Springing Gaming Forward

By Tiberius Jonez

It's April. The birds are chirping, warm breezes are blowing and here in Minnesota, people are spending more time outdoors and less time on their couches playing video games. Of course I'm not most people. Sure, I'm enjoying the Spring weather with plenty of time on the basketball court or playing softball, but I'm still getting my daily recommended allowance of gaming. With its predictable lack of new releases, Spring is a good time to catch up on games you've missed previously, and like a good multivitamin, your daily gaming diet should include a variety of nourishing ingredients.

I've been playing a smorgasbord of different games lately. I recently started playing Call of Duty 4 again after my best buddy recently bought an Xbox 360. He is addicted, and I am happy to feed his addiction with a steady diet of Headquarters and Hardcore Search and Destroy matches via Xbox Live. After a six month hiatus from the game, the truth that there is no better first person shooter on the market has been reaffirmed in my mind.

The Last Remnant has seen considerable time in my PC-DVD Rom drive and I am thoroughly enjoying it's beautiful scenery and lively combat. TLR's story is quite enjoyable too, but I really keep playing just so I can see the beauty of the next unexplored area. Honestly, this is the most fun I've ever had with a Japanese style RPG.


Fable II rounds out my big three of the Spring so far. I know the game's been out for a while, but when you play as many games as I do, you don't always get to try EVERY new release right away. In truth, I'm glad I had to wait this long to play Fable II. While I've been looking forward to playing it for a while, I did have some reservations about it. I have a long and star-crossed relationship with Peter Molyneux games, beginning with the original Black and White and continuing with Black and White 2 and the first Fable. Prior to their respective releases, I had huge expectations for these games, partly due to Molyneux's own marketing promises, and partly due to the hype propogated by my fellow game journalists. While I enjoyed all of them to differing degrees, I was also disappointed by each of them in different ways. So, while I was sure I would enjoy Fable II, I expected to be disappointed by it
on some level.

After five days of playing it, I can honestly say I've thoroughly enjoyed Fable II with very few downer moments. My only real complaint with the game is the menu system. Some actions require too many repeat trips into the menus, which tend to open a bit slowly. Other than that, the action, story, graphics and music of Fable II are all top notch.

The graphics deserve an extra mention. Walking through the world of Albion is a treat for the eyes at every moment. Aside from the occasional drab cave, the environment is stunning. I love that the game features day/night cycles, I only wish they were longer. An Albion day passes in five real world minutes, which is too short when you are enjoying a particularly beautiful sunset over Bower Lake.

The combat is greatly improved over Fable I, as is the overall story. If you haven't checked out Fable II, you owe to it yourself to play it.

I have other games on the back burner biding their time to get some time in my 360 or PC and I recently got Metal Gear Solid mobile which I've only played long enough to get through the VR training. I will have an update, and full review posted in the next couple weeks for MGS mobile.

Enjoy the warm weather and keep on gaming!