Though the game has already gone gold, the development team for the action RPG, Fable II hasn’t quite finished their task. Microsoft community manager Sara Nicholson has state that the game’s online co-op aspect will not be available from day one, as Molyneux and the rest of the team are still busy polishing it up to make certain everything is completely functional and bug-free.
The developer, Lionhead Studios, plans to make the online co-op mode available within a week after launch in the form of a title update. However, even without the co-op patch, you’ll still be able to see the people on your Xbox LIVE friends list as glowing orbs in the single player mode. You’ll also be able to chat and trade items with your friends when you’re connected to the internet.
From my experience with Molyneux and Lionhead Studios, it sound as if they found some serious issues with the co-op mode and decided to play it safe rather than sorry. EA has come under lots of fire for releasing games which they knew had major bugs in it, and it looks like Lionhead Studios is doing the right thing by holding off on releasing co-op. On the other hand, I know how Peter Molyneux likes to promise grand ideas, such as in the case of Black & White 2. Some of the things he promised simply did not make it into the game. We’ll see if we get co-op mode within a week, or if Molyneux was blowing steam again. Fable II is set to be released on October 21st.
Since the horror that was Tomb Raider: Angel of Darkness, Eidos seems to be taking its Tomb Raider franchise in a completely different direction, and it’s one we completely agree with. Tomb Raider Legend was a great game with an epic story and graphics unrivaled by any other adventure game of its time, and Eidos teamed up with Crystal Dynamics seems to be the winning combination for this series. While Anniversary was simply a remake of the original Tomb Raider, you’ll not find the same story recycling in Underworld.
The new fight sequences alone are to die for, and the graphics are simply amazing, even in such a low quality video. It’s time the Tomb Raider series had fresh air breathed into it, and it seems this is just what Crystal Dynamics is aiming for with Underworld.
There isn’t much in the way of details, but it’s suffice to say that Lara is up for another great adventure. Her ‘To kill a God…’ comment takes me back to the fight scene with Natala at the end of Anniversary, and it makes me wonder if that’s Natala’s voice we hear at the end of the movie. Surprises, surprises. We’ll have to wait and see until more information is released, but this game is definitely on my list of must play games.
In a bid to gain reputation as a more family oriented console, Microsoft will be introducing the new face of Xbox LIVE on September 29th. LIVE service will be down for more than 24 hours, so you’d better get in all the multi-player fun and arcade game downloads you want before then.
The new dashboard which is scheduled to go live with the update closely resembles a mash up between an iPhone and Nintendo Miis. Apparently, Microsoft is trying to get the best of both worlds. Hardcore gamers are probably none too happy with this update, as it features the little cutesy avatars prominantly throughout the whole dashboard. Those who would rather have the gamerpics Xbox LIVE has been famous for will have to settle for having their favorite gamerpic on their avatars t-shirt.
There’s no word on what else the update will feature, or whether or not they’ll be any new LIVE arcade games. However, there has been some great news announced for Banjo-Kazooie fans.
Banjo-Kazooie Hits LIVE
In order to celebrate the release of Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts, the N64 release of Banjo-Kazooie will be available on Xbox LIVE starting November 26th. Gamers will be able to download the smash hit for a whopping 1200 Microsoft Points. If you’re a huge Banjo-Kazooie fan and you plan on getting both games when they become available, you can pre-order Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts at GameCrazy, EBGames, GameStop, or Amazon and receive a free voucher to download the original N64 Banjo-Kazooie on Xbox LIVE two weeks early.
The sequel, Banjo-Tooie, is slated to hit LIVE sometime next year.
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