First Impressions

I finally got my copy at Brochiere, Robinson's Galleria last Wednesday. I got it for Php 3,100.00 something with no extras. Jonas Diego and co-Diablo 3 Philippines blogger got the same thing for Php 2,550.00 (click here for the full details) and he got a poster for it too! What the...?

I'm kinda thinking Brochiere owes me!

That aside, I started playing it Thursday afternoon and, I gotta admit, I was pretty excited.

I do have to say that while waiting for Diablo 3 to come out, I've played other Diablo-type games like Drakensang-Online and Path of Exile, so comparisons to those games are bound to come out whenever I talk about Diablo 3.

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Having played those games for the past few months, I sort of got over my indignation over Diablo 3's requirement for an always on Internet connection. Meaning, although you can install the game in your computer and play it solo you have to go online, register with Blizzard's Battle.net and log into one of their servers for you to actually play this game.

Drakensang and Path of Exile both work with that kind of mechanics so I had gotten used to it. It has its own pros and cons, of course. The bad thing about it is that you are always at the mercy of the stability of not only your Internet connection but also of the stability of Blizzard's servers. Although you paid for this game (I'm assuming that you did), it will not always be up to you when you will be able to play this game.

Obviously, this seems to be a response to piracy but it terribly inconveniences those who actually buy their games legally.

The good thing about it is that your game will always be up to date. If the "social" thing is more your thing you might find a lot of things to like about it because you can chat, trade, and do the auction thing. But for someone like me who doesn't care about all that stuff (I mean, I just want to play the damned thing by myself without anyone else intruding on my little happy time) all of that is just unnecessary stuff.

But I can live with it.

What do you guys think? Is this always online thing something that can stop people from pirating Diablo 3? Even if you have pirated software and codes there is still the matter of logging into Blizzard for authentication so you can actually play it.

Anyway, as for the game itself...

I think it's pretty awesome. The action and effects are pretty cool. I'm playing a Barbarian (currently Level 19) and he's pretty brutal.

I'm kind of confused about customization though. I mean, the development of the character through skills is kind of confusing. One would think that you gain more and more passive skills as you go along, but from what I'm seeing you only gain access to passive skills as you level up, but you get to choose what passive skills you can use at any given moment. When you choose one skill, you drop another. Is that right? Would it make more sense for you to be able to have both passive skills at the same time as you grow?

Yeah, right now that skill system is very confusing.

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I hope to get a better grasp of how characters are developed as I play the game further. In comparison, Path of Exile has a pretty awesome skill tree. (See image on the right.) You get to choose which attributes you can enhance as you level up, no confusion at all.

I was already at Level 19 before I first encounter my first socketed item. Wow! That far in? I'm not sure what to put in it yet because I've yet to actually encounter gems or any kind of item that you can put in a socket.

I find Normal Setting rather difficult (what more in the more difficult settings of the game). I've lost count how many times I've died (I'm guessing around 15 times now). It's crazy but it's all right: a challenge is what it is.

Graphics-wise, beautiful as Diablo 3 is, I have to make another comparison. Path of Exile's graphics is really just more stunning. But what Diablo 3 has got over Path of Exile is excitement of gameplay.

And to me that's a very important part of the game.

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!

DIABLO 3 OUT TODAY!!

YEAH! Diablo 3 comes out today!

Brochiere at Robinson's Galleria sent me a message telling me I can already pick my copy up. Unfortunately, I won't be able to go to Manila until tomorrow and I probably won't be able to play it until Thursday evening.

I'm not in a hurry though.

Part of me wishes I could have just bought the digital copy straight from Blizzard. I could have been playing it today. But the old fashioned me wanted the CD (or is it DVD?) and I've already paid my downpayment.

Today, millions upon millions of people around the world will literally disappear and never heard of again.

I might be one of them!

Diablo III: Wrath

Blizzard Entertainment teamed up with renowned director Peter Chung and acclaimed animation studio Titmouse to create this unique vision of a fundamental moment in the battle between the High Heavens and the Burning Hells.

Peter Cheung is best known for his unique style of animation, as the creator and director of Aeon Flux, which ran as shorts on MTV's Liquid Television before launching as its own half-hour television series.

Following are some behind the scenes of Wrath stuff. Find out more about this short-length film and what it took to bring its story to life, from concept to creation.

Just a few more days!

Avoiding All The Spoilers

I know there's a bunch of trailers out there of Diablo III, including official trailer videos as well as player made videos of gameplay from the Beta. I also know (via Jonas), that there was a Free Open Beta weekend (Public Server Stress Test) a couple of weekends ago.

But I've been trying to avoid all of that because, come May 15, I want to experience the game for the first time without any previous knowledge of what to expect.

How do I manage to keep the insane urge under control?

Well, outside of work, I'm preoccupying myself with playing stuff like Drakensang-Online as well as Path of Exile, Diablo-type games of varying quality. I know that, come May 15, I will most likely drop these games like a hot potato but let's see. I've been playing Drakensang for quite a while now and I'm nearly at the level cap. I've played pretty much 99% of the game as it is now so it would be pretty easy to drop.

Path of Exile though, would be tougher for me to drop. It's actually a pretty awesome game with some spectacular graphics. I love it so much that I've even started a whole new blog about it.

But then, Diablo III is Diablo III.

I fully expect to be fully engrossed in it when the time comes. I can't wait to suit up as a Barbarian and just start killing monsters! And I will definitely write a blow by blow account of the experience of playing the game from the ground up!

15 days to go!!!

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?

Play DIABLO III for FREE!

This weekend, everyone can play Diablo III for FREE!

Yes. That's right. FREE!

The good folks at Blizzard Entertainment is announcing the Diablo III open beta weekend which offers open access with a valid Battle.net account! It's a three day event as they put the Diablo III servers through a stress test as we get closer and closer to the May 15, 2012 release date.

Okay, some of you out there are probably wondering if one can still play even though you don't have a Battle.net account. The answer is "abso*fucking*lutely"!

"Just visit http://www.battle.net to create a free Battle.net account. Next, download the client from https://us.battle.net/account/download/index.xml and install it. Create your BattleTag and then log in to the game using your Battle.net account name (email address) and password to begin slaughtering the demonic hellspawn that dare stand in your way."

Download the Diablo III client right now! Click here.

"From Friday, April 20 at 12:01 p.m. PDT (noon), until Monday, April 23 at 10:00 a.m. PDT you'll be able to log in, team up with friends, and play each of the five heroic classes to level 13 as you fight to save the world from the impending demonic invasion."

Click here for more details.

Komikero: The Barbarian Trailer

Holleeee crap! I gotta play this game! Now na!

Reserved a Copy at DataBlitz

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I passed by a DataBlitz outlet in Greenbelt 1 while hanging out with Ysa Arce earlier today and I thought I'd come in and have a copy of Diablo III reserved.

The sales lady informed me that, unfortunately, they will not be carrying the Collector's Item Edition and she's not sure when it's coming in (or if they'll be coming in at all). Looks like I'll have to find some other way to get the Art of Diablo III book which is included in the Collector's Edition, of course.

She assured me however, that the regular edition will be arriving on May 15, 2012.

I was pleasantly surprised to find out that the reservation fee is only Php 200.00 (honestly I was expecting to shell out around Php 1,000.00). So I forked the cash over and I'll be returning to the outlet twelve days from now.

You guys out there had yours reserved yet?