Game of the Year and Single player gaming experience of the year:Fable 2
I have to admit this first of all. I never played the first Fable much. I bought it at launch and played it a bit but in the end, it just got left by the wayside in favour of so many other games. But when I started hearing bits and pieces about its sequel, I realised I had to have it. In fact, I needed it so much that it was a huge deciding factor in my decision to buy a 360.

Eventually, a mere two years after buying the console, I had the chance to play Fable 2. Was I disappointed? Hell no! Sure it was far from perfect and it was missing a few promised features, such as the much mooted ‘Plant an acorn as a child, come back as an adult to see a fully grown tree’ feature but for me, it was an amazing experience with my only real complaint being that it ended a little too soon for my liking. The game starts out very slow (don’t all RPGs?), but the start still shows off the impressive graphics and made me stop and stare for a few moments. Sure they don’t look photo realistic (and the character models are a bit lacking), but the cinematography is great if you ask me. It makes the opening city, Bowerstone, seem huge when actually it isn’t really.

There are a few simple quests set up to give you a taste of the moral quandaries you’ll be facing in the future once you’ve reached adulthood. Some nice comedic moments abound such as an arrest warrant stating: ‘assault with a weapon we can’t believe could possibly be deadly but unfortunately was’. The sort of thing that makes you smile at the thought put into the writing. The narrator of the game is voiced by Zoe Wannamaker which is nice casting, I’ve also noticed a cameo by James Corden (of Gavin and Stacey fame) and I’m sure I recognise other voices from somewhere too. After childhood has passed, the game opens up much more. It doesn’t open up to the levels of Oblivion but to the sort of level I’m most happy with. This might sound strange but I don’t strictly want an entirely open ended and non linear game, I like the interactive fiction part of games, having a story unfold around me.

It gave me a certain amount of freedom without feeling overwhelming, with often funny consequences (try walking into a city naked, yet another nice touch), but not so much that it detracts from a good narrative structure. In Fable 2 you can do various jobs, buy property and rent it out (and earn money while not actually playing), get married etc. All a bit Sims like, and it is in places, certainly when it comes to keeping your husband or wife happy, but it’s nice to have the option. The game feels full of options even if they’re not quite as open ended as they appear to be. The jobs, such as bartending, blacksmithing and woodcutting, are all a little samey (basic press the button at the right time games) but they’re still strangely addictive. Of course as I said earlier, Fable 2 isn’t perfect. Many people reported game ending bugs and glitches, but somehow I was lucky. Despite playing through it twice from start to finish, not once did I have a problem.

The only downside I could really find in it is it’s just not very challenging, instead it feels like it’s aimed at those who want to simply enjoy the experience rather than those wanting a challenge on their hand. In summary I really can’t recommend Fable 2 enough. It may not be the longest game in the world but it truly is one of the most memorable gaming experiences I’ve had in years, certainly compared to anything else on the Xbox 360. The game is now available for under £20 and with new DLC coming soon, there really is no excuse to not give this game a shot. I hope you will be as pleasantly surprised as I was. I’m really glad it lived up to my expectations as far too many games don’t, most notably Mass Effect last year.

Multiplayer game of the year: Gears of War 2 Horde mode
This is a tricky one for me to award as, at time of writing, I haven’t yet played Call of Duty: World at War online and I’ve only played the single player segments of Left 4 Dead, both games that I suspect rightfully deserve this title. However Gears of War 2 Horde mode is brilliant fun and certainly the most fun I’ve had in multiplayer since Call of Duty 4. It is such a simple concept, 5 players versus an array of enemies in one small enclosed area. Of course this is a concept that Left 4 Dead improves upon hugely but as I’ve not played it with friends yet, it’d be wrong to vote for it.

Original IP of the year:Mirror’s Edge
Such an unique premise for a game and from EA of all places! I didn’t really pay much attention to this until friends started playing it and raving about it. I still wasn’t too sure but rented it from work as I figured, I might as well while it was free. I only had it for a night but instantly loved it. Much like Left 4 Dead and Gears 2 Horde, it was a simple concept that I couldn’t help but marvel that no one had thought of it before, but it worked so well. Then of course, I was extremely fortunate that Nokkonwud got me it for Christmas so now I can play it to my heart’s delight! If you’ve not played it and you love the concept of freerunning, you need to get this.

Story of the Year:Lost Odyssey
The only game to make me cry this year. The Thousand Years of Dreams segments were always touching and really evoked such emotions that I’m sure non game players would be astonished by.

Biggest Letdown of the Year:Spiderman: Web of Shadows
I haven’t really been let down by a game this year so it was a bit tricky to decide. It was between Sonic Chronicles and Spiderman: Web of Shadows. When I was sent Sonic Chronicles to review, I was really looking forward to trying it as I figured Bioware + Sonic must equal excellent. It was just too kiddy and basic, seems like a terrible waste of a game. However Spiderman was such a waste. The first half of the game was brilliant fun and Treyarch completely blew it for the second half I didn’t actually have high expectations of this till I played the first half and if the whole game had been like it, it would have been in my top 10 games of the year. Instead, it became merely average and deeply flawed. I’ve still yet to complete it.

Surprise of the Year:Fifa 09/Quantum of Solace
Joint winners here as I couldn’t decide between the two. Fifa 09 might seem an odd choice to some but I haven’t played a football game in a couple of years. The last ones were Pro Evo 6 and Fifa 07 and Pro Evo ruled entirely but was a little limited in options. I didn’t really pay attention to the 08 varieties. So when I heard such good reviews about Fifa 09, I risked it as Tesco had it quite cheap. Really glad I did. It is great fun and feels like the full package to me. I especially love the Be a Pro mode, something I’ve wanted for years in a football game! Really glad I bought it.
Quantum of Solace was the first Bond game since Goldeneye that was actually good fun to play, so it deserves to win something. It’s unfortunate that it arrived in between so many huge games such as Gears 2, CoD:WaW and Fallout 3 because it really did deserve more attention. At only around £20 if you look around, it really is worth a go.

Game or gaming innovation you’re most excited about for 2009: Apple iPhone
This might seem an odd one too, but have you seen some of the games on offer? Sim City, Silent Hill, Metal Gear Solid Touch, Guitar Hero Rock Tour along with many attractive independent releases such as Rolando and Doctor Awesome. Mark my words, 2009 could be a big one for the iPhone. I’ll write more at a later date as I’m currently writing up an article on this for play.tm

Stay tuned for the Personal Review of the Year!

Two new reviews are up in the review section. Lord of The Rings Online: Mines of Moria and Scene It? Box Office Smash. Enjoy. I’ve got Mortal Kombat vs DC Universe coming soon to review, otherwise not sure what after that but I’m sure I’ll be busy again soon enough!

As you can see from my gamercard, I’ve finally hit 70k! Might even manage 71k by the end of the year, but I doubt it. Certainly pretty close though. This time next year 100k? Certainly achieveable. On a gaming note, I still can’t decide with Fallout 3. I’ve played it a lot more and I am wanting to play it but I’m not craving it. It still just feels alright to me. I love the VATS system but some other parts of combat feel irritating to me and clunky. I guess I’m just the exception, as I don’t know anyone else who hasn’t been impressed by it. I was the same with Oblivion, so maybe it’s just that I don’t get on with the game engine. Who knows! Still, I’ll press on and get it completed. The story’s not bad, it’s just not provoked much emotion from me, certainly not compared to the likes of Lost Odyssey. I’d probably give Fallout 3 7/10 which funnily enough is the same score that Edge gave it so at least I’m not entirely alone!

I’m saving my main gaming rambles for the end of the year round up so onto the personal stuff. My elbow is much improved, it’s still a bit lumpy and sore at times but well on the road to recovery. I’ve got an appointment about it on Wednesday but I’m hoping I can cancel it. In not so good news, the puppy (named Charlie in the end) didn’t work out Despite being great with people, he went ballistic at the cat and attacked him, so we just couldn’t keep him. Luckily for ‘Charlie’ he now has a good home with an RSPCA Inspector’s family so I’m sure the two kids there are keeping him very entertained!

Despite the build up to Christmas being incredibly difficult, the actual day went pretty well. The first roast dinner me and my Mum have ever made without my Dad (so 24 years worth) went well and was very nice and we managed to eat it too. My Mum loved the presents I got her (2 of which were PS2 games, I’ve created a monster!) and I was very fortunate for presents too. I received Prince of Persia and PGR4 from her, as well as a few books, a Frankie Boyle DVD, Mock the Week DVD, the new X-Files movie DVD, Family Guy Season 7 and some new trainers (which I desperately needed as the sole’s worn down on my old pair!). As well as that, my good friend Nokkonwud bought me Mirror’s Edge which was a brilliant surprise Really enjoyable game too, certainly unique both in terms of graphics and control system. Not going to be the longest game in the world but with enough replay value to it thanks to the time trial system and achievements. Thanks again Nokkon, really very kind of you

I’ve also been given some money to spend, as well as have plans to sell some old games so expect me to have even more games sooner or later! Probably Left 4 Dead at least, and possibly CoD5.

And finally……I’ve upgraded to WordPress 2.7 (doubt anyone can tell the difference! Think it was all behind the scenes) and I’ve also applied Lightbox to some of the pictures. As an example, click on the Quantum of Solace Faceplate below and see what I mean. I’ll be using that more in the future so I can have thumbnails leading to the full image without you having to click away. Clever eh?

Boosted a couple of games partly for my benefit but mostly at the request of friends. First up was Yaris, a truly awful game, even if it is free. But a friend wanted to get 10 points from it so he hit 25k on the dot, after doing that multiplayer game, I played for 5mins and got another 10 points. Evil game though, so embarrassingly bad.
As well as that, I boosted for the online achievements for Football Manager 2007 with Nokkon and gained 36 points. Suppose I’d better do the single player achievements…meh :p

I’m renting Two Worlds and Cabela’s Alaskan Adventures at the moment, both of which are pretty dire. I’m only on 40/1000 for Cabela’s but that’s getting sent back tomorrow I think, it’s crap.
Two Worlds: I’ll try to keep going with, but it’s not really very appealing. It’s still very buggy even after being patched.

So we come to my two current favourites of the week. Civilization Revolution (again) and Viking. 105 points from Civ and I’m still enjoying it loads, the harder achievements are to come but I’m a big fan of the series so hopefully it won’t take long.
Viking I bought today (with the £20 as previously mentioned), only 82pts so far from an hour or two this afternoon, but I really like it. It’s pretty simple so far, a basic RPG mixed with hack n slash but it’s good fun. Shouldn’t be too hard for points either. Nice, mindless distraction.

I also bought The Bourne Supremacy on DVD for £1.99 and ordered The Bourne Identity for £2.50, yeah I thought I’d give it another chance. Hopefully I won’t be disappointed, or else I’m coming after you Nokkon :p

Finally, I’m working on another piece for play.tm: a preview of the new World of Warcraft expansion pack, Wrath of the Lich King. So far, it’s looking very promising! Really pleased to be doing it too, gives me an excuse to go back to it. Although currently I’m only playing as a Death Knight, not anything else.

In the last few days I’ve put aside Lost Odyssey in favour of Civilization Revolutions which, Nokkon will be so unsurprised by this, I bought in the Gamestation sale for £19.99. Yeah, my name is Jen and I’m a game buyingaholic. I love it though. I’ve chosen it over sleep (playing till 3am despite being knackered) and food (despite it being mid afternoon and having only eaten one small slice of toast all day). It rocks. I love Civ games. Worth every penny for me, just the same as FM2008 was worth £15. Plus I’ve managed to reap 365 points from it in only a couple of days.

Excluding short bursts of CoD4, FM2008 and Superman Returns (which I now hate after my brief break from it, it’s like I’ve realised what good games are meant to be like, and this is far from it!), my only points came from Kung Fu Panda which I finished off for the most part. There were two achievements I didn’t get, due to a mixture of laziness and because I needed to send my rentals back in time for my free trial to end with Lovefilm.

Lucky for me, I have another free trial going! Only 45 days this time round but hopefully I can stick a 90 day one on afterwards. Tomorrow I should have Bee Movie and Cabela’s Alaskan Adventures arriving, both of which I’ve briefly played before but not hugely for various reasons. I also have Two Worlds arriving, not so much for points (although hopefully it won’t be too bad for points) but to see which side of the opinion divide I’m on, and because it’s the only RPG on the 360 I’ve not played.

Fingers crossed I hit 60k soon!
Till the next update…hopefully I’ll be more imaginative by then.

I have however managed to reach 57,000 though. On the dot. I’ve got Iron Man and Kung Fu Panda at the moment. Iron Man is more of the ‘shoot someone and take cover’ variety so you can imagine how much I’ve played that. I loved the film, as always the game is a wasted opportunity but an easy cash in. So only 40 points so far.

Kung Fu Panda is quite fun, obviously very simple as it’s a kids game but it makes a change of pace and it’s not bad fun for a rental. 390 points from it so far. It’d only take an afternoon of playing to get the vast majority of points, I just don’t feel in a rush at the moment.

Played a bit more of Superman Returns and gained another 100 points, again it won’t take me long to complete but I’m taking my time and left it for the past few days.

Finally I’ve gone back to Lost Odyssey which I’ve been really enjoying. Not many achievements in the past week, just the one 20 pointer, but I think they’ll flow a lot faster once I’ve wrapped up a few more sidequests and levelled up my characters enough to fight the optional bosses.

Oh and just to annoy Nokkon (:P) I have got a new game…….Universe at War for the PC. Only £4.99 from Game. My Mum treated me while she bought Zelda; Twilight Princess as she’s realised how great games can be at distracting you and keeping your mind off things. No idea what the achievements will be like, but I fancied seeing what Live on the PC is like.

Elsewhere in life, my laptop’s stuttering slightly and I have no idea why. Every time I type, it pauses for a second half way through whatever I’m typing then suddenly catches up. It’s irritating. And I can’t figure out what’s changed. The only thing that I’ve installed lately was an update to iTunes and that shouldn’t have affected anything. Might just end up formatting, somehow seems quicker than checking everything 301 times.
I updated iTunes so I could update my iPhone to the new software version, 2.0. It’s added an App Store which is pretty handy. Not all apps are free unfortunately but it’s still renewed my interest in my iPhone. First time I’ve ever bought a phone for its style as well as its functions and I’m very happy with it.
And finally, I’ve applied for a job at my local Gamestation, so cross your fingers for me!

The bulk of it came from The Spiderwick Chronicles which only took 10hrs or so to 1k. Plus I enjoyed it which is a bonus! Despite being a kid’s game, I found it not bad at all. For once, it didn’t suffer from dodgy collision detection (which so many kids games seem to) and there weren’t any infuriating bits that made you wonder how a child hadn’t destroyed their surroundings in frustration. Instead it was a pretty gentle game that had a few dull collection quests, but otherwise wasn’t bad at all. No masterpiece but there’s a hell of a lot worse ways to spend a couple of afternoons!

Other than that, the points were pretty picky this week. I played a little Prey despite not playing it since January. Only 55 points and admittedly I didn’t find it very endearing. Easy enough, just not overly fun. I’d sell it but it’d hardly make anything so not much point. I’ll get it done eventually.

Army of Two was one of my other rentals for the week. I rented it back in April but didn’t play it much at the time due to personal problems, so I thought I’d re-rent it and give it a second chance. Quite fun, very reminiscent of Gears of War with its cover system. I really need to find someone to play co-op with though, I reckon it’ll be a lot more fun then.

Thanks to the DRM changes, I managed to retrieve my free copy (courtesy of a Korean account) of Hexic 2 and within minutes got an achievement. I probably won’t play it much but it was the principle of it as I’d lost it since changing 360s at Christmas.

Finally, I finished Disc 3 of Lost Odyssey. Now to crack on with the many, many side quests and levelling up my characters. This may take a while!

I’ve got X-Men at the moment thanks to Creature sending me Nokkon’s copy. I hated it the first time round but I’m willing to give it another try to boost those measly 50pts I have for it at the moment.

As well as this, I have a copy of The Bourne Conspiracy winging its way to me \o/ A review copy for play.tm. I haven’t heard amazing things about it but it’s been a long time since I had a 360 game to review so I’m happy either way

Not a huge update this week. I’m tired and it’s been a long day/week/month/year. Next week will hopefully be more interesting. Probably less points but hopefully with a fair sized review of The Bourne Conspiracy

Out of those, Beowulf was the most abysmal (actually, the only abysmal one). So abysmal in fact that I only gained 30 points from it before sending it back to LoveFilm. I love gaining points but not to the point that I will put myself through such terrible games. The control system felt daft, the song segment was irritating and most importantly of all, it kept going buggy not long into Chapter 1 so that I got stuck walking through a boat while being able to do anything else. Sure, if that didn’t happen to me, maybe I’d have kept playing and it would have drastically improved. But I decided life was too short and basically couldn’t be bothered to see if the bug would magically fix itself and gave up. Who knows why it did it…..but who cares!

Football Manager 2008 is my perennial game in my slow but determined attempt to 1k it. It’s more time consuming than anything. I’ve got a very good team formed that hardly loses a game, if ever, but I’m just starting my 4th Season of 10 and it’s already taken me around 36hrs. It’ll be nice to have the full 1k though, especially as not too many people have it. Maybe I’ll go back to working on Football Manager 2006 then. For only £15, Football Manager 2008 was a terrific bargain for me.

Jericho was a pleasant surprise. I bought it in March sometime, played it briefly then confined it to the pile for some reason without returning to it. After another brief spurt of play in April, I finally went back to it this past week and greatly enjoyed it. On hard (many of the achievements require playing it on hard), it’s still not much of a challenge especially if you use the cheats. The cheats are a little awkward to track down as they all seem to be ‘uniquely’ locked to the code that comes with the game but they’re worth it. It makes the game maybe a little too easy but I fancied a relaxing game. The story isn’t bad at all and the squad element, all with different abilities, while nothing new, is fun. The weapon achievements are a little tedious though.

Lego Indiana Jones, as always, is just plain fun. Much more fun than Lego Star Wars if you ask me but I’ve always preferred Indiana Jones. I need to finish up the achievements sometime, but collecting all the artifacts is a bit dull. What is it with so many games having collection achievements? They’re so dull half the time.

Luxor 2, I played solely to make my gamerscore either ending in 0 or 5 most of the time, sad I know It is a good game though. I got it free when I bought an Arcade after my Premium died at Christmas.

The two NBAs were quite fun to compare. I much preferred NBA2k8, it was easier for achievements, but it also felt more fluid and the dunks felt more impressive. I think NBA2k8 was much more arcadey and I always prefer the NBA Jam style game than an attempt at a sim, not that NBA Live was a good attempt at a sim, being far too arcadey in nature (albeit not so much as 2K8….confused yet?). I didn’t 1k either of them. Bit of laziness involved there, plus NBA2k8 would have involved online boosting and I wasn’t in the mood. If I get desperate, I’ll rent them again, but there’s still so many games I’d rather play!

Ninja Gaiden 2 feels very polished and smooth…..yet with that added bite that reminds you it can be brutal. I wasn’t really struggling on Acolyte until I reached the Chapter 2 boss, I got wiped out fast. I haven’t returned yet but I will do soon, I know what I need to do to defeat it. I like taking my time with it anyhow, as I’m sure I’ll get to a point very soon where I’m solidly stuck.

I’ve also been playing Lost Odyssey but the points come slowly with that so it’s definitely for fun. I’m in the middle of Disc 3 at the moment and it’s slightly lost my interest. I’m not sure why, hopefully it’ll grab me again soon. I think it definitely will come Disc 4 as there’s so many sidequests that open up then.

I keep having mild urges to return to World of Warcraft for a bit, which is daft. I’m perfectly happy with the games I’m playing, and I can’t afford WoW really anyhow. And as if by magic, Paramount Comedy, that I’m watching in the background while typing this, keeps advertising it. Mainly with Mr T but suddenly Mini Me has shown up. The advert is just plain weird. So I’ll end this roundup on that strange note!

Today, I’m planning an afternoon of Jericho on hard. Should be fun hopefully. If not maybe Lost Odyssey now I have the official guide to help me along the way. I was going to go through it without but I changed my mind. I’d rather do it that way now.

Also I’ve been playing the review copy of Age of Conan that arrived last week. It’s not bad at all. Technically very good for an MMORPG although I think my interest in MMOs is waning a bit now. It should get a good write up but I’ll make sure to link to the full thing when I’ve finished writing it.

Finally, in this patchy entry: Can anyone name a game where you kill innocent women just because? I don’t mean female ninjas or whatever, i.e. people that are ‘kill or be killed’ types. I mean totally innocent ones.
Just something that I was discussing the other day in a tirade about how gory slasher films can get away without criticism but not violent games despite the fact they always seem to involve some poor young, attractive woman get tortured and murdered by some random nutter. Which personally I find much more disturbing than anything I’ve seen in a game. I’m certainly not saying they should be banned (I don’t really agree with banning of anything fictional), it just seems daft that they are fine but games aren’t. I’m guessing it’s because games are a new media that the conservatives of the world (that’s conservative with a small c) just don’t understand yet.
Anyway if someone can name a game, let me know!

Anyways I spent my weekend as a semi crippled person (taking the tape off my back was murder, left my skin very sore, tender and red; and BOTH shoulder blades hurting lots!) gaining lots of achievement points like the sad sod I am on the quiet
I’d received Spiderman: Friend or Foe from Lovefilm and I actually quite enjoyed it.
Sure it was stupidly easy and obviously aimed at children (you couldn’t even really die in the game), but it had a certain charm and it reminded me a little of Streets of Rage for some reason. It was a nice mindless distraction for a while really. I’d never buy it and I’d have been gutted if I’d paid money for it but as a free rental it was fine.
The only really crappy thing was the stupid last 75 point achievement. It involved upgrading your 14 (yes 14) sidekicks fully. This took over 2hrs and numerous replays of the final level just to gain the coins needed to upgrade. And it was bloody annoying! And pointless. Yet I was so near to 1king the game that I felt compelled through my bloody stubbornness to do it. So I did……I’m a fool

The other game I played as much as possible at the weekend was Lost Odyssey. A game that should be everything I could ever dream of….yet it’s missing something. Made by all the geniuses of Final Fantasy, it has an incredibly good story that keeps me playing. The dream segments are truly touching and emotional; yet I still can’t help but feel it’s just not quite there.
There’s no innovation, it’s the same kind of RPG as you’d see 10 years ago. No bad thing…but I kind of want something new and exciting now. You still wander around people’s houses nicking their stuff without any questions asked, the battle system is near identical to Final Fantasy VIII yet lacks a comprehensive magic system like materia or junctioning brought; and it has some daft minigames in it that break up the story too much.
I just want more, I’m not quite sure what right this second but I know this is missing something. I’ll still enjoy working my way through it, I just wish it could truly amaze me. The first 10 minutes amazed me, but that was that

For now I bid adieu as I have updates to restart for and I want to see how WoW plays on this lappy

On a lighter note, I have a few new reviews up on play.tm:
First up I had Advance Wars: Days of Ruin (well worth any DS owner’s attention), then there was Jack Keane, a game I’d never heard of beforehand but was a triumph for Point and Click Adventure fans in my opinion. It reminded me of Broken Sword which is never a bad thing.
Most recently, as in yesterday, there was Warhammer: Mark of Chaos: Battle March, a very uninteresting RTS game that could have been so much better.

I’ve now got another 3 (eeek yes 3) games on the way to review. So things are picking up fast.

What with the shoulder problems, I decided to get myself a laptop. Just ordered it in fact. It’s not meant to be a desktop replacement, just to give me some respite when I need to get stuff done. I’ll make sure to stick some photos up

Spec is: Core 2 Duo 1.6ghz, 2gb RAM, 128mb Geforce 8400M GS and 120gb HD, roughly the same as my desktop funnily enough, but slightly slower. £400ish off Dell which wasn’t bad at all
Scary to spend that much in one go but it’ll be worth it!

I’ve now got a weekend planned of 360 playing, bit of scorewhoring (I’ve got Spiderman Friend or Foe and Cabela’s Alaskan Adventures for that courtesy of a free rental trial with Love Film) but mainly Lost Odyssey.

Anyways, next update will hopefully be on the laptop and be less painful for me.