Though I played the first offering in Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed saga (or AC for short) when it was first released, I nonetheless feel like a latecomer to the series. Leon and I were pretty excited about Assassin’s Creed when it was first released, but when I finally got to play it I found that it was heavily repetitive and the “rinse and repeat” design of the game meant that I found it too tedious for my liking.

I received Assassin’s Creed 2 this past Christmas, and though I was reluctant to play the game after my disappointing experiences with the first, I decided to bite the bullet and give the series another try. It turned out to be one of the best gaming decisions I’ve made in recent times, and to cut a long story short, I fell in love with Assassin’s Creed 2.

I confess that I’m yet to play Brotherhood, but I’ve been told it’s an upgrade to Assassin’s Creed 2 and so I shall sink my teeth into it when I have the chance to do so. However, all great stories have to end sometime, and last week Ubisoft announced the final chapter of Ezio Auditore’s, finishing off his trilogy in the Assassin’s Creed universe. So, what do we know about the game thus far? Well, read on and find out!

Since Assassin’s Creed: Revelations was officially announced last week, some gameplay and story elements have recently come to light. The first of these is that you will be following in the footsteps of Altair as Ezio heads to Constantinople in order to solve the mystery between the Assassins and the Templars. The land will be split into four key areas; Constantine, Beyazid, Imperial and Galata, with the player also finding themselves travelling to Cappadocia in Turkey.

One of Ezio’s primary missions during the game is to look for seals that contain Altair’s memories, and Ezio can use these to look into Altair’s consciousness; much like Desmond uses the Animus to access Ezio’s and Altair’s during the series. This also means that Altair will once again become a playable character; something I cannot wait for as I felt that he was an awesome assassin, even if the first game wasn’t the greatest experience.

Altair is back and playable!

There will also be new weapons to deal with during Revelations; 300 bomb variants have been announced for the player to craft as well as the Hookblade. It can be used for a variety of purposes, from taking out enemies to zip-lining across the cities allowing you to explore them 30% faster. It all sounds pretty exciting, and I can’t wait to get my hands on them.

An element of gameplay that will be tweaked is ‘Eagle Vision’, which has now been dubbed ‘Eagle Sense’, though sadly Ezio dressing up as “Eagleman” is unconfirmed. So how has it changed, apart from in name? Ubisoft’s Alex Amancio explains:
“Eagle sense lets the player focus on a character and see where he’s been, as well as an approximation of where he’ll go. If you’re able to detect the path a guard will take, you can run ahead, set a bomb and create a trap or an ambush.”
As it sounds, it has the potential to make for some pretty in-depth missions as well as the opportunity for variety, which I am always eager for.

The Borgia Towers are back from Brotherhood, but this is another element of gameplay that has been tweaked and expanded; Constantinople lets you take control of Assassin Dens around the land (raid the den, extinguish the Templars in the vicinity and have a nice place to call your own), but once the Dens are acquired it’s up to you and your band of assassins to hold the fort, as the Templars won’t be best pleased that you’ve stolen their digs. If you don’t feel up to individually defending each Den, then it’s possible to install a master assassin so you don’t have to.

One major change comes through the replacement of side missions with random events; while you are out and about, you might find a shopkeeping getting robbed and find yourself putting a stop to the crime, for example.

Something that grabbed my attention from the announcement was that the player would be able to, and I quote; “manipulate the construct of Desmond’s memories and the Animus to decipher the mysteries of his past and gain insight into the future”. Does this mean that we’ll be delving deeper into the origins of the Animus technology, or be able to customise or control the machine in some way? Whatever the case, it sounds pretty interesting, and I’ll be eager to see what else unfolds at E3.

Other information released states that Brotherhood’s Multiplayer mode will return with more game types, maps and characters, but nothing else is known at the moment. Not much else has been revealed, but I’d guess that if this is the final part of Ezio’s story then we may find out how he is finally laid to rest, but that’s purely me speculating.

All in all, I can’t wait for Revelations to be released, and I really should be getting on with Brotherhood…

Garv

Lately I have been getting my gaming mitts stuck into Assassins Creed II. I had always been reluctant to play this game due to the fact that the first game left a bad taste in my mouth; I tried and tried to get into it but it really didn’t do it for me.

So I hesitated but nonetheless started the game. I have never been so engrossed in a sandbox game since probably GTA III (you would be surprised how much I stand by GTA III next to the other games in the series, but that’ll be a post for later). Assassins Creed II then got me thinking about a sport that I hold high in regard; not that I am a big sports fan or that AC II is a sports game by any stretch of the imagination, but it did indeed get me thinking about a sport that isn’t covered in gaming as much as it should be… I am of course talking about Free Running.

Free Running (Or ‘Le Parkour’) in it’s most basic form is an extreme sport that can primarily take place in a huge metropolis. One potential aim is to jump, climb and scale your way across the rooftops of any city you see fit in your journey from point A to B. Sounds simple enough, but when you’re not gifted with super human abilities like Spiderman it proves to be a little bit more difficult.

Video games have touched on this sport briefly with Assassins Creed II and Mirrors Edge, but I feel that there isn’t enough recognition of the sport itself. For example you get a metric ton of skateboarding games, (granted, not the same type of sport) but you can imagine the potential of an exclusively free running game.

So for the first time ever in my life… I am going to make a proposal for a sports game. This is probably the first time and last time I am going to do this, so sit back and watch history in action… because straight after this I am going back to playing Halo.

Garv’s Free Running Game Idea (Don’t Laugh)

Note: Before people start ranting, I know there was a PS2 and Wii game just called Free Running, but that did as well as an underwater hair dryer, so bare with me on this one.

A 3rd person running game where you simply have to reach your destination in an allotted time. The more innovative and creative the means of doing this, the more points you get. Points are awarded for jump distance covered as well as how long you can keep travelling without stopping. This game means that you have to think quickly to maximise on points. Also, backflips and somersaults are awesome so throw some of them in for good measure.

Ever played Tony Hawk’s Proving Ground? It’s the first Tony Hawk game that used the sandbox to an advantage; progressing in the game means you have to travel to the next mission. This also means you can use the city sandbox as a means of practice, which is kind of what I want to happen in this game.

I know this is a screen from Assassin's Creed 1 but you get the idea.

The difficulty with this game already is the fact that you are neither Spiderman, an assassin, or even a post-modern courier in white tracksuit bottoms. But that doesn’t mean we can’t have fun. So a good thing to add to this game would be character customization, with a difference. I would like a customisation system that kinda mixed the customisation from both Soul Calibur IV and Guitar Hero World Tour. So you can make a realistic avatar of your good self or an absolutely off the wall character with the same skin colour as a Dyno-Rod van (for all of you out there who doesn’t know what colour a Dyno-Rod van is its florescent orange…sexy).

So that’s the game idea in its most basic form, whether it will be a means to an end I highly doubt, just gave me a good excuse to let some crazy gaming thoughts out.

My basic point here is that Free Running is not covered enough in gaming, maybe the idea is still in its infancy. But then again, I just want an excuse to do get a good free running experience without leaving my sofa.
-Garv

It’s happened to all of us at some point – that is, had certain in-game glitches, or general imperfections in a game’s build that manage to spoil a game’s overall magnificence due to a few glaring bugs that detract from the overall realism of the experience. Sure, I’m not expecting to be fooled into actually believing that games are real – but at times you do wonder “Why did the creators not fix that?”, or “Did no-one notice that?”. While I understand that games will rarely (or never) be perfect, sometimes it does make you wonder what the creators were thinking when they let some of these things slip through the net. Here are a few of the things that really bug me, and you’ve probably seen them yourself at some point.

1. Clipping

Clipping is perhaps the worst of these problems – and has been around as long as games have been around. It’s also the hardest to avoid. Basically, it’s when two objects intersect each other, when realistically they shouldn’t I’m sure you’ve seen it at some point, perhaps you’ve been running around with a large sword in hand, and walked past another character or object, only to see it sticking through the object or character with no effect. Now, this is generally understandable – unless the game has excellent physics, it’s rare that all things in the game will have collision detection (i.e. react when touching other objects), but sometimes it’s worse than others.

One recent occurence was in Fable III (arguably a series known for its various bugs and glitches). Of course, with a game such as Fable, many people are willing to accept a few errors for the sake of the overall experience. However, there was one thing that particularly bothered me – clothing and weapons. Now, for the most part of Fable, you are equipped with at least a sword across your back, and often a rifle as well. Mostly (perhaps surprisingly), you are generally urged to wear some form of clothing. So, I wonder why a good few of the clothes happen to clash with the weapons equipped on your back? It’s great having a cloak, but the effect is a little spoiled when your sword constantly swings through it. So it leads me to the conclusion that the team never bothered to look at the clothes being used even once in-game before going “Yep, that’s done.” Similarly, there’s nothing worse than seeing your sword pass through enemies without actually inflicting any damage. As well as looking pretty awful, it really does give the impression that your attacks have no weight behind them, spoiling any illusion that you’re fighting at all.

2. Enemies unaffected by the environment

Generally, when fighting a group of enemies, I like to use the environment against them. Spiked walls may be a little bit of a hinderance to me, and another thing to keep an eye out for – but it’s also good to be able to use the situation to your advantage, and instead push your enemies onto said areas. Of course, some inhuman enemies may be immune to certain elements, but usually throwing a man into a pit of fire should set him ablaze – not give him a tactical advantage where he can shoot me protected by fire he is apparently allied with. Not only does this remove realism and common sense from the game, it also loses some potential strategic ideas and gives you that feeling that the game is very one-sided. When I throw an enemy into a minefield (as seen in Fist of the North Star), I expect the enemy to go out with a big bang – and clear a couple of mines from my path in the process.

Obviously, Sephiroth is too cool to catch fire and is an exception to the rule.

3. Repeated dialogue

Understandably, the longer a game is, or more specifically the more time you play it, the more chance you’ll hear the same line repeated by a random NPC or enemy a couple of times. While this is understandable to a degree – after all, AI characters are scripted, non-intelligent entities with only as much dialogue as there are voice clips recorded into the game, with some producers recording hundreds of hours of unique dialogue – there’s still an element of common sense that seems to be missing sometimes. You may have realised that my introduction of this post was based around Dynasty Warriors – a game that encourages you to fight through hordes of enemies and officers repeatedly. So when one of the main objectives is to defeat officers, would it not be appropriate to record more than one line of dialogue to be repeated for each defeated foe?

Occasionally, voice clips can be repeated so often that the same line can play twice at the same time, with a chorus of enemies all screaming “Die, punk!” or some other line. While I don’t wish games to be silent for the sake of avoiding this issue, it would be nice if a game’s programming could say something along the lines of “Once voice clip #1 plays, do not play it again for at least 5 minutes”. That said, the first Assassin’s Creed is the worst that springs to mind – with several NPC’s repeating the same few clips of dialoge in different voices, meaning that Ubisoft actually had various voice actors record the exact same lines multiple times, when they could have been mixing it up a little. That’s just crazy. Never will I lose the sound of “You dare steal in my prescense? That will cost you your life!” being repeated for the hundredth time over, and over again in my head.

4. Audio levels

As games become more and more cinematic, and closer to movie experiences, the quality of the dialogue, sound effects and music has gotten exponentially better. So much that sometimes it’s almost as if the creators couldn’t quite decide which they wanted people to hear more. As I very much enjoy to follow the plots of games, there’s nothing worse than having important bits of dialogue  drowned out by an epic orchestral score that stops you from understanding what’s actually going on.

While bombs going off over voices can be realistic – after all explosions are generally loud, games don’t give you the opportunity to make your character say “CAN YOU SAY THAT AGAIN? I DIDN’T QUITE CATCH THAT!”, instead assuming you heard every word with your cybernetically enhanced ears.

In the end, there are two simple ways to remedy this. First of all, give us subtitle options. While most games now do – there are some that yet fail to do so, when such a straightforward option could save hours of frustration – and hey, it means deaf people can enjoy the game, too. The other option is to give us control over the relative volume of the dialogue, music and SFX levels, allowing us to choose what gets priority – I usually put dialogue a good 20%-30% higher than everything else when given the option.

When there’s so much good storyline in games, please make it easy for us to follow what’s actually being said!

5. Graphics ‘popping-in’

This one is more of a problem that I’ve noticed in the recent generation of gaming – the more impressive the graphics, the more power is needed behind the texturing and the detail that goes behind it. Games such as Mass Effect 2, God of War 3 and Metal Gear Solid 4 have some of the most impressive graphics seen to date – with detail that can be jaw-dropping at times. But due to hardware some games have such demanding graphics that they actually load once the game has already started. You then get the “pop-in” effect, where a character or object looks somewhat shoddy for a moment, before the game catches up and inserts the texture over the top right in front of your eyes – or in some cases, entire objects. While the graphics look great once loaded, that horrible effect leaves the overall experience a little worsened – or in the case of some games can spoil it majorly. The Last Remnant suffered from this, with the ugly texturing being so awful that I couldn’t bring myself to keep playing, the pop-in’s being so distracting that it was just irritating. I’m no sucker for graphics – but I’d much rather a game used lower graphics than had them fill in mid-gameplay.

While games today have gotten more powerful, with bigger engines and generally more under the hood than ever, along with these advances come their own problems, while some problems that have plagued gaming for years still exist. While gaming has so much to offer that we can learn to put up with things like these, it leads me to wonder, should we have to? While we can’t expect perfection, there are some design choices that just lead me to believe that things haven’t been properly tested or thought through – and sometimes it can cause us to be put off a game altogether.

-Leon

While it’s always good to be up to date with the latest games, sometimes gaming can be quite a financial burden – with new games costing around £40 a pop, it’s easy to get swamped when trying to keep up with all of the new releases. But for when £40 seems like a little too much, that doesn’t mean you need to stop gaming. There are a number of gems out there, all just waiting to be played for under a tenner. Sure, they’re cheap – but most of them I would consider amongst the best classics out there. So here are my top ten games for under £10

10. Street Fighter Alpha 3 MAX – PSP

Portable fighters are something rarely done well – often watered down from their console counterparts, or tricky to handle. While it’s true that it’s almost always better playing on a console, fighters are good for short bursts of gameplay when on the move. Street Fighter Alpha 3 MAX is a great port of Alpha 3, the 2D graphics working well on the PSP screen, and with a ton of characters it’s easily one of the best fighters on the PSP. Definitely worth being part of any PSP owner’s collection.

Street Fighter Alpha 3 MAX can be found on play.com for £9.99

9. Sonic the Hedgehog Classics - XBLA/PSN

If you haven’t downloaded Sonic 1, 2, 3 or Sonic & Knuckles already, I’d ask why not? If you’ve never even played Sonic, I’d ask where you’ve been for the last couple of decades. Still, there’s no doubt that the Sonic games are timeless classics, and for only 400MSP a pop (240 for Sonic & Knuckles!), they are excellent for low-cost titles, with pick-up and play gameplay, and will keep you coming back for more. The only reason that they’re not higher on my list is that there’s a high chance you’ve already got them.

The Sonic games can be found on XBLA and PSN for around £4 each.

8. Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands – Xbox 360, PS3

Who says cheap games have to be downloaded or portable? While XBLA and PSN are brilliant for cheap gaming, that doesn’t mean you can’t get hold of some full games at equally cheap prices. Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands returns to the Prince from the PS2 POP games, with his time-manipulating powers - and some new elemental powers to boot. The title’s gameplay delivers, although it’s a little short – however, at a bargain price you’ll still get a decent bang for your buck. A Wii version is also available, but as it is a completely different game I can’t vouch for its quality.

Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands can be found on Xbox 360 and PS3 for £9.99 on play.com

7. Pinball FX 2 – XBLA

Zen Studios are a bit misleading with this one, advertising the “Full Game” of Pinball FX 2 as a free download on Xbox Live Arcade. This isn’t strictly true, however, as it’s simply the hub for the Pinball games that you get for free – you can sample a timed version of various pinball tables they have for sale. However, at 200MSP per table, you can easily get a nice selection for less than £10. Unfortunately some of the tables must be bought in a set of four, but there are a decent selection of individual ones up for download (such as Excalibur, and Street Fighter II Tribute). FX2 is an excellent pinball simulator, with great visuals and realistic physics. Even better, each table notifies you of your friends’ scores and challenges you to beat them as you go. Definitely addictive, “just one more go”-type gameplay and it’s easy to expand your collection over time. Since you can test any table before purchasing, you really can’t go wrong as you know exactly what you’re buying.

Pinball FX 2 is available for download on XBLA, with each table at 200MSP or 800MSP for the 4-table collections.

6. StarCraft + Brood War Expansion – PC

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again – StarCraft is a great RTS. It’s straightforward, addictive, and has plenty to do. With the Terran, Zerg and Protoss races all offering a balanced, yet unique style of gameplay, there’s a lot of fun to be had with the game. StarCraft II has been released recently, but to be honest the original has everything you need, and even better – it’s pretty much guaranteed to run smoothly even on a cheap Netbook. StarCraft is my favourite RTS, and it’s a bargain title, too.

StarCraft (including the Brood War expansion) can be found on both amazon.co.uk and play.com for around £5

5. Brütal Legend – Xbox 360/PS3

Things are really heating up now – we’ve had some awesome titles but it only gets better from here. Brütal Legend (or Brutal for those who don’t want to mess around with strange characters) is truly an epic game. Featuring the talent of Jack Black (and plenty of celebrity musicians including Ozzy), the game is a tongue-in-cheek adventure in a world formed by the essence of metal (and by that, I mean the music type, not girders). The real brilliance of the game comes in the envisioning of the world, the humour, and the soundtrack. While gameplay does consist partly of free-roaming around the excellent landscape in Eddie Riggs’ car and battling opponents, don’t be fooled - it’s not advertised well that the game has some pretty heavy RTS style sections, which involve building up a stage and various metal-related troops to take down the opposing stage. It might not be everyone’s cup of tea – but still, the characterization, the world and the music make this game unforgettable.

Both the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions of Brutal Legend can be found on amazon.co.uk for £9.99

4. Castlevania: Symphony of the Night – XBLA

When I think of Castlevania, Symphony of the Night is perhaps the first that springs to my mind. A platformer/RPG, Symphony of the Night stuck to its 2D roots on the PS1 while most developers turned to 3D titles. Following the vampire Alucard, the game involves exploring Dracula’s vast castle, fighting bosses, collecting weapons, items and relics as you go. With a lot of secrets and items to find, as well as multiple endings, it would take a long time to truly discover everything Symphony of the Night has to offer. Supported by one of the best soundtracks of its time (if not of all time), Castlevania:SOTN is one of the series’ best games.

Castlevania: Symphony of the Night can be found on XBLA for 800MSP

3. Assassin’s Creed II – Xbox 360/PS3

Assassin’s Creed was an average game, and while it can be found for under £10, it’s good points were a little spoiled by repetitive gameplay. However, Assassin’s Creed II took the fun parkour and assassination elements from the original title, and fleshed the game out into a vibrant and enjoyable game. Following Ezio as he trains to become a master assassin, the game gives the player free-roam over several regions of Italy. With a good story, plenty of side quests, new armour and weapons to obtain, and even a small town that you can upgrade, Assassin’s Creed II has lots to do, and would be a must-buy even if it wasn’t available for a measly £9.99.

Assassin’s Creed II: Game of the Year Edition (Xbox 360) can be found on play.com for £9.99. The PS3 version of Assassin’s Creed II can also be found for under £10.

2. Mass Effect – Xbox 360

If you’re looking for a game to keep you busy, Mass Effect may be the one for you. I was initially unsure what to make of the game, but it’s definitely one that grows on you the more you play. A sci-fi RPG with 3rd Person-shooter style combat, Mass Effect gives you the opportunity to take your own crew of humans and aliens into space to fight an enemy that threatens every species in the galaxy. Although I’m not a huge fan of Star-Trek style sci-fi, Mass Effect does a great job at dialogue, with compelling characters and a decent plot. While the game’s main story can be beaten rather quickly, the sheer amount of side-quests available fleshes the game out into something much larger. With dialogue offering different choices, and being given the opportunity to make several important decisions as the game runs it’s course, Mass Effect really gives you the feeling that you are playing through your own storyline. Better yet, the choices you make carry on into Mass Effect 2, which is also a brilliant game (although not quite reaching that under £10 mark just yet).

Mass Effect: Classics Edition can be found on both play.com and amazon.co.uk for £9.99, and includes the Bring Down the Sky DLC.

1. Final Fantasy VII, VIII, or IX – PSN

Final Fantasy games are renowned for being some of the best RPG’s out there – and there’s a reason for that. With good stories, lovable characters and exciting battle systems, the games offer exciting storylines that have a good length, and plenty of things to do on the side. The three PS1 titles, VII, VIII and IX are all available on the PSN store, and better yet, downloading them will allow you to use them on both the PS3 and PSP systems with no extra cost. While they’re definitely worth playing in their own right, the added portability factor really sweetens the deal, making for some of the best portable games money can buy. Which one you get really depends on personal taste – many regard VII as the best in the series, following Cloud’s battle against the psychotic Sephiroth, while I personally prefer the more medieval style of IX, with its lovable characters and mix of humourous and serious content. Either way, all three games are guaranteed to keep you busy for a good 30+ hours at least, and much, much more if you really get into it.

Final Fantasy VII, VIII and IX can be found on PSN for £7.99 each

So there you have it. Got a craving for some gaming but a lack of cash? There’s always something good you can find without having to splash out on something brand new.

-Leon

Assassin’s Creed II was a hugely enjoyable game for me – one of the best sandbox style titles I’ve played. Unlike it’s predecessor, the game was chock full of things to do and places to see – taking the original concept and melding it into something vastly more exciting. Truth be told, I’ve still yet to get the DLC, since I’d long since stopped playing since it’s release – but I could quite happily say I was satisfied with my purchase and even managed to get my first Platinum Trophy by tracking down every last feather in the beautiful Italian regions of Venice, Florence and Tuscany. It’s rare I say that a sequel surpasses a predecessor in every way – but this time I think they managed it.

The upcoming release of Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood this November did get me wondering what exactly we should expect. Firstly – the game is not deemed a true numbered “sequel”, secondly - it’s only been a year since the release of Assassin’s Creed II, as opposed to the two-year gap between the first two titles, and thirdly - I haven’t noticed nearly as much advertising for the latest installment. It’s perhaps because they’ve simply decided to follow the plot of the same character that they have made these choices (akin to Final Fantasy X-2), but the reluctance to number the title does make me wonder if the game will feel more like an expansion than a true sequel. So what do we know? I’m here to tell you what I can.

Although we are returning to Ezio as the lead character – I’m happy to say that the game will not be set in the same area as Assassin’s Creed II – it’s not recycled content, but instead the vast city of Rome for you to explore. However, the city is not as beautiful as you might expect – the city rife with corruption, the Vatican having drained the city of its wealth through its ruling of the Templars. A new area is a good sign – but actually, it seems there may be even more to Brotherhood than you might expect. The game introduces multiple new features that are making the game look like something very interesting indeed.

Rebuilding Rome

That’s right - in the same way that you could rebuild the small district of Monteriggioni in Assassin’s Creed II, the vast city of Rome can be rebuilt and improved. This means that by investing in the city you will actually see the world change as you progress, on a much larger scale than we’ve seen before. This feature is supposedly integrated into the storyline itself – so I do wonder whether you will need to have reached a certain ”city level” for the story to progress, or otherwise capped on improvements until you hit certain points – but either way it sounds very exciting. I did enjoy Monteriggioni in ACII, so this definitely sounds exciting to me – especially since Rome is supposedly the biggest city in the whole series to date; although the previous titles did consist of two or three cities, so that’s not to say the game will necessarily be larger in total. Rome will be composed of five districts - Vatican, Downtown, Tiber, Country and Antique – hopefully each with its own distinct style.

Recruiting Rome

Perhaps one of the biggest new features in Brotherhood is the new recruiting system. Now a Master Assassin out to retake Rome, Ezio understandably needs allies. Using a new management system, Ezio will be able to take on rookie assassins and train them in his ways. Said recruits will be customisable, including their specific weapons. These recruits can then be sent out on various tasks, called in as support in missions, and will gain experience as they do so to become more powerful teammates. Although similar systems have been seen in Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker, I’m quite intrigued to see how this all works, as I can’t say I’ve seen such a system used in a home console title before. One thing I will say – the idea of being able to call a group of assassins down to take down an unsuspecting group of Templars sounds like good fun to me. Oh – and I’m glad to note that there will be female assassins in the mix - not just a selection of grunting generic males but  a variety of different characters.

Fighting in Rome

While I expected Brotherhood to simply clone the fighting mechanics from ACII, it seems even the combat has been at least worked on, if not rehauled - it’s hard to tell until we can get a more hands-on experience. However, it looks as though there are a few new features worth noting – firstly, the introduction of ranged weapons in combat. While previous titles allowed such weapons for long ranged stealth-kills, it seems these weapons will now take a much more active role in battles, allowing Ezio to interchange sword combat with his hidden pistol and throwing axes. There are also new enemies to keep you on your toes, such as horsemen and riflemen – both of which sound nasty in their own way. While I find the fighting mechanics to be the weakest area of Assassin’s Creed’s gameplay – being far too easy to master – it’s said that Brotherhood will have more focus on quick strikes, rather than focusing on counter-attacks – and enemies are supposed to be more aggressive, ditching the habit of only attacking one at a time when in a group. It may be a little early to know for sure – but these definitely sound like changes that could improve the combat vastly. Not only that – but now horses will be available inside the city itself, and horseback attacks have been introduced, giving a lot of potential for some new scenarios such as horseback chases through marketplaces, for instance. Could be tricky to control – but I’m glad to see that Ubisoft are making an effort to improve their game rather than churning out a clone.

Multiplayer

Perhaps the biggest love/hate inclusion to Brotherhood is the new addition of an online aspect to an Assassin’s Creed title. Since it has already been stated that there will be no co-op, it doesn’t appeal to me hugely over the much larger interest in the solo aspect of the title. If, however, you are one of those people who loves to spend your evening fighting your best friends to the death, then perhaps this will be your cup of tea. There will supposedly be various modes, including one called “Wanted” which involves up to eight players, each of which is tasked in hunting a specific player.  The idea - to kill your target before your hunter kills you. There will be a selection of different characters available to play as, each with their own signature weapons and animations to mix things up – and players can even level up to gain new abilities - such as disguises, attack boosts and various other skills. Although I’m not a huge fan of multiplayer modes, one of the cool things that does interest me is that the modes will still use civilians in the same way as the story mode, allowing you to work yourself into the crowds - which could create one of the most interesting stealth experiences seen in a multiplayer mode if done right. So long as the online mode hasn’t taken any of the manpower away from the quality of the main game, it could actually be quite good – a nice break from the huge hoarde of gun-based online titles that saturate the multiplayer market. I guess we’ll just have to see how it pans out once we get access to the real thing.

Overall, I was really surprised with what seems like a lot of work put into Brotherhood. Although a quick glance had me thinking it would be another cash-cow spinoff such as Bloodlines, it looks as though the new title will be bringing back all of the features that made ACII great, with a fair amount of new content to get excited about, too.

Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood is set for release in November – just enough time to play through ACII one more time, and maybe the DLC, too.

Leon

I can have quite high expectations when it comes to games, and Sandbox titles are one of the genres which I find hardest to be satisfied with. While most of my favourite elements within them have been done before, I often find that most sandbox titles will contain some of the elements that I enjoy, yet fail to meet my expectations elsewhere. Perhaps this is simply a matter of developers allocating their priorities to one area over another, or maybe they just think that their games will feel complete without them.

Regardless, I have seen all of the elements for my perfect sandbox titles done well in one game or another, so I believe that one day I may finally see them put together in a game that I cannot fault – but perhaps it’s little more than a dream.Assassin’s Creed II and Red Dead Redemption have done well, both keeping me entertained from start to finish, but there’s always that feeling that my desire for the ultimate sandbox title will ultimately keep me waiting forever. So, to at least give an idea of what I’d really like to see – I present, my own personal sandbox heaven. Prepare for a long one, this is something I’ve had on my mind for a while…

The World
Most similar to: Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, Just Cause 2

Obviously, the world of a sandbox title is one of the most important features – a dull city makes for uninteresting sights and tedious travelling – and landmarks are important for getting a general feel of the area without having to consult the map every other minute. I do think a sky-scraper filled city is a good area for an open world, giving a game some height for good platforming and variety – but I also think it’s important that the game should have varied locations to keep things interesting. GTA: San Andreas did this well, having three city-type areas, mixed in with plenty of open wilderness to explore – while Just Cause 2 is a prime example of how breathtaking the more natural environments can be when done right.

The Character
Most similar to:  Assassin’s Creed II

As much as I enjoy my own personal character (Crackdown 2), I do think that the lead character of a sandbox title should be a pre-defined protagonist, such as Ezio from Assassin’s Creed, John Marston from Red Dead Redemption. Why? Because a character that is integral to the plot means that their motives, personality and backstory are much deeper, and can be entwined with the story in a much more believable way. Although character creation is enjoyable, the character is then detached from the story, allowing the game to progress in much the same way regardless of your personal choice of character. However – as sandbox games often give you a feeling of “living” the life of the character, it’s nice to see a bit of customisation – such as clothing or armour choices, whilst keeping the character’s personality in tact.

The Plot
Most similar to: Red Dead Redemption, Grand Theft Auto IV

Going hand-in-hand with the character, the plot is another important aspect to me. Most sandbox games follow the ideal of exploring the world at your leisure, and then progressing the story as you take on the plot-based missions at your leisure. This is the best way to deal with storyline in these titles – so I don’t think it would need to change. However, I do think it’s important that although a good plot is important, there must be a feeling that you can do other things between missions – there’s nothing worse than a sandbox game that makes you feel as though every upcoming mission is urgent. I mean, give us time to explore and enjoy the world – allow some quiet times between our protagonist’s endeavours to relax. Ideally, a sandbox story should take place over at least a few weeks, if not more.

The Combat
Most similar to:  Devil May Cry

Now, this is the area in which I personally find most sandbox titles lacking to my tastes. If you look into these titles, the vast majority are ranged combat-based titles – Grand Theft Auto, Just Cause 2, Red Dead Redemption, Crackdown. Sure, there’s a melee button in most of these games, but who wants to repeatedly see the same punch or combo over and over? Even Prototype, which tried to incorporate melee combat disappointed me – although it had the amazing concept of being able to shape shift body parts into swords or clubs, the gameplay itself felt sloppy and not fine-tuned. Assassin’s Creed managed to have nice-looking swordplay, but in the end offered little challenge when you realise that almost every enemy can be one-hit killed with a fairly simple counter. While gunplay like GTAIV and RDR‘s could hold their own in comparison to other third person shooters, I’ve never seen a sandbox title with combat that could come close to titles such as Devil May Cry, God of War, Ninja Gaiden or Bayonetta. There’s no logical reasoning for this, many of these titles involve battles in wide open spaces with hoardes of enemies – so why not in the streets of an open world? Surprisingly, the Spider-man games are probably one of the better titles when it comes to melee combat in this genre, with a mix of combos and attacks, but that’s not saying much. This is probably my biggest wish for a sandbox title – to give me combat on par with Devil May Cry.

The Enemies
Most similar to:  Prototype, Devil May Cry

Personally, I have no love for getting randomly shot at no matter where I run – so gun-weilding opponents aren’t my favourite. Whereas gun-based enemies are done well in some titles (i.e. RDR), other titles merely give the feeling that you’re constantly getting hailed by fairly annoying (and non-fatal) bullets, which wont stop until you mow each one down by pointing at them one by one and holding down the trigger. Now, I’m not saying it’s all bad, but when playing games like Crackdown I get absolutely no satisfaction from killing enemies whatsoever – it doesn’t feel like a challenge, and to be honest the AI is completely dull – as I watch each one of them stand still out in the open practically begging to be shot.

Obviously, as I stated that I’d like to see a more close-quarters based combat system, it would be important to have enemies to match. Now, this is one of the most important aspects, and again I think it would be best to take a page out of the book of games such as Devil May Cry and Bayonetta. The way this works is to roughly have a few different types of enemy.

The first is your basic cannon-fodder. These (a little like the Freaks in Crackdown), are relatively simple opponents that serve little threat and offer more in the way of combos, and stress relief. Generally, the main threat with this type of enemy is simply in number. These types of enemies aren’t the best, but when paired with stronger enemies will keep you on your toes.

The second are your threats. These are generally stronger, faster and smarted than your average enemy, but in fewer number. As these are able to kill you if you don’t act, they’re the type of enemy you’ll need to focus on, or run away from if you get low on health. Prototype had a few good enemies such as this, big beefy creatures that could seriously hurt you, and were also able to hunt you down as they were fast enough to chase you across the city.

Then we have bosses. These are generally huge creatures which you fight one-on-one. Although it could be cool to have one or two in the city itself, a better way of doing so would be to contain them in enclosed areas within buildings or underground. Good bosses often work well with the area in which they are fought, as enclosed spaces make them more of a threat and you won’t find yourself simply being able to keep your distance and pick them off with projectiles.

The Travelling
Most similar to: Prototype, Grand Theft Auto IV

Getting around the world is another important aspect, and there are many ways of doing so. Grand Theft Auto focuses on vehicles, Crackdown allows you to jump and run higher and faster as you grow, and Prototype and Spider-man allow you to scale walls at high speeds. Although it’s important to be able to move around quickly, having inhuman power like the Spider-man games can cause you to quickly lose scale of the world and it can lose depth. Prototype did a good job with this – allowing you to gradually become more fluid and agile, but still keeping the city feeling vast and realistic.

The Side Stuff:
Most similar to: Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, Red Dead Redemption

This is the last area I want to talk about, but to me it’s a biggie. Alongside the main plot and objectives of an open-world game, the world really needs to feel as though it’s alive and actually has stuff going on. Sure, Red Dead Redemption had shoot-outs and missions etc, but if you wander about the various towns you get a real sense that people are living rather than randomly walking around aimlessly – there are bars where you can buy a drink or play gambling games, you can spend your cash on weapons, items or property, and it really doesn’t feel as though there’s anything missing.

While games like Crackdown and Prototype feature full open cities, when you get to the detail it’s easy to realise that all the buildings are little more than lifeless blocks, and aside from the core gameplay the world has little to offer if you want to do something else. GTA: San Andreas offered the most side events that I’ve seen, with companies to take over, shops to browse, vehicles to unlock - enough to keep me entertained for hours without actually progressing in the story in any way. In GTAIV, however – I ended with a whole load of cash, yet Niko still lived the life of a pauper. If you’re going to let us make a lot of money – give us some ways to spend it!

So there you have it – all the aspects of my own personal sandbox heaven. Rockstar are particularly good at making such titles, with Red Dead Redemption and Grand Theft Auto being amongst my favourite titles. But really, I’d like to see some sort of Devil May Cry/sandbox hybrid – give me a demon hunter taking down devils in the streets, clearing out nests of monsters, taking on various missions whilst being hunted by dark creatures, taking an infested city and building up an empire out of the ruins, all whilst stopping some demonic conspiracy to end the world. That would be my sandbox heaven.

-Leon

The first Assassin’s Creed was a title I had mixed reactions about – the game boasted impressive graphics and complex climbing animations, alongside a brilliant concept and some clever mechanics. However, after playing it for a while, I couldn’t help but feel the game lacked variety, with its repetitive missions, easy combat and basic objectives – in a way it felt as though the game’s engine was more advanced than its actual gameplay. Although it was enjoyable in many ways, it had plenty of flaws and really felt as though it needed work.

So, with the announcement of Assassin’s Creed 2, my curiosity got the better of me. Would the title take the good aspects of the original and flesh it out into a good title? Or would it simply be more of the same disappointment?

The game had perhaps one of the longest queues at Eurogamer, and being a long demo I could see why. Taking control of Ezio, you were let loose upon the streets with a mission to hunt down some archers in order to allow an ally to replace them in for some pre-assassination preparation.

My first impressions of the game were that it was indeed much more colourful than the original, the Italian setting giving much more allowance for attractive settings as opposed to the dusty areas of AC1. The controls felt very similar, allowing for the usual parkour, although I must admit I was a little rusty. One of the biggest additions is water, which has been added perfectly, allowing Ezio to swim – something that was clearly lacking in the first. The water looks good, and you can even take control of a small boat to sail on if you wish.

Ezio has access to a much larger range of weapons this time – alongside the normal hidden blades (he has two, rather than one), he is able to purchase new weapons, such as daggers and halberds. The demo allowed me to use a dagger, and by grabbing an enemy it was possible to cut the enemies throat, which reminded me of Metal Gear Solid 3. However, I found it tricky to get the hang of, and found it very difficult to actually assassinate any archers without getting spotted, ending up resorting to melee combat – whether or not this is simply due to the lack of a tutorial I do not know, but I didn’t feel as though I were doing anything largely different to my experience with the first game. I recall AC1 having the ability to move low profile and hide your face, which I couldn’t seem to do this time, hopefully I just didn’t know how to, or it just wasn’t implemented into the demo. The combat itself seemed similar to the first, and I liked the fact that Ezio can taunt, his personality a lot more fun than Altair’s was.

Money has now been implemented into the title, so it is possible to purchase items and hire assistance, although I didn’t get much of an opportunity to use this. However, this hopefully means it will now be possible to shut beggars up with coin rather than a kick to the face, assuming they’re still around – the amount of time’s I found myself screaming “JADE RAYMOND DIDN’T GIVE ME AN OPTION TO GIVE YOU MONEY YOU DAFT SOD” were more than they should have been in an ideal world.

One nice thing I did notice was that I didn’t hear any repetitive audio clips – although over the general noise of the expo, I may have missed it – I only hope they remembered to give more than ten lines of random dialogue this time whilst wandering the streets!

To be honest I was a bit disappointed with the demo as it didn’t feel as though it gave me an opportunity to really experience the title’s potential and new features – save for the addition of water it was all fairly simple stuff. That’s not to say the game won’t have the features; only that the demo didn’t allow me to try them out. Having completed the first, most of it was rather standard gameplay and I can only wait to play more of it until I can see how good it really is. The game will supposedly allow for almost triple the amount of different side-missions, and should flow better than the first game in terms of plot. The title is said to allow for customisation of Ezio’s appearance, the use of Leonardo Da Vinci’s various contraptions, and many other little additions such as a notoriety system and more weaponry. Also, it’s going to incorporate a day and night system – so there should be plenty of opportunities for night-time assassinations!

Talking to the game’s representatives, I was told that the full title will cover much, if not all, of Ezio’s life – covering his birth, aging and education on his way to becoming an assassin. This aspect interests me greatly, and I believe he will be a much deeper, more likable character than the egotistical Altair was at times. Obviously I didn’t get to see any of this, but it sounds good.

From the small chunk that I played, Assassin’s Creed II looks as though it will take most of the good qualities of the first and add to it with new features such as water and money. However, I think we’ll need to wait a bit longer for a real analysis, since I know there is much more to experience than I actually managed to get my hands on.

-Leon

So sit back and relax as you watch these highlights from Eurogamer 2009.

Plus XP’s Garvaos speaks weapons and swimming on Assassins Creed 2.

Guitar Girl 24 talks to Chet from Valve about upcoming sequel L4D2. ARGGHHHHH ZOMBIES!

Garvaos takes a breather with media molucule for a candid chat on LittleBigPlanet.

Francis asks the questions we all want to know. HOW DO YOU GET INTO THE GAMING INDUSTRY?

The gang do the rounds with gamers impressions from the AvP demo available at Eurogamer.

The Plusxp and Gamersunite gang join forces to discuss our impressions on playing the game. Nintendo did not sponsor us for our positive reviews of the game, we all genuinely liked it that much.

Then again party games do usually make good expo games.

***

My Site www.gamers-unite.com will be coming soon.

- markBOSS

September 2009

Final Fantasy Dissidia – PSP

Dissidia is the all new Final Fantasy fighting game starring heroes and villains from most of the games of the series, allowing epic battles between FF fans favourite characters in strange matchups such as Cloud vs Kuja and Sephiroth vs Kefka. Boasting a story mode and RPG-esque levelling system, Dissidia looks to be an exciting title with plenty of impressive visuals and fancy battles. Definitely one for the FF fans out there! Dissidia is released tomorrow, so you won’t have to wait for this one!

WET – X360/PS3

A fast paced, third person shoot ‘em up that seems to be the love child of Max Payne and Stranglehold, the beautiful but deadly Rubi is out for blood. Featuring crazy moves and plenty of slow motion shooting, WET’s over-the-top action and Tarantino moments could turn out to be something quite special. The game is currently due for release on the 18th September.

Halo 3: ODST – X360

Everyone’s favourite shooter returns, although with a new hero. Master Chief steps down for a rookie of the ODST unit, in a spinoff title that is set alongside the plot of Halo 3, with an all new campaign mode. However, I’m sure there will be just as much alien-shooting and online multiplayer as ever before, as Halo will no doubt take the online gaming world by storm once again. ODST is due for release in the UK on the 22nd of September.

October 2009

Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days – DS

A spinoff of the Kingdom Hearts series, 358/2 days is set between Kingdom Hearts and Kingdom Hearts II, starring Roxas and covering his own story between his creation, and leading up to his role in the second title. The game will be a full 3D title in the vein of  the main KH titles, with Roxas fighting alongside members of Organisation XIII in various worlds. The game will introduce new styles of character customisation, and offer some form of multiplayer. The game is due for release on the 9th of October; expect to hear more on the title beforehand.

Brutal Legend – X360/PS3

Starring Jack Black as the voice for the game’s lead character, Eddie Riggs, Brutal Legend is a third person title set in an open world where Rock is the law. Eddie finds himself transformed, his rocking abilities giving him supernatural powers as he fights using his guitar, an axe and his self-built hot rod to fight the evil powers that threaten the land, and no doubt save the day. Featuring cameos from rock legends such as Ozzy Osbourne, Judas Priest’s Rob Halford and The Runaways’ Lita Ford, Brutal Legend looks like a must have for any self-respecting rocker. Brutal Legend is currently scheduled for release on the 16th October.

November 2009

Assassins Creed 2 – X360/PS3

Assassins Creed 2 will take all the good things from Assassins Creed – a free roaming world, stealth kills and parkour-style exploration, and improves upon it in many ways. The new lead, Ezio, is able to swim unlike his predecessor, has dual hidden blades, can use a myriad of different weapons and gets access to a host of contraptions from Leonardo Da Vinci, including the flying machine. Assumedly with an improved AI, and more varied missions, AC2 is looking beautiful and hopefully something well worth paying for. Assassin’s Creed 2 is due for release on the 20th of November.

My next post will cover what there is to look forward to next year, so stay tuned!

-Leon