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Thoughts on Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood

Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood (AC:B), not really part three in the franchise, but with the amount of content packed into this game it’s not an expansion pack either. It’s somewhere in between. Since E3 of last year I pretty much assumed AC:B  to be a multiplayer expansion, only because that’s how the game was marketed as. ‘Hey, do all the cool things assassins do, but with other people’. A cool concept yes, but it was not enough to sell me on more AC. However, a few weeks before the release of the game, initial press releases stated that the game has over 40 hours of single player content! WTF, more hidden blade stabbing action, shit man where do I sign up!

After about two or three weeks of wandering around and backstabbing guards with my hidden blades, I managed to finish up the main story arch along with a few side quests.  I still have a lot to tackle in terms of side quests but, overall I feel that I got what I wanted out of Assassin’s Creed game.  So what’s my verdict, short answer is that the game is fun and if you are fan of the franchise you will enjoy the game. The long answer, granted the game is fun and solid, it does have some issues that make the game not as good as I expected it to be.

So let’s break this down by going over the good, the bad, and the ugly. Just a heads up in the ugly section there will be some end game spoiler material, I apologize in advance, but seriously that part sucked.

The Good

It’s more Assassin’s Creed! The gameplay is what you expect it to be, you can go anywhere, hide anywhere, and take down your targets by surprise with your hidden blades! But with Brotherhood, things get better. You can now enlist people into the ‘creed’ to create your own personal army of assassins! Once you build up your army, at any time you can call them in to do your bidding while you stand from a distance and watch the awesomeness of three or four white hooded friends reign death upon the unsuspecting guards.

Doing that never gets old. And in fact, using your team of assassin recruits comes in handy for times when you need to assassinate a high priority target surrounded by guards without getting your hands dirty.

Along with the new gameplay mechanic of assassin recruits, the controls of this game feel better than AC:2. It is easier to pull off some of the parkour moves as you intended to, rather than trying to do one thing and ending up doing something that may cause you leap off a ledge to your death.

The Bad

The story, honestly it started out strong but had such a weak ending. Basically, AC:B takes place right after the events of AC:2. Once again you play as Ezio, and this time your goal is to free Rome from the control of the corrupt and unjust Borgia. Pretty simple concept, which plays out well, but at some point during the campaign things get muddy. Thing is you know why you are doing the mission, but the context of how it relates to the overall story gets lost in translation. Slowly and steadily things start to go downhill as you can clearly tell that story is being rushed to a conclusion which in the end really does not make sense. After all you do, you are left with a cliffhanger ending of sorts, meaning most likely the story of Ezio is not over any time soon.

As much as I like Assassin’s Creed, I don’t know if it will be worth playing another game with the same assassin character in the same setting for a third time. Thing is, the first game had theme and style set within the era of the Crusades and you played as the assassin known as Altair. Then we came to the renaissance era of Italy, as we stepped into the shoes of a new assassin, Ezio. With Brotherhood I got the gist that this game was pretty much supposed to be part of AC:2 but with the amount content and story it warranted a second game with the same character. But taking this story onwards with Ezio again seems kind of dumb. It would better to see AC:3 be somewhere else in time with a new assassin, with a new goal. Perhaps, doing a game set within Far East during the times of feudal China or Japan, then again this just wishful thinking on my part.

Perhaps a third game in the same setting with the same character may be fun and may offer up some closure to the story of Ezio. But, if after that game we saw an AC:4 in the market would it feel as if there are too many AC games or would the fantasy of being a master assassin keep us entertained for a fourth run if it ever happened? I digressed a bit there; overall, the story could have been better in my opinion. It’s always disappointing as a gamer to start up a game and become intrigued by the story only to have it be rushed to a conclusion when you still wanted more from the game.

The Ugly

Just reminding you again, I am going into spoiler territory here, so stop reading and just skip ahead to my final thoughts if you have not finished the game yet.

So yeah the Apple of Eden, it can die in a fire. Pretty much the entire third act of the plot is based around you trying reclaim the ‘Apple’ you lost to the Borgia. Getting this thing is a pain in the ass and once you get it, it’s not all that exciting.

To get the Apple you need to chase down the main villain and get to hidden location before he does. Sounds simple enough, but nope, this mission pretty much broke all the rules of how Assassin’s Creed works.  Once the mission starts up you have a timer, if you don’t reach your destination in time, you fail. Okay, not really a big deal, but guess what, whoever the designers were on this mission set it up so that you do. You will fail the chase part a good number of times before you get it right.

Thing is when you begin this chase, an invisible trigger alerts all the guards to your location. And by all the guards I mean every single guard. At any given point you will have up to 20 or 30 guards chasing you. Not cool. Okay, so you think that maybe you can kill a few of these guys and then continue the chase. Wrong again. If you try to attack the guards in any way they will always dodge your attacks! No matter how hard you try to land a hidden blade stab, a sword wipe, gunshot, crossbow bolt, poison dart, these guys dodge it! Wow, nice job on breaking the rules of the game, I can’t fight back, WTF! To make things worse you can’t call in your assassin army to help you, you are pretty much alone on this one.

So you can’t fight the guards, your only choice is to like a mad man to find a hiding spot. Good luck doing that, because guess what, nearly every hiding spot has a guard near it, which made it impossible to hide without being detected. Why do this, seriously why?

To recap, you can’t fight the waves of guards, you can’t hide from them, and the only thing you can do is run to the designated spot before time runs out. Which is possible to do, but again the designers really shaft the player a third time. If you do manage to make it to the location in time, but have not shaken off the guards it won’t access the cut scene to end the mission because the game requires you to be anonymous before ending the mission. Nice job, really nice job.

After trying this mission over and over and failing over and over I gave up and looked up online how to do this stupid thing. Turns out that running away from guards is the thing to do, but you need to basically run in circles around Rome to confuse the guards. Once you have run a few circles around them they won’t be able to track you, at this point you have a small window of opportunity to get to the destination before time runs out or you become spotted by the guards again.

Seriously, how did this mission pass the cut to make it into the game? Something this frustrating should have been removed or made easier. But somehow the designers thought it would be a good thing to break the rules of the game. Well as a designer, I know that it’s usually a very bad idea to turn the tables on the players and break the rules of the game that they have learned and mastered to create a ‘challenging mission’.

Okay so enough about the chase, now once you get this stupid apple it turns out to be the dumbest thing ever created in the Assassin’s Creed universe. Basically, once you have the Apple, you can’t use any weapon you own. Instead you must use the Apple to fight back, okay sounds cool. Oh wait, if you use the Apple your health gets taken away. Lovely! Your health does come back during cool down moments but the chances of overusing the Apple and killing yourself are high.

As I said, the Apple can go die in a fire! I’ll take the hidden blades over that piece of shit any day of the week.

Final Thoughts

Overall I did have fun with the game, don’t get me wrong. It’s just that one mission was so poorly done it left a bad impression on me as gamer and a designer.  If you really don’t care for story and just want to have fun running around a sandbox world as a master assassin, with an army of minions then this game is a blast. If you want something deeper, with story and purpose, I think that AC:B fell short on this. In my opinion AC:2 was much better in terms of storytelling.

As I mentioned earlier this game does have a multiplayer component, which I have heard good things about. However, I did not have any time over the last few weeks to give it a try. Perhaps if I do, I may feel that I this game may deserve a higher ranking but for now after playing the main story I’d give this game a 7/10. Not too shabby but it could have been better, I do recommend giving it a spin as the open world of Rome will give you countless hours of gameplay which will keep you entertained for quite some time.

Aqueduct UDK Scene

Well I finished up the UDK project I started last week. I could have been done sooner but both Black Ops and Need for Speed have kept me busy on the gaming front. Basically this scene is made up of static meshes only, there is no BSP in this level. To be honest this level kind of “built itself”, and by that I mean the palette of meshes I used kind of started to take shape in a way which led me to create a scene based around an aqueduct. However, to make things interesting and to tell a bit of a story with the scene, I decided to make the area barren, giving the impression that this aqueduct had run dry. Without water the  surrounding area became lifeless and desolate.

So without further delay here are the screens of the level. Enjoy!

Lastly I’d like to show some in editor screens. Below you will find a wire frame and lighting only model of the level.

Now, I need to install my new video card and play some Crysis at ultra high res!

Cheers!

Game Review Roundup:Part 1

Without further delay let’s get this review round up started! This may take while so I’ll do part one now.

Mass Effect 1:

A long time ago when the game came out, I rented it for 360, only to find out the game sucks. (Just my opinion here, don’t get the pitchforks and torches out now…) Basically, I was quite frustrated with the controls in 360 version. Something felt off, not sure what, but it felt wrong and clunky. Also the combat was quite difficult, or perhaps the clunky controls made me die more often than I wanted to.

Then down the road ( a few months ago) I got the game for PC. It was dirt cheap on Steam so I said why the hell not. Mass Effect had some rave reviews and most of my friends said it was a great game, so I gave it a second chance. Well within minutes I fell in love it. The controls on PC felt so much better, I had more precision with my mouse when it came to aiming the guns compared to the analog sticks on the 360. I think within a few days or a total of nine hours (got that stat from Steam…Steam rules) I beat the game. Seriously, I could not let go of the game, the combats were much better on PC and the story was extremely immersive. I rarely say this but, Mass Effect is up there on the echelon of great single player games, alongside Half-Life and Deus Ex.

My only complaint about the game was that level design was a bit bland. In some areas I could clearly see that the entire level was just simple BSP brushes with exact same texture. Kind of a let down for a game that came out in the early days of next gen gaming, but honestly with the amazing story, and character developments the flaws in the level design can be forgiven.

Score 9/10. Seriously go play Mass Effect if you have not done so already, and get if for the PC it’s much better trust me (as good friend of mine told me over and over…. )

Mass Effect 2:

Right after I finished Mass Effect 1, I went to the Steam store and bough Mass Effect 2 and started playing it as soon as the installation was complete! I have to say, playing both games back to back was an amazing experience. One thing that made Mass Effect 2 really cool was the implementation of the character import from Mass Effect 1. Basically, all my actions, decisions, and outcomes from the first game effected how Mass Effect 2 would start! That’s freaking insane! What’s even crazier is I know the guy at Bioware that made that happen, and I salute him and his co-workers for making one of the coolest intros in current gaming history!

Overall, Mass Effect 2 takes all the good things about the first game and makes them better. Additionally the sequel takes away all the bad things about the first game and toss them out the door. And example of a bad feature was the driving sections in Mass Effect 1. They were okay, but frustrating at times, so it seems that designers of the sequel were smart and got rid of feature that was not cool to begin with.

Mass Effect 2 does a better job with character development than the first game, and that’s not an easy feat to accomplish, because the first game had some pretty deep character interactions. But Bioware out did themselves on character and story development. Basically, through out the game you meet new people who eventually become part of your crew. Overtime these characters may request you to help them with certain issues. It’s up to you to help them or not, but in the end your choices lead to you gaining or losing loyalty from your crew members. Word of advice, try to make everyone loyal to your cause and mission, it may save some lives near the end of the game. (minor spoiler, sorry about that)

Lastly, the level design in Mass Effect 2 was amazing! Tons of detail, in all the levels, great atmosphere, flow, etc. Along with the levels, the details of all the characters in game was phenomenal. Bioware really pushed the Unreal Engine to it’s limits to get every ounce of detail into their game!

Score: 10/10. Missing out Mass Effect 2 is like missing out on Deus Ex, seriously you have to play this game to have any cred of being a “hardcore” gamer.

Alan Wake

This game has been in development for years and finally came out a few months ago. However, I was kind of disappointed in the fact that the PC version of the game was cut. Not sure what the exact quote was from devs/publisher but it went something like this. “Our game can only be enjoyed by sitting on comfortable sofa with a surround sound system…” I say bullshit. Games are also quite enjoyable on the PC with a beefy video card, massive monitor, and surround sound system! Anyways, I borrowed the game from a co-worker and figured I give it a shot.

Overall the game was good fun and had a solid core mechanic to drive the game forward. Basically, the premise of Alan Wake is that, Alan the main protagonist, is a struggling writer who decides to take a break from the big city to a small mountain town. However, shit hits the fan, as his wife goes missing and things go hay wire as Alan’s horror novel comes to life.

As I mentioned, the game had a good core mechanic, which was based around fighting darkness with light. As Alan’s horror novel comes to life, the towns people start to go crazy as they are consumed by a “Dark Shadow”. The only way to defeat the darkness is with light. Thus, you as the player use your flashlight, fuel cans, flares, flashbangs, etc to create light where there is none. With the light, the AI enemies weaken, and then when they are weak enough, you use your pistol or shotgun to deal the final blow to AI enemies.

The game had some good ‘scare’ moments where crazy AI enemies would jump out from the trees and catch you off guard, but overall the game was not too difficult. Also it was quite short, as I finished the game in one sitting.

Score: 7/10. I am being a little biased as the game was not on PC. I am totally fine with console exclusives but freaking say it is a console only game. Putting out some bullshit lie about gaming is better on sofa is just not cool. Also the game was short and not too hard. Overall, it is a good game I recommend renting it or borrowing it from a friend, like I did, as it is not worth $60.

Red Dead Redemption

I am a big fan of western movies such as, ‘The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly’, ‘Hang’em High’,  ‘For a Few Dollars More’, ‘The Quick and the Dead’, and ’3:10 to Yuma’ to name a few . I also enjoy Grand Theft Auto(though I was not too happy with GTA 4, it was fun but it had some issues…long story for another day) Put those two together you get Red Dead Redemption, GTA in the wild wild west!

Like most GTA games, Red Dead Redemption (RDR) puts you into the shoes of a main character who is out on mission. In this game you are John Marston, a man who used to be a fiendish outlaw turned good. The basic premise here is that law wants you to find your old gang and bring them to justice. If you do it you get to see your family again. Pretty simple story which spans onto a quest through most of south west America and into Mexico.

Rockstar Games, really delivered the feel and style of being in that time period. The guns, the clothes, the cities, etc, all felt right. Though something about this game really set it apart from GTA. Not sure if it was a good thing or bad, but RDR really pushed you into the direction of being the hero, rather than and being a homicidal maniac let loose in a sandbox world to do whatever the hell you wanted to like most GTA games. Though as with most sandbox games, RDR allows you to go out and do various side missions, some of which involve helping other people or put you into a situation where you need to kill a bunch of bandits.

To be honest the game does have a slow start, and this turned some people off. However, being a fan of westerns, that did not bother me one bit. Most western movies have a slow start before things get crazy and gun fights start taking place in various towns and bars!

As I mentioned the game really pushes you in the direction to be the hero. It’s kind of hard to take the path of being an outlaw, but it can be done. You just have to do some really mean things to the people of land. For example you can be ‘dastardly’ and do this:

Seriously that horse has some freaking balls, to dodge a train like that!

Score: 9/10. If you like westerns and GTA get this game now if you don’t own it already!

Next time I’ll do quick reviews of: StarCraft 2, Transformers:War for Cybetron, Halo: Reach, and Call of Duty Black Ops.

Cheers!

Lazy…

I really need to update my blog with some fresh content. I have finished quite a few of games in the last few months; so perhaps next week (though highly unlikely) I’ll try to update the ol’ blog with some game reviews. Off the top of my head I have played:

• Mass Effect 1 and 2
• Alan Wake
• Star Craft 2
• Red Dead Redemption
• Transformers: War for Cybertron
• Halo:Reach

Currently I am playing through Split/Second and Singularity on my 360 and on PC I am still playing TF2, and getting through Borderlands DLC 3.

Speaking of Borderlands, DCL 4: Claptrap’s Robot Revolution is out! If you own Borderlands you should get it! If by chance you don’t own Borderlands, go grab the Game of the Year Edition, which includes the full game plus all four DLC packs!

Well, that’s all I got for now. I’ll do my best to share my thoughts on all those games I have finished.

Cheers!

You got the touch…

…You got the Power! One of Game Stop’s better ads for showcasing pre-order exclusives.

Looking forward to playing this game is it really seems to do justice towards the Transformers franchise.

Jockey Riders

So it’s like a three legged race… but you have two legs and a jockey on your back.

More details here.

Need a Sentry Here

Sometimes bugs make cool things happen. Not sure if Valve patched this yet, but I’d like it to hang around for a bit just for the humor value.