Irishjohn

Ok, early on there's a simple pattern... grind up a little, beat a boss type guy, go to next area, grind up a little, beat a boss type guy... Although you also get the rather brazen "until that thing is ready go and do whatever you like", i.e. go around space killing dudes for two hours of your life. I probably don't need to be grinding as much but I just got a blueprint for a better ship and I want to get it.

Well then, I think this game will make you happy! Lots of goofy JRPG weirdness from pretty much the word go. So far it is REALLY linear, but it's still space, and it feels cool. I feel like the battles might get tiring soon but so far they're fine. It just seems a little simplistic, even for the what this game is trying to do.

Sweet. I'm all for the witching. Groucho, I'm with you on the "tactile" vibe too. I think I'll put down the original for the dog days of summer.

Damn it, this sounds really cool...... I think you had me at "juggling."

Ok, so... I'm not terribly far into the game but I've done a little bit of fighting and modified ships a bit. I really like it, a couple of hours in. When I first started it I had a bit of buyer's remorse. I had a very mixed first impression. The game very quickly though makes you realise it's simple RPG. You land in stations, talk to dudes, move on and do the next thing. In space. I know it doesn't sound like much but the game is just winning me over by being simple fun. It probably gets more complicated down the line, but I think you'll find it charming, IF you're okay with some of the sillier JRPG type talk. My character WILL be the baddest Zero G Dog in space, damn it!

I sure will... Haven't had much of a chance to play it yet, but through the first battle tutorial and space station I have mixed vibes. If you like the 70s/80s Asian sci-fi cartoon style you'll have a nice first impression with this one, but otherwise I kind of hope the battle system gets a bit more interesting. I haven't started outfitting ships though, and I suspect that will be where the fun really starts.

Hey guys, nice chat about the original. For the benefit of someone who didn't play the original but probably will inthe future: I heard that there were romantic encounters (ahem) in the game, but does it just devolve into a snagging simulation with occasional witching?

I should have known they would! Well it got in just before I headed out last night so maybe it's time for a quick look of my own!

This sounds like a wondrous wrinkle on the brow of the face of game. I now want to play Just Cause 2.

I don't know about "applaud", but I like to envision the board meetings too. Why must all entertainment media be run by suits who are either incompetent morons or heartless vultures?

I, too, like baby games. But I think I'll get it anyway. It looks really cool.

Yeah, I find it really hard to put my finger on it... Part of the reason for me is that somehow, despite all the Molyneaux uber-hype, Fable felt like the little game that could, to me. It was fun, it had character, and I liked the story even if it was predictable. Fable felt like a good example of a game doing the same old thing but doing it really well. The more that Fable 2 tried to set itself up as genuine RPG of sorts or even include some open world elements (the job system and so on) my standards rose further than the game did. Finally, the evolution of the gameworld between games just felt like a disconnect for me: I genuinely liked Bowerstone and the surrounding areas, but in Fable 2 it all just felt a bit weird. There was more stuff to do, more going on, it looked great, but I just didn't care.

I'm so tempted to give in and get this game but these kinds of descriptions of the controls really get me down. I know some of you guys are doing alright with them but I really think I'd have a similar experience to Toblix and just have the thing ruined.

I'm most bummed out by the "need" to sell more than five million copies set out on that slide. I fell in love with Fable but never really figured out why, and just couldn't fall in love with Fable 2 at all even though I considered it a drastically improved game over the original. I just can't get excited about Fable 3 at all, at least not this early. But anyway, despite Fable 3's clear potential for massive, massive sales, I just don't like seeing games being given such ambitious numbers that they "need" to hit.

I'm okay with this wizard design, though it's very warlocky. They should just have mocapped Julian Sands and then brought in Richard E. Grant for the super-secret wizard-hunter class. I've just gone way too far into referencing an astonishingly poor movie.

Sweet. I never play TF2 but I love what they do with their characters. I should play the game. Also, though I'm going back to PCs next year (I've had way too many hardware issues with Apple laptops) but I'm happy that a Mac Steam will exist.

Don't jinx it! They have a day to revise their pro-not being anti-Canadian agenda!

Ah... it still seems a little bit misleading. I enjoyed the game on 360 so I'll pass on this one, but I'm looking forward to seeing what the rest of the games are going to be.

Really? What happened there? That sounds a bit sucky.

In a rare example of a non-PC type deal, if you buy Darksiders new you can Red Faction: Guerrilla for either 360 or PS3 for a five dollar shipping charge. It's US only, though. It's good until March 7th. Also, I recommend Darksiders. http://www.destructoid.com/darksiders-promotion-extends-to-all-new-purchasers-164212.phtml

It's awesome, but a less awesome time to be working on a dissertation!!! In addition to that, financial issues are going to give me one hell of a backlog. I'm going to be playing amazing games for a long, long time. Which is cool, but... I probably can't get Heavy Rain until April or May. Which makes me sad.

So now I'm seeing Mass Effect 2 advertised online with the tagline "Fight for the Lost." I finished the game already (for the first time anyway) and I'm a happy owner, but I'm still cringing when I see weird interview type shots of Grunt or Jack saying "I don't care about humans, I'm here to fight!" kind of crap. Maybe I just need to get out more. Or learn to ignore advertising.

I like this one. Also, EA Presents: Das Kapital Punishment

I'm so happy I'm going to wait until the morning and a sober head to enjoy this. Yes to The Idle Thumbs Podcast (it's much better than that lame idle thumbs podcast).

I'm with you all the way on this one. I'm definitely getting the first episode. I'm not really sure why there is much negative commentary out there from "Sonic fans", although as has already been pointed out on this thread Sonic fans seem to hate Sonic games.