XBox: Assassin’s Creed: Liberation HD

Assassin’s Creed: Liberation HD is  port from the PS Vita to the Xbox 360 and PS3.  Earlier this week I tweeted that I was undecided with the game being somewhere between utter crap and almost decent.  Now that I’ve completed the game, has my opinion changed?

Actually it is still middle of the road on the fence opinion.  Gut reaction is that the game should have been released on the consoles as a full game and ported to the PS Vita.  There was more than a sufficient  potential story line for a full game but Ubisoft failed to take a risk and release a full Assassin’s Creed game with a female protagonist.

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

The ugly first, the graphics are muddy and are very obviously retextured from a much smaller screen.  This is particularly obvious with the sequence involving Connor from Assassin’s Creed III. The game undoubtedly looked much better on a handheld device than it does our large screen television.

Now for the bad and there is a lot of bad to report unfortunately.  The story is all over the place and often times makes no sense.  There is no backstory on how Aveline came to be an assassin and that isn’t remedied as the game progresses either.  Story threads are often poorly written and incomplete.  Don’t get me started on the weird, uncomfortable, and awkward relationship with her “business” partner.

Then there is the whole issue with her triple personas. It is an interesting game play idea and it could have worked but it doesn’t unfortunately.  It forces Aveline into one of three roles in pre-American Revolution New Orleans: Assassin, lady, or slave. 

Time for some brutal honesty, it is incredibly unlikely that given her parentage and complexion Aveline would have been accepted as a lady in New Orleans social circles.  It requires a LARGE suspension of reality to believe acceptance of Aveline as a lady.  Now for the slave persona, really Ubisoft?  Slaves running around New Orleans with weapons visible and not one guard gets suspicious and citizens act like it’s no big deal?  Again, requires a huge suspension of belief to play.

Aveline, our heroine, suffers from the same caped crusader problem that Connor suffers from in AC III.   Game play is often frustrating and often I wanted to throw my controller across the room.  Invisible walls, sticking to stuff for no good reason, jumping when you don’t intend to and incurring notoriety for it, and desynchronizing more often than I ever have an any previous installment in the franchise.  The Assassin persona is always restrained because she can never lose twenty-five percent of her notoriety.  The male characters do not suffer from this same handicap so why does the only female character Ubisoft created? 

Now for the good, Ubisoft gets a lot of credit from me for making a mass market game with a female lead.  Yes, it is a highly flawed game but it is one of the few games with a female lead.  I’m by no means a raging feminist but it is so damn nice to play a female lead on a character not created by me.  There is lot of potential in the Aveline story and I hope the Ubisoft doesn’t relegate her to the dustbin never to be heard from again. The good is mostly potential however.  I wish it were otherwise.

Overall, I give the game a two and a half stars.  It isn’t so horrible that it is a two star game and it is too much of a mess to warrant middle of the road status.

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Elder Scrolls Online: Oh the Angst & the Humor of Pre-Order Bonuses

 

Yesterday, The Elder Scrolls Online released the pre-order bonuses and the hate immediately began to flow.  People are outraged over complete nonsense and I am enjoying their tears immensely.  The majority of the tears go something like this: “OMG they destroyed faction pride!”  or my personal favorite, “It is a money grab by ZOS and it destroys the lore!”

First off let’s deal with the race issue.  Past Elder Scrolls games, you fire it up pick the race you want and you are on your adventures in Tamriel.  No restrictions, no artificial barriers.  ESO had artificial barriers in place, and still does for those that do not pre-order.  Those barriers restrict your race choice to one of three factions.  That severely limits role playing opportunities for those that want to actively role play in game.  You cannot, without pre-ordering, role play an Orc Sorcerer orphaned and raised by childless Khajits in Elsewhyr nor can you play an Altmer who disapproves of the blatantly racists and elitist attitudes of the Aldmeri Dominion and decides to go fight for the personal liberty ideals embodied by the Ebonheart Pact. 

The pre-order bonus allowing players to play any race in any alliance gives players more freedom, more creativity, and the personal choice that has always been present in Elder Scrolls games.  Racism has always been a part of Elder Scrolls games too.  The blatant racism of the Nords and High Elves in Skyrim for example.  I do not believe the pre-order bonus in any way fundamentally alters that racism of the game.  A Breton Dragonknight that sells his sword to the Aldmeri is going to be paid and utilized but not respected.  The Orc Nightblade that matures in Ebonheart territory will always know she is different that those around her.  The Argonian that choose to heal the valiant warriors of the Daggerfall Covenant will be accepted and thanked for her efforts.

Now for my second favorite complaint, the lore destroying money grab.  I think the lore can be easily handled by players.  Zenimax Online did nothing to destroy the lore yesterday.  I am at a loss to understand the concept of the pricing being a money grab.  The box price for the digital and hard copy is the industry standard of $60.  The fact that anyone was surprised by this is funny.  The digital collector’s edition is a mere $20 more and it includes the Imperial race, mudcrab pet, a HORSE, and Rings of Mara.  The physical edition of the Collector’s Edition is underpriced at $100.  No seriously, for that additional $20 bucks you get a statute, a map, and a lore book in addition to the items that come with the digital collector’s addition.

I think the money argument is based on consumers expecting far too many things for free this days.  There is a blatant attitude of entitlement that is rampant and out of control.  Truth be told, if the initial buy-in (which includes 30 days of free game play) and the monthly subscription is too much then perhaps playing a video games isn’t the wisest decision you could be making.  Everyone has different finances and priorities but the sense of entitlement is outrageous.  ZOS spent their investment money on the title, and are entitled to see a return on that investment.

I can’t wait for the game to be released.  I will utilized my Rings of Mara and enjoy my horse while my playing against the race-alliance barrier.

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Elder Scrolls Online: The Arrival

This morning the new cinematic trailer and pre-order bonuses were released for the Elder Scrolls Online.  Mudcrab pet and early access?  Here take our money, please take it already!  Ritual of Mara and the ability to play any race in any faction?  No seriously, excuse me while we place our orders.

The best part about an amazing cinematic, the female character saves the day.  I want her incredibly awesome whip spell!  Seriously, she kicks serious Molag Bal and daedric minion asses in the video. 

There is no doubt what I will be playing once ESO releases. 

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Weekend Activities: SWTOR and Xbox

SWTOR got a lot of play Thursday and Friday, easy stress escape and I got caught up in leveling my bounty hunter.  What is really irritating me is that since the last time I played the fine folks over a Bioware have for some unfathomable reason disabled the ability to take a screenshot during a dialogue scene with a NPC.  I’ve missed countless great shots of humorous lines or facial expressions as a result.  Hell, I’ve just missed great shots of my characters up close.

I have a plethora of screenshot for the wildlife or environment but not one of my character.  I am going to have to remedy that next time I log on.  I fell into the crafting trap this weekend, you know the one.  You spend more time logging in and out of various characters to craft items or send raw materials.  I wish they would release an app for one of the mobile platforms to let gamers do that stuff while away from their gaming rig.  I would definitely spend more free time in SWTOR or any game to be honest, that let me get some of the more mundane but vital activities, like crafting, accomplished while waiting at the doctor’s office or watching television.

I fired up the Xbox demo for Assassin’s Creed Liberation HD before I had my first cup of coffee on Saturday morning.  It left a bad taste in my mouth and I quickly moved on.  Hubby woke up and he tried it thankfully and I was instantly charmed.  So a couple of cups of coffee and a trial by hubby and AC: Liberation wound up on my game rotation for the week.  A full review when I am more than a couple of hours of game play in and more than one cup of coffee consumed.

Thanks to the fine folks at Gamefly I also played some Diablo III on Saturday.  I created a female barbarian and set off on my single adventures.  I got to New Tristam and learned that there was no way to link my battle.net account to my Xbox account and was instantly frustrated.  All those fine goodies from virtual Blizzcon tickets are going to go to waste because of my platform choice?  Seems like a oversight that should not have happened.  Diablo III never felt like a PC game to me and there is no way I’m paying PC prices for it when I can rent it or buy it from Gamefly.  The one thing I do really like about the port to the console is that cooperative game play isn’t fouled up by a split screen which drives us both bonkers.

Hubby fired up Mass Effect and started the ugliest character he has ever created on Insanity.  No seriously, the Shepard he created was so ugly I cringed every single time I looked up at the television and caught a glimpse of him.  He took pity on me and recreated Shepard as Sheldon Cooper and started over on Insanity.  All I have to saw is that Insanity is a difficulty setting I will never be attempting!

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Star Wars: The Old Republic: Plague breaks out on Alderaan

Rakghoul Plague has infested the peaceful planet of Alderaan and I’ve participated in the event for the first time when the event went live yesterday.  The last time the Rakghoul event was in game I was playing something else and didn’t participate.  However, I jumped in with both feet on two Republic characters yesterday.

My consular, Laughlynn, took the opportunity to further explore Alderaan and pick up some bonus series quests.  I particularly love the taxis on Alderaan that are non-mechanical.  There is just something so peaceful and majestic about taking a taxi on Alderaan.  I’m a little biased admittedly since Alderaan is my favorite planet to date.

First off, the Rakghoul tunnels on Alderaan are beautiful.  I spent a lot of time just enjoying the beauty of the environment yesterday while exterminating the affected victims.  There is a definite challenge to the event when you aren’t at maximum level and at the low end of the level range for the planet.  However, I love the challenge and had fun yesterday. 

Laughlynn did great even against the level 55 creatures when others were around.  They were hard to touch at level 39 but so long as she wasn’t fighting alone they were fun and a challenge.  Now those elite level 55 creatures and bosses were impossible to touch, every once in a while I’d manage to get a hit one of the but it was rare.  Still it was a blast!

Abi’gail had a much more difficult time at level 28.  The tunnels and the infected were definitely a challenge for Abi’gail.  More often than not her light sabers were nothing more than flashing purple sticks of ineptitude as they failed to land a hit.  Against the level 25 Rakghouls she was successful but those level 34 plus creatures were an exercise in misses.  But you know what?  I didn’t care, the tunnels were beautiful and I still managed to complete event quests and gain reputation while having fun.

This morning I logged on to my level 15 bounty hunter, Steph’ana, who has been stranded on the Imperial Fleet for a year now.  However, she is getting play time these days and she contracted the plague while on fleet.  Steph’ana is now on Balmorra and setting out on the great Hunt.  I got this great picture of the effects of the plague before she purchased a vaccine from the medical droid in Sobrick.

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Mobile Gaming: Rule the Kingdom

Rule the Kingdom from GameInsight is available for free on idevices, Android, Windows, and Facebook.  Knowing my love of the RPG genre and games focused on questing I downloaded it to my Windows 8 tablet as soon as it became available.

The game is charming but it suffers from what I consider a fatal flaw: over monetization.  It is possible to play the game and not spend a cent but to do so you would have to have the patience of a saint.  Seriously, should your character die you have to flee to the castle and wait on hour before your can resume playing or your need to spend real world money to continue playing.  While I don’t mind spending money on good games, I do mind when every possible action almost in a title is possible to complete with cash.

So, while charming it isn’t going to get a recommendation from me despite the wide number of platforms the game is available on.  I would much rather have a small purchase price associated with a mobile game than have every move in the game monetized.  If you have children, then this game is a definite pass.

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2014 Gaming

2013 and 2012 I was a MMO tourist.  I couldn’t find and settle down in any one game for any length of time.  Instead, I’d play game X for a couple of months while “cheating” on it by playing a couple of other games on the side.  2013 isn’t going to be touristy for me.  I know what games I want to play and what games just hold no interest for me any more.

WOW is off of my SSD and my subscription cancelled once again.  I’m not going to jinx myself and say I’m never going to play it again but that’s how I feel.  BlizzCon left an incredibly sour taste in my mouth and I honestly don’t want to continue to support Blizzard economically via gaming.  I prefer my WOW lore in book format where actual stories can be told and finished.  I loaded up on several WOW novels when they were last on sale as an Amazon Daily Deal.  Raiding isn’t enough to keep me continually paying a subscription, hell let’s be honest it is as boring and trite as running the same five-man instance repeatedly.  End game boredom is the reason I first “cheated” on WOW and nothing has changed since I started playing the game back in 2008.  I’m a woman over forty-five who doesn’t enjoy raiding, clearly WOW doesn’t care about what interests me and thus I’ll spending my gaming dollars elsewhere.

Games that I’m “Quitting”

Guild Wars 2, Rift, and SOE games are definitely no longer on my radar. 

GW2 was a huge disappointment for me and every time I pop back in and retry it my initial disappointment is reconfirmed.  There is no one playing the game and thus the whole “events” theory of gaming is utter crap. 

Rift is still enjoyable but I still can’t stand my questing being interrupted by rifts.  I do thoroughly enjoy Rift’s PVP but that isn’t enough to keep me interested in playing the game. 

SOE has its own particular set of issues.  I love Everquest 2 but I do not love the artificial blocks they have established to character progression.  Also I’m not going to spend money on SOE games when the benefits of subscribing are constantly in flux and are detrimental to the gamer but highly beneficial to SOE.

2014 Games

This year, the MMO’s I am going to playing Elder Scrolls Online, Lord of the Rings Online, The Secret World and Star Wars: The Old Republic.  The one thing these games all have in common?  Fantastic story telling and characters I am utterly invested in. 

TSW is a game I can play for small doses at a time but I love every moment of that play time.  TSW has expanded my reading base and thus my knowledge and I cannot fault any game that pushes me to become a better read individual.

LOTRO may not be a perfect game and it may not be hundred percent pure for the lore purists, but it is more than reasonably close for me.  The cosmetic system and the stunning screenshots I get are worth minor inconveniences like purchases not being account wide from the cash shop for almost every purchase.  I admit, I lose complete track of time while playing LOTRO and that alone is an endorsement for me.

Elder Scrolls Online releases on 4 April 2014 and I am eagerly looking forward to the official release.  I fell in love with Oblivion on the Xbox360 and have been a fan ever since.  Elder Scrolls games will always hold a special place in my heart, with the exception of Skyrim, and based on developer statements and interviews ESO will be a game that perfectly fits my play style.  I will also admit the Skywind mod for Morrowind has me intrigued.

SWTOR is going to be my guilty pleasure this year.  I have characters with unfinished stories and I will admit that bothers me immensely.  I may pop in and out of SWTOR this year as a break from high fantasy games like LOTRO and ESO and I’m ok with that.  I will complete story lines and enjoy myself immensely doing so.  I am a complete sucker for anything Star Wars, Yoda slippers & Jaina Solo shirt I’m looking at you, so it shouldn’t be a complete shocker that unfinished stories in a Star Wars game is driving me bonkers.

Console & Mobile Gaming

I will still be playing games on the 360 and the One this year.  Fable Anniversary releases next month and I’m looking forward to it.  I still have several games to finish on the One purchased on release day.  I like the titles just fine, I’ve just been in the reading mood and not the gaming mood the last month or so. 

Mobile gaming caught my attention in the last couple of weeks.  Games like Dungeon Hunter 4 and Royal Envoy 2 have me engaged and interested.  It is safe to say that mobile gaming reviews and impressions will be forthcoming this year. 

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