Segment 2 (Cont)

As always, in case you missed a segment, full prelude is on your left! (On my blog; click traveling through a vacant oasis)

"Did you press it?"

Centered aboard the dash it blinked once, twice, five times in total. It's giant red eye flickered steadily buzzing a humming bee's tune. People are not unlike fish. Throw the lure into the clear waters and wait. Eventually something will bite. It's all just a matter of time.

"No" my reply fell flat.

The man subtly leaned over my bound chair spitting specks of saliva as he continued his interrogation. "Did you press the button soldier!?"

"No sir!"

"LIES!" suddenly spouted the fat man who only relinquished his grip long enough to thrust a iron knuckle into the nearest plaster wall.

"Now tell me the truth son. Did you press the button?"

Again the red trance enthralled mind's eye hypnotically moving my lips to the beat of the current seance.

"It begs me. Everyday I see it in my head. Everyday it requests a touch. Everyday I say no"

"Then why in the hell are we still stuck here Sergeant?"

When you've been alive as long as I have, you figure to hear this a million times over during the course of your life. Sometimes the scenario for the question changes. Sometimes the answer to the question differs. But the intriguing fact remains. Mortality begs.

"Because skinny, someone had to press it. But that's beside the point now. Though what is relevant is I know exactly where they left it. I can even bring you along on my field trip"

The man continued to pace only pausing in short intervals to ask redundant questions. "How is that possible soldier?"

Begrudgingly I shot my nose up in response "They've implanted me with the hardware capable of detecting it's sensors just in case the event - this event - ever occurred. I can feel it's buzz as we speak"

"And you think you'll be able to revert these effects?"

"No sir; I know I can"

On the board

What to look for in the coming days from the vacant blog!

- A Zeno Clash review

I just purchased this from steam over the weekend and have already poured a couple hours into it. Expect a review by Friday to hit Amazon and a retrospect discussion here. Spoiler alert so far I'm not as impressed as I thought I would be with this one but we'll see in a few days!

- Continuing the Logs

Couple weeks ago a man was uncovered amidst the dust and debris, awoken by the lightning beside him and the death that surrounded his physical frame. I expect we'll be finding out a lot more about his *dilapidated story this week so stay tuned.

*assuming that the build up doesn't crush me horribly underneath the surmounting pressure.*

Short continued pt 3

Check out the original segments on your left sandwiched between my profile and the post archives, just click "Traveling through a vacant oasis".

Segment 2

(only half)

One piece at a time came crashing back downwards to the earth as I watched the world of humanity quickly snap back into place like properly assorted Lincoln logs. One by one the erected habitat grew to unintended heights spreading far beyond that of original design. Soon the white vacant world had been glossed over a speckled hodgepodge collection of nauseating color schemes.

But I wasn't alone watching this blank world reenter relevancy. Those from before had been there, hovering just above my existence; waiting.

"Rise and shine soldier!" pain somersaulted across my forehead reaching all the way through to the base of my neck. Sore stiff tissue began to reanimate as I cocked my head enough to see my assailant standing over me clenching an m1 carbine.

"I reckon it's time we had a little pow wow" once again spoke the gelatinous fellow. "It's about time you answered some questions of mine".

Discussing Fable 2's combat

As my previous post mentioned, I branched off into reviews aboard the Amazon mothership and would like to bring my some of my comments and concerns here. I'm starting with my latest review of Fable 2.

What I jotted down in my notebook and wrote at Amazon seemed like two very distinct things. I'm not trying to imply that I missed the mark with the review just suggesting that perhaps I over analyzed certain things a little too much and other (maybe lesser concerns) too little.

But one thing is for sure. I did generally explain and isolate key things that bothered or excited me during my play throughs. Specifically the loot system (BIG CON) and the freedom factor.

What I want to do now is explore the more obvious short comings I only mildly touched base on during the review.

Fighting with fire:


Okay... first things first. This is not a real time strategy nor is it turn based. This is hardly even an rpg (gameplay) by typical standards. Press a single button and you'll either Swing your sword (X) Fire your gun (Y) or Cast a spell (B). Simple and efficient system.

My problem with it stems directly with the use of each technique. Hack and Slash in this game boils down to smashing the X button trying to activate the speedier attack or depressing the button long enough to flurry. Both aren't terrible ideas but by itself is boring and repetitive.

Skill (or firing a gun/bow) snowballs into one of two categories. Either you freely move about and fire with auto aim (and do less damage) or you enter a stationary mode to freely aim and inflict greater damage. This works but this tech is completely broken by a single firearm in the game. The red dragon. There's nothing else to say about. This handgun nulls out the entire process. It'd be like if in Call of duty you carried around a BFG with infinite ammo the entire time.

And finally my favorite (typically but not here) magic! Again the system in place is simple and somewhat effective but I question a very silly implementation. Why has the mana bar been removed? This is essentially the balance board for all magical spells. How can you have an "ultimate" or even "effective" spell when you're limited by nothing but the sheer ability to cast?

The answer is you can't. Magic (or will) in this game is a sham and while I'd love to rant on and on like my original post did I'll leave it simply at this. Rather then be forced into the whole casting tiers of spells (IE charge a level one spell until it hits two all the way to five) we should have been allowed to have one instant cast spell (not level 1) for defense of sorts (IE Crowd control) and a casting spells for attack (could even keep this system assuming you had a stinking mana bar to balance it all).

Truth be told. Fable 2 is not about specialization and that is what I found most discouraging. Yes you can focus solely on one aspect over the others but truthfully the only way the game ever works at any level (whether it be fun or effectively) is when you utilize all the techniques simultaneously. Certainly puts a drag on strict role players (I'm a wizard that's carries a giant hammer! Why? Who cares let's fight!) but that's this games MO. Anything else would've probably fallen apart or simply not work.

And that's it all in a nut shell. The Fable series is and was always about the grand scale of things; not specifics. The storyline isn't great, the combat is really really simple and the loot mostly sucks but as a whole combined effort. The adventure, the quests, the locales, the interactions, the moral choices etc etc. Is what ultimately stands out above the pack.

I didn't like certain things here but the game certainly isn't feast or famine in that regard. Most people will actually find the game rather accessible and enjoy it's leisure difficulty. And while more weathered gamers may turn their noses upwards like I said there's a lot here to discover and enjoy for different folks.

My review is set at 80/100 and you can read my original review at Amazon.com just click the RSS feed to your left right underneath the archived posts. Thanks!

*EDIT* My new review is in and waiting to be posted by Amazon. Hopefully the new structure sticks as I feel it does improve readability.*/EDIT*

So I'm reviewing...

I'm starting to review my collection of games on Amazon and like to branch my reviews here. I'll begin to post quick summaries here and links to the full length there. Or something like that. We'll see.

As for the shorts continuation I haven't forgotten them. More are coming and will finish up the current one soon. Other then that I just felt like updating the page acknowledging that not even I (nor the panther) has forgotten our vacant world yet.

Short Continued

Prelude below.

Segment One

Shrill cries of man and child flood the oceanic sky rupturing it's color scheme and processing it through a fiery induced palette. The button blinked before me. It's intoxicating beckoning lured me to touch. Lured me to false securities.

But before I do I awaken in the night, drenched of my own sweat and blood. Perspiration sweeps down from my brow burning through my eyes natural guardians until I wiped away the grime and mud. I lay in the fetal position amongst the hilltop where they bury the bodies.

Everyone is here. They're all waiting for me.

And then the thunderous rain pours down ripping me from my dreamlike hypnosis. The Earth still stands. She stills breathes and kills without mercy. This, I truly understand now.

For a moment I let the pelting water wash over my uncovered face. The remnants of the world attached begin to rinse away and free me of my shackles.

In the next flash of light I am stricken by a force unlike the one tearing through the sky's destroyed hue. Lightning did not strike me down. Although those that did, hit me the exact same form of quickness.

I heard the apathy pour from the assailants mouth like sputtering food particles escaping their entrapment. Another man did not speak unless he was addressed by the first.

This is how the conversation continued up until another streaking bolt tore out our vision and it's accompanied brother deafened our uproarious voices.

When sight did finally reemerge, there was only white unfiltered and untarnished light slabbed over the land in all directions. The many skies were gone. The clouds and wind and life all missing or removed by an eraser. The world as I knew had changed indefinitely. The world that I didn't comprehend had evolved.

Pardon the interuption

Word to the wise this is a combination of rants and raves. This is completely off the cuff reactions to the E3 video game expo. There will be blood and colorful language. You have been warned.

In between shorts and fictional arguments with inane ghostly felines I would like to in interrupt the blog with actual blog-like commentary.

Today being the second day of E3 expo I wanted to toss this up just in case someone is reading.

I'm skipping over some of the more superfluous experiences and jumping straight down the throat of the three big dogs. These guys need no introduction. You know 'em; you love them.

But let's get real for a minute. The big question at the end of show is always:

"Who won?"

In one corner you have the Microsoft Xbox 360 the first entry into the (console) next generation (now called the old bleeping gen. Seriously).

In it's opposing corner we spot the black box known solely as the Sony PlayStation three.

And hiding in a corner all to itself, the Nintendo Wii.

Alright. Let's break this down properly.

Xbox: Pros, Cons, and word of the day.

Yesterday Microsoft opened the show with exciting news... Depending on how giddy you are about spending more money then ever necessary to enjoy a hobby that was once labeled as "kiddy". What exactly am I talking about you ask? Well let's just start with the "Slim" console. I'll admit I'm extremely biased towards these constant reiterations that seemingly piss on anyone willing to spend money to adopt new hardware. It happens in every single form of entertainment (IE double dipping) and I could easily fill a book spewing hatred from every orifice regarding this topic.

Needless to say, let's just leave it at this; the slim is a welcome addition to hopefully douse the fires that the original SKUs started(pun most definitely intended). It is annoying for any early adopter such as myself but this is a good change that probably should've come years ago. One thumb up MS.

Cons: Honestly I didn't watch the full presentation (as I did for the other two) so maybe I missed something but other then the new console; nothing and I mean nothing really excited me. Yes we'll have more third party whoring (assassin's creed, call of duty etc etc) but we already knew that.

The Nat- I mean kinect is... Well put bluntly this is almost the worst idea to ever hit the videogame market. I take that back Virtual Boy.

I'm sorry Microsoft but this thing (if priced at $150) is doomed to fail. On games alone it is inevitable to fall to the behemoths. This is not the future of gaming. This is the future of jokes.

And the games of the holiday? Mostly typical fair. Overall their showing was rife with sub par quality and mild disappoints. Not terrible, and if you can get into the whole Natal I mean kinect phenomenon then more power to you.

Word of the day from Microsoft.

Dance! (monkeys)


Next up: Big N.

Last night I was thinking to myself.

"Why the hell am I watching these little shits talk out of their enormous asses about topics they were paid to talk about?"

Then Nintendo hit me back with a bag of bricks. This coming from someone who may or may not have turned on their Wii last year. So let's start with the goods.

Games! Lots and lots of games. Zelda looked glitchy but still as exciting as ever. Shigeru Miyamoto broke onto the stage in grand fashion (as he almost always do) this time holding a wii mote and nun chuck rather then sword and shield. Still he produced some laughs and first footage of Zelda: Heaven Skyward sword so it made up for the lack of props.

Following this it all looked down hill with the introduction of... I can't finish that sentence. Look Nintendo. Most people didn't buy Wii Music because it was flat out medicore. Wii Party follows that grand tradition. Someone somewhere will but it, I won't argue that. It's like calling that blue space monkey movie the best feature film ever because it grossed such and such amount of money. Business is business. Gaming is a business but this is just straight ridicules.

Everything afterward was pure money. Metroid, Donkey Kong, Epic Mickey, Goldeneye and more. By the gods finally something is *worth buying* for the Wii. And to top the show off? 3DS. What a fantastic showing from Reggie and crew. Two and a half thumbs up Nintendo.

Cons: (Blank for the time being while I think about it)

Word of the day:

Interference. Don't get it? Watch Miyamoto play Zelda at e3. It was almost sad. Almost.
Also: Kid. As in the kid is back!



And finally Sony steps up to the stage to drop the bomb. A expired and possibly missing the explosive material required to create an actual shock wave. Honestly this was painful for me. I know I know. Sounds like I'm riding the Nintendo Hotdog to fairy land but after that show, this was more painful then pulling my eyelids off with a needle nose pliers.

Typically during the last gen Sony was the numbers. #1 was the big thing back in the day. You know what I heard today (minor spoilers to the word of the day). Innovation.

What the Bleep is that? In a year when the next DS is not shown but actually previewed you ignore it completely? Where was the sucessor to the PSP? Or did you find your hands stuck too far up Nintendo's ass to remember to build one? Perhaps you just needed the blueprints to steal.

Oh well. Momentum was another word I heard. Yes Sony, the ads are awesome. Beyond awesome actually. Kevin Butler? Brilliant!

Your line up revolving around the idea of innovation based upon almost one hundred per-chant on the Wii's motion contols? Seemed trite to me. Sure you've got the "graphics" and "blu ray" but will I really want to spend a hundred dollars on a gimmick to draw third party support (and of course the million pounds of shovel ware and billions of dollars the Wii market has found) just so I can enjoy my five hundred dollar system?

Look my favorite controller this gen belongs to the Xbox. Fav console is the PS3. And my favorite games mostly rest firmly in the hands of Nintendo's system. I'm not saying no one else can jump into the wii party (ALL PUNS INTENDED) but the money grab for casual fans is absolutely sickening. Just remember it's a business...

Overall maybe a thumbs up mostly because Butler made it onto the stage. Oh and Twisted metal, I suppose.

Word of the day: Innovation. Yep. There it is, a pink glowing sex toy kids. Now wave that thing around your genital region and have fun!



It's pretty obvious that as a whole the show was at times meek and uninspiring. Trite reiterations of motion controls and astonishing amount of pretentious bastards took the stage. Nintendo clearly won with old favorites but depending on your affiliation and income range maybe you've found Kinect and Move exciting pieces of entertainment. I didn't.

And that's my opinion on the show. Lots of other thoughts (dead space 2 looks good) aren't quite splurging out from me at the moment so I'll leave it alone.

Back to our original content and continuation of shorts! (check back tomorrow)

Shorts

All these following tales are subject to the creative rights and are not under any circumstances to be reproduced in any facet.

From the author:

The following is on the spot writing. The fiction here is completely objective and not intentionally driven by political nor religious factors for any reason unless otherwise noted. Understand that some words and or grammar may suffer or be stiff as this crackpot idea is all done on the fly. Hopefully none of these concerns arise but a word of warning has been issued. If anyone (in this vacant world) is still (actually) reading then let us continue...


Prologue:

It is always the same. Many days apart but they always begin identical to one another. I feel the shock wave wash over my limp body like a coat of water surging past. Then the thunder abruptly hampers my sleeping corpse, beckoning me back to life.

I sit up and wipe the slumber from my pupils. The dry dirt and debris falls to ground as in the distance the repeating sight loops ever more.

Nothing.

No trees sway from the gusts. No birds squawking a pleasant song. There is only silence around me. There is only death beside me.

Seven years ago a man attempted to destroy the world. Seven times he was thwarted by righteous men. The great tyranny endowed did not last. We were free of the racism and bigotry. We the soldiers did not falter.

But every night I hear the same sounds. The bombs continue to fall. I thought that seven years ago this had ended. It appears I was wrong.

What be there to chat about today oh Ghostly Panther of mine

Should it be a remarkable feat that we've yet to forget about our vacant world? Is it just another day or simply a mere step sideways that has us intertwined forever?

Oh but you do know don't you jester of fair fall. You acknowledge my presence but you do not speak. I shout and cry for the information I seek but you do not say a word.

You; a mere clown! You mock me with your incredibly flamboyant waltz and frigid demeanor. I see you. You understand me...

So tell me what it is that we'll find ourselves doing in the forthcoming! Speak damn you!

But the domestic feline declines the invitation. He shrugs off my incessant whine before a bug flies into vision and takes away his cognizant mind.

What shall we do today I wonder? What should we be doing tomorrow I inquire. Soon I figure we'll know. A tail or tales will fall neatly into place causing thee fingertips to dance away the night as expressions and intrigue explode off the vanilla page.

"Yes" I mutter "You've won this round you sly Ghost Panther but I will have mine soon enough".

The truest sense of irony and hypocrisy is upon you

"Well... This is a bit strange from the norm"

said the man behind his transparent desk. A light fizzled overhead. He was alone amongst the shades of darkness wondering where exactly his life went wrong.

"I briefly thought I had a stranglehold over life and everything in it" spoke the broken gent. "Where did my confidence and honor go?"

Here he is. Now willing to do what he once found revolting and unimportant. This is the very definition of the hypocritical oath. That being said, I've heard an understood error in judgment is momentary but an error based (or should that be marinating?) on a biased opinion is stuck in perpetual err forever.

Maybe he was wrong maybe he was right. It truly is irrelevant at the end of the day. I am here now and look forward to pressing forward past these misconceptions and I hope anyone unfortunate enough to endure my writing will to enjoy these new found wings that I've sprouted from my back.

What *exactly* and how I intend to talk about whatever the subjects may be is but a mystery for the time being. But it sure will be interesting for me to find out.




*Minor spoilers it'll be about fictional writing, it'll be about life in the eyes of cats, dogs, and anything else that encroaches upon the house. And just maybe it'll be about nothing. That's a pretty big to do list right there.