Assassin’s Creed Revelations hits shelves today and in order to catch players up on the story of the series thus far, Ubisoft have release a “Previously on Assassin’s Creed” trailer. The new trailer recounts the events leading up to Revelations and will get players ready for what is to come.
We have reviewed the title and let me say, it is without a doubt one of the best games of the year. You can check out our review here and the new “Previously…” trailer below.
Will you be picking up a copy of Assassin’s Creed Revelations? What do you think of the new trailer? Be sure to let us know in the shoutbox and comments section below.
Oh, PETA. I think everyone knows about PETA’s (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) attacks on the video game universe for the way certain animals are treated, but this latest stunt is just face-palm worthy. As they usually do, PETA have now launched a new game on their official website titled “Mario Kills Tanooki” or Super Mario Tanooki Skin 2D, as the app is called. The game is of course a jab at the recently released Super Mario 3D Land.
This game pretty much has a skinned, bleeding Tanooki chasing after his skin, in which Mario is flying about with over the 2D level. Mario’s suit is now dripping blood and the whole game is slightly disturbing, but I guess that’s to prove some kind of point? PETA need to realize that games are games and not reality. Instead of attacking Mario, they could use their resources to put puppies into homes and fundraisers to save foxes (you know, something that actually helps animals?) I sincerely doubt many are going to play as Tanooki Mario and then say to themselves..”If I skin a raccoon, I can fly too! De Har Har!”
If you want to have your stomach turn, by all means..check out the “game” here.
Meanwhile, I think I’m craving a nice juicy burger, made of fresh cut Tanooki.
Now with the release of the PlayStation Vita growing close in Japan, Tecmo Koei has released a number of new screenshots for the Japanese version of the game, which is the first on the Vita for the series. Titled Dynasty Warriors Next, the screenshots can be seen below.
Unfortunatley for those expecting a lot of action, only a few of the screenshots actually show any action occuring while the rest are of maps and character cards. There is the revelation however that the character creation and Create-A-Warrior system has returned, which is a major plus for the series. I mean everyone wants to play as their favorite fighter from the Romance of the Three Kingdoms but sometimes they want to play a unique role themselves y’know?
Assassin’s Creed Revelations Developer: Ubisoft Publisher: Ubisoft Platforms: Xbox 360 (reviewed), PS3 and PC Release Date: November 15th, 2011 Price: $59.99 Available Here
Overview:
Nothing is true. Everything is permitted. Not only is that the creed of the Assassins, but it is also an incredibly accurate summation of Assassin’s Creed Revelations. Everything you thought you knew about Assassin’s Creed is no longer true. Revelations changes everything you knew about the series. Anything can and will happen – everything is permitted.
Taking a look back at everything the Assassin’s Creed franchise has accomplished, Assassin’s Creed Revelations takes everything good about the franchise and turns it up to eleven, whilst bending and twisting the formula of the game onto new and untouched ground. This is no longer just another Assassin’s Creed game, this game is an absolute revelation; chiselling the name Assassin’s Creed into video-game history as one of the best of all time.
Story: Assassin’s Creed Revelations picks up where Brotherhood left off, Desmond is now in a comatose state with his mind trapped in the animus. All he can do is talk to the likewise trapped Subject 16 or follow the rest of Ezio Auditore’s memories in an attempt to awake from the animus. And that is just one of the several simultaneously ongoing plotlines within Revelations, each of which for spoilers sake, I will not go into too great detail recounting. But what sets this title’s story apart from it’s predecessors?
Revelations as a story is more akin to literature than any other game on the market right now (besides Alan Wake perhaps) and it wears that literary love close to it’s chest. What with a large portion of the storyline focused around uncovering books and a heroine whose passion is literature, it is clear that the story structure used is very much like that of a great novel. Each DNA sequences plays out like a well written chapter, in an epic tale. An epic tale that is not only moving, but emotionally rewarding for those who have followed the series this far.
The main over-arching message of Revelations is that while life may hold many secrets, not all questions need to be or can be answered. Sometimes some things are best left for the people who come after you to discover. After finishing the story mode of the game I was left with many questions, but satisfied knowing that while I do want to have those questions answered – the adventure of life isn’t about learning all there is to learn, it is about learning that you can not learn everything.
If there is one thing that differentiates the plot of Revelations to that of the previous Assassin’s Creed titles, it is that it feels so much larger in scale. One could say that it is epic. That one would not be wrong. Assassin’s Creed Revelations is epic, not only in it’s methodically plotted tale that can be called nothing less than a work of art, but also in it’s execution. It is clear that Revelations knows what it has to do and it does so with the finesse and touch of a literature great such as George Orwell.
Revelations will captivate you in every way imaginable. While this harrowing tale may be over, with a heavy heart Assassin’s Creed says farewell to Altair and Ezio as this swan song for the two Assassins comes to an end, doing both legendary characters the justice they truly deserve. You will leave this story satisfied that you had completed a journey that will not only stay with you for years to come, but also one that will affect you on a more deeper level than any other game to come out of 2011, it is just that damn good.
Gameplay:
It would be no stretch of a claim to say that there are simply no games on the market quite like Assassin’s Creed. With it’s unique blend of open-world environments, detailed combat, inventive weapons and items, well fleshed out plot and characters, innovative gameplay mechanics and unique concept, there is nothing even close to Assassin’s Creed.
Revelations takes the winning formula of the franchise and turns it completely on it’s head. Ubisoft have introduced new elements to gameplay that change the entire formula altogether, making Revelations like no other game in the series.
With the newly introduced Hook Blade, everything changes. Free-running is so much faster, with Ezio now able to jump further than ever before and travel takes roughly half the time it once did. Not only that but the Hook Blade and even the likewise newly introduced bombs, adds an extra level of depth to strategy, giving multiple possibile solutions to missions.
Missions are no longer linear, with each mission now having several different solutions and multiple ways to achieve the objectives. I personally found myself thinking outside the box in order to solve difficult missions, particular ones that necessitated quick thinking such as one which involved Ezio infiltrating an enemy fortress with the goal of assassinating it’s leader whilst going unseen by anyone. While this may seem like a simple enough mission for veterans of the series, there is now multiple ways to go about it. This added level of freedom allows for players to essentially play the game their way, whilst still completing objectives.
There are numerous other features added to Revelations that elevate it above any title in the series thus far, whether it be the Den Defense meta-game which could be an amazing XBLA title all by itself (I’d definitely buy that, get to work Ubisoft!), the Assassin Missions in which you manage your brotherhood of Assassins (like a sports team manager game, only deadlier) and send them on missions across the globe, a feature which returns from the previous title, however much improved with more to do or the incredibly unique Desmond Memories in which you play a first person platformer type game inside the core of the animus. There is just simply so much variety in gameplay and the amount of things to do is in a word, astonishing.
Doesn’t pre-order content just make you so angry? I mean you can only buy a game from one company and people buying it from multiple sources are just crazy right? RAGE! Okay, well calm down because first we need to find out what pre-order bonuses will be available from what retailers when Asura’s Wrath is released next year.
Amazon’s pre-order bonus will be the “Devastator Pack” which will reduce damage and fill up your “Unlimited Rage Gauge” faster. Best Buy purchases will include an “Infinity Pack” which allows the for the ability to recover from overheating faster and spend more time with “Unlimited Rage.”
Now if in-game bonuses aren’t your thing, GameStop will be giving pre-orders with a “combination art and comic book” by Penny-Arcade which include half concept art and half Penny-Arcade comics with Asura’s everyday life. Sounds like the humor of the Penny-Arcade comics win this round.
It’s time yet again to grab those shovels, as Fossil Fighters Champions is now out on the Nintendo DS. This follow-up of Fossil Fighters has players dig up fossils of creatures known as Vivosaurs and after a bit of cleaning, fully restore the said being in order to go to battle in the grand tournament. If you are thinking this sounds like Pokemon or even the Dragon Quest Monsters series, you’d be on the right track as the similarities are definitely there, but Champions puts more of an emphasis on discovery rather than battle.
“Fossil Fighters: Champions turns players of all ages into budding paleontologists,” said Scott Moffitt, Nintendo of America’s executive vice president of Sales & Marketing. “Up to four players can dig in and have fun.”
The amount of content this sequel offers has also risen, with players now able to download additional vivosaurs and events which further the narrative and provides unique species to all users that have access to a Wi-Fi connection. Yes, there is definitely more this time around in this pre-historic battling romp, and you can now find Fossil Fighters Champions in stores everywhere as of today for the Nintendo DS.
Admit it, whenever you have the chance to in an RPG you end up saving your game, then go ahead and murder every innocent villager and civilian in the vicinity before shutting off the game. I’ve done it, you’ve done it, we all have. However if you plan on doing this and continuing with that game then obviously there will be some repercussions right?
Well in the ESRB rating we learn that senseless acts of violence will actually damage your character’s charisma. Plus there will be harpy breasts for people who like thier bird monsters with tits. Check out the full ESRB description below:
This is an action-adventure game in which players assume the role of Glynn, a militiaman on a quest to kill an evil dragon. As players traverse through fantastical “open-world” environments, they complete missions and quests that impact the storyline and eventual fate of their character. Players use swords, bows and arrows, and magic attacks (e.g., fireballs, ice blasts) to kill various enemies (e.g., zombies, goblins, human soldiers) in melee-style combat.
The frequent combat is accompanied by slashing sounds, cries of pain, and large splashes of blood; attacks sometimes result in dismembered limbs and/or scattered body parts. Some sequences allow players to injure/kill non-adversaries, including unarmed villagers; such acts are penalized by lower “charisma” levels for players’ character. Other acts of violence appear in cutscenes: a man strangling a woman in her bedchamber; a character impaling himself.
The dialogue sometimes includes innuendo and suggestive material (e.g., “I would never violate His Grace’s privacy while he violates milady’s privates” and “. . . perhaps you seek . . . a turn in the sheets with His Grace’s own wife!”). During the course of the game, players may also encounter female harpies whose breasts are fully exposed at certain camera angles.
It seems that the next big fix for Battlefield 3 will have to do with the god light that has become quite a problem in multiplayer matches. Now the actual attachment is called a “tactical light” and is basically a small flashlight attached to a gun. Now the problem with the flashlight is that it is overwhelmingly powerful, so much so that as you can see above, it is ridiculously blinding even at a distance.
DICE gameplay designer Alan Kertz tweeted this above picture with the proposed change and I wholeheartedly support it and it appears that I am not alone as fan response has been “overwhelmingly positive.” At least this means that someone across the map can’t blind you anymore with their pocket flashlight…
When a headline usually reads about a developer for a game, especially a major game, trying to boost the game’s scores then it usually means there will be plenty of controversy. However this time around I’d have to agree with Sledgehammer Games boss Glen Schofield who was upset about the user Metacritic score that their big game Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 is bombing.
He was pretty blatant in his request on Twitter saying “I don’t usually do this but, if u like MW3 go 2 Metacritic.com & help our user score. It’s suspiciously low. Be honest but help if u agree.” Now this is in response to the fact that all of the various angry video game fans have been giving the title 0/10 with random complaints and general BS. Of course if someone interested in the title saw a user score of 3.2 without knowing the context, it would probably hurt their opinion.
While many were expecting a number of new characters to be announced sometime in the future for Theatrhythm: Final Fantasy and who can blame them. The title will feature music from every game in the Final Fantasy series so it should come as no surrpise that Jump revealed a bunch of new characters. However a few of these inclusions are perhaps surprising to some.
Andriasang has translated the list of newly announced characters and one seems to have returned from the dead to bring us music. Aeris, perhaps one of the most iconic characters in FFVII will be returning as a character alongside Snow (FFXIII), Prishe (FFXI), Vivi (FFIX), Faris (FFV), Cid (FFIII), and Princess Sara (FF) to round out your party. Any other Final Fantasy favorites you would want to see become available?
