The year of the Dra-… ARPG?

Inevitably I am going to buy Diablo 3.  Ever since watching the upper half of a player being bitten off and his body tossed aside, I knew I wanted to play it.  Is it a true continuation of Diablo 2?  Perhaps in story, but I feel the nitty-gritty, dark, horror-esque style has somewhat lessened.  Maybe Blizzard has spruced the title up a little too much?  Who’s to say?  Oh well.

Currently I am waiting to get into beta for Grinding Gear Games’ Path of Exile.  Perhaps I will or perhaps I will simply wait until the open beta starts.  The overall theme of the game is perfectly grim and despairing.  I feel the true spirit of Diablo/2 in this game.  Well… from the videos at least.  Still needing to try my hand.

After involving myself a bit in the community over at PoE, I was lead to other action rpgs on the frontier.

There is some excitement around the title Grim Dawn.  It is the second arpg to be developed by Iron Lore entertainment, the makers of Titan Quest.  If you enjoyed Titan Quest I would suggest taking a look at Grim Dawn, if you haven’t already.

It doesn’t hold the same atmosphere for me as PoE, but it does well at directing the focus and mindset in the game to that of a war-torn society.

…where iron has replaced gold as currency and the importance of salt as a weapon makes it far too valuable to waste on food.

Next up is R.A.W. – Realms of Ancient War.  Announced back at… E3 2011 I believe.  Just recently starting to increase their publicity.  It looks like it’s going to be a cross platform ARPG (PS Network/XBox Live/PC).  I don’t know all that much about it at the moment.  From the teaser trailer I gather there is going to be three classes (mage/warrior/archer).  The environment and combat pace looks remarkably similar to Diablo 3, maybe a little faster on the pace?  The video may just be sped up, so I can’t say for certain.

After Diablo 3 that’s three additional ARPG titles on the horizon.  Keep an eye on them.

Early Mine(s of Moria)craft Development

My early stages of the East Entrance into my own personal Moria.  Getting the face right purely out of blocks is tricky.  I’m not quite sure I’m happy with it, but I’m not finding it too difficult to adjust the features.  Yes, it is back lit, because I think it’s cooler that way.  I tore down a bit of the wall to get a better picture.  That wall is my defense for night time construction!

[update]: The ancestors have hastened my progress.  It would seem that as I expanded my tunnel deeper, towards the location of my “Bridge of Khazad-dum”, the area opened up into a cavern rich with flowing lava.  This is awesome!  Now I won’t have to bucket all of that lava from somewhere else! :D

- B

Minecrack

Ok, I know that the Journal of Grudgery wasn’t updated on Tuesday like I’d hoped.  I promise to have one for Friday.  It’s this ridiculous game.  I just can’t stop playing it.  I started with a simple cave/mine in the mountain.  That mine demanded to be made into the image of the First Hall of Moria, complete with stone trees and its very own Bridge of Khazad-dûm.  I’m a one man dwarf army of miners.  I’ll have to make a short video tour once I’m done, but before that I need to make some iron buckets to transport molten lava into various nooks and crannies.  @_@

- B “The Red Miner”

Minecraft

I’ve been hearing more and more about Minecraft (site is down atm) recently.  I’ve been playing the free alpha version while it’s available (which isn’t going to be for very long).  It has very addicting qualities and you should give it a try.  Maybe you’ll buy it when it’s re-available for purchase (I know I might).  I’m in a youtube posting mood as of… right now!  It’s fading fast though.  I think I’ll be ok.

p.s. – This game satisfies my inner dwarf.

- B