The PC-Centric Extravaganza 12.03.08: To Albion and Back Again
Posted by Drew Robbins on 12.03.2008
For those still resisting a purchase of a 360, 411's Drew Robbins has some great news! Well, it is a rumor, but any chance that Fable II is coming to PC is exciting enough. Also, GTA IV multi-player extras are revealed, alongside the confirmation of more Neverwinter Nights and Baldur's Gate.
The PC-Centric Extravaganza December 2008
For those of you not raiding the streets of Liberty City, it is time for another exciting edition of the PC-Centric Extravaganza. As the Holiday Season nears its end, the news begins to slow down to a trickle, and this week is no exception. This week, the IGF announced the games it will be showcasing, promises of more Neverwinter and Baldur's Gate then you can shake a stick at, and the most intriguing news of the week, Fable II could be coming to a PC near you!
A Return to Albion on the PC?
The question always pops up when the Xbox 360 gets a big-time exclusive game, when will it come to the PC? While some games may remain exclusive, many others transfer to the PC at some point in their lifetime. Heck, even the 360's Magnum Opus, Gears of War, made its way to desktops. So, what about Fable II? Many of you may remember Peter Molynieux flat out denying that the game will ever see daylight on the PC. However, according to Gamona, a German gaming site, Fable II will in fact reach the PC, and not only that, it could arrive in February 2009. Of course, as of now, this is nothing more than a rumor, so don't start getting too excited just yet.
My Opinion: Very Likely! It may seem weird for a game's lead designer to tell everyone a lie, but just remember, this is Peter Molynieux. I like Peter, but sometimes you need to take what he says with a grain of salt. Don't take that as me bashing the guy, it seems like a marketing decision in favor of the 360. Microsoft obviously wants to push the 360 as its main gaming platform, so having Fable II on both systems from launch would be a bit counterproductive.
Honestly, what reason does Fable have for not coming to PC? The last port of Fable did fairly well for them, and porting a game from the 360 to PC isn't too difficult. Considering that the 360 is basically a PC with a solely gaming focus, porting it doesn't seem like too arduous of a task.
I am actually very excited by this rumor, as ever since my 360 died I've been frustrated with some of the stellar exclusives I would be missing out on. Now if only we could get Gears of War 2 ported…
In case you are sorely out of the loop, Grand Theft Auto IV recently came to the PC. How recently, you ask? Today! For the record, I highly recommend GTA IV to everyone, as it remains the best game I've played all year.
So what can you expect of the promised changes to the multiplayer? Just one thing, that being that you can now invoke large gang wars in Liberty City with 31 of your closest friends. I'm sure a few of you just scoffed at that number, but considering how large Liberty City is, it is pretty amazing that the game is able to sustain itself online with 32 people at once.
Multiplayer isn't the main draw in GTA IV, as it seems like more of a sideshow to the engrossing single player campaign, but as far as sideshows go, it is pretty decent. True, it won't keep your attention as long as Call of Duty: Modern Warfare or Left 4 Dead, but it is good enough to extend your playtime by a few more hours.
Source: Kotaku, and virtually any place that covers games.
More Neverwinter and Baldur on the Way.
Neverwinter Nights and Baldur's Gate are not games I would say that I have an affinity for, but my opinion pales in comparison to the thousands of players who stay up late in the night just to play through new player-made dungeons. This naturally begs the question, will they keep making sequels? The answer is obvious, and that answer is yes. Even without the brilliant minds at Bioware behind it, Atari's Phil Harrison has promised that these two series will continue.
Nobody was probably awed by the fact that they are coming out with another Neverwinter game, but the news of another Baldur's Gate has certainly piqued the interest of many. It will be interesting to see how they bring this franchise back from the dead, though my bet is on rehashing the old concept with better graphics, a concept that is pretty popular with Dungeons and Dragons games.
Everyone seems to love independent games these days, and what's not to love? World of Goo was more proof that physics are plain awesome, Cave Story took us back to the days of more simple dungeon-crawling, and Barkley Shut Up and Jam Gaiden reminded us why Charles Barkley deserves his own game. Speaking of Barkley Shut Up and Jam Gaiden, it is among the many games being showcased at this year's Independent Game Festival.
I find it pretty sad that with a grand total of 226 games, I've only even played one of them, that being the aforementioned Barkley Shut Up and Jam Gaiden. There are some pretty interesting games here, such as Electropy, a platformer where you are limited to grabbing on to polygons as your only source of movement. On the other hand, there are some absurd entrants, like Dark Room Sex Game. You can already tell by the title that this game is different, but the description just confirms those thoughts. It is a rhythm game that requires cooperation between both players and, you know what, I'm not going to talk about it. If you really want to know about it, click the link above and fulfill your dirty ambitions.
- Hey, if Shaq can do a fighting game, Barkley can do an RPG.
My Week in PC Gaming
Back when I wrote Coming Attractions I had tangents, so I figured this was the next best thing. Of course, I'll relegate this to only PC games (and my console week was boring anyways, just Madden and Street Fighter) to appeal to my "audience." All two of you that actually read this.
To start things off, my adventures in the World of Warcraft have come to a screeching halt. Only three levels into the expansion and I remembered how much I despised grinding, and all of my desire to play the game vanished in an instant. Derek is pretty much taking over review duties for the game, since it turns out that he loves the game. His character is a level 72 Death Knight (uggghhhh…).
With the rumor of Fable II coming to the PC, I was bitten with the excitement bug and began installing Fable: The Lost Chapters. It has been a long time since I've played it, so it will be interesting to see how well the game holds up.
In other news, I plan on buying Call of Duty: World at War soon, so I'm sure I'll have plenty to say about that game next week. I was in the multiplayer beta and was generally surprised with how well Treyarch nailed the environment of war. Judging by screenshots I've seen, the story mode looks to continue that feeling. Plus, the game has Nazi zombies, which my friends obsessed with Call of Duty have ensured me is "awesome."
The PC Spotlight by Chris Vicari. My arch-nemesis, Chirs Vicari, gave a ton of great Black Friday deals for PC games. $30 for Fallout 3 seems like a pretty good deal to me.
Achievement Unlocked by Rod Oracheski. Rod mentions Home, a game that has been out for a lot longer than most people believe, it is called Second Life. Really, Home sucks, it was a waste of hard drive space.
Working Title by Jordan Williams. Give congratulations to Jordan as he celebrates his 100th column, I hear he prefers your "congratulations" in the form of hookers, just saying.
As an avid PC user, I've found absolutely no reason to purchase a 360 or a PS3. Any console "exclusives" will more than likely wind up on PCs in the following months or years, and if it doesn't, there's likely a better game to come along anyway. And yes, Gears of War 2 will eventually hit PCs just like Halo 3. The ride on the money train never stops moving at its frantic pace, and there will be no such thing as a console exclusive anymore.
Posted By: Chris Vicari (Registered) on December 03, 2008 at 12:54 PM
I agree Chris, and this generation of consoles might be the last one I purchase for a while. Most games I play end up on the PC anyways.
Posted By: Drew Robbins (Registered) on December 03, 2008 at 07:26 PM
