FIRST IMPRESSIONS: Assassin's Creed III

I have now been playing Assassin's Creed III for roughly 7 hours and thought I'd do a little first impressions segment on how the game is going. Note that this is not a full review and does not indicate what my final impressions upon completing the game will be. The full review should be up within the next week and a half but until then hopefully this will hold you over.

So in my 7 hours of gameplay, I have focused solely on the single-player but will be trying multiplayer later tonight. I have currently finished 5 out of the 12 sequences, with the 5th sequence taking me a good 2 and a half hours to complete. From what I have been told, the remainder of the sequences are as long or longer than the 5th sequence, so I still have quite a ways to go.

[WARNING: THE FIRST SENTENCE, WHICH I HAVE ALIENATED FROM THE PARAGRAPH, CONTAINS A MINOR STORY SPOILER]

The first three sequences of the game are not played from Connor's perspective, but rather, his father Haytham's.

The first mission is pretty fun and gets you used to the basic controls of climbing. The rest of the sequence is quite slow and introduces you to most of the combat controls. The combat in this game is significantly different from the previous games, and although it takes some getting used to, I find it to be a nice change. The 2nd and 3rd sequences are where the real fun begins. At this time, the game becomes much less linear, and although you will still be going through some minor tutorials such as gunplay or eavesdropping, it is significantly less annoying and slow. There are quite a few side missions present at this time which you can choose to do, or you can focus on the main quest. Each main quest mission provides the option to try and "Full Synch" the memory, such as in Brotherhood, except there are multiple conditions/restrictions which all add up to the full synch.

Two of the new mechanics I have also been introduced to as of the 4th and 5th sequences are hunting and ship battles. Hunting is the main way to get materials and/or money in the game, and it requires ALOT of patience. It is impossible to hunt by simply running around as fast as you can out in the open, unless you are fighting a hostile animal such as a wolf or a bear. Deer, rabbits, foxes, otters, etc all require that you sneak while blended with the environment. It also depends on what weapon you kill them with, as some weapons, such as guns or arrows, may ruin the fur and give you significantly less material/money.

Ship battles are extremely fun. The ship has three speeds: no sails (stop), half sail (slow) or full sail (fast). While full sails are up, the boat is harder to steer but goes much faster while when there are half sails, the ship is easier to maneuver but goes significantly slower. Also, you must play close attention to the direction of the wind, as it can seriously screw you up if you have your full sails up. Cannons are controlled by the R1 button (note that I am playing the PS3 version) and the gun (can't remember what it's called) is controlled by the L1 button. You are also encouraged to brace by pressing square when being shot at.

One final thing I will talk about briefly is Desmond gameplay. While most of his gameplay is similar to previous games: walking around the environment talking to NPCs and reading emails, he also has sequences of his own. I have, so far, done one of these sequences, and all I will say is that the environments are great and if you enjoyed the Assassin's Tombs in previous games, you'll like his gameplay.

That wraps up my First Impressions of Assassin's Creed III. I look forward to finishing the game and writing a full review.

Giuliano V.

TOP 7: Halo Weapons

With Halo 4 being released next week, I thought it’d be a good idea to take a look at some of the things that made Halo games as enjoyable as they are, and because it was such a special number to Bungie, who have unfortunately, moved onto to developing other things, I’ve decided to do 7 lists of 7.

To start things off with a bang, I’m going to name my top 7 choices of weapons, yes, those wonderful tools that fire projectiles in all the colours of the rainbow, which can melt faces or perforate with lead. Choosing which of them made the list was exceedingly difficult, like choosing a favourite child, but here we go…

7) Needler

The Needler was introduced in Halo: Combat Evolved,  and at first glance this little weapon seemed kind of useless. Its pink needles would fly sluggishly through the air tracking their targets, easily dodged at long ranges, and when they made contact, they appeared to do minimal damage. The true beauty of this weapon was when it was used at medium-close range, where the needles were much harder to dodge and you could hit an enemy with a burst of 6-8 needles, upon which the enemy would instantly die in a bright pink explosion. Not only was it extremely rewarding to see Elites die in pulse of pink death, but they gave the Needler a significant buff in Halo 3 and Reach, making it even more lethal. In Halo 2 it was dual-wieldable, but its effectiveness was significantly reduced. To this day, the Needler remains the comic relief of the Halo weapons.

6) Spartan Laser (AKA: Splazer)

Despite being a relatively new addition to the Halo series, making its debut in Halo 3, the Spartan Laser has in my mind earned its place among the best Halo weapons. With the accuracy of a Sniper Rifle and the stopping power of a Rocket Launcher, it’s both an anti-vehicular and anti-infantry weapon, and it kicks ass. I don’t think any other weapon is so superbly effective against vehicles, being able to accurately destroy them across a map, and also, it’s a laser, it’s like your own personal mini-Death Star, and it’s awesome.

5) Rocket Launcher (AKA: Rocks)

The Rocket Launcher was introduced in Halo: Combat Evolved and the name should give you an idea of what it does. Not all that unique to Halo, but many a game has been won by careful and effective use of this wonderful implement of destruction. Plus the splash damage it causes is ridiculous.

4)  Energy Sword 

 The Energy Sword was introduced back in Halo: CE but it wasn’t actually possible to use until Halo 2. The sword is just plain fun to use, especially when you have active-camo.  Assuming the enemy doesn’t have an over shield, the Energy Sword will kill them with one swipe, and can lunge a good distance very quickly. As a rule of thumb when against someone with an energy sword; if their shields are up and they’re running at you from a somewhat close distance, turn and run.

3) Magnum

Long-time fans of this weapon should know this weapon quite well, and I’d imagine some of them would take umbrage to the fact that it’s number 3. The pistol has gone through a lot of changes since its debut. The magnum was introduced in Halo: CE, where it was completely overpowered, a few shots to the head could kill someone, it had a large magazine, a decent fire rate and its range was comparable to a sniper. In Halo 2 it was nerfed to the point where it was useless, as they increased the fire rate but took away both its power and the magnification level that was so conducive to its range. In Halo 3 the magnum’s power was almost restored to its previous glory, but the scope was still missing, and the fire rate was reduced. In ODST, they essentially took the Halo 2 magnum, and added a scope and increased its killing power, but still, not the level of the Halo: CE magnum. Finally, in Reach, the pistol was returned to its original state, but with one nerf that made it so it wasn’t as overpowered, which is that they reduced the magazine size, so it returns to being a little death dealer, but not so much so that it renders using other weapons useless Now there is where fanboys will ask what could possibly beat the magnum, to which the answers are simple.

2) Sniper Rifle

Once again, a very apt name for the weapon is, a sniper rifle, but it’s also so much more. To me, the Sniper represents the epitome of Halo finesse, the perfect killing instrument for the Halo player who wants to do more than wade into a firefight spraying and pray. If it weren’t for the relative scarcity of the Sniper in regular playlists, it would probably be my top choice, but alas, the Sniper Rifle is not readily available, and as such must be viewed as a gift to be cherished whenever possible, but not to be relied upon at all times.  On a side note; I used to have a sniper with me at all times, in the form of a keychain. :P 

    1) Battle Rifle (AKA: BR)

Well, here we are the best weapon in Halo. Sure, other weapons might look cooler, do more damage and more people rush for them at the beginning of a match (assuming you don’t spawn with it), but, aside from the Sniper, no other weapon is as reliable or as deadly in the right hands. I may be slightly biased in this regard, but I didn’t consider a match of Halo to be complete unless you spawned with a Battle Rifle. The BR was first introduced in Halo 2, but was sadly missing from both ODST and Reach. If nothing else, at least Halo 4 is bringing the BR back.

Honourable Mention:

Plasma Pistol

Carbine

Riley D.

UPDATE: Halo Week

Just like we did with Assassin's Creed, we will be doing a countdown to the next installment of the Halo series for the entire week leading up to its release. Riley will be providing "Top 7" segments every day until the eventual release of Halo 4 so stay tuned for the first one tomorrow.

Giuliano V.

TOP 5: Things To Look Forward To In Assassin's Creed III

The Assassin's Creed III release date is just around the corner, so to finish my Top 5: Assassin's Creed segment I am going to talk about the Top 5 things I am looking forward to in the upcoming game.

Number Five: Daniel Cross' Video Game Debut

The first thing I am looking forward to in Assassin's Creed III is the debut of Master Templar Daniel Cross. Daniel has played an insanely important role in the Assassin's Creed Universe, yet aside from a small mention in the multiplayer segment of Revelations, has yet to appear in an Assassin's Creed game. Assassin's Creed III will mark the debut of Daniel as he comes into direct conflict with Desmond. How this plays out will be interesting indeed.


Number Four: Connor Kenway, the New Ancestor

It has been three years since the Assassin's Creed franchise has seen a fresh face in the series. Assassin's Creed III will introduce a new ancestor of Desmond's: Connor Kenway. Connor is a Native American Assassin at the time of the American Revolution. He has been described as being more offensive than Ezio or Altair, and while the previous ancestors have been compared to eagles, Connor is being compared to a wolf. It will be nice to have a change in character after all these years and I am looking forward to playing as such a bad-ass character.


Number Three: Ship Battles

Another thing I am extremely excited for in Assassin's Creed III are the ship battles. I am an extremely big fan of the Pirates of the Caribbean film franchise, and this type of gameplay seems like the perfect mix between my favorite game and movie franchise. I am very excited to command a ship and blow some Templar ass out of the water.


Number Two: Desmond Gameplay

Finally, after four long games of waiting, we actually get to play as Desmond in more than just walking around Abstergo or running around Monteriggioni. It has been reported that Desmond's gameplay will make up roughly 20% of the game, being around 2 sequences full of content, including assassination contracts and "Zelda-style" gameplay. I have been waiting a LONG time to play as Desmond and kick some ass, I hope it is worth the wait. Who knows, maybe there will even be a nice boss fight with a certain rival Templar coughDanielCrosscough.


Number One: The End of Desmond's Journey

This is it. Ubisoft has announced that Assassin's Creed III will be the final game to feature Desmond, which means his story is finally coming to an end. We will finally find out how and if Desmond will save the world. We will finally find out who will win, Assassins or Templars. We will finally find out who lives and who dies. We will finally have all our questions answered and it is a mere 24 hours away. Five games have led to this moment, let's hope it ends with a bang...hopefully not literally or else that will be quite disappointing. 


Alright, that wraps up my Top 5 segment for Assassin's Creed. Tomorrow Halo Week will begin and Riley will be doing a "Top 7" segment every day until release while I enjoy Assassin's Creed III.

Giuliano V.  

      

ARTICLE: Playstation All-Stars Vs. Super Smash Bros.

Since the announcement of Playstation All-Stars: Battle Royale, a war between the Playstation fanboys and the Nintendo fanboys has sparked over which game is better. I own both Nintendo and Playstation systems and have played both games, and personally feel that they are both good in their own ways.

That being said, I am writing this article NOT to say which game is better, but rather, which cast of characters would win in an all out brawl. My friends and I, who are fanboys of neither system, have paired each Playstation All-Star with a Super Smash Brother rival to face off. Below we will discuss who wins each battle and eventually declare one side the ultimate victor.

Please note that the battles are NOT based on the versions of the characters featured in the fighting games, but rather, the characters using their entire history of gaming. In the case where neither me or my friends have played one of the franchises which one of the characters originates, we will likely base their battle off of how they play in their respective fighting game.

Battle 1: Sackboy vs. Mario

The reason we put these two fighters together is because they are both considered the family-friendly mascots of their respective companies. Sackboy has some very unique qualities, being able to use a variety of different gadgets and travel around worlds created purely from other people's imagination. On the other hand, Mario has a long history, and in such, he has had access to tons of different powerups and has saved three different lands, and even the galaxy twice. In the end, it came down to the fact that Sackboy is made of flammable material, and Mario is able to wield fire. Mario takes this match.


Battle 2: Sly Cooper vs. Lucario

 
To be quite honest, I am unable to give you exactly a concrete reason as to why we paired these two fighters up other than that they are both blue, are both animals, and are both acrobatic. In this battle, we can see Sly Cooper using his mastery of stealth to keep himself hidden from Lucario and sneak attack him when he least expects it. Unfortunately, we also believe that Lucario would have great reflexes, and being the master fighter that he is, would probably prove to be quite a tough match for Sly. When it comes down to it, the ultimate victor would likely be Lucario, especially since he becomes stronger the more time goes on.


Battle 3: Big Daddy vs. King Dedede

  
The reason we put these two fighters together is because they are both the powerhouses of their fighting game. In a match between Big Daddy and King Dedede, we can see a heavy battle ensuing. While Dedede's only weapon is his hammer, he does have an army of Waddle Dees at hand and has a ton of tricks up his sleeves. On the other hand, Big Daddy is simply deadly, and isn't going to show any restraint or mercy, not to mention that he is probably faster than Dedede. In the end, we believe Big Daddy would emerge victorious from this battle.


Battle 4: Fat Princess vs. Princess Peach

It is pretty obvious why we paired these two princesses together. We don't know much about Fat Princess as we have never played her game, but we know enough about Princess Peach to make a decent prediction about the fight. In most of the games, Princess Peach is pretty useless. She gets captured at least three times a year and rarely even puts up a fight. Fat Princess, on the other hand, is the protagonist of her game, which means she is the one doing the fighting, not to mention she has an army of minions at her disposal, whom the Toads would probably get destroyed by. Peach also seems to make alot of cake, which means Fat Princess would have an endless supply of power should she ever choose to attack Princess Peach's castle. Fat Princess takes this cake (and likely eats it).


Battle 5: Colonel Radec vs. Samus Aran

Samus Aran and Colonel Radec, both masters of ranged combat, are perfect matches for eachother. We believe that this would be one of the best matches between any Playstation All-Star and Super Smash Brother (or sister in this case). While none of us have played a Killzone game, we can tell the type of weapons at Radec's disposal by playing the Playstation All-Stars Beta, and they seem to be a mix of modern weaponry and futuristic weaponry. On the other hand, Samus' entire arsenal is full of highly-powerful futuristic weapons, ranging from the Ice Beam to the Plasma Beam to even highly concentrated doses of Phazon. Sorry Killzone fans, but Samus Aran seems to be the obvious victor of this battle. 


Battle 6: Kratos vs. Link

We put these two together because they are both blade-wielding warriors from highly successful series in their respective companies. If this were a battle of popularity, I'm sure Link would stand a chance against Kratos, but unfortunately, it is not. There isn't much to be said here. Kratos is brutal and shows no mercy or hesitation, Link would likely be dead within seconds of this match and probably would not have put up much of a fight. Kratos is one of the single, most deadly warriors on the Playstation All-Stars roster and is not a force to be reckoned with. Kratos wins.


Battle 7: Spike vs. Diddy Kong

The reason we paired this duo together is due to Spike's game of origination: Ape Escape. Diddy Kong is a pesky little monkey who always seems to escape his pursuers, as seen in the Subspace Emissary or Donkey Kong Country 2. Spike, on the other hand, has A LOT of experience capturing and combating monkeys. This would definitely be an interesting battle, but we think because of Spike's experience, he would likely emerge victorious from this battle.


Battle 8: Toro vs. Luigi

Our reason for this pairing is because we see Toro as the Japanese mascot for Sony, so we thought he should fight the mascot of Nintendo's brother: Luigi. We will be quite honest, we know virtually nothing about Toro. We are basing this battle entirely off of the gameplay we have seen of him in Playstation All-Stars. Luigi, on the other hand, we know has the exact same history as Mario, has the exact same arsenal of powerups at his disposal, and also has a vacuum, which we know kitties hate. We are sorry if we are being a little biased with this choice, but we think Luigi wins this battle.


Battle 9: PaRappa vs. Kirby

Both of them are cute, both of them are lovable, and both of them add a lot of fun into their games. This battle is a little bit unfair though, because Kirby is basically a weapon of mass destruction disguised as a little pink ball. We think Kirby is up there with Kratos as one of the deadliest fighters, being able to literally mimic any opponent thrown at him. For this reason, Kirby will win this battle against PaRappa, although if it was a battle of cuteness...well...he probably would still win.


Battle 10: Sweet Tooth vs. Wario

Both of these red-nosed fat guys ride vehicles and love to cause misfortune for others. Wario is a pretty bad guy and has some pretty badass weapons at his disposal: his garlic breath, his heavy belly, his powerful mollars, and most of all, his nuclear farts. But, much like with Kratos, we think Sweet Tooth is going to pretty badly mess up Wario. He'd probably cut his head off and glue that mustache onto his car or something... Sweet Tooth is definitely the more deadly combatant in this fight.


Battle 11: Nathan Drake vs. Solid Snake

Alot of people might argue that Snake should be fighting on the Playstation side of this conflict, but he was in Super Smash Bros., so we gotta face the facts. Both Snake and Drake use a variety of weapons in their games. Nathan Drake's biggest asset is probably his incredible amount of luck. Who knows, maybe he'd dodge every bullet, grenade, and rocket that Snake would throw at him. Yet, Snake is also the professional assassin, and he's got the element of surprise on his side. Better be careful which box you're hiding behind Nathan, you never know who could be inside it. Snake beats Drake. 


Battle 12: Jak vs. Wolf

We honestly don't know why these two are rivals. I guess we just couldn't think of anyone else who would go with Jak. Jak went through his entire first game without using a weapon of any sort, using only Eco to combat his enemies. Later on, Jak became a master of weaponry, which could prove to be very deadly for Wolf. Wolf has very little at his disposal, basically his blaster and his Wolfen. We don't really know how Wolf would be able to manage fighting Jak, not to mention if he were to change into Light or Dark Jak. The victor is Jak. 


Battle 13: Evil Cole vs. Ness

We put these two together because they both have very powerful abilites, and because we paired Good Cole with the other obvious rival he should have which will appear later in this article. Evil Cole has some pretty nasty abilities, controlling fire and napalm in addition to his electricity abilities. We have never played an Earthbound game, but as my buddy described, Ness has "some crazy demon powers," which means he might be a good match for the Demon of Empire City. With what little we know of Earthbound, we DO know that Ness defeated the apocolypse itself and that he has some pretty powerful ESP powers. We think Ness would take this one.


Battle 14: Sir Daniel Fortesque vs. Ike

We put these two together because they are both very heavy sword wielders and would probably fight a good match. Now, I do not know much about MediEvil, but one of my buddies who helped with this article does. Unfortunately, he does not know much about Fire Emblem, which I do. This got us into a heated argument over who would win this battle. In the end, our third decider believed Ike would win, and he has little knowledge of either series. My personal reason for Ike's victory is that he was able to fell a Goddess, which is no easy task. This one could have gone either way, but the victor based on our voting ended up being Ike. 


Battle 15: Nariko vs. Sheik

We chose these two to battle because they are both very strong and fast women (yes, Zelda is a woman therefore Sheik is a woman) who would likely put up a good fight. Sheik is extremely fast and is basically a ninja, having some quick weapons at her disposal such as deku nuts and shruikans. Nariko on the other hand, seems to be a master of her blades, likely comparable to Kratos (we don't know we haven't played Heavenly Sword). In this fight, we think Nariko's expertise would take the cake, especially since Sheik REALLY didn't do much to help Hyrule except give Link a couple of songs.


Battle 16: Raiden vs. Meta-Knight 

Raiden and Meta-Knight are both masters of the blade and use their speed to take the advantage over their opponents. I don't know much about Metal Gear, but my buddy does, and Raiden is one of his favorite characters. He believes Raiden would put up a good fight with Meta-Knight, and their blades would likely not make contact with each-other much. But as he put it, he thinks Raiden isn't anything special, just enhanced through tech, whereas he believes Meta-Knight is genuinly and trained and deadly swordsman. Meta-Knight would be the victor of this duel.


Battle 17: Dante vs. Pit

Angel vs Demon in this deadly fight to the death. Both Dante and Pit are masters of weapons, having a large amount of ranged and melee weapons at their disposal. What it really comes down to in this fight is experience. Pit has battled demons many times in his life, but he also gets lucky a lot of the time and he is just a kid. Dante battles demons for a living, making it his goal to seek out and destroy them for vengeance. While he might not have much experience in fighting angels, I don't think Pit has anything more than any winged demon Dante has faced. Dante would probably destroy Pit, especially since if Pit didn't beat Dante within 5 minutes, he would have to combat him on the ground. Angels May Cry in this battle as Dante emerges victorious. 


Battle 18: Heihachi vs. Captain Falcon

We don't know much about either of these fighter's series, so we are basing this match purely on how they play in PS All-Stars and Smash Bros. Heihachi seems to be a trained master of Martial Arts, which makes him a deadly warrior. Captain Falcon has speed on Heihachi, as well as his attacks being so fast they spark flames. We personally think that Captain Falcon would Falcon Punch the crap out of this guy. FALCON PAUNNCHHHHH!


Battle 19: Cole MacGrath vs. Pikachu

Two masters of electricity going at it on the battle field. This was easily the second toughest battle we had to predict. We changed our answer quite a few times before we finally finalized it. Both of them have very powerful electric attacks, so it was hard to tell who would win. The first thought we had was how Cole actually gets hurt by electricity, although he has some resistance, where as Pikachu is very resistant to it. On the other hand, Cole is also able to absorb electricity, which could prove a problem for Pikachu. Cole also has ice powers that could do a good deal of damage against Pikachu, but Pikachu also has a variety of different types of moves, such as Iron Tail, which could probably do the same to Cole. What it came down to in the end was the fact that Cole has unlimited potential to get stronger, whereas Pikachu is limited unless he can evolve, which in this battle, he cannot. Cole emerges the master of electricity. 


Battle 20: Ratchet vs. Fox McCloud

This was easily the hardest decision we had to make. Both Ratchet and Fox are intergalactic, animal heroes who go around space saving planets like it is baking a cake. Now we put Fox and Ratchet into two scenarios, ground battle and air battle. Fox is a master pilot. In his first two games, he didn't even come out of his Arwing. Ratchet, although he can fly a ship, doesn't seem like he is heavily trained in flying, so Fox would probably win the air battle. On the ground, however, Ratchet would have the upper hand. Ratchet has an arsenal of dozens of deadly weapons while Fox usually is limited to just his blaster. While I'm sure Fox would put up a good fight, Ratchet would probably win on the ground. What it came down to was support. In a battle between Ratchet and Fox, who would have the better support to help them win? Ratchet would have Clank, Cronk, Zephyr, and Qwark aiding him while Fox would have Falco, Krystal, Slippy, and Peppy. While Slippy and Qwark are both basically useless, evening eachother out, Falco and Krystal are heavily trained fighters, Falco in the air and Krystal on foot. In addition, Peppy is also a heavily trained pilot, although his age might get the best of him, but the same could be said for Cronk and Zephyr. This battle is evenly matched and we really hate to have to pick a side on the conflict, but we ended up going with Fox. 

With that, the twenty battles have ended and the final tally is 9 wins for the Playstation All-Stars and 11 wins for the Super Smash Brothers. It looks like the Super Smash Brothers win this time, but we'll see what happens when the Playstation All-Stars add some reinforcements through DLC or a sequel.

Giuliano V. (With help from Riley D. & Justin D.)