It's been a bit strange reviewing Fable II Pub Games, because so much of its appeal is based on the prospect of coolness, rather than actual coolness. The game has limited entertainment value in and of itself, and most (if not all) of the folks who play it will do so with an eye towards the future, when they will pass on all of their winnings (or IOUs) to a Fable II hero. When that day comes, what will their gold buy them? What trouble will their debt bring down upon them? Will their hard-won items be a substantial boon? Indeed, will any of their time spent at the tables of Albion be worth it?

Personally, I want to believe that the items I win and the gold I accrue will be helpful, though more realistically, I'll be looking forward to an interesting visit from Bowerstone's debt collection specialists. Given the way that Peter Molyneux waxes on about the myriad possibilities within the world of Fable II, I'm inclined to let my imagination run a bit wild.

I picture returning to my abode after months of adventuring, eager to reunite with my wife and children, only to find a big foreclosure notice on my house. Wandering through the town, I spot a clutch of beggers on the street corner that, upon closer inspection, look all too familiar. My sooty, bedraggled spouse runs up to me and starts to lambast me vociferously, while angry negative numbers pop up above the heads of any passers-by as they judge me harshly. I manage to escape her wrath and crawl into a local tavern, where the convivial owner welcomes me like a long-lost son, puts a beer in front of me, and asks if I'd like to play a little Keystone to lift my spirits. Cue the bard, singing an old Albion folksong that sounds suspiciously like "The Gambler," by Kenny Rogers.

Alright, so that was a bit ambitious, but the truth is, there's no way of knowing how things will play out. It's just as possible that whatever winnings I do come away with will seem a paltry sum in the robust Bowerstone real estate market. The only clue Pub Games offers about the relative value of your winnings is in the list of items you can win in tournaments. So I present, for your edification, the names and Albion Market Values of those prizes:

Fortune's Tower

Plaits Hairstyle Card - 100 Gold
Dog Training: Backflip - 200 Gold
Highroller's Coat - 400 Gold
Potion of Will - 800 Gold
Championship Pistol - 1200 Gold

Keystone

'Deepest Dark' Chocolates - 150 Gold
The Sleepmaster 3000 - 300 Gold
Potion of Strength - 600 Gold
Tribal Warrior Face Tattoo - 1200 Gold
Championship Cutlass - 1800 Gold

Spinnerbox

Amazing Apple Pie - 80 Gold
'Hat, Headband, Moustache' - 160 Gold
Tribal Warrior Body Tattoo - 300 Gold
Potion of Skill - 600 Gold
Mysterious Ring - 1000 Gold

Not a bad array of stuff, if you ask me. A few clarifications: All items are accompanied by longer explanations that I'll refrain from listing here for brevity's sake. Each potion permanently increases the corresponding attribute. 'Hat, Headband, Moustache' appears to be the Albion version of rocks-paper-scissors. The Sleepmaster 3000 is a sweet-lookin' bed. And the last item in each category is almost assuredly one of the "...amazing items that you can't buy anywhere else in Albion," in the words of the in-game help text.

Fable II Pub Games is certainly braving new territory in the downloadable games space, and for that it is, at the very least, noteworthy. Whether it proves to be a savvy effort that Fablers will be happy to have played or a crude cash-in that leaves dedicated gamblers with little more than the equivalent of free hors d'oeuvres remains to be seen. Here's hoping for the former.

Because the only difference between Rock Band and the Track Pack is the setlist, we're not giving it a proper review. Instead, we're using the Reviews Blog to give you the details on the tracklist and help you decide whether or not it's worth your hard-earned cash.

One of the reasons people are still playing Rock Band on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 is because Harmonix has consistently made new songs available for purchase online. Unfortunately for PlayStation 2 and Wii owners, their versions of the game don't support downloadable content so the only way to get new songs is to purchase a Track Pack, the first of which is now available.

Rock Band Track Pack Volume 1 contains 20 songs and carries an MSRP of $30 (USD). The songs are as follows:

Blink-182: "All the Small Things"
The All-American Rejects: "Move Along"
30 Seconds to Mars: "The Kill"
Weezer: "Buddy Holly"
Stone Temple Pilots: "Interstate Love Song"
Faith No More: "We Care a Lot"
David Bowie: "Moonage Daydream"
Paramore: "Crushcrushcrush"
The Police: "Synchronicity II"
Boston: "More Than a Feeling"
The Hives: "Die, All Right!"
Oasis: "Live Forever"
Ramones: "Teenage Lobotomy"
KISS: "Calling Dr. Love"
Queens of the Stone Age: "Little Sister"
Nine Inch Nails: "March of the Pigs"
Smashing Pumpkins: "Siva"
The Grateful Dead: "Truckin'"
Lynyrd Skynyrd: "Gimme Three Steps"
Wolfmother: "Joker & the Thief"

You don't have to own the original Rock Band to play the Track Pack, as it's a completely independent piece of software--you boot it up just like you would Rock Band. The main downfall with this design is that if you want to switch between Rock Band and the Track Pack, you'll need to turn off the system, remove the disc, put the other disc in, and start the game again. This downtime certainly has the potential to bring your Rock Band party to a screeching halt. All of the modes found in Rock Band are also found in the Track Pack, so you won't have to switch discs if you one to play a new mode, or go from single-player to multi-player.

So, is it worth it? That depends on how you feel about the songs on the disc and how much you're jonesing for new Rock Band tunes. If you like a fair amount of songs on the disc, then go for it. If there's not much here to your liking, hope that there's a Volume 2. Oh yeah, and if you don't already own Rock Band and you're trying to decided between it and the Track Pack, Rock Band is clearly the better value (more songs and it comes bundled with instruments), so start there.

The more recent mind-boggling publisher requests have come from Konami regarding Metal Gear Solid 4--requests that we believe cross the line. The first involved an event that we wanted no part of. The majority of the American press was flown to Japan for a so-called "boot camp," where journalists spent two and a half days playing Metal Gear Solid 4 under the watchful eyes of the development team, socialized and dined with them, and then provided focus group-type feedback on the final day. We flatly refused this request, because we believe that this puts journalists in an unethical and awkward position. In our eyes, it would be inappropriate for us to participate in the development process. And we think most reasonable people would agree.

[edit: I reworded the above paragraph to more accurately reflect what this boot camp entailed. It was an invitation for journalists to participate in the development process, not a specific reviews event. However, we don't wish to blur the lines of journalistic integrity by participating in development. This was not a previews event, so GameSpot would have published no content based on this visit.]

It has also been widely reported that Konami blatantly asked the press not to mention two pieces of pertinent information in their reviews: how long the cutscenes are, and how long the installation process is. Publishers routinely ask reviewers not to publish certain story points because they are considered spoilers. That's fair, and we've never resisted requests of that nature. However, cutscene length and installation length are pertinent subjects within the context of a review, and speaking on a personal level, I believe it is flat-out wrong for any publisher to request that pertinent information be left out of a review. The journalist decides what information is most important for the review--not the developer or its publisher.

These are mind games that put us in an awfully awkward position. Of course we want our reviews to be timely and competitive, but never at the expense of accuracy and objectiveness. As reviews begin to trickle out from other publications, our audience complains that we're "late," and by securing exclusive reviews and playing along with these unreasonable publisher requests, some publications foster this idea that the reviews process is a race to publication. Publishers create this environment--but many press outlets enable it, without questioning it, because it brings them all-important traffic. I, for one, am more interested in a review that isn't haunted by these specters, and I think you would want the same.

As of this writing, we are unsure if we will have a Metal gear Solid 4 review published by the game's release date. We have not received review code, and the earliest Konami is willing to provide it is on the 9th, three days before release. It's unfortunate that publisher politics have reached this point, where refusing to meet these unreasonable demands means that we and our readers are effectively punished. Please understand this much: We will bring you a review of Metal Gear Solid 4 when we've played the same code on the discs you buy, and played it in an appropriate, unbiased environment. We think you'll agree that this is the only real choice.

Hi all! I've had several readers ask me about Ninja Gaiden II, and when they could expect to see a review post. The short answer, of course, is always the same: we will post a review when it is ready.

The long answer is that Microsoft did not send final code to review outlets. The build we received suffers from loading issues, visual glitches, and other noticeable flaws that may or may not be present in the game you buy. Here is the statement we received from Microsoft when we pressed them on the matter:

Just a quick note from Team NINJA below regarding the "Ninja Gaiden II" red discs. Please note that the delay in load times you may experience is not representative of the final game. In the final boxed copy of the game, which you will receive once the game ships to retail on June 3 in the U.S., you will not experience any lag in load times. Team NINJA is aware of the issue and requests your patience as you play through the review red disc.

Xbox 360 spins DVDR media slower than replicated media, so it's not representative of how final media will perform. Also, please keep in mind that this build distributed early to you guys for review purposes is not final retail code (emphasis added -- KV). While the build contains many final gameplay features, story elements, and graphical capabilities, it's a press evaluation build so it is not as fully optimized as a retail product. Generally, load time is one feature that improves between review builds and final product. While there typically is not a major noticeable difference between review builds and retail product, it can vary, so please keep this in mind while working on your review.

You may remember that we reviewed Lost Odyssey based on code provided to us as reviewable, and rightfully called out load times that lasted close to two minutes in our evaluation. The retail game did not suffer nearly as much as our review build did, and we replayed a significant portion of the game and adjusted our review text to reflect as much once the issue came to our attention. We do not wish to repeat that circumstance, and will only post our Ninja Gaiden II review when we know that it is factually correct.

Frankly, we aren't willing to accept any developer or publisher at their word when we're told that flaws in the review build will not be present in the retail game. While we want to bring you timely reviews, we are strongly committed to bringing you accurate reviews based on the same exact game that will be in the box. Games are expensive, and you deserve an honest evaluation based on the final product. Publishing an early review with potentially incorrect information (or one that glosses over important information because we take the publisher at face value) does a disservice to our readers.

We will publish our Ninja Gaiden II when we are fully confident that it reflects the game you will purchase. You deserve nothing less.

I have reached level 16 in Age of Conan, a feat I wish I would have accomplished earlier, but the servers were down for several hours yesterday. Many people are rightfully worried about the game's stability. It has its share of problems, but they seem to be no more severe than most MMOs at launch. There has been some server downtime, but when in game, I have experienced no lag issues personally. However, I have encountered a broken quest (I cannot skin alligators; the loot bag shows glowing on the ground but when I click, its empty. Those damn skins are broken!) and some small issues here and there, like the existence of placeholder text in one spot. There is also a region in which some players are getting stuck. I haven't experienced this issue, but it seems to inconveniencing a number of players.

But don't be too taken aback by the fact that I started with some negative information: Age of Conan makes a hell of a first impression. It's a beast, though on my work PC, it runs pretty well at insanely high settings, though in terms of its system requirements, this is the anti-WoW. However, returns are high. From both a technical and artistic perspective, Age of Conan's production values are stunning. Never fear: I will play on a lower-quality machine at lower settings to see how it performs when the PC is closer to minimum requirements. Nevertheless, this isn't a case where high system requirements seem at odds with the result.

But I think it's time to catch you up on current progress!

Part 5: Getting in the Mood.

I recorded the game's intro for Jim to post, and it went up on the site yesterday. It's a great scene and a good way to get you in the mood for the baudy wit and carnage the ensues. See for yourself:

I also took some gameplay video so you can see some of the early game in action.

Part 6. The Heart of the Volcano

Renton knows stuff. And that stuff may be the key to discovering my origins. Seems I have this mark on my body that implies I was to be part of a brainwashed army, and Strom's buddy's got inside knowledge. His quest is part of the single-player introductory missions that take place at night within Tortage. It's a great way to get you engaged with the lore, and its been pretty engaging, though I have been alternating between those missions and the more standard MMOG questing.

In any case, Renton is a wuss, though his guards were tough cookies. This is me looking manly as I buff.

Part 7: Lady of the Twilight

Remember Casilda? I need her body, but not in the way she wants to give it. Rather, I need her blood. There's a volcanic ritual in progress, but if I can replace the virgin's blood used with, er, non-virginal blood, I can wreak havoc and disperse the advancing army. She seems more interested in other pleasures, but I'm focused on more important matters.

Part 8: Lava Go Boom

The trek up to the top of the volcano was not an easy one. I got crushed often, so I died maybe a good four times because I was biting off more than I could chew. Speaking of which, it seems like a good time to mention the death penalty. Before level 10, there is no death penalty. Afterwards, you take a 30-minute small penalty to stats, but you can go find your tombstone to remove the penalty. Finally I made it, but not after handling some lightning-spewing ritualists.

Eventually, I made the ol' bait and switch, and the volcano erupted in glorious fashion. At which point, I high-tailed it out of Dodge.

__________________________________________________________________

Look for a review perhaps by the end of next week, and a first-impressions article and video tomorrow. Also, be sure to check out the Age of Conan gameplay marathon tomorrow. See you then!

Reviewing an MMOG is a tricky process, because I can't in all fairness start playing until the game is officially live. It also needs to played for a long time, more than games from most any other genre. As a result, prospective players often need to wait to get the information they crave, possibly even going so far as to buy a game they regret purchasing later.

Of course, my job is to play the game so you don't have to, and hopefully give you a good idea of whether any given game is worth your money, time, and effort. While you shouldn't expect to see a review for Age of Conan this week, for obvious reasons, I did want to share daily thoughts on my progress, with a little media to whet your appetite. It's 4:30 AM here, so obviously I have no gameplay videos yet to share, but I did take some screenshots of my travels in the last hour and a half. I hope you enjoy them!

Part 1: Delivering a stable launch.

Funcom will never live down its mercilessly buggy launch of Anarchy Online. Both that game and another MMOG, World War II Online, launched with disastrous results in 2001, so it's no surprise that Funcom was aiming for smooth sailing. They got it. Sort of. Funcom delayed the launch time several times throughout the day, finally setting the servers live at 3AM Pacific (the original announcement I read this morning had it at 7PM Pacific). In a world where we must choose one evil over another, I am personally grateful Funcom delayed the launch for a few hours until they were certain the servers were prepared.

It turned out to be a good move from my angle. I have only played for an hour and a half, but I experienced a smooth, lag-free experience without any noticeable issues. If Funcom can deliver this stability throughout the week, after the game has reached shelves across the country, then perhaps they can shed 2001's stigma at last.

Part 2: Row, row, row your boat.

You know, life as human property isn't all it's cracked up to be. But before I had to deal with the consequences of my slave ship's untimely sinking, I had to create a distinct look and choose a race and class. Looking through the manual, I already knew I wanted to play the Herald of Xotli class, which is a melee/magic hybrid. As a result, I went with one of the races that allowed the class: the Stygians. The Stygians value cunning over brute strength, but judging from my exploits later, I think I may have expanded my race's horizons a bit.

Character creation is surprisingly robust, though you can keep it strictly top level if you prefer. My final look was muscular and balding, just like me. Well, half like me, at least.

Part 3: Wherefore art though, oh Juliet?

The opening cinematics are quite well done in Age of Conan, but who has time to notice when you're lying on a deserted beach? Once I picked myself up, I went out into the jungle in search of a way into the city of Tortage. It probably won't be easy: my wrists are still bound by shackles.

In any case, I soon encounter a fair maiden dangling from chains. No, this isn't Lost in Eden 3! This is still Age of Conan, and the beautiful Casilda needs released. I go off in search of the key. As it turns out, I have to fight my way through some brutal battles to get it. Combat is easy to control but bloodily executed. By hitting the number keys, I bludgeon some baddies, but still make time to set a few of them on fire.

I set Casilda free, but it seems she's not content wading through the jungle on her own. Perhaps she forgot her scimitar at home? Anyway, I must escort her to Tortage, so she tags along while I continue beating up poachers and other minor meanies.

I take some time to gawk at the beautiful scenery and fluid animations on my gory trip through the lush vegetation. I dig the contrast between the beauty of the foliage and the thuds of my boat oar against the thick flesh of beastmen. But alas, I can't get too comfortable playing tourist. I continue slaying picts and collecting their nose bones while making my way towards the city. This could get messy. And indeed it does, for who should be blocking my way through the first set of gates than slave trader Saddur, who decides he can't let me pass because we both wore the same dress at his grandma's birthday party.

He goes down easily, but goshdarnit to heck, he doesn't have the key, so I have to make my way through the jungle ruins to the boss guarding the thing.

Part 4: Justin Calvert is right: Monkeys really do make everything better.

I've managed to earn a shiny new dagger by this point, as well as some awesome spells. One of them knocks back my target. Another turns me into a powerful pockmarked demon for a few moments. Good thing I grabbed some Oil of Olay. I'm level 4, and I've still got some ass-kicking to do, so I take out my aggressions on a few apes before I cross the bridge to the city proper. Just outside I meet Turach, who's building a lava dam and doesn't seem thrilled to see me so I move on. The new problem is that Wall captain Laranga can't let me in because I still have shackles on my wrists. Luckily he knows someone that can help. Of course it's the monosyllabic Turach.

Turach reminds me that I can't get something for nothing. And he wants bricks, so I have to fetch him some. This requires a public beatdown of some nearby thugs, though this time I am joined by other players, who seem to enjoy the bloody melee as much as I do. Finally, I tow the bricks back to Turach and he removes all traces of my iron retraints. Now that I can pretend to be a free man, I mosey on over to Laranga, who lets me into the city, where I prepare to crush some skulls.

Thus began my foray into the world of Hyboria. Look for more updates in this space as well as a proper hands-on impressions soon! Also keep your eyes open for a special Age of Conan event we're bringing you later this week.

Some new guy showed up at the office today, sat down at my old desk, and announced that he was ready to get started on his dream job. According to a post on the NeoGAF forums, our new reviewer's name is Tom Mc Shea. A subsequent Google search suggests that his previous exploits include work for both Kwanzoo and 1UP, as well as unwittingly starting rumors about the Xbox Originals releases of Jade Empire and Conker: Live and Reloaded.

We're pleased to welcome Tom "Gigglepoo" Mc Shea to the team. Look for his name on GameSpot reviews soon.

So yeah, as you've probably heard by now, Grand Theft Auto IV is the first game since Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 to score a perfect 10 on GameSpot. To paraphrase our review guidelines, this means that GTAIV, at the time of its release, could not have been improved in any meaningful way. That doesn't mean that GTAIV is perfect, because it isn't, but on this occasion it means that a few minor flaws are easy to overlook when considered in the context of everything that the game gets right.

You should know that awarding a 10, or any score for that matter, isn't something we take lightly. All of our reviews have to be approved by the entire reviews team as well as other editors before we post them, and this one was no exception. In fact, as soon as the idea of us awarding our first 10 since 2001 was mentioned in the office, a meeting was called in which everyone who had spent any time with the game or who is involved with reviews on GameSpot was invited to express their opinions.

I'm sorry that GameSpot's review arrived a little later than some of you would've liked, but to be perfectly honest I just wasn't ready to write it until I'd beaten the game at least once (check), spent plenty of time with both versions (check), and played every multiplayer mode online alongside a good number of other players (check). While playing through the story mode I also wanted to take as much time as my deadline allowed checking out some of the optional content, which is clearly a big deal in a game like this. I'm satisfied that I got a good taste of everything that GTAIV has to offer, but even now I'm eager to head home and fire the game up again so that I can complete some of the side missions I skipped.

In fact, I also plan to play through the entire story again. Not only because I want to see how it pans out if I make different decisions, but also because I didn't get to review GTAIV using my own gamertag on this occasion and... you know, I need the achievement points!

At the time of writing our video review isn't up on the site yet, but be sure to check it out when it hits because one of our video guys has been working all kinds of crazy hours to make it something special. Just for you.