Pants!

.. .. crying walking sleeping talking Hero doll.

I was just thinking, you see the wee guy up there, him wearing the skin tight Union Jack Speedo’s? He’s the generic Hero doll from my Fable 2 game. Now I’m guessing that UK gamers all have the same Union Jack Speedo wearing doll. What I’m interested to know is whether other countries have their own specific colours or flags on their Hero doll’s pants. They may not have seeing as Lionhead is British but I do wonder if Canadian Fable 2 players have Maple Leaf pants, USA players a pair of Stars and Stripes pants and if Italian Albion residents have Tricolore pants.

I’m also wondering if I have become obsessed with Albion...... maybe I need to get out more.

Anyway, as indulgent as it may be, I thought I’d put up some pics of the Hero dolls.

So here they are!




Before I go, I received an email from a fellow 360 gamer just a couple of days ago offering me a copy of the Hat, Headband, Moustache expression book in exchange for some of the dolls. Many thanks Bloodlustre. It was a pleasure gaming with you. He’s a lot nicer than his name suggests you know.

Union Jack pants or not you’ll be made welcome on the Gameov3r FORUM

Xbox Live Community at it’s best

Forget the trash talk, racism, shouting and swearing. Forget about the idiots that can sometimes try to stop other people having fun online. Most gamers just want to enjoy their games and enter into the community spirit. This is the Xbox Live Community at it’s best.

Fable 2 is the only game that I have ever played that has made me want to get all the achievements regardless of how difficult, devious or just bloody awkward they are to get. It’s a desire I have to squeeze every last drop fun out of Albion and my sign of respect to Lionhead for producing such a masterpiece.

Some of the achievements are straightforward and are part of the story. Others are unlocked for experimenting within Albion while collecting 50 Silver Keys and destroying 50 Gargoyles are quests all of their own. The difficult, devious and bloody awkward achievements I refer to here are of course The Doll Catcher and The Completionist.

The Doll Catcher requires you to have all the Hero Dolls in your inventory. The catch is that only one of the dolls, either Lucien, Hammer, Theresa, Reaver or Garth is available in each game so you have to trade online. It’s not the easiest task to obtain your doll as you must get second place, by scoring between 150 & 174 points, on the Westcliff Shooting Range. I did eventually win myself a Hero Doll, Hammer, and then went on to win 6 more hoping this would be enough to trade. I used the Red Dragon Pistol if anyone is interested in knowing which weapon I used. I found it's fast reload and accuracy helped a lot.

So, with the Hammer dolls in my possession I headed off to Bowerstone Market ready to trade. After a few hours of trying, despite my abundance of Hammer dolls, I didn’t manage to trade one single doll. Not because I couldn’t strike a deal but because I just couldn’t find anyone to trade with. Thinking that this wasn’t going to happen by chance I decided to check out the Xbox Forums. I’m glad I did! Using the Official Doll Trading thread on the Xbox forums I was able to offer my dolls for the ones I needed.

Even with my new plan I didn’t always manage to be online at the same time as anyone offering help but the fact people were offering trades, even those that already had the achievement, was great.

On Tuesday evening this week I officially became a Doll Catcher and .. erm .. despite feeling rather strange that I, a grown man, was talking to numerous other male gamers, most of whom sounded and spoke like mature gamers and who incidentally would probably fit in well on the Gameov3r FORUM, about swapping virtual toy dolls. I needed to shower when I had finished. One guy sent a message to me and I quote “easy fella, never thought I`d ever say this but you up for swapping some dolls?” Nail on the head I thought. He was a nice guy to. We had a brief chat, swapped our dolls and continued our respective cuddly toy related searches. There was none of this demanding large sums of gold or saying, “I want 5 of yours for one of mine” - he must have been a Taxman, or “give me all your gold and legendary weapons or you’re not having the doll!” ok I exaggerate, but the feeling I got before trying to collect all the dolls was that it would be hard work to prise them from their owners hands.

Actually it’s impossible to prise one from another Hero’s dead hands as you’re not allowed to kill another gamer’s Hero. Of course I wouldn’t kill another Hero even if I could. My hero is so good she even has a halo. Well she does now. She might have had horns, bad skin and evil green eyes at one time but none of us are perfect.

Anyway, I thought it was great that all the Fable 2 gamers I met online, yes all of them, were courteous, friendly and helpful. As mentioned at the top, I know there are still a minority that abuse Xbox Live and item trading in games. “I need hammer, lucien and theresa (someone just stiffed me for hammer, stole my doll)” is a recent quote from the Doll Catcher Thread on the Xbox forums.

But this is all about the good side and it has been very good indeed.

Many thanks to everyone I have traded with so far and also to those that tried to trade but couldn’t. In no particular order...

Penter2192 and for the co-op Companions achievement.
TalentFromGod
Lkf Remos
xCx PuP xJx
Sir Balin
Webizul
SJUVIP
TaMotha
Sent Seven
cuteyteena
alross13 who very kindly gave me the Back Flip Trick Book.

You’re all a credit to the Fable 2 community and to online gaming. I Belch, Victory Arm Pump, Dance, Fart and do the Sock Puppet thing in your honour.

If anyone reading this needs a Hammer doll just let me know and I'll try to help you out.

Now all I need is to trade something for the Hat, Headband, Moustache expression book and The Completionist Achievement will unlock. Help!? Help!!?? Gameov3r FORUM.

Hi-Ho Hi-Ho

I was back to work yesterday after having had 2 weeks off for Christmas and New Year. I don't ever remember two weeks going by so quickly. I managed to do most of the things I wanted to.... eat too much, drink too much, snack constantly, drink constantly, stay up too late and play video games, and yet I feel unsatisfied. I did spend one whole week away from home, staying with my parents, away from any consoles, and this may be at the root of this unfulfilled feeling. I’m certain that more gaming, throughout 2009, will correct this feeling and so my new years resolution is to play more games.

I did play some games over the festive holiday even managing to find some time while at my parents to play Final Fantasy on the GBA SP that mysteriously found it’s way into my travel bag. Have you ever had that feeling of other people’s eyes tearing into your soul while you bury your head further into a game or a book or newspaper? I have.

Once I returned home I quickly set about playing some of my favourite older games. Not older as in mature, I know where some forum members minds will be wandering too, older as in retro and games as in video. With time seemingly on fast forward I merely dipped into Daze Before Christmas on my Mega Drive and Monty's Christmas Special on the PC. Both games that I'll leave until next December now. I blew the dust off my C64 and played Infocom's brilliant game Suspended, probably my favourite adventure game, John Singleton's Lords of Midnight and Maniac Mansion just so I could microwave hamsters. It just never gets boring!

The disappointing Fable 2 occupied a lot of the game time in the evenings and early hours. When I could get away with staying up late that is. I saw 2am once. I think it was 2am. My eyes were so bloodshot and sore that I may have been looking at the cat food dish. Now I know I'm getting old.

So although I would have liked a little more pixel time this Christmas I still had a really great holiday. Especially being with my family and visiting family and friends back home in Cheshire. I guess that's the real reason that time went so quickly.

Happy new year!

Sick bags are in the seat backs in front of you on the GAMEOV3R FORUM

Who Will You Become?

Not many people know this but I have two wives... or I should say had two wives. One of them divorced me yesterday taking my little baby boy with her and the other isn't too happy with me either. The fact that they lived just around the corner from one another I think may have contributed to this awful turn of events. Some may say it was stupid but I thought not trying to hide it was a good way to go. Maybe they would understand and I could have breakfast with one and dinner with the other, like a time share kind of arrangement. It wasn't to be.

Returning home from a lengthy adventure I was told in no uncertain terms that she was leaving town. I tried to run after her performing all of my best expressions that I know she used to love, but no amount of heroic poses, victory arm pumps or extended farting could fix this one.

This morning I'm starting to get over it and thinking about making a fresh start later on today. A number of gypsies seem uncontrollably attracted to my new tattoos so offers are coming thick and fast. Maybe I'll try to take things a little slower this time.

Life certainly moves fast in the Fable 2 world though.

Take life slowly on the GAMEOV3R Forum