Preview: Assassin’s Creed III

Assassin's Creed III
Developers: Ubisoft Montreal
Publisher: Ubisoft
Platforms: Xbox 360, PS3, PC, Wii U
Release Date: October 30, 2012
Website: Assassin's Creed III Official Website

The American Revolution was a dark but glorious time in American history that led us to be this glorious nation that we are today. A conflict grew to a global catastrophe between the British Empire and the independence-seeking American Colonies. After many vicious battles, which led to bloodshed, were sought out, the Continental Congress voted in favor of and signed the Declaration of Independence on the 4^th of July, 1776. America was not recognized as an independent sovereign nation until the Treaty of Paris was finally signed by all parties in 1783.

This is the newest setting of Ubisoft’s newest installment of the Assassin’s Creed series. Assassin’s Creed III is a direct sequel to Assassin’s Creed: Revelations, which was the 3^rd game of the thorough episodic trilogy of Assassin’s Creed II. This new game, Assassin’s Creed III, will put us at the smoky dawn of the American Revolution. We will be playing as the fictitious ancestral character of Desmond Miles, Connor Kenway, who seems to be fighting alongside America for his favored ideology. Many historically accurate figures will also be appearing in this game including George Washington and Benjamin Franklin, among the many others who are set to make a recurring appearance. Connor Kenway will have a seemingly mixed native background from what appears to be a tomahawk he yields in many art designs and photos. His developing years, which have left him seeking vengeance, will take a big role in his motives.

This game is designed using the all new game Anvil Game Engine. The series is well-known for its fluidity in the free running mechanics, which is the core mechanic in the game. The game will have a massively ready to explore world called the Frontier. In this installment, we will find ourselves leaping around in the developing cities of New York and Boston. Free-running through this area will prove to be a delightful experience with a good change of scenery. New elements will also be implemented; some trailers reveal that buildings will now have the capability to climb into and jump out of, making for a more detailed and fluid experience. Evolved combat also reveals the dual-wielding of weapons

The game has run into a bit of criticism since it is obvious that the protagonist does seem to be siding with the loyalists and is constantly shown killing Red Coats throughout Ubisoft’s marketing campaigns. It does seem to be making a wrong impression, but is this not what happened in history? I understand that it may seem one-sided, but history is always told by the victors, America. The developers have denied any accusation stating that the evil Templars are in both oppositions.

Now, I just wanted to take a minute to back up and talk a little about this game's predecessor, Assassin’s Creed II and its rough trilogy experience. Assassin’s Creed has always been a fun game, and continues to be a great free-running experience. What separates the series from the rest is its ability to recreate a wicked historical story which is slightly accurately played with historical events, mainly the crusades. It goes into mass detail about Templars of the time and possible secret societies. Although Assassin’s Creed II was an awesome and fun game, it seemed that they were rapidly pushing out sequels to Ezio Auditore’s storyline, the main protagonist of ACII. Even though the games still proved to be a fun experience, I did at times feel that they were overdoing it. Not to mention they were pushing out the same game with little to no change, which was unfair to the consumer’s pocket. It did prove to be worth it though, through the captivating storyline, which would always make up for it at the end. It always did a good job at having the player seeking for more. Some things I didn’t agree with though, were the seemingly ongoing informality that developed within the developers and the player through historical biographies of people, locations, and buildings. It felt as if it the biographies began to get a little more informal and immature in the way it read opposed to feeling as if I was reading it straight from a detailed accurate encyclopedia, which I thought gave the whole idea a more serious notion. So with all that in mind, I make the point that I really hope it steps back to its level of maturity.

The series is great, I love it and will continue to play it no matter how many pointless sequels they make. Putting us in the middle of the American Revolution with hope that my character will have make an ultimate change in history, although fictitious, is a great way to relive America’s roots. I will definitely free-run over to my local game store and pick myself up a copy upon its release. Whoever said history wasn’t fun?

Preview: Deadlight - XBLA (Xbox Live Arcade)

 

 

Deadlight - (XBLA Exclusive)

Developer:Tequila Works

Publisher: Microsoft Studios

Release Date: August 1, 2012

ESRB: Rating Pending

Website: http://deadlightgame.com/

The world has come to an end, again, and one man is fighting for survival in the rubble environment of a post-apocalyptic Seattle, circa 1983. Randall Wayne has abandoned hope on humanity. Rather, he needs to nestle up any bit of hope on his own survival. Zombies are hungry and quantifying immensely as Armageddon is risen.

Randall Wayne

This is the premise for Tequila Works forth-coming side-scrolling platform post-apocalyptic zombie survival game, Deadlight, for the Xbox Live Arcade, which will be hitting the marketplace very soon. Another post-apocalyptic survival game! Almost anything post-apocalyptic will catch my attention and my eagerness to play a game with such an environment is like a zombies need for brains. I have been into post-apocalyptic settings since Fallout made me a heavy fan of its on-going series. When I first heard of Deadlight, I was interested in its creative style, but I also thought, maybe this type of setting may be overdone and if not played out correctly, might lessen the sub-genre type. Another zombie game, really? It does seem a bit overdone, but Deadlight seems to bring some interesting features and captivating storyline to the table. This game definitely seems to have an environment similar to Fallout with a twist of Shadow Complex. Side-scrolling platform games do also tend to be hitting a risky margin since most players might feel that these mechanics are a bit dated and should have been left in the past with Classic Mario games or Contra. We have come to a time of age where3-D open world navigation is an essential part of a great game that does things right. Tequila Work’s, Deadlight,hopes to deliver, and it probably will.

From what we can see from the previews, it seems that the main protagonist will have to adapt to changing environments, as well as survive hordes of flesh-ripping zombies. It is defined as a “puzzle game with zombies” more than a “zombie game”.  If this is true, this game should prove to be a challenge to hard thinkers who like puzzlers. That will definitely be a twist we do not see much of in zombie games. It has also seemed apparent that the protagonist will also be limited in protection with scarce ammo and can also alert hordes with the sound of gunfire if not careful.  Randall Wayne, the protagonist, seems to be narrating his own story portraying himself as a hero and there will be times where he tries to justify his own actions, but the player will sometimes not be convinced of that story. The world looks beautifully detailed, although a lot of it will not be explored, it does seem to add to the grim context of the game. It is not detailed on how the zombie virus is spreading or if it is even recognized, but giving the era of its time, 1983, during the Cold War, Russians might be to blame. Who knows?

This game does seem to live up to its hype, and as an Arcade game, I am sure it will be a satisfying experience. That day has yet to come though, and as days near in, my anticipation will grow for Deadlight. Armageddon has never seemed so far away!

Coming Soon!

Review - Skyrim: Dawnguard DLC

If you are not already exhausted from over playing Skyrim over the course of the last eight months and wish to have more content to continue the journey as the dragonborn, then you will be pleased to know that Bethesda has pushed out new downloadable content for their open world role-playing game. In the Dawnguard DLC, you are offered a good amount of content that doesn’t alter the gameplay, but in fact enhances it. The content varies from new weapons, companion followers, new spells, and new locations, as well as new transfiguring creatures. The game itself is overwhelming and it is hard to think that they can top it off with any more content, but the fact of the matter is that this extra content will fill in about another seven hours of gameplay per quest line and give the dragonborn a run for his money.



The Dawnguard Faction




The Vampire Faction



What we have happening in Dawnguard is a faction divide between the undead vampiric lords and their makers, the Dawnguard. The dragonborn, the playable character, has a choice to help one side of these clashing factions and commit to that quest line once the quest is triggered by a traveling Dawnguard who tells you that they are looking for new recruits. Although you will be working for one faction or the other, the quests will both disappointingly prove to be the same quest line as they are both intertwined. Some of the new quests that involve the new massive locations will also at times seem to be both redundant and wearisome. If you were hoping for two new and unique quest lines, you will find yourself disappointed at its replay value. Aside from the main quest line, there is also a bit of other interesting miscellaneous side-quests to venture into and gain some experience or unique artifacts and weapons.

A Crossbow

This downloadable content will unlock an array of new weapons. One of the first weapons you will come across is a crossbow. The crossbow seems to have been the DLC’s biggest attraction as it can be fun to use as it can also be deadly. This weapon will benefit in the fight against the vampires as it uses steel bolts, to which vampires are vulnerable to. Although it can be a great addition to the game, the crossbow can be cumbersome at times of dire danger. It is good to note that this weapon is best utilized at range as a sniper since the shot is direct and quick. Reloading the mechanism seems tedious that some might just retreat back to using a simple bow. Aside from the crossbow, it is now possible to craft many new weapons as well as craft arrows for your bows. Some of the new weapons you can now craft are dragon bone weapons which are the strongest type of weapons overall. You can make daggers, swords, long swords, maces, battle axes, and a bow made of all the dragon bones you have collected from all the slayed dragons the dragonborn has come across, putting good use to that collection. There is also a limited amount of rare weapons to be found throughout the new quests.

There are also some unique followers to take along with you in your quests. There is a fiendish hell dog that can be acquired through the vampiric quest line, an armored husky dog and an armored troll acquired through the Dawnguard quest. The armored troll isn’t as good as it sounds, but I was still fascinated at the thought of having it follow me around. Aside from pet followers, you can also have companion followers, the main one being the vampire lord’s daughter, Serana, who can be acquired by whichever of the two quest lines the dragonborn chooses. There are also other Dawnguard followers you can ask to follow you around, but none as unique.

Vampire Lord using Vampire Grip



Werewolf Skill Tree



Vampire Lord Skill Tree

There is a new creature that the dragonborn can now be transfigured to. Upon following the vampiric quest line, it is essential that you become a vampire lord to continue the story, rejecting the offer will put you back at the hands of the Dawnguard. Becoming a vampire lord will grant you the power to revert form to and from a fearsome and ugly, well, vampire lord. While in vampiric form, you have new abilities which can be enhanced by the new vampire lord skill tree, which you will need to acquire points from using the vampire lord’s abilities. The vampire form will give you a stubborn third person over-the-shoulder view and will make fighting hard to accomplish. The dragonborn will have the option to use magick abilities to drain health, conjure gargoyles to fight alongside, raise dead, or choke someone using a vampire grip among other unique abilities. It is also possible to go old fashion and make use of its claws and feed on victims. Being a vampire will also hold some advantages of gaining other abilities in human form such as night vision and a persuasion ability. With advantage also come disadvantages, the major one being the inability to function properly during the day as is common in vampire folklore. The DLC will also add a different set of skill trees for the already established werewolf from which will also grant the dragonborn extra abilities while in werewolf form.

A couple of new locations have been added to the already massive world of Skyrim. There are, of course, the two new castles for the dividing factions, the Forgotten Vale, and a new plane of oblivion called the Soul Cairn. The two new castles are massive and resemble forts from which both factions will shelter themselves throughout the game. The Forgotten Vale is a massive ice world in which the extinct Snow Elves once inhabited and worshipped the God Auri-El. You will encounter many Falmer in this location as well as a couple of new enemies such as a snow giant and some dragons that dive into the ice beds you walk on. The Forgotten Vale will also uncover a lot of details involving the extinct Snow Elves and will cover some speculations to the race. The Soul Cairn is also a massive area in the world of Skyrim filled with many lost souls and a fierce dragon as its guardian. There are a couple of new hallowed enemies in this realm that prove to be a challenge at times.

New spells can be learned in this DLC as well. There are some restorations spells that help ward off against the undead and mainly vampires. There are new conjurations in which you can summon newer creatures to fight alongside you. In the Soul Cairn, you can also learn a conjuration spell that will summon an ethereal horse in both the Soul Cairn and in Skyrim which you can ride at no hesitation. There are also some new dragon shouts the dragonborn will utilize in the game.

They have also added the ability to re-edit your custom appearance by adding a merchant whose expertise is in molding faces. This should give the dragonborn the privilege of changing the ugly appearance he is currently embedded with, for a fee. This includes facial features, make up, hair, and war paint.

At the end, we are left with a fair amount of content that will enhance gameplay in the world of Skyrim. Although it may at time seem a bit clunky and the user might undergo some game freezes within the experience, it will still be hard to put the controller down with all this content to explore. Bethesda’s latest game has already gained much notoriety and could have been the same without extra content, but they did so with the customer in mind. Although it is up for debate whether it is worth the asking price for the content, I can say I very much enjoy all the effort and attention they put in to all their highly appreciated Elder Scrolls games.

Preview: Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

Release Date: November 22, 2011

As you may have heard, a new Elder Scrolls game is in the making. It was teased about 2 months ago during the VGA's and left an anticipating impression for Elder Scroll fans everywhere. Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is Bethesda's next top game soon to be released. Bethesda is also responsible for many other notorious games such as Fallout 3, Fallout: New Vegas, and the Elder Scrolls series. They are also behind the production of the soon to be released game, Brink, which seems to have a different style. But we are here talk Skyrim.

Bethesda released a newer trailer recently with actual in-game footage and it sure does look like a beautifully developed game. It had enhanced visual texture, smooth scenery, and dragons, which seems the main plot of the story will revolve around. The game will deliver top of the line graphics  in comparison to it's latter, Oblivion. With compared screen shots of both games, it is obvious that Skyrim is it's predecessor, making Oblivion's graphics look more battered and ugly. Oblivion was still a great game and should definitely be experienced more by casual gamers. These types of games (Fallout 3 and Oblivion) are made impressionable with their fun role playing options within the storyline and vast glorious open worlds which make for long lasting time consuming fun.


Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is set to be 200 years after the events of Oblivion and it set in the land of Skyrim. The province has erupted into a civil war after the assassination of it's king. Sound familiar? Within the chaos, the God Alduin takes form off a dragon with a provoking want to destroy the world. The game's protagonist and hero happens to be the last Dovahkiin (Dragonborn) with the intent to fend of the dragon Alduin and save civilization.

The game has previewed many new foes, with more to be revealed. This should make for a more challenging game. Oblivion seemed to have enough folklore, to see what Skyrim has to offer seems to be worth the wait. New in game functions will be introduced, for example, cooking and the making of your own weapons. The game mechanics are assured to be a lot smoother and should make you feel more versatile.

The more I hear of this game, the higher my blood pressure rises. We still have a long wait for the game will not be released until later this year. Until then, warm up your Oblivion discs and get lost in time in Tamriel.