Phase Two has now begun.

Phase 2 has now begun.  Yep, I'm finally ready to introduce you to phase 2 of my world domination plan.  I mean gaming plan.  World domination is phase 3.

I now have a YouTube channel and I've posted my first video up on the site and you can go watch it and leave nasty comments  Hey, it's the internet, isn't that what people do nowadays.  

It's just an introduction video where I tell a little bit about myself and how I started gaming.  For those of you who already know me it's just a rehash of what you probably already know.  But if anyone new comes along I wanted them to get a sense of who I was.  Hopefully they'll like me anyway.

Getting this intro vid finished and up was a pain in the but.  The first one I captured didn't have the audio.  I tried doing a voice over after the fact but somehow that didn't work out right and got out of sync when I edited it.  The third attempt got the audio and video together but I accidentally had the game audio turned up and the chat audio turned down so you couldn't hear me say anything.  I muted the game audio and did a voice over recording on that vid and you can check out my channel to see how bad a job I did.

I don't have anyone to help me do this, or more importantly tell me what I'm doing wrong.  So it's me fumbling around trying to figure things out on my own.  I'm hoping I get better the more I do this.  I don't think I could get any worse.

I'll be putting up videos for the Xbox 360, PS3 and maybe some PC games.  I'm hoping to get an Xbox One sometime this summer.  I will definitely have one before Star Wars Battlefront comes out even if I have to start selling my internal organs to do so.

You can find my YouTube channel under Pengwenn.  My user name is Pengwenn . . . for everything.  Well, almost everything.  My Xbox, PSN, Steam, YouTube and Twitch (more on that later) user name is Pengwenn.  My twitter name is @PengwennGamer because someone had already taken Pengwenn.  How rude.

Killing time

Sometimes I'm just killing time on my Xbox 360. No, that's not a new game that I've got. But wouldn't it be funny if it was. I can just picture little clock characters running around the screen screaming as I blow them up with my shotgun. There would be some of those old fashion pocket watches, wrist watches and mantle clocks. Boss battles would consist of a hard fought battle with a Grandfather clock. And when you get to the end of the game and beat the last clock it resets time and your back at the beginning again. Wouldn't that be great? But I digress.

When I say I'm killing time on my Xbox 360 it usually means I'm playing an Arcade game. I play them when I know my friends are about to get online and I don't want to get too involved in a big game like Mass Effect or Fallout 3. I want something simple and easy that I can jump out of in the middle of a game and not feel bad about finishing it. Quick little Arcade games are perfect for that. And chopping wood or forging swords in Fable II is just the same as an Arcade game.

I also kill time and use Arcade games to wind down after some intense online multiplayer action. Whether we end up having a great night or a terrible one, some times I'm too pumped up to quietly lay down and go to sleep right away. A couple games of Hardwood Hearts lowers my blood pressure and ten to fifteen minutes later I can now start getting ready for bed.

Sometimes when I'm killing time with Arcade games is because I don't have the brain power or attention span to focus on anything for more than a few minutes at a time. When you play an online multiplayer shooter in that frame of mind you're going to get killed . . . a lot. Sometimes these "brain farts" last awhile and sometimes only a few minutes. Either way, I prefer to play one of the Fable Pub games or Gin Rummy, or Backgammon instead of having my head blown off every few seconds. Maybe that's just me.

So if you ever see me online and I'm playing an Arcade game I'm usually just waiting for friends to come online, winding down after an intense gaming session or I just don't have the brain power to play anything too intense. Just because I'm playing one of those games doesn't mean I wouldn't be happy to accept a game invite from a friend to play something else (even an Arcade game). On the rare occasion when an Arcade game catches my fancy and I want to play it as much as I want to play a disk game, I'll let you know. Maybe I'll change my status to "Busy" or I'll go into hiding.

So if you see me online and I'm playing Hearts or Spades or whatnot hit me up with a game invite if you want me to join. Who knows, maybe someday we can kill time together. Watch out for those "3 o'clock" monsters though. They're down right mean.

The early bird gets the game

Okay, so I have two rants to give you today. They're both related, kind of like ugly half-siblings of each other so you're going to get them all in one package. Now who said America wasn't a melting pot any more?

Rant #1:

Gamerscore cheaters on new games.

Yes, I know people will do things to boost their gamerscore. You know, play in matches with friends only and doing things specifically just to get an achievement. I've done that occasionally. But only on the hard to get achievements because nobody plays the game (thanks Kralon for playing Spyglass Board games). The Bog map in Gears of War was the exception, but then again NOBODY likes playing that map.

What irks me is that people were getting 200 out of 200 gamerscore on Fable II Pub Games long before Fable II came out. How could they do that when one of the achievements in the Pub Games is to play as your character from Fable II? If you don't have Fable II there's no way you could get that achievement unless you cheated somehow. And even if you had the game you're still cheating because Fable II wasn't suppose to be until today. Which leads me to rant #2....

Rant #2:

People who get highly anticipated games long before they're available to the rest of us.

A couple of days ago I noticed one of the friends on my list was playing Fable II. When I saw him playing the game I got mad . . . and jealous. It's a big convoluted story that he knows someone who works in a game store and sells him a different game for $60 bucks but gives him the Fable II game instead. His inventory doesn't match up but his books will at the end of the month. To me that's cheating. And it should be illegal. If a game isn't suppose to be out until October 22nd there shouldn't be people out there playing it on October 21st or any earlier.

Then last night while playing Gears of War one of my friends said someone on his list was playing Gears of War 2. They were online looking for matches. Excuse me? Doesn't Gears 2 come out sometime in November? Last time I looked it was still October. And did he really think he'd find someone to play with this early? The rest of us just sit in growing excitement and anticipation until when the game is really suppose to come out while cheaters get the game early and get to play it? That is so not right.

Microsoft made a huge deal about banning anyone found playing Halo 3 prior to the release date. Everyone who got it early had to make sure they didn't log into Xbox Live until after the release date so nobody would know when they got the game. Of course that meant they couldn't play online multiplayer matches. Don't you just feel for those cheaters? I know Halo 3 was Microsoft's baby but don't you think they could do the same thing for Fable II and Gears of War II? Those are huge games for Microsoft. They might not be games Microsoft owns or developed themselves but I think they've done more for the system than the Halo series has. At least more good. If someone refers to a "trash-talking gaming idiot" must likely they say "trash-talking, Halo gaming idiot". I'm just saying.

So while the rest of us are abiding by the law and will wait (impatiently) until the official release date to pick up a game why can't those who cheat get some kind of punishment? How about a ban from Xbox Live for a week? I'd like to hear them say it wasn't their fault they opened up the game, stuck it in their Xbox 360 and started playing when they didn't know they weren't suppose to. Come on. Any gamer worth their salt is going to know the release date of games they're interested in. And any store who sells games early (legally or otherwise) should be fined.

The early bird might get the game, but I hope they get banned as well.

Fable II cheaters - my speculations

I was going to comment on Zenra's comment on my last post but I realized I had more to say than just a simple paragraph or two. So here it is.

First off: this glitch was discovered immediately once the game was out and the next day someone at the developer said a fix would be coming but then . . . nothing. Not a word, not a fix. Now I don't know anything about programming or game design but this glitch seems like an easy one to fix compared to say turning a chainsaw into a shot gun. So I think one of two options happened:

1) the person who spoke out that a fix was coming (and would be out soon) shouldn't have because he didn't know what he was talking about because this was planned from the beginning. If this is the case I'd like to know what happened to him. Did he get reprimanded? Or maybe after working to try to fix the problem they found out it's more complicated than originally thought. Which might lead to...

2) they decided AFTER THE FACT to incorporate the glitch into the game (since Fable is all about morality) when it's released. That could mean you have a warrant out for your arrest from the moment you start the game; or your patron comes after you for their share of the money because they funded you; or that no one will sell you anything because they don't want "dirty" money. That last one would be hilarious. You've cheated to get all that money to buy everything in the game from the get go, but no one would take it because it's "ill-gotten gains". That would teach the cheaters. I would even wait longer if the game is delayed in order for them to make that last option an integral part of the game. As much as I'm looking forward to playing that game I'd love to see those cheaters get what's coming to 'em.

I've visited message boards ever since the game was released and at the beginning there were a lot of people that were bragging about glitching and 'earning' lots of credits. They said if their credits were reset or if they had to start off playing as an evil character first "no big deal". Their next play through they'd just be good. But what I noticed the longer time passed without a patch or a word from the the developer most of them started to get worried. They wondered what kind of ramifications they'd have to face once they got the game. Would it lock up and refuse to load because they glitched? Knowing who this game is coming from, and the fact that Moyneux likes to push things and challenge gamers, they all figure something is up with this glitches, either from the beginning or as an after thought.

There is the possibility that nothing is going to happen and this is all a publicity stunt to keep gamers excited about a game that's not going to come out for awhile. I wouldn't put it past anyone to consider that. But just from the fact that the original Fable was a morality game (and it appears Fable II will be the same way) and that there is no obvious reason to create and release The Pub Games as an Arcade game besides to generate interest about the real game I have to think that something else is going on. It takes time, money and a lot of work to create an Arcade game so why go through all of that if it's just for publicity? Molyneux has said he likes to push the envelope and challenge gamer's thinking. I think releasing an Arcade game to tie into a retail game qualifies in that respect. But Molyneux is ambitious and I don't think an Arcade game tie-in is the extent of what he wants to do with his games. I could be wrong.

I will be playing Fable II at least twice; once as good and once as evil. I may even play it a third time to see if I can remain neutral. It might be boring but I like a challenge. Whether I have to play evil first because dain made me take a glitched win doesn't really matter to me. I just want to play the game. But since I don't play sequels until I've finished the first one I guess I need to get back to playing the original. And believe me I'm not complaining . . . except that I've just picked up The Force Unleashed and want to play that . . . and I've got Gears of War 2 on pre-order as well as Fable II. Okay, so maybe I'm complaining that I don't have enough time to play the games I want to. But then I'm always complaining about that.

Fable II cheaters will be punished

HA! I knew it. Molyneux: Fable II Cheaters Will Be Punished. Whether they planned all this or someone missed the glitch in the quality control I would love to see all those cheaters suffer somehow when the game comes out.

Oh wait, maybe not suffer TOO badly since I was showing the glitch to dain, with no intention of actually taking the huge payout it offered me, when I accidentally hit the wrong button and won big. If anyone should be punished it should be him.

I'm playing the game fair and square (except for that one hand) so maybe I should just get off with a warning. That's right, a warning. AND I'm paying my debts off before I log off. That's the kind of responsible-imaginary-fantasy-world-thrill-seeking-gambler I am. You got a problem with that?

My (latest and multiple) Obsessions

So I've been thinking about what my next Arcade games was going to be. I have lots to choose from. You see, I need some small little game to focus on whenever I need a break from the larger, harder and usually more time consuming disk games. Backgammon, Puzzle Quest and Jewel Quest all filled that need. So I've been looking for the next one.

Then I found it.

I loved playing Fable on the original Xbox. I've never got very far in the game because I spent too much time exploring and robbing people (I love doing that). So when I found out Fable II was coming out I was very excited. Then I found out that there would be an Xbox Live Arcade game that you can get before the game comes out that would have mini games from Fable II in it. And THEN I found out if you pre-ordered Fable II you'd get a code to unlock the Arcade game for free. I was there.

From the very first note on the opening screen I was hooked. I love the music of the first Fable game. I even have the soundtrack and listen it to quite often at work. Then I started to play the games. While I haven't figured out any strategy, besides random chance, in the Spinnerbox game I love the other two, Fortune's Tower and Keystone.

When I first started playing I couldn't win anything in Fortune's Tower. Keystone on the other hand was a gold mine for me. And no I haven't been using any of the glitches that make you win big even though you bet small. I finally figured out a strategy for Fortune's Tower and I've been doing well ever since.

The problem is all the games are so addicting. When it's time to go to bed it's just so easy to tell yourself you'll play one more pyramid, or archway or just one more spin. Next thing you know 30 minutes have gone by and you can barely keep your eyes open. Or you find yourself just wanting to get in one quick game before you go to work only to find yourself in a mad dash out the door trying to get to work on time (or maybe arriving late and sneaking past your boss).

Those games are addicting and fun and I'm loving every minute of them.

And then when I feel I need to pull myself away from the Pub Games for the sake of my sanity (and my job) I've started playing Hexic HD. A simple game that can be over quick but that could also provide an extended amount of play and challenges. I wasn't expecting much while playing it but I've pick up 4 achievements in the last couple of days and now I'm getting addicted to that game as well.

I finally made my first black pearl last night in a "just one more game and then I'll quit" moment. Considering I lost 6 silver stars in two separate collapses because I wasn't paying attention before I made the black pearl I was very proud of myself. I wasn't trying for it specifically, just trying to see what I could do. Any game that rewards me with achievements when I'm just trying to have fun and experiment with game play is worth it to me.

The only down side to my latest obsessions is that they're all single player games. I'd love to have an Arcade game that I obsess about getting all the achievements in that I could actually play along with my friends. We usually have such a good time playing with each other, name calling not-with-standing, that it bothers me I can't combine the two things. Oh well, maybe someone will come up with a game (Novadrome, Marble Blast Ultra, Small Arms or something) we could all agree to play.

Until then you can probably find me in the Pub. Spinning disks, rolling dice or dealing cards. At least the din of the background noise in the Pub makes me feel not quite so alone. Now if only my patron could loan me some more money, I feel an obsession coming on.