30 Comments » ![[Gamer Girl Friday]](http://www.sheylara.com/images08/gamergirlfriday.jpg)
It’s funny how the events that prevented me from publishing GGF on time yesterday are the very same events that I’m gonna end up talking about in this latest issue of GGF.
I had an absolutely exciting gamer girl friday (literally), hardly marred by the fact that I was running on only one hour of sleep and walking around with a painful sprain in my spine.
That’s why today is the show off issue. I have lots of stuff to show off!
==================================================
Table of Contents
- Creator of Fable talks about Fable II
- Meeting the lead designer of EndWar
- Unboxing Warhammer Online Collector’s Edition
- The Goonfather rates The Force Unleashed 9/10
- I have a PlayStation Home
- Results of last week’s contest
- Ask The Goonfather
- Win PlayStation Home beta accounts!!
==================================================
Creator of Fable talks about Fable II
Peter Molyneux, creator of Fable (for Xbox 360) and founder of Lionhead Studios, is in Singapore for GCA (Games Convention Asia) this week.
I didn’t have to go to GCA to meet him because the Singapore Xbox team hosted him at the Microsoft office with a bunch of journalists.
I know I’ve said this about a few other games before, but Fable II is the game to wait for. I’m superbly impressed and amused by it. It’s a Fantasy MMORPG meets The Sims and will appeal to both hardcore and casual gamers, and both male and female.
I’ll show you a video of Peter explaining the game, in a minute. Just keep in mind that I recorded it with a mobile phone so the quality is really bad. The game in real life looks a zillion times better than it does in my video. Sorry about that!
This is only Part 1 of the video because I don’t have enough time to edit the rest. I have more than 30 minutes of footage. In this video, Peter talks about:
- The important role of your canine companion
- True free roaming in an open-ended world
- The ability to walk away from cutscenes literally
- How the game promises an emotional journey with a dramatic story
- The interesting combat system
- The unique experience points system
More videos coming soon! Keep your eye on SheyaraTube!
In the meantime, here’s a picture of me and Peter. He is such a warm, charming guy despite having intimidating acccolades heaped on him such as “god of gamers” and “godfather of the UK gaming industry”.
I’m holding in my hands a very cute premium which I have to mosaic because I have an NDA on it. And I can’t tell you why, either. The gaming industry likes to be secretive like that.
More photos!
r
Journalists photograph Peter Molyneux
Peter Molyneux interviewed by a journalist
Okay, will talk more about Fable II again!
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Meeting the lead designer of EndWar
Besides Peter Molyneux, I also met the lead designer of the upcoming hit game, Tom Clancy’s EndWar.
Introducing Michael de Plater!
Michael is the creative director of UbiSoft Shanghai and he is also amazingly nice. He showed me a picture of his cute daughter!
We did a video shoot yesterday of me interviewing him about the game and him playing a demo for us. The video will be available for download on Xbox Live Marketplace when it’s ready.
I guess I’ll talk more about the game when I have a chance to try it out.
I will get to, soon. I have a VIP demo download pass!
You MUST try out EndWar because it’s going to revolutionise RTS games with its amazing voice command feature.
Set during a fictitious World War III, The game is more than an RTS, actually. It’s a combination of action, strategy and simulation and you’re so gonna feel like a real army commander playing it.
The general public will be able to download a demo around end October, before the game launches on November 4.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Unboxing Warhammer Online Collector’s Box
Between meeting Peter Molyneux and Michael de Plater yesterday, I had about an hour to visit the post office (to mail prizes), fix my SIM card (yes, it’s fixed, finally!!) and pick up my collector’s edition Warhammer Online.
It’s damn heavy lah.
I almost died yesterday travelling all over Singapore lugging around an immensely heavy game box, my netbook, all my other gadgets and hardware peripherals, and my usual barang barang.
But I survived! So here I am to show off to you my coveted Warhammer Online Collector’s Edition.
Many gamers who picked up the box a day before me also complained about the heaviness of the box.
Let’s unbox it together to find out why!
The box:
Back of the box:
It slides out like the drawer:
Ooh. A big book!
It’s a glossy, hardcover art book showing pictures of Warhammer characters, weapons and monsters:
Aah! Another big book! No wonder it’s so freaking heavy!
Nice! A comic book!
Aww, the last layer, the game box and a figurine.
The game box is usually the most exciting thing in a CE package but I don’t really need it since I already have the WAR client from beta. But I can’t resist looking into it, anyway.
Aww. Now, all I need is some time to play the game.
I totally wasted my open beta and headstart access, lol.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
The Goonfather rates The Force Unleashed 9
I received a copy of The Force Unleashed for the Xbox 360 from New Era on Thursday. Yay, thanks! I didn’t have time to play so I made the Goonfather play it and review it for me.
“Woah! This is a damn good game!” he said while playing it. “I love it! I rate it 9 out of 10.”
“Why not 10 out of 10?” I asked.
“Er…,” he said, and then went silent.
Five minutes later, I spoke up, “Your answer very slow leh.”
“I dunno lah!” he complained. “You ask me stupid question.”
“It’s not a stupid question,” I said. “If it’s such a great game, you’d give it a 10. There must be some reason you gave it a 9. Like, something missing or something not so ideal.”
“I dunno. Because we must always reserve 10 for another better game.”
“Then no game will ever get a 10 rating from you!”
“Yah.”
“That’s lame.”
“Okay, how about this. I f****** hate the holocrons.”
“What about the holocrons?”
“They have holocrons in TFU. It reminds me of my nightmare days in Star Wars Galaxies when the game was all about collecting holocrons to unlock the b***** Jedi character.”
“I think it’s a bit different in here right.”
“Right. It’s a damn good game.”
There you go.
The Force Unleashed starts off with you playing Darth Vader for one stage. You’re sort of wandering around killing Jedi until you suddenly bump into a toddler who yanks your lightsabre off your hands without even touching you.
That toddler grows up to be the apprentice (of Darth Vader). From there on, you’re playing the apprentice and doing evil stuff under the administration of your evil godfather, Darth Vader.
You know what, this game doesn’t need a review. It’s a damn good game.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
I have a PlayStation Home
So, another exciting thing that happened to me yesterday was that Brian from Ogilvy e-mailed me my PlayStation Home beta test account.
WOOTAGE! Brian is awesome!!
PlayStation Home is a new community service for PlayStation fans to interact in an online world that mirrors the real world. It has been in development since 2005 so it’s not, like, news or anything. But beta acccounts have finally been released so there’s a lot of hype over it now.
You can create an avatar, acquire a virtual home, and decorate your home with trophies that you earn from PlayStation games, then invite your friends over to watch a digital movie or gawk at your trophies and nice clothes.
It’s kind of like Second Life for consoles, I guess.
Well, I haven’t had the time to try it out yet, but you could! I’m giving out accounts to PS3 owners in this week’s GGF contest. Scroll down to the contest segment for more details! :)
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Results of last week’s contest
Yes, yes. I know. You guys have been waiting till you’re blue in the face for the results of this very, very popular contest.
So, without any more useless ado, here’s… a picture of the PSP pouch some of you will be winning!
Haha. Isn’t it cute?
Okay, then, HERE ARE THE FIVE WINNERS!
Lindy
tiger4
abraxis
austingy
aig
So, there you go! Winners, please e-mail me your name and mailing address if you want your prize!
And when you receive your PSP pouch, please remember to shower it with tender loving care because pouches also deserve to be loved.
Thank you, and congratulations!
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Ask the Goonfather
Please e-mail the Goonfather at 
if you have any questions on games, girls and lame jokes (which he is very good at).
King asks a PSP question:
Can PSP use a 16GB memory stick?
The Goonfather Says:
Can. 32GB also can. But it’ll probably be very slow. It’s advisable to buy offcial Sony memory sticks for better performance.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Win PlayStation Home beta accounts!!
I have a limited number of PlayStation Home closed beta accounts to give out this week, courtesy of Sony Computer Entertainment Hong Kong.
How nice!
These accounts are very coveted so I need to know that only the most deserving people will get them. (If you win, you’ll need to give me your PlayStation Network e-mail address and ID).
To win an account, please post a comment here telling me why you really need to win this. The most convincing answers will win!
I have about five accounts to give away, maybe more if you guys can be really, really convinicng.
So, let the contest begin!!
Last day to enter is Sep 25, 2008.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Okay, this is the end and I shall not ramble on anymore so I can publish this issue right now.
Thank you for waiting till you’re blue in the face! =)
sorrie for my previous dumb comments:”)
didn’t understand ur hardships….
ii didn’t get anytink again…
haiz….:P
Is End War out for the PS3 too? If not then I might just have to get a 360…
Going to get TFU next week.
Being a total game idiot, I have no idea whether or not PS2 exists. I know I can find that out easily by Googling, but the main point is..
My house own both the PS1 and PS3,
but I’ve not even touched the PS3 before cos I see no point in doing so since I’ve still got a rusty PS1 which is working..
So if I have a PlayStation Home account it would totally benefit me! I can get my butt off the PS1 and hop over to PS3. :P
Although I still have no idea if I’m supposed to play PlayStation Home on the PS3 or online, but since you said you were gonna give accounts to PS3 owners.. :D
Yippee I’m like the most convincing HAHA.
The Warhammer Collector’s box is really cool. Wished I had 1 too…
I won???? Wow…. it’s like the freaking 1st time i won something for some lucky draw in my life….
Oooo…. i m starting to love your randomizer. Can borrow it to generate some 4D/Toto numbers for me? :P
I’ve been chasen out of my home with just my ps3 and hdtv so perhaps if I had the account I could at least live in a virtual home at a void deck feeling the warmth through imagination. =\
@Goonfather: Bro, giving TFU a 9 out of 10 seems a bit generous lar… even with “old enough to have seen original Star Wars long before Hayden Christensen and the sacrilegious Phantom Menace” nostagia thrown in (i’m guilty as charged:)). But i have to agree with you, it IS a damn good game. Just worried the 9/10 will give players too high an expectation:)
your blog is getting bored. *yawns*
woootttt… i won!!!
i’ll be waiting for FableII also quite interested in WarHammer Online….
heartless: No worries, your comments aren’t dumb. :) Anyway, it’s nice to know that GGF is loved and wanted, so you did a good thing! ;)
Jesta: EndWar will be on the PS3.
V: Thanks for your entry! It sounds kinda weird to me, though, that you would get a PS3 and not play it when it has newer and better games. :P The PlayStation Home is for PS3.
Cornflict: Haha.. now that I have the WAR CE, I don’t know what to do with it. It’s so big and taking up space in my room. :P
tiger4: Wow, that’s exciting. :) Happy for you! Haha… I use the randomiser at random.org. Anyone can use it, lol.
Swift: Wow, I wonder how you hook up your PS3 and HDTV at the void deck! ;)
RN1209: You mean you feel that TFU is not good enough to allow people to have high expectations and meet them? :P
Danimoko: Thanks for your concern! But I don’t think my blog is bored because it has cool readers like you to entertain it with your comments every day. I think my blog is really happy, so thanks! :)
aig: Sounds like you’re more into RPG then? :P
Gee that Star Wars game looks tempting. Now I just need to get an Xbox 360 first :-( May the farce, urm force be with my wallet.
Yay! Thanks for #19!
I see you hang out with very famous people now! ^_^
Congratulations to Lindy, tiger4, abraxis, austingy, aig. aig is very lucky at this! :D
I’ll need the PS home beta key.. cos I’ll just need it.. I’m at home everyday doing nothing other than playing games so probably can double task by Homing on the PS3 as well.. Anyway in the gaming industry myself.. i guess winning the account gives me the edge and I’ll be able to tell customers (and brag) abt it..
lol.. lame… I just want it.
RN1209: Well… I know some sites only gave it a 7.5/10. haha… They were complaining of the movement controls. To me, the movement control problem lies in the person holding the controllers. In the game, I look at the graphics, and storyline. Controls are something that we can attune ourselves too. And if we can’t, then it is our fault. Though majority would not agree coz many people just do not admit that they sux! lol! As for the graphics, there are slight glitches which is still bearable for me. The storyline seems good up till now, and I am not sure if it will last till the game ends. :P
I have been waiting for PS3 home since last year when the PV came out. Barf even got me a wireless keyboard to use it with PS Home.
There fore if I get a PS Home account, I can let her go into cyber space and terrorize other users there to thank her for the keyboard.
Anyway when will it offically launch, if its quite soon I can wait for the actual launch.
@Sheylara: Hehe, if the demo is any indication, I feel that the targetting of the Force powers and the lightsaber controls could have been tighter:) Anyway, I still remember how much fun I had with Jedi Knight 2: Jedi Outcast years ago on the PC, so I was kinda hoping TFU would match that experience for me:)
@Goonfather: You’ve got a valid point on players needing to attune to the control system, but aren’t game programmers paid to make that transition easier for most players (even if some of us do kinda suck)?:) I can’t fault Lucasarts for the storyline, though. I’m thinking of getting the novel instead of the game, heh:)
Think you better catch up on your beauty sleep if you want to continue looking beautiful :)
An 8GB memory stick already costs $92. I can’t imagine how much a 32GB stick can cost :p
The Force Unleashed is not an easy game to play. Not easy for me anyway. I had the same difficulties in Star Wars Battlefront.
RN1209: But you won’t be able to hear those nice Star Wars music or those beeping droids from a book. Walking down the corridor, you get random beeping of wondering droids and the distant sound of blasters, gives you a feeling of being in the universe. Ok ok…. I know many readers would disagree with me. I hate to read. :P
@Goonfather: Yup, that’s the sad part about TFU. I do want to experience more from what I saw from the demo, but I think I’ll just get more frustrated with the controls as the game progresses and there are more and more enemies to contend with:)
Wah, free Home account to give out. Must reserve one for me, your good healer since DAoC…..
Been waiting for it a long time. Wat server are you playing in WAR? Unable to catch you online so far…
Yours Super Good Healer,
Aicee
Hahaha I forgot to mention that if I have an account in PS3 I’d be stuck to PS3 instead and toss the PS1 away! :P
Kinda motivates me to ignore my PS1. Hee!
Derrick: Haha. May the farce be on your wallet. :P
modchip: Well, I wasn’t exactly hanging out with them like socially. :P It was quite within the working environment that we met.
Jimmy: Thanks for your entry! So what sort of games are you into?
Naiveguy: PlayStation Home will be launching in late October, so if you got an account now, you could play around with it for at least a month. ;)
RN1209: I personally feel that controlling the force with the D-Pad is quite a huge challenge. But maybe some gamers like that. :P It does seem to be that you can control your force very precisely.
Mockingbird: I would want to sleep more if I had the time to. ;) Who wouldn’t?
Aicee: Wow, hi rare spawn!! Sorry, I guess I’m also a rare spawn… very hard for me to reply emails and messages these days cos I have so little time and there are so many places requiring me to reply messages! I’m on Darklands with COK (Destruction). And I think RGGay is on Darklands (Order). Go find them bah. ;)
V: I still don’t understand why you’re stuck to the PS1 when you have a PS3! :P
currently playing Warhammer online and its great! worth every penny to upgrade my comp just for it! This game costs me well over $800!
I’m in Ironclaw server .. feel free to cheong together
Molyneux is known to over-promise and under-deliver. There’s black and white and fable to prove. No doubt that he had some good stuff like populous, theme park and dungeon keeper, but his empty promises really put some people off.
Waiting about 5 years for black and white only to find that it was buggy was rather disappointing. :(
That is of course if you are kind enuff to let me win one, else, Oct it is….. :)
ohhs??
i did?:):)
I wish my job could be something like yours, playing games :) Mine is soooo mundane and don’t exactly earn that much if I don’t get a professional certificate.. Just whinny me grumbling.. lol
arghhh, they are in darkland orders eh…. sob sob then I cant join them… already joined COK in Darkland destruction…. maybe I should get a new account under my gf hahaha
Lycansberg: Wow… I don’t know anyone in the Ironclaw server. Everyone I know are in the Darkland server! Anyway, I still haven’t had a chance to play the game since I first logged in during Open Beta!! Sigh. Hope you’re still enjoying the game!!
quar: Well, I didn’t play Fable and B&W to be honest, but thanks for your feedback! I hope Fable 2 will be as good as promised. It really did look good at the demo. Let’s give it a chance and see how it performs at release! :)
Naiveguy: You got it! ;)
heartless: Yes, you did!
Wang Wang: My dear Wang Wang, I wish my job were also about playing games, but I’m not really playing them now. I spend maybe two hours per week now playing games. That’s definitely a lot less than any real gamer out there. :(
Aicee: Yah lah… they very mean, last minute decide to switch to Order. Grr…
The gamescore guild is in Ironclaw same to some gameaxis guilds as well. It’s fun especially RVR!