Waiting For Fallout 3

Just a little over a month more before Bethesda Software's take on the venerated role-playing classic hits stores. I gotta admit- I can't wait to get my grubby little fingers on my very own copy of Fallout 3.

For those unfamiliar with the title, the Fallout series of role-playing games was set in a post-apocalyptic, alternate reality. Remember the Cold War in the 50's? What if we actually went straight to World War 3 from there? In the Fallout universe, the survivors have been living in underground Vaults for several years, only to come out and find a desolate, wasteland of a world. And that pretty much sets the stage for Fallout.

Usually, you start out as a Vault-dweller, or as a descendant of vault-dwellers, and as you do some exploring and go about your business, you'd probably discover a greater evil on the rise, and you, as the reluctant hero, end up being mankind's last hope.

I'll probably go into the details of the first few games (Fallout, Fallout 2, Fallout Tactics, and the XBox's Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel) in my future posts. For now, it's enough to know that Bethesda Software- the dudes from the hugely successful Elder Scroll series of role-playing games, have so far done a great job in bringing back Fallout from the dead.

Here's the latest Fallout 3 video trailer from GameSpot. Enjoy.

Here's the very first trailer that came out earlier this year, if you missed it:

Fallout 3 comes out on October 28. Not just for the PC, but for the XBox 360 and the Playstation 3 as well. Can't wait!

Cheers, everyone!

I've Seen Diablo 3's Barbarian- and it was Awesome

a quick break from gaming by Renzie Baluyut

Blizzard has gone right ahead to create some good buzz about one of its upcoming games, Diablo III. There were already some signs online that hinted on a release pretty soon, and with Blizzcon 2008 happening in a couple of months, we just might see more clips of Diablo III on YouTube and other gaming sites.

Speaking of YouTube: I'm currently subscribed to Blizzard's channel, and for all you fans of the great hack-and-slash RPG- Say 'Hello' to the first of five (or so I've heard) classes for Diablo III: The Barbarian.

That's him right there cleaving his way through waves of ghoulish undead. Watch the new Diablo III Barbarian in action: here's a video clip to blow your mind!

Here's something about the Barbarian class we gleaned off the YouTube channel:

From the writings of Abd Al-Hazir (entry no. 0025)

In my journey to catalogue the various denizens, civilizations, and fauna of our world, I have traveled far and wide, but never before have I been struck with such dismay as when standing upon the ramparts of the ancient fortress of Bastion's Keep. I came to see firsthand the barbarians, those near-legendary, immense, relentless, dual-wielding furies of combat dwelling upon their sacred Mount Arreat.

Instead, I stand here looking at a mountain that has been torn asunder by some extraordinary force. The sight, I must confess, is incomprehensible. Yet what I see before me cannot be denied.

What truly happened here? Where are those majestic warriors of old?

"I came to see firsthand the barbarians, those near-legendary, immense, relentless, dual-wielding furies of combat dwelling upon their sacred Mount Arreat."

Though they were once misunderstood as simple, bloodthirsty invaders, the long and noble history of these proud people is now rightly acknowledged. And therein lies the greater tragedy here, for those of us familiar with the nobility of the barbarians remember too what they call their "vigil", the concept that lay at the very heart of their culture. The barbarians consider it their sworn duty to protect Mount Arreat and the mysterious object within. They believe that if they fail to uphold their duty to the great mount, or are not given a proper burial upon its slopes, they will be denied a true warrior's death, and their spirits shall roam the land without honor for all eternity.

If there are any barbarians left alive, they must truly be without hope. Perhaps this is the genesis of the rumors of monstrous things reported to resemble the barbarians in size and ferocity, but that are in reality nothing more than unreasoning, inhuman beasts. Could the destruction of not only their home but also their very beliefs have actually brought this magnificent race so low?

You could also check out a better quality video over at the official Diablo III promotional website, or discuss Diablo all you want with your fellow fans here on Battle.net.

Pictures from Gamespot.com. Check out more pics and screenshots on Gamespot's section on Diablo III.

Cheers, everyone!

Blizzard Acquires 'Diablo3.com' Domain

The blogosphere was abuzz late last week with the news that Blizzard had recently acquired the 'Diablo3.com' domain.

Diablo3.com used to be the domain of a fansite for gamers who are fans of the 1997 hack-and-slash action RPG, its sequel that came out in the year 2000, and its various expansion packs and add-ons.

Now that same fansite has moved to Diablofans.com. Same content, different domain. So now that Blizzard has their hands on the 'Diablo3.com' domain, does this mean that production for a third installment is now underway?

Interesting story: Mockery and Umaro- the two dudes running the site, were approached by Blizzard a few months back- apparently interested in the Diablo3.com domain, which was currently occupied by the fansite. Mockery has this to say:

...while Blizzard is indeed acquiring the diablo3.com domain name, they told me that this shouldn't be considered an announcement for the Diablo 3 game we've been waiting for all these years. They acquire new domains all the time. While this is true, I personally can't help but think that this is a confirmation of sorts that they're working on the next Diablo game. Sure, they can claim it's because they want to protect their intellectual properties 'n what have you, but I can't imagine they would all of a sudden be so interested in the diablo3.com domain if they weren't working on a new Diablo 3 game behind the scenes.

It begs the question: how much did Blizzard pay to acquire the Diablo3.com domain from these guys?

According to what we have read, no money was involved at all. True fans that they are, Mockery just happily gave the domain when Blizzard asked for it- instead of making a huge profit out of the transaction.

Now that's something to admired. More power to you and your new Diablofans.com site, Mockery.

Check out the rest of Mockery's story on his thread here, on Diablofans.com.

Cheers, everyone.

A Little More StarCraft!

Just a couple a days ago, my friends and I were playing this cool StarCraft boardgame. I suppose we all needed a break from the usual PC/Xbox360/DS gaming. We could have played a good ol' fashioned pen-and-paper RPG, but no one wanted to DM, so we played this one (as well as a couple of other board games) instead.StarCraft The Board Game is definitely a good change of pace. I'll write more about it on another blog entry. In between rounds, we'd also talk about the latest news in all kinds of gaming- and one of the highly-anticipated games for us was definitely StarCraft II. Heck, why do you think we were tiding ourselves over with the board game? :D

No word yet on when the game is officially going to be released, but the latest trailer was already out on Gamespot (you can check that out here). In the meantime, I thought I could get myself oriented on what else had gone on in the Starcraft Universe.

The original StarCraft game is one of those games that is installed in my PC to this day. It's definitely a classic- one of those games with great replay value, and still provides a great deal of real-time strategy entertainment even when there are a lot of new games out there.

Now most of us have the original game, as well as the Brood Wars expansion pack, but I just found out that there were a couple of other campaign packs not in my collection, namely Insurrection and Retribution.

StarCraft: Insurrection, according to Wikipedia:

Insurrection is the first add-on pack for StarCraft. Although developed and published by Aztech New Media it is authorized by Blizzard Entertainment. It was released on PC on 31 July 1998.

The expansion's story focuses on a Confederate colony during the course of the first campaign of StarCraft. As in StarCraft, the player takes control of each race in three separate campaigns. In the first campaign, Terran colonists attempt to defend themselves from the Zerg invasion of the sector as well as from a rising insurgency, while in the second campaign the player directs a Protoss task force sent to clear the Zerg infestation of the colony by any means necessary. In the final campaign the player assumes the role of a Zerg cerebrate, moving to crush all opposition on the surface. The expansion only contains new campaigns and multiplayer maps, it does not include new content such as units and graphical terrain tilesets. Insurrection was criticised by reviewers for lacking the quality of the original game and as a result of its lack of success, it is not widely available. Although the add-on is authorized by Blizzard Entertainment, they offer no comment on support or availability of the game.

StarCraft: Retribution, according to Wikipedia:

Retribution is the second of the two authorized add-on packs released for StarCraft. The add-on was developed by Stardock, published by WizardWorks Software and authorized by Blizzard Entertainment. It was released for the PC in late 1998.

Retribution is set during the second episode of StarCraft, revolving around the acquisition of a crystal of immense power connected to the Xel'Naga. Divided into three campaigns, the player assumes the roles of a Protoss fleet executor, the commander of a Dominion task force and a Zerg cerebrate, all tasked with retrieving the crystal from a Dominion colony and getting it off the planet as quickly as possible. As with its predecessor, Insurrection, Retribution does not include any new gameplay features beyond its single player campaigns and consortium of multiplayer levels. The add-on was not received with critical support, instead being regarded as average but at least challenging. As with Insurrection, Retribution is not widely available. Despite authorizing the add-on, Blizzard Entertainment offers no comment regarding support or the availability of Retribution.

So this means I have to find myself a copy of Insurrection and Retribution and play the damn things before StarCraft II comes out. I've already checked out the official Blizzard website, and, yeah, there's a whole lot going on in there. Here's a trailer for the upcoming sequel to StarCraft, which I found on YouTube.

You could visit the official Starcraft 2 website for lots of artwork, downloadable trailers, even a recap of what has happened so far in the Starcraft universe.

In the meantime, it seems I'm gonna get more of my sci-fi RTS fix playing Warhammer 40K and blow away some Necrons- as soon as I install them into my PC once more.

Cheers, everyone!

Gaming Goals for the Year 2008.

This has been a fine year in gaming- but looking forward to 2008, the prospects seem very promising. After all, a lot of fine games are coming out, and I've seriously channeled my interest in video games into this whole blogging thing to keep track of what I want for myself and what's going on out there.

The ultimate goal really, is to be able to play more games- which means a dedicated effort to not just increase my weekly allotted game time, but to also maximize said game time. It also means a steady supply of games- sure I'd buy some every month, but it would be great to get some free from time to time. Gotta work on that.

My current PC still seems good enough to play the more requirement-heavy games out in the market right now, so I probably don't have to worry about it until next year- which means I can probably divert my attention to getting myself a new console.
And the gaming console on my wishlist is the Xbox360. Nothing against the PS3 or the Wii, but I think I'm really more of an Xbox person. Besides, I already have my eye on some great games for this year. Check it:

• Fallout 3 (due out last quarter of 2008)
• Grand Theft Auto IV (due out second quarter of 2008)
• Bully: Scholarship Edition (due out March 2008)
• Dynasty Warriors 6 (due out February 2008)
• and Return to Castle Wolfenstein

On top of those games, I should also secure the following titles once I get my 360: Gears of War, Halo 3, Mass Effect, Chromehounds, Viva Pinata and Call of Duty 4.

As for handhelds, I have to get myself a Nintendo DS first- I heard it has some real cool games, and it's great as far as handhelds go. Second priority would be a Sony PSP- or that PSP Slim- that thing you can plug into a TV.

Most of my efforts will still be directed towards getting new games for my PC. What am I setting my sights on for 2008?

• World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich-king (out later this year)
• Galactic Civilizations 2: Twilight of the Arnor (out April 2008)
• Jagged Alliance 3 (out first quarter 2008)
• Guild Wars 2 (out mid-2008)

At this point, I still have to get me The Orange Box, The Elder Scrolls IV Expansion Packs (The Shivering Isle and Knights of the Nine) and The Witcher.

See? Got it all pretty much figured out. Now all I have to do is work doubly hard and make things happen for myself. Check you guys out in a few months.

Cheers!