That's right, European dating conventions, that's how I roll, being European and all.
I felt like I needed to write something but couldn't be bothered to write a review. I've been playing a lot of Fable 2, again, getting the last achievements out of that game. I enjoyed the Knothole Island expansion.
Look familiar?The quest itself was so-so, but the stuff you can get on the island is pretty cool and useful. There are some nice weapons and cool aesthetic things for your Hero, like a knight's armor, a leather biker suit, a guitar that is a weapon (really) and Master Chief's gun. I disliked the reliance on the magical switches in the temples. You have to be very quick to hit them or they go back and you have to repeat the sequence, and sometimes there just isn't enough time to get to them or whack them, or you have to manually target them. It's a pain. It still baffles me that virtually no developer has ever figured out how to do environmental puzzles in an action/adventure game even half as well as the Zelda developers, with the exception of Capcom, who made some darn good portable Zelda games. Soul Reaver 2 did. I'd rate the expansion 7/10. It's not fantastic, but it's lengthy enough for the price and offers lots of new things that a lot of developers would charge as much for without the new location.
I'm still playing a bunch of HD Remix, in anticipation for Street Fighter IV. That game can't come soon enough. It's kind of weird, I never thought I'd get this excited over a fighting game, it's a first for me, but HD Remix totally got me into the Street Fighter. I mostly play Cammy and Sagat on HD Remix, but I also like Fei Long, Ryu and Akuma. I think on SF4 I will start with Ryu, Cammy and Sagat as my 'mains', but I'll try everyone out. I'm curious to see how well the Trial mode will explain stuff like canceling and the like. I'm decent at Super Turbo, but really I don't rely on memorized combos at all, I just have a vague notion of when it's a good time to use certain special moves. Someone jumps, you uppercut them, duh! Fireball, spinning backfist through it (on Cammy, anyways). I'm not big on charge characters. Like Vinny, I like to bust moves out at a moment's notice. But having seen some fearsome E. Honda and Guile players first-hand, I certainly know better than to dismiss them.
Are you ready to ride with The BROTHERHOOD?I am also very much looking forward to The Lost and the Damned, the upcoming GTA IV expansion. For some reason, maybe because of the upcoming expansion, I've been wanting to go back to Liberty City. However, my GTA 4 disc got irreparably scratched a few months ago when I foolishly moved the console whilst playing the game, so I'd been needing a new copy. I'm swapping my copy of Guitar Hero World Tour (game only) for someone else's copy of GTA 4. I realized I'm pretty done with Guitar Hero these days, as I've invested far too much in Rock Band DLC and equipment (ION kit, Rock Pedal), and there's just something about the presentation of Rock Band that appeals to me much more. Anyway, GTA 4. Expansion looks great, hopefully it'll be a little more light-hearted and out-and-out action than GTA 4, without the heady moral stuff, as that's perfect material for an expansion to explore.
Also cautiously optimistic for Killzone 2, but I'm not 100% on board yet. I have a feeling it's going to be a divisive game, for whatever reason. Guess I'll have to wait and see whether I'll like it or not. My PS3 could sure use an awesome exclusive, though!
Anyway, that's it for now. I'm debating writing Fable 2 and Left 4 Dead reviews, but since those games have been out for a while I'm not sure it's worth the effort, even if I could do with the practice.
