Their mistake - Divinity 2

So, this weekend, my mail ran rather late on Saturday. I decided to wait and check the box on Sunday morning. To my surprise, my pre-order of Divinity 2 was there.

I know this title hit gold quite a few weeks ago, and  was slated for delivery on January 5th, but it looks like my distributor (who I will not name, to eliminate any issues here) screwed up and sent it too early.

I plan to not argue about it, as I loaded this bad boy up. My Sunday was a major win.

My thoughts about the game still hold, and I hope to get a little more in depth after I get further in the game.

With hints of Oblivion, Witcher, Fable 2, Diablo...I have so much to like here. The game is NOT without issues, but the issues are far outweighed by a great bit of storytelling, awesome voice overs and action like crazy.

Like I said, more as it happens.

Hope everyone had a great weekend also. Now, back to work for me.

Cheers

Fable 2 - Awesome game...but GOTY?``

Huh?

How did THIS happen?



I am very surprised. I really love this game, but I also believe it had some quirks that would have taken it out of the running.

The nominees were

-FABLE 2
-FALLOUT 3
-GEARS OF WAR 2
-GRAND THEFT AUTO IV
-LEFT 4 DEAD
-METAL GEAR SOLID 4:
GUNS OF THE PATRIOTS
-RESISTANCE 2

There are some good titles here as well. Weird...

But, hey, I am all for this, with the hope of more DLC's and development..

BTW, on Fable 2 DLC's, seems tomorrow's was pushed back 10 days....DAMN!

The Witcher - Official Xbox 360 and PS3 trailer

The announcement is official. A redo of the Wticher for consoles. Available in autumn of 2009.

I WILL be buying this...

Enjoy the vid

Lost Odyssey - And we're BACK!

Starting Saturday, the family sat down in the living room and played several hours of Lost Odyssey.
The game had been put on the back burner when I signed back up for AoC with the wife and then Fable 2 hit shelves and took priority.
But, I loaded it back up, and we sat back and watched the game take place.

It is interesting in that the wife enjoys the strategies, and we work out ways to approach the fights, which seems to be more complex than Final Fantasy (we have died many a time so far).
The son loves that the game looks cool, and he enjoys the anime based heroes.

It is also like watching a movie at times, so overall it is a good "family on the couch" game with popcorn and snacks for a couple of hours.

A great game, and should be interesting to see how the story proceeds.

Fable 2 - New Adventure awaits

Excellent.

It was announced today that a new DLC would be available come Dec. 12th (my Birthday...please send gifts to...The Mountains, NC).
Basically a whole new island will be open with a major quest line to change the once pleasant island that is full of snow to a sunshine haven.

New items, people to meet, for 800 Microsoft Points (about 10 bucks for the expansion).

Makes me wonder just how long that adventure is...

Ahhh...who cares. Seems a new patch will be released to fix some bugs also. And this now will be my chance to make my Evil character to gain those achievements.

Woot.

Love this game, and will be glad to go back!

EDIT: New website with more information

• Embark on 3 unique quests set in 3 unique dungeons.
• Unravel the mystical secrets of the resurrection shrine.
• Try on a whole new range of outfits and look like an armoured knight, an assassin, a barbarian or a leather-clad biker, among many others.
• Brandish 6 new weapons.
• Dozens of unique potions that will drastically alter your appearance.
• Customise your weapons the way you want with the new augment tool and a whole new array of augments.
• +50 additional leaderboards.

Nice.

The Witcher - Choices and outcomes...

One thing that is hard to grasp is the gray morals of the Witcher.


Geralt in this game has a unique issue to deal with. How the choices affect future outcomes in the game.
Due to something that happened in the first chapter, where a Witch had been living outside the settlement, something was drastically changed in the fourth chapter.
She mainly made potions and what not to help the towns folk, maybe even do divination's to help people see some futures..
But, one of the religions of course noted her as an outcast. I could put my lot with the townspeople and had her burned at the stake. Or help her out due to her "lesser" evils.
I sided with the witch. This made her appear later in a small village I am in, as she left the old homestead. This village accepted her as their "Healer".
Due to her also being saved, she shaped my character to accept some of the ways that magic work. I now believe all monsters may not be evil, and allowed me to find a way to cure a spirit that was cursed instead of outright sending it to Hell by my sword.

Due to this system, I grappled with my latest dilemma.


Another Witcher I had been following was believed to be a renegade.

He ended up working for an evil organization that would kidnap children and use the ways of conversion used to make a Witcher (as it is actually a mutation) to create their own experimental monsters to use against others.
The results were not pleasant.

He had been sent to take care of me, but was unsure of this. So, instead he wished to take a young boy under my supervision back to this vile group to appease their need of my death.

I could have either not judged him, or stopped him. I took the avenue of ending his existence.

Why would I do this?

He had mentioned how he had hated what those who created the Witcher's had done to him (Witchers are created by humanity to destroy the abominations they fear the most..).
He took up with this evil group as he was his own entity, to pursue his own destiny.

But now he was unsure.

He had taken it upon himself to continue helping this group though.

Was it weakness? Fear?

All of his work had led to many innocent lives being sacrificed for their science.

I took this matter into my own hands.


Was I right?

As he lay dead at my feet, I find a letter written by his hand.

"I always believed that witchers had stripped me of the ability to communicate with humans. Now I know this to be untrue. Whatever the reasons, I cannot talk to people, so I write this letter instead. Herein, I admit: I am a coward, I fear pain, incapacitation and death. I was afraid at Kaer Morhen, afraid when I fought monsters, and finally, I feared the Professor and Azar Javed, especially the latter. He supervises Salamandra's scientific project, creating deadly creatures from black magic and mutagens. He is a powerful mage, but if my plan works, he will be a dead mage and the witchers' secrets will be safe. In spite of everything, I am content our paths crossed as I set off now for Vizima.

Berengar"

Choices and outcomes...how harsh the life of the Witcher is.

The Witcher - Unique world drags me in

Over this past week I have been pumping my time into The Witcher. An extra long 6 hour session last night for example (it has been ages since I decided to dedicate that amount of time to a game...good thing it was snowy and cold here...hehe) really drove home how much fun I had been missing sticking to MMO's.


A new Enhanced Edition helped fix some dialogue issues, made loading and saving super fast, and graphics have been updated with some mechanics fixed.

Over the weekend I have progressed heavily and enjoyed a few rather cool story conventions..

First up was an Autopsy.

I did not perform it, but an old friend of mine did (a certain lady friend mind you...).
As the autopsy progressed, at certain points I was given huge dialogue choices of issues I noticed wrong with the body being examined. Depending on my answers, this could change the outcome.
I would have a different suspect based on what direction I went.
What was really fascinating is each of the choices could lead to one of the many suspects of the murder investigation I was doing.

Mind you this is a medieval setting as well.

I will not give a total spoiler, but I will say, something changed this verdict after I made it.

Moving on, after this autopsy, later that night I went back to speak to this lady friend (one thing to note in Witcher is you are not 100% railed...more on that soon) and she was going to throw a party for an old friend of mine. Dandelion. He is mentioned in the short stories I read in the Last Wish (actually several stories), and is a notorious Bard, who is want to have long treatises on life and culture...oh my.
I needed to go get their favorite drinks.
What happens is I GET INVOLVED in the party. I even have to invite a friend ( I decided on an old dwarf friend who I played a game of dice with earlier in the game, who seems to know me...btw, I cannot remember much due to amnesia...AGHH).

As the party is going (clear notices appear on the screen to notify me that "The party continues..."), and as I start to stumble around from being drunk, I learn more about my past adventures with these friends, and I get to ask questions of them.
At one point they get the munchies, and ask me to go down and raid the pantry, due to my "Witchiness..."...bugger!

Stumbling around was a laugh...
During this whole time I realized I had a stupid grin on my face.

Dandelion then sings us a really bad song complete with "Awwoooooo" sounds from "The Werewolf of London" as sung by Warron Zevon (minus the rock tune, and using a lute...) about another adventure involving us, and the dwarf and the lady, and how I am known as the "White Wolf".

Seems I know these people VERY well.

But, the whole time during this section of the game (the party lasts about 10 minutes of real time with questioning and stumbling about), is the fact that I am having fun just hanging with old friends.

Very well done.


Two things of note (there are many more, for example, the game uses an enhanced version of the Neverwinter Nights engine, and if you look at the images, you surely could not tell, and combat is a realtime affair.) is the fact that the rails are undefined, though present, and this leads to the gray moral area.

As I noted in the autopsy, I could make choices that could change the effect of the game. And even moreso, you have to make TOUGH choices that you may not wish.
As well, every situation has an alternate way out, unless it is the main story, which can be changed somewhat, but not too much.

Basically, you are left to your own devices. There were many times where I had to question myself on where to go next.
Again, like the autopsy. I did not NEED to go back to the lady, but I did later which opened up the party.
Imagine what I would have missed staying on the main path.
As to the morals, at one point, I am forced to decide between the humans and the other races (Elves and Dwarves). I am still upset over this decision. I could have totally blew by this as well, but I felt it had to be rectified. And the fact I gained new information out of it, made the decision (this time) a success.
It is my understanding that this decision will affect certain outcomes later on in the game.

For an indie title, the game has sold quite well. The character is quite engaging (when you walk by someone, if they are too close, you put out your hand to shove them away...or if someone makes a mistake while talking, you correct them), visually the game is well done. Combat is a learning curve, that once you grasp the idiosyncrasies, just works.

Makes me wonder what will happen when I go back to an MMO? Will I be ok with the static paths? The patching issues? The content problems? Or can I look upon them refreshed and enjoy what I have BEEN missing since I first started?

A fascinating road lies ahead. To this note, my decision has been made to make Spellborn (if it releases on time) as my return foray back into MMO's.

I hope it engages!

Cheers for now!

Kingdom Under Fire - MMOARTS?

Uh...yea...nice BIG acronym there...

Standing for Massively Multiplayer Online Action RTS.

Basically this series has been around quite a while.

Starting as a standard PC RTS, it grew up on the original Xbox, being the first ACTION based 3d RTS.
Kingdom Under Fire: The Crusaders released with a deep learning curve and an excellent new engine to represent tons of AI based NPC's on screen at once...it was enthralling.

Story wise it was horrendous though. Voice overs were lame. But, the RPG mini elements mixed with the action combat, and control of major armies was a major boon.

It had a follow up in a title called Heroes. More of the same, but with alternate characters and updated mechanics to make the game smoother.

When the 360 hit, they decided to trail off and make an "Action" RPG instead.

Circle of Doom had Diablo styled combat with tons of loot and massive swarms of mobs attacking at once.

It was pretty bad though, but was a good CO-OP game.
Overall the repeating dungeons and bad story and acting (again) ruined it.
Visually it was stunning and when combat took place with hordes of enemies attacking, it could be fun for a short stint.

Now, the original team has gone back to their formula that worked, but again expanding the genre.

KuFII is described as...

• A true Action RTS inheritor of the world acclaimed Kingdom Under Fire series, which continues a saga of Bersian heroes in the Kingdom Under Fire universe.
• Massively Multiplayer Online game where thousands of gamers can co-play and write their own epic poetry of war.
• Unprecedentedly massive scale of castle siege mode to deliver realistic medieval battles.
• Deeper and richer campaign mode than that of "Kingdom Under Fire: The Crusaders"
• Competition and War among 3 factions over the domination of Bersia continent; Human Alliance, Dark Legion and a new mystery force.

Using a 3 way factions system adds an element of surprise here. Not much else is known though.
It would be unique if this proved to be the first true MMO for the 360. But, different people have different ideas of what an MMO is.

Is this game worthy of that acronym?

What we do have is a video of in game engine cinematics, with action sequences pulled in to flesh out the video to give you an idea of what the game can do.
They have revamped their engine to represent the multitude of NPC's on screen at once. They did this on the Xbox with no slowdowns, and if they can do the same here, it will be a major feat.
The 360 engine and graphics are really taking off.

I can't wait to see more of this type of gaming fun.

The Witcher - Back in business

Hooray

Seems the updates I did for the copy protection schemes worked. But, talk about those hoops I mentioned.

As follows...

1. Download and update the TAGES copy protection systems.
2. Update DVD Firmware.
3. Uninstall old Witcher copy.
4. Reboot.
5. Reinstall.
6 Restart a save before the incidents in question.

Ugh!

PC Gaming such a drag on time and resources.

Luckily, the game has 40+ hours of content, and with additional bonus content and new mods with adventures created by players...this should be quite a time waster.

Then at the end of November, I will have to choose a game to install (Tabula Rasa or DDO...)
Whichever releases their patch first wins.

Tabula Rasa - First Person mode
DDO - Hirelings

Winter closes in. Fun times.

Fable 2 - Comes to an end...or is it?

So, after 34 hours, the main storyline comes to an end.

What a blast.

The wife is still playing all the little side quests and mini games. She has not approached the final quests as she is having too much fun.

I have opened up some new possibilities in the game after completing the game. I thought this was novel, and expands longevity of the game.

In so many words, I am not done, and I have more to do, and that is besides playing through again as Evil to see the variations and gain the achievements.

How was the experience?

We still feel it was a great RPG, but be warned if you do play, the ending is anti-climactic.
The experience getting there was more of the meat of the game.

I still hold to my belief that many conventions in the game were well done, and other games (MMO's mostly) could learn from the RPG aspects.

I have also seen a few issues which have been mentioned in passing on forums.
Certain quests broke other items, yet was never a detriment to finishing the game.

And this is probably my biggest pet peeve for PC games...the bugs.

Fable 2's issues never detracted from my game time, yet, so many times have I dealt with drops to desktops, bluescreens, slower performance on high end systems.

But, I will probably never give up on the PC games, especially the MMO.

This is proving to be a good break for me, and I am enjoying my time off.

I received my DDO package today, but it cannot be used until my 30 day moratorium is up.

I will also have Tabula Rasa coming soon as well. Spellborn is supposed to launch (but with Acclaim at the helm, who knows what the heck is going on there...), so I think sharing my time with all of these games will be great fun.

Fallout 3 is being returned this weekend as no one really is into it. It just does not grab me as other games have.
I do have Devil May Cry 4 and several other games on the Xbox ready to go (Including a Conan game that was released before AoC and is an action game with Ron Perlman playing Conan and Claudia Black as a mysterious woman on an island...cool stuff).

I have one more story to share about Fable 2. It is called the experiment with marriage.

What happens when you marry a character in Fable 2 and use their awesome "nickname" tool to rename the NPC to your husband or wifes name...?

Let me say, it is never a good idea to shoot your wife in game when your REAL wife is watching...

Fable 2 - What MMO's could learn - Part two

As I continue to play the addictively wonderful Fable 2, I see some things that Fable 2 does well. These lead to more observations on how the MMO could learn from a console game (and how it could work...)

The first is actually based on a post from Hudson on Curt Schilling's new MMO, Copernicus.

Quests

Schilling states...
"new ways to deliver quest info because no one reads the quest text anyway"

How true.

In Fable 2, when you near someone with a quest marker, they start talking to you, like in passing them down the street.
I have several bounty quests for example, that as I near a guard he says "How would ye like to make some money?"
Then along the top of my screen a "Hold A to accept" appears.
I can either...listen to his spiel or just accept it and move along.
And the sentences will adjust according to what I do. So, as soon as "Hold A..." appears, and I do this, he all of a sudden changes his tone...
"Excellent...here is where you can find them"
Then hands me a contract. With directions.
Done and ready to go...

Now, note, this could be done quickly in some scrolling text along the bottom of the screen or a box would pop up with the text for someone to read...(as we know voice talent can get expensive...ask Funcom when they gave up 60 levels of voiceovers...ugh.) ...

Keep it simple, stupid always seems to work. And for those who require more, or need lore, then you may go back and look at the logbook for the full text (think the Tome from WAR). No one should be forced to sit through long voiceovers or read tons of text anymore.

Another neat feature is "rumors". Every once in a while a pop up appears on screen, which notifies you if someone is looking for help on a quest. This helps eliminate an issue most players discuss as the "on rails" game mechanic. You know where to go, what to do.
Certainly this can happen after the fact once you played through...but, that initial game should not be forced too much.

I also think a lot of people dream of the sandbox mode also, but this does not always work. Oblivion as an MMO would not be fun, as you are forced to find where to go and what to do.

A little direction is needed, but never so much that this "rails" mechanic feels forced. A balance between the two modes of games would work.

Fable 2 understood this.

Ok, moving on.

Economy

I have discussed this before, but lets look back at this based on things that have happened while I have played.

The game does minor checks and will make adjustments to items based on purchasing and not purchasing. Selling comes into play as well.

Most MMO's economy is totally decided by the Dev and the player.
Dev's create static pricing to start. Then most of the "good" stuff becomes 100% player driven.

In Fable 2 it is a two way street. The system checks on various antics of the players in their purchasing trends. But, that is not all. It checks for workloads, and makes adjustments there based on your jobs. Sales of found goods also will play into the economy.

For example, I decided to do some massive Blacksmithing one time.
Within a 24 hour span, there was a drop in prices at all "Weapons" based stalls.

Next was Woodworking...Surprise, the furniture store had a sale.

I decided to purchase a bunch of veggies to eat to reduce my weight some (was getting fat on pies and meat...I will discuss that later...).
Seems a shortage hit vendors for produce.

I sold some excellent weapons one time to a vendor, and next thing I know, a major sale for weapons at that particular stall.

And lets not even discuss making money based on purchasing store fronts. Bars, Inns, food stalls, all making me cash. Even when I am offline.

A way this could work is the system does these checks on players. Then for those who wish to sell their goods, would do it through a stall, and can compete with other players for prices. Sales, markups, etc.
A players own personal AH.

Going back to the example I used from Guild Wars previously.
A database compiles sales and auctions from players in that game, and then vendors adjust their prices accordingly so that players either can sell directly to the vendor, or try their hand to get a few bucks more by auctioning it off.

Combine this with the stall theory above, and we would have a dynamic real world type economy on hand.

Appearance

The final discussion is something that a lot of gamers discuss ...especially in their MMO.

Looking unique.

Some games do a good job of offering a wide variety of options to create your character. In game is where it starts to fall apart.

Make a cool hairstyle in creation? Then you get goofy helmets to cover it (even though some are nice to allow you to turn off helms). Pick a certain outfit in creation and then watch it immediately be removed within minutes for new armor (looks at Tabula Rasa harshly).

There is only so much that can be done here. But, with Fable 2, we see the option to change hairstyles, beards, tattoo's, and more. Other things change in Fable 2 also (weight, muscle)...This is based on how you use weapons and how you eat...but I know this may be too much for an MMO to do.

The start of the game should either stick and you make slight adjustments as you play, or go the Spellborn route and allow FULL control of your visual from the start.

Then update items you selected. Basically play with the same look all the way if you wish.

I am interested in seeing how this is done in Spellborn.

But something else I wish to talk about is the "Death Penalty" adjustment to your looks.

Fable 2 implemented a non- issue death penalty, where you instantly get back up and get into the fight. No corpse runs (stupid), no rez points (gotta run back and hope the spawns did not happen), and no armor or weapon degrades.

Instead you degrade your appearance.

If you die, and did NOT have a resurrection potion (awesome idea), then when you get back up, you have scarring. It changes your appearance with facial or body scars of combat.

Really makes you think about taking those res potions (which are expensive btw) or else start to turn ugly.

I am pretty scarred in my face right now...by choice. I thought the concept was sound. The wife...always has a potion (of course she gets mad that EVERYONE loves her in the towns...told her to remove the makeup and the hot sexy outfit she is wearing...)

Anyways

We could take this to clothing or armor in the MMO realm also. Appearance just seems to be a side note...with all the shiny armor never getting dirty (except for Age of Conan where armor already has blood or dirt caked on certain pieces...cool idea). What if the armor got dinged or dirty. A reason to go buy new or repair your own.

Death penalties have been another issue of the genre, and is really not on topic here...but boy, the idea of quick revivals and back into combat and damaging your looks could be a fun way to promote a different death penalty..

_______________________________

These are just a few ideas I have gleaned from the way we play MMO's, and how maybe the genre needs a good swift kick in the rearview...

The players will of course still accept the cloning process I am sure, but I know some like myself are looking for some different ways the game can play.

All I know is it has been a while since a game has made me really think about the way I play RPG's. Fable 2 has progressed the genre quite a bit.

Of note, Fallout 3 released last night and officially today. I am interested in their playstyles also. From what I have read, Fallout 3 is less sandboxed than Oblivion, but keeps an open game for you.

Will see more of it this weekend when I pick it up. For now. back to gaming.

Any thoughts on these suggestions or ways you would like the genre to change?

Fable 2 - New multiplayer changes outlook

At first this seemed to rub me the wrong way. The CO-OP is broken in a sense in Fable 2. Yet as I continue to play, it has really become ingenious to me.

I see how the world works and how each player inhabits that part of their world, and how they interact.

They also have done some creative bits for online play...

MMO's could learn a thing or two off of this simple implementation.

For example

When you run by someone in your world, as you near them you can hear them talking if they are chatting with other players..in so many words, just like running past a stranger on the street and hearing their conversation.

When you join THEIR world, you work for that player. You are paid gold AND XP...that's it.
You cannot take the uber item from that players world. But, the main player can trade you an item if they wish, that you may take back to YOUR world (note: done while in each others respective worlds, not while in henchman mode). Also, the "henchman" may change things in your world...flirt with your wife, kill your traders. But, a quick boot gets rid of the ganker. Don't you wish you could do that in YOUR MMO?

Variances occur to make some game sessions fresh. I may find a place in my world with a chest or something, but the other players world may be in a different place.

The sense of completion in an MMO is false. And Fable 2 drives it home big time.

I think this is an issue that is proving to be the rub for keeping players entertained in the MMO genre.
The monotony of current MMO's is causing a flux of players who either are not happy playing or are always waiting for the next "big game".

I have discussed this in the past and it is even more prevalent since playing Fable 2.
Somehow when something has been completed, your world has to make that completed item disappear.
This I believe would bring believability to the world we inhabit in the MMO.
We need something of a single player experience in our Massively Multiplayer world. We need to feel like we accomplish something.
Killing rats, getting that sword, that maybe 10 others have and you see them with it...these are not accomplishments.

A statue built based on my pose...that is cool. The economy changes based on how I make purchases...that is cool.

Let us use Fable 2 as a fine example of how the MMO genre could learn.

• Each persons version of the world is their own - Somehow checks need to be put in place, and each person would have a simple database stored on their system that would check with the main servers to show what items have been completed and quests finished, mobs killed. A simple tick in a field to show when that Uber Sword was found by your hero.
  
• Each world can be inhabited by multiples - When you come to my part of the world, all things will exists as part of my world. If you killed Boss Thugg and I have not, then when you come to my world...Thugg still exists. This promotes cooperative gameplay as maybe YOU have something to share with MY world to help me defeat Thugg.
• Economy not static - Why should only players control that aspect? Fable 2 has an ever-changing system, including sales for certain items even....Guild Wars was one step in the right direction with this, as players were able to bypass Auctions and go straight to a vendor to buy or sell. Why must vendors be static, have the same goods and sell for the same price EVERYTIME.
• Get a freakin' job! - I should have a way to earn money while not online ala EvE. I should be able to buy a shop or sell goods in a stall. And to get these items I should have a REAL job...make crafting a JOB like in real life. Cook food and SELL it at your shop. MAKE WEAPONS, and sell them at your stall.
• Relationships - Why not? We seem to emote our way through trying to pick up other players (at least I have heard players do that...not me..well, ok, for some reason these hot chicks in AoC still won't accept my advances). Fable 2 offers this. It does not have to be so fleshed out (sorry...really kind of a pun), but at least another objective. Bioware games, Fable, Sims... have played with this, and look at their successes.

I could go on. Many have gone on. Many will continue to go on.

MMO's in general are broken in some way. Especially newer releases. Nothing coming on the horizon fixes that either (for now...SWTOR is the first to take a totally different approach).

So, we as players "make do" with what we have.

Whatever...

We should expect some progress in this genre.
Console games seem to be really making a difference.

Why can't the MMO.

Viking - Killer Video of that other game that has me...

Entranced...
This game has really captured me.

And for a game that got oh so reviews, it has been a blast.

The game has some great long campaigns. Balance is worked out really well, with Campaign 1 teaching you the ins and outs, Campaign 2 doing a combination of stealth missions, training and gathering money, and I am now in Campaign 3, with huge battles taking over Castles..

Enjoy the vid..

Fable 2 - Comment Wars on CO-OP

In my first post on my disappointment in the CO-OP features of Fable 2, a fine gentleman by the name of Tim kindly announced to me in comments..

"Did you research the game at all? This has been pretty common knowledge for a while."

I have NOT known this to be the case, and pointed out several articles (with one being from Arstechinca, ) which Tim kindly proceeded to note ...

"you're using some obscure site as a reference"

(Arstechnica has a rough average of almost a million visitors a day...and has been in existence since 1998...pretty obscure indeed...)

But, was this the case....? Did I miss something?

Seems a whole thread of players were in the same boat as I...

And I quote the LIONHEAD Forums

"So, thanks for all the waiting for this cool game with this awesome feature. i hate to tell you but it blows......I dont accept your patch. take it back and give us what you promised. not some cheap knock off."

"THE COOP SUCKS!!!! Why can't my friends see my character!!!?!?!?!?! WTFFFF whats the point of trading items if you cant see what im wearing!?!?!?!?!"

"i am mortified! when lionhead said there will be a henchmen, i thought that meant on couch coop NOT xbox live!!!!!"

"If they were going to do co op they could have done it right"

So, guess a thread with 218 posts so far ALSO did not know this was common knowledge...

My, My...

(EDIT: Seems more data is coming forward about this issue...following data presented...)

This post states

Not to add fuel to the fire but...

http://community.lionhead.com/forums/thread/2859601.aspx

Under the Features list:

If you go into another persons game as a guest the look of the character will be based off of your character's look. If you don't have a character of your own you'll have a generic pre-determined look to your hero


And this little ditty

Video at Games Radar

Lovely stuff...

(EDIT: Again, as this is my favorite part...from a developer...)

"It's a complete different matter to shout so loud and say we're breaking promises left, right and centre because that is simply not true. It's a lot of balony, the feature is what it is, we decided to make it like that. Don't like it? Too bad. For every one person that's complaining there's twenty playing the game. I suggest you do that as well."

WoW...talk about attitude...geez.

Fable 2 - Cannot pry it out of my sons hands...

Now I need to decide if buying him a copy is worthwhile.

He has quite a few friends playing it right now, and the online co-op is actually fun for him.
But, I have been leery of him playing due to the fact that he goes through games like water.
And if he hits a snag, he gives up too easy.

Usually he waits to buy games with his allowance until they reach the 30 or 40 dollar mark (we have taught him frugal shopping quite well).

But, he has REALLY played for almost as many hours as I have.

Yet, he played another game of mine, Viking, up to Campaign 2 (3 Campaigns total), and has stopped.
I asked him if he wanted to play that game while I played Fable 2, and he decided to watch TV instead.
But, while he was playing, he always kept saying it was awesome (and it is...I SOOO love that game. I am on the final parts of Campaign 3...WooT)

But, I think this gives you an idea of how good a game Fable 2 is (especially for a young boy who LOVES FPS games on a regular basis...) if he wants to keep playing it...

The wife is still working on finishing Culdecept.
Yet, she stated that she wanted to watch me play Fable 2 tonight.
The reason for this is last night I played a little as she carved pumpkins for work.
She would look up once in a while and make suggestions or ask questions...

This is always a sign of interest on her part, as she is hard to please (for example, she wanted to put AoC on the back burner for now to finish the Culdecept game first)..

So this goes back to the original statement...do I buy my son his own copy, and have him work off the allowance?
I really want to teach him NOT to impulse shop is the real gist.

What would YOU do?

Fable 2 - Diary

I strolled into Bower Village today.

The folk here were kind, and noted my skill of taking out the Bandit King.
Seems word travels fast.
Children even followed along as I told the tale of the 10...no make that 20 (really it was 50 men, but who was counting) thieves who lost their lives at my hand.

There was a Bard here.
He noted my renown, and wished to follow me. He seems to want to make songs about my heroics.

I knew I needed some food, but I needed to meet with the Oracle.
She was to be late, but suggested I gear up for my adventures ahead.

A sign proclaimed "Help Wanted" for the Blacksmith. I proceeded to hammer out metal for swords and weaponry. It was quite tricky, and I broke a few, but I gained some minor wealth.

I dined (but not too much, as I could feel my waistline increasing)

There is a lady strolling the streets in a smart black dress and wears a monocle with a charming top hat.
I believe this to be a desirable trait and proceeded to show her my muscular physique.
She has mentioned something about being rich.

Do I court for love ...or money?

Why is that gentleman eyeing me like that? He seems to be enamored with MY style. I guess anything is possible here in Albion.

I must be off, as I have decided to invest in a food cart, which will earn me gold, even when I (or my Xbox) is asleep.

G'day fellow travelers...

Fable 2 - So what IS the scoop on CO-OP

As was found out yesterday, CO-OP is not all that it seems in Fable 2.
It is not BAD. Just not as many believed...

Here is a brief explanation of how it works.

When a main player is logged in on the Xbox and wants a second player to join, they have several options.

Couch CO-OP and Live.

Couch CO-OP works in two ways.

Controller 2 start is pressed, and a second player may join immediately. Called the hop in nd play feature.
They get a percentage of gold that the main player will offer. They can buy weapons and pretty much involve themselves in the world of the main player.
Kill NPC's, flirt with the ladies, destroy property.
But, this player can only go so far from the main player. The camera keeps the 2 players in the scene and will only zoom out so far.

Once this second player leaves, that is it. They are not saved.

The other way is a profile login may be done for player two.

This second player can have a character they use on their account on THEIR Xbox, and associate this character with the henchman in player ones world.
This was the rub, as the player does not LOOK like they look on THEIR Xbox.

In so many words, you are just a faceless henchman still.

You get basic equipment, but supposedly stats match the second players profile. Not clothing or equipment...at least that we have seen yet.
Any gold that is earned as this henchman goes to the second players profile. In so many words, they still make money and earn it for their own character on THEIR Xbox.

Confusing?

Just to reiterate, a second player picks a generic avatar in player ones world. But, if they have a profile, and log that profile in, and then say...copy their save onto a memory stick, they can at least earn money for their save to take back with them.

The way I did this was to create my profile on the SAME Xbox, and then play that save on THAT one Xbox the same as the wife.

Now, here is where the other issue lies.

A while back (about a month or so) it was announced online CO-OP through Live would not make launch. As well, no demonstrations of the Live CO-OP had been presented.

So, assumptions were made.

If you look at Crackdown as an example, CO-OP is played with YOUR OWN avatars.
Whatever you looked like on YOUR Xbox is how you would look in CO-OP.

Two Worlds is another RPG with online multiplayer with one players world being open to another player. But, the secondary players avatar matched their originals in their saves.

Fable 2 released Live CO-OP in a Zero Day Patch. And this has proven to be the biggest strike against the game so far.
The Live CO-OP works the same as Couch CO-OP. The difference is other players show up as orbs in YOUR world. When you near that orb, you may trade or chat with that player.

That IS a cool feature.

What is not cool is if you invite them to your world, they must choose a generic avatar.

I pretty much see CO-OP as a bust, as who will want to give up THEIR original avatar for a generic in someone elses world?

What are your thoughts on this mechanic?

I know as a single player RPG, it is a fantastic game, with the first few hours filled with different events and options.
The dog as partner is truly better than I thought possible. You really think about it. You take care of it (if you are good...which I am...I am not much for playing evil) or chastise it.

And the ways to make money in the game is truly fun. No grind here folks.

But, CO-OP is a big disappointment, and I guess it just makes me wonder if another cool CO-OP game will be coming (Sacred 2? Maybe?)..

Anyways, back to playing....

Fable 2 - CO-OP is a FLOP

What were they thinking?

Couch CO-OP, you must have the other player be a henchman. You cannot bring your own avatar in.

As well, I just read one re-review of the Online Xbox Live CO-OP


Also broken. The other player who comes to your world is forced to be a henchman..

What a screw up. It could have been the perfect couch co-op, or even online, but instead is just lame.

Lets hope they figure out that this is a major strike against the game.

I mean, who will come into my world as a henchman when they can play fully customized in their world.

But, so far it is an awesome single player game at least.

Just sad and disappointed.

Fable 2 - Out of that RPG rut

I did something tonight that I have not done in quite a while.

I lost track of time, wandered around, played with my little pup, dug up some treasure, got in some fights...

And realized I had yet to continue on the main quest...

(Also have 3 women, and 1 guy who REALLY like me and want some gifts...)

Fable 2 - 1 Hour in and ready to duo

Ok...about 1 hour in, goofing off and doing the tutorial, I am ready to do some duo fun.

As I have stated before, I have been DYING for a real on the couch old school RPG like Baldurs Gate and Legends of Norrath.
Looks like Fable 2 will foot that bill.
Basically you can create multiple accounts on the Xbox, for separate users, and then press the start button on the second controller. This allows anyone to hop in from their account.

So, right now the main account on the 360 is for the wife, and I created a secondary on the same system.
Once she is done with the tutorial, we will bring me in and each session will be us in one world to see how this affects the overall game.

Should be fascinating to see how this world will change with us both in it.

I have not told her about the Orgies yet though...(shhh...keep it secret)

More as we play...so later..