411 Games Fact or Fiction 09.06.11 Dead Island, Skyrim, Blade and More

Posted by Adam Larck on 09.06.2011

Did Dead Rising 2 need a Sandbox Mode? Are we interested in getting Dead Island? Will Razer’s Blade laptop do better than AlienWare? Will Counter-Strike: Global Offensive's cross-system play come to Xbox? 411’s Jeremy Thomas and Dan Watson debate these questions and more in this week’s 411 Fact or Fiction: Games!

Welcome back to another week of 411 Games Fact or Fiction. I'm Adam Larck, and I'm still trekking through Deus Ex. I've basically given up on stealth, instead opting for the easier way out: killing whatever moves.

Also, as a quick side note, make sure to check out 411Mania on Mondays for the next few weeks to see our Top 50 heroes special. You can check out the latest one here.

This week, we have Dan Watson and Jeremy Thomas going head-to-head. Let's see how these two do. Time for banner!

Get More: GameTrailers.com, Dead Island - Launch Trailer, PC Games, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360

1.) Dead Island releases this week. You'll be picking this up.

Jeremy Thomas - Fact: I know that a lot of people feel like the zombie thing is completely played out, but I am always down for busting caps in undead brainpans. The setting sounds like a lot of fun and what I've seen from it looks impressive. The first couple reviews have been very positive so far and have praised the outdoor environments, realistic combat and co-op mode. I'm sure it will have its flaws but it looks like a ton of fun to me, so count me in.

Dan Watson - Fiction: At first my answer was a fact, but these past few weeks have me questioning whether this is going to be another Left 4 Dead or if it is going to be something unique and different. I will rent this one first and see how it goes. As of now, I am fifty fifty as to what to expect and am hoping to be shown that something different game. When it first game out it sounded like a MacGyver game with zombies now it just doesn't have that luster anymore.

Score: 0 for 1 - I'm interested in this game, but I still think I'll end up renting it first.



2.) You would check out Epic Mickey 2.

Jeremy Thomas - Fiction: Well, let's start with the fact that I don't have a console which precludes me from checking it out right away. However, that even being said I did play some Epic Mickey and I wasn't a big fan. It wasn't terrible but it just wasn't my thing. The gameplay was sketchy and I prefer my Mickey Mouse on the screen, not in the console. I'm sure that it will be a huge success, but it's not a game I have any interest in checking out.

Dan Watson - Fact: It is a cool take on an American Icon. I would definitely give this game a shot and see if it would be as good as or better than the first game. I am not sure where the story could go but I bet they could find something awesome to do with these characters.

Score: 0 for 2 - It depends. If they finally bring this to 360/PS3, then sure. I just can't get into the Wii version of the first one because of the controls.



3.) You're surprised Skyrim's first two DLC packs will come out on Xbox 360 first.

Jeremy Thomas - Fiction: It's a statement toward the growth of gaming on consoles and the fall of gaming on PC's (something I am not happy about) that the Skyrim DLC will hit the 360 first. Bethesda needs to focus on where its market is, and that market is primarily that of the console these days. The PS3 not getting it first is no surprise as the franchise has always hit PC and Xbox first. Anyway, I don't think this means that PC players will be left completely out in the cold, but Bethesda needs to make sure that the biggest chunk of their game-playing audience is taken care of and with that in mind, it makes complete sense.

Dan Watson - Fiction: Bethesda always seems to love Microsoft. I would highly doubt that they would be putting such big content available to PS3 before Microsoft on any of their titles. Maybe it is because there are more Xbox users which means more money or just the fact that Microsoft has always been there for releases, I am not sure. I do appreciate the fact that they aren't making it exclusive, just delayed.

Score: 1 for 3 - I figured with a game as big as this, DLC would be coming to all systems at the same time.

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4.) Razer's new Blade laptop will do better than AlienWare's gaming laptops.

Dan Watson - Fiction: Did you see the price of that bad boy? Above two grand for a laptop. I understand it is a top of the line gaming laptop, but really two grand? I don't think this is going to be successful in this economy at all. Look for a few to sell and then it will go flat like AlienWare did.

Jeremy Thomas - Fiction: Listen, I would love it if the Blade set PC gaming on fire once again. It would be a phenomenal thing. However, it's not going to happen and the reason is very simple: people will no longer pay $2,800 for a laptop or for a gaming device. You can get a PS3, an Xbox, a new laptop AND an HDTV for that price, and probably have enough left over for a sound system and a couple games for each. The thing looks really cool, don't get me wrong, and the specs make my desktop cry in its little cubbyhole, but the price is insane. I don't care how cool you make it, if a laptop runs almost three grand it's not going to fly or even limp off the shelves.

Score: 2 for 4 - Blade will probably get its own niche, but AlienWare already has a dedicated crowd buying its laptops for gaming.



5.) Dead Rising 2: Off the Record needed a Sandbox Mode.

Dan Watson - Fiction: It didn't need a sandbox mode. It would have sold well without it. The sandbox mode does add a bit to the game and makes it fun, however, without a goal or timer, won't the game just get old after a bit? I prefer to keep it how it was previously and just screw around. I very rarely had a problem with the time when I was just screwing around killing zombies different ways.

Jeremy Thomas - Fiction: Did it NEED it? No, I don't think so. The game was just fine as it is. However, I don't think that anyone's going to complain about it. People are always looking for new ways to play old games and tossing a Sandbox Mode into DR2 is a solid way to get people looking back in the game's direction. The game was a hell of a lot of fun and I know there were people that wanted it, so more power to them. I don't think that the game was lacking without it though.

Score: 3 for 5 - Honestly, this is what most of my plays on the last game usually became, so I'm looking forward to this mode.



6.) Xbox 360 will eventually be added to the cross-platform play of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive.

Dan Watson - Fact: I think it is only a matter of time until we have a big name game successfully do this, and why not make it Counter-Strike? I think this will probably happen sooner rather than later and I could see it setting off a series of games that allow for a gamer to be on PC or on Xbox and play against each other.

Jeremy Thomas - Fact: I think it'll happen eventually. I know that the Steam problem is holding it up but Valve and Microsoft will work something out. It's in both of their best interests to do so; holding out makes Microsoft look like assholes, while getting the cross-platform play going helps make the game more attractive which benefits Valve. They'll find some kind of compromise, perhaps involving a lesser version of Steamworks or the like, and all will be well.

Score: 4 for 6 - Unless Microsoft relaxes its stance on allowing Steamworks on 360, don't expect this anytime soon.



Bonus Question) StarCraft II will never come to consoles.

Dan Watson - Fact: The last time they tried this it failed, I doubt they will waste the time and energy to do it again. I don't think RTS games work on consoles as well as PCs because of the keyboard and mouse features are hard to replace with a controller. This should not ever happen.

Jeremy Thomas - Fact: Blizzard doesn't need consoles, and StarCraft II is the kind of game that is more suited to PC gaming. Therefore, there's no incentive for Blizzard to put forth the time and resources needed to do so. And frankly, that's a good thing because Blizzard has better ways to spend their time (see: Diablo III, the other StarCraft II episodes, the next WoW expansion). I don't see any reason, at least until PC gaming is completely dead and in the ground, for SC II to need to come to consoles and thus it'll stay happily in the PC arena indefinitely.

Adam Larck - Fact: I don't think Blizzard really wants to try and test the consoles RTS waters. The company is more content to bring Diablo III to consoles instead, as multiple companies have shown that dungeon crawlers can translate well to consoles. However, I think we may have a chance of seeing one of the expansions to the game finally going console-side years down the line, but don't expect it until the series is complete on PC at least.

The pair finish this week going 2-for-6. What do you think? Agree or disagree with their answers? Let us know. See you in seven!