Highlander the game is due out by the 2008 holiday season. I must confess to a bit of a fondness for the original movie. So, I'd really like it to be a great game, but...
This trailer doesn't have any gameplay, and the game website has zero content, so I'm not too hopeful.
I'll at least rent it to check it out. If for nothing else than it gives me a reason to dust off the xbox and mock something. I really need a good mocking.
This weekend I got to indulge in one of my guilty pleasures:
Oblivion for Xbox 360
It's taken the #1 spot as my most favoritest game ever ever. I'm going to have to break down and get the walkthrough guide, though. I simply do not have the free time to figure it all out. Like the previous version (The Elder Scrolls: Morrowind), this world is VAST. The NPC's are so much better in this game that I keep getting distracted by the townspeople and losing track of time. The textures are better, the monsters are smarter, the physics are amazing and the controllers are even upgraded!
And I haven't even TOUCHED any of the online content yet.
So, Oblivion is the new crack. At least the theme song for this version isn't quite as insidious as the Morrowind one.
One small let-down is the fold-out map of Cyrodiil that comes with Oblivion (see map above). It's really just not as good as the Vvardenfell map included with Morrowind (below).
So why should I worry about a piece of paper when it's a video game? Call me a map snob. Actually Elitist Cartographer sounds better...
I mean, really. Compare the two maps for a minute. Isn't the Oblivion map just...weak?
Maybe it's just me, but this is a $60 game! I expect a friggin' awesome map! Elitist Cartographer that I am, I could have drawn a better map on my worst day. I mean, where's all the mountains? Trees? How about showing me where those pesky swamps are?
And would it KILL you to use some COLOR??
Maybe the game creators blew all their budget on the physics engine. Ah, well.
In other map news, remember that guy named E. Forbes Smiley who was caught stealing rare maps from various libraries? Well, he's going to be sentenced on September 27th. I hope they 'throw the book' at him.
MORE map news? Well, for the RPG map freaks, I'd like to direct your attention to a section of the Wizards.com website called the Map-A-Week Archive. Never again shall ye want for a suitable map for adventurin'!
Here's a fun GM prank: Print out a few random maps from the archive, and add your own treasure and trap notes. Let one or two of these maps casually 'fall out' of your stuff during your next game. One of your players (surely the Rogue) will distract you, whilst pilfering your 'notes' from your 'next adventure'.
Make sure to talk up 'next week's quest' and all the research you are doing in preparation for the big day.
At least one of the players will attempt to memorize where the traps and/or treasure locations are, but after you lead them into a abandoned mine instead of the Lich's Castle, the whole party will be totally lost!
Yes, only I would think of spending countless hours creating maps only to use them as a prank. You all know my penchant for maps with huge punchlines, don't you? If not, please look closely at the map of the Kingdom of the Outlands. The Landlocked Kingdom...
I am an Elitist Cartographer! Hear me Roar! I'm going to start putting the initials E.C. after my name...One of my favorite Xbox games, Fable, has gone gold. That means that there will soon be a new version with added content. I just love games where the choices you make in play affect your good/evil qualities. And Fable already had some of the BEST graphics ever. The new one will probably be super slick.
If you haven't tried it yet, go rent yourself a copy and see how much fun it is to kick helpless chickens. This of course is only a small part of the experience, but boy is it a satisfying one.
I just wish there was a female character to play. Oh, well. I guess I'll have to wait for the Gold version and see. I better dust off the old Xbox and get ready...
I'm a big fan of role playing games. I was also an arcade zombie for most of my pre-teen existence.
Imagine my happiness when I find Bard's Tale! Combining all of the hack-n-slash of an RPG with a 3/4 down view video game layout makes for a dashing good time.
Having seen this game on the racks at game stores with a $49 price tag slowed me down for a while. I hate it when I buy and game and it was a complete waste of money. So I just rented it instead. The learning curve was a little steeper for me than anyone buying the game, because rentals don't come with the manual. Oooh, lots of button combinations to cast the proper spells you need. The map feature is very nice. I quickly figured out how to skip over those awful songs that the game designers apparently thought were integral to the story. Still some things for me to figure out, like why there are cow skulls spinning around the Bards' head sometimes, and how to use different weapons.
If I had to rate it from 1 to 5 stars, I'd probably give it a 4. A couple of things bug me a little, but not enough to detract from the fun.
Cary Elwes (Wesley from The Princess Bride!) does the 'voice' of the Bard. It's worth a rental just to hear his snarky comments. This game has a bit of sexual innuendo, but would still be suitable for kids. The jokes would probably go over thier heads. There is blood when you kill stuff. The narrator is actually really funny, and tells the tale of the Bard as if the game were a storybook.
When you load a saved game, the narrator says things like "oh, yes, now where were we? Chapter 10..." Verrrry Princess Bride-ish. And once, when I died, the Bard cried out "in-con-CEIVE-able!!" as he perished. Heehee!
God, I am such a geek. But, I am not left-handed.
Since I'm on a roll here, and I've got the time, I thought I'd share with you my feelings about my recent purchase of the "Pirates of the Carribean" video game for Xbox. Ahem...
WHY for the love of God did I spend money on this? Lovely graphics and all, but come ON. You get what, two, maybe three moves during swordfighting? Please. And the cumbersome amount of detail just so you can get your ship up to speed. I sunk it at least five times just trying to figure out how to sail, too.
No. When I think "pirates" I think hack-n-slash, running around with a cutlass screaming "Arrrr" or finding loads of buried treasure.
Spend your money on "Pirates: the Legend of Black Kat" instead. It's got all the good Errol Flynn-like fighting moves, and the story itself is fun to follow. OK: cheesy, but fun. And the ship battles are awesome, once you get the hang of camera angles. Plus, with some very interesting codes that you can download here, you can change her outfits. Trust me: you want to know where her jolly roger is tattooed.
If you want to get into the character a bit more, sail on over to the Talk Like a Pirate Day website and get educated about all those cryptic terms like "avast" and "booty".
Full sail!
