Diablo III: Reaper of Souls now ready for pre-order!! (UPDATED!)

Happy New Year everyone!! And to start off 2014 right, our good friends at Asiasoft Philippines (Blizzard's exclusive distribution partner for Diablo III in the Philippines) just shared with us the awesome news that starting today, you can now start pre-ordering digitally the much awaited expansion for the PC and Mac version of Diablo III in the Philippines!! :D

Official boxart for the Standard Edition of
Diablo III: Reaper of Souls expansion

For those who isn't aware of Diablo III: Reaper of Souls expansion, here's a quick teaser trailer:


As shown in the teaser trailer, the upcoming expansion pack will feature:

• Act V: A dark and terrifying chapter sending players on a final confrontation with the Angel of Death; Malthael, itself!!
• The Crusader: A brand new class, that is highly reminiscent of the holy Paladin from Diablo II, that brings the might of the heavens upon those who seek its destruction.
• Increased Level cap from 60 to 70!! Also there will be new spells and abilities for all classes to unlock giving returning players more options in dealing punishment towards the denizens of hell.
• Adventure Mode: A new game mode that give players the freedom to go anywhere and slay anything. Perfect for leveling up or grinding in a particular quest/spot. :D
• Bounties: Randomized objectives that reward players in new ways for exploring the world of Sanctuary. Think sidequests... Diablo-style. :D
• Nephalem Rifts: Fully randomized dungeons offering endless replayability and heaps of amazing loot. Perfect for loot-runs and finding that ever so elusive legendary items you're looking for. :D
• The Mystic: A powerful new NPC that appears who will provide heroes with the ability to customize the look of their loot among others. Best suited for those fashion-savvy adventurers of Santuary. :D
• Loot 2.0: Yes its finally coming folks!! The much talked-about Loot 2.0 arrives with the expansion pack and with it the removal of the Real Money Auction Houses (RMAH) for much satisfying loot-runs in Sanctuary!!

And all of this amazing content comes with the Diablo III: Reaper of Souls Standard Edition, which players can pre-order at a SRP of Php1,800!! Not too bad if I may say so, and its quite close to our estimates (we predicted it to be roughly around Php1,400) on our post regarding the price of the expansion pack once it hits our shores locally!! I'm pleasantly surprised with this news and good job to our local distributor Asiasoft Philippines in keeping the price relatively affordable. :D

And to make the announcement even more awesome, we also have confirmation that Diablo III: Reaper of Souls Collector's Edition will also be arriving here in the Philippines!! 

Official boxart for the Collector's Edition of
Diablo III: Reaper of Souls expansion

The Diablo III: Reaper of Souls Collector's Edition comes with the following bonuses for the hardcore Diablo III player:

• A full complement Diablo III helms, and weapons that are primed for transmogrification.
• A Ghost Wolf minion players can summon to keep them company on their journey.
• Three additional character slots to accommodate new heroes.
• A World of Warcraft in-game companion pet, the Treasure Goblin, ready to compete in Pet Battles.
• A set of StarCraft II Crusader-themed Battle.net portraits and Malthael-themed decals.
• A full-color hardcover artbook.
• A behind-the-scenes Blu-ray/DVD two-disc set.
• A limited edition Diablo III: Reaper of Souls mouse pad.

UPDATE: It was previously announced that the Collector's Edition will be available for Php3,500 locally. However according to the official distributor of Diablo III here in the Philippines; tax, freight charges and other unforeseen expenses caused the price to bump up significantly, and the revised Philippine SRP will now be Php4,500.

We also now have the Philippine launch date. Diablo III: Reaper of Souls will be available nationwide on March 25th, 2014.

As for the console versions of the expansion pack, as well as what game stores will the expansion pack be available, kindly keep posted on our blog for more updates in the future!! :)

So what are you waiting for? Pre-order the expansion pack today!! :D

EVIL Returns and EVIL is MINE!

May 15, 2012 Wednesday saw the release of Diablo III, one of the most eagerly awaited games of the year (if not the decade which, if you think about it, was how long most of us was waiting). Before its release, the game broke several pre-sale records and became the most pre-ordered PC game of all time on Amazon.com.

I had mine reserved just to ensure I would have a copy (read about it here).

I headed off to DataBlitz at Greenbelt 1 to get my copy around 1:00 PM and while I was expecting the game to be in demand I certainly did not expect the long line at the store.

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I dutifully got in line and waited my turn to purchase the game. While waiting I noticed a "no Diablo III Collector's Edition" sign placed at various locations within the DataBlitz store (I guess they got tired of telling people).

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After waiting for almost 2 hours outside, I finally got inside the store only to find that there's another line inside!

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After waiting another 15 minutes or so, I finally the cashier to claim my reserved copy.

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They informed me that there were two prices: the cheaper Php 2,550.00 and the more expensive Php 3,150.00 which comes with a raffle stub to join an online contest from the folks at e-Games and a free t-shirt. Frankly, I just wanted the game so I opted to go for the cheaper option (I did get a free poster though which was enough for me).

And at last! The game is mine!

The only bummer was that I manage to rip part of the box skin up top when I was removing some piece of tape.

I didn't break out the CD and install it right away (apparently there is still a lot of bugs according to several accounts that reached me from the web). I decided to wait a bit and savor (as well as document) each part of the process including the un-boxing.

Check it out!

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Aside from the CD there were also a lot of nifty things that came with it.

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Inside you'll get the CD, the Diablo III Quick Start Guide, 3 Diablo III Guest Pass, 1 World of WarCraft Guest Pass, and a stationery.

As much as I'm excited to get hacking and slashing I still got some stuff I need to finish this week so I figure I'll wait until the weekend before I install and play the game lest it wreaks havoc with my production schedule and other important matters that require my attention.

Until then, I'll see you guys in hell!