Assassin's Creed (PS3, Xbox 360)

Reviewed on Xbox 360 and PS3, available on Xbox 360, PS3, and PC

The game that would spawn a franchise

I have to admit, I was highly resistant to playing Assassin's Creed upon it's initial release. But after a few months, I borrowed the game from a friend, and became instantly hooked. Now, after announcing its 6th console installment, Assassin's Creed has become one of the longer game series to hit console. While each game is arguably improved from the last, the original will always be the top to me personally.

Enter the ancient world of Altaïr, a highly professional and experienced member of a group of assassins. The village where the assassins are based is attacked by the Templars - an ancient religious crusade that is bent on control over the region. Events occur, and Altaïr is charged with gathering information about high value targets, ultimately leading to their assassinations. Although this is a generalization, it summarizes the core of the game pretty well.

Restraint allows you to hide in plain sight

Stealth is a primary factor in Assassin's Creed, ranging from unnoticed to high target. Although Altaïr is more than capable of handling himself in a direct fight, the enemy is numerous and persistent. It's best to lose the enemy in the crowd, hide in a well, or run far away until your status has returned to an anonymous rating. There are a large amount of ways to hide yourself, and many of them are amusing when successful.

Enemies are numerous when discovered

But it seems there is always a downside to great games, and in Assassin's Creed, the downside comes in the form of a strange sci-fi twist. Desmond is your average guy living in modern times who is somehow related to the ancient assassin Altaïr. He is being forced by a shadowy organization to relive the memories of his DNA via some advanced machinery. This entire mini story is muddy at best, and frequently pulls away from the real game to annoy you with vague dialogue.

Scenery is gorgeous, and cities are busy

Gameplay - 9/10
There is rarely anything quite as pleasing as lunging two stories and diving your blade into the neck of an evil overlord. Stealth and assassinations are definitely the highlight to game play, with lots of side quests and things to do. Direct combat can become obnoxious at times, and the game itself begins to become repetitive after a certain point. All these points taken into account, the game still deserves a high score for satisfaction.

Design - 8/10
The visuals and sounds are high quality and fitting. The interface is smooth and carries the appropriate theme for the game. Story wise, it gets a little repetitive in the middle, but shines at the beginning and end. Cities are busy and filled with dozens of people at any time, while looking fantastic from any angle. Character personalities are general, with no real complexity. Everything with Desmond's story is pretty pointless and unnecessary in all honesty.

Replay - 6/10
After the game, there are collectibles you can run around and collect, along with achievement hunting like usual. Other than that, not much value from replaying.

Final - 23/30 Good but not perfect
Like most single player games, this game is great the first time around. The experience of hunting from the shadows and hiding in plain sight definitely feels pretty bad ass. Visuals are great and cinematic quality at almost all times. To truly enjoy this game, its best to continue with the sequels, and I highly recommend this game to anyone who enjoys stealth or action games.

Recommended Buying Price: No more than 20$

Heavy Rain (PS3)

Reviewed on PS3, available on PS3

Before I owned my PS3, my friends spoke of Heavy Rain as some sort of revolutionary new title that will break and reform the industry. After playing the demo at a friend's house, I was intrigued enough to convince  myself to buy a PS3 and the game. My result (after completing this game) was the experience of a truly unique game, although clearly with its flaws.

Heavy Rain is a story-based game, where actions develop into consequences that ultimately fully create the ending (be it a happy or dark twisted ending). Players will control 1 of 4 characters to guide their interactions with their environment, and choices through dialog or action scenes. During action scenes, buttons will flash on the screen (typically to avoid danger of some sort) and give the players only a moment to correctly react.

Can I be a good father to my son?

Often times failing to correctly react only suffers a minor consequence:

• Your character receives a black eye or a cut
• Your character drops their bag of groceries
• Your character drives their car through construction

But on occasion, major consequences will be had:

• Your character shoots someone innocent
• Your character is arrested by the police
• Your character is killed

So let's say your specific character is killed by a psychopathic murder, what happens now? The story continues and the game goes on. There is never a "game over, you lose" screen due to your action (or inaction). In fact, if you really wanted to, its possible to play and have all 4 of the character die. The game's world is yours to bend, be it intentionally, or unintentionally.

The choice is yours, but nothing is black-and-white in this game.

Gameplay - 8/10
While understanding the game is a little rough (and dull) at the beginning, the game eventually becomes familiar and very intense. The suspense grows increasing more with every chapter, and the game becomes difficult to put down. Downsides consist mostly of trying to correctly perform an action, and accidentally (and repetitively) doing it incorrectly. These difficulties are often more humorous than trouble, and did not affect the flavor of the game for me personally.

Design - 12/10 (Extra credit)
Although graphics are not an all-time high, details definitely are here. Characters display emotion well, and the music is fitting and filled with emotion. Voice acting is done well all across the board, and the story is dark and involving. Environments are detailed, and often prompt a ton of interactions. Scenery's lighting changes with the story, from bright and optimistic, to dark and twisted.

Replay - 4/10
It is tempting to go back and change elements of the story to see what the result may be. What if I don't dodge that punch? What if I crash the car? What if I let this person die? The combinations and results feel overwhelming, but ultimately the story is truly at its best the first time around. There wasn't really any demand for DLC, and therefore the game is best kept to lend to friends or revisit the experience after time.

Final - 24/30 Definitely Worth Playing
In my opinion, there is no video game with a story as powerful as Heavy Rain's. You are drawn in, you feel apart of what is happening - because you are. Choices range from shaking the orange juice, to self mutilation and suicide. There truly aren't many other words to describe this game without ruining it, so I'll just leave it with this - play this game.

Recommended Buying Price: No more than 20$

Unholy War (PS1)

Reviewed on PS1, available on PS1

I came across this classic in my youth, and had no idea what I was getting in to. Unholy War is a turn-based strategy/action game, developed by Crystal Dynamics (at the time, quite the heavy hitter in the game industry). This game took me by surprise, with high quality 3D graphics, highly refined characters, multiple game modes, and smooth game play. Unfortunately, the game was released before 4-player was standard for PS1, and thus was strictly duel-style showdowns.

The primary mode for this game was strategy mode. Players would pick their team: either the beast and tribal Arcane, or the technological invaders Tekno. Both sides composed of 7 characters each (total 14) of which were totally unique and did not have reflections of themselves on the opposing team. Even to this day, its practically unheard of to have a strategy game where the teams aren't copy-and-paste of each other, save for a few minor changes.

Strategic mode allowed resource collection and unit training

The maps were typically symmetrical grids, with each side having its own base. Resources could be gathered from particular nodes, and characters would be created and moved along the grid to engage each other. The position of two characters who were fighting one another would define what setting they would battle in once the fight began.

Stages were varied and unique from each other

When two characters engaged each other, the game switches from an over-the-top strategy into a 3-dimensional, fast-paced action game. The player(s) are given direct control over their character, and must use their characters abilities and the terrain to kill their opponent. Strengths and weaknesses really come into play here, and the winner of the fight remains on the board (damage intact) whilst the loser is destroyed.

Showdown between invading machine and native beast

Gameplay - 10/10
To this day, strategy games fail to pull me in like Unholy War did, missing the depth and connection to each and every unit you have on the battlefield. The A.I. was neither too easy nor too hard, and played in a competitive manner. For player vs. player, it was exciting, competitive, and involving. This is all the more impressive, considering it is a console game (considered to be poor for strategy games). For a gameplay score, Unholy War receives a perfect score.

Design - 8/10
Visually, the game's characters was remarkable. Each had tons of personality poured into its being, giving you a full sense of what or who you are supposed to be playing as. The 3D battle environments were also very well detailed, from rocks, trees, and streams in a field, to conveyor belts and neon green lights of the techno factories. Sound effects were also strong and fitting in all cases. The only thing stopping a perfect score here was the slightly dull layout of the strategy maps, and the often dull music. Also, the story's entire plot was "fight fight fight" with no real progression or purpose. These flaws are easily overlooked considering the rest of this impressive game.


Replay - 7/10
The entire campaign is fun in doses, and both sides are entirely worth playing. Unfortunately, there are only so many ways you can play each map, and thus strategy mode quickly loses its edge when playing against the computer. When against another player, or when playing in Arcade mode (consisting entirely of just 3D battles) the replay value significantly increases. The only real problem that arises here is discouragement when one player clearly has a skill advantage over another.


Final - 25/30 Outstanding Game
It is unfortunate that Unholy War did not receive the notice it deserved, perhaps due to being ahead of its time. The game is a classic that I had the fortune of coming across, and still play to this day. I have yet to see another game attempt to become the spiritual successor of Unholy War, most likely due to the twin gameplay aspects being threatening to the console gaming demographic. If you have the extra 20-30$ to spare, buy this game off of eBay or Amazon, invite a friend over, and pop this bad boy into your PS3.