Warcraft characters, but the Witch Doctor? C'mon son. I'd rather have a paladin than that noise. 

Over the weekend, the fifth and final class got its big reveal. The Demon Hunter; ranged weapons expert, skilled and agile, who makes use of crossbows (akimbo, at tmes) and traps. Sounds a bit familiar? World of Warcraft's Hunter, is also a master of ranged weaponry, uses crossbows, and sets traps. The Demon Hunter does look pretty cool, as evidenced by the trailer, but my qualms lie with the lack of originality, something that seems to have been plaguing D3 since it's first screenshots have leaked.

I don't know how to feel about all these shared resources. Is Blizzard alienating the dedicated Diablo fan base in an attempt to capture a piece of the obscenely large World of Warcraft market? I'm on board for Diablo III, even if the final confrontation pits the player against Onyxia. I won't be happy about it, but I'll play it. In the end, fans are just going to have to hope the latest entry in Diablo's prestigious line retains enough of its former glory, while keeping the influence of it's relative as minimal as possible. But damn, it's gonna be good to play Diablo again. 

REVIEW: Sonic 4 Episode I

Sega fan since grade school, yo. And that's a long, long time ago. So it's clear to see why the appeal of an attitude-laden hedgehog was a stronger call than the pipe-surfing escapades of a stocky Italian man. Don't get me wrong, I loved both, but Sonic had the charismatic edge. So why is it that Mario games continue to sell well while the Hedgehog series just can't seem to hit the mark? Can Sonic 4 change the series' fate of late? Can a return to 2D reinvigorate the franchise? Can I haz speed? 

Click to read more ...

Undead Nightmare's Poetic Multiplayer Trailer

Taking a page from Poe, Rockstar rhymes the details of Red Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmare's multiplayer mode, Undead Overrun. Zombies haven't been this artsy since Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. Or the Williamsburg Zombie Prom from 2009. Damn hipsters.

REVIEW: Super Meat Boy

Disclaimer: The following review may unintentionally contain excerpts which some readers may find inappropriate yet hilarious. Any use of the word "meat" in a giggle-inciting manner has not been done on purpose. That said, are you ready throw throw your Meat headfirst into a gauntlet of circular saws?! 

Click to read more ...

Professor Layton vs. Ace Attorney; No Objections!

Written by contributing author John Rios

The Professor Layton series on the Nintendo DS is a big deal in Japan, and has been making headway here in the States. The recent release in the popular puzzle adventure series, Professor Layton and the Unwound Future, is the third Layton title to make it to the US. Japan has four Layton games in total, and is already working on a fifth entry, for the Nintendo 3DS. Add the animated movie released in 2009, and it seems that developers Level-5 have found pay dirt with this franchise.

OBJECTION! The catch phrase of everyone’s favorite Ace Attorney, Phoenix Wright. This Capcom-bred franchise is also very near to superstar status, selling like hotcakes in gaming markets across the globe. If Gameboy Advance games are being ported to the Nintendo Wii, DS and iPhone, there is a certain charm and profitability to be found in said games. The Ace Attorney series currently has five titles in the books, with more to come in 2011.

As Capcom seems to have a penchant for co-developing quality crossovers, it was only a matter of time before these two worlds would collide. Last night, the trailer for a collaboration of Marvel vs. Capcom 3 magnitude hit the internet. Level- 5 and Capcom will be crossing popular franchises, under the working title Professor Layton vs. Ace Attorney. The trailer doesn’t show much aside from some great animation and what platform it’s being developed for, Nintendo 3DS.

A lot of questions can be raised pertaining to this near perfect mash-up. How did a modern day lawyer end up in medieval England?  Will the gameplay follow the puzzle dynamic of the Layton series, or Ace Attorney’s visual novel and detective format? Will the 3DS’ 3D function play a crucial role?

As a fan of both series’ I’m intrigued and excited to learn more about Professor Layton vs. Ace Attorney. Be sure the watch the trailer and formulate your own thoughts. Got any interesting speculation on how this is going down? Share with us in the comments!

John is a technogeek with a gangsta edge. If it's new and cutting edge he probably already owns it; phones, computers, games, you name it. He is a school teacher by day, but a gamer for life.

Deus Ex: Human Revolution to Have a Comic Series

Written by Kyle Wagner

One of the game-related stories of New York Comic Con that might have slipped under your radar was some new information about Square Enix’s Deus Ex: Human Revolution line of comics. Due in the first quarter of 2011 from DC’s Wildstorm imprint, the series will run for six issues and have a same-day and date digital release on both the DC and PSP comic apps. For anyone not initiated on the nuances of the digital comic book marketplace, it is still very uncommon for titles to be released digitally on the same day that they are released in stores, making this a significant feature of the release.

Writer Robbie Morrison stressed that the comic is not an adaptation of the game, and that it would revolve around the back-story of Adam Jensen, the series’ protagonist. Only a select few “very important” events from the game will appear in the comic; otherwise, the story will run simultaneous to the game, but feature all-original content.

The creative team seems well suited to the franchise. Morrison is best known for his work in 2000AD, a British science fiction weekly, and the Judge Dredd franchise, so he knows his way around a dystopian sci-fi setting. Editor Ben Abernathy has also worked on a significant number of licensed franchises, including Gears of War, Starcraft, God of War, Ratchet & Clank, and Fringe. While these titles have had varying degrees of quality, they have typically been about as good as their source material, rarely elevating above the cloth they’re cut from. So while it’s a virtual lock that fans of the Deus Ex franchise will enjoy the comic, the audience will probably be limited to existing fans.

Kyle is a comic book geek. He's been gaming long enough to know how to cheat at NES Track & Field and that CLVVRCEK is the password for the last level in Sega Genesis' Jurassic Park, but these days he can tell you more about Luke Cage's home life than Solid Snake's last mission.

REVIEW: Game Dev Story

We're all game enthusiasts here. We play, we watch, we read and write about, and then we play some more. Given the opportunity to develop a game, do you think you could? If you had the skills, knew the people, and was driven by a sense of entrepreneurship, would you create a game development studio? There's no need for could have and would have anymore, with Game Dev Story, now you can do just that. 

Click to read more ...

Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood Hits Keep Coming

Assassin's Creed Brotherhood continues its barrage of quality media to rally the assassin within us all, this time by way of the story trailer. This cinematic treat illustrates the measure of art game development has risen to, rivaling and even bettering most big budget movie trailers. 

The web is weaved between our protagonist, Ezio Auditore, and his rival, head of the Templars, Cesare Borgia. Shit is about to go down. Borgia amassed an army and has taken control of Rome, so Ezio is amassing an army to free it. Cause and effect my friends, cause and effect.

We've been told that Assassin's Creed Brotherhood has become Ubisoft's most pre-ordered title to date, and there's still close to a month before the game releases. Between the multiplayer beta, the incredibly well produced trailers, and the constant press coverage, it's easy to believe AC:B will continue to build its pre-order record. Though more pre-orders mean more people will complain if the game doesn't deliver. Looks like we'll have to wait until next month to know for sure.

Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood releases on November 16th.

The Xbox.com of Tomorrow

Today, Microsoft herald Major Nelson has announced some much needed changes for the clunky Xbox.com. Taking effect sometime after 5am EST tomorrow, October 20th, the new Xbox.com will look something like this. 

It only makes sense that Microsoft would update the tragically designed Xbox homepage to match the sleek new look of its Xbox 360 dashboard. Together with the sexy new appearance of the site, many new utilities will be added to complement the tweaks to some of the older function. Lists are professional looking, so here's an unordered one for that ass.

• Browser based Avatar editor: Edit your avatar and preview avatar items before purchase
• Combined views for messages, friend and game requests
• Improved notification of your account subscription
• Leverage Family Reports to understand what your family is doing and how they are using LIVE
• Play web games with your Xbox LIVE friends on the web or on Windows Phone 7
• Marketplace: More powerful search and more intuitive ways to browse and filter

These changes will no doubt allow Xbox 360 supporters to feel more connected at all times, whether they be killing time between projects at work, or doping around on their new Windows Phone 7. Knowing a majority of 360 users though, they will probably be in grade school, on their $5,000 laptop, in between calling someone a racial slur or homosexual and listening to rap music, while describing to their friends how they totally pwnd last night's cycle of 5 Halo: Reach SWAT games in a row. Sigh, stay classy, kids.

The New Xbox.com gallery

Eight HD Minutes Of The End

We previously showed you a nice chunk of Yakuza: Of The End in not so flattering standard def recorded straight from a presentation screen. Ghetto, but effective. Well, we can now replace that with a much nicer looking, slightly longer, still amazing cut of the latest entry in the Yakuza series.

Let's be real, this game looks like mindless, ridiculous fun. Yes, I'm sick of zombies and you probably should be too, but I do enjoy me some Yakuza, so this pairing can't be all bad. Who knows, maybe we're in for the surprise of a halfway decent story, since the previous Yakuza titles are driven by above average writing. Just because zombies have been added, doesn't necessarily mean the game will lose its brains, right?

Sign me up if only for the strip batting cages, Majima singing karaoke, and 50 Cent (at the 7:05 mark in the video, that's definitely him!)