Fable Complete

I finally finished up Fable, with right around 17 hours put into the game. I did a fair number of side quests, but definately not all. And I did putter around a bit, getting married three times and buying any building I could.

Over all, I found it to be a very fun game. As testiment to this, I have started again as an evil spell-slinger.

Norty Fable

I've made scads of progress in Fable. I've completed the Arena and gone through the Prison section. Now I must get to Hook Island, which I'm pretty sure is nearly the end.

I really got sucked into the game last night, finally getting to bed at 4:30am, which is not something I've done with any other game. There's definately some "Just One More" syndrome going on here.

I was actually hoping to get in some Halo, but that Evil, Bad, Norty Fable kept me in its iron grip.

Maybe once I've finished Fable.

Or maybe after I've played Fable again as an evil wizard...

Triple Play

I had a full weekend of XBoxage, and three games to cover, so let's get to it.

I am now deeply into Fable and not disappointed. Three of us have bought it (myself, DaftApeth, and OrpheusSail) and I am certain that all of us are having a great time with the game. They are certainly welcome to chime in here and speak up if they like.

DaftApeth & I started back into Halo, with every intent (at least on my part) of playing through the game, in preparation for Halo 2. We covered the first two sections in about an hour but then got sidetracked onto Fable.

The Guy Game is going to be the divisive one, I think. We have played the first four episodes in 3-player mode now, and I still think it is a fun, harmless drinking game. I will hold off on speaking for the other two, but I'm pretty sure one generally agrees with me and the other thinks it's a wasted effort. I'm pretty sure we all enjoyed the embedded arcade games (BallzOut, BallzIn, BallzShots) though. Rather similar in playability to Fuzion Frenzy.

More later - I have to get back to my Fable!

More on Fable

I've been able to get in a couple more hours of Fable, so I'll relate what I have done and learned.

First off, let me retract one of my complaints. There certainly is the ability to assign expressions to the D-Pad, by Shifting (using the Right Trigger). This certainly helps.

So far, I'd have to call Fable "Linear but Free-Roaming". Parts of the story are certainly very linear, but there is also the ability to do as you wish. I just wish I could tell the Guildmaster to bug off and stop nagging me about quests.

I have bought a house (I've not decorated it yet) and rented it out. I'm not sure what sort of income I am getting from the rental, but I guess I could figure that out if I poked around a bit.

I've also bought a huge sword that I cannot use yet - it's too damn heavy! However, I am still allowed to Equip and Wield said sword, and this yielded the most humor I have seen in the game so far.

I'm having a great time so far, thrashing bandits and beetles alike. I'm on the verge of beginning the Darkwood quest, where I imagine I will encounter Balverines for the first time.

As far as my character goes, I am emphasizing Strength, as I seem to be mainly using the sword with a little bit of Magic and an even lesser amount of Archery. Morally, I'm just following my heart, not specifically going for Good or Evil, but just doing what I would do in the situation. I don't know where my alignment currently is.

Short-term goals: Finish the Escort mission, decorate my house.
Long-term goals: Buy every house in Bowerstone. I'd love to be able to do this without killing anyone, but I don't know how feasible this is. I don't know if the people in town die off or if they have to be killed by the "Hero".

Of course, I will provide updates as I progress.

First Impressions: Fable

Sometimes I really hate Blogger. This is my second time doing this FI, so it is going to be a little bit shorter than it was.

I finally picked up Fable and was able to squeeze in two hours of play. I got through my Guild training, killed the Wasp Queen, and explored the first town a little bit.

Overall, I must say that Fable is Great. Not Awesome, but a solid Great.

Once again, it seems that Peter Molyneux's reach has exceeded his grasp. There is so much here in the game, and so many greater things hinted at but not realized.

In certain situations, there are framerate issues. In one case, these issues actually impact your ability to complete a quest (the 50-second running quest). Additionally, there are some UI consistency issues. And I really wish there were a way to perform more interaction than the severely limited menu.

But these are all niggling little issues. The game itself is great fun so far, and I look forward to more very soon.

I will provide a full review once I have progressed through the game significantly.

Of Release Dates

Today is the day for Fable.

I know my countdown is counting down until tomorrow, and this post is to discuss such things.

Usually when a company announces a release date, that is basically the Ship Date. Stores will typically get the game either late that day or fairly early the following day. That is why the dates on the right-hand sidebar are one day after the "Official Release Date."

Apparently things are a bit different for the AAA titles. Yesterday I called the EBGames where I had preordered Fable. The clerk told me that they are expecting Fable at around noon today, and today is the Release Date. I read some stories online about store managers personally driving to the warehouse to pick up their shipments.

The thing is, I consider Fable to be a AA title, not a AAA title. If this level of devotion is for Fable, I truly wonder what we should expect on November 9th for Halo 2. Chosen1 has guessed that sales will begin at 12:01am on the 9th, and I must say that I think he is probably right.

More in the Way of Jumping and Shooting

Well, I have played through a few more sections of Prince of Persia and I am pleased that the game is not flagging or becoming monstrously difficult yet. It is a very entertaining platformer with some tight spots, but nothing that I can't overcome.

I also managed to get in some co-op Halo as well, introducing a noob to the game. He definately enjoyed it. My kids tried as well, with limited success. I think the dual-thumbstick controls are just a bit too complex for ones so young. Maybe I'll just have them stick to platformers for the time being.

Limited XBox time this weekend, as I was Beta testing World of Warcraft (WoW) for a significant part of both Saturday and Sunday.

2 days until Fable!

Axon Hot! + Gmail Invites Available

Tenuously XBox related: I activated an axon in the I Love Bees ARG this morning. I was quite nervous, but the mission was accomplished successfully.

In addition, I have 6 Gmail invitations available; first come, first served. Just send me an email (xboxlove@gmail.com) and I'll hook you up!

First Impressions: Prince of Persia

I know I'm way behind the curve on this one, but I just started Prince of Persia: Sands of Time (PoP) last night.

It's quite an interesting platformer with some action flavor thrown in, at least so far - I've only just started.

I didn't have very much time to play this past weekend, with visitors from out of town.

8 days until Fable!

First Impressions: SRS

I have several things to say about the game, both good and bad.

I like many of the features in the game; the freedom, the variety of challenges, the realistic depiction of speed.

There are several other items that piss me off, though.

First, there is definate "rubber-banding." No matter how fast your car is, your opponents can keep up with you. On the other hand, they will not get more than a few seconds ahead of you, so it's easy to catch back up.

In the garage, it's difficult to go through the parts and tune your car. I think it will be better to do it offline with a spreadsheet and references than to try to sort through everything in-game.

I'll post more thoughts as I get them, and a full review later.

Screwed by EBGames

This is my second time typing this - blogspot screwed me too. Not having a good day.

I preordered Street Racing Syndicate online from EBGames.com, strictly to get the bonus item for preorders (codes to unlock some extras in the game). The web site has this to say about it:

Bonus item will ship with purchased product, and is only available while supplies last. If you choose In-Store Pickup for this game, please contact the store for bonus item availability.

From this, I infer that sometimes stores don't have enough to go around. Fair enough. I contacted the pick-up store a week before the release date. They did not have any bonus, but they said that usually they ship with the game itself.

Also last week, I picked up the bonus DVD for Fable, which is not due out for two more weeks. Those items apparently went to stores several weeks in advance.

Well, when I went in to pick the game up today, not only did they not have any bonus items, but they had not idea what I was talking about. The clerk called another store in the area and they had no clue either.

When I called EBGames customer support, they basically said that if I want the bonus item, I need to have the game shipped to my house. In other words, I'm screwed.

I'm going to have to seriously reevaluate my relationship with EBGames.

13 days until Fable.

Tidbits

Kudos to DaftApeth on his first review. We are expecting more from him. Please comment if you, the reader, want to see something specific from us as far as reviews are concerned.

I am waiting for Game Day to give a full review of The Guy Game - I don't think it would be fair to try to assess it without going through it with multiple players.

I'll be picking up my Street Racing Syndicate today and should be able to give my review by early next week.

More info as conditions warrant.

Review: Sphinx and the Cursed Mummy

5/10

Summary
Can be fun but not very original.

Details
Sphinx is a 3D platformer that casts you in the role of some sort of human/monkey thing. You are the chosen one, etc. and you have to save the world. Very original story.

The game starts out nice and simple with a level that basically acts as a tutorial to the main features. You have to pick up rocks, jump over some lava, and collect coconuts for a worm thingy. All the usual stuff. And this is where the game stays for as far as I was able to play. No matter which level you get to, it's all the usual stuff. There doesn't even seem to be any vehicle/animal control sections. You just run around doing 'go fetch' tasks for various NPCs.

The graphics are nice enough, but nothing really compelling.

Basically, go get Voodoo Vince if you want to play a platformer. Or buy a PS2 and get Jak & Daxter 1 or Ratchet & Clank 1 & 2.

First Impressions: The Guy Game

Looks like each episode takes about 30 minutes to complete, so that's in the neighborhood of 10 hours playing time total. There is replayability, though, since you can replay episodes using a bank of reserve questions.

The game pace is a bit slow in some area and rather quick in others. I feel that I must deduct points for pacing.

All in all, I think it's going to be a fun and challenging game for the gang when we get together on the next good Saturday with some beers.

I'll give it an 8.0 out of 10.