After a very busy week, like many, I finally got around to playing Diablo III today – or started to. Living in Europe, by lunch time I was out of luck; the servers are down for maintenance. Like all those in the same position, I’m pissed! Yeah, games have problems – it’s part of the package modern day gamers sign up for. The problem for many today however, myself included, isn’t just that the game is unplayable its the piss poor communication. Blizzard want to be able to make money from Diablo III in the long term and thusly developed (a not as yet functioning) real money auction house system for gear. Great idea, but to keep the hook active they made sure that you had to have an always active connection to their servers – even for single player. So, server goes down; no-one can play! This downtime is without explanation or response to the several thousand comments on Battle.net forums – this is what’s frustrating me and...

2K Games delivered a press release today, introducing us to the charismatic Darkling. One of the key components in Jackie Estacado’s Darkness arsenal is his ability to summon unholy – and just plain nasty – minions known as darklings to assist him. The first game in The Darkness series had these darklings performing specific roles depending on which type they were ( Berserkers, Gunners, etc. ). In The Darkness II, Jackie relies on one Darkling in particular who ends up being an invaluable ally as well as an important character in the game’s narrative. We can’t really proceed without mentioning the fact that this specific Darkling, while refusing to take on a name, has nonetheless adopted a rather eclectic set of traits: he has affected a working-class British accent, put on an oversized jersey emblazoned with the Union Jack, and—ahem—donned a deceased cat atop his impish head. In spite of all of these quirks, the Darkling will assist Jackie at many points and in different ways throughout his fight...

Gaming is about to get serious again with the announcement that Serious Sam 3: BFE will release October 18th on PC. The iconic arcade-style shooter series is set to unleash a fury of over-the-top action, massive hordes of enemies and 16-player campaign co-op and versus play. “We believe Serious Sam 3: BFE is the best Serious Sam game we’ve ever made,” said Davor Hunski, Chief Creative Guy at Croteam. “We’ve designed a true arcade-style FPS game with the non-stop brutal action the series is known for and our fans have loved for the past decade.” Serious Sam 3: BFE is now open for preorders on Steam, Get Games and other digital download services with serious discounts and one very special surprise: · A serious 10% discount off of Serious Sam 3: BFE preorder on Steam · A super serious additional 10% discount off of Serious Sam 3: BFE for customers that already own a Serious Sam title on Steam. · Timed exclusive Devolver Digital CFO Fork Parker multiplayer avatar...

So far this year, the French gaming site 01.net has reported on PS Vita and Wii U with frightening accuracy. This leads a bit of credence tp their new scoop on Nintendo’s plans for the 3DS. 01.net report that Nintendo Execs are admitting to making mistakes with the design of the 3DS… something that would be a stunning turnaround for the company. Of the claims made, the first really stands out; not including a second analogue stick was a mistake and that Nintendo have their R&D team working on an add-on for existing devices. It doesn’t stop there though, 01.net is reporting that the big N is also working on a revised model that will include the second stick as standard and reduce the focus on the 3D element of the console. There are additional references to Nintendo having reducing the price of the current model to clear worldwide stocks in anticipation of the new model. Alongside the new model speculation, it is also suggested that developers are becoming...

Woot woot! I always feel a little affronted when someone creates a ‘Best of Sonic’ article/list yet don’t include onr of my favourite Sonic games. I never actually got a Mega CD as a kid, by this point I had taken the loathable decision to replace my Mega Drive with a SNES (a decision I regretted for years to come!). This meant I only played it on a friends; which is probably why it was all the more special for me. Good news though; Sonic CD is coming to XBLA according to ‘Major Nelson’. Mentioned on his blog in a list of XBLA titles that will be on show this year at PAX Prime. Xbox 360 Booth #432 Mass Effect 3 has landed… in the Xbox 360 booth! Come on by to check it out, along with a slew of Xbox LIVE Arcade titles: Trials Evolution, Skulls of the Shogun, Crimson Alliance, Splatters, Orcs Must Die, Ms. Splosion Man, Retro City Rampage, Sonic CD, War of the Worlds and...

Ubisoft are known for the ridiculous DRM used for their PC releases. A quick Google shows a multitude of hatred for a system that messes up your gaming plans if you don’t have access to an internet connection. Personally, I’m not a fan, it’s actually influenced my format decisions for Ubisoft games; any copyright protection system that does that is inherently flawed. The general userbase generates so much negative feedback on this that it’s surprising Ubisoft persist in it’s use for new releases such as From Dust. Ubisoft have however done a u-turn for From Dust, announcing that they plan to remove the DRM that has caused such significant levels of negativity from their paying customers. With the piracy scene having found ways around the controversial system thus meaning the only people who suffer are the legitimate consumers, it’s difficult to not ask… why use it in the first place? Anyway, it’s good news that Ubi have begun work on the patch to remove the DRM for the PC,...

If given a choice of platform, I normally go with the PC. Sure, there’s the odd exception where it’s wiser to go with a console due to shoddy porting from the primary system coded for (think CoD – well, actually, most Activision games to be fair). The PC gives you flexibility and true HD graphics displayed in actual 1080p resolution and higher. For years, we’ve been seeing scare stories about the death of the PC as a gaming platform, Razer have something else in mind however. Today, they launched a website (www.pcgamingisnotdead.com) with the message about informing the world that PC Gaming is not dead. The site displays a timer, counting down to the 26th of August where the message will be delivered at PAX Prime 2011 at 6pm (CEST). You can also register your support, upon verification you are greeted with the following message: “You are now one step closer to joining us against the tyranny of closed networks. It is time to stand up against shoddy console...

I’ve waited for this game for what feels like a long time. There’s been a lot of press constantly reminding me that my better half purchased it for me from my Steam wish list last September. That little gray text sat in my games list, perpetually reminding me that I had to wait, only to log on to most major gaming site’s over the last few months and be reminded by pre-roll video’s and adverts that it was out of reach. Anticipation is one of my worst enemies, I build up a picture of what to expect based on what I see; I know it’s foolish but it just happens automatically. So, the game was released today, I set it on install before going to work so it would be ready when I returned. After a long day in the office, I got home and booted it up, following my usual pattern of going straight to the options to push all of the graphics settings to max. Instant panic!...