Apparently Fable 2 will see you start out as a young boy again but in a different area from the original Oakvale, only this time you'll have man's best friend for company in the form of a young puppy who accompanies you throughout the tale.

Once again, how you act and interact with the Fable universe will change the appearance of your character, but now your dog will change too. Be good and you'll have a loving fluffy poodle for company, but play the bad boy and you'll be taking a snarling evil hound from hell for walkies!

And apparently that's about it for Fable 2, although Peter Molyneux apparently also did reveal that the brothels or bawdy houses, which made a recent appearance in Fable: The Lost Chapters, will also be a major feature.

NVIDIA 's New GeForce 6800 GS 03:21 pm - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - hardware: General News (1 comment)
GS? Oh goodness (evil grin). NVIDIA unveiled a new, powerful budget GeForce card which plays all the latest games (well) and won't force you to eat Top Ramen for the rest of the month. Here's more from Tech Report:

Fortunately, as technology progresses, computer power does get cheaper over time, and that's certainly true in graphics. Case in point: NVIDIA's brand-new GeForce 6800 GS. This video card, making its debut today, packs the considerable power of a GeForce 6800 GT at the not-so-painful price of $249. Does that combination of price and performance make the GeForce 6800 GS worthy of your consideration? We aim to help you answer that question by flooding you with benchmark results until your head swims and you cry out for sweet mercy. We've tested a number of the latest games, including F.E.A.R, Serious Sam 2, and Half Life 2: Lost Coast. Keep on reading to see how the 6800 GS compares to several of its closest competitors--and whether a pair of these puppies will keep up with one of those six-hundred-dollar monsters.

I'll round the rest up in the AM hardware & tech nuggets.

Take Two Buys Firaxis Games 02:27 pm - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - Games: Turned-Based Strategy (2 comments)
Take Two announced that it has bought Firaxis Games, creator of the popular Pirates! and Civilization series from Sid Meier.

"Firaxis Games, founded and led by industry executive Jeff Briggs, and inspired by the genius of Sid Meier, is among the most innovative and successful development studios in the industry," said Christoph Hartmann, Managing Director of 2K Games. "The Firaxis and 2K Games union is a strong fusion of creativity and vision that will continue to result in the development of innovative games with mass appeal. We're excited to welcome Jeff, Sid and the entire Firaxis team to the 2K family."

"This is a tremendous opportunity for Firaxis," said Jeff Briggs, Founder, President and CEO of Firaxis Games. "2K Games is an energetic label that shares our goals and vision for making great games that stand the test of time. We are pleased to be associated with the energy and commitment to quality work that 2K represents, and look forward to a great future together."

"2K Games has already been a tremendous partner to Firaxis in the marketing and release of Sid Meier's Pirates! and Sid Meier's Civilization IV . We're excited about all of the possibilities ahead of us as we work together to explore new ideas, new products and new consumer markets," said industry legend Sid Meier, Director of Creative Development at Firaxis Games.

Which would you rather have? 03:15 am - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - Games: General News (50 comments)
The subject of this week's VE poll asks, Which would you rather have? A killer PC and LCD or CRT display, or an Xbox 360 and an HDTV or Plasma set? For the sake of arguement, lets put both prize packs down for $5,000.00 each. Feel free to come up with your own components. Vote on your right!

Results of last week's poll that asked which recently released FPS kicked the most ass are in, with F.E.A.R. taking by far the most votes. Runner up was "no idea". Grats, no idea! Lets get you signed to a publishing deal asap.

Misc. Previews 12:25 am - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - Games: General News (0 comments)

• Animal Crossing - DS.IGN
• Animal Crossing - Gamespy
• Mario Kart DS - 1Up
• Mario Kart DS - Gamespy
• Metal Gear Solid 4 - 1Up
• Metroid Prime: Hunters - DS.IGN
• NBA Live! 360 - 1Up
• Prince of Persia: Revelations - 1Up
• Shadow of the Hedgehog - C&VG;
• Resident Evil DS - 1Up
• Star Wars Galaxies Revamp - PC.IGN
• Teen Titans - PS2.IGN
• Tony Hawk's American Sk8land - 1Up

Hardware & Tech Nuggets 12:18 am - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - hardware: General News (0 comments)

Boards

• Abit AN8-SLI - AMDZone
• ASRock 939Dual-SATA2 VCore & VDimm Voltmods - techPowerUp
• Asus A8R-MVP CrossFire - AMDZone
• DFI RDX200 - T-Break

  Cases
  

• Aerocool AeroEngine II Computer Case - A True Review

  Cooling
  

• Dynatron A22 AMD Socket heatsink - Pro Clockers
• Ultra Fire Socket 775 CPU Cooler - PimpRig

  CPU
  

• Upcoming Intel and AMD processors, first looks - hardwareanalysis

  Memory
  

• APC Back-UPS ES 500 - Monster Hardware
• Corsair XMS2 DDR2 PC2-6400 Pro - 3DGameMan
• OCZ PC4000 Dual Channel Gold VX DDR - EOC

  Mice
  

• Logitech G5 Laser Mouse - Ars

  Power Supplies
  

• Enermax Liberty 500W - Bigbruin
• Seasonic Power Angel - ThinkComputers.org

  Sound
  

• Zalman ZM-RS6F Theatre 6 - TechNiz

  Systems
  

• Alienware Aurora 5500 - Trusted Reviews

  Video
  

• ASUS Extreme N7800GT/2DHTV in SLI - Xbit
• ATi Radeon X1800XL vs. NVIDIA GeForce 7800 GT - Legionhardware
• Budget Gaming with the PowerColor X800GT - GotApex
• CrossFire vs SLI vs 16X SLI gaming performance with Quake 4, FEAR, Doom 3, FarCry, and Half Life 2 tested - AMDZone
• Radeon X800 GTO & GT, air- and watercooled - Hartware
• Sapphire X800 GTO Ultimate - Pure Overclock

Game Reviews 12:15 am - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - Games: General News (2 comments)
So whats the over/under on Path of Neo? :p

PC

• Age of Empires III - Gameplay Monthly - 9.1/10
• Age of Empires III - Game Revolution - B-
• Black & White II - Strategy Informer - 6.5/10
• Call of Duty 2 - VE3D
• Civ IV - 2404 - 9.5/10
• Civ IV - Actiontrip - 93%
• F.E.A.R. - Strategy Informer - 9/10
• F.E.A.R. - Gameplay Monthly - 8.7/10
• Guild Wars Economy Explained - Guildwars Guru - n/a
• Quake IV - Gameplay Monthly - 7.9/10
• Sims II: Nightlife - Gameplay Monthly - 7.7/10
• Starship Troopers - Eurogamer - 4/10
• Star Wars Battlefront II - Gamespot - 7.8/10
• UFO Aftershock - Filerush - 7.9/10
• World of WarCraft - Gameplay Monthly - 8.4/10
• X3: Reunion - Boomtown - 8/10

  Xbox
  

• Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth - Xbox.IGN - 8.2/10
• Call of Duty 2: Big Red One - Gaming Age - B+
• Castlev ania: Curse of Darkness - Gamespot - 6.8/10
• Cold War - Gamehelper - 7/10
• From Russia with Love - TeamXbox - 7.3/10
• Indigo Prophecy - Gameplay Monthly - 8.8/10
• The Warriors - Cosmos Gaming- 8.5/10
• TMNT 3 - TeamXbox - 6.3/10
• Tony Hawk American Wasteland - Chicago Xbox - 7.9/10

  PS2
  

• Buzz: The Music Quiz - C&VG; - 8/10
• Dynas ty Warriors 5: Xtreme Legends - Gamespot - 6.3/10
• Heroes of the Pacific - Xbox.IGN - 8.2/10
• Madden 06 - Gameplay Monthly - 8.2/10
• Marvel Nemesis: Rise of the Imperfects - C&VG; - 6/10
• NASCAR 06 - C&VG; - 5/10
• Radiata Stories - Gameplay Monthly - 7.9/10
• Resident Evil 4 - Eurogamer - 9/10
• Romancing Saga - Gamehelper - 6.5/10
• Soul Caliber 3 - Gameplay Monthly - 9.1/10
• Star Wars Battlefront II - Game Revolution - B
• WWE SmackDown vs. RAW 2006 - PS2.IGN - 9.2/10
• Without Warning - PS2.IGN - 4/10

  PSP
  

• Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories - Eurogamer - 9/10
• Star Wars Battlefront II - Gamespot - 6.8/10
• The Hustle: Detroit Streets - Gamespot - 6.6/10

  GameCube
  

• Disney's Chicken Little - Cube.IGN - 7/10
• Geist - Gameplay Monthly - 6.9/10
• X-Men Legends 2 - Gameplay Monthly - 8.7/10
• Ultimate Spiderman - Gameplay Monthly - 7.7/10

  DS
  

• Advanced Wars - Gameplay Monthly - 9.1/10
• Nintendogs - Gameplay Monthly - 8.7/10
• Zoo Tycoon DS - Gamespot - 5.3/10

  GBA
  

• Mega Man Zero 4 - Gamespot - 7.6/10

In Other News... 12:00 am - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - In-House: In Other News... (8 comments)
A couple people asked me if the screen shots from the Call of Duty 2 review we posted were from the Xbox 360 version of the game. Nope, I snapped them from the PC build. The game really looks that good even on our soon-to-be dated system (grin). Not to say the 360 won't look as good, but I believe a high end PC will always be a viable gaming alternative to even the most bleeding edge consoles. Deal?

1. Half Life - 30263 servers, 46676 players
2. Half Life 2 - 18826 servers, 40130 players
3. Battlefield 2 - 6325 servers, 26876 players
4. Call of Duty - 5037 servers, 6565 players
5. Unreal Tournament 2004 - 2555 servers, 6544 players
6. Americas Army: Special Forces - 1815 servers, 6502 players
7. Call of Duty 2 - 2804 servers, 6198 players
8. Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory - 3091 servers, 6125 players
9. Neverwinter Nights - 1280 servers, 4588 players
10. Quake 3: Arena - 1879 servers, 2726 players
11. Halo: Combat Evolved - 725 servers, 2438 players
12. Soldier of Fortune 2 - 1133 servers, 2383 players
13. Medal of Honor Allied Assault - 2006 servers, 2326 players
14. Battlefield 1942 - 888 servers, 2273 players
15. Medal of Honor: Allied Assault Spearhead - 1258 servers, 2266 players
16. Unreal Tournament - 2219 servers, 1895 players
17. Battlefield Modern Combat (PS2) - 226 servers, 1314 players
18. Star Wars Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy - 684 servers, 1311 players
19. Star Wars Battlefront 2 PC - 297 servers, 1193 players
20. Quake 4 - 1434 servers, 1084 players

Battle for Middle Earth Update 03:26 pm - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - Games: Real-Time Strategy (1 comment)
EA updated the Battle for Middle Earth website with news of the forthcoming v1.03 patch for the game:

Patch 1.03 for The Battle for Middle-earth is inching ever closer to official release. It is currently in our QA department going thru some extensive testing processes. This is going to be a big one. The "Battle-test", one of the main driving forces behind the community balance efforts for patch 1.03 have created a fantastic video showcasing some of the new balance tactics the patch will employ. In this video we witness a battle between Rohan and Isengard. Please direct your attention to the link below to download.

Remember Paul Schuytema? 03:12 pm - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - Games: General News (5 comments)
Remember Paul Schuytema? He's the original designer of 3D Realms' Prey. Thanks to former AVault bad boy David Laprad for word that his new company Lantern Games has released a casual gaming pack that includes 7 downloads. Chess, pool, poker, putt-putt, air hockey plus more.

God of War Creator vs Console Rags 02:50 pm - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - Consoles: General News (26 comments)
David Jaffe, colorful creator of the PS2 action game God of War updated his blog with a rant about how the print gaming media enjoy pretending to be part of the game development side of the biz rather than reporters of it. Most of it makes no sense to me as I don't read the console rags but it sounds pretty serious if he actually took the time to write about it:

It really bothers me when game journalists throw themselves in with the folks who actually make the games when they talk about OUR industry.

I'm not sure if you have noticed this as well, but I see this alot, especially in op-ed pieces, letters from the editor,etc....often times it reads something like this:

-We need to examine other ideas than just racing games or our industry will dry up....

OR

-Our industry is worth 11 billion dollars...

...but the thing is, the game journalists are not part of the game industry in my mind. They have their OWN industry: magazine publishing. Or web publishing. Or hey, even journalism! But not GAME MAKING.

And it really bugs the shit out of me that they lump themselves in with developers and publishers.

Thanks Slashdot.

In Other News... 02:26 pm - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - In-House: In Other News... (7 comments)
/rubs eyes after awakening from a 3-day blackout. Oh, that must mean it's Sunday! This week we have Lionhead's The Movies, which may or may not suck. After the whole Black & White 2 fiasco, your guess is as good as mine. One more stinker and Sir Peter loses his Knighthood. The Matix: Path of Neo? hmmm, not sure of that one either. Shiny has a meandering record when it comes to releasing games. Assuming it isn't a rushed out pile of bugs, PoN might actually be decent. GUN from Neversoft looks sort of neat, but I'll assume its more of a console shooter. I still have Age of Empires III, Civ IV and Battlefront II to check out so I guess they can wait.