Fable III

One word, ADICTIVE! I got this game the day after it came out and all of my free time went into playing it. (Sorry Borderlands, I loved Fable first.) From the same open style world as its predecessors to its new menu free style this game rocks.

You'll be playing a prince or princess that must gain followers in order to rebel against your evil brother,. King Logan. Our favorite blind seer is back to guide players down the road to ruling Albion. On this road player will fin chests they can open with guild seals. Everything from fighting and job upgrades to expression and dye packs can be found here. The games doesn't end when you get the crown though. In fact its only half the game.

Be careful though. This game will focus on its main quest and if your not paying attention you'll miss some fun side quests. From the classic marry or don't marry quest to the new and improved gargoyle quest. Instead of noisy gargoyles you'll have to hunt down smart mouthed gnomes and if you find the D&D quest leave me a comment on how you would rid Albion of those uppity mages if you could.

In the game the menu is replaced by the Sanctuary, where players will equip weapons, put on cloths and enjoy a mountain of gold. Of course I wish there was some kind of corner map at least to help with navigating. Weapons can be upgraded by meeting a list of requirements. Check their stats before you buy or in the Sanctuary to see what you have to do.

Co-op have been greatly improved in this game as well. A second player can jump into the game at any time, even have images of themselves on platforms. The player can use their own customized character and when they leave they will keep their experience and gold. Players can get married and have kids of their own. (A nanny is hired to watch the child while players are out adventuring.)

All in all they improved. I hate the corner map being gone and not having a half a clue where I'm going unless I drop back and forth from the Sanctuary, but I still played on. Enjoy and happy gaming all.

T-Bone Junction

T-Bone Junction, yet another expansion to Borderlands, opens up to the closest thing to a city Pandora offers. T-Bone Junction is under martial law and its up to you to set it free. With the return of Scooter and some nice new shiny cars the pace is set with road blocks and instant killing. Scooter and his mom, Moxxie, she runs the Underdome expansion, bring in the humor I loved so much with the game. Along with some new and more powerful weapons, shields and meds, players will also have an addition 11 levels added to their level cap. That's right, skill points and all, baby. You'll need all those extras though. Players are fighting against Lancers, you should remember these B.A.s from Old Haven. A nice touch was the Armory, a cash of weapons the corporation was hiding all along. Here players will find all the weapons they can carry and more. With multiple chances to ransack this place before it is blown away it's a great place to stock up on better weapons, shields and mods. There is a nice little glitch going down the hallway before you get to the elevator that will allow you to search the armory before setting off the timer. The big boss of this expansion, that even has this gamers butt checks clenched? I'm not telling unless you want to ruin it for the rest of the players. (I'll bet you even play with a cheat shield that won't let you die too.) Just make sure to have some elemental weapons and aim for the critical spots.

To say the least, I've spent more time on this expansion than any of the others and I love it. Keep playing and next week we'll see what Moxxie's got at the Underdome.

Borderlands : Jakob's Cove

This games just keeps getting better and better. With 2K's expansion, Jakob's Cove for the hit game Borderlands, players can take a well earned break from killing raiders and skags to try their hands at zombie killing. What shooter game fan doesn't love mowing down waves of the undead? I know I sure do.
Jakob's Cove is a backwoods colony that (thanks to Dr. Zed's crazy brother, Dr. Ned) has experienced the zombie apocalypse. With hoards of zombies, were skags and a complete change of scenery this expansion is an almost relaxing breath of fresh swampy rotten corpse air. Just make sure you have some levels under your belt and lots of bullets.
With Dr. Ned being the guide through the main missions it still has the sense of humor I've come to love in the main game. (I just wonder how that crazy doc managed to grow such an attractive mustache on the outside of his mask.) With his warped quest for redemption the player certainly stays busy. Don't be afraid to take head shots and collect some brains.
So if you think you can handle it then go visit a halloween style town, lock and load and let the body parts fly.

WARNING: If you buy this in a store and not off XBox Live then download it to every profile on the console. Playing twThe player will have no choice but to create a new character and relevel. (30 levels later and I felt like my old self again.)

Borderlands

Borderlands, a Gear Box Software and 2K Games product, is a wonderfully simple D&D game with GUNS! A fun filled role playing shooter, Borderlands has four characters to play. The hunter, Mordecai, is the classic rogue with a blood thirsty pet bird, Bloodwing, that can attack enemies. The soldier, Roland, is the fighter and can toss out aromatic multifunctional turrets. Brick, just Brick, is the balls to the wall barbarian that runs into the fight punching his way through. The Siren, Lilith, is the closet thing to a magic user as she can go invisible and exploded with super speed when she phasewalks.

Once a character is chosen, on the bus driven by the weapons dealer, the player is literally dropped off the bus outside a small town on the planet Pandora. over the first few levels the player learns that everyone is after the Vault keys and that the better your weapons the faster enemies die. Weapons, or guns, range from pistols to rocket launchers. Each character starts with a higher proficiency for one type of weapon, but any weapon can be used and leveled. With every level, starting at level 5, the player can add skill points to a simple and easy to understand skill system. Mayhap the best part is that if the player is not happy with how they distributed their skill points then for a small fee they can be reassigned.

All in all this great, slightly cracked out, game had me begging for just one more level for days.

Brutal Legend

Envision if the video game Fable and the cartoon Metalocalypse had a love child. That child would be Brutal Legend. With the introduction of the hero, Riggs (voice: Jack Black), the non stop action starts. After battling a few blood thirsty monks and mastering the axe and guitar, your kick ass weapons, the player meets the girl and builds the Druid Plow. The Druid Plow, or Duce, is an upgradable car that mows over enemies and is equipped with a radio to play all the rock classics. Duce also comes with turning signals that tell the player where to go. The enchanted guitar not only summons Duce and troops, it can also do a number of leather moves. From pulling a zeppelin out of the sky to crash in explosive beauty, to melting the faces off all surrounding enemies, this guitar rocks. The melee weapon, the axe, is also upgradable and can be custamised to deal ungodly damage.

The player will battle through a number of levels that are made of different music genras. They tried to put down the metal, but the metal was way too strong!

Peace out and remember, just one more level.
Criss