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Blog 4: The Mad Month of October!
Added by TrueEnglishGent on Oct. 11, 2008
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Coming from an Island in the Sea!
Coming from an Island in the Sea!












Hello my fellow GiantBombers!

I hope this blog finds you happy and healthy. As Winter approaches and the weather gets much colder it's nice to know that we'll have a good amount of varied games to keep us warm. The weather here in the United Kingdom isn't to bad at the moment although the signs of Winter are very much here. As an Arthritis sufferer I have been struggling with the sudden change in weather for a good week or so but that's to be expected. It's just nice to know that saving up the cash for this specific month will pay off with an whole set of exciting games hitting both our consoles and PC's later this month. Games such as Fallout 3, LittleBigPlanet and Far Cry 2 will be hitting game store shelves soon and it still feels odd to think that I'll actually get to play some of the top games being released after what feels like a decade since they were first announced. For this Gaming Blog I wanted to take a closer look at some of the titles that you and I will be enjoying.

THE MAD MONTH OF OCTOBER!

As a gamer these are the months I both love and hate at the very sametime. I love them because you simply get to experience such top quality titles from such fantastic developers and I hate them for that very same reason, the fact that these games come all at once makes it hard to be dedicated to one title and will often see me put one game on the backburner to complete another. It sounds mad to consider putting Fallout 3 on the shelves for a later playthrough just to play LittleBigPlanet. Of course you can always play multiple games at the sametime, but I always feel I enjoy games more if I'm dedicated to that one title, it's a simple concept but something I didn't do enough of when I was of a younger age. So I would travel from one game experience to another often not completing a title or missing what made that specific game special. So who knows what I'll be playing later this month, theres an whole collection of top titles hitting us so let's take a closer look at what we can expect:

  
LittleBigPlanet.
LittleBigPlanet.
LittleBigPlanet

Having experienced much of the beta, I can confortably tell you that this is a PS3 game that won't disappoint. Media Molecule have done a stunning job with LittleBigPlanet and they deserve all the sucess they get when the game gets released later this month. This fun loving creative title is a breath of fresh air in the current sometimes stale world of gaming and although it won't be to everyones tastes, it's clear from the Beta alone that this will do well for Sony. Media Molecule have already confirmed Downloadable Content is also on it's way with some of that being released sooner rather then later. The game will also feature a vast amount of levels made by Media Molecule, over 50+ was the last I heard though I'm unsure if MM have confirmed an official amount of levels that will be found in the final version of the game. But that's still a huge amount and with the fact that it won't take long for the LBP community to start building more levels and the massive creation mode avaliable. It's fair to say that LittleBigPlanet could take a huge amount of your social life away. Thankfully Media Molecule have also confirmed that they will be looking to fix small issues affecting the game after launch, apparently the game as been built to be easily patchable so expect some Sackboy control updates after release and much more. In my own personal opinion I do truly hope to see LittleBigPlanet as a Game of the Year winner, it's something a little different and any worries I had for the game went away after my time with the Beta.

LittleBigPlanet: October 21st (US) - October 24th (UK/EU).



Fallout 3.
Fallout 3.

Fallout 3

I'll admit right now that I'm not to experienced with the Fallout series of games, I think partly because they came a few years before I truly got involved in PC Gaming. But that doesn't mean I can't enjoy what's on offer in Bethesda Softworks newest title Fallout 3. This much loved franchise as a dedicated fanbase that will be eager to see what the Oblivion developers have done with the latest in the franchise. Fallout 3 is set in a alternative 1950's America and will see you fighting mutants, evil mech's and all sorts of madness. The Vault is where you begin your journey as you search for your father who as gone missing from the Vault itself, I won't go into great detail as you'll probably know it all already but theres some great new gameplay mechanics on offer here such as the V.A.T.S system which is a mix of both strategy and the common shooter. The overall feel to Fallout 3 as a lot in common with the Elder Scrolls: Oblivion but for the most part that's a good thing. It's definatly the same overall game but I personally think the actual world on offer in Fallout 3 will offer a lot more uniqueness then the one on offer in Bethesda's previous title. Fallout 3 is looking like a great title for both the XBOX 360, PS3 and PC when it gets released right at the end of the month. Will it be as special as the previous Fallout titles to those that have a deep love for the franchise as a whole? who knows but I'm looking forward to having my first true experience in the Fallout Universe.

Fallout 3: October 28th (US) - October 31st (UK/EU).




Fable 2.
Fable 2.

Fable 2

Peter Molyneux's newest title, exclusive to the XBOX 360. Fable 2 looks to be the RPG that the original simply wasn't. This highly anticipated fantasy RPG as recieved some critism for the Peter Molyneux PR machine in full swing again, a PR machine that promised so much from it's original and ended up being somewhat of a disapointment. But I thought the original Fable had some smart ideas but lacked the expectation everyone had for it. The same could possible be said for it's sequel in Fable 2. It's showing many good signs but I can't help but feel as if theres still something odd about the whole Fable experience. I like the ideas of many of the new mechanics in the game such as the family and work aspects and also the new more open world experience will defiantly open up a hell of a lot of different paths then just the linear one the original suffered from. But combat still seems off to me and the general experience in areas still worries me. But theres a lot of promise here and I sense this is the game Molyneux wanted the original to be. So who knows, maybe this will be the RPG of the year and the game everyone as been waiting for from both Lionheadt Studios and Peter Molyneux. I hope so! But we will have to wait and see if this exclusive 360 game will meet the high expectation everyone seems to currently have for it as we draw nearer it's release date.

Fable 2: October 21st (US) - October 24th (UK/EU).




Pro Evolution Soccer 2009.
Pro Evolution Soccer 2009.

Pro Evolution Soccer 2009

The latest in the much loved Football/Soccer series from developers Konami hopes to repair some of the many issues that appeared in 2008. They also hope to handle the extra pressure that as since appeared from EA's FIFA series which seems to have taken a much more realistic simulation approach to the most popular sport in the world. From my own personal demo impressions and previews/reviews I have read it sounds like Konami have fixed a lot of the issues that made 2008 such a total disapointment to a large part of it's fanbase. It's also fair to say that the PES games have taken a much more arcade instant fun approach of play then it's competitors and for the most part it's done the series good. But theres still a lot of the old PES problems that the series as had since it's PS2 days and it doesn't look as if they have fixed a lot of those issues with 2009. But it's still seems a great football game and will of course be fun to play which is most important of all. Will this be the defining next generation Pro Evolution Soccer game that everyone wants? I don't think so, we need to see some of the those issues solved before that will actually happen but we can still hope in future installments. Theres some interesting new modes such as 'Be a Legend' but there nothing we haven't seen before. The other big talking point with the newest installment of PES will no doubt be the new Champions League License. But even that seems limited as a number of gaming media sources have stated that only around half of of the CL Teams actually license with the rest replaced with fictional names. But with the revamped Edit Mode making an impressive return hopefully we will see some great SuperPatches made by the PES Community.

Pro Evolution Soccer 2009: October 29th (US) - October 17th (UK/EU).



Dead Space.
Dead Space.

Dead Space

This futuristic third-person horror title as recieved much hype since being first unveiled. Offering a unique setting for an horror title (with Doom 3 the only similar game that comes to mind) Dead Space also looks to redefine aspects we have all come to expect from games these days. Like a lot of recent games, Dead Space is looking to do away with the old often nasty looking User Interfaces we have seen in games for years now and will use a system that's actually part of the game. For example rather then having a section of the UI tell you how much ammunition your gun as left, the actual gun will visually display the amount ingame rather then a seperate UI item like all past games. The same is being done with some of the video areas of the game when either watching past videos from the crew of USG Ishimura or when communiting with chracters from the game. In Dead Space you'll play as Isaac Clarke who is an engineer sent along with a team to actually repair the USG Ishimura. You'll probably know most of it already, but Dead Space as some great promise and looks like it could very much be somewhat of a sleeper hit this year, especially for the horror genre with no Resident Evil 5 hitting consoles until Q1 2009. But from what I have seen I'm eager to play and see more of what the story will offer, I always feel that games like this could tell amazing stories but more then often go for the cheap scares rather then actual deep interesting gameplay and let the overall experience down. 

                                            Dead Space: October 14th (US) - October 24th (UK/EU).


Far Cry 2.
Far Cry 2.

Far Cry 2

Far Cry makes a return in this sequel to the original PC game which also later appeared in a form on the XBOX 360. Far Cry 2 is quite a different experience to the one we got from the originally and maybe that's not such a bad thing. I never totally understood the huge hype the original Far Cry got, it was a beautifully looking game and an perfectly fine package but there were much better FPS's out on the market at the time. Far Cry 2 is set in Aftrica and looks to take the player on a choice making personal experience then the original. You can have huge influence on the story in Far Cry 2 and the game will also look to keep the player realistically in the game as much as possible. Using Ubisoft's new DUNIA Engine, the game does indeed look great. Although I'm leaving judgment until I actually see the game on my XBOX 360 as I have that concerned feeling that the 360 version (and maybe even the PS3 version) could have taken a graphical knock to make sure everything runs well in this huge 52sq KM map of Africa. Of course it could also be the other way around, it might be that the PC Version as taken a knock because of the game being designed with the console versions in mind. We'll have to wait and see. But I'm still not convinced with Far Cry 2, theres to many areas that have left me wondering of what to expect from the title on release. But the game as recieved much hype and anticipation from gamers so it will no doubt do well for Ubisoft when it gets released later this month.

Far Cry 2: October 21st (US) - October 24th (UK/EU).


Of course there are a number of other games I could have talked about such as Saints Row 2 or Bioshock PS3 and I'm sure I could have talked more about each game. But I wanted to have a quick overview on what's hitting store shelves this month of October. In this time of the credit crunch and money crisis it seems mad to think of how much will be spent on these games in both this month and of course November which itself will see some amazing releases such as Gears of War 2, Guitar Hero: World Tour and hopefully Rock Band 2. But that's what gaming is all about, it's often an expensive hobby but we love it and we'll be playing some amazing games this month. I just hope I can pull myself away from LittleBigPlanet.

ARTICLE COMMENTS

I wanted to thank all those who have commented on some of my recent or past reviews I've wrote. I have taken both praise and criticism on board and understand some of the issues I have when I wrte my reviews or general articles. I'm a very fast typer like many of the YouTube generation so I write up many of my articles surprisingly fast and that's one of the reasons my articles or reviews can seem so long. I'm looking to fix this in future content I write and will also look to fix some of the issues found in my past reviews. Of course I'm not a professional writer and I'm still learning the ropes when it comes to writing good reviews, I'm a simple gamer who loves to play Video Games and have my say on the matter of the Gaming Industry. You may not agree with everything I write and you may not even like the way I write my articles, but thats what a debate is all about. So a huge thanks for all comments or PM's I've recieved since joining GiantBomb.

Thanks for reading and keep on gaming!
Joseph Bayliss (TrueEnglishGent)
No plastic surgery here.
No plastic surgery here.


Related to: Dead Space, Far Cry 2, LittleBigPlanet, Pro Evolution Soccer 2009, Doom 3, Resident Evil 5, Rock Band 2, Konami Digital Entertainment Co., Ltd., Peter Molyneux, Lionhead Studios Ltd.

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