Well hi, do I know you?

Who am I? I am Christopher Beames, the younger brother of this blogs founder; Robert Beames, whose busy schedule is preventing him from updating this as much as would be awesome so I have been asked to step in. Sorry.

To kick things off I thought I would fix Robert’s "last post about games to look forward to in 2010" as that list paints a dim picture for those of us that don't recreationally flail our limbs around in the lounge. Why? Well, two of the games on that list are Wii games. Are you mental? What is your problem? And the two 360/PS3 titles that are mentioned are both new themes on old fairly recent games. “Alpha Protocol” – “Mass Effect”. “Red Dead Redemption” – “Brokeback Mountain – The Game”. So I have decided to try and fix that, here goes:

Lost Planet 2

While I never played much of the first one, it definitely touched a nerve with some people and the second looks to go above and beyond anything Capcom dreamt of achieving with the first. Lost Planet 2 looks to draw a new line in the sand as far as co-op gaming goes with four player story mode; being a massive couch co-op fan, I just can't wait.

Lost Planet 2

Fable III

Lionhead are absolutely fantastic at winding up expectations and failing miserably to deliver on them, but every time they get back up and dare to dream all over again. Bless ‘em. And every time I'm there to offer my £40. Maybe I’m a sucker but when Pete says to me (yeah you read that right, to me) that in ‘Fable III’ you can “touch” I don’t say “oh yeah Pete? you mean press Y to interact?” I say: Wow! Why? Because at least it seems like he is trying to achieve something greater than more frames per second. Is he just an excitable salesman? Maybe. But I’m sold.

Look at him... Aww.

He has cried wolf before... but is Molyneux for real this time?

Fable 1 & 2 were both enjoyable yet frustrating games. Predictably neither could hope to live up to the massive-hype-generator that is Peter Molyneux, with claims such as "if you can see something in the distance, you can walk up to it" (a feature touted for inclusion in Fable 1 - possibly one of the most linear games ever made) or more recently his over-the-top stuff about the dog in Fable 2 being the most advanced piece of AI ever seen in a game (even though all the dog does is run ahead and find treasure). Basically, he always seems like a bit of a fantasist, and I always imagine the game designers (who actually have to make the game, whilst he attends expos and talks rubbish) sigh when they see/hear him.

That aside, I always get taken in by Molyneux. When I see him talk about Natal or, now, Fable 3, I am always lulled right into a state of believing the hype all over again. I think this is because I want to. Molyneux is a dreamer and visionary. He may say a lot of crazy, OTT things about his games, but at least he has ambition. For example, watch the video below (stolen from the good folks at IGN) where Molyneux talks about the lack of a traditional interface in Fable 3. It is great that he is out there challenging established things like that and seeing if he can change the nature of how we experience games.

Yes, I am afraid I will get more and more excited by Fable 3 the more he talks it up, as is (by now) tradition. He is always so disarmingly honest when it comes to recognising his older games shortcomings that I always think “maybe he’s learned from last time”. It remains to be seen whether this one also disappoints, but until then I will try to fight my Molyneux gag-reflex and give the old chap another chance.

Fable III at IGN.com

For an interview with an effects artist working on Fable 3, check out this earlier article.