Blizzard Entertainment has recently released some gameplay video of the upcoming Playstation 3 and 4 Diablo III launch. It’s interesting to see how the controls are laid out and the changes that they had to make to the UI to accommodate the console environment. There is still currently no release date for the game and no word on whether the game will appear on any other consoles.
Games
Blizzard Introduces HearthStone: Heroes of Warcraft
Blizzard Entertainment has introduced a brand new game, HearthStone: Heroes of Warcraft. The game is a TCG (Trading Card Game) style game that is free-to-play and features all of our favorite Warcraft characters. Build Decks and Challenge players, the core of any good card game, and that’s exactly what HearthStone is all about.
It’s exciting to see Blizzard doing something that shakes things up a bit. I can’t wait to jump in and check it out. The game will be available for Windows PC, Mac, and iPad. You can sign up to be a part of the beta and get even more information by heading to the official site, HearthStone: Heroes of Warcraft.
We’ve always loved collectible card games at Blizzard, so it’s been exciting to bring everything we love about the genre to life in Hearthstone, we’re putting a lot of focus into creating a fun new game that’s easy to pick up and play, but also has a lot of depth. We can’t wait to share it with everyone.”– Mike Morhaime, CEO and cofounder of Blizzard Entertainment
MLG Winter Championships – League of Legends LIVE
IGN Live: StarCraft II Heart of the Swarm 8:30am PT – 6:00pm PT
SimCity Launch A Complete Disaster
I can’t help but be amazed at the level of failure going on with with EA’s recent launch of SimCity. The game has been plagued with server issues that cause users to experience extremely long log-in times and even data loss. If you are able to get online, the game will usually end up freezing up or crashing all together. The game has basically been unplayable since it’s launch, an issue that has caused Amazon to temporarily pull the game from it’s online stores.
Many people are using the launch failure as an opportunity to talk about how bad “online-only DRM” is and not to support it. I don’t really have an issue with online gaming and normally I wouldn’t be too surprised to hear that an online game is having issues, it’s a difficult project to undertake, but EA is a veteran and they need to step up and make this work. I was initially pretty excited to hear about the SimCity Launch but this is a major disappointment.
EA has clearly recognized that they have messed up and are now offering up a free PC game download.
Here’s their statement.
The good news is that SimCity is a solid hit in all major markets. The consensus among critics and players is that this is fundamentally a great game. But this SimCity is made to be played online, and if you can’t get a stable connection, you’re NOT having a good experience. So we’re not going to rest until we’ve fixed the remaining server issues.
And to get us back in your good graces, we’re going to offer you a free PC download game from the EA portfolio. On March 18, SimCityplayers who have activated their game will receive an email telling them how to redeem their free game.
I know that’s a little contrived – kind of like buying a present for a friend after you did something crummy. But we feel bad about what happened. We’re hoping you won’t stay mad and that we’ll be friends again when SimCity is running at 100 percent.
SimCity is a GREAT game and the people who made it are incredibly proud. Hang in there – we’ll be providing more updates throughout the weekend.