bumper xmas for games this year, I got:
Burnout paradise
star wars: tfu
elder scroll IV game of the year edition with both expansion packs
Whoo Hoo!
You got some solid titles there Agent_M. I'm a big time Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion fan myself; that was for my money by far the best game released so far on the Xbox 360. Awesome main quest, tons of sidequests, weapons, armor and magic spells galore an amazing amount customizability to your character. It can be a little daunting at the start but once you're into the game and get a bearing on your surroundings, you can reallly lose yourself that world. I put in something like 130 hours into that one and still haven't done everything. Hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
Got These Games;
* Quantum Of Solace - Completed
* Star Wars; Force Unleashed
* Lego Batman
* Test Drive
* Tom Clany's; Rainbow Six Vegas 1
Ordered GTA 4. Not got LIVE set up yet
Hope you enjoy your new 360 Bondaholic. And you got some pretty good titles there. Rainbow Six Vegas in particular was a lot of fun. I'm going to need to look into QoS myself at some point.
tony, any tips for pulling down the destroyer in SW:TFU? I've pulled it down twice but can't seem to get the third one.
That was the worst boss level by far.
Try holding the sticks in the direction specified for a few extra seconds. For example, if the game tells you to pull the left stick UP and the right stick LEFT, hold the sticks in those direction, and when the icons on the screen for the sticks reset to their neutral position, continue to push them in the direction you were going for another couple of seconds. That way, when you do finally release the sticks, the Star Destroyer will "drift" into the correct position and allow the cinematic to kick in. The third time was the touchiest for me as well.
Hope that makes sense; if not, let me know and I'll go into more detail.
I am vacation until Saturday, so I actually have time for some gaming. I have been playing QoS and enjoying it. Interesting weapons and fairly imaginitive game play. Tony has mentioned that in the previous Bond games you had several Bond type skills to enjoy, driving, fighting and shooting. I am about half way through and so far mostly fire fights, although we did get a foot chase and you had to do some stealth kills.
I don't know who beat this game in 3 to 4 hours, but I spent 3 hours on it tonight just to get through 4 1/2 levels. I was stuck for quite awhile on the roof of the Science Center trying to take out the helicopter. Finally got it after hitting it 3 times with the D.A.D. system.
I have unlocked a few rewards sp I must not be too bad.
Cheers Tony that worked first time, on Monday I spent 45 mins trying to finish that level
I've said it before and I’ll say it again, that’s why I only really post on this board, If you have a problem or a question most people here are willing to help or offer advice where as on other boards you end up getting hundreds of derogatory comments by 15 years olds
Cheers Tony that worked first time, on Monday I spent 45 mins trying to finish that level
Glad it worked for you; BTW, did you happen to catch Jar Jar Binks' "cameo" in the game yet? I won't spoil it but it is kind of funny if you come across him (especially for Jar Jar haters).
After several false starts, I've finally started making some significant progress in Bethesda's Fallout 3. The game is a sci-fi RPG where you play a character searching the post-nuclear wastelands of America for your father. Along the way, you discover and interact with other characters and unearth a story that is far bigger than you at first thought.
As is the case with these types of games, how you initially set up your character's attributes goes a long way towards determining the type of experience you will have. In my first attempt, I spread my skill points too thinly across too many attributes, thereby coming up with a "jack of all trades, master at none" character who really was pretty ineffective at everything. After deleting all the savefiles and starting again, I decided to focus on three or four key attributes and that really opened the game up.
Contentwise, there is a lot to do. In addition to a fairly long main quest there are also tons of interesting sidequests (many of which are inspired by classic sci-fi movies like Them or The Omega Man) that you stumble across as you explore the wastelands and talk to people you meet. The weapons are also pretty eclectic; even though I'm only a few hours in I've already found everything from simple batons and baseball bats to a laser that literally reduces your foes to a pile of ash. You can play as a good person, a nasty badass, or something in between. There's even a dog who will accompany you on your quests...if you can find him.
The game is rated M for mature and it earns that rating with its bleak setting, graphic depictions of violence and some really crude langauge. It's definitely not a game for the little ones.
As was the case with Oblivion (another classic RPG from Bethesda) Fallout 3 is shaping up to be a deep game with a rich set of quests and a mature story that will probably take over 100 hours or more to fully explore. Daunting at first, you literally have an entire world to explore once you get your bearings. Even at $60, there's a lot of gameplay for the buck under the hood.
well I've finished ST:TFU and have been dipping in and out to get all the holocrons but have mainly been starting on Oblivion.
I am realy suprised by the depth considering this was one of the first rpgs on the 360 the fact you can stand on a hill top and actualy see towns ect on the horizon. And the names of some of the NPC's are pretty funny too!
Oblivion is a real gem; if you take the time to build up your character and familiarize yourself with the world (a daunting task at first) you'll have a great time and will be able to approach the game in an endless number of ways.
If I may offer a suggestion, take some time to carefully consider the attributes you want for your character and spread your points over 4 or 5 attributes at most when you first create him. Don't spread your available points over too many attributes at the start of your adventure or your character will be spread too thin and be too limited.
If you find yourself enjoying Oblivion, you may want to pick up Fallout 3 at some point down the road. The game is made by the same developers and can be described as Oblivion in a futuristic post apocalyptic setting. The games share lots of qualities including an enormous world to explore, lots of weapons and other items, endless ways to set up your character and plenty of quests to experience.
I might but I think it'll be a while or I'll wont see the wife from one week to the next
) Oh, you have one of those. Being single, I often forget the obligations and commitments that go with being married. I friend at work got a PS3 for Christmas (I tried to steer him towards a 360 but he wouldn't listen) and is suffering some of the same issues: it came with a BluRay of Casino Royale which he still hasn't found the time to watch.
As for me, I finished the main quest in Fallout 3 yesterday; I'll have to load an earlier savegame and do a few more of the sidequests. After that, its on to Quantum of Solace, which I just received.
BTW, QoS has been reduced in price here in America and is now selling for $40; I would imagine a similar price drop elsewhere.
I'll have to watch for the drop in the QoS price. I've recently discovered the value in purchasing games 'used' rather than new, but even the used prices on the more popular games tend to rival the new price. The drop in QoS's price tag should mean the used titles will drop also.
Finished the main quest in Tomb Raider: Underworld on Saturday. Very enjoyable game and probably my favorite of the three Xbox 360 Lara Croft titles so far. Now I want to go back and pick up the various treasures in the levels. Completing the game opens up the 'Treasure Hunt' mode, allowing you to go revisit the previous levels without actually 'replaying' them. It's a nice touch, and returning to the levels and seeing the completed puzzles and defeated boss arenas seems to add a nice sense of closure to the game. It also helps that you don't have to fight all the enemies again and can focus solely on locating the last bits of treasure - especially considering the fact that there are so many of them!
I purchased a stack of used games after Christmas, thanks to a plethora of GameStop gift cards I received, but I'm not sure which one I intend to devote my time to next.
Well, I was a bit bereft of hope that anything would ever happen with this game's production, but there is a 'bit' of light at the end of the tunnel...just not for 360 gamers
Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings may make it out of development after all, but not for the next gen platforms (at least that's the rumor).
I wouldn't be surprised if this was some internal team's efforts to cobble together a trailer that was already in the works to help save the project from the axe.
I'd read about this game as well. Apparently the lukewarm response to the next-gen versions of Star Wars: The Force Unleashed led to development being scrapped as the game engine wasn't as powerful and polished as Lucasarts would have had us believe. They were hoping to license the engine out but nobody was interested in it.
A PS2 version doesn't make much sense to me at this point as it is such a technically deficient platform and releasing a high-profile title on it would probably only taint the license. A Wii version seems equally pointless; the system is so graphically underpowered that I can't imagine it would be a good experience. What are they going to do, use the Wiimote to simulate Indy's whip?
As for me, I've played thru QoS twice and unlocked all the achievements I'm going to. Not really sure what to try next as there aren't many quality titles being released. Been thinking about giving Rise of the Argonauts a go although it has gotten pretty average reviews.
I know I'm something of a late-bloomer with these next gen games, but I've recently been immersing myself in the world of Assassin's Creed. Absolutely outstanding! The environments are lush with details, the sounds are stunning, and the animation and character movements are incredibly well-done. The only part where the game falls apart (as far as I've played it) are when you're traipsing around the animus lab between levels without any real control. That, and the fact that there seems a bit too much 'dialogue' moments that halt the gameplay to move the story along. Admittedly, I'm only a small bit into it. I'm sure once I've adapted to the gameplay, I'll stop perceiving these items as disparate parts and rather as the story/game experience as a whole.
How are you finding Assassin's Creed darenhat? I have it on PS3 and got really into it for a few days, but then the missions began to grate as they were really repetitive.
I've had it well over a year and have't completed it yet, I have an hour or so on it here and there but can't play it for too long without getting tired of doing the same thing and wind up just roaming the streets
beating up poor innocent people.
1- On Her Majesty's Secret Service 2- Casino Royale 3- Licence To Kill 4- Goldeneye 5- From Russia With Love
Sweepy the CatHalifax, West Yorkshire, EnglaPosts: 986MI6 Agent
How are you finding Assassin's Creed darenhat? I have it on PS3 and got really into it for a few days, but then the missions began to grate as they were really repetitive.
I've had it well over a year and have't completed it yet, I have an hour or so on it here and there but can't play it for too long without getting tired of doing the same thing and wind up just roaming the streets
beating up poor innocent people.
Same here, I wanted to get all the achievments (don't ask why) but I just got bored and played less... and less, until eventually I stopped playing all-together and sold it
I had a similar reaction to Assassin's Creed as well. Upon first popping the game in, I was amazed at the level of detail and the fluid controls and couldn't understand why it had gotten so many negative reviews. But after a few hours and my first assassination I quickly discovered that I'd pretty much seen everything. The cities all looked the same and you performed the same tasks over and over again. Even the achievements were all about repetition (find 100 towers, dive into 500 hay bales, etc). I ended up selling the game as well.
Lately I've been playing The Orange Box; its a compilation of a number of games including the first person shooter Half-Life 2 and its Episode 1 and Episode 2 addons, Team Fortress, an online deathmatching style game and Portal, a very clever first person puzzle game where you use a special gun to create portals to warp from one part of a room to another until you can reach the exit. Graphically, the games are not cutting edge anymore, but there is a lot of innovative gameplay and best of all, the package is now available for $20. A pretty good value as Portal alone is worth the price of admission.
I can understand how the gameplay for Assassin's Creed can become repetitive. I'm only at the early stages of the game, and I see where it attempts to add variety by gradually upgrading weapons and abilities, however the framework is still the same. I'm a pretty patient gamer (I think my willingness to play through the Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer game in its entirety is a testament to that fact) and I'll be curious now to see if AC tests that patience.
NightshooterIn bed with SolitairePosts: 2,917MI6 Agent
I actually loved Assassin's Creed. The gameplay was so smooth and exciting that I didn't mind the ridiculous amount of repetition.
By the way, I'm very excited about the new Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 trailer. Why? Because of the story. The story is not some made up thing like last time - it is - wait for it - CIVIL WAR! Which Tony won't like, but damn this excites me.
I hope this means there will be versus multiplayer. I'd love to kick Iron Man's ass as Captain America. (Tony would, of course, be playing Iron Man).
Downloaded the Halo Wars demo last night, didn't get a chance to play much since the download took quite awhile, but the game was gorgeous looking. Tony has a finer eye than I do, but the graphics really jumped out at me. The game is not a first person shooter, but I believe a stategy game, which I have never played before. However, I really enjoy the Halo story, so I am going to dive in.
Downloaded the Halo Wars demo last night, didn't get a chance to play much since the download took quite awhile, but the game was gorgeous looking. Tony has a finer eye than I do, but the graphics really jumped out at me. The game is not a first person shooter, but I believe a stategy game, which I have never played before. However, I really enjoy the Halo story, so I am going to dive in.
Funny you should mention that Barry as I also tried the Halo Wars demo briefly over the weekend.
Halo Wars is a Real Time Strategy (RTS) game. Unlike first person shooters or other types of action games, RTS games require you to manage multiple resources as you play the game. For example, you may be required to create bases, train troops, build vehicles and so on in order to accomplish specific objectives. Also, since you have complete control over all those multiple resources, RTS games require you to be creative in how you spread and use them. For example, if you're attacking an enemy base, you may have to direct your ground troops attack enemy soldiers while your heavy artillery pounds away at the main objective. RTS games are traditionally most popular on PC's, as the keyboard and mouse control scheme is well suited to handling all the disparate activities you need to perform. They haven't really translated well to consoles since the control pad offers a more limited selection of options for controlling the resources.
I'm a complete noob when it comes to RTS games; I've never had the patience to see them through and they've never been my cup of tea. The Halo Wars demo however did seem more manageable and fun. The objectives weren't too spread out and controlling your resources with the control pad seemed to work pretty well. I'm going to try the demo's campaign again one of these days and if it feels manageable, I may pick the game up as well.
The cinemas in the game are really beautifully rendered BTW; honestly, I wouldn't mind seeing a Halo movie done as all CGI.
I played thru to the end of Halo Wars' demo campaign the other night. Overall, it was a fun demo. The controls were pretty easy to manage and I always felt like I was in control of my units. About the only potential downside was that there didn't seem to be a quick way to assign some of your units to one task and the remainder to another as the control scheme presented in the demo seemed geared to an all or nothing approach. That was fine for the relatively easy objectives presented but might not work so well if things get more complicated in the full game. Still, early reviews have been very positive and I'll probably pick this up when its released in early March.
In the meantime I decided to pick up Fracture which was on sale for $20. It's a sci-fi action game involving a civil war in 23rd century America. Severe climate changes have cut off the eastern and western coasts and the country has divided into two factions: The Atlantic Alliance and the Republic of Pacifica. You play Jet, a soldier for the alliance who is trying to stop the power-mad general/leader of Pacifica. The game's main gimmick is that your weapons are capable of terrain deformation: push a button and you can make the terrain rise up - giving you access to previously unreachable areas, or collapse down, allowing you to burrow underneath previously impassable structures. The game also has your standard complement of weapons, vehicles and other gadgets. Visually it looks pretty good - very colorful and with an interesting art design - and if you enjoy a spirited third person action game there seem to be a lot of things to shoot at and otherwise blow up. This one got only average reviews but it still looked interesting and at $20 I think its a pretty good buy to tide me over until some more high profile games become available. There's also a demo available on Xbox Live.
Played my way through the Halo Wars demo and in all honesty, didn't enoy it. As Tony said the controls are easy to master and I could move my personnel where I wanted easily, but I felt disengaged from the action. Moving my troopps into a fight and then watching the two sides blast away as I just view the battle provided little reward for me. I will probably pass on the game.
Played my way through the Halo Wars demo and in all honesty, didn't enoy it. As Tony said the controls are easy to master and I could move my personnel where I wanted easily, but I felt disengaged from the action. Moving my troopps into a fight and then watching the two sides blast away as I just view the battle provided little reward for me. I will probably pass on the game.
You just hit upon the fundamental difference between traditional action games and RTS games. In the former, you're the Soldier, directly engaging in combat. In the latter, you're the General, directing your troops' strategy from afar.
Historically, most console gamers have stayed away from RTS games for pretty much the reasons you mention: the desire to be in the middle of the action rather than above it. It will be interesting to see if an RTS game with the HALO brand can win over console gamers. If this one doesn't do it, I don't think any title can.
The wife got me Lego Batman for Valentine's Day. So far, it's quite a good game. Admittedly, I haven't had time to really explore the game at any great length, but my initial reaction is that Traveler's Tales has done an admirable job of making the Lego games very similiar but yet with distinctly unique gameplay.
Well so far i'm loving oblivion even though I ended up doing some side quests just to get to level four before attempting the first gate. Im basically playing a nord warrior/brick type charactor (after getting the hang of it i might change), now all i need is a better healing spell, i've also heard you can make potions to increase stats has anyone done this?
I'm also not sure if I should star one of the expansion packs yet or wait till i've finnished the main quest
Well so far i'm loving oblivion even though I ended up doing some side quests just to get to level four before attempting the first gate. Im basically playing a nord warrior/brick type charactor (after getting the hang of it i might change), now all i need is a better healing spell, i've also heard you can make potions to increase stats has anyone done this?
I'm also not sure if I should star one of the expansion packs yet or wait till i've finnished the main quest
I also did a lot of the sidequests to beef up my character before focusing on the main adventure. The game really lets you approach it any way you like without any penalties.
Its been a couple of years since I really played Oblivion but you have to feed the appropriate stats on your character to be able to make your own potions. You also need to purchase the right gear to create the potions. When I played the game I just bought whatever potions and spells I wanted from the Mages Guild, always making sure that I had enough experience to use them.
If I may suggest, assuming your character is set up to do it, an invisibility spell can really come in handy as it allows you to sneak around and even attack completely unseen. Makes the game much easier but its also a lot of fun and comes in handy for those quests where you need to get your hands on a specific object with a minimum amount of fuss.
A couple of the expansion packs actually have some useful gear. The Knights of the Nine quest gives you a nice set of armor and weapons as well as a base of operations and a supply of knights to take with you for backup on your quest. If that was part of your package you may want to give it a go after you've leveled up a bit more.
The Wizard's Tower expansion is also a good one since it gives you a tower with all sorts of stuff that the magically oriented character can use, including the gear for making your own potions. You just need some money to buy all the furnishings for the tower.
Comments
You got some solid titles there Agent_M. I'm a big time Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion fan myself; that was for my money by far the best game released so far on the Xbox 360. Awesome main quest, tons of sidequests, weapons, armor and magic spells galore an amazing amount customizability to your character. It can be a little daunting at the start but once you're into the game and get a bearing on your surroundings, you can reallly lose yourself that world. I put in something like 130 hours into that one and still haven't done everything. Hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
Got These Games;
* Quantum Of Solace - Completed
* Star Wars; Force Unleashed
* Lego Batman
* Test Drive
* Tom Clany's; Rainbow Six Vegas 1
Ordered GTA 4. Not got LIVE set up yet
Hope you enjoy your new 360 Bondaholic. And you got some pretty good titles there. Rainbow Six Vegas in particular was a lot of fun. I'm going to need to look into QoS myself at some point.
www.scottacademymartialarts.co.uk
That was the worst boss level by far.
Try holding the sticks in the direction specified for a few extra seconds. For example, if the game tells you to pull the left stick UP and the right stick LEFT, hold the sticks in those direction, and when the icons on the screen for the sticks reset to their neutral position, continue to push them in the direction you were going for another couple of seconds. That way, when you do finally release the sticks, the Star Destroyer will "drift" into the correct position and allow the cinematic to kick in. The third time was the touchiest for me as well.
Hope that makes sense; if not, let me know and I'll go into more detail.
I don't know who beat this game in 3 to 4 hours, but I spent 3 hours on it tonight just to get through 4 1/2 levels. I was stuck for quite awhile on the roof of the Science Center trying to take out the helicopter. Finally got it after hitting it 3 times with the D.A.D. system.
I have unlocked a few rewards sp I must not be too bad.
I've said it before and I’ll say it again, that’s why I only really post on this board, If you have a problem or a question most people here are willing to help or offer advice where as on other boards you end up getting hundreds of derogatory comments by 15 years olds
www.scottacademymartialarts.co.uk
Glad it worked for you; BTW, did you happen to catch Jar Jar Binks' "cameo" in the game yet? I won't spoil it but it is kind of funny if you come across him (especially for Jar Jar haters).
As is the case with these types of games, how you initially set up your character's attributes goes a long way towards determining the type of experience you will have. In my first attempt, I spread my skill points too thinly across too many attributes, thereby coming up with a "jack of all trades, master at none" character who really was pretty ineffective at everything. After deleting all the savefiles and starting again, I decided to focus on three or four key attributes and that really opened the game up.
Contentwise, there is a lot to do. In addition to a fairly long main quest there are also tons of interesting sidequests (many of which are inspired by classic sci-fi movies like Them or The Omega Man) that you stumble across as you explore the wastelands and talk to people you meet. The weapons are also pretty eclectic; even though I'm only a few hours in I've already found everything from simple batons and baseball bats to a laser that literally reduces your foes to a pile of ash. You can play as a good person, a nasty badass, or something in between. There's even a dog who will accompany you on your quests...if you can find him.
The game is rated M for mature and it earns that rating with its bleak setting, graphic depictions of violence and some really crude langauge. It's definitely not a game for the little ones.
As was the case with Oblivion (another classic RPG from Bethesda) Fallout 3 is shaping up to be a deep game with a rich set of quests and a mature story that will probably take over 100 hours or more to fully explore. Daunting at first, you literally have an entire world to explore once you get your bearings. Even at $60, there's a lot of gameplay for the buck under the hood.
I am realy suprised by the depth considering this was one of the first rpgs on the 360 the fact you can stand on a hill top and actualy see towns ect on the horizon. And the names of some of the NPC's are pretty funny too!
www.scottacademymartialarts.co.uk
If I may offer a suggestion, take some time to carefully consider the attributes you want for your character and spread your points over 4 or 5 attributes at most when you first create him. Don't spread your available points over too many attributes at the start of your adventure or your character will be spread too thin and be too limited.
If you find yourself enjoying Oblivion, you may want to pick up Fallout 3 at some point down the road. The game is made by the same developers and can be described as Oblivion in a futuristic post apocalyptic setting. The games share lots of qualities including an enormous world to explore, lots of weapons and other items, endless ways to set up your character and plenty of quests to experience.
www.scottacademymartialarts.co.uk
As for me, I finished the main quest in Fallout 3 yesterday; I'll have to load an earlier savegame and do a few more of the sidequests. After that, its on to Quantum of Solace, which I just received.
BTW, QoS has been reduced in price here in America and is now selling for $40; I would imagine a similar price drop elsewhere.
Finished the main quest in Tomb Raider: Underworld on Saturday. Very enjoyable game and probably my favorite of the three Xbox 360 Lara Croft titles so far. Now I want to go back and pick up the various treasures in the levels. Completing the game opens up the 'Treasure Hunt' mode, allowing you to go revisit the previous levels without actually 'replaying' them. It's a nice touch, and returning to the levels and seeing the completed puzzles and defeated boss arenas seems to add a nice sense of closure to the game. It also helps that you don't have to fight all the enemies again and can focus solely on locating the last bits of treasure - especially considering the fact that there are so many of them!
I purchased a stack of used games after Christmas, thanks to a plethora of GameStop gift cards I received, but I'm not sure which one I intend to devote my time to next.
Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings may make it out of development after all, but not for the next gen platforms (at least that's the rumor).
There's a trailer posted here:
http://www.mixnmojo.com/php/news/showfile.php?id=3238&category=advnews
I wouldn't be surprised if this was some internal team's efforts to cobble together a trailer that was already in the works to help save the project from the axe.
A PS2 version doesn't make much sense to me at this point as it is such a technically deficient platform and releasing a high-profile title on it would probably only taint the license. A Wii version seems equally pointless; the system is so graphically underpowered that I can't imagine it would be a good experience. What are they going to do, use the Wiimote to simulate Indy's whip?
As for me, I've played thru QoS twice and unlocked all the achievements I'm going to. Not really sure what to try next as there aren't many quality titles being released. Been thinking about giving Rise of the Argonauts a go although it has gotten pretty average reviews.
I've had it well over a year and have't completed it yet, I have an hour or so on it here and there but can't play it for too long without getting tired of doing the same thing and wind up just roaming the streets
beating up poor innocent people.
Same here, I wanted to get all the achievments (don't ask why) but I just got bored and played less... and less, until eventually I stopped playing all-together and sold it
Lately I've been playing The Orange Box; its a compilation of a number of games including the first person shooter Half-Life 2 and its Episode 1 and Episode 2 addons, Team Fortress, an online deathmatching style game and Portal, a very clever first person puzzle game where you use a special gun to create portals to warp from one part of a room to another until you can reach the exit. Graphically, the games are not cutting edge anymore, but there is a lot of innovative gameplay and best of all, the package is now available for $20. A pretty good value as Portal alone is worth the price of admission.
By the way, I'm very excited about the new Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 trailer. Why? Because of the story. The story is not some made up thing like last time - it is - wait for it - CIVIL WAR! Which Tony won't like, but damn this excites me.
I hope this means there will be versus multiplayer. I'd love to kick Iron Man's ass as Captain America. (Tony would, of course, be playing Iron Man).
Funny you should mention that Barry as I also tried the Halo Wars demo briefly over the weekend.
Halo Wars is a Real Time Strategy (RTS) game. Unlike first person shooters or other types of action games, RTS games require you to manage multiple resources as you play the game. For example, you may be required to create bases, train troops, build vehicles and so on in order to accomplish specific objectives. Also, since you have complete control over all those multiple resources, RTS games require you to be creative in how you spread and use them. For example, if you're attacking an enemy base, you may have to direct your ground troops attack enemy soldiers while your heavy artillery pounds away at the main objective. RTS games are traditionally most popular on PC's, as the keyboard and mouse control scheme is well suited to handling all the disparate activities you need to perform. They haven't really translated well to consoles since the control pad offers a more limited selection of options for controlling the resources.
I'm a complete noob when it comes to RTS games; I've never had the patience to see them through and they've never been my cup of tea. The Halo Wars demo however did seem more manageable and fun. The objectives weren't too spread out and controlling your resources with the control pad seemed to work pretty well. I'm going to try the demo's campaign again one of these days and if it feels manageable, I may pick the game up as well.
The cinemas in the game are really beautifully rendered BTW; honestly, I wouldn't mind seeing a Halo movie done as all CGI.
In the meantime I decided to pick up Fracture which was on sale for $20. It's a sci-fi action game involving a civil war in 23rd century America. Severe climate changes have cut off the eastern and western coasts and the country has divided into two factions: The Atlantic Alliance and the Republic of Pacifica. You play Jet, a soldier for the alliance who is trying to stop the power-mad general/leader of Pacifica. The game's main gimmick is that your weapons are capable of terrain deformation: push a button and you can make the terrain rise up - giving you access to previously unreachable areas, or collapse down, allowing you to burrow underneath previously impassable structures. The game also has your standard complement of weapons, vehicles and other gadgets. Visually it looks pretty good - very colorful and with an interesting art design - and if you enjoy a spirited third person action game there seem to be a lot of things to shoot at and otherwise blow up. This one got only average reviews but it still looked interesting and at $20 I think its a pretty good buy to tide me over until some more high profile games become available. There's also a demo available on Xbox Live.
You just hit upon the fundamental difference between traditional action games and RTS games. In the former, you're the Soldier, directly engaging in combat. In the latter, you're the General, directing your troops' strategy from afar.
Historically, most console gamers have stayed away from RTS games for pretty much the reasons you mention: the desire to be in the middle of the action rather than above it. It will be interesting to see if an RTS game with the HALO brand can win over console gamers. If this one doesn't do it, I don't think any title can.
I'm also not sure if I should star one of the expansion packs yet or wait till i've finnished the main quest
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I also did a lot of the sidequests to beef up my character before focusing on the main adventure. The game really lets you approach it any way you like without any penalties.
Its been a couple of years since I really played Oblivion but you have to feed the appropriate stats on your character to be able to make your own potions. You also need to purchase the right gear to create the potions. When I played the game I just bought whatever potions and spells I wanted from the Mages Guild, always making sure that I had enough experience to use them.
If I may suggest, assuming your character is set up to do it, an invisibility spell can really come in handy as it allows you to sneak around and even attack completely unseen. Makes the game much easier but its also a lot of fun and comes in handy for those quests where you need to get your hands on a specific object with a minimum amount of fuss.
A couple of the expansion packs actually have some useful gear. The Knights of the Nine quest gives you a nice set of armor and weapons as well as a base of operations and a supply of knights to take with you for backup on your quest. If that was part of your package you may want to give it a go after you've leveled up a bit more.
The Wizard's Tower expansion is also a good one since it gives you a tower with all sorts of stuff that the magically oriented character can use, including the gear for making your own potions. You just need some money to buy all the furnishings for the tower.