Diablo-Iii

Even the Pittsburgh Pirates played video games this year. Knock on wood, you guys, but I managed to get through 2012 without having all my video games stolen from my house while I was sleeping [EDITOR’S NOTE: It’s 2013 now, you dummy. You don’t need to knock on wood]. Should that even be an achievement? 2012 seems to be a shift in the status quo. Perhaps it’s because the new console generation hasn’t yet kicked off, but I feel like fewer and fewer AAA, big budget titles have been grabbing my attention lately. Of the 56 games on this list I feel like very few (about 12) were big, huge landmark games. Maybe that’s not all that different, but it feels different… ...

Travis Touchdown from No More Heroes Last week felt super long! Thank god it’s all over. At least I enjoyed myself plenty. Week two of the swimming experiment continued as well, reminding me of how woefully out of shape I am. Glad to have seen Kai again too. It’s a bummer that she no longer has work/business in Baltimore. Movies Prometheus - I went to see this with Ian last Monday. Despite what some critics might tell you, it’s not aggressively terrible. I think that my lack of prior Alien knowledge is what allows me to enjoy the movie so much. I came in with zero preconceptions and zero expectation and I left having seen the coolest surgical procedure ever and a pretty sweet squid vs. Engineer fight. This is not an A+, high-caliber piece of cinema, but it’s a fun summer film. Oh, before I forget, Michael Fassbender as David was INCREDIBLE. ...

In a weekend full of grief over some terrible Marlins losses thanks to anemic offenses I finally got around to finishing Dollhouse… Movies Indie Game: The Movie - Steam’s first movie! I didn’t kickstart it, but I was more than happy to support it post-release. It’s not super informative if you don’t already know a bunch about indie video games, but it’s entertaining to see three artists at three stages of their careers and the minds and personalities that go with each. It makes me really crave postmortem analysis of Fez as well. ...

[caption id="" align=“aligncenter” width=“500” caption=“Some plush versions of Isaac, Brother Bobby, and Sister Maggie (Photo courtesy Danielleorama)”] [/caption] That Wrath of the Lamb DLC is awesome stuff. It’s still a super challenging game to get through, but I’m absolutely enjoying it. I almost want to play it more than Diablo 3. Speaking of which, I’m getting close to 60…Just three more levels. ...

[caption id="" align=“aligncenter” width=“500” caption=“I spent part of the weekend hanging out with my niece. She’s got an awesome Oscar toy (Photo courtesy DJOtaku)”] [/caption] Just can’t get away from moving. Finished moving Tiffany and then I had to move. All this rapid-fire moving has me completely sick of it. I’m considering burning all my stuff the next time I have to move… ...

I know what you’re thinking, “Dan, will you post something completely idiotic and niche on your blog today?” Yes, dear readers, I will.

[caption id="" align=“aligncenter” width=“500” caption=“I feel like Diablo III would be more fun if it let me play it.”] [/caption] Like most games, Diablo III has a tightly constructed difficulty curve intended to teach the player and usher them from apprentice to master player. It does this the way most RPGs do, by gradually introducing abilities and gradually increasing complexity. New skills are gained slowly, runes are introduced slowly, and equipment variance and affixes are introduced slowly. It all seems to work… ...

[caption id="" align=“aligncenter” width=“500” caption=“I played so much Diablo 3 this weekend my arm feels like it’s gonna fall off. (Photo courtesy katie bellman)”] [/caption] Though I did not play nearly as much as Min, much of my week was consumed with playing the Tuesday release of Diablo III. I mean, we’re talking I didn’t even watch the TV shows I like kind of dedication. ...

[caption id="" align=“aligncenter” width=“500” caption=“I felt a little guilty being El Presidente. Photo courtesy SegmentNext)”] [/caption] Want people to get a taste of your game? Have a free weekend. I put in 11 hours and I probably would have bought the game if it wasn’t for Diablo 3 dropping tomorrow. Sorry, Tropico 4. Maybe next Steam sale. Movies Election - The prototype that all kinds of high school shows like Popular and Glee seems to crib off of. Not amazing or anything, but I thought Reese Witherspoon’s performance was just perfect. She really hit the right notes in Tracy’s obsessive need to win and I especially liked when she had that confrontation scene with Broderick about the teacher she was sleeping with. ...

[caption id="" align=“aligncenter” width=“500” caption=“Robert Downy, Jr. was definitely the MVP of the movie. (Photo courtesy JakesplacePS)”] [/caption] Readership assemble! Min and I made the great sacrifice of seeing The Avengers for you. Our verdict? It’s excellent. Go see it, y’all. Seriously. Movies The Avengers - It does precisely what I thought was impossible by focusing on each individual character for a bit and giving them all arcs. Granted, most of the groundwork was laid in all the other Marvel movies, but it’s still tough to do. High props to Mark Ruffalo for his portrayal of the Hulk. His barely contained anger was chilling and, most importantly, awesome. Joss Whedon’s writing also gels quite nicely with the movie, RDJ version of Iron Man. ...