During the GDC in February, Peter Molyneux divulged some more info regarding Fable 2 about jobs, gold and how online co-op can quickly turn a bit mad. He demonstrated this in a demo for the game, which you can view here, but it has been a while since we heard any real details on the game, so here is a list of a few of the more mentionable gameplay elements in Fable 2. Call it a bit of a refresher course if you will.

• Co-op can be joined or left at any time
• Gold is pretty hard to earn
• You can get a job as a paid henchman through co-op
• Other lines of work include work as an assassin, barman, or blacksmith
• Online gambling will come into play
• Wives, husbands, and children will get sullen with you for certain actions and can also die; your children can be sent off to an orphanage
• Swordplay will range from simplistic button mashing to full-out flashy moves
• The prostitutes are not too pretty

Some of us were highly disappointed with the first Fable, but is sounds like this one will be more fun than you can shake a sack of gold at. What I found quite amusing today, was the new bit of concept art released for the prostitutes in the game. They look a bit suspect if you ask me, and I am wondering what sort of virtual precautions our character will have to undertake when purchasing the wares that these chippies are hawking. No matter how hideous that third lady of the evening is, it might be fun to take pity on her considering the fact that she probably doesn’t make as much as the others- although they could all use a good scrubbing from the looks of things.

Being a female you would think I would be offended by such an idea, but personally I think it is quite hilarious and I can’t wait to see what sorts of “trouble” my character can get into. Fable 2 is suppose to be released really late in the year, which makes one assume it will be here just in time for the holiday shopping extravaganza. Stay tuned for more info folks.

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Buy a PS3 at Target between 2/17/08 and 2/23/08 and you’ll receive a $40 gift card.  In addition to that, they are offering a $10 gift card with the purchase of any of the following games:

• Heavenly Sword (PS3)
• Unreal Tournament III (PS3)
• WWE Smackdown vs. Raw 2008 (XBOX 360, PS3)
• Assassin’s Creed (XBOX 360, PS3)
• Devil May Cry 4 (XBOX 360, PS3)
• Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (XBOX 360, PS3)
• Lost Odyssey (Xbox 360)
• Mass Effect (Xbox 360)
• Mx Vs ATV Untamed (XBOX 360, PS3)
• Turok (XBOX 360, PS3)
• Halo 3 (Xbox 360)

Check the via link below to make sure this is available at your local Target:

Via Target 

Marvelous Entertainment and Grasshopper Manufacture (Killer 7, No More Heroes) have confirmed that the Nintendo DS port of the PS2 adventure, Flower, Sun, and Rain, will be making its way to North America after all. Featuring extras and add-ons exclusively for the DS, Japanese gamers should expect the game to hit their shores on March 6th, while the US version will follow “shortly”. We have not heard any word regarding a European release date either, but we will keep you updated as more information comes our way.

Storyline: Sumio Mondo is an assassin who arrives on the resort island of Lospas and takes a room at the F.S.R. hotel after being given the assignment to detect and defuse a time bomb planted on a plane which is soon to leave the island’s only airport. On the way to the airport however, Sumio encounters other hotel guests and island residents requesting his help with various problems, including searching for missing items. While Sumio is distracted by them, the airplane with the bomb on board takes off and explodes, crashing into the island. The next morning, however, Sumio awakens in his hotel room and discovers that something strange has happened - not only has not even headed to the airport yet, the airplane explosion and crash have not happened either. Sumio attempts to head to the airport to prevent the explosion and once again people who need his help appear, distracting him long enough to lead to a repeat of the previous days explosion, and Sumio once again awakening in his hotel room with the previous events having yet to unfold. As the same fateful day repeats itself over and over, Sumio finds his hotel room becomes more and more warped and twisted, reflecting the fact that he is slowly losing his mind from the repetition.

Players will control Sumio Mondo, to seek out other people’s items while using a suitcase-shaped instrument named “Katherine” to solve the mysteries about said items. Sumio can crack any secret code by using “Katherine” with a “Dial” for inputting numbers and to get the information needed, players will get hints from what people say, combined with a tourbook of Lospas Island. The DS version will feature over 50 missions in 18 scenarios, and the touch screen will be imperative when solving many of the puzzles in the game.

For more information on Ground Hog Day Flower, Sun, and Rain, check back with us often and visit two sites related to the game here and here. Hopefully, you will get the pages translated before you decide to try and decipher them yourselves.

Go ahead and play a little of the flash game above, where you shoot at presidential candidates with paintball guns. Did you try it out? Congratulations, you are on the path to becoming a cold-blooded assassin. Or at least it seems that’s what some people think. It’s not just a silly little game where presidential hopefuls settle their differences with balls of brightly colored paint. No, it’s the perfect game for the “aspiring young assassin” looking to hone their skills. Yep, with just a handful of animations, this game has done that game recreating the Kennedy Assassination managed to do. In a bizarre twist, some of the controversy stems not from graphic violence (as there is none), but from the game’s lack of graphic violence.

I think we all know what needs to be done: we need more blood and gore in video games to teach children the consequences of gun violence. When Mario fights Bowser, he should do so with a machine gun. The game could end with Bowser lying dead in a pool of blood as Mario gets hauled off to jail. After Mario gets executed in the electric chair, a message could flash on the screen saying, “Your soul is damned for all eternity for making Bowser’s seven children into orphans.” That should get the point across, since children are so passively accepting of any media put in front of them.

Via The Smoking Gun

No More Heroes, the Wii exclusive from Grasshopper Manufacture’s Goichi Suda (Suda 51) and Ubisoft is now in stores. Ranked the 11th best assassin in the world, you will lead the main character Travis on a journey to defeat 10 other killers and become the top dog of the assassin league. Featuring graphics familiar to those who played Killer 7, No More Heroes is full of bizarre characters and twisted storylines.

For more information on the game, look over our previous posts.

Via: Press Release

Ubisoft have seen fit to finally release an official announcement for their newest DS game Assassin’s Creed: Altaïr’s Chronicles long after Nintendo let the cat out of the bag in October. Following on the heels of last week’s box-art reveal,
Ubisoft have stated that the newest Assassin’s Creed game will hit retail stores in February.Featuring a fully realized 3D world in which players will travel and battle through four cities of the Crusade’s Middle East, using acrobatic moves and combo attacks that mix sword skills and high-flying kicks - gamers will be able to delve deeper into Altaïr’s past in this prequel to the smash hit.

“The success of Assassin’s Creed worldwide has been incredible and we’re excited to delve deeper into the story and bring it to the Nintendo DS,” said John Parkes, EMEA Marketing Director at Ubisoft. “Assassin’s Creed: Altaïr’s Chronicles will be a title that resonates with those who played the console version as well as those who have yet to discover the secrets of Assassin’s Creed.”

Ubisoft has also seen fit to send us some screens for the game, and if the ones I have posted do not whet your appetite enough, stay calm - I am sure Ubisoft will be sending us more as the game gets closer to release.

Via: Press Release

When I first saw this image on the net, I thought it was a doctored image, but it’s certainly real. Assassin’s Creed may be a bit repetitive, but there’s still some surprises popping up in the game. One is this wood carving that looks just like Optimus Prime. I’m not exactly sure why they put this in the game, but it’s an awesome thing to come across. It’s not as cool as the creepy dead guy with the doll in Halo 3, but still something I did not expect to see in AC.

Via Kotaku

Gameplayer and Official PlayStation Magazine Writer Mark Serrels recently explored some of the oddities in review scores for Assassin’s Creed in his article “Assassin’s Creed… WTF!?!” He believes that the lower scores are a case of critics trying to be the ‘big man’ and go against what the true score should be basically. He points out that in this case, he thinks that it’s simply a bunch of ‘little big men’. I completely disagree with his article, but it’s an interesting read. Assassin’s Creed was over-rated in my opinion and I’m definitely not changing that opinion. The real reason why review scores are dropping for AC is the fact that more reviewers actually have the game now. There are too many games out there for us to play all of them prior to releases, so things like this do happen. Assassin’s Creed was a step forward in some areas, but the game was an overall let-down for me. I’m not the only one who thinks this. AC reminds me of the experience I had with the original Fable. I was truly psyched about both games and then when I finally got my hands on them, I felt let-down and completely uninterested. Perhaps the let-down factor is really driving down scores too, but shouldn’t it? If you hype up a game, it really needs to back up all the hype.

Basically: Assassin’s Creed. Review scores below 9. Treat with extreme prejudice.

You see, when you have a look at a gamerankings, or metacritic even on the most critically acclaimed games (like Bioshock, GTA, etc) there’s always one idiot that wants to be the ‘big man’ by giving Gears of War a six or something ridiculous. It just so happens that in the case of Assassin’s Creed a whole bunch of these ‘little big men’ have happened to release the exact same review at the game.

Check out his article HERE.

I’m sorry to say this, but Assassin’s Creed was completely over-hyped in my opinion. I didn’t get a chance to check out the game prior to yesterday’s release and was relying completely on information I was getting from other reviewers. Unfortunately, I think this was a case of bandwagon reviewing where the first review was stellar and everyone else just jumped in line. Some people may disagree with me here, but Assassin’s Creed was not all I expected it to be. I suppose I was expecting some sort of medieval style Splinter Cell. I have noticed reviews continue to drop for this game and will probably continue to do so. It started out with all 10s from some of the major reviewers, but I see it permanently dropping to more of a 7 once all the official reviews are in.
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