...Heartbeat?

So, I'm still here.

It was a very, very rough 2012 for me and I hope that 2013 will have a much better outlook as we move forward.

Some quick things of note from this past year.  We tried out a few different table-top systems, and we've enjoyed most of them.  I've found some old online MMOs that are perhaps better now than they were previously.  I just today discovered a Diablo 2 clone that is being produced by some fine folks down in New Zealand - and that is what I want to spend a little bit of time on right now.

Path of Exile is the Diablo 2 clone in question.  It's currently in open beta testing, so if you enjoyed D2 and you want to have that same kind of fun without all of the Blizzard BS, go download the client and get going.  I think the total amount of time it took to download, install, and update was about 20 minutes.  It's not like you'd be downloading/installing/updating World of Tanks for Pete's sake.    I've only been playing Path of Exile for a few hours and just completed Act 1, so I felt I could actually take a break and log out.  I'm very impressed with this game.  The UI is designed very well, with optimal user friendliness for the gamer in mind.  Hotkey bindings are sensible, and easy to find/understand.  The in game currency system COMPLETELY eliminates the problems that came about from Blizzard's complete lack of anything resembling intelligence concerning currency/auctioning items.  This game does feel more like D2.5 or 2.8 rather than Diablo 2 or Diablo 3, however I really like the subtle changes the lads at Grinding Gear Games made to the Diablo style format.  The classes are balanced, the game play is fun and intuitive, the music and ambiance are incredible.  The skill tree is very much like what I've seen from Square Enix with Final Fantasy X, allowing you to customize your particular character build to your preferred play style.  Again very, very impressive.

If you haven't yet gone to their website to look at the game, please do so.  And watch the introductory video!

-Bonzo out.