It's that crazy time of year, Christmas, and with it comes several metric tonnes of games. I haven't blogged in a few months and it took the wise sage Yojimbo to get me back in the swing, and with a long hiatus comes a fucking shitload of games to talk about, so without further ado, onward!

The first on the list is Fable 2. This game is pretty divisive and with good reason, it's pretty much just Fable 1.5, but that is not really a bad thing. I spent just about as much time watching my Wife play the game as I did playing through myself, and so I got to see both the Light (my Wife) and Dark (Me) paths the game has to offer. Quite simply put, I really liked Fable 2, its nothing ground breaking but its sweet and charming and all warm and fuzzy, but it also manages to get a bit dirty along the way.

I just wish they could make the game more open, the first game set you in strict paths, and while you can climb over fences in the sequel, you may as well stick to the path becuase it really makes no difference, the games areas are small and confined and I find that irritating because I love the world Lionhead has created. Also the games fucking short, and I expect a bit of length out of a supposed RPG. But over all, I liked it and I look forward to the DLC.

Straight after Fable I jumped into Fallout 3. The two games share a few similarities but are ultimately polar oppisites. Straight up, I LOVE Fallout 3, its easily in my top 3 games of the year. Sure it has a few glitches, bad animation and my game crashede a total of 5 times when I played through, but I don't care, it doesn't ruin the overall experience. The best thing about Fallout is that it takes a fairly common grey/brown post apocalyptic setting in gaming today, and it makes it feel real, poignant and melancholic, and I mean that in the best possible way.

This game made me feel, even when I was just wandering throught the wastes, its truly a sad game and I don't know if the Bioshock-esque propaganda imagery helps or hinders what is the developers biggest achivement. I am by no means talking about the ending being sad BTW because I didn't really find that to be overly emotional, I just mean the general experience of playing the game. As a side note, I would love to see Bethesda somehow implement a modified version of the VATS combat into the next Oblivion because the combat was the worst thing about Oblivion. Oh yeah and can anyone tell me why the guys on Podtoid detest the game so much? I mean I know Jim and Topher like their JRPG's but aside from a few glitches and some bad animation I think Fallout is flawless.

Whats next... Ahh yes Far Cry 2. This is a tricky game to talk about because the first hour and a half of the game are pretty bad, theres a fair bit of tutorial shit and it just takes a while getting accustomed to the flow of the game. But let me tell you once your well and truly in the groove this game is in many ways something of a landmark title for me. I love open ended combat, something the GTA games have completely done away with, and its probably the main thing Far Cry 2 has in comman with the Crytek original.

The fact that I can hide in grass, and approach a senario from any angle and with any gun a choose is quite a luxury. What makes the game more than just an open world FPS is the setting and the story, this game has heavy duty themes in it, if youve ever seen Lord of War, or perhaps Blood Diamonds, then you know what to expect. More games should embraces unique real world scenarios and get away from the cliches because this game, even with a few pacing problems under its belt, succeeds because its sat in the middle of a world full of WW2, Sci Fi marines, and city scapes. Oh and I have to mention the lighting, BEST SUNSET LIGHTING EVER!!!

Motorstorm: PR is everything that the original was not. Take the first game and add about 500% more variety, up the graphics meter to 11, and strap in, this game fucken rocks. Its blisteringly fast and adrenalin soaked and I love it. I haven't got too far so I won't go on about it but if your on the fence, jump down and get this game!


Gears of War 2 is without doubt one of the best games I've played this year, as with Motorstorm:PR, Gears 2 takes everything thats good about the first game and quadruples it. It has some of the best action sequences I've ever played, and while its white knuckled its still damn fun.

I still haven't played multiplayer or even Horde because my Live account expired and I haven't renewed it yet, but considering I finised the campaign in two sittings says alot about the quality of the experience (and no its not short). I don't think I have to say much about the graphics,so I'll just say, gorgeous.

I've only played about an hour of Banjo Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts but I'm looking forward to spending more and more time in that world, beautiful, charming colourful and funny are all words I would use to describe it, everything Rare excels at. I also picked up the original BK on XBLA and I think the game holds up pretty well, it just goes to show that good character design and alot of charm go along way in keeping a game looking fresh, blocky or not the games quite pretty.

Cosidering how many hours I spent playing through that game when I was a teenager I imagine I'll enjoy doing it all over again, oh yeah and ICE KEY!!!

So thats it, I'm still polishing off Far Cry 2 and I'm going to dive into BK:NB alot more over the holidays but thats all for now. Thoughts?

(as a final footer, if anyone wants to play Motorstorm: PR or Far Cry 2 online, send me a MSG on PSN, PSN ID is MilesCosmo. Keep in mind I live in Australia so the time difference screws with things alot)[img]