In the epic story of Fable III, the journey to rule the throne of Albion begins five decades after the events of the last chapter, and you play as the child of your hero from Fable II. As you rule your kingdom as king or queen, you will be called upon to make choices and sacrifices that will test your morality and can affect your entire kingdom. Themes of heroism, leadership and consequence are taken to a grand scale as you fight to unite a divided people.
We get the feeling someone at BioWare has proclaimed this “Epic Week,” what with the release of its fantasy RPG stunner Dragon Age: Origins and now an epic new video from its next big game, Mass Effect 2. This isn’t a trailer or developer diary — you’re in for nine minutes of unedited, uninterrupted gameplay footage from the most recent build of ME2. In fact, it’s the same mission — set inside Omega’s “Inferno” nightclub — that we ourselves got to play earlier this week. (And yes, we can confirm it looks that good.)
You’ll get a sense of the sequel’s leap in environmental detail, character modeling and dialog scene camerawork in this clip, along with loads of intense combat. There’s even an appearance by returning character (and total badass) Garrus from the first Mass Effect, plus a joke that manages to poke fun at rumors of Commander Shepard’s death and the fact players can make him/her look like anyone they choose. Again — nine minutes.
Coming this November Xbox live will be getting access to social networking sites Twitter and Facebook. Now you won’t have to get off the couch to announce to people that you just got done playing Xbox.
Unlike Twitter the Facebook app will require downloading but only a few megabytes of HD space. You’ll be able to browse photos and see which of your friends are on Xbox live. The new Zune video marketplace will feature full 1080p HD streaming and you can both rent and buy lots of movies and TB shows.
Also there will be a free video section that will include MSNBC news shorts, and Dilbert. Finally Xbox 360 is getting a free internet radio app called last.fm. The program will sync with your last.fm subscription on their website.
Overall I’m very excited for the update, finally I’ll be able to have free streaming music with sideshows on my big screen via the Xbox 360.
Borderlands is working its art style to the max — so strange to look back at the original design now — in this TV spot for the FPS-RPG lovechild. And how about all that actual gamepley footage, huh? Imagine selling a game based on that … How risqué!
With five days to go until launch, the game’s success is one of the bigger question marks this holiday season. Thankfully, for Borderlands’ sake, so many big games have left the arena that a new IP (no, not internet protocol) just might stand a better-than-average chance in the marketplace. At the very least, the box art is sure to grab attention on retail shelves. Go on, Claptrap, we believe in you.
For players still clamoring to return to the world of MechAssault, Front Mission Evolved may help cater to their needs. While the game’s current state looks pretty rough, the Robot vs. Other Giant Robot action is fun, fast and fulfilling. Front Mission Evolved features a limited array of weaponry, but its quick pace actually had me hooked while it lasted. If the action becomes a little too harsh — and the game did pose a challenge during my brief demo with the Xbox 360 version — tapping the ‘Y’ button slows down time and turns every weapon in your arsenal to an automatic victory cannon.
