Diablo 3 Reaper of Souls expansion announced at Gamescom

/

D3-Expansion Blizzard revealed today at Gamescom Diablo 3's expansion called Reaper of Souls. The expansion will feature a new act, a new class called The Crusader, changes on how loot works, and an endgame option called "loot runs". The big baddie for Reaper of Souls is non other than the angel of death himself, Malthael. The opening cinematic for the expansion was also released, check it out below.

The new class the Crusader is the Paladin equivalent for Diablo 3. It's a holy class, but nothing like the Paladin. They describe the Crusader as war machine made human. They also mentioned an overhaul of the loot system in the expansion, calling it loot 2.0. It's said to feature "smart loot" which gives you a bigger chance to pick up items tailored for your class. They will also be reducing the number of loot usually dropped in the game, to reduced all the useless items you find on the ground. I'm assuming their talking about the white gear.

A new artisan will also be included in Reaper of Souls, the Mystic. She allows players to re-roll your item's stats, giving you a chance of getting a better version of the item.

Crusader gameplay

They also announced an endgame feature called "Loot Runs", which pins players in a fully randomized dungeon with random monsters. Same goal though, you do this to get better loot the fastest way possible. The Paragon system will also be changed -- There will be no level cap. Thanks to the new act, the level cap of all characters will be increased from 60 to 70.

Love the changes? I'm pretty intrigued myself, but sadly there's no release date given at this time. This is Blizzard's chance to repair any damage done by the Auction House feature. They can deny it all they want, but the auction house shifted what we thought of this action RPG. Hopefully Reaper of Souls can change all of that for the better.

[Source: Joystiq]

 

XCOM: Enemy Within announced! Planned for a November 12 release

/

XCOM_EW_Art-noscale 2K has revealed the major expansion for XCOM: Enemy Unknown. It's called XCOM: Enemy Within and will be released on November 12, 2013 for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and PC.  The expansion will include 47 new maps, new weapons, new aliens to face, and new abilities. Excited? Makes me want to fire up my 360 copy now.

The expansion pretty much does what expansions are meant to do - expand on the original game.

XCOM_EW_Screen_013-noscale

To customize your soldier a bit deeper, you will be able to research gene mods to alter your soldiers capabilities. They will also include MECs, which are mechanical exoskeletons with weapons like grenade launchers and flamethrowers that your soldiers can pilot. The Aliens also get new units. Mechtoids, which is pretty much a sectoid piloting an exoskeleton, has been announced so far. Oh, and did I mention 47 new maps to play in? My biggest grip of the game is finally gone with this expansion.

Also included in the expansion is a new alien resource called MELD, challenge maps, additional content for multiplayer, and new soldier accents to really make it an international resistance against the invasion. No more all american voice cast.

XCOM_EW_Screen_HandsOn_05-noscale

You hardly get games that get actual releases "expansions" nowadays. XCOM: Enemy Unknown was an amazing strategy game that did justice to the original game. You can get my full thoughts on the game here.  Joystiq reports that the expansion will cost $30 for PC, while the expansion will be released as a standalone product (It will include all DLC plus the original game) for consoles at $40 .

MECvsMectoid_Keyart_2-noscale

[Source: Destructoid]

 

Ubisoft announces Tom Clancy's The Division for PC

/
TC_thedivision_ss-1-e1377054169830.jpg

TC_thedivision_ss-1Well here's some exciting news that got me all hyped. Remember that new game from Ubisoft The Division? It impressed a lot of people when it was revealed in this year's E3, but PC gamers were disappointed when they announced it was only a PS4 and Xbox One title. The community hoped it would come to PC as well. Today, Ubisoft responded to that by announcing that Tom Clancy's Division is coming to PC as well.

GameInformer reported this news with a statement coming from Ubisoft :

Good news for PC gamers: We heard you, and we are happy to share that Tom Clancy's The Division also will be available for the PC, in addition to the Xbox One from Microsoft and the PlayStation 4 from Sony.

E3 2013 Gameplay demo

This is the game I was most excited for when this year's E3 barrage of announcements ended. Online open-world RPG shooter? argh! My kind of game. I had pretty much the same level of goosebumps when Watch Dogs was first revealed last year, and knowing now that this game is coming to the PC, I'm definitely going for that version of the game. A new trailer was also released, check it out below. If Ubisoft can continue releasing impressive new titles every year, I can forgive them for sucking the life out of Assasin's Creed franchise with it's yearly release.

Gamescom 2013 companion gaming trailer

Tom Clancy's The Division is planned for a 2014 release for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC.

List of launch titles for the PS4 and Xbox One, PS4 release date also announced

/

Xbox-One-PS4-controller Gamescom 2013 is happening right now in Germany and big announcements are rolling in. One in particular is the list of titles coming out for both next-gen titles. The Xbox One will have 23 titles on launch, while the PS4 will have 33 titles, which is a mix of retail and digital-only titles. 

PlayStation 4 Launch Titles

  • Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag (Ubisoft)
  • Battlefield 4 (EA)
  • Call of Duty: Ghosts (Activision)
  • Driveclub (SCE)
  • FIFA 14 (EA)
  • Killzone: Shadow Fall (SCE)
  • Knack (SCE)
  • Just Dance 2014 (Ubisoft)
  • LEGO Marvel Superheroes (Warner Bros.)
  • Madden 25 (EA)
  • NBA 2K14 (2K Games)
  • NBA Live (EA)
  • Need for Speed: Rivals (EA)
  • Skylanders: Swap Force (Activision)
  • Watch Dogs (Ubisoft)

PlayStation 4 Launch Digital Line-up

  • Basement Crawl
  • Pool Nation Extreme
  • Contrast
  • Warframe
  • Pinball Arcade
  • War Thunder
  • N++
  • Minecraft
  • DC Universe
  • Planetside 2
  • Counterspy
  • ResoGun
  • Flower
  • Doki-Doki Universe
  • Hohokum
  • Tiny Brains
  • Super Motherload
  • Blacklight

Xbox One Launch Titles

  • Assassin's Creed IV Black Flag (Ubisoft, Ubisoft)
  • Battlefield 4 (DICE, Electronic Arts)
  • Call of Duty: Ghosts (Infinity Ward, Activision)
  • Crimson Dragon (Grounding/Land Ho!, Microsoft Studios)
  • Dead Rising 3 (Capcom Vancouver, Microsoft)
  • FIFA 14 (EA Sports, Electronic Arts)
  • Fighter Within (AMA Ltd., Ubisoft)
  • Forza Motorsport 5 (Turn 10 Studios, Microsoft Studios)
  • Just Dance 2014 (Ubisoft Paris, Ubisoft)
  • Killer Instinct (Double Helix, Microsoft Studios)
  • LEGO Marvel Super Heroes (TT Games, Warner Bros. Interactive)
  • Lococycle (Twisted Pixel, Microsoft Studios)
  • Madden NFL 25 (EA Sports, Electronic Arts)
  • NBA 2K14 (Visual Concepts, 2K Sports)
  • NBA LIVE 14 (EA Sports, Electronic Arts)
  • Need for Speed: Rivals (Ghost Games, Electronic Arts)
  • Peggle 2 (Popcap, Electronic Arts)
  • Powerstar Golf (Zoe Mode, Microsoft Studios)
  • Ryse: Son of Rome (Crytek, Microsoft Studios)
  • Skylanders: Swap Force (Vicarious Visions, Activision)
  • Watch Dogs (Ubisoft Montreal, Ubisoft)
  • Zoo Tycoon (Frontier Developments Ltd., Microsoft Studios)
  • Zumba Fitness: World Party (Zoë Mode, Majesco)

 

During Sony' press conference, they announced the release date for the PS4. At $399, the PlayStation 4 will be available on these dates for each country:

  • November 15: Canada, the US
  • November 29: SCEE territories including Australia, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom
  • November 29: Latin America – Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, Panama and Peru.

Microsoft has yet to announce the release date for the Xbox One. With Sony revealing their launch window, I'm expecting an announcement either this week or next for theirs.

[Source: Kotaku, VG247]

Dead Rising 3's new CG trailer got me laughing at the end

/

Dead-Rising-3-header Capcom released a new trailer for their Xbox One exclusive title Dead Rising 3. It's CG and shows all the gore and foul language you'd want out of a game like this. Towards the end though, got me laughing on how silly it is.

IGN featured the new CG trailer, and I gotta say -- What he made at the end completely threw me off guard.

At this point, I need more information about Dead Rising 3. The switch from a bright and over the top tone seen in the previous game to a more dark and sort of serious tone was actually a turn off. A bit too brownish for my taste. The in-game gameplay shown in this year's E3 was impressive -- Having that many zombies in once screen was amazing. Even the car slowing down since there are too many zombies was a good touch, but is there something new to really hype things up? Sorry, nothing so far.

Dead Rising 3 is planned for a November 2013 release, possibly making it a launch title for the Xbox One. Does this game entice you to get an Xbox One? Because I have another game in mind that's making me consider one.