Raj Agrawal

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Games And Developers We Probably Won’t See At E3 2012

June 1, 2012 by Raj Agrawal 1 Comment

E3 is a gamer’s one stop shop for all the latest and greatest game announcements. It’s a platform which is used by developers to market their games, and to get the hype meter going. Having seen it’s good days and bad days, it has survived and is here again to satisfy our gluttony for new announcements. But as with any given year, there are always companies that choose to abandon the show in favor of more customized and personalized announcements. And it seems like 2012 will not be an exception to this rule. So lets look at some of the games and developers we might not see at E3 2012.

Kingdom Hearts 3

kingdom hearts 3


We know its coming, and we’re waiting very very patiently, but the chances of KH3 making an appearance at E3 are rare. Square Enix have been very tight lipped about this one, and you know what they say about secrets – “the biggest ones are always the most exciting”. Here’s hoping we can get a first glimpse as soon as possible. An E3 appearance will be an epic surprise indeed.


Epic Games
epic games

This one is on the fence. The numerous sites that have listed the E3 attendance list make no mention of epic games. Or maybe they’ll shock us all by showing Unreal Engine 4, which might just be the highlight of the show, provided it happens!


Half Life 3

half life 3

The game which everyone wants is the one which always alludes us. Valve don’t have a great track record of showing their presence at collaborative events, and Half Life always abides by this rule. The only time i’ve seen Valve take center stage in such an event was to show their support for the PS3 at Sony’s conference. And even that was because of the backlash that some of their PS3 comments got. So no, I don’t think Half Life 3 will see the light of day at this years E3.


Blizzard

blizzard

This does not even need mention, but its here anyway. Blizzard always showcase their games and make their announcements at Blizzcon, and hence never make an appearance at E3. With a new MMO in the works, there surely is something very interesting cooking in their studios, but we won’t get to see it this year.


Metal Gear Solid 5

Metal Gear Solid 5

No, i’m not implying Rising, or Vengeance as they call it now. That will be present at E3, but that’s not a true Metal Gear title. I’m talking Snake, who i’m sure everyone wants to see. It is confirmed to be in the works, but it probably might not make it to E3. If it does though, that announcement alone will get me off Diablo 3.


These are the primary highlights of what we might miss at this years E3. I’m sure I must have left out a few other notable mentions, but these are the ones which are lingering round my head. If any of these prove me wrong, it will be a great day for gaming indeed!

Filed Under: Gameology Tagged With: blizzard, diablo, half life, metal gear solid, valve

Diablo 3 Pre-launch Trailer – What Is Diablo 3

May 13, 2012 by Raj Agrawal Leave a Comment

It’s just 2 days away, and you can already feel the excitement among the horde of fans out there. To stop them from attacking their offices, Blizzard have released a new trailer for their hotly anticipated game. Titled “What is Diablo 3”, this trailer gives us some basic info about the backstory and the different characters you can play with. It’s time people, it’s time!

Filed Under: Gameology Tagged With: blizzard, diablo

Is Blizzard Forgetting Their Fan Base?

September 29, 2011 by Raj Agrawal 1 Comment

Blizzard have been the connoisseurs of PC gaming for more than a decade now. They’ve made countless classics over the years and have always been counted as one of the best developers out there. Anyone who knows how much they make from World of Warcraft will know that what I just said, is an obvious understatement. They must have made enough money by now to start their own country. And they don’t need to go out of their way to make this happen. They release one game in 3-4 years and still make more than most development teams shelling out 2 games in a year. It is this money that seems to be getting over their heads.


Blizzard
Blizzard branding

Blizzard was always a company focused on the quality of games. The efforts that they put in the development of their games clearly suggests that. You will never see a blizzard game being half assed, or being released with a lot of bugs; simply put they have a standard for quality, and they try to maintain it to the best of their ability. As far as game development goes, they have always been as good as they were 10 years back. But, as far as making gamers the top priority, I think their stance has become slightly apathetic.

Starcraft
Starcraft 2

There are many reasons for this and although they’re not that severe, still they can be bothersome if you’re a Blizzard fan. Firstly, they haven’t released a new game in a long long time. In the past 7 years, Blizzard have released just 2 games, out of which one is a sequel and the other is the most popular MMO in the world. I agree that they have to give commitment to World of Warcraft, but that does not mean giving up on developing other games entirely. And this pattern is here to stay. It might be sometime since we see a new game from Blizzard. Titan is on the horizon, but there is Diablo 3 before that, and the 2 Starcraft 2 expansions are in queue as well, so don’t expect to see anything new from Blizzard for the next 5 years.

Another thing that bothers me is their growing restrictions that they have imposed on their games. Some of the decisions taken by Blizzard are simply outrageous. Starcraft 2 was released without LAN support, which was one of the most important aspects of the first game according to me; this is probably to curb piracy. But, it isn’t helping the cause as the game has been pirated almost 2 million times. On the contrary, restricting LAN play has caused many problems on the professional scene. And this approach is only getting stronger. Diablo 3 will require a constant internet connection even for single player. Plus, it will have some form of DRM on release. All this is quite anti-gamer if you ask me. The last thing a gamer wants is the game shutting down cause the internet isn’t working. Hence, so many of the youtube videos of people breaking the keyboards in frustration.

The next original property on their production queue also happens to be an MMO! This might sound like an unreasonable rant, but i always like the single player games over MMO’s. They have the loot to lure players in, but nothing beats a great story. This only adds weight to the fact that they’re swimming in money, and can’t get enough of it. Also, their pricing scheme for digital downloads in foreign countries is ridiculous. I live in India, and i had to pay almost 3000rs(80$) for my copy of Starcraft 2. And its the kind of game that you can’t wait to get your hands on, and that only adds to the frustration.


After such a long rant, i’m sure i’ll be the first person to buy all of blizzards products. It’s the quality that i can’t let go off. I’m a blizzard fanboy through and through, and i cannot wait for diablo 3, and to see what they have under wraps with Titan. But, i do wish they realize that gamers determine the success or failure of a game, so staying loyal to them is more important than building an empire out of cash…

Filed Under: Gameology Tagged With: blizzard, diablo, world of warcraft