Team Fortress 2 Meet the Spy Trailer - Worth a watch!

I know it's old but it's new to me...hilarious!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nnuYi-nzE90

"Red Dead Redemption has the Production Quality of an HBO Show"

Said my friend Eric, who is a video game producer, to me today, about 25 minutes after he put in his new disc.

My friend Titus posted this to FB:

Red Dead Redemption is the pinnacle of all humanity's achievements.

When he posted that, I found his statement to be a bit over the top, but. After watching the beginning of the game again with Eric, I realized I had dismissed the production at the beginning of the game as a Deadwood knock off...but it IS A VIDEO GAME. It can shamelessly knock off a TV show because it's a different art form.

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/1756-Alan-Wake

Here he goes off about the shamelessness of Stephen King worshipping...again I say to you, it is A VIDEO GAME. Since when are ANY writers worshipped in console games? That used to be territory exclusively for Casual Games' Agatha Christie Mysteries. As my friend Craig teased me for not being a TRUE Alan Wake fan as I keep waffling between it and RDR, I realized he and I both have the longterm fantasy of being famous writers - now thats some roleplaying I can get behind.

What I'm Playing

This week I pretty much spent money I shouldn't have but these games were all SUCH BARGAINS!

I've been playing:

Dark Sector - this game is hard, but I have my glaive now at least. I should switch to 'easy' but my pride keeps saying, 'wait a little bit longer...' It's a gorgeous game and worth spending some effort getting through.

Dead Space - *wild applause* see FOGcast 006 for details.

Assassins Creed 2 - so hard! I can't get past the darn roof races! I think I'm on medium, and should kick it down a notch... for the acrobatics section, at least.

Star Ocean - not sure about this one yet...I just started though.

Velvet Assassin - /sings "I enjoy being a girl..." I LOVE playig a girl! A stealth assassin girl! Boosh!

aand, The Darkness - starring MIKE PATTON as the darkness! Oh this is a dark and fun game. Dual pistols and tentacle creatures wrapped around you that eat men's hearts. Yes!

Feel free to add me, username: RupeeGroupie

What I've Been Playing

I've been video gaming a lot of variety recently. To hear my thoughts on these games, tune into the podcast or just ask and I will pontificate away.

On XBox:
Final Fantasy XIII (RPG)
Dead Space (FPS)
Dragon Age Origins: Awakenings (RPG)

On iPhone:
Inotia 2 (RPG)
Zenonia 2 (RPG)
Zombie Farm (social)
We Rule (social)
Words With Friends (social)

On Facebook (browser)
Farmville (social)
Restaurant City (social)

What I want to play (XBox):
Mass Effect 2
Force Unleashed
Dark Sector
The Darkness
Final Fantasy VII
*Bayonetta
*Devil May Cry 4

*trial basis ;)

With iPhone and Facebook, there is no 'want to play' there is only buy/play!

FOGcast - new Podcast!

FOGcast: Episode #000 - Pilotcast featuring BioShock 2 & Resident Evil 5 DLC 'Lost in Nightmares'

Join Tatiana, Brooks & Greg as they discuss bit.ly/fogcast BioShock 2 & Resident Evil 5 'Lost in Nightmares'. Beware this episode contains spoilers for BioShock 2 towards the end of the podcast.

Dante's Inferno

I didn't get too far in this game yet but I like it so far...it reminded me a lot of the Devil May Cry series. The faster you mash your buttons (admittedly I was on easy) the faster you can brutally slay people with your awesome, heavy metal weapons and powers as you plummet through the levels of hell looking for your whiny girlfriend.

In fact it occured to me as I played that THIS is was Brutal Legend wished it was - the REAL heavy metal album cover. This is the Sabbath to Brutal Legend's Spinal Tap. They're both great, but come on...one is SERIOUS BUSINESS!

Which to Play First? BioShock 2 vs. Mass Effect 2

I'm outraged to hear Mass Effect 2 is far superior to the original, having chosen to play BS2 first vs. ME2 (the other people in my house having chosen ME2 first). So far BS2 is NOT better than the original - but I hear through the grapevine its a slow first 10 hours and then 'its on' in the last 3 hours, story wise. Not that I'm not TOTALLY LOVING it (halfway through Pauper's Drop) but I can't say it's a vast improvement on the last one.

A Real Live Girl!

It's like the end of pinocchio...this weekend I am getting my very own XBox 360, I intend to start my own gamer profile and be shamefully behind on gamer points. Look for a 'rupee groupie' friend invite soon! Gosh I'm so excited to dress my avatar...and play BioShock 2 alllll weekend!

Edit: My new user name is RupeeGroupie, add me yo!

Exciting News All Around

1. Tune in soon to this blog for a podcast series with industry professionals and dedicated fans!

2. BioShock2 is coming out tomorrow! One of my favorite games of 2009 (when I played it - it was made in 2007), the story and elaborate fantastic atmosphere had me artistically wowed, and the gameplay was captivating too. I expect BS2 to take it to the next level, or at least maintain the awesome level they summited with the original. Check out this gorgeous Cult of Rapture site and get pumped!

http://www.2kgames.com/cultofrapture/home.php

Army of Two...Two

Army of Tutu?

Regardless, my love and I played "Army of Two: The 40th Day" together this weekend, and I do reccomend it to any gamer couple or gamer platonic duo as a relationship exercise.

You tend to divide early in the level and conquer separately, but must come back together to advance to the next level or checkpoint - be it helping each other over obstacles or working together to move heavy object. Often one team member must snipe from the roof (that's me) while the shotgun guy goes and obliterates on the ground floor (that's my dove).

This game is not mindless - when I start to zone out, I die (on easy). I really enjoy this game as an A+ shooter for the differences in gun handling, position, and silent kills. That I get to play in cooperation with someone is icing on the cake.

POWER SWOON

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v7xME0aFbC4

This is the teaser-trailer for Fallout: New Vegas

OHH, have I mentioned Fallout 3 is my FAVORITE GAME OF ALL TIME EVER? This is the game that pushed me from "Gamer" to "Huge giant gamer nerd who avoids social events to run home and play Fallout."

Best News of 2010!!!!

EEE! Have I mentioned that Dragon Age is the best game of all time?

This is the first video of the hotly anticipated Dragon Age: Origins expansion Dragon Age: Origins - Awakening.This video features a new area players will explore called the Blackmarsh It also shows the powerful and fearsome Queen of the Blackmarsh, a powerful Spectral Dragon.

Mass Effect Returns - In Full Effect?

I'm anticipating Mass Effect 2 with less bloodthirsty lust than my friends, although I enjoyed the roleplaying of Mass Effect 1 I found the lack of treasure disappointing (is there no treasure in space?), and the graphics and weapons were great but not mindblowing. Once I started getting really into the roleplaying, I was dropped into the super annoying mini game of navigating a boring terrain that was terribly hard to control. My friends told me that was pretty much the rest of the game, with far less roleplaying, so I declined to finish. I've since heard the planetside minigame is much easier to control on PC, hence the whole experience more enjoyable.

I assume they'll make up for the annoying planetside controls in the next Xbox version, but at the same time my confidence in the game isn't at the same level as for, say, BioShock 2.