My Diablo 3 so far…

So today is a big day for FMG. I tossed up my first video to good ‘ol YouTube. Nothing major. Just a quick video going over the build I’ve used on my Barbarian. I’ll probably expand that a bit and throw up some more game-play footage of it in action. I haven’t done much in terms of video editing in a very long time so I’m pretty terrible at it. I’m trying out a ton of different programs and compressing the videos a few times with different programs/settings to see how the quality is. It’s been pretty fun. Very tiring, but fun. Looking forward to making more.

Let’s get to it.

At this point I’ve spent about 120 or so hours with Diablo 3. Despite the “Error 37” problems at launch and the complaints about the persistent online part of D3 I am loving the game. Even tho D3 isn’t an MMO I guess I’m used to having servers taken down for patches and stuff like that. I can definitely understand the strictly single player gamers out there who are upset with it. While it definitely wasn’t the smoothest game launch ever, I’m just glad to finally have my hands on the full game. The main concern for me with such a large gap and all the problems over the years they have developed D3, was if they could pull it off again. D1 and 2 were amazing games and I played the crap out of them. In my opinion, yeah. They nailed it. It feels like a Diablo game. Rolling through slaughtering baddies for shiny baubles has never been so much fun.

I just want to touch real quickly on graphics. The graphics in the game aren’t that bad. The environments look pretty awesome. The character models? I don’t think that they really look that great. Not terrible, but you can tell that this has been in development for a little while. I’m usually a person who loved throwing max settings on my games and sitting in awe at how amazing they look. When it comes to Diablo? It’s not that big of an issue for me. I just want that excitement of action and discovery. I can overlook the slightly dated graphics issue because the game really is a lot of fun. The dated graphics do not extend into the cinematic cut-scenes. Those are incredibly well done. You see those at the beginning, end and between each act but each one is mind-blowingly awesome. My personal favorite is the one between Act 1 and 2. Not gonna spoil it for ya. I’m just gonna say – HOLY SHIT! By the end of it I was standing with my hand over my mouth and my jaw on the floor. Incredible.

I’ve played all 5 classes at this point to at least level 20–ish. The two I’ve focused on are my Barbarian(Level 55 in Hell difficulty), and my Witch Doctor(Level 45 in Nightmare difficulty). Back in Diablo 2, there were a few classes that I couldn’t really get into and I didn’t play much. Back in Beta I was able to try out all the classes up to thirteen and did have fun will all of them. Throughout Beta certain skills got moved up and down levels and difficulty was getting tweaked. So I knew that at launch I would have to try them all again and see if I was still down to level all of them. I still find all the classes a lot of fun. They all play differently and have their own feel. The one class that I was finding early on that I wasn’t enjoying as much was the Monk. There’s just something about the abilities you get early on for them. I just wasn’t really feeling it. I’m around 20 on him now and have unlocked some pretty cool abilities so I am getting a better feel for it. The other classes I was off and running right at the start and loved all the abilities that I was getting and had a tough time choosing which abilities to use. Even now on my Witch Doctor I sometimes wish that I had just one more skill slot.

I’m sure that at this point with the amount of time I’ve played I probably would be well into, if not finished Inferno difficulty if I had focused on one character. I know I have a problem. Alt-oholism/Alt-itis is no laughing matter. Ok. It kinda is. Even with the amount of hours on my two higher characters I probably should be a little but further along than they are. What I have done a lot of is replaying areas with different builds to really get a feel for what best suits my play-style. I’ve almost got my Witch Doctor nailed down. Just a few things I need to decide on and tweak a bit. There’s some really great runes that some of the powers have so that is often the hardest choice for me. Certain abilities for my play style are a must have and sometimes there’s a couple of runes that are all viable for me. Once I really get that one refined a bit more I’ll make a video like I did for my Barbarian. With the Barbarian I still occasionally swap a thing or two out, usually passive abilities depending on the situation, but I use those skills in the video for everything. Trash mobs, elites, bosses and it all seems to work most of the time. There are times when I go rushing in before I realize what abilities a certain elite will have and get decimated. I can usually come back and take them out relatively easily once I see what I did wrong. I’ve rolled with pretty much that same build since about level 35-ish. Obviously there are some runes that I’m using now that are unavailable at that level but the abilities for the most part haven’t really changed. Check out the video and see what you think.

While I have played a lot of the game solo, I know quite a few people who also are playing. The system they have in place to group up with friends and hop into a game is amazing. Probably one of the best and easiest multi-player experiences I’ve ever seen. When you log on if someone on your list is in a game it shows a quick join tab in the bottom right that you can mouse over to see what level/act/difficulty your friend is playing. To join them it’s as easy as clicking their name on that list. You hop straight into the game and then can instantly catch up to them by clicking on their player banner right where you spawn in. You can also form up groups and start games together just as easily. So much easier than the old D2 days. Also if you’re rolling through by yourself and no friends are on at the moment and are feeling the multi-player itch, opening your game up to random players is as easy as bringing up the main menu and clicking the open game to public option. Joining a public game is a simple as clicking that option at the main screen. They really have made the multi-player experience very seem-less. I can definitely see some strictly single player gamers out there giving it a shot because of how easy it is.

I guess that it’s for today. I’m sure I’ll do more D3 posts in the future. Thanks a lot for reading and I hope you enjoy the video. Be sure to subscribe to the blog and Youtube and check out FMG on Facebook for updates!

-FMG-

My new obsession…

Having recently gotten an Xbox, in the spirit of trying new things, I figured I would give the Gears of War series another try. My last romp through a battlefield with the COG was around the time the first Gears came out. I really was not a fan of the game. Felt the controls and cover mechanics were really clunky. Didn’t like it at all.

This time around I ripped through the campaign for Gears 1 and 2 in a few days. I found that some of the problems with the game-play mechanics that were so frustrating in the first one were not as much of an issue in Gears 2. Story was pretty decent. Tried some multiplayer. Some TDM, Horde mode and a few other modes. Thought it was alright. Decided that I would get myself Gears 3 and take a run at that. See how it played.

I picked it up in the afternoon on Friday before work. I figured if I started on the campaign I would probably not make it in on time. So I did something that I have never done before. Decided to hop into a few multiplayer matches. I tend to finish campaign modes before going online. I figured, a couple of hours before work? I’ll do a Team Death Match or two and get some other things done before I had to head out. Wrong. Wrong. Wrong. Wrong. Two and a half hours later I’m scrambling to gather my things and run my skinny ass to work. Spent the majority of this weekend playing it while I wasn’t working.

Over the years there’s been a few games that I have gotten that instant obsession. I still don’t know what the x factor is that gets me so addicted to specific games. I’ve played plenty of games obsessively before in single player but for multiplayer there have only been a handful. In the past I can only think of Counterstrike, World Of Warcraft and Star Wars Galaxies(Pre – NGE) that I really got obsessive about. My Counterstrike obsession faded over the years. While I do still play regularly I don’t have 20 hours sessions anymore. World of Warcraft I also still play but lately have slacked off a bit. Mostly because a lot of the core group of people who I play regularly with have not had the time. Not having that group around has definitely affected my urge to want to play. I still log on but only to run a 5 man or two, hit some dailys and check auction house. My SWG obsession ended over night when a patch that SOE put out to “improve” the game completely ruined everything that made the game great and unique.

I can’t really put a finger on what exactly has caused specific games over the years to suck me right in. Especially in this case with Gears of War. I was not a fan. At all. The controls still bother me from time to time(mostly just the cover mechanic) and in some matches getting utterly stomped by the opposing team is downright maddening. Also I have never really been a fan of death match multiplayer. I prefer there to be objectives. CS has bomb plating/diffusing, not just pointlessly killing each other. Gears does have different game modes like king of the hill and capture the leader, Horde mode(which I have delved into a bit and it’s awesome) and Beast mode which I have completed. These modes would be more my style. All I really have been doing in Gears is Team Death Match.

Something about it has me unable to put the controller down. I’ve even had Batman Arkham Asylum and Portal 2 sitting in front of me that I haven’t finished. Haven’t even started Portal 2 yet. I want to play these games. I just can’t stop playing Gears. I played from about 1 or 2 am last night until about 3pm today. Good thing I didn’t have to work.

Was my sudden new game obsession just a timing thing? If so then why haven’t I just torn through campaign and moved on to Batman or Portal? Am I just looking for something to fill my multiplayer void until SWTOR comes out? My internet went down for a few minutes about a half hour ago. I was actually in a panic. I thought I would not be able to play Gears Death Match tonight. I was actually upset at the thought that I would have to play Batman or Portal instead. Those are great games. Why would anyone be upset at having to play them? I think I need an intervention.

What are some games that you are, or have been completely addicted to or obsessed with to the point you neglected friends, family, work and even personal hygiene? What about them drew you in so much?

That’s all for now. I’m off to play some Gears. Thanks for reading.

-FMG-

-75 days until SWTOR by the way…