pubs
I just got Fable.
Why the fuck is there a top-level menu item to watch commercials for other, unrelated games published by Microsoft? I mean. Could they not have used that disc space for something more constructive?
I feel slightly dirty for having witnessed this.
EDIT:
I actually am enjoying the hell out of this, even if it’s not what I expected. It’s not even close. I was waiting for a cross between Shenmue and Morrowind. That sounded like the original concept for the game, anyway. Now it’s more like the offspring of Zelda and The Sims.
It sure ain’t the revolutionary leap it was touted as. It has a lot of charm, though. Even if the save system is bothersome, and I CAN’T GET THE DAMNED GOD-VOICE TO SHUT UP.
If the game were to just leave me alone and let me do my own thing without badgering me like, uh, any recent version of Zelda, I would have little problem with it. From what I’ve seen. Even its dumb videogamey qualities (the chests littered around the game world) seem on some level deliberate. If the game were to take itself seriously, I might not feel the same way. The tone is just what’s needed, though, to make it work in the form it is.
…
This evening, as I was pouring virtual beer into a virtual barmaid, in real life a terror-soaked voice echoed from down the street: “HELP! OH GOD, HELP! CALL THE POLICE! SOMEBODY! HELP ME PLEASE! SAVE ME! OH GOD! POLICE!” And. So on.
This was followed by another voice: “What the FUCK‘s your problem, huh?” And a smacking sound.
Then. Nothing.
Several minutes later, we heard a series of loud noises. Noises I have trouble finding words for. They sounded like the midway between a buzz-saw and someone sucking ice cream through a straw.
I don’t know what connection, if any, exists between the above events.
EDIT 2:
I just realized why the music so made me think of Danny Elfman — to the point where I was constantly tempted to mutter “something’s up with Jack/something’s up with Jack…”.
It’s because the music is written by Danny Elfman.
I, uh, had forgotten that.
I thought briefly that they included playable demos. Needless to say I was disappointed. I’m eager to hear your take on Fable.
Most first party XBox games have a demos section.
The videos were compressed to hell, so I doubt it really takes up a lot of disc space.
I’m actually rather fond of them, since they usually give me a taste of games I’m anticipating without me having to go pay 9.99 for a seperate XBox magazine disc or something.
I think it depends upon the game.
For something like a Madden sequel, I don’t really think an advertisement for a totally unrelated game is out of the question, as long as it’s seperate from the game–i.e. I don’t have to go through the ad if I do not wish to.
Fable, however, would piss people off. Remember Jesus getting pissed that people were selling things in the temple? It’s not a question of what they were selling, but where they were doing it. Some games have an intrinsic “art”-quality to them and slapping an advertisement on seems to be a violation of some kind of sanctity.
Although, pragmatically, if they were not using the space for anything, the advertisements add value. I am sure even Aderack, Writer-King of the Insert Credit legions, downloads movies of games from the internet to see what they’re like. Doesn’t having them on the disc save you a bit of trouble, as long it’s not force-fed?
I’ll have to agree with you on this one. I mean, this sort of stuff being packaged with the game on a separate disc is one thing, but putting it on the same disc as the game? That makes it significantly less… pure, yes.
I’m guessing it’s more because the disc space was already available, not that they specifically made the space available just for the sake of advertising.
I guess I’m just used to it–I mean, having that racing game on the same disc as the complimentary Jet Set Radio Future that came with the Xbox was enough to acclimate me to the concept.
I’m looking forward to reading your impressions.
Wow.
Well, I do hope someone called the police.
No sirens yet!
We… weren’t sure what to do. People kept walking past, with confused expressions. Seems we weren’t the only ones.
Well! There you go!
So far!
Although still bothersome, that might have been something anyway.
I might not have even minded so much if they’d just hidden them a level deep, off the options screen or something. Or if they didn’t name the section “EXTRAS”, which implies something… special, and related to the game. Preferably both. Just call the damn thing “trailers”, and don’t pretend that it’s just as important as “LOAD GAME”, and you’ll take the sliminess (or perhaps simple cluelessness) down eighty percent.
The music is by Danny Elfman? Well. That is something.
Had I known this two days ago, I might have paid more attention two days ago when, as I was walking around the games section of a Future Shop being disgusted with their selection, their X-Box demo machine was randomly playing a behind-the-scenes promo movie discussing how the music of Fable was composed. I listened just the tiniest bit, didn’t hear anything I considered new or noteworthy, then grumpily tuned it out, but given Danny Elfman’s involvement it might be worth watching that after all.
Update, after watching the “making-of” DVD:
Elfman wrote the theme. The rest of the score, I guess, is just subsequently extrapolated in Elfman-style.