They have provided videos of these armors dyed too. Yes, you can dye your armor and customize it the way you want. You can check the link below

http://media.diablofans.com/images/news/2012/april/armorf.jpg

We’re so stoked for D3. Please check in from time to time for more of our Diablo 3 release coverage. We’ll also be releasing Philippine ISP connections ratings in relation to Diablo 3 to help out our readers on release.

Lo and behold! With me here is the Nokia Lumia 800, the first fruit of Nokia and Microsoft partnership, boldly claiming to be different and worthy of your attention over the popularity of Android and iPhone’s market dominance. Lumia 800 came to me before easter holiday and I’m so happy to spend a week long vacation with it. Without further ado, let me tell you my personal take on the new comer.

Nokia, as I have observed this past few months, has been in the brink of losing its own brand-loving followers. We’re in a new generation of techno-geeks who crave for the best smartphone out there, as well the modern-fashionists group that highly regarded the elegance and beauty of iDevices. Yet Nokia, in desperation, proudly proclaimed their union with Microsoft for the coveted ecosystem they may offer.

Luckily, Carlo at unbox.ph has lent me a review unit of Nokia Lumia 800 where I was able to spend much time using the phone at home and at work.

Most of my friends knows how loyal I am as a Windows Phone 7 fan. Last year I traded my Samsung Galaxy Tab P1000 for an innocent HTC 7 Mozart. I take pride in my Samsung Galaxy Tab before, for it’s a great compromise between a portable tablet and a mobile phone. The first generation of Samsung’s tablet has fulfilled my cravings for a portable device that I can do productive work and at the same time an excellent communication device paired with a bluetooth headset until my curiosity of Microsoft’s bold attempt of reinvigorating its smartphone OS caught my attention.

It’s a smartphone which seems no one I know cares of owning due to software features, customizability and ecosystem, but for me it seems a good compromise for the benefit of stability and simplicity. Android OS never delivered that to me and so I thought maybe this new Windows Phone 7 OS might do the job.

Fast-forward after almost a year of owning my Mozart, here comes Lumia 800 in front of me. This device is an absolute beauty in black with astounding build quality non-comparable to Samsung devices I’ve held before as well as other smartphones I chanced to hold at stores and from friends. Certainly, the next phone I would definitely call my own and recommend is here in front of me.

Nokia Lumia 800 is housed in a unibody polycarbonate body with curved and durable glass in front. The device is an extreme engineering beauty. Lumia 800 was designed to showcase the ability of Nokia to carve an amazing phone that is equal if not more than elegant than Apple’s long-successful series of iPhone.

During my day-to-day use, I was able to squeeze almost 1 and half day of moderate usage. My usual usage includes streaming of audio podcast during travel, occasional youtube during lunch time, constant connection to push email and chat, and occasional web browsing. My 3G data is constantly on until I went home where WiFi takes over.

I’ve no problems with applications available at Marketplace as currently most of what I need is already built-in or at least ready for download. Though I’m still disappointed that one of my favorite Android app is still missing, the CNet apps.
Windows Phone 7 already supports Podcast built right into it with the ability to subscribe and automatically download them. Email is top-notch! More than I would ever need.

Nokia Lumia 800 with Windows Phone 7 is a great combination and a bit step-up from their old Symbian offering. I’ll admit that Nokia constantly updates they Symbian line but they will never meet the ecosystem which is becoming significant. The design of Lumia 800 totally represents the elegant and boldness of the Metro style of Windows Phone 7. I say this is perfect for me which emphasizes minimalism and simplicity without sacrificing functionality.

I think starting this April, Globe and Smart will start offering the Lumia series of phones while the higher end Lumia 900 accompanied with the affordable Lumia 610 will arrive later this May. I’m looking to get one Lumia hopefully right after one arrives to replace my aging Mozart. No, I will not consider an Android not because I’m biased but because all I wished for my most used gadget is its ability to do its job immediately without the necessity of tweaking just for the sake of meeting my demand.

LORE (spoiler alert)

Vet: Diablo lore has been changed! For one, the warrior who used the soulstone on himself now has a name! There are many other subtleties and nuances in the storyline that has been changed as well. We won’t spoil you too much but it’s safe to say that not everything in the books and in both games are considered canon. However, even on the fraction of the game we played, the story is told in unique and varied ways. At times it is told on the diaries of the NPCs, at times it’s seen as flashbacks of ghosts in dungeons and at times the NPCs themselves tell you the story. From what I’ve seen so far, it’s intriguing enough that I want to play the rest of the game NOW.

Noob: The lore is intriguing and has very rich characters. Since its my first time to play any Diablo title, I wanted to get to know the characters from the previous games. The dialogue is well-written ingame. As a new player, you are urged to find out more about the Diablo world. The game itself encourages you to explore and find pieces of lore. Even the background stories for the classes were very intriguing. They don’t give the story of your character outright but they drop hints that will get you curious about what happened to this person.

GAMEPLAY

Noob: Coming from playing World of Warcraft, I had trouble with the camera angles. I try to turn the camera to get a better view but I couldn’t. This may be because I’m too used to WASD and camera controls. I’m also not used to using the mouse primarily to control my character. However, once I got WoW out of my head and truly immersed myself in Diablo 3, I found that it’s a lot easier to control. It’s a very “clickity” game.

Vet: Not much has changed since Diablo 1 and Diablo 2. You still use your mouse to move around, you still use skills bound to both your left mouse button and right mouse button. Suffice to say prepare your mouse fingers for a workout. In my opinion though, it has kept true to the classics. Why fix what did not need fixing right?

The way skills function has changed a lot! You no longer earn skillpoints when you level. And no, you don’t need to read books to learn a skill. You gain spells and abilities simply by leveling. How you modify your skills are all based on runes (all also unlockable as you level). These runes modify your skills like adding knockback to them or changing their effect completely.

Oh yeah, I DONT NEED TO FREAKIN’ CLICK ON GOLD TO PICK IT UP ANYMORE! That may not be that important to you, but for me that’s a convenience I would gladly pay for. There are a lot more changes such as no more item identification, no more town portal scrolls, no more potion spamming (there are potions but they have cooldowns now), and a whole lot more.

PRESENTATION

Vet: This is a subject that most vets will debate about for hours on end. First of all, a lot have been saying that Diablo 3′s graphics are not at par with current industry eye popping graphics. Others would contend that Diablo 3 has it’s own art style that doesn’t need eye popping graphics at all. For me however, I’d say as long as it feels like the old Diablo games I’m all for it, and it does. I stand by Blizzard’s decision on the new art style especially since we’ll be playing this game for years. The new simple yet wholy effective art style, I feel, will stand the test of time. It’s not face melting uber graphics, yes, but it serves its purpose. To me, it looks spectacular. I love the new spell effects, they are not too over the top yet they are not bland either. I feel they are just right. I think the logic behind the art style is time itself. As said, Blizzard may be looking at us playing this game for a long time.

Noob: Blizzard did a good job setting the mood for the game. You get outside of town and you instantly feel dread around you. It felt like you’re going through a horror train ride and its not the ride itself but the anticipation of what’s coming  that makes things exciting. I am particular about the sounds in the game. At times I can hear the monsters but I cannot see them, adding to the suspense. The music sets the mood quite well too. The sounds are subtle when you’re not in combat then it ramps up as you go into combat. There are times when it’s all quiet then a flock of crows just fly off squawking. It’s the little touches that really set the mood.

RECOMMENDATION

 Noob: It’s everything that I expected it to be. Everything is well thought of and definitely a quality game. Not only because it’s from Blizzard but because of the time spent in its development. Play it with your friends, it’s no fun watching a horror movie by yourself.

Vet: This is definitely the trilogy maker we’ve been waiting for considering its just 1/3 of the Act 1 we’ve played. Albeit there are changes that some vets will not welcome gladly but hey, with time comes change and it’s been a long long time since Diablo 2. This is definitely a game I’m picking up, infact I already pre-ordered. One big recommendation though, more fun will be had if you play it with friends, just like the past 2 titles (3 if you count Lord of Destruction, the expansion for Diablo 2). So with this, try to find more friends to play with. We at Pinoy Gaming Network would like to endorse this group (https://www.facebook.com/groups/diabloph/) or this page (https://www.facebook.com/diabloPH) to join and play with. It’s full of both noobs and vets so there’s something for everyone. Credits go to Kevin Enriquez for the beta opportunity.

With that, I’ll see you all in Sanctuary peeps!

The Veteran gamer is David Ralph Lleno a.k.a. Sir David the Co-Editor-in-Chief of Pinoy Gaming Network. The Noob is his wife Maria Ciello Lleno.

CrackBerry just spotted Angry Birds Space on BlackBerry AppWorld. Good thing that Rovio, creator of famous Angry Bird series, has committed its resources for BlackBerry fans by releasing all the games for the PlayBook.

Sure I’m a bit jealous that up until now only the original Angry Birds is present on Windows Phone 7 Marketplace but who cares, we’re a minority!

Anyway, Angry Birds Space will cost us $3.75, same with other Angry Birds games. You can checkout the game here.

Aside: yey! My first post here at Pinoy Gaming using a PlayBook

Draw Something was the 36th game developed by OMGPOP before they got bought out by Zynga, the makers of Farmville. Zynga bought OMGPOP for $180 Million and not a moment too soon. Dan Porter, former OMGPOP CEO only had $1,700 left in his bank account and was supposed to close his company down for good when Draw Something started to take off. Lucky him.

As for the game, if you’re not on it, then you should be. The concept of the game is really simple, you draw something and you ask a friend to guess it. There are clue letters at the bottom and distracters to make it a bit confusing. There’s a bomb you can click to remove some distracting letters, making it easier to guess the word. Everytime you guess a word correctly, you get coins that you can use to buy bombs or buy more colors for your pallette. The beauty about draw something is that it’s a simple social game. You can play with friends from facebook or by entering a username, email address or you can even pick an enemy at random. You can choose a word from different difficulty levels; easy, medium to hard. You can install Draw Something whether you are on iOS or android (free and paid versions) and play it on your phone or tablet. You don’t have to be too a good artist to play, so go ahead and just draw something.

Below are some samples of drawings people did in the game:

 Click Here to Download from the Android Market

Games listed below are discounted by 33% to 66% from their original price.

• Angry Birds
• Burn the Rope
• De Blob
• Doodle God
• IonBallEX
• Max and the Magic Marker
• Toy Soldiers: Boot Camp

I’ve been a user of Windows Phone 7 and this certainly is my first time to see Microsoft slap a good deal for a number of its expensive games. I’ve seen Google and Apple throw away a lot of great deals before such as the $0.10 cents 10 day sale of Android last year.

Here’s hoping that Microsoft would continue with the trend of giving more sales of its games frequently soon.

Assassin’s Creed Revelations is the 4th title released under the same IP from Ubisoft. It brings to full circle the stories of both Altair and Ezio. As usual the story is both intriguing and very exciting. And again, you need to wait for the next title for all your questions to be answered unless Ubisoft pulls a Mass Effect 3 ending on us. To catch you up, Desmond has his brains fried in Brotherhood and he’s stuck in the Animus until he can figure out a way to isolate his memories from Ezio’s and Altair’s. All the while running and hiding from the templars hunting them down.

Gameplay wise Revelations still plays like the other Assassin Creed titles complete with AI that simply are too dumb. Ezio, although older, still plays exactly the same as he did back in Brotherhood and Assassin’s Creed 2 (naggygym ata ito, 50 na pero aakyat parin ng tore). You do get a new weapon from your standard myriad of Assassin friendly gear, although it’s basically just another gameplay mechanic. They call it the hookblade. Basically its an extension of your reach that you can use to grab on to things so you don’t miss those harder jumps ingame. Stealth and swordplay still come as standard as well as the timed runs in dungeons. The goal of the entire game is actually to use Ezio to uncover the Keys to the Masyaf vault, given by Altair to Marco Polo’s father (yeah, you read it right lol). Everything else ingame are merely fillers. Nag-aksaya ako ng sandamakmak na oras kakaremodel ng Istanbul bili ng bili ng Blacksmith shops, Tailoring shops at bookstore pero pera lang pala bigay. Later you’ll find that the money wasn’t all that necessary. Basically Assassin’s Creed Revelations brings nothing new to the franchise, it still comes with the standard fillers.

They did add a tower defense mechanic in protecting areas you’ve already taken from the templars but its basically very shallow gameplay. All in all in terms of innovation, this is not the game for that. Parang filler lang hanggang ma release ang Assassin’s Creed 3. They also added Desmond’s background story in the form of an independent platformer that gets more frustrating than it does fun.

Graphically speaking I don’t notice the difference between this one and Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood. Don’t get me wrong, it still looks awesome and Istanbul looks very alive with all the colors splashed here and there. Running through the city streets still feels gritty and very real as you try to escape from your pursuers. With the addition of the hook blade, you get to climb faster and higher now so you can marvel more at the magnificently rendered views.

Assassin’s Creed Revelations still sounds as awesome as the previous titles. Going into combat as the music pumps through your speakers keeps your adrenaline flowing like crazy, especially if you’re being chased. Although chases end very abruptly  since the AI are REALLY REALLY incredibly stupid. I do however like how they blend dialogue with the ambient sound. Sounds very hightech and still remains believable especially during the Desmond’s Journey parts.

As for replay value, there is a more robust Multiplayer mode. You can play online with your friends in death matches or in spy vs. spy like hunter hunted gameplay. It does get old fast as people stop playing like Assassins and go fencing on top of a rooftop akin to scenes in Pirates of the Caribbean. There are unlockables in singleplayer mode too. You can find pages of a memoir from a legendary assassin which will lead you to his armor set. You can also collect fragments of the animus to unlock Desmond’s Journey and try to go for 100% completion (at magsayang ng isang linggo sa kakalaro).

All in all, if you’re after gameplay, Revelations offers nothing new but if you’re after the story, this reveals much but not as much as you would like.

Graphics – 8

Sound – 8

Gameplay – 8

Replayability – 8

Mass Effect 3 has a grand storyline which continues from the previous 2 titles. *SPOILER ALERT* Mass Effect 1 has you fighting the Collectors, the so called “heralds” of the Reapers. Mass Effect 2 has you preventing a single Reaper from wreaking havoc in the galaxy. Now in Mass Effect 3, you have to repel an invasion of thousands if not millions of reapers. Mass Effect 3 has two underlying themes to it, desperation and sacrifice. Which I think go hand in hand. You are forced to make decisions that may change the outcome of the war with the reapers, and each decision comes with consequences.

Gameplay wise Mass Effect 3 hasn’t changed much. There have been improvements here and there such as, and thank goodness its gone, we don’t have to explore every single planet of each freakin’ solar system to get 100% completion. Character customization works the same way and even combat remains somewhat the same, complete with the bugs. Your teammates still run into your line of fire and at times get stuck in some random wall. It rarely happens though but when it does, you end up cursing the crap out of your PC or console. Combat still is exciting though as you combine powers with your teammates while doing your pop and shoot tactics.

The object of Mass Effect 3 is pretty much unchanged as well. You need to gather teammates to fight with you. But this time, you need to gather “war resources” too. War resources could be a person, an army, or a group of people that could help you win the war. There’s a special console that lets you manage these war assets which makes for an interesting mini game. Gathering teammates still has that same appeal as the previous 2 titles in which you need to gain their confidence and friendship and follow their own individual storylines. Good news too if you’ve played Mass Effect 2, you can directly import your old character into Mass Effect 3 continuing your old storyline complete with your former decisions.

Graphically Mass Effect 3 is simply stunning. We played our copy on the PC and it is quite impressive. A lot more details has been added to it this time around. Better physics and even better particle handling. There are sections in the game where you can take a look at dust fly across your screen. I just wish there was more chaos in the combat though, meaning I would have loved to see paper fly and furniture blow up instead of just scorch marks on on walls and floors. The environments look very varied yet still very pleasing. We go on missions in frozen tundras to jungles and even deserts. Though not at all revolutionary, Mass Effect 3 still looks fantastic.

Mass Effect 3 has one hell of a voice cast. The voice acting is superb except for a few weird scenes when a soldier yells when he can just speak (calma lang bro, wala pa tayo sa gierra sumisigaw ka na). The music score is right on the button too which changes from tune to tune depending on the situation. The environmental sounds gets old after a while though, especially the music played while you’re on the galaxy map. Heard it in Mass Effect 1, then 2,  and now 3. Please replace Bioware, please replace.

In terms of replay value, Mass Effect 3 has loads to offer. You may want to come back and replay the game and make different decisions giving you a totally different outcome.

All in all Mass Effect 3 gets is a premium title we can recommend to all our kababayan gamers. Even if you haven’t played Mass Effect 1 and 2, it’s still compelling enough to play 3. Though, to truly get connected with the characters who may or may not die (di namin sasabihin kung sino madededs), its best if you’ve played 1 and 2.

Graphics – 9

Sound – 8

Gameplay – 10

Replay Value  - 8

Show Notes

Games:

• Battlefield 3 Multiplayer Review
• New Local Sci-Fi MMORPG – Bounty Hounds
• Initial Reactions MW3
• Initial Reactions Assassin’s Creed Rev

Gadgets:

• ICS Source Code Release
• Nokia Windows 8 Table Release
• Whats the size of the worlds biggest tablet?
• Who dominates the smartphone market worldwide?
• Galaxy S II to get upgraded with ICS
• Sim Based NFC gains global support

Web:

• Facebook or Pornbook
• Google music goes beta

Shout Outs:

• Pinoy Gaming Network Theme by Diwa De Leon