Diablo III: Book of Cain hands-on!!

Just recently, I got fortunate enough to secure a copy of this wonderful book:

It's the Blizzard-licensed book, Diablo III: Book of Cain!! :D

This wonderfully made book is a must-have for Diablo fans, as this tries to emulate/recapture the look and feel of that tome Deckard Cain carries in-game. Complete with rich lore and history of the entire Diablo trilogy, it gives players an inside look of the world of Sanctuary.

Here's some shots of the book itself:

Front w/ cover label

Back w/ cover label

Front w/o cover label

Back w/o cover label

The book cover itself looks and feels great. It's got a nice matte finish with a slight embossment on the details of the book which feels great. The book itself sports amazing artwork (as expected of Blizzard) to accompany the book's rich lore of the world of Sanctuary. It even has scribbles and notes from Deckard Cain, putting down important notes about certain events, people, places. It tries its best to closely resemble that of the tome that Decark Cain was carrying, as presented in the game. Even the page edges are small "tears" to make it look like an "ancient" book. It's those little attention to detail that makes this book more amazing to behold in person. :D

Just looking at the book coverpage, it reminds me of
those old manuscripts in museums.

It even contains a letter addressed to Deckard Cain's nephew; Leah.
The letter is abit bittersweet and made me a little teary-eyed.
(if you know what will happen to Cain in Diablo III)

The book also details how the world of Sanctuary
was created, with accompanying artwork.

The Archangel of Justice; Tyrael, looking majestic, as his illustration
accompanies his description in this page.

The book also includes description of the many
places in Sanctuary where our heroes hail from;
just like this entry about Ensteig... home to the Demon Hunters.

Aside from the said lore and illustrations, the book also has a special surprise at the back:

It's the map of Sanctuary itself!! To be honest, as a fan of the series, this is the first time I've ever seen the world of Sanctuary detailed as a map, and its simply glorious to behold. Seeing where Lut Gholein is located, or even Tristram is just amazing for a Diablo-fan like myself!! :D

The book is priced locally at Php 1,395 (roughly $31) and is available in Fully Booked. So if you're a fan of the series, this book is definitely an excellent addition to your book collection, as it fully compliments the game and gives fans additional information and lore that fully fleshes out the world of Sanctuary. :) Hopefully I get my hands on it's supplemental book as well; The Book of Tyrael. :D

Whattup, Philippine Gaming Fans?

I've been visiting the Blizzard site in anticipation of the May 15 release of the game, and I noticed that many places across the world will be having launch events, including several places in Asia.

There's one in Taiwan, another in Singapore, and another in Bangkok.

None in the Philippines? Come on guys! I don't pretend to be a hardcover Pinoy gamer (because I'm not). I'm just a casual gamer who play at most an hour a day to relieve stress.

Outside of Diablo I really don't play any other big games like WOW or Counterstrike (wow, so 90s huh?). Sometimes I'd play something like Bejewelled Blitz or Angry Birds or the random shooter or hidden object game but that's it.

But I'm sure there's a huge audience out there of hardcore Pinoy gamers who are waiting for this game with insane anticipation. So much so that it should may very well warrant some kind of launch event. I'm kind of disappointed there isn't. Perhaps I'm mistaken? That there aren't enough gamers here to warrant it?

Or worse, there aren't enough *ahem* LEGAL users to make it worth Blizzard's while?