Play Lists

[Lars Porsenna]

Yeah and I can't wait to call Microsoft and send back my XBox and to get it back fixed and to buy the game and THEN play through (for the first time) on Heroic with you guys!!

I beat the game in 3 days...

Damon.

[Hardcorhobbs]

FABLE 3!!!

It's awesome! The princess looks way better than her mother the queen did. Loving the story thus far. Spell casting is way better this time around. No scaring the local populace when you accidentally set off some spell. Can't wait to play more. Plus you lot need to get on it so we can try out some co-op. I've heard mixed feelings about it, though everyone agrees that it's way better than the Fable 2 attempt (and if you've tried it, you'd whole-heartily agree too!)

Looking forward to exploring more of Albion. Hopefully tonight I can break past the hand-holding portion of the game (figuratively, though you can do that literally too )

Oh, and if you pick it up there is a free weapons pack available on live. Nothing all that great, but slightly better than some of the early game options.

[NukeHavoc]

I finished Reach last night thanks to a bout of insomnia. I was a little disappointed by it, and wish they'd kept it closer to the Fall of Reach book. Overall, I enjoyed ODST more -- better characters, better mode but Reach sure does look beautiful.

[erilar]

Agree with Ken's thoughts on Reach. It is a good story, but also hard to thoroughly enjoy due to the dire and desperate nature of the events (kind of like a certain board game we've been discussing, hehe).

Cory, I do have a copy of Fable 3, but for now I'm primarily letting Zack play it first. I may try it a little tonight while they are at the Country Meadows Halloween party thingie. If the co-op turns out to be very strong, we might get a second copy, but probably not.

Myself, I am full of gaming options. I am about 1/3 of the way through Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions. I definitely like it, but the gameplay is very frenetic and I don't always feel like I have the energy to tackle another level. I don't think it's for everyone, but for a lifelong Spidey fan, this game is the shit.

Also have Alan Wake, and have only finished the first level (of about 9). I'm enjoying it quite a bit. Due to the scary/tense nature, it's also not something I am in the mood for every day.

Lastly, I just got Fallout: New Vegas in the mail yesterday. I'm really jonzing to jump into it, but I may wait until the second patch hits XBL (any day now). It was reviewed well, but it was also very buggy at launch and I want to avoid as much of that frustration as possible.

Sorry I've been absent from XBL all week - got sick and had no energy, and was going to bed early. Feel like I'm getting over it today. Also won't be on Thursday night - I'm having my Lasik surgery tomorrow and am supposed to keep my eyes closed as much as possible that day. Should be back to normal on Friday - hopefully!!

[Hardcorhobbs]

The only other game I plan to buy this year is Super Scribblenauts. Everything else I may want is going on my Christmas list. (I say that now, I could be forgetting something.) Super Scribblenauts I want to pick up because it's such a different game that I want to show the developers my support (as I did with Vanquish).

Otherwise I'm further in the boat than Lance. I have a bunch of games at various points that I'd like to beat by the end of the year: Vanquish, Shadow Complex, Monkey Island, Dragon Age: Awakening, Dark Void, Mass Effect 2, and Crackdown 2. I also have various RPG's I could work on. (We won't even mention any of the games I have to tackle on the Wii or DS ) I'm really going to try and get some of these games off the list before a new season starts. I have to stop buying more games than I can tackle at once. (I REALLY need to stop buying so many RPG's. I'll never beat them all! They take too long.)

I will say I'm not really upset at any of my purchases. Video games are my chosen hobby right now, so I feel like I'm getting my worth out of most of my purchases. Even if I only ever play a RPG for 20 of 100 hours... that's enough for me in some cases. Others, I really want to beat it. That's how you tell a good game from a mediocre game. (Though admittedly I beat some games out of peer pressure )

[NukeHavoc]

I'm continuing to play DragonQuest IX and really enjoying it. They don't railroad you into the main storyline (unlike some other JRPGs I've played) and there are plenty of fun and occasionally weird side quests to do. Such as this one quest I got from a cat; I have no idea what it wants, but it amuses me that I got a quest from a feline.

I'm not sure what I'm going to play after Reach. I'm tempted to get back into Dragon Age, but I may push on with Borderlands instead. It's a hell of a lot of fun too, and one really big RPG at a time is probably enough.

[Hardcorhobbs]

Last night I decided Fable 3 is the best of the games thus far. The side quests are way more varied than they were in 2. In 2 it seemed like most of the side quests involved going into a dungeon, killing the bad guys, and grabbing the dojigger. Thus far I don't think I've come across a single mission where I had to go into a dungeon.

The jobs are also way better, and more significant. In 2 while the jobs were good early on, you didn't need them in you're later levels because you could make more money elsewhere. In 3 the multipliers go up so fast that jobs may still be a great way to make some quick cash. They're also more fun and interesting than they were in 2. I don't mind sitting there for a few minutes raking in some cash.

Then there's the combat system. It's a lot easier to get the hang of, plus it looks way more epic. Even the spells, which I mostly ignored the past two games, are becoming part of my attack plans. Moving the spell system from points to gloves was a great change!

Do I need to mention how awesome the menu is? If you don't know anything about it, the menu is a sanctum you pop back to where your butler give you advice about where to go, what to wear, etc. And its all there on screen. Clothing is modeled on mannequins, the map of albion is represented by a war room style 3d map, You can see everything! And if that wasn't enough, your butler is voiced by one John Cleese! I go there just to see what he has to say sometimes!

Finally, there's the character models. I'm finally able to make a female character that looks good!!! If you recall one of my major complaints in 2 was getting sick of looking at the female avatar. I wanted her to wear some of the guy gear, but they didn't model the clothing correctly to allow that to happen. This one works seamlessly!

Needless to say, I'm loving this game. I may actually play it all the way through without shelving it for a few months! When is the last time that happened???

[Jonkga]

So, I made Captain in Reach last night.

I am now playing ODST, as I didn't have it before, and was able to pick it up basically for free, as I got Best Buy money for buying Reach, and ODST is currently 40% off.

So, I'll be playing through the ODST campaign, and then jumping back and forth to do more Reach multiplayer.

[Hardcorhobbs]

I now rule Albion. Still loving the game, still lots to do. Possibly more to do, depending on your decisions as monarch. I can see the end though, so I know I'll beat it before I get bored. All games should be this long! (20-30 hours. Less if you blast through to the end. I've seen mention of a 12 hour playtime... but then they missed a lot of awesome stuff in the game!) I'd beat more games ^.^

Also picked up Super Scribblenauts and nerf armor for my DSiLL while getting my computer. I've loved the nerf armor for my other DS's, so it was a sure thing when I saw the LL (XL for those getting a state-side release) version on the shelf. It even has a built-in clip in the back for the larger stylus it comes with! Super Scribblenauts I got because the first was awesome! I want to support this kind of different game design. I'll play it here and there... which it's great for because its all puzzles. This time with Adjectives!!!

[erilar]

Will be interested to see how Super Scribblenauts plays. I really liked the premise of the first game, but found that controlling the character was awkward - hopefully the devs have improved this situation.

[Hardcorhobbs]

We played a bit of The Secret Armory of General Knoxx last night in Borderlands. Already it was awesome. We found *good* new guns a few minutes in. Even the enemies were different from what came before! Reasons to love this game all over again! I would have loved to play more, but between the xbox update, and being tired we only played for about an hour. Hopefully more this week!

Made a little progress in Fable 3. Trying to do side missions to completely level up. It's taking time, but a lot of the side missions are fun and interesting. I'll keep chugging away at it.

Then there's super scribblenauts. I played a bit while I was waiting for Lance to show up for Borderlands. When he showed up I clam-shelled the ds. So when we quit early so I could catch up on sleep I figured I'd play one more puzzle then shut it down. An hour later and I forced myself to close it. It's so awesome. Thus far even better than the first. It doesn't look like they fixed the problems controlling Maxwell, instead they fixed the puzzles so you don't have to rely on him to beat them. We'll see if that holds up, but so far it's a great solution! Love this game!

[NukeHavoc]

I fired up Fallout 3 last night for the first time in months. The game looks soooo much better on my new TV; it's like playing an entirely new game.

[NukeHavoc]

Stupid Fallout and its stupid quest logic is killing me. Do one thing out of order (but reasonably so) and BOOM you can't finish a quest. Take "Head of State" -- if you kill all the slavers living in the Lincoln Memorial *before* you escort the Temple of the Union people to DC, the game won't let you actually *finish* the quest because they never reach the memorial (although they're within spitting distance of it).

Stupid, stupid, stupid.

I can only hope that they got better about this in Fallout: New Vegas. I can't remember Oblivion *ever* being this screwy.

[Hardcorhobbs]

I can only hope that they got better about this in Fallout: New Vegas. I can't remember Oblivion *ever* being this screwy.

You just have to hope you don't run into a bug that freezes the game for you

I ran into a similar thing at the end of the game. I had to do the end sequence all over because I didn't do something before I did something else (trying not to spoil anything ) Despite that, I still had a great time. One day I'll come back to the game and do more side questing... you know... after I win the lottery and have a lot more time to game...

I played lots more super scribblenauts last night. I've been running into very few spots where you have to control Maxwell to complete the missions, and even the ones I do it's simple controls. It's definitely an improvement over the first! These games rock. I'm very excited that they'll be bringing something to XBLA soon

[erilar]

I wouldn't recommend playing New Vegas until the second patch is released. I haven't had any problems at my early point in the game, but the internets are rife with indignant gamer ire regarding the buggy state of the game.

I played through the second chapter (of six) in Alan Wake last night. This is a fantastic game. Specifically, the writing is superb and the gameplay is fun enough. The plot is all Steven King meets Twin Peaks with a pinch of X-Files thrown in. In particular, I think Jon will really dig it (I'll pass it along when I finish it).

I can maybe see that shooting shadowy lumberjacks in the dark woods could get a little old by the end of the game, but the story and cutscenes are so fantastic that I'm very motivated to keep playing. There are a lot of great little events throughout the levels to make you jump, or build tension. The most prominent of these is the mechanic that has you finding loose pages of Alan's latest manuscript, which he can't remember writing, and that many of these snippets foreshadow or tease events that will happen later in the level. So, these hints both make you dread/anticipate that event, and sometimes also serve as clues as to how Alan might tackle a new kind of bad guy, etc. Helps to avoid trial-by-dying gameplay - very clever.

For instance, I found a page last night that spoke of Alan being menaced by a shadowy creep with a chainsaw, and up until that point I'd only fought shadowy creeps wielding axes and farm tools. So, I knew that once I came out of the woods I was going to have to deal with a Texas Chainsaw Massacre-er at some point, and who knew how tough or scary he'd be? Very cool.

The grand story arc is really compelling - I'm completely sucked in. The supporting characters are also very interesting and entertaining. Good spooky fun so far.