Fable II: Irony Age

Lets cut to the chase. Fable II has me squarely by the man beans. I was expecting it to be good, but it's not. It's fucking fantastic.

It's exactly what I wanted, more Fable, better realised. It has depth, but it's like a shallow depth that is spread really wide. That made sense in my head. Moving on.

I had been crafting a character, with a rogue in mind. Do what I like, when I like. And that was working out just fine, until I shacked up with a wench, who promptly dumped me for 'Neglect' or some such shit. Who knew wives don't like neglect?

Bitter, I turned to a life of corrupt bastardry. I bought up most of the slums and jacked the rent and started earning a healthy income from my filthy real estate scam.

I then get a message from a friend, telling me that a friend had wandered up to him in game and given him...900 000 gold. My tiny pile shrivelled up with embarrassment.

The same friend found me in game some time later and asked me to meet him, telling me he had 'a little present for me'. I joined him in chat and after he explained that he had used the 'clock exploit', I told him 'no thanks, I'm right for gold'.

I turned down a million gold and he didn't even want to sleep with my (ex)wife.

So I'm playing as the most corrupt prick on the planet, but I turned down free money. Ironic, no?

I suppose that gesture extended beyond the game though, It's sort of a game breaker for me. Getting money is part of my fun, and if it was removed, it would take away the thrill of the chase and I would end up enjoying the game a lot less.

That must be how Paris Hilton feels.

N

Can you really have too much of a good thing?

October has so far been an excellent month for blockbuster game titles. I for one have been looking forward to getting amongst as much as I can afford, both in the money and time sense. I got a copy of Pure and thought it was excellent. I also got a copy of Saints Row 2. This I feel needs some work but none the less, a good effort and lots of big dumb fun.

More recently, we were lucky enough to get a copy of Fable II before its intended release date which is GREAT. I have been digging into that with great satisfaction as I am a Fable fan from way back.

Then the spanner was cast. Far Cry 2.

A problem? Not really. Well, at least I didn't think it would be a problem. Until last night when I decided to throw it in to check it out, as you do when you purchase such a hefty title such as Far Cry 2. Then came the problem. Its totally f'ing awesome. Like I'm talking Fable II f'ing awesome.

You see what I'm getting at? How the hell do you prioritize one major release game over another? That is, how do I fully enjoy Fable II when I know Far Cry 2 is waiting for me, and vice versa! As I thought about it a bit more, I remembered the other titles coming soon and came to the conclusion that its only going to get worse. ALOT worse. We have Fallout 3, Gears of War 2, Little Big Planet, Left 4 Dead, not to mention Guitar Hero: World Tour and Rock Band, all within the next few weeks. I thought I was ready for the onslaught of quality gaming to come, ready to gorge myself like a fat man at the self serve buffet. Turns out my eyes were bigger than my stomach. Again.

For me, I feel its not so much a question of how do you afford all these great games anymore, as Brother N talked about just recently. I think I have shown myself this month that where there is a will there is a way when it comes to scraping up funds for games. For me its now a matter of how much enjoyment am I going to get out of each game once they are all sitting in front of me, ready to play. I sure as hell am not going to rush through these games, but I'll be positively ITCHING to start the next one. Its a vicious, vicious circle.

I used to work in game retail so I know why they release all the major blockbusters at once this time of year, I really do. Its getting into the silly season and there is a tonne of money to be made because Mrs. Mum needs to get her son little Johnny Shithead the latest game for Christmas because he had enough of giving people shit on COD4 over Xbox Live. However for the "average" gaming enthusiast like myself and my friends, its just flatout inconvenient.

AAAAAAANYWAY................

I know I'm definitely not the only one in this wretched boat. How are you guys coping with the large amounts of awesome upon us? Is there a pecking order you follow or do you just dip you hand in a hat and pull out a number? Or do you just throw it all in and take up bush walking? I would love to hear about it.

Mr Metal

PS: Notice that I didn't mention Dead Space at all? I have made the tough decision to not look at that game until this wave of titles are done. And its KILLING me because that game looks absolutely amazing.

JCVD?

I am strangely intrigued by this movie. Im gonna keep a close eye on it.

Mr Metal

New Gears of War 2 teaser. Goner increases.

From the same crew that created the "Madworld" teaser for the original Gears of War.

I'm a sucker for a good teaser trailer. Gears of War 2 is set for release November 7, and i cant wait.

Mr Metal

Watchmen Trailer #2 = Very yes!

Wow. Watchmen is really shaping up to be one of the must see films of 2009. I am very new to the Watchmen universe, as a matter of fact I am about half way through reading the graphic novel at the moment, but my excitement for this film grows after each page turn.

Now seeing the iconic scenes from the book being faithfully represented in these epic trailers has raised my anticipation further again. Looking good Mr. Snyder!

Mr Metal

Not. Happy. Janet.

Lucasarts/Bioware announced their new KOTOR game with a swift kick to the nuts of all the original Xbox players. A PC only MMORPG.

Great. Thanks guys! Now I'm gonna either have to spend more dollars on a new PC/monthly subscriptions or just plain miss out. Way to support the original fans of the game! Lets just hope its worth forking out the cash for.

I have read that a console version is "under consideration" but that means dick all until they make an official announcement. Time will tell i guess.

In the meantime, I'm giving you all the chance to win the awesome prize of buying me a new PC. The lucky winner get my Paypal details and a dint in their savings account.

Mr Metal

LittleBigPain: Send em back boys.

Thursday was going to be a good day. A feast of games fit for a king. Perhaps even a Super-King.

Now news has broken that background music containing potentially offensive lyrics has spurned a WORLD WIDE RECALL. What was so offensive? The following: “Every soul shall have the taste of death” and “all that is on earth will perish.” recited in Somali. These lines are taken from the Qur’an.

So before I unleash a tirade at Sony for being the largest pussies on earth, its best to mention that the concerns were raised by a Muslim user who indeed found the lyric offensive. As much as I want to go the apest of shit at Sony and MM for political meekness, I have to respect that guy's right to be shitty. Mixing music and words from the Qur’an is apparently a big no no for Muslims.

But isn't this reaction a wee bit over the top? MM has stated that they had a day 0 patch at the ready to block the offending material, and yet a recall is necessary? I feel a bit like Sony heard the words "Muslim" and "Death" and freaked the fuck out.

So now as I stare at the 'TBC' next to its name and rest my head in my hands, I can't help think 'Where the fuck was the censorship for Burnout Paradise when I had Avril Lavigne bleating her horror-pop at me?' Now that shit is offensive.

You know what I did?

I went to the menu, and I TURNED THAT SONG OFF.

This my friends, is a load of bullshit of the highest magnitude.

-N

Nursery Rhymes? Seriously?

Just a quick note to the marketing team at EA in charge of promoting Dead Space, using nursery rhymes ironically is played the fuck out.

n