Modern Warfare 3

I'm breaking two of my rules by reviewing today's game, Modern Warfare 3. First, while I didn't pay full price, I still paid plenty for it, picking it up in the first week of release. Second, I'm going to spend some time covering the multiplayer.

Unfortunately, and against my better judgment, I got caught up in the hype of this latest entry in the Call of Duty series when my roommates participated in the midnight release so they could enjoy this on their respective consoles, and I figured I should give it a go too. I had been fascinated by CoD 4, which was an interesting twist on a (mostly) great series. MW2 was, in all honesty, okay, what with a story that, multiple play throughs later, still fails to make sense. But what the heck, everyone I know was getting MW3, and I did want to finish it, the needy guy that I am looking for closure, so I bought it. Don't judge me, I'm weak.

Coincidentally, weak is a pretty apt way to describe what MW3 brings to the table. While the story this go round does a nice job of tying everything from the second game in with the first, as well as wrapping things up in such a way that I thought I was reading Glen Cook's Black Company, in that there couldn't possibly be another installment in this series, that's really all the game has to offer. Gameplay wise, it feels like a very expensive expansion pack that adds a whopping 6 hours (on hard) worth of gamming experience, in a few new locations, with a handful of new weapons. It is definitely not worth it at the $60 asking price, unless you were so enamored with the previous game that you just couldn't get enough, in which case you're probably also the type of person that immediately buys all those $15 DLC map packs that mostly contain rehashed maps from the previous game, and are currently stifling innovation in the gaming industry. Also, I hate you.

For the $150 you spent on MW2, 3, and all DLCs at released prices, I bought about 40 games during the Steam 2011 holiday sale. Just some food for thought.

But if you're considering buying this game, you probably don't care about the single player portion anyways, since that's not what has actually made the last few titles so successful. This is actually the portion of the game where the devs have made some changes, some good, some bad.

The first thing you'll notice is that the philosophy driving the maps has changed pretty drastically. There are only a few open spaces, and even less long sight lines, making this a very sniper unfriendly environment. Indeed, the focus has become close quarters combat, and if that's your thing, more power to you. But if you were always a fan of finding that perfect place and showing your superiority in accuracy, Infinite Ward pretty much told you to sit on your thumb and rotate.

There are some other changes beyond just the map design, which really are just adjustments to the kill streaks, perks, and weapon customization system. Kill streaks are now broken out into three categories - assault, support, and specialist. Each behaves differently, and has different sorts of rewards. Assault resets on death, but gives you things like missiles and helicopter gunners, as opposed to support, which does not reset on death but only grants things like UAVs or supply drops. Weapons are slightly more customizable, with the addition of specific weapon perks such as less weapon sway when under attack, or other abilities that have typically fallen under the perks category in past games. A larger change to the weapon system is that now weapons have levels, 31 for your main weapons, and you must make it through those levels in order to unlock attachments or perks, but only for that weapon, as opposed to the challenge based system of the past - a change that I honestly can't tell if it's for better or worse. And finally, perks have been altered, but nothing major, though you will find some, like Bling, now exist as a weapon perk, rather than one of your 3 active perks. Those kinds of changes are interesting, but in no way groundbreaking.

 

Kill confirmed is actually one of the cool additions to this game.

If you're looking for more out of your multiplayer than what you've seen in the previous titles, there really isn't anything there. Sure, the weapon set has been tweaked a bit, and a few additional gamemodes have been added, but really, all you're getting for your money is an expensive expansion pack, one which is said to have 20 pieces of DLC on the way, and assuming they range in price from $5 to $15, that's anywhere between $100 and $300 worth of additional investment. To that I say, no thanks.

The Modern Warfare series seems to me to be a lot like the Matrix. The first one was groundbreaking, but then 2 and 3 where really only partial movies (which you had to pay full price for) with upgraded special effects and a weaker story tie-in, that overall give off the feeling of milking that cash cow for all its worth. Sticking to that philosophy, I can in no way suggest you buy this game for anywhere near the original asking price of $60. I would say it belongs in the $10 or less bin, but it might take a while to get there, since the MSRP on the first game is still $20. If you do pick it up, know that I got about 6 hours out of the single player game, but passed on all those challenge missions, and 32 hours out of the multiplayer, during which I hit the level cap once, and encountered someone with hacks about 20% of the time. There really isn't anything special about this game - it's the same thing you've been playing for the last few years - unless maybe you're hanging out with a group of "bros," and only then does it rise above being an average game, one worthy of a 5 out of 10.

So, the final breakdown:

Score: 5/10

Suggested Price: $10

Darksiders

Today's review will be fairly short, because I'm covering Darksiders. The reason for the lack of length, is I can pretty much sum everything up by linking you over to Penny Arcade. So have a gander, but then please, do come back, I'll actually give this game it's due diligence.

http://penny-arcade.com/comic/2010/01/08

That first panel is pretty accurate, in that Darksiders is in the same vein as the Zelda series. This isn't to the game's detriment at all though. Rather, Darksiders is a pretty solid title, one that if you're a fan of adventure games where you go out through an open world, find a dungeon, find a special item within that dungeon, defeat the boss of that dungeon, and then are able to progress further into the open world, but are looking for something a bit more adult because you don't necessarily want to run around with a fairy for a companion, then Darksiders is a definite buy.

You are War, as in one of the four horsemen of the apocalypse. Something has gone terribly wrong, and the world has basically ended prematurely, becoming the battlefield between heaven and hell. You're the only horseman that shows up to the party, and are punished because it is believed you have acted on your own. A deal is cut, and you are sent back to earth, 100 years later, to try and uncover, and bring to justice, whomever falsely brought about the end of days.

Jamming a sword through a demon's face. Talk about a good reason to play this game.

As War, you're pretty much a badass. You go about killing anything and everything in your path, and while this mostly consists of demons, you tear the wings off of more than a few angels as well. You're main weapons consist of a sword known as Chaoseater, a scythe that is great for dealing with packs of enemies, and a fist weapon with a fast attack. Each of these can be upgraded through enough use, and each one has an augment slot. Augments are items that, when placed in a weapon's slot, alter how it functions, such as restoring a bit of health on hit. Some augments give active bonuses, others give passive, and a few more give additional bonuses when combined with specific weapons, such as one which gives bonus souls, this game's currency, on kills, but grants additional souls when combined with the scythe.

That currency has a couple of uses. There is a store NPC in the game that sells you all manner of consumables to restore health, or increase your wrath, a bar which allows the use of special abilities. What you'll probably end up spending more of your souls on, though, are various attacks, and the upgraded versions of each, so you can do enough damage to actually kill things. You're basic attacks are okay, but getting special ones, such as using your sword like a bat and basically swinging for the bleachers on an enemy's face while simultaneously setting it on fire, make the game so much more fun.

I'd totally trust this guy with my soul.

Beyond what the vendor sells, there are several key items, which are mostly found in one of this game's dungeons, and have their greatest use within that specific dungeon, as well as usually being the key required to advance out in the open world. A few examples include the crossblade, which is a thrown weapon that can be locked on to multiple targets, or the abyssal chain, which is used to latch onto certain surfaces or enemies. If any of these sound familiar, they are pretty much the boomerang and hookshot from Zelda.

There are more ways to kill enemies beyond just hacking them to death with your sword, or shooting at them with your pistol. The devs made a pretty interactive environment, so grab that car and knock the angel out of the sky, and then, when he is down and wounded, instead of continuing to just smash his face in, go ahead and use your execute ability, to instantly, and graphically, finish him off. That's particularly useful when you're getting low on health, because you usually only get it when you kill enemies, even though by now you were probably expecting to find hearts in pottery.

 

Is it beyond the point where I could say "I'm on a horse."?

I'll admit, this game has plenty in common with Zelda, including some of the weapons. Now you can call that derivative, or a homage, or whatever you want, but it still makes for a pretty good game. There are plenty of good parts to this game, including some cool mechanics such as being able to turn into a giant demon and basically one shot everything, or some really fun boss fights, or a good story with some surprising plot twists you'll never see coming. I picked it up for $10, though I would recommend getting it at $15 or lower. If you pick up most of the collectables, including all weapon augments and the improved armor, you're looking at somewhere around the 21 hours I got out of it. More if you're a perfectionist, or just generally faster than I am. Overall, a fun game, and I'm looking forward to the sequel, and then we'll have to see if it'll beat this game's score - 7 out of 10.

So, the final breakdown:

Score: 7/10

Suggested Price: $15

Assassin's Creed II

Not that long ago, I reviewed Assassin's Creed, a game that, from the premise at least, seemed like it would be pretty damn enjoyable. Well, I gave it a 5 out of 10, because while the underlying mechanics were promising, the actual game design was extremely redundant and pretty tough to sit through. Now comes Assassin's Creed II, and its everything the first game wasn't, which is to say, actually a good game. I'd like to take some credit for that, as a critic, by that would only actually apply if I didn't review a game three years after release.

This time around, the game is set in renaissance Italy, which already makes it a much more colorful and visually appealing setting than the drab war torn holy land of the previous game. Your new assassin is Ezio Auditore da Firenze, who hungers for vengeance after his father and brothers where killed as part of a cover-up by a network of many powerful men, the web of which you spend much of the game unraveling. You learn from surviving family that you come from a long line of assassins, and armed with this knowledge, your father's hidden blade, and the help of various notable characters and willing factions,  you set out to uncover the identity, and foil the plans, of the man known only as the Spaniard.

Hmm, The Spaniard. There's got to be a Princess Bride reference in there.

 There are new weapons, as well as new assassination options that make the game feel much more natural. For example, you can now get a pistol integrated into one of your hidden blades. I say one, because you unlock a second blade early in the game, which opens up a whole 'nother world of cool ways to kill people. Other weapons, like a poison blade, provide you with new approaches to kill enemies without being detected. Those new assassination options I mentioned really make you realize how much was missing in the previous game, and you'll wonder how you made it without the ability to stealth kill someone from inside a hay cart or while hanging on a ledge below someone.

However, while the assassin's tools of the trade have evolved, so have the types of enemies you encounter.  You can no longer just sit in a corner and counterattack your way to victory, as more often than not you'll encounter larger enemies that wield maces or pole arms, which can only be disarmed. Other times you'll have to deal with light enemies, who make fleeing more difficult as they are pretty much equally light of foot. At some points you'll have to chase down an enemy messenger or a pickpocket, for a little bonus. All of these serve to liven up the combat from what the original had to offer.

Speaking of being cliche - the bigger they are...

 The game has taken on some RPG elements as well, and it makes for an interesting addition. There are various weapons in each weapon class, such as plenty of swords, or mauls, or whatever suits your mood for a primary weapon, each with different stats. The same applies to the different sets of armor. Additionally, this game has a currency system, which is good, because armor becomes damaged and needs to be repaired, or you need to visit a doctor to be healed.

That currency can be used in other ways to help you on your mission as well. Scattering some on the ground serves as a great distraction to guards and citizens alike. Or you could hire one of three groups - courtesans, mercenaries, and thieves - to do things for you like provide cover so you can blend in, distract guards, or attack for you - whatever the situation calls for.

Sorry kiddies, no GTA options here.

I really am amazed at how they turned this series around. Rather than the main game being nothing more than a checklist of activities before killing one target, with a good story when you're not in the past, they've practically ditched the out of animus portion and made the main game a very open, very enjoyable experience. Now there are plenty of side missions, which really serve no purpose beyond increasing your available finances, and those kind of become a little more repetitive, but since they've been moved out of the main story, that's perfectly fine.

The heart of the game, the story behind it, the interesting period characters you interact with, such as Leonardo da Vinci, make this a really solid game. There is plenty of extra stuff in there, if you feel like taking time to collect art, build a city, or hunt down over 300 treasure chests, but that's all just bonus. I picked this up for under $7 back during the summer of 2011, but I could easily see myself paying $10-$15 for it now, knowing how good it is, and realizing that I spent over 36 hours of my life on this experience. Overall, a very solid, good game, that I give a 7 out of 10.

So, the final breakdown:

Score: 7/10

Suggested Price: $15

Red Faction: Armageddon Video Review

The video review for Red Faction: Armageddon is now available.

Red Faction: Aramgeddon Review

**Be sure to check out the video review!** 

So the last couple of games I've reviewed have been busts. Thankfully today's game - Red Faction: Armageddon - is anything but.

Now here's a game you've probably never thought about. Heck, you may have never played anything in the series, despite how revolutionary the original was, or how awesome the third was as a complete reimagining of an FPS into a third person sandbox destruction-gasm. Just don't bother with the second one, its pretty bad.

If you have played a Red Faction game before, particularly Guerrilla, just know that this game continues Volition's tradition of being willing to experiment and try something very different from any of the previous titles, and you shouldn't write it off just because it's not a clone of the last game you played. For example, Red Faction II was a heavily story driven game about a group of nano-enhanced soldiers on Earth, which was nothing like the original, about a miner rebellion on Mars. The third took an even more drastic departure, and became that third person, open world, destruction fest. Following this precedent, Armageddon is an indoor, fasted paced, action heavy, third person corridor shooter. If you're considering passing after hearing that, don't - you'll miss out on one of the best games of 2011.

 

Also, lots of stuff goes boom.

This game's hammer-wielding protagonist is one Darius Mason, a descendent of the main character from Guerrilla, Alec Mason. A lot has happened since the last game, including a SyFy channel movie, and now the Red Faction is Mars' military, rather than just a rebel group. You are, of course, a member of that military, and the game begins with you deploying on a mission to stop some cultists, an offshoot of the marauder faction from the previous game, from destroying the terraformer, a device that is critical to the survival of mankind on the surface.

Well, lets just say you're not too good at your job. Flash forward a few years, and humans are just getting by, living in tunnels and far beneath the surface. That is until you do another bang up job, and find that you've been tricked, yet again by the cultists, into unleashing a menagerie of aliens that had been sealed up sometime before the first game. You spend the game fighting for survival, and trying to find a way to set things right, on account that everything is your fault, while avoiding being killed by aliens, cultists, and some citizens that aren't too happy with the job you've been doing.

Remember kids, if you ever get an offer from mysterious individuals to destroy strange ancient artifacts, pass.

Most of the game takes place in underground tunnels, which encompass everything from caverns, to small human outposts, to the larger settlements that make up the core of the remaining human civilization. There are levels that take you out onto the surface, or into more heavily constructed areas, but they aren't as common. So there is no more hi-jacking a vehicle and tearing around the planet, but since this is a very liner experience, the new environments fit very well with the intentions behind the game. Your time underground works out particularly well, because those aliens have a tendency to burrow out of cave walls, and can pretty much spawn anywhere, which serves to keep you on your toes, and your head on a swivel.

The enemies, particularly those blasted aliens, are pretty cool, and there are some subtle mechanics at play that really add a lot to the game, without you having to think about it. Specifically, not only do the aliens vary by size in accordance with power, but they are also color-coded - they are covered in spines that, when you are not looking directly at them with a flashlight, illuminate with the color unique to that enemy, and help you detected their location, as well as discern which enemy types you're up against, so you can handle them in the appropriate order. This proves extremely helpful when you've got groups of 4-5 enemies constantly tunneling in, while tentacle structures that give off a shield pop up, and you're running low on ammo.

This way, you can avoid adding something cliche, like night vision.

Some of the weapons from the previous game make a return, such as the Enforcer, an assault rifle that fires semi-homing bullets, or the always classic rail gun, which has been in every RF game, but most of them are new, or modifications of other guns. For example, you no longer plant charges, or place singularity grenades. Rather, you have a charge launcher, and there is a singularity rifle, both of which are really, really, fun. Most others are pretty standard fare, shotgun, rifle, both a fast firing and accurate dual wielded pistol as well as a slow firing but heavy hitting dual wielded pistol. New weapons include the amazing magnet gun, which allows you to fire a magnet to two different surfaces, which will then pull the smaller one to the other, like attaching one to an enemy and the ceiling above a chasm, or the top floor of a building and the ground beneath it. That last one is a really good gun to experiment with, because its very surprising how well it works with the destructible environments.

Weapons aren't the only method at your disposable for dispatching enemies. You're equipped with a nano-forge that, as with the previous game, allows you to repair structures, but pulls double duty by granting four additional abilities that share a common cool down. The first is a simple area knockback that deals a good amount of damage, followed by an ability that grabs every nearby enemy and flings them up into the air in suspended animation for a limited amount of time, allowing you to take plenty of pot shots. Yet another creates a dome shield around the character, which is appreciated when you need to regen some health, but the final, called berserker, greatly increases your damage and grants unlimited ammo, as long as your charge lasts.

Okay, that's just cool.

Another mechanic that makes a return from the previous game is the use of scrap as a currency. You find it either by destroying buildings, as an item pickup around the levels, or by killing enemies. Rather than using to upgrade weapons, as was the case in Guerrilla, it is instead used to buy new abilities and augmentations, such as increased health, enemy health indicators, or increase nano-charge on enemy kill, which can be combined with berserker to grant you infinite ammo as long as you can kill enemies fast enough.

I'm aware of the disappointment Armageddon was greeted with, but it's worth considering the state of many sequels in modern day series, particularly Call of Duty, and the minuscule alterations between iterations. What's really important with this game is to not think of it as Guerrilla II, and understand that it is its own, largely independent, experience. If you can do that, and appreciate the approach Volition has historically taken with regards to the Red Faction series, then you will feel less regret that this is not a destruction centered sandbox game, and appreciate it as an action game that is well worth your time, and money.

I picked up the game and DLC for a combined total of just under $15 a few months back, and I can honestly say I paid too little for what I got. The biggest downfall is that this game is too short, clocking in at 9 hours, and I could easily have used more. I was particularly disappointed that this game did not include multiplayer, beyond that of co-op destruction and survival, in the manner that Guerrilla did. I know I spent a good amount of time trying to convince you to break the "Armageddon = Guerrilla II" link, but I would have liked to have seen the type of versus modes in the previous game brought back into a more action centric environment, with the new weapons and abilities making for a really good time. Still, I'm glad I devoted 9 hours of my life to playing this, and feel I'm better for the experience, so I give it a 9 out of 10.

So, the final breakdown:

Score: 9/10

Suggested Price: $20+

Duke Nukem Forever

Alright, I've covered two action/adventure games in a row, so I'm itching to return to my FPS roots. So in today's review, I can safely say "The King is Back!" Wait, that means this a Duke Nukem Forever review... ah, crap.

I see Duke's not a fan, either.

By now you've probably heard plenty about DNF, but I've got to say, while this is a really tough game to review for so many reasons, you may still find what I've got to say here helpful.

Its been years since I last played a Duke game, namely, one for the 64, back when I was just a kid. I was too young to understand much about gaming back then, but I realize the series had its appeal, and cult following, and I remember enjoying it back then, except for those damn keycards. Since then, the legend that is Duke evolved, more into a joke than anything, with the decade of delays before DNF finally was released, and in a way I have to question the sanity of anyone who would possibly want to develop a new title in the series, knowing full well that it would be impossible to meet expectations developed over so long. But I guess you've got to give them credit for trying.

Unfortunately, that's almost all the credit I can give them. The world of video games has changed quite a bit since the King last reigned supreme, what with the dominance of consoles, and in particular the copy/paste military shooters that generate billions of dollars at each release, this isn't Duke's world anymore.

Okay, that's quite enough time spent questioning the relevancy of a series in the modern world. Lets look at the actual game, shall we?

You're Duke Nukem, earth's savior the last time aliens showed up. Well they're back again, but hey, this time they are flying a flag of peace. That's totally legit, right? If you thought there was any truth to that, you're definitely playing the wrong genre, because the only peace you'll find in this shooter, are the various pieces of enemies left strewn about your wake.

 

That pun would have worked better in a video review.

So you set out to save everyone all over again, starting with Las Vegas, then onto the women, then to actually kill the alien emperor and stop the invasion, because a man's got to have his priorities right. There are 23 levels in all, ranging from a throwback level where you beat the boss of the last game, to Vegas, to an underground alien hive, to romping around in your monster truck, to the Hoover dam. And since this is Duke, there is a "break" level in the middle of the game, where you enjoy some quality time at a strip club. Oh, wait - gentlemen's club.

There a few levels that do stick out for being a little bit more annoying though. Some towards the end of the game are heavy into swimming, which doesn't really work out too well in this game with such a short breath timer, and the handful of times when you get stuck in a pipe, half way between air leaks, swarmed by enemies. There is a good portion in the middle of the game that is pretty vehicle-centric, but since you drive a monster truck, they all consist of driving, running out of gas, killing a few handfuls of enemies while searching for gas, finding gas, and making it to the next level, where you do the same thing. The rest of the game is pretty "meh" - the levels aren't anything special, but they don't particularly bug, though the amount of time you spend running around as mini Duke does start to eat at the nerves.

You're weapons aren't anything spectacular in this game either. Standard stuff like a pistol, shotgun, and machine gun round out the human weapons, while there are a couple of alien goodies too, but nothing that screams "best new item in gaming history." The shrink-ray is one of the more enjoyable, if just for the pure pleasure of stomping your miniaturized enemies, or possibly the devastator, a double barreled rocket launcher that comes in handy during boss fights, since bosses are only vulnerable to explosive damage.

There would be a certain irony if there was gum on the bottom of those shoes.

Those bosses, and there are about 9 of them, are pretty redundant. Four of them are just progressively harder versions of the same fight, where you have to deal X damage, followed by approaching the boss and smashing prompted keys, then rinse and repeat until he is dead. There is definitely a lack of variety and/or creativity here.

There are a few other game mechanics you'll want to consider, particularly the way health is done in this game, and how weapons are handled. Unfortunately, health in this game is determined by the size of your ego, which is a shield mechanic, regenerating when you cower in a corner. Ego boosts can be found throughout the levels, and slightly increase your health, so keep an eye out for all the things you can interact with, such as signing that kid's photo or winning a pool game. The game takes another cue from modern day games by adding a limit to the number of weapons you can tote around - 2, though there is now the option to up the limit to 4. Other special features include night vision glasses, steroids that make your melee attacks extremely powerful, beer that reduces the damage you take, or decoys because this new Duke isn't man enough to wear the hits.

The best part of this game is the crude humor and potshots at pop culture, though some are a bit dated. While the Olsen twins and Christian Bale's rant have pretty much been done to death, comments like "I hate valve puzzles" after solving a puzzle involving valves, or jumping over several gears only to say "Duke one, gears nothin'" brought a smile to my face, mostly in the same way that odd uncle does when he starts dropping bad, albeit creative, puns at any family gathering. And while that may be enough to carry some of my reviews, it just doesn't cut it in this game.

I stated earlier that this game is a tough one to review, and one reason why is its such a shame how far the king has fallen. I wanted desperately to like this game, but its fallen victim to modernity. It feels like the developers wanted Duke to fit in with the modern warfare and halo type shooters club, but that's not where Duke belongs. Cowering in a corner to regen health is not where Duke belongs. Using a decoy to avoid damage is not where duke belongs. Carrying only two weapons rather than every single piece of weaponry you come across is not where duke belongs. No, Duke belongs atop a pile of enemy bodies a mile high, firing a machine gun in each hand, smoking a cigar, while telling us he's all out of gum. That's where Duke should be.

So...pretty much this.

 I wish that was the game we had gotten, but instead DNF is a pretty mediocre game - it's not really bad, but it certainly isn't good either, and I could never stand playing more than an hour or so in one sitting, and that's when I'm trying to be objective and enjoy it for what it is. I picked it up about 5 months after release for $10, and that was really too much, even if it was 80% off the original price. Since then, I've seen it at $5 multiple times, during a Steam holiday sale and even during a midweek madness sale, and I wouldn't spend any more than that, though I will admit to having just picked up the DLCs, so we'll see if they've made any improvements there. What you'll get certainly isn't the greatest game to ever be made, but maybe if you find yourself with some free time - in my case, 8 hours - you could give it a shot, just don't try and play it all in one go, because no one can be that big of a masochist, since this game is a below average 4 out of 10.

So, the final breakdown:

Score: 4/10

Suggested Price: $5

Assassin's Creed Review

I picked up Assassin's Creed back in 2009, which I guess isn't too long after it was released. I remember thinking "Hey, I get to sneak around and kill tons of people, this looks like a great game." Well, turns out that this was a case of first impressions missing the mark, by quite a bit. Like WMDs of the nuke variety in Iraq kind of miss. Yeah.

You are Altair, a skilled, and extremely arrogant, assassin. You're also Desmond Miles, a guy just trying to get by in life, until he had the unfortunate occurrence of being kidnapped by a group of unsavory individuals. Now this may all seem confusing, but stay with me.

Ah, a prison with a view.

 

You see, there are two stories, and in a way, two games, that make up the Assassin's Creed experience. One is set in a present day/near future world, where you, as Desmond Miles, have been abducted.  It turns out you are special, because one of your ancestors played the key role in an important event during the Third Crusade. The group that abducted you, Abstergo Industries, knows this, and they have a machine which they can use to access your ancestors' memories, via the human body's ability to store genetic memories. It's through this portion of the game that we learn many of the more interesting aspects of the game's story: who is really behind your abduction, what do they want, and just what it could mean for humanity.

Your time as Desmond is purely story driven, and it rewards the curious individual that goes about exploring his prison, finding information on computers, or lifting clearance keys from unsuspecting personal. Honestly, this portion of the game was very engaging, even if there was no action.

An email marked classified? Don't mind if I do.

 

The vast majority of the time, you are that Altair guy. After an initial attempt to access the specific Altair memory Abstergo is interested in fails miserably, your are setup at the beginning of the chain of events that leads to that point. So you come in just in time to see some of the cool abilities and equipment assassins have, before you blow it all away by spitting on the code of conduct that rules the assassins - the assassin's creed.

Of course, your punishment for being such a pompous jerk is to be bumped back down to the bottom of totem pole, which includes giving up most of your abilities and equipment. After being conveniently retrained in the ways of the assassins, you are dispatched on a mission to kill your first target. Unfortunately, nothings easy, and you first have to gather information about this particular individual. It is here that the game takes a turn for the worse.

Deadliest. Gargoyle. Ever.

You see, each mission segment takes place in one of three districts - poor, middle, rich - in one of three cities - Damascus, Jerusalem, and Acre - and each follows the same pattern. Upon entering a new district for the first time (you are prevented from doing so until the specific mission is unlocked), you will find that your map is blank, so its time to climb some towers, lots of towers, actually, a lot of the same tower copied and pasted about 27 times through each city. Now that you can actually see what's going on, you can find the six errands you need to complete so you have enough information to assassinate your mark. There are 9 different types of errands you can complete, unless your on a console, in which case there are only 5. Oh, and 6 errands per mission with 9 missions, is a total of 54, so its safe to say you are going to have to pickpocket, or race, or interrogate, or eavesdrop, plenty of times. Thankfully, you don't have to actually complete all 6 errands to unlock the assassination event, but the information any errand above the required minimum provides is "helpful."

If you can't tell, the above is a bit of a sore point for me. I took the time to do every errand, climb every tower, save every citizen, etc. While there are certain benefits to doing this, such as being able to locate everything on your map, or utilize the NPCs that are spawned when you save citizens to help escape detection, or knowing that your target leaves the back door to his chamber open, the impact such actions make is minor, and not really worth the time it takes to do it. If you do pick this up, save yourself a whole hell of a lot of hassle, and just do the very minimum. Trust me on this one.

Hmmm, which one doesn't belong?

The funny thing though, is that while your missions, the environments, and essentially the game itself, is a lesson in redundancy, the core mechanics that underpin the whole thing, are pretty cool. As an assassin, you are supposed to be an unseen, deadly force. The game supports this notion, in that you can take high profile and low profile actions, which will draw the respective amount of attention to you - think, pulling out a sword and cutting a guy's head off, versus cautiously stabbing him in that back, and walking away before he even hits the ground. If you are detected, every guy with a weapon that sees you will attack, and there are a lot of them walking the streets of the war torn middle east. So you need to escape, and hide until they stop looking for you, which is done by using various objects, like hay stacks, to disappear, once you have broken line of sight. Consider avoiding situations like this if at all possible.

For those that would rather spit on the assassin's creed themselves, your combat options are pretty cool too. The hidden blade is a great tool for sneaking up on someone and quickly dispatching them, or any time you can catch someone off kilter. Likewise, throwing knives are perfect for taking care of that pesky archer. Most of the time though, you'll be faced with groups of enemies, 4-5 is not uncommon, and that means a real blade. It can be a little tough to get a strike in, while avoiding being attacked yourself, but pretty early on you learn the counter ability, and once you do, it doesn't matter if you were facing 100 enemies, combat becomes very, very easy.

You would think that with all these bodies on the ground, the last guy would get the hint.

Its really the story that drives the game, and I have to say Ubisoft did an excellent job there. The novelty of the combat will wear off as the game progresses, and even the way you move around, hoping up posts and beams, and scampering up walls, which invokes the feeling of a third person version of Mirrors Edge, loses its luster after long enough. The key to enjoying this game is really to only do the minimum required to advance, otherwise you feel like you're banging your head against a wall, and that is quite disappointing, because it feels like this game could have been so much more, if not for the poor mission options, and a few other extremely repetitive parts of the game.

I picked this up for $10, but because of what the game is, I wished it had been $5 or less. Note that I did get the sequel, before I even played this one, for $7, so its sure to be around in that price range. Still, for my investment, I got around 20 hours of gameplay, though I can't say I enjoyed all of it, and that's reflected in my final score. Hopefully, the new environment and characters of the second can rise above the trappings of redundancy in this one, which is an average game, at 5 out of 10.

So, the final breakdown:

Score: 5/10

Suggested Price: $5

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed Video Review

The video review for Star Wars: The Force Unleashed is now available.