If You Liked The Original, Don't Overlook Fable Anniversary

Update: REVIEW now available

Fable Anniversary, an HD remake of Lionhead's now ten year old Xbox original adventure/rpg hybrid Fable will be available for purchase both at retail and online this Tuesday (at least in North America) for $39.99. The question you may be asking yourself is, is it worth the asking price? Considering the fact that this is a remake of an already existing game, that question seems entirely warranted and valid. Let's consider the facts and perhaps together we will answer this question for you.

The first thing anyone who has played the original will notice upon first seeing Fable Anniversary in action is of course the updated visual fidelity. Lionhead, tasked with bringing Fable to the modern era, utilized the Unreal 3 engine and employed 100 artists with the aim of totally redoing the textures, lighting and special effects. Widescreen support was added, a very important upgrade since the original Fable only supported a 4:3 aspect ratio. This might not sound like much in 2014 but pop in the original Fable and you'll be met with black bars on both sides of the image, which are now thankfully removed as the native aspect ratio has been updated to the industry standard, widescreen enabled 16:9.

In addition to the aforementioned textures and lighting, draw distances were improved, as were the particle effects, shadows and water effects. All of this has resulted in a much prettier version of the original game. It still retains the visual style and flair of the original while updating the visual offerings to a level more suitable for consumption in the modern era.

One of the strengths of the original game was the sound, especially the musical score. At the time, this high point was held back by audio compression as well as being limited to two channel (stereo) audio. Fast forward ten years and the original score that was so beloved by the fans is not only still intact but allowed to shine, freed from the chains of compressed, two channel audio. For the first time, fans of the Fable will be able to play the game they love with no limits placed on the aural experience. Multi channel surround sound and uncompressed audio are now a part of the Fable experience.

FPS Gamers Inadvertently Shooting Themselves In The Proverbial Foot? Cost of FPS Games to Double?

My brother sees an ad for a Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 map pack and shouts at the TV "Ah ya, dude, the new map pack is out!" He looks like a little kid on Christmas I think to myself.

"Oh ya?" I pause, debating whether or not to feign interest. Before I can decide I find my stupid mouth getting ahead of itself as it has so many times in my life and out tumbles a response: "Nice."

Nice? Ugh. Great job there, mouth.

"B-"

Hey! Don't you dare talk back to me! You just shut your goddamn whore mouth, mouth.

Whoa, jeez I'm supposed to be blogging. Sorry about that, folks. It won't happen again, I promise. Now where was I? Oh ya, the Call of Duty map pack thing.

The Bullshit of DLC

The Bullshit of DLC

Note: This is an old post that was sitting unpublished in my draft list. It may be outdated in terms of some specific details. 

Okay, so I have been bitching about DLC for quite some time, on an intermittent basis. While I have provided some examples in the past of what I believe constituted bullshit, ripoff, exploitative DLC, and what I considered fair DLC worth purchasing, I never provided an open shut case for my stance.

This time, however, I have done some homework, and I think what I have come up with constitutes damn near investigative journalism. Hey, if the 'pro' video game journalists don't have the balls to do it, someone has to step up and do it for them, right? Might as well be me!

Ninja Gaiden 3 News: Scythe and Falcon's Talons (Claws) Are Free DLC

http://andriasang.com/con0a4/ninja_gaiden_3_dlc/

Famitsu is reporting that Tecmo Koei will be releasing the Eclipse Scythe and the Falcon's Talons as free DLC. No word of when or how they will be utilized in the game, but my money is on Day 1, and multiplayer/Ninja Trials only.

Oh, and you bet your ass that this is their way of appeasing us because they plan on charging us for the rest of them and they know we are expecting it and will NOT be happy about it.

My Dream Video Game Console

If I were to design the ideal video game console.....

If I were to design the ideal video game console.....it would have the following features:

Ripoff Report: Volume 1

Ripoff Report: Volume 1

This is a new blog series in which I illuminate total and utter ripoffs in the world of downloadable content, aka DLC. The focus is on the bullshit that is DLC, on a game by game basis.

This week's game is:

Dante's Inferno

List of Things Wrong with Gaming.

I stated in a Previous Blog that I was going to blog about some things I really dislike about the current state of the video games' industry. Well, in that blog, entitled "Magazine writer fired after dustup with Rockstar PR and Capcom Milking Street Fighter IV even MORE!" I discussed the recent firing of a journalist who had published on his facebook page a letter from Rockstar games to his office. What exactly was in that letter? Well, read my previous blog to get the full details, but basically, the guys from Rockstar wanted this particular journalist known for his tough analyses to go easy on the game and treat it with reverence, basically.

Yes, Rockstar is telling journalists how to do their job. What to write and how to write it. What's the implication here? What are they saying, if you read between the lines? You better play ball, if you know what's good for you. You see, if they don't play ball (which they will, I am sure, now that Mr. Honesty has been canned.....is anyone else reminded of the Jeff Gerstmann Incident? ) they lose ad revenue. They lose ad revenue, they lose....well, revenue.

You get the point. Money talks, sister.   

The Whoring Continues: Weapons DLC for Dead Space 2 (Short Rant)

Three new DLC packs for Dead Space 2 have been released, and for 400 MS Points each ($5 on PSN), you can buy a bunch of overpriced crap:

Rant on DLC, Pre-Order Bonuses, Corporations, Consumerism, etc

Please note: This is an older post that has been sitting in draft form for some time.

This is just going to be a rambling, perhaps slughtly incoherent rant. Just go with it. Or don't, see if I care!

.....No, please, come back!! I need you! Please don't go.

*pets you*

Ok, to the rant we go.

HUGE GAMING RANT! RIGHTEOUS ANGER AHEAD!

NOTE: This blog is a long and expletive filled rant. It is a sequel to my last rant, Rant on PR Speak (Sparked by comments by EA CEO RE: "Online Pass"). Turn back now if you cannot handle a lot of cursing and righteous anger!

Also note that it's an older one that has been sitting in draft form for a few months now.

Still here? Great, let us begin.

Magazine writer fired after dustup with Rockstar PR and Capcom Milking Street Fighter IV even MORE!

Magazine writer fired after dustup with Rockstar PR

Leaked email details Rockstar's extreme sensitivity to negative coverage

http://www.gamesradar.com/pc/grand-theft-auto-iv/news/magazine-writer-fired-after-dustup-with-rockstar-pr/a-20100407113454149016/g-2008080416222952067

So, Rockstar is pressuring writers to be very positive, even if they feel otherwise? They are trying to tell the journalists what and how to write?

According to a news.com.au story, a deputy editor for Austrailian publication Zoo Weekly has been fired after publishing an allegedly internal email from Rockstar regarding Zoo's coverage of the upcoming Red Dead Redemption. The alleged email from Rockstar, which former deputy entertainment editor Toby McCasker posted on his Facebook, contained the following:


This is the biggest game we've done since GTA IV, and is already receiving Game of the Year 2010 nominations from specialists all around the world, it read.


Can you please ensure Toby's article reflects this — he needs to respect the huge achievement he's writing about here.

What's the implication here? What are they saying, if you read between the lines? You better play ball, if you know what's good for you.

If Red Dead Redemption is so damn good, why do they need to do this? Are they lying about how good Red Dead Redemption really is?

I think so.

And what's with GOTY nominations already?

What the fuck really goes on behind the scenes in this industry?

Another thing:

Super Street Fighter IV, which already doesn't need to exist, apparently isn't enough milking for Capcom, as there is DLC for the game. Really? Like people buying your game twice isn't enough? You can't at least be somewhat decent and make sure that the gamers whom you have already manipulated and taken advatntage of at least get everything there is to offer from your now $110 game? You still have to sell them more shit?

We've got this shit, DLC releases on day one, DLC being announced well before a game ships, different pre-order bonuses for different stores, further fragmenting a game, Ubisoft holding back 2 levels from Assassin's Creed 2 for sale as DLC, Capcom removing content from Dead Rising 2 to repackage as a prequel (if you believe that they are legitimately developing this content and selling it separately you are a sucker, I'm sorry), and Capcom (again) selling fucking costumes for SFIV at a couple of bucks a pop, which, while already ridiculous, is made 100 times worse when you realize that these costumes were already developed, as they were in the arcade version of the game.

I don't like where this industry is headed.

I could go go on and on and on and on. In fact, I will! In another blog.

Ohhhhhh.

I promise it will be worth the wait. I will do a well thought out list of things that I feel are wrong with gaming. It won't be an off the cuff blog like this, so it will be of a higher quality.

Promise.