Scream Fortress, Some Threequels and Greg K's Posse

This is the SI, his Halloween costume is being pissed at you.

It’s Sunday 31st October and this week may have been an even bigger week than last for game releases. Due to my financial situation I still can’t acquire any of these shiny new toys, no; they float just outside of my grasp, enticing me with their promises of quality gaming experiences, however I’ve still been playing all the great games I currently own while looking expectantly forwards to when I can pick up the likes of these new releases. This week I’m also trying out a new format with my blog; I understand my blog is often a bit long to be palatable to most Giant Bomb readers so I thought why not try adding headings to the various sections of my posts to make it easier for people to find the bits they care about. As always any and all feedback is much appreciated.

Team Fortress 2

All my time on my Xbox this week has comprised of consuming copious amounts of Halo: Reach, while on the PC I’ve been getting back into that most light-hearted of class-based shooters, Team Fortress 2. I thought the Halloween event for Team Fortress 2 last year was amazing but they really pulled out all the stops this year. Not only were there even more items added than last time round, as well as new achievements, but the Halloween Event map in itself might be one of the greatest maps ever introduced to Team Fortress 2. The appearance and the original layout of the Mann Manor are just the tip of the iceberg as the addition of a boss monster, and hidden presents which would occasionally appear on the map and cause players to go scrambling added some entirely new mechanics to the way matches were played. It’s hard to believe Valve created all that just for a single event but once again it’s been top-notch work from them. Oh and let’s not forget they also updated the in-game store with all sorts of fun new doodads.

Rock Band 3

Rock Band 3 got its release this week and while I’ve gushed endlessly about that game I have to say there’s still nothing I’d rather be doing than playing that right now. As someone who plays keyboard (although not all that well I might add) Rock Band 3’s keyboard in particular interests me.

The Sims 3 (Console Version)

 Starving to death in a doorless room has never been this deep.

The Sims 3 hit for consoles a few days ago and while it’s not a game I feel all that compelled to purchase I think this Sims console release in particular is worthy of note. I’ve been a massive fan of the PC games, but I always felt like their console counterparts fell so far short of them. The console versions of the Sims seemed far too heavily stripped down, were always made far more “gamey” to try and make them work on consoles, and overall I feel like console gamers were left with no idea of what The Sims actually was. The Sims 3 not only seems to carry a much larger array of the kind of content seen in the PC version but it also looks far more like the delightful sandbox world of The Sims that I know and love. I have to give some props to EA on this one, as while they can be a very cheap company when they want to be they deserve some kudos for really making sure that a proper version of The Sims could be made for consoles. It may not have the opportunity to be expanded like the PC version and may not control as well as the PC version, but you know what? It looks like a pretty good game to me.

Fable III

As if these releases weren’t enough the long-awaited Fable III was released this week. It looks as though Fable III might not quite be everything people wanted it to be though. Don’t get me wrong, it doesn’t look like a bad game but for some time leading up to the release of this game I’d thought that if they could remove the UI and do it well it would be amazing, however, if they couldn’t, it would a serious impairment to the game. The thing is the UI is there to begin with for a reason and when you do something like remove menus entirely, as clever as that may sound you’ve got to find something as good as or better than menus to fill their place. The armory in Fable III appears to be a good way of previewing what weapons you have but the sanctuary in general seems to be such a long-winded replacement for the menus. It looks rather pretty and Fable II’s menu system needed revamping but I don’t think running around a 3D space is the answer in this case.

The fact that there are also random UI elements left in such as the guild seal counter or the save menu also seems to make the removal of all other UI elements somewhat redundant, it’s like they just couldn’t figure out any way around displaying these things on screen, again, because the UI is there for a reason. However, despite all this and the other flaws of the game which I’ve read about Fable III sounds like it has a fantastic set of environments, sense of charm, narrative and story. Those were exactly the things I loved about Fable II and they’re exactly why I want to play Fable III.

Building The Bastion

Look how indie this picture is, it's motherflippin' filled with indie.

I don’t usually comment on the content the Giant Bomb staff themselves put out here but after watching the last Whiskey Media Happy Hour there’s no way I can’t talk about Building the Bastion. In case you don’t know what Building the Bastion is, it’s a series of segments chronicling Greg Kasavin and SuperGiant Game’s development of indie title Bastion.

Firstly, I really like the look of Bastion; I like the visuals, I like the idea of the narrator, I like the fact you always have to be moving in battle, I like the weapons shown so far, I like the way the ground builds up under you as you walk and perhaps most of all I like the idea that a post-apocalyptic world can be beautiful. I loved exploring the Mad Max-esque wastelands of the Fallout franchise but I’ve also held an affinity for games with a wide colour pallet and there’s something eerie and yet fantastical about the concept of the gorgeous yet sometimes chaotic world that Bastion is trying to present. Secondly, I love that SuperGiant are prepared to let the whole world see their journey with this game. It’s no secret how books, TV shows or films are made, yet the actual development process is one of the most closely guarded secrets of the games industry. SuperGiant aren’t able to get into the gritty specifics and really review each tiny detail of the wonderful process of game development in detail, and I’d really like to see a company do that some time, but what they are doing is something that’s helping them, helping consumers and is something that most developers wouldn’t dare to do.

Duder, It's Over

And so that is my week with video games in a nutshell. Thank you for reading and thank you to all the chatty folks who commented on last week’s blog. Good luck, have cat-based combat.

-Gamer_152