Unveiled: Diablo III's Wizard Class

a quick time-out from gaming with Renzie Baluyut.

BlizzCon '08 is well under way at the Anaheim Convention Center, and Blizzard fills us in on the third of five classes you can play with its highly-anticipated hack-and-slash RPG: Diablo III.

You've probably already seen the demo gameplay for the first two classes: the Barbarian and the Witch Doctor. As if paying homage to the old pen-and-paper role-playing games, Blizzard has decided to throw in our magic-wielding Wizard Class.

Unlike the Witch Doctor who supposedly draws his abilities from the spiritual realm, the Wizard taps into the raw power of the universe and channels it to do her bidding.

The good guys of Blizzard gave eager BlizzCon attendees a sneak peak of the workings of the new Wizard- essentially what sets her apart from the other classes- and had gone further to explain Diablo III's new skill system and skill tree, a new rune system, and new improved special effects based on your character's special abilities.

So what can the Diablo III Wizard class do?

- Early on, she is able to throw Magic Missiles- something Dungeons & Dragons players should be familiar with. It's really more like the old Firebolt of Diablo II- a very basic arcane ranged attack which presumably becomes more powerful as your character invests more skills into it.

- After gaining a few more levels, she can now unlock Electrocute- a quick zap of raw electrical energy that pretty much looks like a form of a lightning bolt, then maybe progressing to something like chain lightning at higher levels.

- Higher up the skill tree is Slow Time, which was implemented as a bubble effect that radiates outward from the Wizard.

- Lastly, the devastating Disintegrate was introduced. Described as "a real face-melter", this spell makes use of a charge mechanic which allows the player to hold down a button and sweep their mouse across a swath of opponents, dealing more damage to enemies unfortunate enough to be targeted longer by the Wizard.

While a lot of the gameplay aspects were already demonstrated at BlizzCon, the current version is by no means final, as some game mechanics are still being either worked in, fine-tuned or chucked out completely by Blizzard game designers.

No word yet on when Diablo III will be released. In the meantime, get blown away by this vid posted on Blizzard's YouTube channel. Enjoy!

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

Cheers, everyone!

Great Moments in Gaming: The Onyxia Wipe Video

a quick break from actual gaming by Renzie Baluyut

I don't know if you've already seen this video, but I just did a few months back.

Backgrounder: if you've been playing World of Warcraft, then you know that the later storyline brings in Onyxia, this big-ass black dragon boss, who has decided to take the southern part of Dustwallow Marsh as her lair.

It takes a massive effort to bring Onyxia down, with guilds organizing large raiding parties still getting wiped. Onyxia on her own is tough enough, but adventurers also have to deal with all kinds of Black Dragonspawn- among them, Black Dragon Whelps. Many, many whelps.

Now here's a disturbingly hilarious video of one such guild who had come knocking on Onyxia's lair. And promptly got wiped. Thanks to Alachas1985 for capturing this moment in viral video form- truly one of the greatest moments of gaming. Ever. Take a look.

Here's a transcription of what went down. Mind you, if you it's filled with expletives- so a word to the sensitive ones. Just had to stay faithful to the original material, is all. With that out of the way...

Odd groups go to the left, even groups go to the right. That means 1, 3, 5, 7 - left, 2, 4, 6, 8 - right. Seven and Eight are Whelp Groups.

Okay, now listen the fuck up: you're going to DPS very very slowly. Now... and by slowly, I mean fucking slow.

If you get aggro, it means you're going to lose 50 DKP 'coz you didn't know what the fuck to do!

And watch the fucking tail!

If you get kicked into the whelps, you lose 50 DKP again- for not being where the fuck you were supposed to be.

There is no aggro reset. The only... there's some shit about an aggro reset when some people don't know how to manage their aggro.

After 2 Sunders, you can basically start doing damage to it. Assuming you know how Aggro works, you son't over-Aggro.

OK, nuke it, DOT it, help the whelp groups...

When it's in phase 2, nuke it as hard as possible. You want to get it down as fast as possible. Have DOTs up on- on every time. 2 rows: Shadow Word: Pain, Warlock Curses, Rend, everything.

I don't see enough DOTs, more DOTs now! Come on, more DPS! Hit it like ya mean it! You'll get time to rest in Phase 3 while (down) getting Aggro.

Remember, save your Aggro-reducing abilities for when it lands. That means Feign Death, Vanish, -erm- fucking Fade, anything that you can use to reset Aggro.

At 40%, you will stop DOTs. Until then, you will throw more DOTs. Throw more DOTs, more DOTs, more DOTs. Come on, more DOTs! 'K, stop DOTs.

Now hit it very hard. And very fast!

Lee, run to the center! Mogrus, run to the center! Foresight, run to the center! Sarp, run to the center! Isis, run to the center! Whatever the fuck you do, don't stand next to other people!

Mogrus, center! Just heal me.

Lee, do NOT..! Go away from the head, Lee! Go away!
'K, DPS! Slowly! Come here, you fucking cunt! Watch the tail!

(Someone else) Whelps. (Somebody else) Crushim was Feared into...

WHO THE FUCK WAS THAT? Crushim, what the FUCK? Whelps- left side! Even side, many whelps! NOW, HANDLE it!

FUCK!

That's a FUCKING 50 DKP minus! What the FUCK was that SHIT?

If you stand in the right fucking place, there is NO WAY you are going to FUCKING get into the GODDAMNED whelps, whatever fucking FEAR, Tailswipe- whatever the FUCK! Okay?! It's like one in a fucking million!

From the- fucking north corner, to the middle, into the fucking Whelp cave, it's not even FUCKING remotely imaginable!

(end)

From Alachas1985's YouTube entry: The audio was created by "Dives" from Wipe Club, I had nothing to do with its creation, I only made the animation. Cheers to the guys from "Wipe Club" (http://www.wipeclub.eu) for making the sound clip!

Cheers indeed!

The 10 Highest Rated Nintendo Wii Games of All Time, pt 2 of 2.

yet another break from actual gaming by Renzie Baluyut

Welcome to Part 2 of my special report on the Top 10 Highest Rated Games for the Nintendo Wii of all time, according to Gamespot.com.

After checking out the Nintendo Wii in action at a recent bloggers' party, I thought I might just get one for myself. After all, the Wii is great family fun.

In Part 1 of our special report, we've already mentioned five games: No More Heroes, Super Mario Bros. 3, Paper Mario, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time and Super Paper Mario.

So let's get on with our report and take on the five highest-rated Nintendo games of all time, according to Gamespot.com. Here we go:

5. Okami (released 15 Apr 2008)

This nature adventure game sees players assuming the role of a sun god who's attempting to restore life to a world devoid of color.

Ōkami is an action-adventure video game that was initially released for the Sony PlayStation 2. The port for Nintendo's Wii console was released in North America on April 15, 2008,

Set in an unspecified period of classical Japanese history, Ōkami combines several Japanese myths, legends and folklore to tell the story of how the land was saved from darkness by the Shinto sun goddess, named Amaterasu, who has taken the form of a white wolf. It features a distinct sumi-e-inspired cel-shaded visual style and the Celestial Brush, a gesture-system to perform miracles.

Ōkami was one of the last few PlayStation 2 games selected for release prior to the release of the PlayStation 3. Although it suffered from poor sales, Ōkami earned high acclaim from reviewers and earned, among other awards, the title of IGN's 2006 Game of the Year. The Wii version has earned similar praise though the motion control scheme has received mixed reviews from both critics and gamers.

4. WarioWare: Smooth Moves (released 15 Jan 2007)

The first next-gen installment in Nintendo's series includes over 200 minigames that use the Wii's motion-sensing controller.

WarioWare: Smooth Moves is the fifth game of the WarioWare series of games.

Like its predecessors, WarioWare: Smooth Moves is a collection of microgames based on simple actions which usually last fewer than five seconds each.

The microgames are played in rapid succession, presenting the player with the gameplay screen and a short instruction hinting at the action that must be accomplished. Once the microgame is complete, the next one begins. If a player makes four mistakes over the course of one set of microgames, they usually must start over from the beginning of the set.

WarioWare: Smooth Moves has received favorable reviews from the gaming community, receiving a score of 83 out of 100 on Metacritic, based on the average scores of 58 press reviews. GameSpot rated the game 9.1 out of 10, their highest rating for a party game, and stated that "it's a terrific use of the Wii's unique control features, it looks amazing...".

3. Resident Evil 4: Wii Edition (released 19 Jun 2007)

Resident Evil 4 heads to the Wii, incorporating the control functionality of the Wii Remote and the additional content included in the Playstation 2 version.

Resident Evil 4: Wii Edition, originally came out for the GameCube and then the PS2 later on, but was also released for the Wii on May 31, 2007 in Japan. While it features new controls involving the Wii Remote and Nunchuk extension, the game comes with the ability to use a Classic Controller instead.

The Wii Remote is able to aim and shoot anywhere on the screen with a reticle that replaces the laser sight found in the other versions. It can also be flicked in order to use the knife to instantly target an enemy.

The Wii Edition also includes the extra content from the PlayStation 2 and PC versions, and a trailer for Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles.

Resident Evil 4 has won numerous Game of the Year awards.

2. Super Mario Galaxy (released 12 Nov 2007)

Super Mario Galaxy finds Mario taking his adventures to new heights as he soars through space from planet to planet in search of stars.

Super Mario Galaxy is a 3D platform game developed and published by Nintendo for Wii. It is the third 3D platformer in the Mario series after Super Mario 64 and Super Mario Sunshine.

The game follows Mario on his quest through space to save Princess Peach from his arch-nemesis Bowser. Levels take the form of galaxies filled with a variety of minor planets and worlds while gameplay is updated with a variety of gravity effects and new power-ups.

The game is one of the most critically acclaimed titles of all time,and has won numerous "Game of the Year" awards. By March 31, 2008, it had sold 6.10 million copies worldwide, making it the best-selling standalone Wii game and the third best-selling game published by Nintendo for the Wii behind Wii Sports and Wii Play, respectively.

1. Super Smash Bros. Brawl (released 09 Mar 9, 2008)

Duke it out with your favorite Nintendo characters in Super Smash Bros. Brawl for the Wii!

Super Smash Bros. Brawl, or just simply SSBB, is the third installment in the Nintendo series of crossover fighting games.

Following its predecessors, Brawl uses a battle system unlike that of typical fighting games. Players can choose from a large selection of characters, each attempting to knock their opponents off the screen as they fight on various stages.

Instead of using traditional health bars that start at 100% and lose value, Brawl characters start the game with 0% and the value rises as they take damage. As a character's percentage increases, the character flies farther back when hit.

When a character is knocked beyond a stage's boundary and disappears from the screen, the character loses either a life or a point depending on the mode of play.

Super Smash Bros. Brawl had received an aggregate review score of 94% on Metacritic, and 93.3% on Game Rankings. As of March 31, 2008, it has sold a total of 4.85 million units worldwide.

So there you have it ladies and gentlemen, Part 2 of the Top 10 Highest Rated Games for the Nintendo Wii of all time, according to our dear friends from Gamespot. You can check out Part 1 of my special report here.

Here are five runner-ups that didn't quite make it to Gamespot's list of the ten highest-rated Wii games of all time. They're all good games, nevertheless, and probably worth your while checking out: The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, Mega Man 9, Mario Kart Wii, Zack & Wiki: Quest for Barbaros' Treasure and Metroid Prime 3: Corruption.

If you still want to know how your other favorite Nintendo Wii games fared against all the others, you can then check out the rest of Gamespot's top games for the Nintendo Wii here. Always a great reference if you're in the market for some really great games for the Wii, whether you're completing your collection, or just starting from scratch.

Game blurbs taken from Gamespot. Pictures and information courtesy of Wikipedia. Follow the links to read more about our featured 10 Highest Rated Nintendo Wii Games of All Time.

Cheers, everyone!