It was a weekend of mixed emotions in Paris for Blizzard fanatics. It opened on a high when the rumours about Diablo 3 turned out to be true, and climbed to even greater heights as attendees rapidly realised how true to the previous instalment in the series the game looks to be, and how much work has already been done on it.

However, Diablo fans aside, Blizzard offered very little in the way of news at the event. The much-hoped-for launch windows for Starcraft II and Wrath of the Lich King failed to materialise, and other than a few tidbits thrown out during the few developer and producer interviews that were not about Diablo III there was little new on show. It was, however, the first chance that many attendees had to play the two other upcoming titles in the Blizzard stable, and the panels did offer a rare insight into the game development process for both those titles.

For gamers around the world there was plenty to cheer about too. Those present were the first in the public domain to play with the Death Knight, the first new class for World of Warcraft since the game's launch, and a significant number of questions about the class have been answered... though at this stage the answers could still change. For more, check out my hands-on preview with Wrath of the Lich King based on an hour or so running around the Plaguelands trying to kill as many mobs as I possibly could, all in the name of responsible journalism.

If you want to know all the information about Diablo III—and I certainly hope you do—then your first port of call should be our impressions piece, based on the trailer, all the gameplay footage that was shown over the course of the weekend, developer panels, and a fairly rigorous interrogation of developers about any features they were willing or able to talk about. No comment on a cow level, I'm afraid; I'll remember to pack the thumbscrews next time I head out to a Blizzard event.

For even more information, you should check out the interview with Blizzard's Rob Pardo, Brian Ekberg's piece over on our previews blog based on the developer panel on the Art and Lore of Diablo 3.

If any of you were there we'd love to hear from you... leave your thoughts below, if you were there, if you're excited about Diablo III or if you've got any thoughts at all about Blizard's biggest-ever gathering of European gamers.

For those of you who don't already know, going on right now is the Blizzard Worldwide Invitational event in Paris.

I've uploaded a few photos of how things are shaping up so far...

Brian Ekberg and I are going to be bringing you a live blog of the opening ceremony which is 1045 UK time (1145 here in Paris), so be sure to watch that space for news as it happens. If you want a sneak peak of what's likely to be coming, I'd suggest you check out my image gallery... the chap at the top looks to be familiar, and the fire round his hand may well we indicating some roman numerals... but that is, of course, just rumour and speculation.

I'll upload more pictures as I take them.

As some of you may have seen thanks to our community update and forum posts, we're hosting a Community Game Night tomorrow, with a little help from the UK Frag Dolls!

It's going to kick off at 8pm, and will feature Rainbow Six Vegas 2 on Xbox 360 and (maybe) PS3. Guy, Luke, Laura and I will all be there and available to be killed, and we will be ably assisted (read protected) by Jam, Kitt and Sarin of the frag dolls.

If you want to take part, then just PM me your gamertag or PSN ID before we kick off, and we will do our best to get as many in as you can.

Also, now you're done here, head over to London Calling for something approaching good Rock Band news.

I really should have covered this yesterday, but just didn't manage to find the time...

We recieved word yesterday from the ever-delightful Roxy from Atari (who you should know from the GSUK podcast after she made her debut there recently) that there was a unique event planned to promote the upcoming Sun Crossword Challenge for DS, which is coming out on Friday.

Clearly learning from the marketing minds behind that illustrious rag, Atari are offering commuters, gamers, and lovers of all things titillating by organising an event at London's Victoria station at 8am, involving a 'giant interactive crossword' and 'Page 3 stunners Vikki Blows and Sam Cooke'.

As well as being able to play the game itself, lucky commuters will be able to pause for a moment and, if the more intellectual pursuits are not their thing, can have a picture taken with the aforementioned glamorous ladies which, we are reliably assured would be 'perfect for making your workmates envious when you get back to the office'.

So there.

Ms Blows poses for Front

And yes, she really is called Vikki Blows. No, I don't know why either. You may know her from such things as a recent rather unusual Devil May Cry photoshoot, for new-ish lowbrow-but-with-pretentions British magazine Front.

This week you lucky people are getting your Start/Select dose a day early.

This week we've got some good stuff for you: the future of Mass Effect, Saints Row 2 and heading out for a little fun by the river.

And you're even treated to a guest appearance from me.

I finally got my hands on my most anticipated game of 2009, Street Fighter IV.

Heading down to Capcom's offices in Hammersmith I was the calm little center of the universe preparing to get my Guile on, so to speak, and ended up getting a little bit more than I bargained for.

I've not played a Street Fighter game since SFII Turbo, and have only really put serious time in on Street Fighter II for the SNES... but that was an incredible amount of time both at school and at university; my house in the second year was filled with devoted Tekken and Street Fighter fans, and we divided our time between SFII on the SNES and Tekken Tag on the PS2. Good times.

I was a little nervous to see SFIV after the travesties that have borne the Street Fighter name since SFII: Turbo despite the pleasing noises made by the developers, but I was very pleasantly surprised.

Not only does the game look good in the stills you've seen so far, but the animations are every bit as good as you'd hope. The new moves and gameplay mechanics fit in very nicely, and even the super moves aren't overpowered. Standard moves look as good as you'd hope, and the more excessive new ones look stunning. But, more importantly than all that, the game just feels right... and I can think of no higher praise.

In my time with Capcom I got to spend some time playing as Blanka, Guile, Crimson Viper and Abel and enjoyed them all. Guile and Blanka were my two favourites from SFII and playing them was as easy as I'd hoped... and the new characters fit in well too. I think that Crimson Viper may well be added to my standard roster when I finally get the game into my living room.