Be right back, getting married

Well, I gotta put Grinding Down on hold for a little bit as I’m getting married this Saturday. Random and pointless blathering about videogames will continue once I’m back from the honeymoon, and you’ll know when that is when you see posts here again. Fallout: New Vegas comes out when Tara and I are strolling the streets of the Magic Kingdom and Hogsmeade, and I guess that’s a pretty good tradeoff, but I have two things to say to those getting the game on the day it drops: 1) have fun, you lucky bastard(s) and 2) I hate you.

Be back soon, dear readers!

P.S. Those are the cake toppers Tara and I designed based off of my Supertown comic style. Adorable and faceless is the way to be.

October 2010 is stuffed full of Halloween candy and new RPGs

Just imagine every pumpkin in the picture above represents a new RPG coming out this month. Well, at least that’s how it feels. I mean, this list is kind of staggering in terms of big name games and number of releases in general. I guess November and December are kind of a washout in that many holiday-loving people are asking for games they couldn’t afford to buy in October. I mean, truthfully, I pretty much want all of these games, but with a wedding in eleven days, a honeymoon trip to Florida, and the ongoing stress of moving from one apartment to the next, I doubt I’ll get more than one. And we all know what one that is, right? C’mon, Grinding Down readers. Pay attention. It’s pretty easy to guess what new game would make me, uh, fall out of my seat with excitement.

Moving on, here’s what comes out this very month…

Final Fantasy: The 4 Heroes of Light

What it is: It’s not very much a Final Fantasy game at all actually, but rather something more old-school like Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies. Complaints about a limited item capacity and unfriendly battle system only enhance my curiosity more. Plus, if Jeremy Parish praises it so openly and lovingly, I think I need to see why.
Why I want it: Hats determine job classes. That’s good enough for me.
When does it come out: TODAY, PEOPLE!

Arcania: Gothic IV

What it is: An action RPG.
Why I want it: Can’t really say. Never played a Gothic game before, but it sure does look pretty; kind of like Fable, but with a much deeper magic/fighting system. Heard it’s a big open world, too. Love those big worlds.
When does it come out: October 12, 2010

Fallout: New Vegas

What it is: A post-apocalyptic game set years after the events in Fallout 3 and on the other side of the country.
Why I want it: I absolutely love Fallout 3, and this is basically more of that, plus new twists. Companions get better, there’s more guns and mods, and again, player choice is very important. Definitely my purchase of the month.
When does it come out: October 19, 2010 (too bad I won’t be able to get it then though)

Fable III

What it is: Another entry in Peter Molyneux’s favorite action RPG series to hype to Heaven and Hell.
Why I want it: I did enjoy a lot of Fable II, and there’s some great changes happening in this one to keep me hooked. Love the idea of menus disappearing as they were clunky and hard to navigate through before.
When does it come out: October 26, 2010

Those are mostly the big guns of the show. Still, there’s even more RPG goodness throughout the month. Borderlands Game of the Year comes out on October 12 and includes all four DLC packs. Lufia: Curse of the Sinistrals hits the Nintendo DS on the same day, but I’ve yet to ever play a Lufia game. And I believe there’s an XBLA title dropping soon called Costume Quest, which is about kids on Halloween battling other kids in their costumes. Or something like that. Might be a fun one.

Am I missing any from this list? Which one(s) are you getting? What is the secret to having infinite time and money? Please, I really need to know…

It’s TV time for Fallout: New Vegas

I can’t recall if there ever was a TV commercial for Fallout 3, but kind of doubt many would’ve seen it anyways despite the huge hit that game came to be in 2008. This one above, however, should get a lot of love. It’s a mix of CG film and in-game action, all set to some snappy, jazzy Vegas tunes, and I’m gonna definitely try to keep an eye out for it…though I really don’t watch a lot of television these days. Wonder what channels/shows this will pop up around.

Also, woo…dynamite!

We’ve got 23 days to go…

Granted, that’s just a countdown until Fallout: New Vegas is released. I’ll be on my honeymoon then and won’t get to really play it for several more days later. Kind of a mix of happy/sad on that one, y’know?

That’s Fallout 3 karma for ya

As evil aligned Samantha creeps closer to Level 30 in Fallout 3, I’m contemplating cheating. Only, when you sit back and look at it, it’s really not cheating at all. In fact, Bethesda seems to be encouraging me to do this. This being saving my game just before leveling up, reloading, and then changing my karma from evil to neutral before I hit Level 30 to unlock an Achievement for both karma cutoffs. It’s that or I play the entire game for a third time, something that is not looking like fun for me as I’m currently, well, very busy. And going insane. Y’know how it is.

Anyways, there’s a couple of perks that automatically switch one’s karma level around so that I don’t have to go find a Wasteland bum I’ve not yet killed and give him a hundred bottles of purified water. Even though the game itself is providing me with ways to switch my karma status right before I level up, it still feels wrong. Part of me is screaming, “Cheater! Achievement whore!” And yet another is nudging me gently, as if to say, “You know, you’re getting married soon. And Fallout: New Vegas is almost here. Time really is of the essence. Do it, and then you’d only have to play through the game as a neutral karma dude until you hit Level 20. Do it. For all of us.”

Cheat, don’t cheat. It’s cheating. it’s not cheating. Ughhhh….

So yeah, I’m battling with myself. I really would love to have everything completed in Fallout 3 before I dive head-first into Fallout: New Vegas, as the completionist in me sees that it is possible, and so it must be done. I will say that I’m extremely thankful not to see karma-tied Achievements in the next game, but the ones for dealing X amount of damage with specific weapon types will be my new bane. If you don’t remember, I’m not a big fan of BIG GUNS. Yup. So, we’ll see how this goes. There’s also the possibility that I might just forget to even save at a convenient time and screw myself out of this opportunity.

Meet your helpful companions from Fallout: New Vegas

Fallout: New Vegas creeps a bit closer to its release date, and more information about the game is being revealed. A lot, actually. This is a good thing. I just want to devour it all, and I can’t believe it’s coming out during my honeymoon. Tara is gonna get so sick of my “Fallout this, Fallout out” mumbling as we traipse about Disney World and Hogwarts. Good thing she loves me, right? Plus, the game will still be there when I get back. I already have the money for it put aside.

Moving on, just like Fallout 3, Fallout: New Vegas plays home to companions to help aid the main character during his/her quest. Some humanoid, some not. You can check out them all by clicking this very sentence. Click it! CLICK IT.

To be honest, I never used a companion in Fallout 3 unless the mission demanded it; I’ve played through the game twice now, and have yet to even search out Dogmeat. I’m just a solo adventuring kind of dude, I guess. Plus, I’m a big fan of stealth, and having a noisy friend with me only makes that problematic. However, the companions in Fallout: New Vegas come with their own special perks, many of which are cool enough to get me to change my mind about how I feel on this aspect. Here’s my top pick:

Full Name: Lillian Marie Bowen

Sex: Super Mutant

Race: Nightkin Super Mutant

Age: 203

Ethnicity: African

Profession: Farmer, Jacobstown

Perk: Stealth Girl – While Lily is a companion, the duration of Stealth Boys is increased by 200% and all Sneak Attack Critical Hits do an additional 10% damage.

Description: Though she now lives a peaceful life tending to Bighorners in the community of Jacobstown, Lily was once a Nightkin in The Master’s army. Before that, she was an elderly grandmother enjoying a simple life in Vault 17. Heavily medicated, Lily struggles with her dangerous schizophrenia and distant memories of her old life.

Hellooooo, Lily.

There’s one or two others that interest me, particularly the Eyebot. I really want to try to play outside of my normal style for Fallout: New Vegas, but I know that’s just gonna be hard to do. Hopefully some of these companions–and weapon-specific Achievements–will help break my mold.

Achievements for Fallout: New Vegas lack glitz and glam

With a month or so to go until its release, the Achievements list for Fallout: New Vegas was bound to be spoiled early. And now it has. Everyone toss your poker chips into the air and give a shout of joy! Well…mild joy. Alas, the Achievements are rather uninspired. They follow the same format, more or less, as Fallout 3, with a chunk given for completing quests, another for reaching specific levels (though this time without karma), and others for doing X a number of times. The toughest-looking Achievement is probably Hardcore, which demands you play the game from start to finish on hardcore difficulty. Everything else should just come naturally with time and persistence. I’m guessing snowglobes are the new bobbleheads. And sadly, there’s no random Achievements like Fallout 3‘s Pyschotic Prankster (10G; Placed a grenade or mine while pickpocketing). It’s all plain Jane.

I guess that’s okay. I mean, truthfully, I don’t play games just for Achievements…but I kind of expected a little more flair here given the Vegas setting and all. The names are pretty solid, but the actions to earn them are yawn-worthy. I half-expected some for maybe beating the game without killing anyone or another for strippers.

Fallout: New Vegas is set to release on October 19, 2010, for the PS3, PC, and Xbox 360, and I’ll be honeymooning in Florida, spending my time storming Hogwarts and riding all the non-scary rides. Oh well. The game will have to wait for my grand return.

So…ready to see ’em? Click the linky below to see the full list of Achievements for Fallout: New Vegas.

Four new screenshots for Fallout: New Vegas

Exactly what it says on the tin:

I don’t really care if there’s barely a graphical update from Fallout 3. That’s not why I love that game, the graphics–and not most likely why I’ll love this one. It’s all about exploration, seeing what’s over yonder, discovering the contents of a room or cave or vault, and watching the in-game world react to your choices. That and this time around you get to punch a Super Mutant in VATS with boxing gloves. Aw, yeah!

C’mon, October 2010. Any day now.

Planning out the next set of purchases

So, I’ve been thinking a lot lately about time and money and videogames. Because, as most of us know, they all go hand-in-hand with each other. You need money to play games; you need time to play games. You also most likely need a job, but the Catch 22 of that is if you have a job, you have less time, but more money.

To be truthful, I have enough money for games, but not enough time, and that therein causes me to feel guilt about buying new games when I’ve yet to get through a good chunk of my collection. I mean, I did toss down $5.00 for six games thanks to the Humble Indie Bundle, and of them, I’ve only played a few hours of Aquaria. Haven’t even touched the others yet. Problem? Problem. Plus, I’m still working on Borderlands, Pokemon HeartGold, playing Dragon Age: Origins a second time, and a slew of other abandoned children.

Right. Chances are I’m just babbling here, but basically, I’m not going to be making a Purchase of the Month for May 2010. Generally, I allow myself to buy one new videogame–often ranging in the $30 to $40 range–each month as a reward for working hard and staying alive. However, I have more than enough on my plate right now, and there’s actually nothing terribly new calling out to me…save for Red Dead Redemption, which a lot of reviews are giving the thumbs up on. Yet…I still do not enjoy GTA IV and think maybe, just maybe, I should stay away. Who knows. I might cave over summer; I’ve always wanted to ride a donkey into the sunset.

I do, however, know with certainty some of my next purchases. And here they are:

• June 2010: LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4
• July 2010: Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies
• August 2010: ???
• September 2010: ???
• October 2010: Fallout: New Vegas

And that’s really all I know at this point. Nothing else on the radar. Nope, not even Fable III. Feeling kind of meh about it at this point. But I do like having a battle plan and things to look forward to…

More Fallout: New Vegas previews are here

There’s been some more preview coverage of Fallout: New Vegas as of late, and I’m here to drool and provide you linky links to all the hot action.

First, IGN has a lengthy look at the beginning of the game and how you’ll come to create your character and so. There’s actually not a whole lot of new details that weren’t already spoiled in print magazine articles a couple months back, but at least we get to see some new pics. Love the one-wheeled robots. And sniping from a dino’s mouth. Can’t beat that with a nine iron.

Then MTV Multiplayer talks a bit how the shooting mechanics from Fallout 3 are being updated to better fit FPS players. For one thing, much like in Borderlands and BioShock, you’ll be able to bring up the weapon’s iron sights to help improve aim and accuracy. And there will be weapon mods available such as extended magazines, mountable scopes, and recoil dampeners. These upgrades will surely help out those that prefer to shoot outside the VATS system (not me).

Regardless, it all sounds good to me. The IGN article took a swing at the fact that, graphically, one might confuse Fallout: New Vegas as simply an expansion of Fallout 3. True, true. But I’m more than willing to give up some graphics polish to have just as much (and most likely more) of the same great content that makes the world fun to play and explore. Hurry on up, Fall 2010!

Last two Fallout 3 quests completed

Over the weekend, I jumped back into the Capital Wasteland to finish up the last two quests tied to Achievements for Fallout 3. These were You Gotta Shoot ‘Em in the Head and Reilley’s Rangers.

The former quest I avoided during my first playthrough, as it most definitely clashed with my super-duper angelic nature and soul. Can’t just go around shooting people in the head, even if they are bigots and hate ghouls of all shapes and colors. Trust me. I kinda wanted to. Thanks to my evil, I could, and each and every racist Wastelander got what they deserved. Red-headed Samantha shot them square-on with a 47 damage Chinese Assault Rifle.

For reasons I don’t know, I just never picked up the latter quest from one sickly Reilly in the Underworld. Must have missed her. You can play it evil or good or neutral, and I actually achieved good karma by accident by helping the rangers out. Don’t worry. I remedied this later when back at Ranger Compound where I planted some conveniently-placed mines and slaughtered everyone that made it safely back home. Yeah, being evil can be fun, but I still feel ultimately guilty over the action.

Okay, that’s the last two quests down and out. I’m now at 64 out of 72 Achievements, and I really really want to get a full Gamerscore for Fallout 3. Can’t just have the LEGO games riding forever high on my list. All that’s left are the karma-related ones for evil’s LV 20 and LV 30 and playing a full neutral character, as well as finding all the alien recordings and steel ingots. Gonna need a map or walkthrough for those ones, methinks.

Creeping closer though. Must finish before Fallout: New Vegas drops…