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Beyond Gamerdome
By Corvus | October 22, 2008
I am, like the rest of the gaming world, swamped with too many titles to focus on. My budget is self-limited, which means I get the added joy of juggling my rental queue in hopes of getting my most anticipated titles in a timely fashion. I’ll likely be posting quick impressions of these games over the next month or so. My camera post is still baking, so please be patient as I work on it!
In the meantime, here’s some quick impressions of the games sitting on my shelf.
Fable 2 (purchase) This arrived in the mail yesterday afternoon and I’ve logged I-don’t-know-how-many hours playing it already. I have a Molyneux tendon in my heel, so I’m predisposed to find the good, but I can honestly say that Fable 2 is a far stronger title than its predecessor, a game I loved despite its many flaws. I haven’t fired up any co-op games yet, but I have seen the floating orbs that reveal the in-game locations of people on my contact list.
I’m sure I’ll have more detailed and concrete things to say about this game over the coming weeks. For now, just be glad I pulled myself out long enough to write a post at all. -.0
LEGO Batman (rental) Unquestionably the best LEGO franchise game since LEGO Star Wars: The Original Trilogy. They’ve scaled back the things that annoyed me about the second two SW offerings and completely avoided the swamp of ennui that was LEGO Indiana Jones. I suspect I’ll be hanging on to this one at least until I’ve unlocked all the characters and suit upgrades. If the price drops low enough, I may even keep it, as it’s a good game for co-op play.
By virtue of being a LEGO game, the content is reminiscent of the campy 1960’s Batman sitcom, with a strong mix Joel Schumacher’s disastrous Batman offerings. However, when rendered in LEGO, those are positive traits. In fact, it occurred to me that the reason LEGO Batman works, where LEGO Indy has less to do with the quality of the game’s design and more to do with our expectation as a culture that Batman is going to descend into gadget-shtick and inane villain cross-overs.
Dead Space (rental) I played maybe an hour of this game, max. I will possibly pick it up again before sending it back, but honestly–it’s a pretty slim possibility. It’s not bad, per se, I just don’t find myself very compelled to continue. It feels very much like a game continuing in the traditional of Doom 3, with overly-obvious scare tactics and some cool UI conceits. It’s those UI elements that I’m most fond of, and I find myself wishing they were part of an attempt at deeper gameplay. Perhaps I haven’t given it enough of a chance, but with so many titles coming out that I’m very interested in, I can’t imagine sitting through much more of it.
So there you have it. Three games enter, one game leaves. I need to return one of those rentals on Friday in hopes that Gamefly will be able to ship me a copy of Fallout 3 on launch day. Unless, of course, one of you would like to send me your copy! -.0
Tagged:dead space, fable 2, lego batman, video games. | 9 Comments »
October 22nd, 2008 at 9:53 am
From an overall experience, Dead Space has that burden of disbelief that hangs over any “scary” game. My recommendation is to try it (late) at night with lights off and the sound up.
From a mechanics point of view, I actually am finding it quite fascinating. From my earlier CT post, they’ve done an excellent job of tinkering with concepts from earlier games and very little is used without some decent thought.
That said, it does indeed fall into the “everything I need to know I learned from Doom” sort of genre.
The story was a little oversold, I think, but I am finding I think that of most that follow Valve’s narrative style from Half-Life.
October 22nd, 2008 at 11:19 am
Hmm… I may have to pick up Fable II at some point. I found that the first simply didn’t hold my interest, but given the positivity over this one I should perhaps try again.
I’m disappointed to hear that Dead Space seems to be stuck in the old mold despite its innovations, but I already have a copy on the way so I’ll play it regardless. It sounds like it won’t really scratch my horror itch, though, which is a pity because Silent Hill didn’t either. Moreover, it seems that a North American release of Fatal Frame 4 was just a dream I had.
October 22nd, 2008 at 1:14 pm
I’m debating purchasing Fable 2 soon-ish… I have a few things I have to wait for. I definitely want a copy of LEGO Batman but am waiting for either a price drop and/or a holiday gift. I want Dead Space but I don’t think I would play it much. I want Mirror’s Edge more, but I think I would suck at it. Both might be left for a Holiday request list. I’m looking forward to the release of the new Banjo-Kazooie and Gears…
Penny-Arcade Ep 2 drops next week apparently! It appears to be my only planned “day of release” purchase right now.
October 22nd, 2008 at 1:19 pm
I played Dead Space at 5am with the headphones on. Is that close enough? -.0
I also don’t mean to imply that it’s a bad game, just not one I’d find myself playing very often.
October 22nd, 2008 at 2:00 pm
Your not the only one with a self-limited budget
. The three games that are on my buy list are Saint’s Row 2, Castlevania OOE, and Fable 2. I would love to run out and buy them all now, but that leads back to that budget problem.
October 22nd, 2008 at 2:48 pm
Ah, I miss headphones. One thing about the move to the big TV.
And you’ll have to alert me if couch coop in Fable 2 is the bee knees in that “yes, go ahead and get a 360″ kind of way.
October 23rd, 2008 at 10:07 am
You’ve got audio out, right? Wireless headphones would be a boon. Myself, I camp out on pillows on the floor and stretch the cord across the room.
October 24th, 2008 at 10:02 am
Forgive the innocence, but are these all 360 games we’re talking about?
October 25th, 2008 at 2:04 pm
Rubes, yes indeed they are.