In the 2 years that have passed since my Assassin’s Creed review Ubisoft have been working on a sequel that should address many of drawbacks to the first game. It’s not like Assassin’s Creed was that bad. I really liked it, so much so I could forgive the crushingly repetitive nature of the missions and the long, and boring monologues. Oh, yeah, those drawbacks.

So what’s changed in Assassin’s Creed II? Well, the cites are much more detailed and are positively heaving people to interact (kill, bribe or buy stuff from) with. Ubisoft has done a great job optimising the Anvil game engine used in the first game. I just love the whole look and the feel of the game. It’s perfect. Wandering around Venice during carnival is just spectacular. Venice really thrives with people, fireworks, costumes and face masks. Your character, Ezio is also a joy to control. After a few hours (even if you’ve never played the first game) you will be running around rooftops and killing people like a pro! This all helps really pull you into the game.

Assassin’s Creed II has a better plot, shorter more meaningful cut scenes (thankfully!!!!) and characters in the form of Ezio and your best mate Leonardo Da Vinci that are not total arseholes. There is even more variety in the missions. Admittedly, you either kill, follow, fedex an item from A to B, chase or beat people up in these missions so there isn’t a hug amount of variety, but it is a very welcome and much needed improvement. Such is the improvement, Assassin’s Creed II becomes even more of a time killer than the first game. Entire afternoon’s will disappear playing this game. I promise you.

The music in Assassin’s Creed II is just awesome. All the tracks that Jesper Kyd has composed complement the gameplay perfectly. In fact, I have the official soundtrack on my iPhone it’s so good. My person favourite is the Venice Rooftops track (listen on iTunes).

The missions aren’t the only aspect of the game that has been expanded. Multiple weapons, armour, items, money and property development are all now included. Ezio can earn money from the various missions, or pickpocketing people in order to buy better weapons, and develop his home villa (e.g. fix up shops and buildings). Whilst all this brings another aspect to the gameplay, once you get to about half way through the game money becomes pretty pointless as you have so much of it. Well I did anyway!

The only other thing I can find wrong with Assassin’s Creed II is the clumsy way several “memories” are missing from the game, only to turn up – at cost – as downloadable content (DLC). Will I be buying this particular bit of Assassin’s Creed II DLC, well, no I won’t.

In summary: Assassin’s Creed II fixes many of its predecessor’s faults to produce an excellent game. Highly recommended.

Screenshots:

Assassin’s Creed II is out now on Xbox 360 and PS3.

Age rating:

3+ (PEGI)

What is it?

A Mario game – 3D-platformer.

Is it fun?

Yes.

Is it worth the money? £32.99

Yes.

Why?

I’ve always been rather indifferent when it comes to Mario games until I played Super Mario 64, which was brilliant. Unfortunately the GameCube’s Mario extravaganza (Super Mario Sunshine) was well, total poo to be honest. However, I’m pleased to say that Super Mario Galaxy tops even the great Mario 64 for sheer enjoyment. I can’t even complain of the total lack of imagination shown by Nintendo when it churns out the same games for each generation of Nintendo console when this incarnation of Mario is just so much fun.

The graphics look great (by Wii standards) and complement the game wonderfully. Sure there are some iffy looking textures and a few jaggies, but I didn’t care as the whole game is amazing. The sound is a perfect mix of chirpyness and classic Mario sounds and themes. It also has a brilliant, brilliant music track for the Battlerock galaxy that I challenge anyone to play this galaxy and not have a giant smile on their face.

I loved the whole playfulness of Mario’s new galaxy environment. Flying, flipping, gliding, jumping and catapulting between all the planets on each of the levels is just awesome. The attention to detail that the designers have lavished on every planet, however small, is a joy to behold. I loved the way that seemingly simple puzzles were brought to life by splitting them over lots of mini planets and great use of the Wii controller. This is probably the first game after Wii Sports where the control method just feels right. From rolling around on top a giant ball, to flying through the air as a little bumble bee, the Wiimote and nunchuk make controlling Mario something to be enjoyed.

Bad points. Well, swimming underwater takes a bit of getting used to. The camera has a habit of choosing the worst time to change its viewpoint, which usually happens when you’re negotiating a really nasty sequence of platforms.

It took me just over 14 hours to get to the end of the game and finally beat Bowser, but that still leaves me with another 55 power stars to collect. Then I will have finally completed the game. So Lord knows how long that’s going to take with some fiendish and very dexterous puzzles lying in wait.

In summary:

A wonderful game in every way. Mario is the easily the best game on the Wii.

Screenshots:

Age Rating:

PEGI 16+

What is it?

A beat-away-hordes-of-enemies melee combat game set in mythical feudal Japan. Big men, big weapons, scantily-clad warrior women, ropey voice acting… it’s all there.

Is it fun?

Not really.

Is it worth the money? £29.99

Nooooo…

Why not?

This game has quite possibly the worst camera you will ever experience, should you have the misfortune of playing this game. Every location feels immensely frustrating because you can almost see where you’re going, if only the camera would just tilt a little more.
Continue Reading

Age Rating: 18 (BBFC)

What is it?

You, evil zombies, a photographer named Frank, and a mall full of wonderful toys.

Is it fun?

Oh yes. Brilliant game, if you like a bit of zombie violence.

Is it worth £39.99?
Yes.

Normally I’d say no on principle. You can get a lot of good stuff for forty quid but in this case there’s enough replayability to justify the price tag.

Why?

Run around a mall killing zombies with everything that comes to hand. Kill a wide variety of psychopaths. Save some hapless victims on the way. Sound like fun?

Damn right.

Dead Rising is a great game. Highlights include watching zombies stagger around with traffic cones on their heads, facing off against a maniac clown and walking on the shoulders of zombies. It has well-known flaws but if you’re lucky enough to access a big HD screen then Dead Rising is bloody fantastic. Provided you get the hang of its freaky-ass save system, that is.
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Age Rating: 16+ (PEGI)

What is it?
3rd person shooter based on the 2000AD comic strip.

Is it fun?
Yeah

Is it worth the money?
At £25 from play.com, yeah.

Tell me more please:
Aw, ok :)

Rebellion, the company who made this and who also bought 2000AD a few years back, also made the turd of a game otherwise known as Judge Dredd. So my hopes for a decent outing for Rogue and his Biochip buddies seemed bleak.

But hey, having played through the game I have to say it ain’t half bad; not bad at all. On normal mode it’s not too taxing, but definitely fun to play through. Continue Reading

BEWARE – SMALL SPOILERS – skip the italicised text if you don’t want to know!

Age rating: 12+

What is it?

Adventure, action, but not really enough puzzles.

Is it fun?

Yes, for the most part.

Is it worth the money? £29.99 (from Play.com)

Yes, but the game is a little short (…I am seeing a theme recurring here)

Why?

Now Tomb Raider Legend has been released, the first Tomb Raider game in a long time. I heard Angel of Darkness (the most recent TR title before this) was utter pants, and was even blamed for the poor box office showing of the second film (which was a tad harsh, I wasn’t keen on either of the films) – I never played it though, having mostly given up on the franchise after playing TR3 (too much mucking about with flares for my liking).

I was really keen to see the new game regain the franchise’s former glory, and have just played through the PS2 version. How does it fare then? Continue Reading

Age rating: 12+

What is it?

An unconventional fantasy-based BOSS-ATTACK game, with a huge sombre and barren landscape to traverse by horse. Set in the same game universe as ICO (also PS2 only) you have to climb big hairy monsters and stab ‘em where it hurts!

Is it fun?

Yes but not in the instant-adrenaline-hit way of GTA, the world may be a comparable size, but this isn’t Vice City by horse. The Colossus look fantastic and battling them are fun puzzles in themselves, yet a deeper enjoyment requires the player to let the whole game experience slowly wash over them.

Is it worth the money? £29.99

Yes but £25 would be preferable. Most of the pleasure of fighting the Colossi resides in trying to work out how to kill them and after that, replaying the normal game has little point. However once the game is completed there is a HARD mode to tackle and two timed boss-attack modes which are a tough challenge.

Why?

Well, my first impression of the Shadow of the Colossus is that it isn’t really all that pretty. Watching the game intro, each shot is well composed but many textures shimmer and seem to have no more than 4 colours in some of them. Both the bridge crossing scene and the initial entering of the temple are clear examples of very nasty looking textures.

This is a shame because the game has a subtle underlying beauty (which takes time to fully appreciate), and the majority of the game art is fantastic, especially the Colossi themselves, their design and animation is excellent. I’ll talk more about the art later, first a simple explanation about the game itself. Continue Reading

Age Rating: 15 (BBFC)

What is it?

A supernatural mystery adventure game with a strange interface that forces you to work hard when your character does and use your reactions when your character uses his.

Is it fun?

Yep.

Is it worth the money? £17.99

Yes!

Why?

The plot is intriguing (although the ending gets very weird) and the visuals are just beautiful! The whole game feels very cinematic and still screenshots don’t really do it justice. It also really makes you feel like your choices make a difference to the plot. Continue Reading