Playing Diablo 3 is like being a little kid again with a pile of birthday presents laid out before you. You race to get to the next monster, environment and level-up, tearing and ripping and cutting everything open in a mad dash, hellbent on one thing: the precious gold and XP inside. The previous Diablo games, both undisputed classics, were frantic click-and-loot fests with an action RPG sheen, but Diablo 3 ups the frenzy quotient further, blessing every single click with satisfaction both instant and deep.

The game's matured a bit since we saw it last year -- the build at BlizzCon this weekend showed off the game's final class, the Demon Hunter (or "Huntress," in this demo), as well as a new 3-vs-3 arena mode and an updated UI system. There's still a lot of work to be done, but the development is definitely progressing, and the game's core gameplay is up and running. And it is as rewarding as video games get.
Gallery: Diablo 3 (Demon Hunter)


Continue reading Diablo 3 preview: Blood, guts and loot

Diablo 3 preview: Blood, guts and loot originally appeared on Joystiq on Sun, 24 Oct 2010 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.




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2K Games and Gearbox have rolled a batch of fresh screens from this month's new Borderlands content, Claptrap's New Robot Revolution, off the ol' assembly line and into the gallery after the break. Frankly, if we were getting torn apart like the poor 'bot above, we'd stage an uprising of our own!
Continue reading Borderlands: Claptrap's New Robot Revolution DLC will be screenshot-ized

Borderlands: Claptrap's New Robot Revolution DLC will be screenshot-ized originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 09 Sep 2010 17:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.




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Oh great, a Wii game with "Party" in the title. Do we really need another one of these? I mean, we've already got Raving Rabbits TV Party, Pool Party, Game Party, Babies Party, Mario Party 8, Boom Blox: Bash Party, and ... trust me, I could go on.

Wait a second. What's that? Disney Guilty Party's actually fun? It doesn't look like the developers were locked in a closet throughout the design process? Oh, fine. I guess I'll give it a shot.
Gallery: Disney Guilty Party


Continue reading Disney Guilty Party review: Waggle, She Wrote

Disney Guilty Party review: Waggle, She Wrote originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 08 Sep 2010 19:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.




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Most Halo fans are intimately familiar with the work of Marty O'Donnell, longtime composer for the series, but you may not be aware of the level of work that goes into each and every sound in Halo: Reach. In a new video put together by SoundWorks Collection, O'Donnell and two of Reach's sound designers, C. Paul Johnson and Jay Weinland, discuss the effort behind the soundscape of the game (containing over 60,000 audio assets). Watch the video after the break to see just how deep the sound design is, even for something as simple as a grenade explosion.

[Thanks, Christian]Continue reading Video: Creating the sounds of Halo: Reach

Video: Creating the sounds of Halo: Reach originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 08 Sep 2010 20:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.




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Here's the thing: we refuse to watch this video. Sorry, guys, but Halo: Reach is a little less than a week away and we want to go into it fresh. Still, not everyone has the same desire to remain pure, so for those of you chomping at the bit for more Reach stuff, head on past the break for a video walkthrough of "Tip of the Spear." If you need us, we'll have our fingers firmly planted in our ears, shouting "la-la-la-la-la-la-we-can't-hear-you!"
Gallery: Halo: Reach (Tip of the Spear)


Continue reading Video: Halo: Reach 'Tip of the Spear' Bungie dev walkthrough

Video: Halo: Reach 'Tip of the Spear' Bungie dev walkthrough originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 08 Sep 2010 16:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.




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Tucked away in this morning's press release revealing the 250GB Xbox 360 with Kinect bundle was news that, at this year's Tokyo Game Show, Microsoft will be showing off new Kinect games. The release says that the company will unveil "even more new controller-free games and experiences never before possible," without making any mention of the Microsoft-hosted keynote or the recently announced brain game from Dr. Kawashima and Namco.

At the very least, we know to expect dozens -- if not hundreds -- of videos showing Japanese people waving their arms and legs about, trying desperately to maintain control while piloting Kinect-based games. We can hardly wait.Microsoft promises new Kinect games at Tokyo Game Show originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 08 Sep 2010 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.




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If you were one of the ne'er-do-wells who thought downloading a leaked copy of Halo: Reach and then playing it online was a really, really great idea, you might have received a stern email from Microsoft like the one recently dug up by MaxConsole. The document informs these red-handed pirates that "your Xbox LIVE account privileges have been permanently suspended due to illegitimate prerelease title play."

Xbox Live Director of Policy and Executioner Stephen Toulouse commented on the bans on Twitter, explaining "as with all unauthorized play on Xbox LIVE, anyone playing any unauthorized title runs the risk of account permaban and console." In short, you do the crime, you pay the time. Wait, is "forever and ever" an actual measurement of time?Microsoft fires off salvo of Halo: Reach pirating permabans originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 25 Aug 2010 12:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.




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Narrators. Narrators never change. Yes, of course Ron Perlman will be featured in Fallout: New Vegas, but you might be interested in hearing about the cadre of other famous folks lending their voices to the forthcoming Obsidian-developed RPG. Wayne Newton will play radio DJ "Mr. New Vegas," while Matthew Perry will voice "Benny, the head of the Geckos family." Felicia Day is handling the voice of "Veronica, a sarcastic Brotherhood of Steel scribe."

In addition, From Dusk 'Til Dawn favorite Danny Trejo will give his gravitas to "a third playable companion," hilariously named "Raul the Ghoul." Kris Kristofferson, Michael Dorn, William Sadler, John Doman, and Rene Auberjonois make up the rest of the star-studded list. We're not quite sure which one is the biggest celebrity -- and thus can't predict which character will disappear after the first ten minutes. It was so much easier when we were dealing with Liam Neeson and Patrick Stewart!Wayne Newton, Felicia Day lending voices to Fallout: New Vegas originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 10 Aug 2010 10:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.




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