Gave up on Dead Rising

I picked up Dead Rising about a week and a half ago - how could I not? It's basically Dawn of the Dead on the Xbox360!

Very cool game in many respects - graphics, gore, zombies, etc. But, very frustrating, mainly due to the "save point" system. It takes the game from very cool to not fun. There's a few other issues as well, but that was the deal-breaker for me. I don't have time for hours of something that's not fun.

Hopefully, Dead Rising 2 will fix the problems.

Zombies Don't Belong in a Mall?

I found this in a review I ran across for Dead Rising:

"But the mall itself is a strange place for a zombie game."

A mall is a strange place for zombies? (I know he said "zombie game" - close enough).

Obviously not a connoiseur of the genre. Damn hippy.

Oblivion: The Wait is Over (for me...)

Xbox 360 + Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion + HD TV = Holy Cow.

My Xbox just arrived today so I've finally been able to play Oblivion. I've only played it for a couple hours so far but it is very cool. I can't wait to see the graphics when I actually get outside...

Morrowind was my favorite computer game thus far, but I strongly suspect it will soon occupy the number two spot.

Fable! Meh.

Finished Fable (the XBox RPG) this past weekend, after a two or three week hiatus. My overall impression?

Meh.

It wasn't a bad game, but it wasn't that great, either. It's hard to say exactly what it was lacking, I just ended up not caring for it. It had a lot of cool elements, but a lot of lame ones too. Why would you get everything on cards? Do today's youth only relate to card-based systems, having been weened on Magic and Pokémon? And why do I have to pick up "experience orbs" when I kill something? Who the hell else is going to pick that up?

The plot was a little too linear as well, and the side details - while interesting - didn't really add to the game. My character got married and bought a house for his wife at one point. Cool, but what purpose did it serve? I never went back to see what the wife was up to, but that didn't diminish the climax of the game. I could have gotten tattoos or different haircuts, but again, who cares? On an on-line RPG that would be interesting, but when I'm the only one looking at the game? The guys at Penny Arcade had that point pretty well pegged.

I think Morrowind spoiled me. I knew not to expect Morrowind when I bought Fable, but still, I think I expected more. Maybe due to the hype, though I tried to ignore that. Hard to say. In the end, I don't regret having bought and played the game, but I could have lived without it. On the other hand, I like to think that playing Morrowind and Knights of the Old Republic were experiences that I would have been the poorer for had I not done them.