I played this on the PC and LOOOOOVED it. I too say GAME OF THE YEAR (but I haven't played much of Fallout 3 yet and I can see how that game might give Dead Space a run for its money.)

I'm messing around with the demo now and I am entirely unconvinced about this vehicle editor direction they've taken. It's awfully convoluted and it doesn't make for a good combination or juxtaposition with this kind of platformer gameplay.

I haven't messed with the online part yet to see how downloading and playing levels actually works, but I think it'd be cool if they did a "shuffle" mode where the game would just drop you in a random, highly-rated user created level while downloading the next one in the background. Anything they can do to make you spend less time browsing and downloading and more time playing would be a welcome addition in my planet.

I picked this up yesterday which marked a momentous occasion... the first time in my life I've ever been glad to have preordered from Gamestop.  

The gameplay is good but not quite great, yet I've found myself glued to it all weekend. The short little levels are like popcorn that you want to just keep chomping. The controls are mostly tight and responsive but occasionally they feel a little off, mostly due to the plane switching which can be confusing or frustrating.

I haven't tried co-op yet but my 5 year-old daughter had fun watching me play and my wife even paused to appreciate it which she rarely does with video games. The game is bursting with enough charm and style to win over just about anyone. Great narration and opening video and killer soundtrack. My Patch by Jim Noir and Atlas by Battles have been among the highlights so far.

It's true what semiconscious says about the meta experience of appreciating how the level was built while you play. A big part of the fun of working through the game is seeing just how much they (you) can pull off with this robust construction kit. It's definitely a cool creativity platform and I'm interested to see how it develops. I still haven't tried the editor but I'm enjoying collecting stuff to use when I finally dive in. It's been nice to have a headstart to focus on the single player game before the servers go live.

The levels get more and more fun and impressive as you go, starting especially with the Metropolis and Ninja worlds. It's also more fun once the challenge gets kicked up a notch. There's some really clever, wacked out stuff in there. I think people will be surprised to see that the editor can do a lot more than just standard 2D platforming.

This game is so damn fun. I LOVE IT.

I just wish it wouldn't crash and freeze and get broken missions so often. But lordy, is it ever worth the occasional frustration.

While I was playing last night it occurred to me just how much GAME is in the game. These giant playground open world games are turning into all the game anyone ever needs with so many sights to see and modes to play, any one of which would have been a complete purchase all by itself 10 or 15 years ago. Anyone remember Destruction Derby for the PC from 1996? That was pretty cool but nowhere near as robust and fun as the Demolition Derby mode in SR2. Or Midtown Madness. Heli Assault mode is such a blast they could build it into a stand alone title.

GTA IV was a lot of fun but it left me with a bad taste in my mouth, especially after the brutally unforgiving checkpointless final mission. So far this game is doing a much better job of being just plain fun rather than strict or unforgiving. Even the writing and cutscenes are well done, at least when they stick to the comic side of things. Some of them are pointlessly grim.

Anyway, I love this game. It's genius.

Our pleasure!

Ok, I guess I am a moron for not being able to figure this out, but I just bought Oblivion for the PC and would like to get some mods for it, where do I start.  Looking at the poopmods site I am a bit lost.  Any guidance would be appreciated.

Sorry for the delay in answering your question...

You need POOP! It's a large (3.4 gig) file including all the patches and mods you'll need to get Oblivion up and running in style.

Go here to download the torrent.
Go here for a direct download link.

Once you have it, just follow triggercut's excellent step-by-step installation docs included in the POOP. You'll need a couple hours start to finish but it's fun to see all the improvements in the game while testing as you go. The results are spectacular.

Heh... it was originally called POOP BM (Popehat Oblivion Omod Project - Background Music) but I decided to give it a more descriptive name. 

I wanted to announce the release of two new Oblivion mod projects from the GT/OO/Popehat/Qt3 forum communities...

First and foremost, version 2.1 of Triggercut's excellent mod package for Oblivion called POOP has just dropped. 

Grab it here at Poopmods.com.

You can read more about it in this thread at OO.

I also wanted to share a project I worked on with the help of EvilIdler over at Qt3...

The Oblivion Background Music Project - Two hours of new background music for exploring the game's wilderness, towns, and dungeons. Click the Credits page to see the tracklists and sample the artists.

If you've been thinking about jumping back into Oblivion, now's the time!

I was all excited to pick up Tiger Woods 09 and Infinite Undiscovery and Mercenaries 2 and Tales of Vesperia but then my (third) Xbox 360 died this afternoon. That'll make it a lot easier to make informed shopping decisions in the busy weeks to come, but still... damn it!

I guess I'll make do with N+.

Part of me is tempted to pick up Too Human.

The other part of me knows that I'd barely play it before the better games start pouring in. And it sounds like even if it's worth playing, it's not necessarily going to be worth $60.

I guess I will do my best to skip it but the day it comes out in stores will be a bit of a hurdle.

Pacficism mode is the best. I cracked 200 million last night which puts me at #761 on the leaderboard. #1 on the leaderboard has 1.6 billion so I still have quite a ways to go.

This game is:

So. Damn. Fun.

Yeah, that's a developing saga.

Soon after trig dropped his POOP, there was some anger from the mod community who have apparently been burned in the past by shoddy versions of these sorts of compilations. Of course, POOP isn't shoddy, but it also turns out that protocol requires seeking permission from each of the mod authors involved. So we're working on that, and so far so good.

Watch for POOP v2 in the hopefully-not-too-distant future.

In the meantime, POOP users should visit www.poopmods.com for more info and support. You'd be surprised how many of the mods included in POOP already have updates available.

I spent some time selecting a whole new score for Oblivion's background music, so if any of you have grown tired of the Oblivion music (and also hates the way Battle music telegraphs a combat encounter before you even see the enemy) head over here to read about and grab my POOP BM.

If anyone has more questions or tips to share, come join the discussion raging over at Popehat: the Official Home of POOP.

Or this one at Qt3.

Petz Dogz Fashion for me. The extra "z" has me intrigued. 

Mass Effect PC for me please!

I'm gonna be cozied up with GTAIV all weekend.

The "give them a performance enhancing drug" thing is nothing new (e.g. ST DS9).
I'm not sure why they feel so in love with it and thought we would too.

WTF does the Jem'Hadar use of Ketrecel White (not a performance enhancer, a drug that impairs performance until taken as a means of ensuring loyalty) have to do with this obscure video game concept?

Please tell me this is asked with tongue firmly in cheek.

LOL.

GULP. I just made it to Underground Stream Village for the first time. I barely dragged Shiren's sorry ass to that point so I'm thinking death will soon be upon me.

Mystery Dungeon: Shiren the Wanderer has me completely addicted lately. That might fit your description.

I got it, but thought it was incredibly not funny too. A real missed opportunity. The Daily Show reporting live from Liberty City was much better.

On the bright side, the "murder mystery at the 70s game show" sketch was uncommonly creative. And Leboeuf freakin NAILED Doug Henning. <twinklefingers/mouth the word "magic"> Hilarious.

This little fucker is addictive. Maddening but addictive.

Ah, who cares. We'll all be dead in 80 years anyway.

I'm glad video games have become huge business. But GTA4 is not the game I want leading the charge.

Yeah, I hate when a fun good game is a success too! God forbid we get more great games.

That is a truly idiotic way of boiling down my point. (Assuming I have one.)

The video games industry has no reason to pussy foot around the type of content it wants to put out. Why is it acceptable for Hollywood to put out the shit that it does and rake in the millions but video game developers have to worry about low-life politicians and cry baby parents? Children have the same ready access to movies, books, and music that containts explicit content so why do some of you keep pointing a finger at video games?

If you're asking me, I'm pointing my finger at everything. Every fucking thing. When it boils down to cash, as everything does, then its corrupt. Politics, sports, entertainment, news... If you want more examples, just think of anything you can think of. There. That's an example.

I'm glad GTA4 is so successful, the money video games bring in eclipse that of other mediums and should be treated with the respect it deserves.

I'm glad video games have become huge business. But GTA4 is not the game I want leading the charge. I think it confirms the stereotype rather than deflates it.

At least Bioshock sold like hotcakes so there's some hope.

Wow, this game is great fun! Takes me back to my childhood bedroom where Mark Kabay and I used to throw dominos to knock down big castles we'd make out of blocks. Not only does it tap into something little-kid primal inside, but it's also a really excellent use of the Wii's motion controls.

I played with my 4 1/2 year old daughter and she managed to work her way through the tutorial. She struggled a bit with the B-trigger camera control, but the actual ball throwing is basically the same as Wii Sports bowling. Hold down the A button, cock your arm back, then throw your arm as you release A.

There are also parts where you press A to pinch and grab a block that you then maneuver, Jenga style. Very intuitive. I've only played the tutorial and the adventure mode but I don't see the mechanics getting significantly more difficult.

Watching a crucial tower teetering, not knowing if it'll fall or stay upright is great suspense. The best thing you can say about the game is that real-world logic can be applied to the challenges. If you have one throw left to get a gold medal, but two blue gem blocks to knock down and they're on different towers, just position the camera so that your throw will knock the first block nice and hard and send it flying straight at the second block. The first time I thought of this, and then executed it just as I had hoped, was one of those WOW moments that reveals the game's potential and really hooks you in. Simple but deep gameplay that rewards both strategy and good luck.

Right now this feels like a must-have Wii title. The only thing that could affect my opinion is if I get sick of it unexpectedly fast. But with all the modes to explore, I doubt that very much.

[supply and demand...if it's the best-selling game of the generation, then it's because that's what the general population wants to play. what's wrong with that?]

I have mixed feelings about the success of GTA. Sure it's fun and in some ways artful, but it's also incredibly sexist and juvenile and exploitative and base. And you know tons of kids are playing it, M rating or no. This is not exactly gaming's best foot forward when this thing breaks all sales records.

Amen, I was going to come in here with the same comment.

I don't want the entire gaming industry to have GTA as the coverboy.  Because a lot of people look at a game like GTA and dismiss it as immature, violent and "typical of the video game industry."

supply and demand...if it's the best-selling game of the generation, then it's because that's what the general population wants to play.  what's wrong with that?

You know what? Everything.

Capitalism is killing us. The pursuit of the almighty dollar is an all-purpose excuse for subverting everything and anything that is good or right or just or true. And we get fatter and stupider and lazier until some other country comes along and takes over the world.

I'm only half kidding.

It's not really a misconception. That's an awfully short list of must-haves for a system that's been out as long as the PS3. My personal list of PS3 games I want is only about 5 titles long.

There's been a steady trickle of good exclusive games in recent months but I'd like to see a much greater rush of them to make up for lost time.

At least Blu Ray worked out for them so they should have a very strong showing this year.

I have mixed feelings about the success of GTA. Sure it's fun and in some ways artful, but it's also incredibly sexist and juvenile and exploitative and base. And you know tons of kids are playing it, M rating or no. This is not exactly gaming's best foot forward when this thing breaks all sales records.

Blurg. My Gamestop didn't get this in yesterday so I picked up Shiren the Wanderer instead. Hopefully they'll get their Boom Blox shipment sometime today.

I just went to Gamestop and preordered this for pick up tomorrow. Looks like a winner, and it's always nice to add a title to the library that I can play with my 4 1/2 year old daughter.

Microsoft is sending my replacement Xbox 360 (got my 2nd red ring recently) and it's due to arrive Wednesday. Have fun without me!

I'm not too mad though. Their turn-around time was extremely quick.

I've been playing for only about 6-8 hours and my save games are about 3MB each.

Blackhawk, could you once again explain the console command for saving system settings? The crash on exit keeps wiping away some of the settings I want to keep. Thanks!

saveini

Thanks! I tried "save ini" but the space key was my tragic downfall.

OO come home! I miss my Oblivion thread!

I've been playing for only about 6-8 hours and my save games are about 3MB each.

Blackhawk, could you once again explain the console command for saving system settings? The crash on exit keeps wiping away some of the settings I want to keep. Thanks!

Definitely sad news. I have very fond memories of reading this magazine when I was just a kid.

If anyone is looking for a quality gaming magazine to replace GFW, look no further than EDGE. It's based in England so the subscription is pricey ($100 or about $8 per issue) but so totally worth it. Gorgeous design, great writing, interesting features... I've found that the cost of the subscription was worth it simply to reignite my enthusiasm for gaming magazines which has diminished so greatly over the past few years.

I'm sorry. It's still too soon, too painful for me to talk about Golden Cock Monkey. I just... can't.

Burnout + sandbox + no restarts.

That's a big one there, went from must-have to ick-no.

When the game hits $25 or less, make sure you put it back on the Must Have list. It's far too good for ick-no.

The latest example of this that occurs to me is Burnout: Paradise City. Get your Burnout license, then they dump about 110 events in your lap with NO FREAKIN' RESTARTS. I didn't mind having no restarts until the game got really difficult in the elite section. Divide that shit up into 25 events each to earn your Elite C, Elite B, Elite A, and Burnout Elite licenses WITH RESTARTS and I'd still be playing. With all the different routes and shortcuts, this game requires experimentation and memorization at the highest difficulty settings. Driving from the wind farm back to the baseball stadium after a narrow loss is the opposite of fun. It just adds insult to injury.

This game could have been the best Burnout ever simply by adding one menu option: RESTART EVENT. Instead, you have to recommend it with one big, glaring caveat.

P.S. I'm all for games that enforce driving around to your missions. A lot of people found fault with Mafia for that reason but I loved it. That game has a narrative and driving around lets you soak in the atmosphere. But Paradise City is pure racing without any need for that kind of enforced immersion. Bah!

One of the all-time best games ever made for any platform, ever, anywhere, period. And it does some truly amazing things with the PS2 hardware.

OOoooooooooooooooooooooooohhhhhh!

I NEED MY OBLIVION MOD THREAD!

I'm so helpless without it.

I think this is the first time I've ever been jealous of PS3 owners.

Come on dual shock 3 systems!