There’s always a lot of controversy when it comes to sequels, and Fable 3 is no exception.  I love Fable, Fable 2, and Fable 3.  I have had some of my most enjoyable experiences ever in a console game with the series’ odd humor and system of providing me with so many decisions between good and evil.  Unfortunately it seems that between Fable 3, Peter Molyneux, and I — one of us doesn’t get the others as much as they claim…

As with the other games, the second I put it into my console I was sucked into the odd world of Fable once again.  Ugly women, male prostitutes, the undead – all of them welcomed me back just like each other time.  However it seems that this installment is somehow quite different from the last.  I hope to enlighten all of you on these changes and how to use them to your advantage and disadvantage using my own archaic skills of strategy developed from oh so many hours of beta testing lousy Korean MMORPGs.

First of all, instead of being able to use your overwhelming monetary power to enhance your character like in the last game, you have to do various things to collect “guild seals”, sort of like “Hero Points” if you will,(they double as experience too in a way) which allow you to purchase new abilities and spells in a kind of virtual store call the “Road to Rule.”  This actually seems a bit frustrating at first, but you quickly find that it balances access to gameplay features very well.  The system definitely keeps your power level where it should be as you progress through the storyline.  One little sidenote: as with Fable 2, the difficulty of the enemies you fight increases each time you enhance your characters abilities.  So make sure you have a handle on fighting the enemies you are facing at your current level of expertise before upgrading to the next melee, spell, or ranged level.

The storyline unfolds rather hurriedly in the beginning of the game and feels almost like you were just shaken out of bed and tossed into the ring.  This being said, the warmth and conversation directed toward you by friendly characters early in the game help you to understand why you are there and immediately feel an attachment to the world and your character’s situation (which I personally find very important in rpg games).  I would say that I have played about 12-16 hours right now and according to the strategy guide, which I purchased solely to use in finding the evil gnomes and to help me open demon doors like in the last game, I am about 65% through the game.  Now I don’t consider myself a real power gamer, nor do I fool around achievement-hunting, so this is probably about an average estimate of game time.  I will say that as with other games set in Albion, make sure you participate in side quests and do some exploring early and throughout the game.  The world changes the more of these things you do and you might find there are some enjoyable experiences waiting for you.  Personally I like the fact that the franchise doesn’t take itself too seriously.  You will find it full of references, characters, and digs at missions from the previous title.  One of my personal favorites so far is a mission where you are shrunk by dorky wizards who put you into a small game board and make you participate in a small campaign in which you have to interact with cardboard cut-outs. (if only I could keep my sword with +3 to Baron-killing…)

The new weapons system is wonderful.  I remember in the last game I just put a ghoul gem in my Master sword and splattered every bad guy I came across through the entire game.  In Fable 3 there are tons of weapons.  As you level up your skills with each weapon class through purchasing them in the Road to Rule they look cooler and cooler.  In fact there is a set of Hero weapons left to you by your father, the last hero of Albion which seems to only get better looking with no real added effect.  The other weapons are a lot cooler.  They all kinda lean towards a certain type of gameplay, as the actions you take give them permanent special abilities and enhance their looks.  Some are evil, some good, some social, etc.  For example some of them have stipulations like kill 100 villagers, have sex 30 times, give gifts in multiplayer, or kill x number of enemies with the fireball spell.  The only downside is that you have to have a weapon equipped to work towards unlocking any of it’s abilities.  It’s also pretty lousy when you’ve worked on completely upgrading a weapon only to find one you think suits you better, and have to start grinding out it’s stipulations now too.  Magic has been simplified as you can only have one spell or “gauntlet” at a time.  There is no different spell per level of charging to confuse you like the last game.  You can wear 2 spell gauntlets at once, but it just combines the 2 spells.  Unfortunately my two favorite spells in the last game, slow time and summon, have been turned into potions usable only in combat for a short-term effect.  They are also rather rare and expensive, but if you are careful you should find plenty to suit your needs by digging them up on your travels or searching Reaver’s mansion while raiding his panties.  I seem to get by through just about any encounter with the combination of fireball/shock or shock/vortex anyway though so I wouldn’t worry about not having excessive amounts of evil minions this time around.

Interactions with villagers and real estate has changed quite a bit since the last installment.  There is no rotary emote dial, nor can you raise the level of adoration of multiple villagers at once by dancing or playing the lute.  Interactions are now a performed on a (grueling) one on one basis.  The radial menu is replaced by a random selection of good, evil, silly, or other button press option each time you interact with a particular villager.  I suppose that this is because each villager has a mission for you to perform on the way to becoming their best friend or lover and I am having enough trouble with one or two following me around each town driving me bonkers, I can’t imagine how annoying it would be if every time I danced twenty people wanted me to find a letter for them in the woods…

As far as real estate goes it’s much easier and a little bit harder to manage at the same time.  I myself am raking in about 40,000 gold every 5 minutes.  You no longer make money while you aren’t actively playing however, so I have adopted a method of leaving my character  in his house with a wired controller connected and my tv off – making obscene amounts of cash while I eat dinner, do my laundry or walk the dog.  My new xbox 360 slim seems to be able to handle it without any trouble of overheating, and even if it does I’ll have made enough gold by then that it will be worth buying a new one and spending some of it.  One tip I have for you is that since the buying and renting of houses requires you to frequently repair them(by paying money) in order to continue receiving your rent checks, DON’T BUY ANY HOUSES! (unless you want you or your spouse to live in them)  I personally just made pies and played lute hero until I had enough to buy some stands and pubs and then proceeded to get wealthy beyond my wildest dreams.  Businesses require no upkeep.  It’s much easier.  For those of you that do want to own every house asap luckily you can access the houses’ info panels(actually all property in any area you have unlocked) and pay rent, buy, or sell them right from the “start menu.”

I say this because there is no real menu.  This is another change you will either love or hate.  I see how it seemed like a good idea.  It’s kind of fun to talk to a butler every time to check your money, change a weapon or your clothes, but I can’t say it doesn’t slow down the process.  Because it does!  luckily you can warp to the Hero Chamber during just about any moment you want: in the middle of battle, while talking to someone, or diving off a cliff, and they will never notice a thing.(except if you put on snazzier clothes.)  It takes some getting used to, but it’s not at all a broken feature, every bit of accessibility you would want from the start menu is there, it just takes longer to access.

So what is wrong with this game?  Well the thing that continues to ring in my mind is that for some reason it reminds me more of playing the Sims 3 when I’m in towns than it does anything else.  It’s just something about the interactions and the weird little babbling that happens when I hug or kiss someone.  I just miss my emote wheel so much!

Another thing that has been driving me nuts is the slowdown.  Man this game gets so slow and choppy in towns that it makes you fail the button pressing minigames and start from the beginning of the round.  Sometimes when first appearing in a zone it will freeze entirely for 30 seconds or so.  I have played for several hours without it installed on my hard drive and then the remainder of my time playing has been with it installed and it seems to make no difference.  I don’t mean to say that the game is entirely messed up, but I would think that they could have worked these kinks out by the release.  Mind you, I do tend to find things wrong with the games I play that no one would ever find, (like weird invisible wall collision, warping, ghosting, and getting stuck in crazy places.  haven’t found any of those things yet luckily) but luckily it’s been pretty much a walk in the park bug-wise.

Lastly it seems that it’s not what is wrong with the game as much as it’s what is missing.  Someone (I don’t want to mention any names) has promised us certain things which I remember and then some things which I personally don’t remember but people keep bringing up enough for me to mention in the review.  Some common complaints and things I personally feel the game should include:

• The ability to give your spouse and child different clothing.  How come when I am king do my wife and child still have to dress like they live in a gutter?
• A more free and open world.  I understand that the winding paths and inspired vantage points provide for the correct artistic vision to come through and give us the “right” feeling for the world, but seriously……you’re competing with oblivion and fallout here guys.  Along with that, why not vehicles or horses?
• Someone said that our children would be able to grow up and come adventuring with us.  — not that I need help since I am the ultimate hero, but it would be cool wouldn’t it?
• Speaking of clothes…  we did a lot better in this installment, but there are so many possibilities!  I personally own 3 or 4 clothing stores, why isn’t there more than 6 or 8 clothing sets for me to buy with my millions upon millions of gold?
• Dogs are man’s best friend, but what if we could have any companion we want?  Bird? Giant Spider? Sheep? Hobbe? Steam robot? …Baby dragon anyone?
• We need at least as much DLC as Dragon age, GTA 4, and Fallout. k?
• Give me back my Emote Wheel!

With all that said.  The game is awesome.  It’s pretty much all I could ask for in a sequel to one of my top 5 games of all time.  Since we don’t really have a clear rating system here at Sparkbox, let’s say that I give it a 4.25 out of  a possible 5 missed hours of sleep per night.

If you have stories, questions, or tips, don’t forget we have a fully functioning forum and would love to hear your thoughts.  For now I’d better get back to playing before I get too enthralled with my Kinect tomorrow…

The sequel to the original Force Unleashed was released this past Tuesday on the 26th, and on the 27th I was frantically tearing off the plastic wrap of the Xbox 360 version like the rabid fanboy I pretend not to be.  So what does this sophomore effort bring to the table?  A hell of a lot less then the original.

First off, let me preface this by pointing out that the need for me to reawaken my login on Spark Box in order to write a review has to tell you something.  Before you go any further, let me warn you again there shall be spoilers.  Again: ******SPOILERS******  Ok then, now that I got that out of the way, on to the crappy!

The game starts you off the same exact way the playable demo does with a few more minutes of gameplay.  Before you know it you’re cutting off bits and pieces of stormtroopers in no time as you begin to get accustomed to the extra lightsaber Starkiller is wielding this time around.  The attacks are more of the same mashing of the same one button over and over again with the sprinkling of 2 other button choices to shake things up a bit with your force powers.  Of those force powers you only get a mesmerizing two brand spanking new abilities.  I know, I could barely contain myself either.  One is mind trick which eventually lets you “trick” up to three opponents, the other is Force Fury, an activated rage ability you unleash once the meter fills which gives you temporary invincibility and stronger attacks.  One thing I thought was pretty cool was the carry over of three of the alternate costumes if you happened to have played through the original.  As I mentioned earlier, you’re now duel wielding lightsabers which allows you the ability to mix and match ‘saber crystals for each weapon allowing you various perks.

A bit now on the plot.  Vader has cloned Starkiller and wants him back as his apprentice to do all his dirty work, but  Clonekiller is still all choked up over Juno Eclipse and Vader just wants it to be bro time.  Starkiller escapes and starts his search for Juno.  Yay a love story with lightsabers!

Ok so what really got to me?  Lets start with the cut scenes.  I love cinematics just as much as the next gamer, I know it’s Star Wars and we all want more story, but this was a bit much.  I like the Levine method of letting the game tell your story.  We don’t need a books worth of dialog.  Luckily these are able to be skipped, for the most part.  Which brings me to the next gripe, General Kota.  Your very first task is to go rescue General Kota who has been dismembering creatures in a gladiator style arena for the crowd’s amusement.  After his rescue, how does he thank you?  By yelling the same commands in your ear over and over and over again.  To say this gets annoying really quick is an understatement.

Lets get to some of the baddies.  There are basically 3 types of adversaries; health filling lightsaber fodder stormtroopers, “medium sized” bad guys that take a bit more involvement with repetitive button sequence finish offs, and the ridiculously long wtf-am-I-doing/my-god-my-fingers-are-bleeding-stumps opponents.  Luckily you’ll only have to suffer through two of the last type.  And oh you will suffer.

Force Unleashed 2 also offers two cameo appearances by Master Yoda and the notorious Boba Fett.  Both of which you get no game play interaction with.  None.  Zero.  The best you get is a quote from Yoda from the original trilogy.  Some type of game play would have elevated the game exponentially.  A Luke style training session with Yoda for some extra force power points.  Or maybe have a locked ability that can only be attained by completing said training session with the pint sized jedi master.  As you may have guessed, no fight with Boba Fett either.  Sorry.  He barely even stops by to say hello before he runs off doing his bounty hunting thing.

The bulk of annoyances in the game are interactions with Vader, which mirrors the protagonists anger with him so maybe it was all planned that way.  Towards the very end of the game you have to find Vader to discover where Juno is.  You get to a point where you’re surrounded by cloning tanks containing “mistakes” of you.  You can’t do anything but walk in this portion.  Imagine being in a haunted house where everything is hazy, you’re not allowed to touch anything, but things jump out at you.  Oh and your shoes are tied together so you can’t move very fast.  This is exactly what this portion of the game is like (yay useless filler!!).  The exception being that it’s Lord Vader popping out at you, then automatically blocking his saber and dramatically yelling at him about the location of Juno.  You then have to climb the spire of cloning tank platforms and eventually whittle away vaders life.  You finally get to the final battle with Vader where he does nothing but walk around with his lightsaber in a defensive position and occasionally hits you with lightning.  Riveting.  The final battle with the emperor in the last game was much more involved compared to this concluding battle.  After a few more yelling matches you finally execute the least complex button combinations ever to pin down Vader….and then mash the hell out of the lightning button for what seems like eternity.  I kid you not.  If I had something to constantly tap force lightning for me I could’ve made a PBJ in the time it finally took to sufficiently turn Vader into a light bulb.

The game concludes with you having to pick the light side or the dark side.  Not very imaginative and overly predictable.

Overall, I’d rent this for the night or two it would take to complete it. I started off the game in hard mode, hoping for a bit more of a challenge and a few extra achievement points and received little of either.  A few unlocked challenges add some replay to the game, but at the end it’s really not all that worth it.  For something that could have been a lot better, it’s significantly worse than the original.

Well, its been hyped for months, and here it is! BIOSHOCK 2, the sequel to the original, Game of the Year, “Bioshock”. I, like hundreds of other Bioshock megafans have been waiting a long time for it and I spent my entire day yesterday playing completely through it. Ready for the whole inner scoop? Here is what I thought of my return to Rapture…

I bought Bioshock 2 the day it came out, and I did what any other mega Bioshock fan would do… I went to work and bounced up and down holding the Game Disc and drooled heavily on it wishing the day would end so I could go home and play already! Which fortunately happened after about 8 hours. And man, was it worth the wait.

I was very, very worried about Bioshock 2… the first Bioshock is my favorite game of all time and I was sure that a second one would ruin it. I am very pleased to announce to Bioshock fans everywhere that I was dead wrong! This sequel matches the story quality and magic of Rapture in all its glory; shedding new light on the city in a whole number of defining areas without messing with the formula. The city we had come to know in the first one was suddenly much larger and more open, with more beautifully designed areas and visual stories in each room.

Let me cover a few of the newer perks of this second game.

First off, the duel welding control system that was established in the first Bioshock was maintained and perfected. As in the first one, it feels bulky and bizarre for about five minutes and then begins to feel very, very natural. The menu and inventory system was streamlined just a little bit to make smoother transitions to get to inventory during battles. And finally, my favorite feature, the button that once made you instantly use a MedKit was relocated to the D-Pad so that you aren’t using unneeded Medkits during battle. (Trust me, my brother did that a lot in the first Bioshock.)

The weapons are super charged! Heavy duty weapons that only a Big Daddy could handle. Rivet guns, grenade launchers, and of course the almighty drill! My own person favorite was the Spear Gun that pierced through your enemies and nailed them to the wall with one powerful stab… an effect that could only be better if you could attach an explosive to it… which you can! (Quick tip, any Big Daddy can be taken down with 6 headshots using your Rocket Spears.)

The Plasmid system is again fun and easy to understand. Having just spend the past two months playing “Borderlands” and having to use a calculator to figure out what gun is better, its nice to have a system that tells you these things.

Plasmids have evolved in Bioshock 2, letting you do far more then in the first Bioshock and giving you powerful new add-ons to the original Plasmids we all know and love. One new plasmid called “Scout” lets you ghost out of yourself and scout the area ahead unseen, later you can use the ghost to hack machines and attack enemies without being anywhere near danger.

Another Plasmid, which was featured in the first game, “Security Command” now allows you to summon Security Bots to come fight for you at anytime. For once in Rapture, YOU are leading the attack and you get to watch the fear in the eyes of the Splicers as you, a massive Delta Big Daddy slams into a room with rockets and grenades blasting and Security Bots unleashing waves of machine gun ammo into your enemies. It is just awesome! There is one more Plasmid that you get right towards the end of the game… but I’ll save that as a very special surprise for you players

Ok, lets talk about the thing that really matters here: the story.

I, like other Bioshock fans, understand that Rapture far more then just a game world and reaches into your own emotions and feelings, playing with your mind in a way no other video game ever has. This second installment is no different! For those of you who spent as much time playing the first game as I have know that Rapture is not as scary as when you first stepped out of that Bathysphere. In Bioshock 2, they understood that the players of this game have also emotionally evolved. We are very much comfortable in Rapture and therefore this second game does not entail much horror as in the first one. It is seen through the eyes of someone who knows Rapture and has lived there a long time.

I was terrified that 2K Games was going to ruin the first game by revisiting old places and altering the story of Andrew Ryan and Fontaine. I am so happy that they did not touch it at all and completely took a new direction with the story! Bioshock 2 features a much more personal story and is much more isolated. Your choices alter greatly how this game is played, far more then the original.

((Quick Note: You get to hear Fontaine’s voice only twice in this game in Audio Diaries and it is so weird… because you find you actually miss him.))

The gathering Little Sister aspect continues; but this time, you’re part of it… many, many times. The developers really worked to create a connection with you and the Little Sisters this time around and it really pulls at your heart strings in several places. In the end, the choices you’ve made will affect them all and you… just keep that in mind while playing.

The story itself is completely entrapping and lives up to the tale-telling traditions of Bioshock, with twists and turns and sudden stops and gos that make you never want to put down the controller. I was afraid that this Bioshock 2 would be overly science fiction with monsters and other unbelievable things that were alien to Rapture’s world… again, I was wrong! There is nothing that I could find that crossed overly the line of “unbelievable stupidity”.

There is no major story twist as in the first one, but some jaw-dropping climaxes. But we DO finally get to see something we have all wanted to see: Rapture at its peek back in the day. And yes, it is stunningly beautiful and elegant.

After completing this game, I literally sat on my couch, held the controller, and needed a few minutes to digest what had happened. Finally, I opened my mouth and said: “Woooooooooooow.”

Ok! To be fair, I need to point out two things I did NOT like in this game!

First one, the new design and character animation was way too cartoony for the Rapture. The splicers ran like “Woody” from Disney’s “Toy Story” in places and their faces were almost comical in a spot or two. Fortunately, Splicers usually die before they can get too close to you.
((Note: Splicers have many, many more spoken lines this time… so those of you who got sick of hearing the splicers shout: “RYAN.. RYANNNNNN” in the first game will be happy to know that phrase is NOT in this game even once.))

Second thing I didn’t like: For the most part, the voice acting in this game is incredible, however a couple characters were simply too stereotypical. The “Irish Preacher” was just simply too Irish and was too much a “God-flangled, hallelujah-shouting, TV evangelist” which reflects a modern view of religion, and the only African American character felt the need to call me a “Tin Daddy”… which just didn’t work.

I really need to wrap up this review, but here is a very quick lowdown on the multiplayer!

The Multiplayer feature of Bioshock 2 again changes everything you know about Multiplayer games. It is fair and balanced and comes down to your skill and not just the weapons. And best of all, they actually worked the story into the action and they gave you something you always wanted in Rapture: Your own apartment overlooking the city that you can walk around in freely… I want to really live in that apartment so badly.

In conclusion, Bioshock 2 only cements the Bioshock series as the ultimate video game series of all time, always paving the way for a new generation of games and raising the bar. I am proud to award this game 5 Stars out of 5.

Your Buddy,
JungleTrek

When you first enter the Peggle trial game, you’ll notice that all play modes are unavailable in the trial except for “Adventure” mode. (“Master Duel” appears to be available, but its not.)

Play the Peggle Adventure mode completely through to the end. The game allows you to play the first five levels before kicking you back out to the menu.

Think you’re done? Don’t go back to the arcade just yet!!

Re-enter the Peggle Mode Selection screen and you’ll notice things are just a bit different! “Challenge” mode is now unlocked and provides you with three NEW additional maps to play, adding a great amount of gameplay in the trial game… at no cost to you!
Also, you can now choose “Quick Play” mode where you can replay any of the levels instantly from “Adventure” mode without having to beat them consecutively.

Enjoy your gaming! And stay cheap!

Your Buddy,

JungleTrek

Seeing that there isn’t much out there at the moment in the way of new games, I decided to hit eBay and see If I  could find anything that catches my eye.

After going through the 80Th page of 360 games, I came across a copy of Too Human for $7 shipped to my door. Even though I wrote an article a while back saying that the demo don’t impress me at all, I figured why not give it a go since it was a whopping $7 and that happened to be in my pay pal account anyway.

When it came in I tossed it unopened on my desk and forgot about it for a few days. But this morning I rediscovered it and loaded it up. While the controls still don’t do anything for me, I am liking the game a lot more then I liked the demo. Sure there are no differences between the demo and the finished game, but it’s like a whole new experiance now. I don’t know what it is, but I am loving this game! The story is interesting and the cgi sequences are moderate. But the game itself is a ton of fun and I cannot stop playing.

I picked the Defender class to use for my first character, though I do wish I would have picked someone more offensive. Sure the defender can take some nice damage, he is better suited for a co-op experience in my opinion because of his moderate damage output an ability to take the aggro of all attacking creatures. I think I will go commando with my next guy… Wait, that doesn’t sound right. (Update, Commando is ok, but for pure butt kicking, Berserker is the winner hands down!)

What makes me happiest is being able to have two chars of different levels play together in coop without the lower one being at a disadvantage. It’s kinda like the sidekick thing in city of heroes where if a lower level parties up with a high level, he would then be boosted up in power to help him survive. This makes it so the higher level doesn’t gain as much exp as before, but at least the two can play together. Also being able to trade items between characters helps a lot since you find a ton of crap that is class specific.

Overall I am very happy with the game and am having a great time. Would I have had the same experience if I would have bought it for full price? Probably not, simply for the fact that the controls annoy the heck outta me sometimes and I would be ticked I dropped $60 for it. I would have gladly paid $45 on release day, but not $60. I think the game companies need to realize some games aren’t worth the $60 price tag. But that’s for another day.

So anyone else have any games they decided to pick up after bashing the demo or just not wanting to bother with at first?

I am happy to say that Marvel vs Capcom 2 is FINALLY being re-released for Xbox Live Arcade/PSN this summer!

All characters will come pre-unlocked. And if you haven’t played this game, its a fighting game where you play as Capcom characters (Ryu, Ken, Morrigan, Mega Man) and fight Marvel comics characters (Spider-Man, Cyclops, Magneto) in awesome 2D. There will be online mode. And it will cost I believe 15 dollars in MS points. Not sure of the PS3 cost. Peek the trailer!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=17BTZoF1S14

Ok I’ll be honest I can’t fully review the content as I can’t access it yet.  Well the quests anyway.  As you’ve heard this DLC takes place after you finish the game.  Project Purity is over and the Enclave have been dealt with……… but not gone.  This DLC adds 3 more quests after the end of the original ending, where you continue on with the Brotherhood of Steel to wipe the Enclave out once and for all.

Now you’re thinking “How can this be worth it with my level maxed at 20?” Well now you have a level max of 30, new weapons to play with (haven’t gotten one yet sadly) and new enemies, like the overlord seen above.  Now he may just look like a regular super mutant, but be warned!  He is armed with the gatling laser and is one tough sob.  I found one and still at level 21 he was a pain to fight.  If you’ve found the alien blaster (if not go find it), you know that every creature dies with no more then 2 hits (deathclaws included). this guy took 6 shots.  Now to be fair I wasn’t using VATS so I probably just kept crippling limbs instead of shooting him in the face, but hey, it was spray-and-pray panic.

So far I like this DLC. Honestly I would have paid the credits just to be able to level up to 30,the weapons, enemies, missions, and new perk(s) are all bonuses to me. Let me know what you think. Also feel free to ask any fallout related questions on the forum or email me @ chris@sparkboxshow.com

So Best Buy had a pretty sweet sale on some games this past week and seeing I am broke as heck, took this oppritunity to snag some new games… I almost wish I hadn’t

So after reading that Bestbuy had some 360 games for $9.99, I rushed out of the house so fast I almost forgot pants! I got in the car dreaming about snagging some games I have been meaning to play for a while, and how awesome it was going to be that they were cheap. But my joy was quickly bound gagged and shot in the face when I arrived because all the good ones were already gone. But there were two games that I wanted to play a while back so I figured why not grab em. What did I get you ask? Jericho and Quake Wars Enemy Territory.

To make this quick and to the point, the demo for Jericho scared the hell out of me when it came out over a year ago. Sadly though, the game itself is nothing but a crappy squad FPS masked with supernatural powers. I am sorry but when I spend all my game time running around healing every single person in my squad every damn minute, I get a little pissed. The game is by no means scary anymore, and the story is just um… Lame! Stay away from this game!!!!

Quake Wars is nothing but a good time waster. If you have 30 mins and dont want to get into a good game, feeling you cant give it its justified time, then play QUAKE! It has no mental drain and you die so fast that its like a brand new experiance every time!!!

Am I mad that I spent 9.99 on each of these? Nope, not at all, in fact I am glad I spent it. Why you ask? Well thats because I now have another coaster (Jericho) and a game where I can just load the disk, shoot some stuff, and then go to work on time. Quake is ok, but it will never ever make me late for work. Now to just wait for my copy of  Too Human to come  in the mail from ebay… Has anyone here ever had this situation happen to them?

Thats right, everyones favorite zombie game gets an upgrade.

When I woke up I was treated to seeing some new DLC for Left 4 Dead, and the best part is that its free! So I downloaded it and gave it a go. All I have to say is screw versus mode, I have survival mode now. Survival mode is exactly what it sounds like. You and 3 other survivors have to last as long as you can in special survival scenarios. Plus it opens up dead air and death toll as versus modes.

There were a few tweeks which I cannot say I am very fond of. Remember when you and your team could run to a corner and melee till your arms fell off? Well not anymore, you get about 4-5 quick swings and then a small circle appears in the middle of your screen, its the melee recharge reticle! Thats right, the more you melee the longer it takes between swings! WOOOO Also reloading seems to take longer now. Now an insane amount longer, but enough to throw you off your game and make you curse the controller for not acting fast enough. I also found while playing that there is a bit more collision detection when you and your buddy are in a corner. The one further back seems to push the guy in front out of his way. Making it so you can no longer stack up in corners to defend. Plus it seems you get stunnded longer when a boomer explodes or some big ol infected hits ya.

(EDIT!!!!)

Ok so I gave the story and versus mode a go earlier and came to a realization. The melee timer and reload slow down are only in the survival mode. I had no melee timer or reload slowdown at all in versus and campaign mode.

Overall this is a must have, especially since its free. The survial mode and the ability to use dead air and death toll as versus modes are very welcome. It will take you a while to get used to the game with the few tweeks that were done. But overall the game is awesome again and I have a reason to play it.

Thats right new DLC for everyones (Chris’) favorite wrestling game. Read more for some screenshots.

So this time around we get 5 “Legends” of the squared Circle.

Doink!

Earthquake

The Bushwackers!

And last but not least….

I gotta say that I am very happy to see THQ still putting out DLC for the game. It still may not live up to my man love for WWE Raw 2 for the xbox, but at least the roster is getting some love. Oh and the best part? It will only cost $5 of your hard earned money. When will this hit the marketplace? April 16th (tomorrow)!

yup you read the subject right. I got the ring of doom  two nights ago.

OK,well I at least half of it.  2 red to the left.  it’s a heat thing.  Andy and I  were playing Bikini Samurai Squad and it just shut off, half a red ring, and the fan was going faster and louder then I ever heard it before.  So I let it cool over night and tried it this morning.  all looked well until……… “WIRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR”  DOOM!!!

Now normally this is not a huge issue. OK that’s a lie, but I digress. I called tech support (outsourced to a country where English is not the first language) and talked with a fairly nice, albeit dense, woman for most of my lunch break.  I politely gave her all of my personal info (3 times), type of console(once), serial number (twice), and explained the problem (4 times).  after that she asked if I had done any of the troubleshooting options on line. “of course I did you blithering idiot!! Do you think I’d call you if I hadn’t” is what I wanted to say.  actually I told her I did them all (3 times) and had to go so far as to read her the troubleshooting tips to her off of xBox.com (3 times).

Now one would think that after all this, and that the ring of doom is a warrantied issue that this would just be a case of I send it to them and all goes well.  Well sorry friends, it appears that a month and a half ago mine ran out.  figures.  In case you are wondering the fix is $119 plus shipping weather they can fix it or not.

On the happy side, here I sit now with my hard drive plugged into a new xBox arcade for $200 with no shipping and much less time without my beloved xBox

incidentally I just signed up for 360voice.com. check out mine as well as the other blogs. my link is below (sorry I only have 2 entries, just signed up)

http://360voice.gamerdna.com/blog.asp?tag=magnus713

Find out why the heck microsoft would do such a thing by reading more.

Yes this is microsofts version of an April fools joke. Yes horse armor might have been doubled in price, but every other bit of DLC for Oblivion has had its price cut in half! So now you can pick up the 30 hour expansion for Oblivion for only 1200 points (Normally 2400!!!!) If you were a fan of this game and really wanted to play the DLC, this is your time! It’s cheap and with the ability to load Oblivion onto your hard drive now, the game won’t take forver to load when you accidentally go through a door or go out of a city when you meant to talk to a guard.

So the next release in Fallout DLC has hit the marketplace. Was it worth the 800ms points, or did it pull another Operation Anchorage?

Ok so after the initial release of The Pitt went all FUBAR, I waited until it was put back on XBox live and gave it a go. I was very weary about this because of how Operation Anchorage rubbed me last time. But hey, its more Fallout DLC and I like most, am a sucker for it. Before I start though, I did turn the difficulty up to the max so it gave more of a challenge and would hopefully make the game last longer. And partial spoilers ahead for the first part of the game. Sorry, but its nothing crazy, just some stuff that happens rather early on, like in the first 15 mins.

As with Anchorage, when you go into the game you get a strange radio signal with pinpoints the location of where you need to head off to. So I went to my house, dropped off the crap I didnt need, and headed off to the northernmost middle point on the map. Once I arrived I found 3 slavers attacking a man with an eye patch. I quickly took off their heads with 3 shots from my combat shotgun. Mr one eye introduces himself as Werhner, an escaped slave from The Pitt who needs help to save his fellow slaves and cure the disease that is destroying them. And aparently I am the chosen one who can help them…

After procuring a slave outfit from the corpse of a rotting slave, I enter an old train tunnel and hop on one of those pump handle train cars. Be warned, you can not go back until you finish the expansion, so get any gear you may need beforehand. So anyway, I get to The Pitt and Werhner tries to get me past some guards. We fail so we blow em away. He then tells me I have to go it alone and leaves me be. But before he goes, he tells me of a contact in The Pitt. So I make my merry way down a road towards the bridge pictured above. I am decked out in my power armor with my trusty missle launcher on my shoulder, blowing away mines that are littered on the bridge and avoiding slaves trying to escape. Here is a tip, just let the damn slaves blow up the mines. Much easier and they pretty much make a path for ya. Finally across the bridge and I think its going to be too easy already, well…….. Out of no where guards come at me guns drawn and the main guard takes all my gear (weapons, armor, ammo, meds, everything!), and tells me to get to the marketplace like a good slave. Yup no weapons or anything. So I go in, find my contact, and start the DLC called The Pitt.

Thats where I stop telling you what happens. Yup ya hate me I know, well to bad! Play the DLC and enjoy it.

The setting for The Pitt is amazing. It pulls off the crazy chaotic crap hole that used to be called Pittsburg by filling the skies with giant smoke stacks that blot out the sun, slaves being made to dismantle everything metal and clean the place up with guards willing to take them out with a shot to the head if they even take a breath without asking, and the feeling that something bigger then you were told is going on here. The visuals make this DLC! Without the ambiance that Bethesda setup here I know I would not have enjoyed this as much as I did. And the story, wowza. Talk about a turning point towards the end. And I gotta say, I completed both endings and neither one has a better outcome then the other. This really plays on your moral standpoint and how much of a d*ck you want to be. But just when that time comes and you think you thought it through fully… Well you don’t have a clue what you just set in motion. And yes, the AutoAxe is freaking amazing. Nothing like a giant saw you carry around on your back!

My only gripe with this is that there is very little to do other then the main quest in this DLC. I want to see a DLC with more sidequests and secondary objectives to have fun with. I am tired of just doing one main quest and having the reward be kinda blah. I thought the reward for this whole mission would be a bit more, but again just like in Anchroage, I was wrong. Overall this is a great expansion and I liked it a lot better then Anchorage, but honestly Bethesda has to pull out all the stops for its next DLC. Otherwise I can with out a doubt say I will not pick up any of their DLC packages again. I still think the price was a bit to high. Maybe 600 points would have taken the edge off for me. But 800 just annoys me because you have the options to purchase 500 or 1000 points. So you have leftovers afterwards. It just annoys me. But enough with the rant. If you are a fan of the Fallout universe, then I say get this DLC now! It is very enjoyable and a lot more fun then Anchorage. It has a little remenance of Oblivion at one point that made me very nestaligic for it.

Any comments? Questions? OMG WTF ARE YOU THINKINGS? Feel free to email me or leave a comment below.

Also if you are interested in becoming a writer for the SparkBoxShow.com website, please feel free to email Andy or myself by going to the staff section and asking us any questions you may have. We will get back to you with all the info you need.

Thanks again everyone. See you next month after The Brotherhood of Steel comes to all our 360′s. Now where did I put that extra cash for that 120 gig drive……

Finally we got the demo the week before the release date, but was it worth the wait? Or does it not live up to your hopes and dreams?

I turned on the xbox a few days ago to see the demo for Guitar Hero: Metallica was available for download. So I clicked download, searched for my guitars, found batteries and prepared to rock out! And I was very pleased with the results. You are given 4 songs, Sad but True and Seek and Destroy by Metallica, along with Stone Cold Crazy by Queen and No Excuses by Alice in Chains. The song choices for the demo really show off the diversity in this game. From the slow grunge rock of Alice in Chains, to the solo crazed seek and destroy, and finishing up with something you wouldnt expect, Queen!

Now the play factor is just like world tour, except it has been tightened up a bit. The game-play feels more fluid and solid, while the music itself sounds amazing. These master tracks beat the hell out of what you would normally hear in games. I have never heard Seek and Destroy sound so good before. It’s crisp, clean, and sounds like it was recorded a few years ago. I will be honest though, I am only a medium player on guitar hero. Once we get to using that orange button I am screwed. But I gave it a try and funny enough I was able to get through all the songs on hard this time, and I havent played Guitar Hero for about a year now. So I think that has something to do with how they tightened up the response in the game.

The motion capture is amazing and looks like they took their time on this one. The movements of Metallica are definitely there and you do feel like you are watching a mini concert when you play the game. Except Hetfield is like a man tank in the game. His shoulders are larger then Batista’s! (Lil wrestling tie in for you fans out there) In the demo you were also given a small sampling of the create a character which looks great and I cant wait to make me! Er…Well…. at least a more buff awesome version of me…

Overall I say you need to get this demo and try it out. If you are a fan of Guitar Hero or a fan of Metallica, I am sure you will fall in love with this one. Now all we can hope is that they toss us some more Metallica DLC down the road to keep us coming back for more overtime.

Oh and to those wondering where the ShredBox has gone, well work has been hell and a car accident will definatly set you back. So look for the next edition of the ShredBox this coming Wednesday! Until then, ROCK ON!

-James