Game Ranter Banter: Half-Life 3, Diablo 3, Dawnguard & The Walking Dead

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Game Ranter Banter: Half-Life 3, Diablo 3, Dawnguard, LEGO MMOs and The Walking Dead

In addition to the releases of The Amazing Spider-Man�and Spec Ops: The Line, the big news of the week surrounds the releases of the first DLC expansion for The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim and the Mass Effect 3: Extended Cut, the latter of which had us sharing pair of features about why the game does and does not need a new ending. But there are plenty of other topics out there, and you can read our thoughts in this week's Game Ranter Banter.

This week, our writers discuss the ongoing issues with Diablo 3, the lengthy development of Half-Life 3, the vampire theme of the Dawnguard expansion for Skyrim, LEGO Games, and an unbearable wait for the next episode of The Walking Dead.

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In addition to the releases of The Amazing Spider-Man and Spec Ops: The Line, the big news of the week surrounds the releases of the first DLC expansion for The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim and the Mass Effect 3: Extended Cut, the latter of which had us sharing pair of features about why the game does and does not need a new ending. But there are plenty of other topics out there, and you can read our thoughts in this week's Game Ranter Banter. This week, our writers discuss the ongoing issues with Diablo 3, the lengthy development of Half-Life 3, the vampire theme of the Dawnguard expansion for Skyrim, LEGO Games, and an unbearable wait for the next episode of The Walking Dead. Half Life 3 Long Development

I keep seeing it in every corner of the internet, on the breath of every Valve fanboy. "When is Half-Life 3 coming?" To all of you, I will answer your question with a question of my own: Why do you really need to know? It is now common knowledge that Valve takes their sweet time delivering the goods -- and because of it, they are much sweeter, having been produced with the time and attention they deserve. Why should grumpy, impatient players get a say in how information is sent out? I'm as pumped for the next instalment of Half-Life as the next guy or gal, but there is a point where all the arguing about the validity of concept art or viral images becomes pointless and wasteful. Valve takes their time because they know better than anyone how to handle their beloved IPs. True fans will stay the course, as it were, and be patient with Valve, knowing they are doing what it takes to create the best possible continuation of this immortal series. Skyrim Dawnguard Banter

I'm at a bit of a loss lately. You see, I absolutely loved my time playing through the open-ended quests and endless fetching of sweet loots that Skyrim brought me last year. Not getting into the greater mythology or epic calling I felt as the Dragonborn, but getting bigger, better and shinier weapons and armor. Then, taking that equipment into battle against giant dragons because, well, because I could. With the new Dawnguard expansion promising even cooler shouts, brand new must-have dragon weapons, and even dragons that can swim underwater, it was a no-brainer. And yet, I haven't bought it. Not only that, but my backlog of games is already lengthy without expansions or DLC. I don't know if that means I'm not a real Skyrim fan, but it's certainly hit home just how many games there are these days. So many that the chance to play as both a Vampire and Vampire-hunter is one that I've got to make time for. It's a very good time to be a gamer, ladies and gentlemen. LEGO MMO Banter

Earlier this week, Game Rant pleaded its case for a better LEGO MMO. We watched, crestfallen, as LEGO Universe stumbled and fell before ever spreading its wings, and we would hate to see it happen again. That said, I would be willing to argue that a Minecraft-style game might not be the only way to successfully pull off a massive LEGO game. Looking back at the LEGO video game history, virtually none of them have had any extensive building components, yet most were both critical and commercial successes. The recent Traveller's Tales games along with the upcoming Lego City Undercover might not exist inside a blocky world reminiscent of the toys they are based on, but since LEGO Island in 1997, developers have made their mark by throwing the Minifigs into living, breathing worlds. LEGO products will always be aimed at a younger audience, the key is to work within those limitations to create the most entertaining and creative experience Funcom possibly can. In fact, if Funcom manages to just combine every LEGO game from the late 90s/early 00s into an expansive open world, I'll be there day one. The Walking Dead Banter

Video game release dates are now, more than ever, pretty tentative, especially right after a game is announced. From "Summer 2014" to "4th Quarter 2012," gamers are typically a patient bunch when it comes to their favorite games (Half-Life 3 and Diablo 3 notwithstanding). With that said, one has to wonder what TellTale Games was up to with The Walking Dead. After initially scheduling a monthly release for each episode, the second episode had a two-month wait before it finally came out this week - albeit on a date which was only announced a single day before it came to Xbox 360. The company was absolutely silent on the issue until E3, and even then only offered a vague idea on final release date - a failure on communication for an issue which left fans (especially the ones who bought the season pass) truly in the dark. While it's a great series so far, TellTale Games needs to work some overtime to make sure Episode 3 is released in a reasonable timeframe and make amends to 'The Waiting Dead.' Diablo 3 Banter

It has been sixteen long years since I first took up my sword against the legions of Hell to defend the world of Sanctuary. With thousands upon thousands of mouse clicks, I fought back relentless waves of demons and devils, faced down ultimate evil itself, only to triumph and save the day. To say I was addicted to the gameplay of Diablo would be an understatement; in my mind, I was the stalwart warrior standing between the feeble peasants throughout the land and the fires of Hell that wanted to destroy everything my character held dear. I fanatically played Diablo 1 and 2 day in and out after they released. To me, they were (and still are) the pinnacle of reward based gaming. The more I enemies killed, the more loot I got. The formula sucked me in, and I didn’t want to be let go. So with everything that has happened so far with Diablo 3, I have one question for Blizzard: what the hell? Blizzard knew this was going to be a huge game; gamers have been clamoring for another entry in the series for over 11 years. Sadly, when Diablo 3 was finally released, players were met with substantial problems. Online only for single player, servers down the very day of launch, an unwanted auction house that served to disrupt the addictive loot based gameplay, ten hour down times, and countless other issues have helped to draw the ire of gamers. These problems should have been solved during the games decade-long development cycle; instead early buyers have been forced to deal with fixes that shouldn’t have been needed in the first place. The situation feels very bush league, which is odd because Blizzard has been in the majors for quite a while.

That's all for this week's Game Ranter Banter. As always, let us know what you think of this week's news in the comments, or on Twitter @GameRant and Facebook.com/GameRant. If you have specific topics you'd like any of the team to cover, don't hesitate to ask.