"A Brother...

That's Family, Right?

Yeah. I thought so."

...and the credits roll on Splinter Cell: Conviction...!

Playing Fable 2. Enthralled by what it is. Depressed at what it's not. It has a lot more depth and character to it than almost any other game, but its missing certain things I thought it had too.

Bought a house: "Manure Manor" because it was right near my Woodcutting Job. Married a Pistol Salesgirl... cause (I guess) I wanted a kid. Just bought a bunch of Luxury Furniture to try and make her happier in out new Love Nest.

I keep on trying to cancel out of talking to villagers, accidentally casting a spell instead and scaring the crap out of them. I'm still more Pure than Evil, but... Oops!

The controls... errr... They're kind of "slippery" aren't they? There's something off about them. Sure, Firing a gun is a button press, casting a Spell and Swinging your weapon are too, but simply walking feels somewhat weird.

The game also could have benefitted from Action Shortcuts too. Having to access the menu and choose from lists upon lists just to get out your Spade to dig is kinda cumbersome.

Still LOVING it, just feel it could have been better!

I had no idea Platinum Fable 2 included the game's DLC! I've spent a few hours today exploring and thawing Knothole Island!

What a cool place! I was able to Lose Some Weight, Grow more than a few Inches, Cure some of my Scars, Get a New Hairstyle, Get an Augment to keep my Skin looking healthy and Grow my Signature Soul Patch on my Character!

...my God, I don't think I've ever had such a realistic Homosexual Experience in a game before!

...I almost seduced a Dude too, but I'm trying to remain Faithful to my Wife and Child!

Call me crazy... But... Since making my character Taller and Skinnier; more Tall than Wide... It seems almost like the character is less "Slippery" and is able to navigate the world better. Probably just my imagination, but it seems to feel different!

phantom_leo said:

The List as of 11/02/10:

______________

Disk Based

• Alan Wake
• Bayonetta
• Culdcept Saga
• Crackdown
• Deadly Premonitions
• Dead Rising 2
• DeathSmiles
• Fable 2
• Fable 3
• Gears of War 2
• Halo: Reach
• Mass Effect
• Mass Effect 2
• The Orange Box

______________

Download

• Alien Hominid
• CastleVania: HD
• Darwinia +
• Dead Rising: Case Zero
• Geometry Wars Evolved 2
• Ikaruga
• LIMBO
• The Maw
• Pac-Man CE
• Plants vs. Zombies
• Rez HD
• Shadow Complex
• Space Giraffe
• 'Splosion Man
• Super Meat Boy
• Trials HD
• Winterbottom
• Zeno Clash UE

______________

Completed:

• Fable 2
• Gears of War
• Mass Effect
• Splinter Cell: Conviction

Starting Crackdown has literally taken the last 24 hours to do. Not because I didn't want to play it, on the contrary, I've wanted to play it for years. Your Agent starts out almost completely ordinary at the start of the game. They also throw you into the middle of a Firefight between the PeaceKeepers (the Police) and Los Muertos (the closest gang to your Keep) right at the outset. I kept on getting mowed down by bullets straight out of the gate. They tell you to go after the first "General" too. This was a woman named Violetta. I kept on getting mowed down by her and her goons as well.

It was at that point I started to get wise to the nuances of the game. Almost like Fable, using certain skills will release colored orbs which upgrade that skill. Kill more guys with a gun, your aim gets better. Beat more guys down, you get stronger. This gets to the point where you can pick up and throw bodies, barricades, CARS, etc! There's an Explosives skill and a Driving Skill too. Like I mentioned before, you improve those skills by using them.

The skill Crackdown is probably MOST famous for, though, it the "Agility" skill. There are 500 Green Agility Orbs throughout the city. Collect a good amount and you can jump 10 feet, then 20 then 40 and higher and higher. It's kinda akin to the Hulk in his Sandbox games, but with Guns and Gangs!

I avoided the Main Missions for an hour or Two, concentrated on building up some stats. Instead of approaching Violetta on the ground I leapt from rooftop to rooftop to get to her, avoiding a huge chunk of her minions. Lobbing a few grenades, beating her while she was on the ground, on fire, I was able to finally take her down! What a feeling of satisfaction THAT was!

If you approach the game almost like an RPG, you'll do much better! Level up a little bit first and it will make all the difference in the world! Besides the 500 agility orbs in the game, there are 300 Secret Orbs to find too. These give you all kinds of skill orbs, powering up abilities you may not tend to use as much.

In typical sandbox style: There are road races to be won (improve your driving skill). There are rooftop races too (to improve agility). You can capture enemy weapons and bring them back to a Store House to equip them whenever you wish. (There are Snipers, Shotguns, Pistols, Machine Guns and Grenades!)

The Agency cars have a Special Feature which I have yet to see or mention here. As your Agent levels up, the cars can Morph as you enter them! I think they get armor, get the ability to control them in the air, etc. I witnessed it a long time ago as a friend was playing the game, but not in my own yet. Can't wait!

WHAT AN ENJOYABLE SANDBOX GAME!

So far on 360, I finished a BioWare RPG, a Third Person Cover Based Shooter, a Stealth Game and an Action Adventure. This systems ability to make me WANT to play and finish games outside of my comfort zone is UNCANNY!

Could someone kindly compile a list of space-shooters on the 360 (including both retail as well as XBLA downloads).

Also DeathSmiles hasn't been released in Europe has it?  I thought Rising Star was meant to be publishing it

When ar you gonna start gears 2, Leo?  I'm itching for some multiplayer time.

travo said:

When ar you gonna start gears 2, Leo?  I'm itching for some multiplayer time.

Most likely after Crackdown. I am a third of the way done, I think.

SteelAttack said:

I want in!

You're talking about the game, right?

SteelAttack said:

phantom_leo said:

You're talking about the game, right?

What game?

No, I played about an hours worth, but quit.