Sorry to all that I haven't been watering the blog much recently, and that no podcast went up this week; I've been working, Mark is staying at Michael's house, and life is generally getting in the way of our sorry excuse for a gaming blog. Anyways, the reason I actually started this post was to talk a little about Assassin's Creed 2, which I beat this afternoon.
To start with, a big comment on just how good this game has already been mentioned; I beat it quickly, in fact before I had beaten both Dragon Age and Borderlands (getting there guys). This second installment really does propel you through it, with much tighter pacing than the first, and a much more interesting story. I do have to say that playing the Assassin's Creed 1 will really help you understand "what.the.fuck." is going on (there's a reason I put that in quotes, you'll see).
All in all, AC2 always gives you something to do, and feels shorter than the 25 hours or so that it is(which is a good thing, to clarify).
I've already talked a bit about the mechanics that underpin the action in this here video game, and my thoughts earlier on were more or less correct; everything has been made just a little bit better, though the climbing is still occasionally unwieldy. Of the new armaments in the game, namely poison, a gun and TWO WRIST BLADES, only the one in caps is really important.
There are a stack of other improvements, but I don't need to list them; suffice to say, Assassin's Creed 2 is fantastic. On one final note, the game has one of the more cliffhanger endings you'll see in a video game, much like the first, but guess what? Assassin's Creed 2 has by far the best end game credits ever. Nothing even comes close.
This is Dennis, saying go buy that game.
Friday, December 4, 2009
Alien vs. Predator Banned in Australia...
Some of you may or may not be aware that Sega was planning to release an Aliens vs. Predator game for 360, PS3 and PC in February of next year. It seems at this point Australia will not be receiving that game. It has just been refused classification by the OFLC and Sega decided not to attempt to tone down the violence factor for a similar case with German censors. Refusing classification means that the game will not be able to be sold on Australian shores.
The OFLC claims up close and gruesome decapatation and other violent acts are the reason for the ban. Some of the things in the game definitely sound worthy of an R 18+ rating, which of course Australia does not have. In our next podcast we will be discussing a few things to do with R 18+ ratings and the OFLC, and gamers' favourite Attorney General, Michael Atkinson.
If you're interested in the game or the ban, be sure to check out this report.
The OFLC claims up close and gruesome decapatation and other violent acts are the reason for the ban. Some of the things in the game definitely sound worthy of an R 18+ rating, which of course Australia does not have. In our next podcast we will be discussing a few things to do with R 18+ ratings and the OFLC, and gamers' favourite Attorney General, Michael Atkinson.
If you're interested in the game or the ban, be sure to check out this report.
Thursday, December 3, 2009
BFBC2 PC Specifications announced!
If you're as excited about Battlefield: Bad Company 2 as we are, then you'll be interested to know that the minimum and recommended PC specs are out. There is already a PS3 Beta for the game and a PC beta will be starting early next year, according to the game's blog. The recommended specs include a quad-core processor and a 512MB Graphics card, so you might want to consider an upgrade or two before March next year, if you're a die hard fan.
Click here for the full list.
Click here for the full list.
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
DLC for Major Titles Inbound! (Also, we're not dead!)
The good news for gamers this holiday season is that their favourite games do not have to end. Both Ubisoft's Assassin's Creed 2 and BioWare's Dragon Age: Origins will see DLC this summer, with 2 new DLC downloads becoming available for Assassin's Creed early next year and several DLC pieces planned for Dragon Age. Assassins Creed 2 will see "the Battle of Forli" and "the Bonfire of Vanities" which still lack more details, while Dragon Age will see "Return to Ostagar" in which the player returns to an early area of the game to learn more about the ruins of Ostagar and get some new epic loot!
Additionally, as a blog we are not dead, just playing a lot of MW2 and a few other games. We will start updating the blog regularly as of now....I hope. And fear not! A new podcast is coming up before the end of the week.
So stay tuned for more ranting and occasional gaming news!
Additionally, as a blog we are not dead, just playing a lot of MW2 and a few other games. We will start updating the blog regularly as of now....I hope. And fear not! A new podcast is coming up before the end of the week.
So stay tuned for more ranting and occasional gaming news!
Monday, November 23, 2009
PodTurtles Ep4 - Holidays Go
Yes we are lazy.
Not really, we all had exams (I still do) and thus our gaming playing abilities were severed. Alas Mark, Dennis and I have all been playing Modern Warfare 2 and Dragon Age: Origins. Dennis has also been playing Assassins Creed 2 and has tried the Left 4 Dead 2 Demo, Tropico 3 Demo and the Gyromancer demo. Due to lack of material we also talk about things that aren't games.
You can listen to the podcast here with the embedded player or alternatively download it here.
The podcast is 49 minutes and 30 seconds long, so ignore any lies to podcast puts upon you.
AC2 thoughts
Assassin's Creed was an ambitious game. A massive city, a free running assassin, blades hidden in wrists... The game had it all. What it lacked, however, was any real mission variety that could keep a player from getting bored after the first 3 hours. The game had a fair few other problems too, though I must say I ultimately enjoyed it quite a lot.
The problem of repetitive missions and very little to do are gone in the second Assassin's Creed outing. For those not following, the series follows one Desmond Miles, bartender extraordinaire, who in the first game is kidnapped by an evil corporation run by Templars who force him to relive the life of an assassin that exists in his genetic memory, in order to learn the location of a "piece of Eden", the items that have allowed them to rule over the world. If you didn't get all that don't be too fussed, as the second game opens with a cinematic explaining (far better than I did), the plot of the first game.
AC2 opens with Desmond leaving the Templar's offices with the help of Lucy, an assassin(who by the way are the sworn enemies of the Templars in this universe). You are then promptly put back in to the life of another ancestor who killed people, this time one Ezio Auditore, an Italian upper-middle class citizen, who (for very good reasons), begins murdering rather a few Templars.
The story I will not go into more than that, but it's suitably well written stuffed with conspiracies. The real reason you should be here is to learn about how un-boring the second Assassin's Creed is; in short, it is in every way superior to it's predecessor.
To begin with, the character of Ezio. This guy is actually a man before he is an Assassin, and unlike Altair, who while incredibly badass was ultimately just a cipher, Ezio really is a character. His job as second son in his family seems to involve a lot of womanizing and fighting, and the development of the young man as a rascal to a hardened killer is noticeable; the game's plot spans a number of years.
Moving on from character, we have all the shit you can do in AC2. The main story still involves assassinations, but no longer are there mandatory eavesdropping missions before hand. All of the side quests really are side quests now, and are completely optional. Not only are they optional, but there are a hell of a lot more of them, including actual assassination missions.
The second big addition comes in the form of an economy, and a village. You can now buy new weapons and armour for Ezio, and pickpocket civilians to earn the money you use. You also earn money from the completion of missions, of course, and as income from your wonderful villa. This is a big addition; about two hours into the game your Italian countryside castle is opened up. You will slowly nurture the aging mansion, and it's included village, back into a popular tourist destination. Essentially, you invest money into it, and you get money back. The system works nicely; you go back every once in a while to do some stuff and collect your rather large bags of money.
The actual gameplay remains much the same as Assassin's Creed the first, with the only real addition to combat being disarming. There are some new toys, such as smokebombs, and additions to the wristblade; you have two of them, they can poison fools, and shoot people in the face.
I'm kind of getting tired of writing, so I'll continue this later; suffice to say, Assassin's Creed 2 is pretty good.
The problem of repetitive missions and very little to do are gone in the second Assassin's Creed outing. For those not following, the series follows one Desmond Miles, bartender extraordinaire, who in the first game is kidnapped by an evil corporation run by Templars who force him to relive the life of an assassin that exists in his genetic memory, in order to learn the location of a "piece of Eden", the items that have allowed them to rule over the world. If you didn't get all that don't be too fussed, as the second game opens with a cinematic explaining (far better than I did), the plot of the first game.
AC2 opens with Desmond leaving the Templar's offices with the help of Lucy, an assassin(who by the way are the sworn enemies of the Templars in this universe). You are then promptly put back in to the life of another ancestor who killed people, this time one Ezio Auditore, an Italian upper-middle class citizen, who (for very good reasons), begins murdering rather a few Templars.
The story I will not go into more than that, but it's suitably well written stuffed with conspiracies. The real reason you should be here is to learn about how un-boring the second Assassin's Creed is; in short, it is in every way superior to it's predecessor.
To begin with, the character of Ezio. This guy is actually a man before he is an Assassin, and unlike Altair, who while incredibly badass was ultimately just a cipher, Ezio really is a character. His job as second son in his family seems to involve a lot of womanizing and fighting, and the development of the young man as a rascal to a hardened killer is noticeable; the game's plot spans a number of years.
Moving on from character, we have all the shit you can do in AC2. The main story still involves assassinations, but no longer are there mandatory eavesdropping missions before hand. All of the side quests really are side quests now, and are completely optional. Not only are they optional, but there are a hell of a lot more of them, including actual assassination missions.
The second big addition comes in the form of an economy, and a village. You can now buy new weapons and armour for Ezio, and pickpocket civilians to earn the money you use. You also earn money from the completion of missions, of course, and as income from your wonderful villa. This is a big addition; about two hours into the game your Italian countryside castle is opened up. You will slowly nurture the aging mansion, and it's included village, back into a popular tourist destination. Essentially, you invest money into it, and you get money back. The system works nicely; you go back every once in a while to do some stuff and collect your rather large bags of money.
The actual gameplay remains much the same as Assassin's Creed the first, with the only real addition to combat being disarming. There are some new toys, such as smokebombs, and additions to the wristblade; you have two of them, they can poison fools, and shoot people in the face.
I'm kind of getting tired of writing, so I'll continue this later; suffice to say, Assassin's Creed 2 is pretty good.
Monday, November 16, 2009
Podcast?
For the 18 imaginary people who listen to our podcast, PodTurtles, and the one real person who does (me), there is no PodTurtles this week. We're all in the middle of exams, and also there are a lot of games that we're playing, rather than talking about. You can expect another PodTurtles next week, with Modern Warfare 2, among other things.
Sorry guys.
Sorry guys.
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