Teh Gaming News Episode 2

Its that time again folks! Its gaming news, and a rather late one at that. This is because of

Fable 2, Geometry Wars 2 Evolved (Expect to see a lil review for that soon). On the news side of things however its been a bit quiet. Well, compared to last month anyway. Anyway enough banter and lets going with this months news!

Zombies!

Yes thats right. The gaming industry is flooding with them thanks to Left 4 Dead and Call of Duty: World at War's zombie Nazi mode (Which involves you and three other people trapped in a house while an endless waves of zombies attack you. Its also co-op!) Zombies were pretty big last month too with World of Warcraft's zombie day and Grand Theft Auto's zombie multiplayer. It seems like the worlds infected!

Halo 3: Recon is no more

Well to some extent. Halo 3: Recon has got a name change. It is now called....... Halo 3 ODST! The new acronym stands for Orbital Drop Shock Trooper.

Nintendo to Wii-make Gamecube games. Now with extra waggle!

Nintendo once again is trying to sell us something which we have already. Pikmin 1 and 2, Metroid Prime 1 and 2 and Donkey Kong Jungle Beat all will be 'Wii-made' for the Wii with enhanced graphics. Hopefully, these will be more than just straight forward ports and add something new to the mix. So far it has been confirmed that DK Jungle Beat will be controlled by holding the Wii controller horizontally like you hold it when you are playing Super Paper Mario. This shows how they are going for a more retro style. While Metroid Prime on the other hand will be remade with the controls of Metroid Prime 3. How Pikmin is going to be controlled however is a mystery.

Fable 2 Downloadable Content!

And no we do not mean the new skin/background for your dashboard! On the 12th of December we will see the release of a brand new island to explore in the world of Albion. The packs called Knothole Island pack and will cost 800 points. In Fable 1 a place called Knothole Glade was featured and now we get to see what happened to it. If you download it on the day it comes out expect to get a few free gifts. These include Knights Boots, Assassins Gloves, a weight loss potion and a sliver book. You may however be able to buy these on the island anyway seeing as the pack will include new items to buy.

Banners! And wallpapers soon aswell (hopefully)

My good friend Jacob7869 (also known as Jacob) has made us at Triforce Games a couple of banners to help make our blog look so much better. Hopefully some wallpapers will make there way on here soon aswell. So fingers crossed!

Thats all for this months issue! See you all next month!

pokemon:giritina and the sky warrior

Well it's almost here the next Pokemon movie to be released Pokemon: Giritina And The Sky Warrior.
The movie was officially anounced in a teaser clip at the end of Pokemon: The Rise Of Darkrai. Now it's unlucky for us but for those who live in Japan were able to get a level 50 Shaymin and a level 100 Regigigas. Obtaining theese two pokemon means you can get all 3 Regi's and you can acess Shaymin's sky form but this is only able in pokemon platinum.
The film features Giritina, Shaymin and Dialga. This film is a follow up of Pokemon: The Rise Of Darkrai and there is another film following the story of the last two films. In an interveiw with the director revealed that Ash and an Electric Pokemon will be the key characters in the next film.

Signing out, Callum

pictures from : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pok%C3%A9mon:_Giratina_and_the_Sky_Warrior#

Gears Of War 2

Hey guys! Sorry about not being on in a while and not doing a review last month, I'll make sure to double my efforts this month though :)

Anyway, it's that time of year again, the locust have returned and they're angry, yes I'm talking about Gears of war 2!

Taking place a few months after Gears 1. Winters coming and the war with the Locust is still going. Marcus Fenix must once again lead delta squad through hell and back to end this war.

The game plays just like Gears 1, the two are very alike, Gears 2 uses the Unreal engine though and you will tell. The weapons are bigger and more badass and it has a decent story line.

The story is fun to play through, at times it is unique, with different enemies at different times and different weapons. However it can get kinda dull if you keep dying, or just keep failing your objective, as the checkpoints come at the most annoying points. The story is further explained in Gears 2 and it sheds some light on the situation.

The game also features 5 vs 5 team matches online and there are many modes from the previous game. People can jump right in and got for a 5 V 5 team match or you can try the new game types. Meatflag is a new game in which you must capture the flag and bring it to a required weapon spawn. However the flag is an angry Stranded with a shotgun who doesn't take too kindly to people grabbing him and forcing him away, so you must down him and carry him there. There is also a Wingman mode, which is 2 vs 2 vs 2 vs 2 vs 2 with partners being the same character. The online is a great reason to buy this game though.

Another awesome mode is Horde mode, which pits 1-5 people against 50 waves of the Locust horde on the multiplayer maps. It is great for friends or to just play on your own as it is very addictive and fun. Some maps are easier than others though and seeing as you only get one life and the Horde get stronger every 10 waves you'll have your hands full whether your with orwithout friends.

Overall Gears 2 is a awesome game and is better than than Gears one in almost every way and is a very decent game. It has come back with more and it truely is "Bigger, Better and more Badass" Sometimes though I think it can get frustrating on harder difficulties and sometimes repetitive though.

Rating: A

Pictures from Videogamesblogger.com

an apology and Fable 2 review

Hey guys! Sorry for the lack of an update till now. I caught a virus you see. It hit me hard. I couldn't leave my bedroom for weeks. Yes, I brought Fable 2. I did ask some of my fellow writers but none of them have posted anything so I thought I should leave the world of Albion, to write about it..

So settle down and I will tell you a tale of the most hyped up game of the year......

It all starts out with the iconic opening video with the a birds feces landing on our young hero's head and thats about as good as his day gets. The time spent as a child is the games tutorial and a rather good one at that and doesn't take to long to sit through once you've done it once(which is good because you will likely have multiple saves), then after you are taken away from your home to Castle Fairfax and meet the main villain Lucien your sister is shot and so are you, but luckily you survive and a magical gypsy finds you. The game fast forwards into the future when you are a grown man and ready to make a name of yourself in the world of Albion.

Form here on in its up to you what you want to become. Do you want to be a goody two shoes and help everyone to live a happier life? Or do you only care about yourself and do anything to get to Lucien and get revenge? If none of those catch your fancy maybe you want to be a business tycoon and become King/Queen of Albion. Its all up to you. There just a few things which you may choose to become. Not only that you get yourself a dog as well which is yours to treat as you please. Hate dogs? Well when yours gets hurt don't heal it and let it limp around Albion after you. It will catch up with you eventually but for the time being your life will be dog free, although he comes in handy when finding treasure and fighting.

Speaking about fighting, the controls for attacking your enemies are so pick up and play. With X to use your melee weapon, Y to use you long ranged and B for magic even your sister might be able to kill a bandit or two. The controls do have a lot of depth though and are needed to be taken into account when you progress with the game. Thats not to say the game is hard. In fact it's to easy. This leads to my biggest gripe about the game. The length of the main story. As soon as the action heats up the story is over and your left feeling sad that its over already. Now thats not say there isn't anything to do once the games finished but you don't have the same sense of direction or motivation to get revenge.

Another problem with the game is the amount of glitches to be found. Our fellow author of the site Mark couldn't play Fable 2 for ages because it froze at the starting screen. Thats the worse case scenario. I have had many smaller glitches like my dog turns green, my looks change and stuff like that. These usually fixed with a quick reset of the 360. My advise is not to download the Fable 2 update as that seems to cause it. I haven't and have not had any serious problems yet.......

As I haven't got the update I have not witnessed the online play at all but me and Callum spent a whole night playing the offline co-op and its okay. The game plays exactly the same as if it was one player which has its both highs and lows. The highs are the fact the gameplay isn't changed, nor do the endless options and also any money or experience you gain can be taken back to your save. but what does change is the frame rate (which during our session sometimes dropped below par and the game seemed to be running in slow motion) and the camera. The reason the co-op isn't split screen is beyond me. Instead both characters must stay on the same screen and the camera is very much like on Lego Star Wars. Now its okay on LSW but on Fable 2 where its all meant to be about choices, having to follow each other about can be a little annoying.

Closing Comments

Fable 2 is brilliant game. The graphics are stunning and the AI are realistic and I would reckon mend it anyone who likes fantasy/action/adventure games. But on the other hand if you wanted it for the online co-op you will be more than disappointed because it feels so much of an after thought.

If you can see over the glitches and block your ears from all the hype this game will be amazing. Just play it slowly and enjoy it while it lasts!

Rating: A

signing out, The Triforce Fighter

Second Opinion

Well I've always liked Fable 1 and thought it was one of the best RPGs on the xbox, you can do whatever you want, you have complete freedom. So I naturally had to get Fable II when I heard it was coming out. I thought it was good at the start, it reminded me of the first fable quite a lot though. You have a sister and gotta get gold to get a special box to grant a wish.

In ways it is much better than the original, the world is bigger, theres more to collect and do. But in some ways i prefer the original because in that the story can't be completed in about 4-5 hours.

I do think this is a decent game worth getting though but if got do NOT accept the update at the start as it can mess up your game or worse your 360 (it had given me the red ring before) Hopefully Lionhead will release a patch to fix this

In other news (might as well put it here) I've ordered Gears Of War 2 and I'll put a review of it up as soon as I've played it =D

pictures from:

consolenauts.com