Maybe Diablo III can wait.?...

When I read that Blizzard was going to be announcing a new game a little while back, I knew it was going to be Starcraft II. I couldn't help but hold onto that little bit of hope that maybe it would be Diablo III...well as we now know it wasn't. I've played a bunch of action-rpgs since my Diablo II days (and really, I still get hooked here and there for a while), but nothing compares. Well Hellgate: London seems a worthy contender, or at least a sweet hold-over until that glorious day. E3 just wrapped up and Gamespot has a great stage demo with one of the designers. I've seen gameplay videos before and have read many articles, but this sums it up nicely! Now the wait for Hellgate: London...

Gamespot E3 Stage Demo

Woot! Screenshots

You better believe i'll be putting up a ton of screenshots. When I walk around I always see photo opts. The problem is I don't always have a camera, and even then, it may not work out. I wish I could use my eye to take it exacly as I want and as I see it. Perspective is everything and a camera sure isn't my eye. Well in RL I may not be able to capture what I see always, but MMOs give a certain emulation of the concept. Often when running around questing in MMOs I'll notice something that catches my eye...sometimes all it takes is a rotation of the camera and a great screenshot is taken. It may be a lame thing to do, essentially photographing the online worlds, but if it looks cool, it looks cool...right?.........right?..

petrified trolls ftw

Life=aRPG? I thinkso!

It may sound stooooopid and crazy, but life is a roleplaying game. This first clicked on my who knows which run through Fallout. Making my character and thinking of all the options, I realized that just like in life there are different type of "characters". Some of us are built like tanks and can dish out huge amounts of damage with their fists, some of us would feel more comfortable with a gun in our hands, and then some like to open their mouths and lie, charm, and all-around talk their way out of situations. For Fallout, those are basically your choices. But to disect this arguement a little further in respect to Fallout's divine and diverse skill system, you have doctors, first aid specialists, ppl that can sneak around incredibly, pick a lock or pocket, thrive in the outdoors, and even gamble better than the rest. Then I took it a real step forward and thought about how I would spec myself according to the Fallout character system. Now I know I'd be fucked in a post-nuclear wasteland, but that gave me a new appreciation for RPGs and what they can offer. I love myself in real life, but to be able to get into a game and create a character beyond your abilities and wreck shit your way is an amazing concept. Whether it's based off yourself or an entirely different beast, it's rewarding to work your way through a story and grow with it. At the end of it, and hopefully the entire way through, you're proud of your falseBeing and all it's xp'lootNskills heh. That's something no movie, no book, and rarely another game genre can offer. So I happily blame Fallout for making a gamer and RPGer out of me...here's to Life=aRPG!