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Blizzard Entertianment has announced that a Diablo III open beta will be available through the weekend, starting today at 12:01 p.m. PDT and continuing until 10:00 a.m. PDT April 23. Blizzard also announced it will be resetting the Diablo II ladders on May 2.

From the Diablo III Open Beta FAQ:

What steps do I need to take?

• Log in or create a Battle.net account at http://www.battle.net
  
• Create your BattleTag™, which is required to play Diablo III
  
• Download the game client, install, and play between 12:01 p.m. PDT April 20 and 10:00 a.m. PDT April 23

Can all regions/countries participate?
Due to regional differences and features of the stress test client, Korean players will not be able to partake in the stress test weekend. However, beginning the week of April 23, we will be conducting a separate, invitation-only closed beta test that will give players in Korea a chance to try out the game, along with players in the regions of Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau.

What platforms and languages do you support?
For the stress test we're offering the client in English, French, and German for both Windows and Mac. At release the game will be fully localized into English, Latin American Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, French, German, European Spanish, Italian, Polish, Korean, and Traditional Chinese for Windows, and English, French, and German for Mac.

As we all anxiously await the release of Diablo III on May 15, we invite you to come enjoy one last hurrah in Diablo II as we reset the ladder the morning of Wednesday, May 2. We anticipate the realms could be down for up to six hours during the reset, and during that time all existing ladder characters will be converted to non-ladder. All characters and items being converted to non-ladder will remain intact, but once converted these characters will no longer have access to ladder content such as creating ladder-only rune words.

This ladder reset, like all those before it, creates a clean slate where all ladder characters begin at level 1 with no previous items to help them. To participate, simply wait until the Diablo II realms return to service on May 2, log in to Battle.net, and tick the “Ladder Character” checkbox when creating a new character. You can track ladder character leveling progress by clicking on the Ladder button from the main Diablo II in-game Battle.net interface.

Diablo III Open Beta

Diablo II Ladder Characters

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Kotaku recently revealed information about Akaneiro: Demon Hunters, an upcoming new action RPG from American McGee's Spicy Horse development studio. Drawing on the Red Riding Hood fairy tale, as well as Japanese culture and history, the game puts players in the role of an elite demon hunter battling the forces of evil. iGame Radio has confirmed that the game will be coming to Mac.

Spice Horse has already done its twisted take on Alice in Wonderland. With Akaneiro, the studio is putting its spin on Red Riding Hood—in Japan.

Akaneiro is an action role-playing game that takes players to a hand-painted world inspired by ancient demons and late Edo era Japan. Players join the The Order of Akane, an elite group of demon hunters, and attempt to rid a village of yokai. The blood of slaughtered yokai turned into crystalline shards called "Karma Shards", which are what the Order of Akane harvest. There is apparently a variety of weapons that can be upgraded as well.

Kotaku: Akaneiro Details

iGame Radio: Akaneiro Coming To Macs

Akaneiro: Demon Hunters (add to watch list)

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In celebration of the upcoming eighth anniversary of the release of City of Heroes, NCSoft and Paragon Studios have announced a free respec token giveaway. On April 24, players in City Of Heroes will be granted the token if their character does not already possess one.

Celebrate the 8th Anniversary of City of Heroes with a free Respec! On April 24th, 2012, we will be granting a free Respec Token to all characters in City of Heroes Freedom. Please be aware that this token does not stack with previous free Respec Tokens that you have accrued, so if you're on the fence about using one, now's your chance! Remember, you won't get a free Respec Token unless you've already used the last one, so if you would like to get one, use the old one now!

Thank you all for continuing to support City of Heroes, the world's best super heroic MMO! And don't worry, we have lots planned for the 8th Anniversary, so keep an eye on our website, as well as Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and the forums!

City Of Heroes Free Respec Token

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The digital download version of Aspyr Media's Quake 4 is now available for purchase from Macgamestore.com. The first person shooter follows the exploits of Matthew Kane, an Earth warrior struggling to defeat the invading Strogg.

In a Desperate War for Earth’s Survival, The Only Way to Defeat the Strogg is to Become One of Them

STORY OVERVIEW

Earth is under siege by the Strogg, a barbaric alien race moving through the universe consuming, recycling and annihilating any civilization in their path. In a desperate attempt to survive, an armada of Earth’s finest warriors is sent to take the battle to the Strogg home planet.

You are Matthew Kane, an elite member of Rhino Squad and Earth's valiant invasion force. Fight alone, with your squad, or in hover tanks and mechanized walkers as you engage in a heroic mission to the heart of the Strogg war machine.

Features:

• Sequel to the epic Quake 2 storyline
  
• Battle outdoors using tanks and walkers
  
• Fight with the support of an elite squad
  
• Compete online in fast action, arena-style multiplayer
  
• Built on the genre defining id Tech 4 (the Doom 3 engine)

Requirements:

• Operating System: 10.6.8 (Snow Leopard), 10.7.3 (Lion)
  
• CPU Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo (Dual-Core)
  
• CPU Speed: 2.4 GHz
  
• Memory: 2 GB
  
• Hard Disk Space: 3.5 GB
  
• Video Card (ATI): Radeon HD 2600
  
• Video Card (NVidia): Geforce 8600
  
• Video Memory (VRam): 256 MB
  
• Supported Video Chipsets:
  NVIDIA GEFORCE 8600
  NVIDIA GEFORCE 8800
  NVIDIA GEFORCE 9400
  NVIDIA GEFORCE 9600
  NVIDIA GEFORCE GT 120
  NVIDIA GEFORCE 320M
  NVIDIA GEFORCE 330M
  ATI RADEON HD 2600
  ATI RADEON HD 3870
  ATI RADEON HD 4670
  ATI RADEON HD 4850
  ATI RADEON HD 5670
  ATI RADEON HD 5750
  ATI RADEON HD 5770
  ATI RADEON HD 5870
  ATI RADEON HD 6630M
  ATI RADEON HD 6750M
  ATI RADEON HD 6770M
  ATI RADEON HD 6970M
  Intel HD Graphics 3000
• The following video chipsets are unsupported by Quake 4:
  ATI RADEON X1000 Series
  NVIDIA 7000 Series
  Intel Integrated GMA 950
  Intel Integrated x3100

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Macworld has posted a review of Aspyr Media's Rage: Campaign Edition for Mac. Originally develped by id Software, the post apocalyptic shooter features the gunplay fans of the genre expect, as well as high speed combat racing and RPG elements. Macworld gave the game a score of 4 out of 5.

Rage: Campaign Edition (Mac App Store link; GameAgent Store link) isn’t going to win any awards for originality, but it’s an enjoyable, action-packed first-person shooter, decked out in top-notch 3D graphics. The game is set in the near future, following an unfortunate collision between the Earth and a large asteroid. Emerging from your underground bunker after a cryogenic snooze, you discover a post-apocalyptic wasteland dominated by bandit gangs, creepy mutants, and a shadowy organisation called The Authority.

You’re immediately attacked by bandits and rescued by a bruiser called Dan, who helpfully gives you a gun and a nippy little all-terrain motorbike and sends you off to slaughter the entire bandit camp. That’s pretty much the game in a nutshell.

Macworld: Rage Review

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