Diablo III Release - Not Without the Typical Blizzard Hiccups

May 15, 2012 - a day that was marked on calendars, iPhones, Blackberries, and Droids of millions of fans of the long-awaited addition to the Blizzard Diablo series.  Diablo III is a revisit to the things adored in Diablo II by fans and designers alike, all while adding the allure of new classes.  Whether these classes be completely new, or combinations/remakes of older classes, their playability and appeal will form new class favorites without ENTIRELY renovating the feel of Diablo III's predecessors (Diablo and Diablo II).

Now, I won't pretend that I am an expert on all things of the Diablo realm for I have never played Diablo or Diablo II, but I have been a long-time fan of Blizzard games and Blizzard lore.  My preference of play always was Warcraft, Warcraft II, Warcraft III (including Frozen Throne), and World of Warcraft.  I've always enjoyed DotA and have been participating in the DotA 2 beta test.  The lore of the latter two games overlaps some of the lore from Diablo so I am familiar with several of the key members of the lore (Deckard Caine, King Leoric, and Tyrael among the few), but I don't want to bore anyone with my lack of knowledge of the Diablo world - though Deckard Caine is quite the character!

It seems that no matter how many content patch releases Blizzard has under their belt, they never seem to learn how to effectively launch a new project - especially expansions to World of Warcraft or new games all-together like Diablo III.  Some problems that have come from the Diablo III release are:

• Error 3007 on login and during gameplay
• Hardware requirements
• Unsolved glitches/bugs
• Server saturation

Now, the first bullet is the most important for it proves my point earlier, that Blizzard just CANNOT effectively launch a game in which they expect millions of players to log in immediately at release date/time.  The "solution" that Blizzard chose to enact was to release the game by regions (Europe, Asia, and the Americas).  That's a step in the right direction, but releasing a game for the ENTIRE continent of North America is hard enough, then tacking South America on to it was a nail in the coffin of log in errors galore come 12:01am on May 15, 2012.  The release should have been staggered by hour and released as per time zone - Eastern, Central, Mountain, Pacific, etc. that way the several million players in the Americas, alone, will not all log in simultaneously at 12:01am causing an Error 3007.

The following three points come with any PC game.  Games are produced with better graphics, better physics engines, and the like so naturally hardware requirements are going to rise with every new game release.  PC gamers are not console gamers - we don't buy a system and expect every single game release ( until a console upgrade is provided or a new model is introduced) to work perfectly with our system, regardless if it's 5 months, or 5 years, old.  PCs are an investment and require frequent upgrades and are a much deeper money-sink than consoles due to the far more responsive graphics that a computer can provide over a console.  Complaining that your game doesn't look pretty enough or work well enough ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU ARE PLAYING WITH THE MINIMUM SUGGESTED HARDWARE means you either 1) need to not play this game 2) sell your computer and play on a console 3) bite the bullet and drop $100 on a slightly better video card.

Glitches/bugs will never disappear with PC games, every patch opens new bugs that weren't there before, but patches the old holes.  And server saturation - though a thorn in the sides of gamers - is a blessing to game designers and Blizzard for their game is popular!

That being said, due to my 9-5 job and actually needing a decent amount of sleep, I have not been able to log in to Diablo III since its release and I'm DYING a bit on the inside with every minute I have to wait!  My monk is anxiously waiting to punch demons and zombies in the face!  Come onnnnnnn 5pm!

Board Games - Excitement for Things to Come!

First and foremost, I'd like to validate my worth for the board game hobby.

I first began my obsession with board games and card games at a young age (I'd say around 6) when I began playing games like Memory, Trouble, UNO, Yahtzee, and Parcheesi.  Though these games are frowned upon and scoffed at by game enthusiasts, they have served a greater purpose for they've been my "gateway drug".

Now, my appreciation has wandered into the territory of heavily themed games that follow the ambiance of fantasy, horror, or dark fantasy.  Arkham Horror, Shadow Hunters, Ultimate Werewolf, and Castle Panic are among the games that quickly come to mind that exemplify the types of games I enjoy.  Recently, I've enjoyed games such as Locke & Key: The Card Game, Bang! Dodge City, and Fluxx - each of these are quickly slithering their ways to the top of my "most played" list due to enjoyment not only by myself, but by frequent members of my gaming group.  Now that the nitty-gritty is done and over with, on to the fun part!  My love for Kickstarter and my overwhelming excitement for the games that are to be added to my collection in the coming months (all thanks to Kickstarter campaigns).

I came to Kickstarter through my many browsings of boardgamegeek.com, aka BGG.  I immediately realized how unique of a site Kickstarter was and wanted to help contribute whatever money I could afford - given my current occupation, that isn't much - to help fund games that I felt would be not only great contributions to my personal collection, but to the collections of other collectors/hobbyists.

The first game I helped fund was the standalone/expansion to Eaten by Zombies!, a successful card game about surviving the zombie infestation of your town.  This game, Eaten by Zombies! In Cahoots can be played as either a 2-player stand-alone game, or as an expansion to the EBZ proper, allowing 5-6 players to join in on the zombie mayhem.

I can gladly proclaim that I am not one who particularly enjoys anything that falls within the all-too-saturated theme of zombie movies, games, books, etc. nowadays, but this game caught my eye for one reason and one reason alone: It's not a matter of who will survive, it's a matter of who will die LAST!  The game mechanic operates in such a manner that your death is inevitable and it's just a matter of out-living the other players that will lead you to victory.  This game is projected to be printed and circulated to backers by mid/end June of 2012.

Fleet is a game that strays so far from my normal attraction of horror/fantasy games that I was EXTREMELY hesitant to back this project.  I will admit that I have been an off-and-on watcher of Deadliest Catch TV and my instant correlation (however right or wrong it may be) between that show and this game is what inevitably turned me into a backer for this project.

Players compete to earn the most points by the end of the game and can do so through several different means, all utilizing similar mechanics.  Players bid on fishing licenses that warrant the catch, and later the sale, of certain types of marine goods (tuna, shrimp, lobster, cod, and crab). The collection of these licenses are crucial for holding multiple licenses of one type grant advantageous bonuses to your money cycle or to the scoring at the end of the game.  This game is expected to be in my hands come September and I can't wait!

Garden Dice is yet another game that doesn't fit my normal interest, but that's the beauty of games - they can be completely out of your normal radar, but can keep you intrigued and entertained from start to finish every time!

Garden Dice is a game about, well, you guessed it...GARDENING!  The mechanic of this game is dice rolling, plain and simple.  There are certain special abilities that can be used, and special tiles that can be played, but all movements utilize the pips from 4 dice that you've rolled.  Tiles include 5 types of vegetables, a bird which can be turned over to a rabbit, a sundial which can be turned over to a scarecrow, and a sun.  All of these have special abilities and uses that add variation and fun to this game.  It'll be a while before I get this game, but it will certainly prove to be a fun light-medium game for my collection!

As you can see, Kickstarter has really opened my tastes to games that aren't anywhere near my usual types of game, but that's why I love the site.  It showcases games that wouldn't normally even be a blip on my radar and allows me to read about the game, it's creation, it's vision, and any overviews of the game's play :).