Fable III Preview

Summary
The third installment to the Fable series,  the action RPG Fable III will be released in a few days. Not very long.
Fable III has had many tradtional RPG mechanics stripped from it, most noticably the menu system. That's right, Fable III has no menu. "How do you change weapons?" you say. Well, when you press the "Start" button, you're transported to a little place called the "Sanctuary". Here you will meet the player's butler, a fellow called "Jasper" who gives you in-game advice. In the "Sanctuary" you will be able to do all the things that have been removed with the menu through items such as wardrobes and shelves.

Information
Fable III is developed by Lionhead Studios (the same people that made the Black and White series) and published by Microsoft Game Studios. The game is to be released on Xbox 360 in four days (seven days for Europe) and on the PC (as part of Microsoft's renewed PC gaming commitment) sometime in November (and I bet the PC version is smaller).

Xbox 360:
North America: October 26, 2010
Europe: October 29, 2010

PC
December 2010

Plot
Set 50-60 years after Fable II, the game takes place on the continent of Albion where the old monach (the hero of Fable II) has died being replaced by Logan, an evil king. Logan's brother (you) is forced into becoming a sort of revolutionary leader, rallying the support of the Kingdom of Albion's people. In the second part of the game, you have overthrown Logan and you must now govern the public along with facing the chance of going to war with the neighbouring country "Aurora".

Gameplay
The big thing about the Fable series the the "morphing" of things depending on your actions (you and your weapon change depending on your actions). For example, your sword will become bigger if you use more advanced attacks and blocks. The menu system is (as I mentioned before) replaced by the Sanctuary. The game is also calssified as "second life" type of thing. You govern everything in your kingdom such as taxes and crime management. Your are also able to marry and have children (in Fable III you are able to adopt children, you can have a homosexual marrage). Fable III introduces area morphing where places change depending on your actions on it (if you tax the place heavily the buildings will look shabby and the people will hate you). Finally a new feature is the "Expression Touch" and "Dynamic Touch". You are able to do things with these functions, like flirt with NPC's and (hehehe) this could eventually lead to a relationship. Fable III developer Peter Molyneux gave some examples of these functions, if a child was in a burning building, you would be able to use the "Expression Touch" to confort it and then use the "Dynamic Touch" to carry it out safely.

Conclusion
Fable III looks like a great game. The graphics are decent, the "morphing" thing seems totally awesome and the whole "you can do pretty much anything" is NEAT. +++!

Fable III E3 2010 trailer
Fable III E3 2010 demo
Fable III E3 2010 Combat in the Snow gameplay
Fable III E3 2010 Love and Life in Albion gamplay

Gaming Platforms Generation 8 Preview

If you haven't noticed, we're currently sitting in the 7th generation of consoles/handhelds which consists of three main competitors, Sony (PS3, PSPgo), Microsoft (Xbox 360) and Nintendo (Wii, DSiXL).
However, the 8th generation is soon to start in 2011 with Nintendo releasing a confirmed successor to the DS ( I don't know why they do it, they just released the XL...) named the Nintendo 3DS. There is also another Nintendo console in progress that is designed to replace the Wii although no details have been released (the co-creator of Metroid tested it and said "It will leave your mouth open", so it's gotta be good right?).
Nintendo isn't alone in the 8th gen though, Sony is rumored to be working on a little thing called the PS2P (it's been rumored for a while now, being the subject of fan art and forum wars :p). As much attention it's been getting, Sony hasn't released anything about the hand-held (probably stingy because it'll give them a surprise value when it comes out).
Next to that electronics giant Panasonic has announced that it'll be releasing Jungle, a hand-held with MMO playing in mind (the result is a little laptop thing), marking it's first attempt at making a hand-held platform.
It is unknown if Microsoft will join in with a Xbox 720. Jokes.
So get ready for 2011, the start of the 8th generation.

Mortal Kombat Preview

Voted as the most anticipated game of Sony E3, the upcoming ninth installment of the "Mortal Kombat" series, Mortal Kombat (9) takes place at the same time as MK 1, 2 and 3 but in an alternate universe. Published by Warner Bros. Mortal Kombat 9 will be available on Xbox 360 and PS3 (a PC version is being considered due to the European market) sometime in 2011.  What makes this installment different from the previous ones is for the most obvious, the graphics. High quality 3D characters on a 2D pane, unique animations for each of the characters and large amounts of blood.
Also the user input has changed. There are now four buttons to attack with, one for each corresponding limb. A "super-meter" has been added for value. Every time your character dishes out a combo or takes damage, the bar is given some fuel. When it has reached the required level, the super meter will give the player the ability to perform a special attack, interrupt a combo or perform this critical hit combo called a "X-ray" move. For good reason. The character that performs it will mash the opponents organs/bones with the camera zooming in and showing the bones of the victim.
There are also several confirmed play modes including Tag-team, Challenge Tower and an online King of the Hill. There will be a total of 26 characters, of which 12 have been confirmed. Cyrax, Johnny Cage, Kitana, Kung Lao, Mileena, Nightwolf, Raiden , Reptile, Scorpion, Sektor, Shao Kahn and Sub-Zero. Since Mortal Kombat 9 is basically a retelling of the first three games, most of the characters from them will be in this new one. Additionally there will be several unique fatalities for each character (no characters will be having shared animations). And trust me, just after watching the stage demo fatalities, I understood why the game was rated M.
Mortal Kombat E3 announcement trailer
Mortal Kombat E3 stage demo

Pokemon Naranja

If you've ever wanted to play as Ash in Pokemon games (along with the anime story line) this game is for you! Sen in the Orange Islands, the game follows Ash's adventures throughout the season (all episodes included apparently). You can also get the funny coloured Pokemon that are in the anime as well. Unfortunately it's in Spanish (a hack too) and you might need to get someone to translate it for you (or learn the buttons off by heart). I'm not sure if you need and emulator.
Credit goes to Reala for showing me.
 Pokemon Naranja

Game Emulation

Ever wanted to play that old NES game that isn't around any more? Don't your parents want to waste money on your silly Nintendo games? Do you not have a console? Then you have just been bathed in mythical light! Game emulators are the way to go!
An emulator is a program that mimics the functions of a system using another one. In this case we're talking about a console (like a Xbox) or hand-held (like a GBA) to a computer. Game emulators run on these things on ROMs (Read Only Memory image). While emulators themselves are squeaky clean, a commercial ROM is illegal. Home-brew ROMs are clean.
 Lots of people use emulators for an equal (or greater) amount of reasons. Most people will play emulators for a few basic reasons; it's free, the game isn't sold any more or you can take that PS3 game around in a laptop. Of course there are the basic downsides as well. For one thing, you can't really lug your desktop around (sure you could a laptop but it's not the same) for hand-held games. Also, many of the games you might be itching to play are, as I said before, illegal.
Seeing as most people disregard the "illegal" part, emulators are thriving. A few have become well known on the net.
Some good emulators:
No$gba - Nintendo DS and GBA. Setup may confuse some.
VisualBoyAdvance - GBA, GB and GBC. Keys can jam on action games.
BoycottAdvance - GBA. Can't play as many games as VisualBoy. No speed multiplier.
Project64 - Nintendo 64.
DeSuME - Nintendo DS. No speed multiplyer.

There are a lot more. I just don't know them. C:
Check out:
The Emulator Zone
Cool ROM
Dope ROMs

Anyone have anything to share?

Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood Preview

Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood Preview
OUTLINE
A NEW TRAILER was released recently on July 14, 2010 featuring the next and third instalment of the Assassin’s Creed Series- Brotherhood. The game is set in the Renaissance Period in Rome.

In the recently released trailer: it shows Ezio Auditore in the year 1506AD, on an “easy mission” to confront a leader of the Templars. From this, we see amazingly awesome graphics- faces’ description and detail of Rome is absolutely flawless- predictions of epic scenes as seen here, and some hardcore battling.

INFORMATION: The game is developed by Unisoft Montreal, and published by Ubisoft, and will be available on Microsoft Windows, Playstation 3, and Xbox 360. There are Single and Multiplayer modes, with both of them from 3rd person point of view.
Release Dates for 2010:
PS3 and Xbox 360:
North America: November 16
Australia: November 18
Europe: November 19
Microsoft Windows:
February 22, 2011

PLOT: The player once again controls the character Ezio Auditore through the genetic memory (previous memory) of Desmond Miles. Ezio needs to reorganize and recruit his previous members of his Brotherhood, and can do this by completing missions and going further through the game. Rome has fallen under the rule of the Templars, and your job is to rebuild Rome.

Weapons and gadgets are available such as: Da Vinci’s parachute- to jump off tall buildings, melee-knives, a range of weapons, throwing axes, and introducing the hidden pistol into battle.

MULTIPLAYER: Rome isn’t the only used city, with Florence being available to explore during the Multiplayer.

There are a range of game modes, but the main one to stand out will be “Wanted”, where 6-8 players will be dropped on a map, with one player to kill and penalties for being spotted. Graphics aren’t as impressive in the Multiplayer game mode as Single Player, but still awesome.

GAMEPLAY: There is more dynamic game play featured in Brotherhood. There is a brand new fighting technique called BAM- Brotherhood Assist Move- where you can call on your fellow assassins to support you in a fight.

Fight scenes are slightly delayed- you can only attack one player at a time.
Graphics are great, and Multiplayer game play isn’t seen as laggy.
This game is one to challenge all others, and is seen as the best of the Assassin’s creed series so far.
By K.