GAMEScom, Day 4 AND Blizzcon, Day 1

Today will be a dual post focussing on the end of GAMEScom and the beginning of Blizzcon. The news is still slow, though, so bare with me.

GAMEScom

A: Lionhead confirms they will not be using Natal for Fable III.
R: Good. I don't want Milo in Albion. Anyone remember the guildmaster from Fable 1? "Do you have any potions or food?" That would suck with Natal? "Do you have any...hey, I can see you do have a nice can of soda right next to you. Will you drink it? Please? Drink it. DRINK IT." Creepy skynet Milo shit...

A: Little Big Planet will get a new update introducing water into the game. A private beta will be held for it too.
R: I can see it now. Someone is gonna recreate BioShock in Little Big Planet. And it will be awesome.

A: Gearbox announces they are already developing DLC for Borderlands ahead of the game's release date.
R: A double-edged sword. On one hand, this is a smart move. It has been proven that a focus on DLC after the game keeps the game going. Fallout came out in 2008 and it has stayed strong for more than a year with constant new content. On the other hand, it the game itself isn't good or does not sell that well, DLC doesn't mean anything. The initial game has to be fun and it has to sell well for DLC to even be considered. Did you know that DLC was released for Ace Combat 6? Yup. It didn't sell well at all however. The actual reaction to the game determines whether DLC is good or not. This is why I think Gearbox is taking a big risk developing DLC right now. If Borderlands doesn't do well, which is a high possibility (it releases close to Brutal Legend and Modern Warfare 2), they will have wasted their time.

A: Mass Effect 2 will be locked at 30 frames per second.
R: Taking a que from Ubisoft and the Assassin's Creed 2 team are we, BioWare? This was easily the biggest flaw of Mass Effect. The framerate sucked. Locking it at 30 is great. This is the standard for most first-person shooters, and locking it will give it the smoothness of Call of Duty. Great call BioWare.

BLIZZCON

A: A new World of Warcraft expansion, Cataclysm, was announced. The game will introduce many new things to Azeroth, including a level cap to 85, two new races (Goblins for the Horde, Wargen for the Alliance), a couple new dungeons, and major changes to many areas.
R: As I am not a WoW player, this really doesn't interest me much. To me, this is just another expansion which Blizzard is releasing to keep up popularity and sales. Both of which they don't really need, but they like their public. Level cap is no surprise. I doubt the two new races will garner much use when they are released. I think some people will be upset about no new continent, but that won't be a big deal at all. Thinking about it all, if you want all the expansion packs and WoW, that comes out to be really effing expensive. Like I said, not a WoW player, so I can't give an amazing reaction.

A: Battle.net improvements are shown in detail, with many features mirroring other gaming social networks such as Xbox Live. In game launch is shown, along with other features such as constant friend connection, automatic updating, and even personalization features.
R: Did you know that there are more people registered on Battle.net then those registered to World of Warcraft? That is a big number. Blizzard is making a great decision revamping Battle.net. StarCraft II is going to be the flagship for the new Battle.net, and I think we may have another 10 year game on our hands. Taking influence from Xbox Live is great, as Live is the most popular gaming social network out there. I also like the automatic updates. No loading, no stupid screen telling me my game is updating. it just updates itself.

A: A fourth class is revealed for Diablo III: the monk.
R: This guy kicks some ass. A great addition to Diablo III.

A: Blizzard states that a port of Diablo III to consoles is a strong possibility, as they are currently talking to first party publishers.
R: AWESOME. I have alway thought that one of these days Blizzard is going to have to address the console market, and releasing Diablo III to consoles would be a great start. I think there is a big audience that play console that would love to be able to play Blizzard games but just aren't PC gamers. I hope this works out, because Blizzard could make some big bucks from this. Unfortunately, even if it does get picked up, I don't see a console Diablo III till 2011 at the earliest. It takes a while to translate a game made for PC to a console. The problems mostly arise in the transition of PC to console controls.

A: Starcraft will have a premium map system.
R: Only makes sense. Microtransactions in Starcraft would sell like hotcakes. People will buy maps for Starcraft. It is as simple as that. This does not mean there will not be any free maps. Most community maps will be free. But if someone makes a map and wished to sell it, they may. And they can make some real money out of it.

That's it for today. I should have a response to GAMEScom up pretty soon, so watch for that. Blizzcon continues through the weekend also, so watch for a Day 2 update.