Dead Space (NOT A REVIEW)

Dead Space 3 came out today! This just means I need to play Dead Space 2...

I was in love with Dead Space (the first one) when I got it. I loved it so much (PS3) I played it again. And again. And... yes, again. I've played the original game five times, each time making sure to use all the equipment from every previous play through so I could make use of all those upgrades, and maybe finally upgrade everything (I still haven't).

I loved Dead Space so much I couldn't wait to play more. This is when I got Extraction for the Wii, and this was when my enthusiasm sunk like a stone in a clear, still pond. Extraction was fun for a moment, but the controls on the Wii were clumsy and - in a word - sucked. I didn't give it more than a half-hour of my time.

It bothered me that something I loved so much had become so awful that it is now the last time I've played anything Dead Space related, and the last time I played anything on the Wii. What was it about the game that turned me off so fast? Was it the sub-par graphics? The clunky controls? Yes. All of the above. The on-rails shooter wasn't what I loved about the Dead Space game, and it being shoe-horned into another format just didn't mesh with me.

I look forward to starting up Dead Space 2 (and subsequently Dead Space 3) in the next week or so. If I play it like I did the first one, I'll be done with both by April.

SIDE NOTE: I pre-ordered Dead Space 3 to get an exclusive, in-game gun. The slip that the store printed out for me with the PS3 code states that the code expires... yesterday. I've been assured that the code will work, and that the expiration date is a coding error, but it's just one of those silly, annoying things.

LEGO Lord of the Rings

DEVELOPER: Traveller's Tales

Played on: PS3

Initial impression: Brickening.

Liked:

- Story

- Visuals

Disliked:

- Some Quirky Controls

- Length/Forced replay

On The Fence:

- Nothing

What? Two LORD OF THE RINGS posts in one day? WTF? Yeah - these things happen.

LEGO Lord of the Rings is a single/dual player game that loosely follows the story of the Lord of the Rings films in a world half comprised of LEGO building pieces. All the characters are LEGO minifigs. All the puzzles include LEGO pieces. From what I understand, this is the first LEGO game where they decided to use real dialog in place of the usual grunts and other noises LEGO people were known for.

I think that this release (Came out in November) was specifically tailored to coincide with the Hobbit fervor. I'm expecting a LEGO Hobbit game in about 5 years (or as the last film comes out).

I love Lord of the Rings, so of course I loved the story on this one - but that's not all there is to say about it. It's the presentation that was endearing. Given that this game is targeted toward children, they scaled back the gory violence to just brick-on-brick slapstick. Say that three times fast. About the only thing that had me rolling my eyes was a particular segment when you meet the riders of Rohan (it was corny). Everything else had me eager to see how they presented the tale I know so well.

The 3D rendered environments are just plain awesome. The LEGO brick pieces are rather seamless into the environment they have created. It's been a while since I've played a LEGO game. The last one was the Star Wars one that was the Prequels. Played it on the Nintendo GameCube and I only ever completed Episode 1. I was pleased to see this was familiar but better.

Bree is still a miserable place.

I will give them props on the bonus level. That was hilarious, albeit a bit tedious. I will also applaud them on including a lot of oddball characters like Tom Bombadil and Radagast the Brown. Characters like those are unlockable at key locations but don't really provide any real bonus. A lot of what they offer is a direct mirror of already available skills - Radagast is like Gandalf, for example.

 Tricksey! False!

Controls seem to be something I complain about often, but only on the games where the crappy controls forced me to screw up. This is one of those games. I had, on several occasions, thrown myself off a cliff or into some lava thanks to the crap controls. Combine this with the sketchy at times camera and it was downright frustrating. Gollum has a tendency to be a bit harder to control than others... was that intentional?

The only other negative to add is something I was well aware of when going into the LEGO game: They force you into going through the game numerous times in order to unlock the characters you need to use to access all the hidden crap. I know all about it - it doesn't make it better. SO far I've managed to completely unlock everything in the Prologue (in the film, the first war against Sauron). It only took me a few days, at a couple hours a day, to get there. The game is ridiculously short, and all the bonus junk in all the levels is NEVER attainable when you go through the level the first time. Ever. Some of these items dangle JUST out of reach, as if to taunt you. They know you'll have to come back through with a different character to get that. They just like to rub it in your face a bit by making the item twinkle and spin just out of reach. Bastards.

In Conclusion

I'd recommend this game to people who like LOTR and can have fun with it. Lore Snobs need to stay away, because if I was annoyed at one silly moment, a lore snob will hate about 95% of the game.

LOTRO: Riders of Rohan Expansion

DEVELOPER: Turbine

Played on: PC

Initial impression: For The Mark!

Liked:

- Story

- Visuals

- Mounted Combat

 Disliked:

- The grind

- Length

On The Fence:

- "End Game" Rebuilding Hytbold

- Level Cap gear

Preface - I Come Back To You Now...

I've been a Lord of the Rings player since the week after it launched. I'd have been a Founder (aka pre-order player) if I had just gone to the store a week or so earlier. I used to be one of the dedicated players, spending 5-6 hours a night, every week night, trudging through the areas of Middle Earth that were available.

I joined and left many groups, each claiming to offer a 'true, pure' role-playing experience. Got so fed up with the crap I formed my own group. That went well for a while, until I more or less had a mental breakdown from the stress of real life. My group fell apart in a horrible fashion (and I was partially to blame since I contributed to its demise). I took about 2 years off from the MMO.

I decided to look into rejoining and discovered that Rohan, an area I wanted to see since the beginning - an area that my main character was from, was finally becoming available about two weeks later. Oddly coincidental if you ask me. I was able to reconnect with an old in-game friend. I joined the group he was part of, because I trust his opinion. They are a decent bunch of players who'll do anything for anyone.

My kind of people.

Outside of a town in the north of Rohan. Note: Not me.

The Turn Of The Tide

The main detail about LOTRO that you need to keep in mind is that you are not part of the historic 'fellowship' and you are not taking the One Ring to Mordor. No - you are usually part of the support team, either cleaning up their mess or clearing areas so they can forge ahead. If you're not doing stuff for them, you're fighting back the Great Evil that is creeping from Angmar (where the leader of the Ringwraiths came from). You are your own character, who interacts with the likes of Gandalf, Tom Bombadil, Radagast the Brown, Glorfindel and Prince Theodred. You encounter Frodo and the crew at key locations - Rivendell, for one - and have some conversations with them about the quest that lies before them.

For Rohan's part, you are experiencing the degradation of the kingdom due to the corruption of King Theoden (via Grima Wormtongue/Saruman the White). At this point you've already witnessed first-hand the decimation of Isengard and Saruman's influence over the hill-folk of Dunland. Though you've worked to reverse the damage in lower Eriador, the thanes of the regions of Rohan grow impatient waiting for word from their leader on how to proceed to protect their lands from the onslaught of orcs and uruk-hai.

You work your way through eastern Rohan, comprised of such places as The Wold (specific region I decided my character was from on day one, years ago). As with all MMOs to date, you run a handful of errands, helping people in each town, camp and outpost along the way, eventually gaining enough trust for them to back your efforts on reuniting the region under one banner.

What Do Your Elven Eyes See?

Rohan looks more or less how I imagined it would - some large, open fields with some rolling hills and a lot of odd rock outcroppings. Remember in the film The Two Towers when Aragorn encounters Éomer and the riders of Rohan, how that area looked? That's what LOTRO's Rohan looks like, more or less. Some sights are just plain awesome - There's a cave system you can go through that eventually exits on top of a cliff high above the plains. It's quite a breath-taking visual (despite the fact that a huge dragon happens to be there). Even Fangorn was pretty awesome, and I hate forests in LOTRO.

Mounted Horse Combat

At long last you can fight while sitting atop your horse. I say HORSE because you can't have any other kind of mount in LOTRO and fight while atop it. The system is a bit clunky at first. The new war horse is a pain in the ass to move in any sort of reasonable capacity. Even when going through the tutorial (which I aced on the first try, oddly enough) felt like a struggle. Thankfully, not too much longer you're out on your own. On the open plains, mounted combat made more sense. The more you do it, the easier it gets. As your horse gains experience (level building a mount? Bizarre.) it gets easier to handle. Foes fall faster. You greatly exceed the level gap for taking down enemies.

There is gear associated with the warhorse, but so far it's only a bridle. Like your weapons and armor, the bridle has stats and will influence how your horse takes and deals damage, how fast it can run and how well it can maneuver. Other items, like barding and tack, are purely cosmetic.

Grindy Grindy

Yeah - the one thing I really hate about MMOs is the persistent grind. They tried to alleviate it a bit by making items that used to be vendor trash into a collectibles system to gain reputation and horse XP, but in the end the missions are painfully reminiscent of how they were in the beginning - Fed-Ex quests and slayer quests are still as dreadfully dull as they've ever been. The only thing that changed is the reward.

In running all around Rohan, you find that mounted combat makes things easy. Hell - TOO easy at times. I was able to fight things 5 levels higher than what I was (and win) because of mounted combat. Because of this, most quests were a breeze. I found myself nearing the end before I had even hit the level cap. I had been concentrating on the main quest all along. As such, I decided to go back and deal with every little side-quest and task presented in all the places I had visited. The grind had returned, and presented itself as more fetch or kill tasks, some of which were so incredibly redundant that I couldn't bear to take more than an hour of them at a time. One specific quest cluster had me invade an enemy camp to perform some menial task, then return to the camp no less than THREE MORE TIMES for separate quests in the same chain.

Obtain quest. Go to enemy camp. Perform task. Return to town for reward.

Obtain NEW quest. Go back to enemy camp. Perform task. Return to town for reward.

Obtain NEW quest. Go back to enemy camp. Perform task. Return to town for reward.

Obtain NEW quest. Go back to enemy camp. Perform task. Return to town for reward.

No, really. That's exactly how it happened. You couldn't get all the quests at once and do all the tasks while you were there the first time. You had to keep going back and forth. That's just ONE example that I can recall quite clearly, but trust me when I say this happens all the time, in all areas (but quite prominently in Rohan).

This brings me to the area's central town - Hytbold. It lies in ruin, but you can help restore it to its former glory if you ... grind your way through daily quests. You can only do 5 of the 20 available quests per day, and 15 of them have three variants (meaning you have to go on 50 separate quests to do them all). There's no indicator as to which quests is available on any given day, unless you make the trek out to each of the four main towns and ask the NPC that gives the quest.

Map of the town.

To add insult to injury, the reward you get from doing a daily Hytbold quest is a handful of tokens, which you use to rebuild parts of the fallen town. You get 5 for each completed quest, and you need anywhere from 5 to 15 to build any ONE aspect of the town. There are enough pieces to rebuild to require about 1,100 tokens at last count. That's 44 days of doing these daily quests. To what end? You need to build certain locations or restore certain groups to their homes in order to obtain your class armor, of which there are three sets, depending on how you slotted your traits. You can mix or match these various pieces, which require MORE tokens BTW.

Let me make a quick aside about one thing - money. The in-game money (Copper, Silver and Gold) has never been easier to obtain than it is right now. In the short time I was back I was able to collect about 5 times the amount I've EVER had. That's NOTHING compared to the people who DIDN'T take nearly 2 years off. Those people easily have 4-5 times more than I do. Though this is all great, it means the economy is severely skewed. When the average person (of which I am slightly below) has what used to be an exorbitant amount of cash, the asking prices on the Auction House get inflated. Heavily inflated, in fact. The "expensive" things used to be a few gold pieces. Now it's a couple hundred gold pieces.

One such item I've seen on the Auction House is currently going for 500 gold. 500. That's 20 times more than I'd ever had before my hiatus. That's about 4-5 times more than I currently have on my main character. For one piece of armor. ONE. You need 6 separate pieces (chest, legs, shoulders, feet, gloves, helmet) to be fully equipped.

This brings me back to the Hytbold armor. It's not stellar. The durability on the stuff is laughable (you'll need to repair it after every quest). The durability of my previous armor allowed me to go about 5-6 hours without needing to repair. This new stuff may hurt itself while you're standing still - that's how fragile it is.

Look For Me At Dawn's First Light...

All in all I am pleased with the Riders of Rohan expansion, but after I hit the grind-wall of Hytbold I quickly grew bored. Even reconnecting with an old friend and making some great new ones isn't enough of a draw to take me back to LOTRO in the capacity I used to endure. I haven't been on much over the December holiday season, but I will make sure to hop on there at least once a week in the coming months.

The Walking Dead (Episode 1 & 2)

DEVELOPER: Telltale Games
Played on: PS3
Initial impression: Awesome.

Liked:
- Story
- Visuals
- Decision Mechanic


Disliked:
- Some Quirky Controls
- Length

On The Fence:
- Nothing!

As a big fan of the AMC TV show, I picked up a large compilation book of The Walking Dead comic. It covers the first 48 comics. I haven't opened it yet, but I did download the first one on my iPad through a comics app. I read it about 10 times, studying each frame, comparing how the show was different and so on. I'm really stretching for content that will keep me interested until Fall, when the new season starts up. Then I hear Telltale is coming out with an episodic approach to a game. I loved the Sam & Max stuff (review eventually), and the Back to the Future series has been really successful... so, why not? I nabbed the "season pass" for a whopping $20 and downloaded the first two episodes along with an exclusive PS3 theme. Great - it was about time I gave my Heavy Rain Crime Scene theme a rest.

*So far there are only 2 episodes. This is just for Episode 1 & 2. Review of later Episodes to follow.*

You are Lee Everett, a former college teacher who is on his way to prison for murder when the shit hits the fan. Riding out of Atlanta, GA, you see a dozen police cars speed in the opposite direction. The officer's radio is alive with chatter, hinting that something awful was going down in the city. The squad car you're being transferred in hits a walker and rolls into a ditch. You're pretty beat up from the crash but manage to struggle free and get the keys to your cuffs off the dead cop. Unfortunately, the dead cop doesn't STAY dead. Welcome to the Zombie Apocalypse, Lee. He soon finds himself in the house of a young girl, Clementine, whose parents went missing while they were in Charlotte, GA. You control Lee as he decides to care for her "until they get back" but he fears they won't ever be back.


The story gets better from there, and even shows you a couple of the comic book regulars (one who is only mentioned - and you see his demise!) before the first episode ends. The themes explored in this first outing are rather universal for the series - truth gets you further than lies, try to be civil, and trust builds bridges while doubt causes rifts.

The first episode hits three very distinct environments: in and around Clementine's house, Herschel's farm and a street in Macon, GA. The first location introduces you to the walkers. The second shows you just how clueless the isolated groups are. The third brings you the cold, harsh reality of the situation. It's a nice way to slowly integrate you into the world of this outbreak.

The second episode concentrates on just two locations, both in Macon. It starts at a motel your group decides to occupy and defend (in the end of Episode 1) and moves to a nearby dairy farm. Food is scarce, and your group makes a deal to help the owners of the dairy find gas in exchange for some chow. They've set up an electric fence with an step-up transformer, making it kill walkers on contact. They need gas to run the generators, and claim to have plenty of food. Your group sends a couple people to check the place out, and it soon becomes tempting to set up camp in this seemingly safe environment. There are some great puzzle-like segments to figure out and a good twist about 2/3rds of the way in. Very fitting with this setting. So much so that I'm kind of surprised the AMC show hasn't done it yet.

The visuals of this game are a lot like the comic - heavy dark lines with great details. The only thing different? It's all in color. Not a vibrant, happy rainbow-world color scheme, but not a dismal brown-world-apocalypse palette either. I think it takes a great approach to the middle-line. Lightly muted or subdued color with pops of less muted. It was dark where it should be dark, bright where it should be bright and a good mix everywhere else.

Holding back the dead!

The choices you make actually matter. If you tell a lie and get caught in it, an NPC won't trust you as much. If you're nice to someone, others will take notice. I've only noticed one slight flaw, though it's just a flaw in my mind I think. I decided to stay neutral in one fight between a couple survivors. One guy is convinced that, because I didn't side with him completely, I'm against him. He brings up that fight a few times later on (especially in Ep2).

Some controls are tough. Like the point & click adventure games of yore, you're presented with a set scene with exit points to other set scenes. This gets a little frustrating when you're searching an area for clues - it looks like you can go anywhere, until you hit an invisible wall.

The length of the episodes feels incredibly short. It could be my ravenous appetite looking for more at the end of each segment, but it's only made worse that there are a couple of months between episodes. I played Ep 1 and Ep 2 on two sequential nights. I watched the TV show - all 6 episodes of the 1st season - in one night. The world just sucks you in. Even when it's droll it keeps you tuned in, hoping for something to happen. Part of it is that I just don't like waiting. the other part is that they should release these things faster.

In the end, the game is a solid entertainer. I'd even play it again just to make different choices and watch them play out.

E1 10/10
Introduces you to an array of characters, covering a wide spectrum of the "types" of reactions you'd expect given the situation. Compassionate bad ass, angry bigot, over emotional leader who wants to act cold-hearted but takes things way too personally, dumb kid, smart kid, innocent kid, tech geek, redneck run-n-gunner... you'll find them all and more.

E2 9/10
One unforeseen event actually goes a lot differently than I thought it would. The somewhat predictable twist (but it may just be me - I've seen a LOT of these scenarios) fires off in a different fashion than I had anticipated. Offers a disturbing couple of facts that should haunt the player in upcoming episodes - I hope Telltale reminds people of them.

***Here There Be Spoilers! Avert Yer Eyes Lest Your Tale Be Spoiled!***
Select Text To Read.

Episode 1
I'm rather annoyed that Lee doesn't keep the shotgun you find with the dead cop. It works as an awesome melee weapon, and should you ever find ammo, you're set!

The fight between Kenny and Larry over whether or not Duck was bit by a walker has three outcomes: You side with Larry and get rid of Duck, you side with Kenny and piss off Larry even more (he already hates you), or you try to mediate and get both of them pissed off at you. Funny, I tried to mediate, but in the choices I totally stuck up for Kenny... and he still acts like a dick about the fact I wasn't 100% on his side. Asshole redneck.

Episode 2
The crazy woman. I wished I could have gotten more out of that scene. All I got was that she was babbling bullshit and eventually tried to warn me about - well - the big twist. By the time I got back to the house I figured out what the twist had to be, based solely on my experience with other stories.

Larry's death at the hands of Kenny was a shock, but Kenny DOES have a huge over-reaction streak going on. He panics at Hershel's farm and runs away from danger. This time, when locked in a room with a potential zombie, he takes action in the form of bashing Larry's head in with a salt block. Yikes. I couldn't side with Kenny over that one - it was a dick move, and I made sure to tell him that (more or less).

*** END SPOILERS ***

Dante's Inferno

PUBLISHER: EA Games
DEVELOPER: Visceral Games
Played on: PS3
Initial impression: GO TO HELL! In a good way. Sort of.

Liked:
- Story
- Settings

Disliked:
- Collectible Items
- Length of Game

On The Fence:
- DLC


"Midway upon the journey of our life
I found myself within a forest dark,
For the straightforward pathway had been lost."
- Dante Alighieri


[Preface]
Again, I'm not a religious person. I was raised Catholic and consider myself Atheist. I am rather familiar with the tale told in the epic poem by Dante Alighieri and can point out a few things that [developer] got wrong, but this is a damned video game. And a pretty good one at that.

Dante himself is re-imagined as a Knight of the Crusade, promised a pardon for all his sins and a place in the eternal paradise by a rather corrupt Cardinal. Upon returning home he discovers the love of his life, Beatrice, brutally murdered. Satan himself comes to claim her soul, but Dante will not allow him to take her without a fight. You battle the Grim Reaper, take his scythe and descend into the 9 levels of Hell as described by the classic work of literature that lends its name to this game.

Limbo. Lust. Gluttony. Greed. Wrath. The City of Dis. All in vivid detail. Lust, aside from the music, features a lot of moaning as a soundtrack. There are also a lot of anatomically exaggerated reproductive... Aw, fuck it. Dicks. Dicks everywhere. Where there aren't dicks, there are tits and the occasional vagina. I'm not exaggerating in the least. Also the hurricane of the lustful is prominent, and there's a lot of sexy moaning going on.

The most dressed inhabitant of Lust

Gluttony features a lot of oozy nastiness. Greed is overflowing with gold, both in coin form and molten rivers. The enemies of these environments fit, too. Limbo features rather disturbing swarms of "unbaptized babies" with long blades where their forearms should be. Lust had bare-chested harpy-like demons. Gluttony brought fat, sloppy, disgusting wretches that puke. Greed had one of the most clever creatures: The Hoarder-Waster. Picture a two-legged creature with two conjoined torsos. They flung money while they spun their large clubs around.

I could go on and on but there is one setting that really keys it all in: The final circle of Hell. The depiction of Satan in his prison of ice is modeled directly after a woodcut of that scene and it does not fail to impress. I was taken aback by how disturbingly accurate it was.

Like this, except with better graphics.

Dislikes
There are some skill-boosting items that Dante will stumble across throughout his journey, but a glance to the inventory reveals there are a few dozen. Most of these I found, and I thought I was leaving no stone unturned. These are not imperative to the enjoyment of the game. They just annoy the perfectionist in me.

This game is short. Almost disturbingly short. How short? I went through it twice in one week - once on normal, once on easy. The trophy hunter in me wanted a couple that I missed the first time through so I blasted through on easy, choosing to also load all my previously unlocked skills - which made it insanely easy. There were only a couple places that hung me up for more than a few minutes, though one of those moments did make me call it a night just to get away from the game. Refreshed by a few hours sleep I went back to the game and plowed through the roadblock.

There is an event early on in the game that you, as a player, see happen but apparently that detail is unknown to Dante himself. As a player, and having seen this take place, I was somewhat confused when they "revealed" this information to Dante. It was a moment that would have been a good twist if they hadn't already told me that when I started the game... I think there is one element of it that actually makes it a surprise but overall it was ho-hum.

Fence/Overall
The DLC is interesting. Some of it is odd - extra in-game currency (aka "souls") to purchase upgrades to your skills, new outfits. Some of it is legitimately new stuff - The Dark Forest mini mission, laced with puzzles and so on. I have yet to play the St Lucia stuff. I'm sure it will also be cool. The Dark Forest thing is confusing at first but ends up being true puzzle-solving ridiculousness. I liked it.

Dante's Inferno is a decent game that heavily mirrors God of War in it's linear, smash all things style. The setting makes it different, and knowing the source material can only enhance your experience.

PARENTAL WARNING: This one is rated M, and unlike most M games, there is no way you can play this around kids. The LUST level alone is worth years of therapy.

Darksiders

PUBLISHER: THQ
DEVELOPER: Vigil
Played on: PS3
Initial impression: Non-linear God of War clone.

Liked:
- Graphics
- Story
- Extra game play elements

Disliked:
-  Ambiguity of game path
- Scattered collectibles

On The Fence:
- Replayability



"I watched as the Lamb opened the first of the seven seals. Then I heard one of the four living creatures say in a voice like thunder, "Come and see!" I looked, and there before me was a white horse! Its rider held a bow, and he was given a crown, and he rode out as a conqueror bent on conquest."

— Revelation 6:1-2

[Preface] 

I'm not a religious person. I was raised Catholic and consider myself Atheist. I am rather familiar with the tale told in the Book of Revelation and can point out a few things that Vigil got wrong, but this is a damned video game. Even direct remakes have a hint of difference from the source material. I'm not going to argue the finer points of the tale behind the game's concept.

The only thing I will point out is that the First Horseman of the Apocalypse differs. Originally it was The Conqueror symbolizing conquest, while the Second is obviously War/Violence, followed by Famine/Pestilence and finally Death. Creative license was taken using the roster, and so you get War, Famine, Pestilence and Death. 

And So It Begins...

The game starts off with an epic war between angels and demons. War, the First Horseman of the Apocalypse is summoned to restore order. After a large demon kills the angel's general, it is revealed that the Seals were never broken - that War was out of line for being there. He is brought before the Charred Council, a sort of purgatory court that regulates Heaven and Hell. Accused of trying to kick-start the end of days, War is stripped of his powers and sentenced to death. He pleads his innocence and pledges to find those responsible. The Council agrees, and War gets assigned to a demonic guard known as The Watcher.

This is really where the game starts. Sure, you interact with junk before this point, but this is where it drops you to head up the path of revenge.

The game elements were rather unique. Settings varied from an arid desert, an abandoned, cobweb covered structure, a ruined city street and a murky graveyard - for starters. Each of these locations were diverse and unique enough to not make you bored with the game's visual style. Enemies varied based on location as well - spiders and other bugs inhabit the obvious locale. 

The story was an interesting tale of betrayal, where you, as the Bringer of War, take the fall for someone's grab for power. You have some unlikely allies - and enemies - along the way. Angels hate you as much as the demons for most of the game.

There are other things they throw in, like the upgradable weapons and unlock-able powers. You gain the use of the Reaper's Scythe and the ability to glide with spectral wings among other things. Your horse even comes back to you, which helps when you hit the long, expansive desert areas. There is also a Rage Mode, where War transforms into an unstoppable hulking demon with extraordinary power, allowing you to take down difficult or swarms of enemies with ease.

Dislikes
Among the only things I didn't like was the sudden ambiguity that comes up about midway through the game. I stalled out and ended up running back and forth trying to figure out where I was supposed to go. Eventually I figured it out but I felt like the game left me hanging - up to this point it seemed to nearly hold up a sign with an arrow on it showing me what I was supposed to do.

Another gripe I had was the collectible junk. There are items you can find that, when all completely assembled, give you the best armor. I thought I was doing OK with those for a while, but the task of hunting them down became tedious. 

Fence/Overall
Replayability is questionable at best. There were some sections that were really cool and a lot of fun, but there were also areas I'd be just as happy to never play again. Then again, the completionist in me notes that there are some trophies I did not get in areas where I didn't realize there were goals...

I'd totally recommend Darksiders. It was a fun game that kind of plays like God Of War, but I feel is different enough to merit it's own place on the shelf.

Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood

PUBLISHER: Ubisoft
DEVELOPER: Ubisoft
Played on: PS3
Initial impression: Like the second one, but better.

Liked:
- Story (both parts)
- Environment (Past)
- Assassin's Guild
- Leonardo's Gadgets


Disliked:
- Some Quirky Controls
- Bugged Trophies
- Shop Quests
- Subject 16's puzzles


If you read the Assassin's Creed II review, this is going to sound really familiar. Desmond and crew are on the run from Abstergo. You're still assuming the role of Ezio in the Animus world, except he's a tad more mature. The Borgia attack the stronghold at Monteriggioni and force Ezio and his family to retreat back to Rome. Accepting his role as a Lead Assassin, he instructs others who are being oppressed by the Pope to become silent killers.

Oh and here's an update on ACII... I actually found all the feathers. ACII is currently the ONLY PS3 game where I have obtained a Platinum Trophy. I liked it that much.

Likes
The story is still awesome, though it gets surreal toward the end. Without giving away massive spoilers, I was totally left scratching my head. I helped find a final item and a cut scene took over. Someone gets stabbed. Credits roll. What?

The environment is rich and vibrant. Overall the playfield is smaller, confined to just Rome and the undeveloped areas just to the south. Being able to interact with landmarks like the Coliseum is a great bonus.

The Assassin's Guild, as a whole, sucks. Side missions that you never really see help give your recruits experience. You access the list of missions and send them off. Sometimes there's a reward of shop quest items. The part I love about the Assassin's Guild - BACKUP! In a huge fight with 20 guards and getting your ass kicked? NO PROBLEM. Call the Guild! With an eagle's screech they come leaping into the fray. As they level up they can use better weapons, smoke bombs, etc. When you get a lot of recruits you have access to an Arrow Storm, which is as awesome as it sounds. A volley of arrows kills all the enemies near you.

Leonardo Da Vinci makes another appearance. This time he remakes your second hidden blade (it gets lost during the Monteriggioni attack), gives you a pistol and invents a rather useful thing called a "parachute" - so clever. I found this last item to be INCREDIBLY useful.

Dislikes
The quirky controls from before are better but still have issues. I found Ezio trying to run up walls, fail, then immediately try to run up the exact same part of the wall. He would choose to climb a building via various window ledges and so on instead of using the ladder I directed him to. He would get on a ladder from the wrong side and refuse to let go until he reached the top and couldn't go further.

As much as I picked on the ubiquitous and sometimes laughable trophy awarding for doing things you couldn't avoid (watching the game opening cut scene, for instance), I became rather annoyed when some of those dumb "thanks for playing this far" trophies started to disappear from my list. I've completed the game, yet three trophies you get for essentially playing the beginning mission are now blank. I may have to start a new game just to pop three trophies... that I already had.

Shop Quests are an annoying piece of crap. They want you to obtain special items to trade for the ability to purchase some of the gear in the shop. By the time I got the items I needed, I no longer needed the gear. I STILL don't have two of these done and I beat the game a week ago. I've been collecting Flags and Treasure Chests as well as working on the Guild Challenges.

Subject 16 - the nutjob who decorated his cell in his own blood in Assassin's Creed I, left you some clues to The Truth in ACII - is back in ACB. He's just as vague as ever. I went through his trials but didn't really understand a whole hell of a lot of what I was seeing. I'm all for some mystery, but this reeked of "no idea; red herring" storytelling.

On The Fence/Ending
For once I'm not on the fence about anything. I either liked it or didn't. Thankfully, ACB I liked a lot. Slightly more than ACII for the story. For now I'm about 10 flags and some trick-assassinations away from having all Single Player trophies. Unfortunately there are Multi-Player trophies, and I don't think I'll ever get those to bring myself up to Platinum.