Tag: Ubisoft

When in Rome: Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood single player

When initial reviews started flooding in, all doubt was removed from my mind.  This game was big.  Previously I wasn’t so sure exactly where Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood fitted within the series as in all honesty after Assassin’s Creed II, I had come to expect the next instalment to be ‘Assassin’s Creed III’.

Well, all as you need to know is that Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood is the next full featured instalment in the thrilling saga, with no half measures.  Brotherhood continues Ezio’s story, rather than jumping to another ancestor and time period like you would expect with a number ‘III’.

This much is made clear with the story you’re immediately thrust into, taking place shortly after Assassin’s Creed II.  I’m not really a big fan of giving away spoilers, so I won’t; your best bet for juicy plot details is probably Wikipedia.  For the most part, the plot was totally engrossing but I can’t really say that I understand the rather rushed ending, and I await the real Assassin’s Creed III to fill me in on what on earth’s going on.

Continue reading When in Rome: Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood single player

Thoughts on Assassin’s Creed II

I hope that you’ve figured out by now that I don’t do reviews (even if I’m guilty of filing these articles in the ‘review’ category).  In my mind, a decent review takes considerable time: exploring every square inch of the game, playing through on multiple difficulty levels, and analysing both audio and visual quality with pain-staking precision in a lab, somewhere in Switzerland.  Probably.

My method just involves playing the game, really, like any other gamer would.  I play it, and from that I either love it or hate it.  Or somewhere in between.    As simple as that.  You get the gist.

In an interesting twist, the first game was the subject of my very first post on this blog.

An old friend returns

And so, just like that, with a quick recap of what happened in the previous game, Assassin’s Creed II begins straight after.  I don’t know what you thought of the opening, but I felt it was particularly weak: the graphics appeared sub-standard and the whole voice acting/character interaction was more wooden than any boat or vessel you’re likely to encounter in either the Holy Lands or Renaissance Italy.  Maybe Uncharted 2 had spoilt me, as it had definitely raised the bar for what could be achieved in tis regard in a video game.  Nevertheless, it had me worried.  But having said that, such ‘back in the real world moments’ were equally as weak in the first Assassin’s Creed.

Continue reading Thoughts on Assassin’s Creed II

Some thoughts on Prince of Persia

I have waited till I completed the game in full before offering up some final thoughts on Prince of Persia, and I’m glad I did, as I can now visualise the game as a whole and in the right perspective.  I think the easiest way to go about it, is to direct you to GameSpot’s review and take it from there.

Elika
Elika

I’ll agree with GameSpot in that Prince of Persia looks and sounds fantastic.  In certain places, it really is spectacular- drawing you in to the universe depicted in the game.  Yet my opinion differs when turning my attention to the level design.  The mechanics of the level design are technically sound in that the environments are visually interesting and quite exhilarating to navigate through.  Yet as I was progressing through Prince of Persia I had a nagging feeling in the back of my mind that yes, this was just a game, and it felt like one too.  In many respects, it’s all down to the level design for me.

Continue reading Some thoughts on Prince of Persia

Dressed to kill: the main character of Assassin’s Creed 2 revealed

Dressed to kill: the main character of Assassin’s Creed 2 revealed– Would such a finely dressed character fit into the Renaissance period?  Who knows, but it’s certainly worth checking out some of the comments on Joystiq’s post- priceless!  In all seriousness, back to the image itself: dual hidden blades, very cool, but it looks like our new protagonist has retained all of his fingers…