Fable II goes episodic with Fable II: Game Episodes

As part of its Fable III announcement today at GamesCom in Cologne, Germany, Microsoft also announced that it would be releasing Fable II in episodes via its freshly launched Games on Demand service. Thankfully the first chapter will be free. The launch of Fable II: Game Episodes will debut Sept. 29 with the release of the first episode for free download exclusively on Xbox LIVE.

In the first episode, players will begin as a child in the world of Albion. After completing the chapter, players have the choice to then purchase the next installment or the entire game (in select regions). Fable II: Game Episodes will deliver the entire Fable II experience in five installments, with all the Achievements, challenges and character growth of the disk-based game, as well as full compatibility with the previously released Game Add-ons, Knothole Island and See the Future. The episodes are also fully compatible with the disk-based, retail version of Fable II, allowing players to continue their story should they purchase Fable II at retail.

More information about “Fable III” and the episodic release of Fable II will be made available at a later date at http://www.lionhead.com.

A new dawn for Final Fantasy IV

In the torrent of E3 news and announcements this week, Square Enix and Nintendo quietly released Final Fantasy IV: The After Years on WiiWare. Perhaps some of us will have time this weekend to check it out if we don’t go completely and utterly insane. Besides the main product, available for 800 Wii Points, Square Enix has released an additional episode called Rydia’s Tale for an additional 300 Wii Points. Additional episodes will become available in the coming months.

Final Fantasy Iv: The After Years is described as a true sequel to Final Fantasy IV on the NES offering single and multiplayer modes for up to four players. The game, which will play out in a number of episodes, takes place seventeen years after the events of FFIV, where the world has returned to a state of peace. The second moon has left the Blue Planet’s orbit and Damcyan, Eblan and the Village of Mist have been rebuilt. After the Kingdom of Baron came under the rule of Cecil and Rosa, the people of the land rejoiced with the birth of Prince Ceodore. However, the second moon has reappeared in the sky, much closer to the planet than it was years ago, and the Castle of Baron is besieged by monsters. It is now up to Ceodore to unravel the mysterious events befalling the Blue Planet.

Begin you adventure by logging on to the game’s official web site or turning on your Wii and check out the Shop Channel.

Wallace & Gromit’s Grand Adventures Continue

Telltale Games has released the latest episode of Wallace & Gromit’s Grand Adventures today. The newest chapter, The Last Resort, details Wallace and Gromit’s Blackpool holiday which ends up getting rained rained out. the odd duo, not content to wallow in disappointment, decide to bring the beach to their basement with the construction of West Wallaby Waterworld, a makeshift resort complete with sun, sand, and Wallace’s homemade boardwalk attractions. Keeping their guests satisfied turns out to be tricky business, particularly after one is thumped on the head by an unknown assailant. Wallace and Gromit must work together to finger the culprit, with a little help from Wallace’s latest invention: the Deductomatic. Eat your heart out, Sherlock Holmes.

The latest episode, along with previously released episodes in the series, can be purchased directly from www.telltalegames.com This series of games will also be released on Xbox Live Arcade at some point if that is your platform of choice - but for now you can only find them for PC. The four-episode Wallace & Gromit’s Grand Adventures series sells for $34.95.

American McGee’s Grimm, Episode One Released

The very first episode of American McGee’s Grimm is available on GameTap today, kicking off over two months of episodic content from McGee to be released on a weekly basis. Grimm weaves a series of dark fairytales influenced by a crude dwarf with a dark heart and a twisted sense of humor.

The first story to be told is “A Boy Learns What Fear Is,” a light-hearted tale about a boy’s journey into the unknown to learn the true meaning of fear. A relatively cheery tale by most accounts, it isn’t until a crude dwarf named Grimm interferes, that this boy learns what fear is all about.

Episode One is free to play on GameTap without a subscription for the first 24 hours, but future episodes will cost $3.99. The first volume of Grimm consists of eight episodes, which will be released weekly starting July 31, and ending on September 18th:

July 31: A Boy Learns What Fear Is
August 7: Little Red Riding Hood
August 14: The Fisherman and His Wife
August 21: Puss In Boots
August 28: The Girl Without Hands
September 4: Godfather Death
September 11: The Devil and His Three Golden Hairs
September 18: Beauty and the Beast

For more info, check out GameTap - and play the game while you can for free.

Watchmen Game Details

Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment announced that it plans to publish Watchmen, based on the feature length film (which in turn is based on the popular DC Comics series), for the PS3 and Xbox 360. the most interesting part of this announcement is that it plans to deliver the game in bits, using a episodic release model. How many episodes of the game? That was not disclosed.

The games will be set prior to the events of the film, set in an alternate 1985 timeline, where super heroes (”masks”) have been banned. The game’s story opens with a former hero looking for the truth behind the murder of one of his own, leading to a world-ending conspiracy.

Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment calls the game a complex, multi-layered mystery adventure featuring a deep storyline and lots of combat-focused action . The film’s creators are working closely with Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment to make sure that the game is an extension of the experiences found in the film.

The first episode in the Watchmen game will be released sometime in 2009. Want more Comic-Con news? Follow the link.

Penny-Arcade Game Goes Gold

Fans of the often brilliant Penny-Arcade comic will be happy to hear that Hothead Games has announced Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness — Episode One has reached gold status (winner of the longest game title ever?).

The game starring the lovable Tycho and Gabe will be available for download via Greenhouse digital download service. for $19.95 near the end of this quarter.

On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness is an episodic RPG-adventure game series set in a deranged comic-book meets-pulp-horror 1920s universe. Armed with unconventional weaponry and witty repartee, you join forces with the Gabe and Tycho, the crime-solving team of the Startling Developments Detective Agency to make war on bizarre enemies and solve the mysteries hidden deep in the sinister heart of New Arcadia.
From the hilarious and twisted minds of Penny Arcade creators Mike “Gabe” Krahulik and Jerry “Tycho” Holkins, legendary game designer Ron Gilbert and veteran producers at Hothead Games comes a 100% authentic and hilarious Penny Arcade experience.