Catching Up on the Larger World of Assassin’s Creed

Despite the frustrating and non-Assassin based gameplay of Assassin’s Creed: Black Flag, the franchise remains one of my favorites.  This is in large part because of the incredibly complex and rich story telling Ubisoft released with the Ezio trilogy.  There is a confirmed new game release for the Xbox One and the PS4 entitled, Assassin’s Creed: Unity and I have high hopes that given it’s setting in the era of the French Revolution there will be no sailing missions.  (Dear God help me if there are because I cannot promise not to hurl my controller in frustration across the room!)

The French Revolution awaits us all

This morning I decided to catch up with the world of Assassin’s Creed outside the games and jumped right into the AC Initiates database.  Initiates is a site run by Ubisoft still in Alpha release, despite being available for months.  A couple of side notes/observations about Initiates it is incredibly frustrating that the site isn’t accessible on mobile devices (not even so-called mobile devices that do not have cellular access) and it defeats the purpose of having missions related to Assassin Creed games that are heavily played on consoles but in order to get credit for those missions the gamer needs to interrupt game play to leave the room and seek out a non-mobile device.

Gripes over, despite the grumbles about the site Initiates has a wonderful amount of detail relating to the main characters of the game.  I loved reading about young Haytham long before we meet him in Assassin’s Creed III or the invention backstory of Benjamin Hornigold.  But most interesting is the dossier on Gavin Banks current Master of the Assassin Brotherhood.  The details and relation of the game to real life events we are privy to every day.  A great example is the Tunguska blast in Siberia and the Apple of Eden.  Old favorites from the Ezio trilogy are alive and well on the Initiates site and are still active.  It is incredibly satisfy to get a glimpse of Rebecca and Shawn outside the games and enjoy the intrigue and humor in brief snippets.

The Brotherhood is rebuilding in the present day world.  Abstergo may be far more in the public eye but the present day Brotherhood is rebuilding cells world wide.  It was fascinating to read who leads the Japanese cell and the activities that were going on in Russia.  It is nice to read about women in the Initiates database and surveillance reports because women are still missing from the actual games.  There is also a mini-game called Lost Memories which allows users to find memories around the world.

Adding to the already rich world of published material related to the world of Assassin’s Creed, there is a new book scheduled to release November 4, 2014 entitled Assassin’s Creed Unity: Abstergo Industries Employee Handbook by Christie Golden who also wrote Assassin’s Creed IV Black Flag: Blackbeard: The Lost Journal.  I’m far more interested in the Handbook than the Blackbeard’s book.

  Access the Animus is an Italian fan site which summarizes the various extraneous materials published for the franchise.  If you don’t have time to read the various novels and comics, and trust the review of someone else, then Access the Animus is a great place to catch-up and learn about the other Assassin’s roaming the planet in various times and places.

So, if you are in need of an Assassin’s Creed fix before the release of Unity then it is worth checking out both Initiates and Access.  Little snippets of a glimpse of what is happening between the Assassin’s and Templars is certainly one way of filing the void between the release of major titles.

 

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Xbox: South Park: The Stick of Truth is …

South Park: The Stick of Truth is truly amazing.  It is a game that was well worth the delays and wait.  It is like being in an episode of South Park.

If you aren’t a fan of South Park then skip the game.  No seriously, skip it.  You won’t find foul mouthed, rude, fourth graders funny or the game enjoyable.  But if you enjoy the show, then you will enjoy the game immensely. 

You play as the ever silent New Kid in town who first meets Butters went sent outside to play by your parents.  You are then immediately recruited into Cartman’s human army against the Drow Elves led by Kyle.  What happens next is an old school RPG set in the South Park universe. 

The are some truly epic battles in the game.  Not epic because they are difficult or you are forced to make complex and difficult moral choices, but epic in the scope and breathe of the level of destruction wrought by fourth grade boys on the rampage.

The characters you know and love are in the game, unless they are already deceased in the series.  Always despise Principal Victoria or Mr. Garrison?  Have no fear, you can hit any character with your weapon without impunity, well unless they are an enemy, and they don’t get pissed off at you. 

The interface is simple and intuitive, not overly complex constant stat weighing and convoluted quest lines.  Weapons are clearly indicated to be an improvement or not, armor is a personal decision (although I highly favor the Friar’s and Bishop’s robes) and quests are go there and do that.

And as I girl, my inner nine-year old girl truly jumped for joy when the girls appeared.

The game is quite literally laugh out loud hysterical if you have a sense of humor and have learned to laugh at anyone and anything.  It is a game for you inner nine-year old to play and enjoy.  Indulge!  Life is too damn short and too damn stressful not to enjoy when the opportunity presents itself.

Quite easily this game is a 5 out of 5 for both of us.  I wouldn’t let children under sixteen play it however.  There are most definitely adult themes and situations that are in no way suitable for young children.  But for adults, the game is incredibly funny and a trip down memory lane.  Thank you Trey Parker and Matt Stone for making what is truly one of the best video games of 2014.

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Xbox: Fable Anniversary, Hit or Miss?

Yesterday we picked up Fable Anniversary, is it worth the $40 bucks?  Well, that is a matter of opinion but overall no, skip it.  Sure the graphics have been immensely improved from the original game released ten years ago but otherwise, the game is better suited to a phone or tablet.

Picture on the left is from 2004 and the one on the right is from Fable Anniversary.  There is no denying that the game is beautiful.  However, improved graphics and lighting cannot save simplistic and linear game play that is heavy with load screens.  I’m only a couple of hours in and I’m bored.  Bored with endless needless clicking on loot cards, through dialogue statements, and quests that are poorly written.

Sure, the interface changes are nice and the smart glass integration is the best done in any game so far.  But UI changes and tablet integration aren’t enough to keep you from falling asleep while playing.  So, take that same $40 and go have a dinner out with the one you love.

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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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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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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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Xbox Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag

Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag released a month ago but we patiently waited for the arrival of our Xbox One before purchasing the title.  Digital copy downloaded and we’ve both played it.  Neither of us has yet finished the title, but hubby is well on his way. 

First things first, the game is beautiful.Colors are deep and rich and the lighting effects are superb.  It was worth waiting for a month because let’s be honest here, the 360 is quickly going to fall out of use here (even though I still have a ton of unfinished games).

I was immediately happy when I loaded up the game for the first time and realized that Ubisoft seemed to have taken all the best elements of previous games and rolled them into this title.  It gave me hope.  Gone was the caped crusader nonsense of Connor in AC:III and back were stealthy missions. 

All of that hope was quickly dashed however the longer hubby has played (he has more play time this week because he’s on vacation and I’ve gladly let him unwind with the controller).  The game isn’t an Assassin’s Creed game it is a naval simulation game with some minor Templar vs. Assassin missions thrown in as an aside. The starting mission and the beginning missions in Havana were all decent homage to games past but then, it all goes to hell when in order to progress you are forced into sailing around the Caribbean to do pirating.  Yes, I know, it’s a game about pirates but it is first and foremost, an entry into the Assassin’s Creed lore.  It is disappointing.

Ubisoft seems more content to develop lore for the franchise outside of the games then to tell actual stories any more.  The writing for the series has diminished with each new game released.  Gone are the days of Ezio and the rich world created for his story.  Now it is a random bunch of yahoos thrown together in some loose semblance of a story line. This game is not an Assassin’s Creed game, it’s a pirate game dressed up in Assassin’s Creed wrapping.

I think the ultimate downfall of the storytelling in the franchise has much more to do with the implementation of multiplayer in the game than anything else.  Single player game feels like it is tacked on to a multiplayer game that is the primary focus of Ubisoft.  If most players spend their time in multiplayer, than there is no reason for Ubisoft to concentrate on writing compelling and rich single player stories. 

I’m not quite ready to write off the franchise yet but Ubisoft and it’s creative team need to figure out if they want to tell stories in the Assassin’s Creed universe or develop multiplayer games.  Ubisoft’s story telling capabilities in this franchise are far, far below that of it’s competition.  I will struggle to complete this game only because of the constant need for sailing and pirating.  I am thrilled about how happy the naval simulation gameplay has made my husband but it has the exact opposite effect on me.

And lastly, the shimmering (flickering) in the game on larger television screens is annoying and frustrating.  The game doesn’t experience this problem on last generation console but both new generation console users are reporting the same issue.  Trees and foliage have this horrible shimmer affect that makes them shiny and sparkly in bright sunlight and bright blue ocean.  The issue is popular on the Ubisoft forums, and is of course being ignored by Ubisoft themselves (reminiscent of their failure of acknowledge problems with DLC for AC:III).  This is the only game that suffers from this issue on our Xbox One.  It may be the direct result of porting a game designed for the PS3 and the 360 to next generation consoles but whatever the cause, Ubisoft needs to step up and fix the issue.  Or at least admit there is an issue, even if the resolution is sorry but there is nothing we can do about it while trying to design games that fit on multiple platform generations.

All in all, I don’t think the game is worthy of all the high praise it has received from game sites.  Yes it is beautiful and fun, but it is in no way an Assassin’s Creed worthy game.  It is a naval simulation based around pirates.  The single player aspect of the game is poorly written, poorly conceived, and an after thought to the development team’s first love of multiplayer.  I will finish the game, although I can’t promise it won’t be with me handing the controller to my husband to successfully complete those annoying sea battles.  I give it a 2.5 out of 5.

 

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Xbox One: Our Review

Our Day One Edition arrived right on schedule a week ago and was easily installed in the entertainment center.  We were both impressed when the system was compatible with our audio receiver which is at least seven years old.  So, it honestly started off on a very good foot.

The system was also compatible with our cable provider, Cox.  The Xbox One now seamlessly controls the television, cable box, audio receiver, and the console.  The various remotes that used to clutter the sofa and family room tables have all been consigned to a drawer. 

The overall picture quality of our Plasma Samsung television has increased as well because the Xbox One is handling the 1080p upscale of television programs much smoother than the cable box ever did.  The shimmering has disappeared from television programs, although it does return for poorly optimized games on the One (forthcoming review of Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag will discuss this). 

The biggest complaint either of us has is that the One sometimes can’t hear us  We have tall ceilings, fifteen feet plus high, in a large room with stone flooring.  Voices can easily got lost in our family room and it appears that the Kinect doesn’t quite know how to deal with large family rooms.  The voice issue is most irritating when turning on the system, after that voice commands are rarely lost in our cavernous family room.

The Kinect is vastly improved over the Xbox 360 version.  It has no trouble picking up hand motions in games like Dead Rising 3, even when comfortably lounging on the sofa in the reclining position a good ten feet plus from the television.  True, facial recognition isn’t stellar when reclining but as soon as you sit up straight the Kinect has no issues with facial recognition.  Having owned both versions of the Kinect, the new version is miles ahead of where the technology started several years ago.

The system is whisper quiet, runs cool (even in an enclosed media cabinet with other devices running), and seamlessly integrated into our lives.  It was well worth the purchase price for the endless hours of entertainment it will provide in the years to come and personally, I don’t miss chasing remotes.

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Assassin’s Creed III: Gorgeous but Extremely Disappointing

Assassin’s Creed quickly became one of my favorite franchises this summer with the quality of the story telling in the Ezio trilogy and thus I was looking forward to Assassin’s Creed III.

The game is stunningly beautiful.  The landscapes are drop dead gorgeous and the weather effects are among the best I’ve ever seen.  However, a game can’t survive on looks alone and this installment doesn’t live up to its potential nor honor its past.

Bugs and holes are predominate throughout the game.  It isn’t like the game released last week, it is almost a year post release and the amount of bugs that exist in the game are mind boggling.  How is it possible that Ubisoft’s quality control department, and I use that term loosely here, let a game release with a bug that doesn’t update the protagonist's (Connor) outfit, in a cut scene, based on what the player has the character wearing at the time of any particular cut scene?  It isn’t like there are only one or two cut scenes in the game, the game is filled with cut scenes which makes this bug so infuriating and disconcerting.  After all, they managed to NOT have the bug in previous installments of the franchise.

Connor can fly through trees like a howler monkey with very little thought on the part of a player, but by god a group of three pine trees encountered on the forest floor completely baffles him and he stands there hands in the air helpless.  Connor also has the habit of getting stuck on every little obstacle he encounters on the ground, a situation made worse when he is on horseback. Seriously, these bug me almost as much as the bug above.  Controls are more fluid yes, but fluidity comes at too high a price when a pebble is enough to hang up a horse.  Hubby spent the weekend growling, at various volume levels, about “stupid gummy bear, care bear controls” as Connor would stick to anything and everything he ran into or across during a fight, chase, or tail. 

Whoever designed the crafting interface and game should be sent back to design school immediately.  Poorly implemented is a compliment, highly frustrating is an understatement.  And how did something so vital and new to the franchise make it into the game without a tutorial?  I liked the homestead missions and the interaction with the people Connor collects.  However, the implementation of crafting is so troublesome and frustrating it isn’t worth doing in my opinion.  Yes it is nice your crafters can craft upgrade but good luck understanding the stats on anything they craft because that information isn’t present.  Convoy got attacked?  Good, defend it yourself or send your assassin recruits.  Wait you did that but now your convoy is permanently attacked and nothing you try resolves the situation?  Again, another bug that should have never made it through quality assurance controls.

Now for the story, it is full of so many holes it looks like the practice target at the shooting range.  Random important people appear at the appropriate moment, Connor has a conversation and you are led to believe they have know each other for years.  Marquis de Lafayette case in point.  He appears in the story and greets Connor like an old friend and the player has never seen Lafayette in game before.  Where did they meet?  How?  And then we get to the players first view of Connor and his father, Haytham Kenway, meeting for the first time.  Somehow Haytham knows Connor is his son and knows him by sight.  Huh?  What?  How?  Gapping holes in the story you present in a video game are unforgiveable.  I don’t care that you have third party media out there they may or may not explain the holes, your holes in the media I purchased are glaring and wide enough for a herd of angry cattle to stampede through comfortably.  And this is coming from an individual that doesn’t mind reading books derived from video games!

Then we come to the game breaking bug husband ran into last night, one that Ubisoft has no solution for on it’s forums and no patch for months later.  Hubby began playing the Tyranny of King Washington Episode One: Infamy when he encountered the bug.  On the mission to Stalk the Guard Dogs at Benedict Arnold’s camp in Valley Forge, he couldn’t toss bait, run, or avoid detection.  He was unable to progress the story because of the bug.  This isn’t a minor or annoying bug, this is game breaking and it should have a response and fix from Ubisoft.  It happens across platforms and apparently only happened post release of Episode Two: Betrayal.

Connor is a very likeable and loveable character but is he truly as Assassin worthy of the Brotherhood?  I don’t think so to be honest.  He is brash, most of the time thinking with his heart and not his head and he has no ability to take long term views of his actions.  Case in point, his decision to inform Washington about the Templar plot to kill him.  Connor exhibits no understanding that his role is to work behind the scenes to counter plots and schemes of his Templar counterparts.  He is much less an assassin and much more of a caped crusader without a cape.

Overall, disappointment reigns in our house despite the games beauty and the love of the franchise.  We’ve been having the discussion about whether or not to invest time, energy and money into Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag.  I’m willing to give Ubisoft the benefit of the doubt and play the game on the XboxOne when it arrives later this Fall.  However, if they screw it up and don’t honestly return to what made the franchise great in previous games then I’m done.  I want to play Assassin’s Creed games that are based on assassinations and honoring what Altair and Ezio established for the fan base.  I want an Assassin’s Creed game where there has been quality control done by competent individuals and no gaping holes in the story.  DO NOT DISAPPOINT AGAIN UBISOFT.

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XBox: August Games for Gold Members

The free titles for XBox Gold Members for August are Crackdown, Dead Rising 2 and Dead Rising 2: Case Zero.

Crackdown will be available on August 1st.  And both Dead Rising Games will be available starting August 16th.  Just a reminder, games are free for download and will remain a permanent part of your Xbox account, even if your Gold account lapses in the future.

Today, July 31st is the last day to download Assassin’s Creed II and to get the remainder of the Assassin’s Creed series and DLC on sale.

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XBox: Assassin's Creed II Completed

Yesterday I completed Assassin’s Creed II and immediately moved into Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood. I loved the story of Ezio Auditore da Firenze and am not at all sad to say that I have Brotherhood and Revelations to further enjoy Ezio’s adventures. I found the controls to be tighter than my limited tine playing as Altair in Assassin’s Creed I.
In everyday life, heights and I are incompatible. So I expected to run into issues playing the game knowing I’d be balancing on the top of a cross on a church steeple but the heights and dizzying views never got to me. However, they do get to me when Hubby is playing and is spinning around like a madman. I can only assume it has something to do with not being in control of the character.
I will admit I wish it were possible to capture screenshots on the 360 without resorting to using my cellphone which is just immersion breaking and honestly I forget. Thankfully that issue will disappear on the One and next generation games. Until then dear readers, you are stuck with stock photos.

XBox: Assassin’s Creed II

So I downloaded Assassin’s Creed II yesterday and fired it up immediately.  I played until it was time to turn over the control to hubby.  I loved the game play, the story line, and the intricate details placed in the little things (like fabric).  It was a pleasure to play and while I might not blow through the whole game in a day or two, I will enjoy my time spent with young Ezio Auditore. 

I usually don’t like games where I’m scaling heights for no reason but in AC II I’m enjoying the vistas from the incredibly high viewpoints scattered throughout the game.  The controls seem sharper than the first game, which I appreciate even though I never completed the first game.  I really enjoy the brief but detailed database of characters, places and things.  I take the time to read the database which undoubtedly slows down my overall game play.

My only complaint … too many games I want to play at the moment and not enough hours in the month! 

Technorati Tags: Xbox 360,console,console gaming,Assassin's Creed II,Assassin's Creed,Ezio Auditore

XBox 360: Recent Titles

The last several days I haven't really been interested in any game installed on our computers. I think I'm burned out or flat out bored with the endless grind that mmo's have determined is the best, aka only, way to keep the attention of their players. I've fired up the Xbox the last couple of days and have been enjoying the heck out of myself, but of course the completion addict in me is also compelled to clean-up some achievements I have uncompleted on several games. I've also tried and fell in love, a couple of games we've had for ages but I never tried.

Red Dead Redemption by Rockstar Games is one of those titles. Hubby bought it when the tiled hit the On Demand menu on our 360. I always thought the game was beautiful but shooters and I generally, in the past, have had a disgruntled history. I have loved the story in games like Bioshock and Halo but the shooter aspect was always meh. However, apparently, in the last couple of years I think I've gotten over my meh block to shooter games or I'm just suddenly in the mood to play the stories and the shooter aspect doesn't bother me right now.

The story in Red Dead is the weakest of all the games I'm flitting thought right now but the environment is stunning. Sunrises and sunsets are nearly as brilliant as they are through our family room window. The weather in the game is really caught stunning. The thunderstorm mechanic in game is enough to make me find a safe spot in game and listen to the weather. The puddles, the dark atmosphere, and light effects are just fabulous.

Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag definitely caught my attention at this Year's E3 last week and thus I decided to put Assassin's Creed III at the top of the Gamefly queue. Game arrived and as soon as it fired up, it had my full and complete attention. The story grabbed me and held my attention. I played through the first mission in London and have made it through the first tavern mission in Boston. However, I have decided to go back and catch up on the games I missed in the past.

Hubby played through Assassin's Creed when it was released and I watched while stitching next to him (not uncommon here). I tried the original game but it didn't capture my imagination. When Assassin's Creed II was released hubby tried that game too. I thought it was beautiful and the characters much more engaging, however the dialogue drove hubby batty and neither of us finished the game. So when Brotherhood and Revelations were released we basically ignored the games and played other things.

Well, no longer will the Assassin's Creed franchise be ignored. I will go back and play through the titles I missed, ok maybe not the first one, before I pick up and finish III or start IV. Assassin's Creed II will be available for Xbox Live Gold Members for free next month and then I will be playing through it eagerly. Revelations is download and waiting, although I admit I played through some of it yesterday. The game is beautiful and has my attention.

Dead Rising 3 also caught my attention at E3 this year. Gamefly delivered Dead Rising 2 Saturday as well. Five minutes of the overly color saturated game completely failed to grasp my interest or attention. To be honest, first impression of the game reminded me of World of Warcraft style console game because of the color saturation and graphic style. Needless to say, this style of Dead Rising game doesn't have my attention and so I will wait for more information by Dead Rising 3 before committing to the new game.



Halo 5 caught my attention as well, mainly because I haven't a clue as to why Masterchief has a cracked mask on his helmet. I need to know what happened in Halo 4! . I put in Halo 3 and then hubby reminded me that I watched him play it to completion. I vaguely remember the story so I decided to give it a go and thus I fired it up. The controls and my shooter skills are never great match and so I set the game to casual. Then I realized that the fine folks over at Bungee won't give achievement points to those of us who play games for the story and not our "skills" at a shooter. I will watch hubby play through Halo 4 rather than frustrate the achievement whore (I admit it) in me by not getting credit for playing the game.

I am enjoying giving the 360 a spin while it is in triple digits outside. I am eagerly looking forward to the delivery of the Xbox One this November and I can't wait to fire up Project Spark for the first time and Zoo Tycoon.

Technorati Tags: Xbox 360,Xbox One,Halo,Halo 3,Halo 4,5,Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag,Assassin's Creed,Assassin's Creed II,Assassin's Creed Brotherhood,Assassin's Creed Revelations,Dead Rising 3,Dead Rising 2,Zoo Tycoon,Project Spark,Red Dead Remeption,Rockstar Games,Bioshock

E3 2013: Microsoft Press Conference Highlights, Reveals, & Hype

• Opening scene is beautiful, Metal Gear Solid 5 set in Afghanistan and it is gorgeous
  • Open world game game
  • Military shooters aren’t my thing but it looks intriguing
• 13 exclusive titles to Xbox One
• Xbox 360 Upcoming titles
  • new console design coming
    • available starting today, it’s smaller
  • Gold Membership
    • New Program begins July1 thru XboxOne release: two new game downloads for free --
      • Assassin’s Creed 2 and Halo 3 given as examples
  • GTA 5
  • World of Tanks exclusive to Xbox360
    • 15 v 15 team based tank warfare
    • Adapted and tailored to the 360, integrated with Live
    • Free download and free to play
  • Max the Curse of Brotherhood from Press Play
    • looks fun and entertaining
    • bright, colorful, puzzle platformer
  • Dark Souls II
  • Crimson Dragon
    • looks like a dragon based shooter
  • Dead Rising 3
    • Open world zombie game
    • Zombies are much scarier looking
    • no load times
    • massive world
    • ok I’m very interested and I don’t generally like zombie games
    • hundreds of weapons to discover and customize
    • driving critical part of exploration (CRAP on a stick lol) but zombies are still a threat
    • smart glass compatible (shown using a windows phone!)
    • Available this holiday
  • What Lie Below
  • Black Tusk Studio Game
    • more coming
    • game play footage shown
    • Franchise builder game
  • HALO
    • EPIC scene featuring Master Chief
    • 60 frames per second on the console
    • 2014 game
• Non Exclusive Games
  • Witcher 3: Wild Hunt  from CD Projekt Red
    • combat rebuilt from ground up
    • free roaming, open world
    • non-linear questing
    • optional voice commands
  • Battlefield 4
    • game play footage shown, 60 frames per second
    • Second Assault (map pack) releases first to the Xbox One
• Xbox One
  • more titles in development now than ever before in Xbox history
  • New Franchises:
    • Ryse: Son of Rome
      • first impression, I’m ALL over this!
      • graphic violent images, not recommended for children (personal opinion)
      • Roman General Marius Titus is the lead character you play as
      • Exclusive and available at launch
    • KIller Instinct
      • Exclusive to One
    • INsominac Games: Sunset Overdrive
      • Exclusive to One
      • Stylized shooter
      • Open world, living game
      • looks like fun
      • Weapon that fires records!!  Looks crazy fun
    • Forza Motorsport 5
      • Pimping MacLauren racing
        • MacLauren P1 is on stage!
      • footage showing on screen looks like real life footage, not like previous versions of Forza
        • God Rays are truly impressive
      • Drive-atar
        • opponents drive like people not AI
        • Learns and adapt based on how you drive
        • Races against the world while you are offline, away from the game and you get credit for those races
        • World Premiere trailer with all in-game footage
          • beautiful, detailed and again the god rays are stunning
      • Launch title
    •   Titanfall
      • shooter, mech fighting – definitely mech fighting
      • Spring 2014 release
  • Indie Titles published under Microsoft Studios
    • Minecraft, exclusive
    • Quantum Break, exclusive
      • works with the television show
      • actual gameplay footage shown
      • Looks fascinating, again a me type of game
    • D4
    • Project Spark
      • Making a game, is the game
      • OMG
      • uses smart glass
      • ALL over this!!!!!!!
      • Game you can create, can be shared with the community
• Xbox Live
  • Smart glass, smart match, Upload Studio
  • Smart Glass with Rye, Son of Rome
    • if you can do it on the console, you can do it from the smart glass device --- exception of course for actual game play
  • Smart match
    • can play one game while waiting for another match in a different game
    • Upload Studio
      • records, uploads, and shares game play
      • commentary, personalization available
    • Twitch partnership announced
      • built into One
      • Live streaming
    • Friends list no longer limited to 100
    • No more points, real money in your local currency
    • Household no benefits from gold membership

Launches November 2013 for $499 in the US and can be reserved starting today

 

Technorati Tags: Xbox ONe,Xbox 360,E3,Microsoft,Halo,Master Chief,Witcher,Titanfall,Ryse,Forza 5,Dead RIsing 3,Twitch,Upload Studio,Smart Glass,Sunset Overdrive,Project Spark

XBox 360: On-Demand Games HUGE Sale

From 26 February thru 4 March 2013, the annual On Demand Game Sale will take place for XBox Live.  A different set of games will be on sale every day.  Here is a list of the games that will be on sale, some discounted as much as 75%:

Assassins Creed
Assassins Creed 2
Batman Arkham Asylum
Batman Arkham city
Bioshock
Borderlands
Borderlands 2
Brotherhood
Call of Juarez
Call of Duty 2
Call of Duty 3
Call of Duty: Black Ops
Call of Duty: Black Ops 2
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3
Code Veronica
Dark Messiah of Might and Magic: Elements
Dead Island
Dirt 2
Dishonored
El Shaddai Ascension of the Metatron
Fable III
Fallout 3
Fallout 3 New Vegas
GRID
Halo 3
Halo 4
Halo Reach
Halo Wars
Kane & Lynch Dead Men
Left for Dead 2
Max Payne 3
Metal Gear Solid HD
Metal Gear Solid Peacewalker
Mortal Kombat
Mortal Kombat vs. DCU
Orange Box
Portal 2
Raccoon City
Rainbow Six Vegas
Rayman Raving Rabbids
Resident Evil 4
Resident Evil 5
Resident Evil 6
Red Dead Redemption
Revelations
Sid Meier’s Civilization Revolution
Street Fighter IV
Street Fighter X Tekken
Super Streetfighter IV Arcade Edition
TC’s H.A.W.X.
Tekken 6
Tekken Tag Tournament 2
The Darkness
The King of Fighters XIII
Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter
Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2
Tomb Raider Legend
Virtua Fighter 5
World at War

 

Technorati Tags: Xbox360,console gaming,on demand,sale

Destiny: Unveiled

Bungie released the details of Destiny over the weekend.  The persistent world, console only, shooter is being partnered with Activision as part of a ten year deal.  You can play the game solo or as part of a small co-op team.  Servers for the XBox360 and Playstation3 players will be separate, with the future consoles being compatible.  There are no plans to charge a subscription fee for the game, thus essentially making the game a buy-to-play MMOFPS.  There is no free-for-all PvP present, however there will be factional PvP skirmishes (think matchmaking).  Destiny is not scheduled for release until 2014 but is currently available for pre-order at all major retailers near you.

 

Technorati Tags: Bungi,Destiny,Activision,Player vs Player,PvP,Xbox360,Playstation 3,MMO,FPS,buy-to-play

Console Gaming: First Impressions are sometimes wrong

So I tweaked my back and sitting at my desk today just wasn’t going to happen, so I popped in The Witcher 2 and the Game of Thrones for the Xbox 360.  Short review, they both SUCKED and thank god for Gamefly!  Seriously, I was mildly interested in Game of Thrones and seriously looking forward to The Witcher 2.

And then I started the game, I found myself bored to tears trying to stay awake and play Witcher.  Finally, i succumb and switch things up and put Thrones in the Xbox.  It started much better but I was quickly bored with too.  Both games are being returned to Gamefly in the morning and I am eternally grateful that $120 bucks wasn’t wasted on those two crap games.

 

We had two demos I wanted to try Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two and Fable 3.  I had tried Fable 3 when the game came out and hated it.  I didn’t make it through 20 minutes of game play and I couldn’t explain why.  I loved the demo today and we’ve downloaded the game via Xbox.  Hubby is playing as I type this and I’m quite sure I will be playing tonight if I can’t sleep.

Epic Mickey is AWESOME, platforming Disney greatness.  This is definitely one we will be purchasing from Gamefly when we get the disc.  Mickey painting and the cuteness factor is off the scale. 

First impressions are rarely wrong in my experience, but I am most thankful that I gave Fable 3 another chance.

Technorati Tags: The Witcher 2,Gamee of Thrones,Xbox360,Epic Mickey 2,Fable 3

Skyrim DLC: Dawnguard for the XBox 360

Yesterday saw the release of the first download content for The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim.  The content is exclusive to the XBox 360 for the first thirty days and then will be released on all other platforms.  The DLC includes Kinect voice support, mounted horse combat, and a whole new vampire related quest-line.  If you enjoyed Skyrim then enjoy the expansion of the story of the Nords.

Technorati Tags: Bethseda,Skyrim,The Elder Scrolls,Dawnguard,DLC,XBox 360,Kinect

Mass Effect 3: the ending saga continued …

Bioware DLC

On Tuesday, 26 June and 4 July 2012, the latest DLC for Bioware’s epic conclusion to the trilogy will be released for the XBox 360 and PlayStation 3, respectively.  The DLC will be free.  The DLC is the long awaited ending clarification.  The DLC doesn’t change the ending but rather seeks to flush-out and better explain the three possible endings.

Technorati Tags: DLC,Mass Effect 3,XBox 360,PlayStation 3

Dragon’s Dogma–the Gem of the Console RPG

 

Let’s face it, the weather here is bloody hot in here and thus a week ago Sunday hubby tried the demo for Dragon’s Dogma.  We were both hooked and thus he went on the hunt to obtain the title locally.  An hour or so later, he managed to secure a copy. 

Japanese RPG’s are not my favorite genre by any means.  However, Capcom has scored a true gem with this console only (currently at least) title.  The game is available on the PlayStation 3 and XBox 360.Character creation is deep, completely open world environment, difficult and unique boss fights, and a unique, if somewhat irritating companion character system. 

It is a single player game, but not quite.  The companion characters, aka pawns, are hired at Rift Stones.  These pawns are created, outfitted, and developed by other players.  These pawns are there to heal, tank, or dps.  Which allows you to create one character and to change your class whenever you want.  You can play a wide range of classes and the freedom to vary your class is a very refreshing change.

There are also no level caps in the game.  You continue to level and grow your skills for the varying classes the longer you play.  Makes it a very nice change to hitting the level cap and suddenly everything is too easy and not hard enough.  It will be a very nice game to play when I need a break from the office or the lands of Norrath or Alderaan or Hoth just aren’t appealing.

Technorati Tags: Dragon's Dogma,XBox 360,PlayStation 3,pawns