Fallout 3

Duff's Pros:

The FatBoy mini-nuke gun is just bad ass. Also, the quick-travel between discovered cities. Searching for loot is rewarding and there is plenty of it. VATS really helps deconstruct enemies in a pleasing manner. The character upgrade system seems to be a bit more understandable then its oblivion predecessor. And yes, the environment, the atmosphere, and the soundtrack are all bloody brilliant.

Duff's Cons:

Vicious Dogs. Fire ants. My game has frozen twice. VATS sometimes doesn't work, and will almost lock up my game. The hunting rifle never hits anything. I never have very much health. Sneaking sucks alot like it did in Oblivion. I always have to eat/drink items that give me 10hp in return for 5 radiation. A ton of walking. The pip boy map/quest function is barely cuttin it.

CementShoes' Pros:
-I found the VATS to work very well. When used in conjunction with your most proficient weapons/skills , it adds a depth to the game that you can capitalize on.

-The character building has a comfortable impact on the game. (I for one didn't really enjoy the parallel leveling of everything in Oblivion.)

-Absolutely loved all the loot that you pick up throughout. It really encourages exploration when you can find excellent items that aid you throughout.

CementShoes' Cons:
-The navigation and quest system leaves you wanting more direction. When I went on one quest to find a group of punks terrorizing a village I arrived at the destination on the map, but was not given a further objective.

-Negative Karma when stealing :( I don't want there to be some strange forces or god taking into account my every action, EVEN WHEN FULLY HIDDEN!

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Fun 10946 feedbacks » • PermalinkPermalink

Exactly Fable II

There is one thing that Fable 2 got correct, and that is its release date. I doubt Fable 2 would have been completely overlooked, but I could see it getting passed by if it wasn’t released when it was. As it stands, it was released one week before Fallout 3 and two weeks before Gears 2. Personally, I wouldn’t have given it a second glance if it was released alongside either of those two games. But it wasn’t. It was released before them and therefore I played it.

So what did I think? I really don’t know, I fear I have a biased opinion. I really didn’t like the first game and this one honestly wasn’t much better, though in my current circumstance I enjoyed playing it. It is a nice change of pace. To be able jump out of a 1st person view and into a third person view. It is also nice to have a decent adventure (decent being compared to most others on the 360) to play through, opposed to all the shooters that are being pumped out.

The only thing that actually pissed me off was the co-op game play. It was absolutely lazy and pointless. (You couldn’t cross your own character to your friend’s world!? WTF) As it stands Fable 2 was a mediocre game that came out at a good time. Rent this game and wait for Fallout 3 and Gears 2, then spend your hard earned money. If you did buy this game and realized that 8-10 hrs later it was over and the side quest and mini games involving cutting wood were no fun, you might still have time to trade it in for a quick 30 in credit towards Fallout.

ed. note: Smokewagon don't like Molynuex much either


SmokeWagon 8304 feedbacks » • PermalinkPermalink

Giving the Finger to Cursing in Games

I experience absolutely no realism boost when I hear a Video game person say 'Fuck.' I don't think to myself, "wow, how cool and macho." I just think it is stupid, really fuckin' stupid.

I don't remember what game did it first or when it became okay, but I wish we could go back in time and stop this from happening. I am a (fairly) grown and mature man but I still feel awkward hearing an artificial pursing cursing, be it at me or at someone else. Whats the point? The only real effect this trend has is driving the ratings into mature and higher. That sucks for kids. Pretty much all major releases these days are droppin' F bombs. Its like the flood gates have opened and there is no turning back.

I know, everybody says "well, if I was in a war I would be yelling Fuck all the time and shit." Well its a good thing you are on a couch and not in a real war buddy, because I bet you would be pretty worthless just standing around shouting obscenities at the enemy.

The truth is: its totally unnecessary. It adds nothing to the realism and doesn't move the story along...unless its a game where you are a director of adult films and you have to shout instructions to the fucking idiots (no pun intended) who need to be told to get it on.


Duff 6777 feedbacks » • PermalinkPermalink

The Homgenization of Video Games

There used to be a simple way to characterize videogames, back when games were simple enough that they could only do a couple of things. More and more though, the gaming elements that work are being amalgamated and placed into one overarching genre that encapsulates everything.

I don't think that taking the successful game types and pooling them together are bad, but sometimes they can cloud the experience. The current tendency of first person shooters to upgrade weapons, for instance, takes away from the joy of finding a new death machine.

The first games I remember that successfully blended elements from multiple genres were Super Metroid and Castlevania. Successfully infusing RPG elements with action/adventure gaming breathed a little fresh air into two series that had started to grow a little stale.

It seems natural for games to evolve into new types over time. The limitations of games used to set the rules, but now their potential is so huge that the designers ultimately control the game type. The all encompassing nature of current games does leave me a little apprehensive as to what comes next. As fun as a virtual life simulator sounds, I'm still working on perfecting the real thing.
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CementShoes 2058 feedbacks » • PermalinkPermalink

Dead Space: An Easy Recipe

Dead Space is a good game, and it damn well better be, considering it has borrowed from all the great games of recent years.

It takes Bioshock to space. With audio logs popping up all over, telling the story of what happened to this place you search, and stores (vending machines) and gun stations (upgrade stations) liberally placed throughout the ship. Your character even feels like a deep space big daddy.

It takes Half Life 2 to space. With your kenisis powers and the head crab knock-offs running around, its no wonder your character has chosen to remain strong but silent just like.......Gordon Freeman, imagine that.

It takes Resident Evil to space. The Third person view point and the slaughtering of genetically mutated life-forms is enough, but the blue laser sight adds a nice touch. I guess it is hard to have a horror game without a little RE mooching.

But again, Dead Space is a really good game. The plot actually does twist you. The atmosphere is absolutely fantastic, especially during the zero-gravity sections. And sometimes, just sometimes the alien/monster things can actually make you jump.


Duff 9555 feedbacks » • PermalinkPermalink

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