R.I.P. Hellgate London

It only took a year (give or take a few months) but Namco Bandai has announced that as of January 31st, 2009, the game's online servers will be shut off.

It's not like we all saw this coming. The over-hype killed this game. People went into the game thinking it was going to be the best RPG since WoW, but they were only to be hit with bugs. The concept was there and the Diablo guys did a good job with the RPG elements of the game. The problem was technical.

For those who still want to play online, it's free of charge until N/B shuts off the servers. Two good things come out of this: 1.At least there's single player, and 2. You will be able to find it in the bargain bin for $10 pretty soon.

The Top Ten Dumbest Things In Diablo 2.

Been busy this past week so here's a little list that HellForge created. It's the top ten dumbest features of Diablo 2. I don't believe the Great Marsh should be on the list because of the experience we get from single player games. In any case, it's a pretty accurate list.

I'd also like to add the Assassin character class to this list. It should be #3.

10. Attack and Stamina Potions
Honestly, did anyone ever use these? For anything? Ever? They had barely enough power to clear out the Stony Field, why did they even bother to include them? The most ridiculous and useless items in the entire game, without a doubt.

9. The “Thief” Monster Ability
An interesting, if disastrous feature, that lasted all of one patch. I wonder who thought that ripping items off a player’s character and dropping them onto the ground for all to see was an awesome idea? Still, it was worth it just to hear the screams of panic.

8. Nihlathak’s “Corpse Explosion”
Hmmm… oh, I know! Let’s give him the ability to cast a spell that does massive damage from two screens away! And make it kill you in one shot! Yeah, that’s a great feature! Hardcore players will LOVE the “challenge”.

7. + Light Radius
Useless little modifier that would appear on every freakin’ thing you didn’t want it to. What’s it going to do? Blind the monsters with its luminous shine? More like attract them from half a thousand miles away to figure out what this giant glowing bug catcher is.

6. Isenhart’s Set
Isenhart, I think I speak for every player when I say “F*** off, you useless w****y piece of c**k cheese”. We’re sick of your set turning up twelve times in each game; it’s as effective as a semi-defrosted mackerel. And smells about as good too.

5. The Great Marsh
Probably the least visited area in Diablo 2, most of the time we don’t need to go near the Great Marsh at all. Whether it’s a bug, or just made that way, it rarely generates as a part of the main Kurast path, instead appearing as a sort of dead end detour. Why would we want to spend twenty minutes exploring a pointless midget filled area that goes nowhere? Meh.

4. Loot Drop Glitches
This can occur at any time, but most notably in the Level 3 Durance of Hate’s Council Members. How many times have you killed those guys on the way to Mephisto and had them drop nothing? Also known to happen with Duriel, who may drop no more then a town portal. I’ve even personally solo-slain Hell Baal… only to have him drop a few yellow items. Curse you Blizzard for your buggy drops!!!

3. Druid’s “Spirit of Barbs”
A level 30 ability for the Druid, the Spirit of Barbs with 20 points in it does close to 100% damage return to attackers. Meanwhile, the Paladin’s “Thorns” aura - a level 6 ability – does 100% damage return… with one skill point in it. The Druid’s suckage doth make us ROFL.

2. Making Hell ‘Durance of Hate’ 10x Bigger
A classic example of trying to force gamers to “play the game the way it’s meant to be played”. The idea was to make running Hell Mephisto a tad harder, or perhaps abolish running him altogether. Instead, 75% of Diablo 2’s playerbase suddenly became acquainted with the time saving “map hack”. Longevity lies in being able to speed through the monotonous nowadays; remember that, developers. We’re happy to take things slow for the first few play throughs, but it very quickly becomes “been there, done that”. Trying to draw out the pain (coughcoughHellgate1.3dcoughcough) will not be appreciated.

1. Nerfing “Whirlwind”
Whirlwind was the ability of Diablo 2. It was the skill that almost single handedly marketed the game to all fans of the warrior class. And for a few patches, it was good! Then BAM! Nerfed harder then the American economy. At -50% damage right off the bat, Whirlwind needed a massive amount of points just to reach “useful” let alone “devastating”. Take a mental note people, if some skill seems insanely powerful to you: shut up about it!

All I Want For Christmas Is...

This



You can buy it for me here. Thanks :-)

Seriously? WoW.

I know that there's a lot of Blizzcon 08 news and stuff to critic but I have to rant on this guy.

One World of Warcraft player has a complete set up for his Warcraft needs. And those need are 36 accounts and 11 computers. And I thought cosplayers were the ultimate geek.

I used to multibox Diablo 1 and 2 because rushing and trading were easier that way. But 36!? Come on. Oh, and here's his defence:

"It costs me exactly $5711 in subscription costs per year with 36 accounts on the 6 month pay schedule. Not bad considering I’m looking at it like it’s a hobby and there are more expensive hobbies out there than World of Warcraft," claims Bradster.

Yeah, I can see some hobbies being more expensive; like buying old cars. But there are other cheaper hobbies which people can actually praise you for. Such hobbies include: Hiking, biking, reading books, model railroads [from experience, seriously. My grandfather still gets praises for his train layouts], woodworking, volunteering at you local community center, and yo-yoing. How many people do you meet swinging those yo-yos around? Next to none - we need more of them.

Look, having 1, 2, or even 3 Warcraft accounts is fine by me. Some people enjoy that. But this man needs a real hobby... one that isn't addicting but just fun to do. And one that gets you out of the house.

BlizzCon 08!

Stay tuned tomorrow for more Diablo 3 information right here!

I'll be posting frequently tomorrow evening on whatever we hear.

*Update - 11:00AM EST*

It is official: There will be a PLAYABLE DEMO OF DIABLO 3! Also, you will be able to play a new class! Damn you, you lucky SOBs. :-P

"Among these brave champions stands the enigmatic witch doctor, a spiritual warrior from deep within the Torajan jungles. At BlizzCon 2008, the witch doctor is yours to command for the first tim ever. Stop by the Diablo area on the show floor for your chance to lead this fierce new hero into the catacombs beneath the Tristram Cathedral.

While you're there, revisit the raw strength of the barbarian - a Diablo series classic - or try your hand at Sanctuary's newest champion, who will be revealed at the event."

*Update - 2:00PM EST*

Blizzard has release a new class! THE WIZARD! I'm pretty excited about this class - love the name too. I find it better than Sorceress but not as cool as if they were to bring back the Mage.

It is said that the Wizard will have Charged Bolt, Magic Missle, Blizzard, Tornado, and Frost Nova.

The description follows: Youthful and headstrong, the upstart Wizard manipulates the primal forces of the universe to vanquish foes.


There is also news that the playable demo's final boss is the Skeleton King! No, not Jack. He's the Pumpkin King. Is it Leoric? I mean, we killed him when he was already dead so I guess he could still be there in Tristram's Cathedral.



*Update - 5:00PM EST*

Blizzard has updated Diablo3.com with a full page on the Wizard including some new spell trailers as well as a cinematic trailer for the class! There are also numerous screenshots updated on the website. It's a great read.

I am also VERY convinced that the Skeleton King is King Leoric himself. It's just too weird to have a 'Skeleton King' in the Tristram Cathedral when in Diablo 1, the Skeleton King was Leoric. In any case, he looks badass!

D3 Website Update

I've been sick this past week with this fall cold that is going around all of Connecticut. With that said, I am getting better but I have much work to get caught up on. A good friend of mine is getting married this weekend so no more updates this week.

Here's a link to Diii.net's article about the Oct 2nd Diablo3.com update and a new monster too. Looks like a Leaper from Act2 but instead of jumping, it'll be burrowing.