Category: Written


EGM Review: Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon

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April 7, 2013

Fly Luigi to the Moon

When the GameCube launched in 2001 without an official Mario game, the Nintendo faithful were stunned. Instead, they got a title starring Mario’s brother, Luigi, and immediately many gamers got that sinking feeling that the system was getting off on the wrong foot. But those who actually gave the game a chance found a charming title that reminded us why Luigi deserves the spotlight—maybe not as often as his big bro, but at least once in a while.

The next logical conclusion, then, was that Nintendo wouldn’t launch a system with this game unless they wanted to turn it into a new series. So, we waited. And waited. And waited some more. Several systems, including handhelds, came and went. And after all this waiting, Luigi’s Mansion had been relegated to nothing more than a nice one-hit wonder.

As is often the case with Nintendo, however, just when you think you’ve figured them out, they surprise you. Nearly 12 years post-launch of the original, Nintendo’s decided to give us Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon for the 3DS, a true sequel to that GameCube launch title.

The action unfolds with Professor E. Gadd continuing his paranormal research in a land called Evershade Valley. Here, the ghosts are docile and friendly, like Casper or Slimer. But when the mystical Dark Moon, which hovers over the valley, is shattered into six pieces by Luigi’s old nemesis, King Boo, the ghosts go bonkers. E. Gadd barely escapes to a special safe house he’d constructed in case of such an emergency, and he knows there’s only one call to make.

Being the one man with any sort of ghost-busting expertise in the Mushroom Kingdom, Luigi knows he has to help E. Gadd restore peace to the valley—even if he’s absolutely terrified to do so. Armed with an upgraded Poltergust and flashlight, Luigi must travel to five different locations across the valley in the hopes of collecting the remaining pieces of the Dark Moon (one conveniently fell in E. Gadd’s lap after it broke apart) and helping the ghosts there revert to their more docile state.

The first thing you’ll notice is how pretty Dark Moon looks on the 3DS—and how well it takes advantage of the system’s one-of-a-kind aspects. The gloom and doom of a haunted valley doesn’t usually afford the most vibrant color scheme, but this just makes the bright green of Luigi’s clothes and the rainbow array of colors that represents your ghastly foes pop even more on the tiny screen. Also, the lighting effects are superb; entire rooms flash when lightning strikes, and blowing out candles with the Poltergust can completely change the ambiance of any given area. Dark Moon also takes full advantage of the system’s 3D capabilities by having several puzzles play off the depth perception created by the top screen. As for the bottom screen, a Zelda-like map and list of objectives are displayed to help keep Luigi on point through this 10 to 15-hour adventure.

Dark Moon’s level design is also head and shoulders above its predecessor. With five different haunted houses, each with their own theme, the bevy of different puzzles you’ll face will keep you on your toes and entertained through the two dozen stages. You also get to see the range of this new Poltergust and Luigi’s new flashlight, as some simple techniques learned early on get inventive uses later as the stages become more complex.

The game does supply a few frustrations, however; the most notable of these is the aiming system. Dark Moon is just another entry on the ever-growing list of 3DS titles that could benefit from the use of a second analog stick, as you can’t easily turn Luigi in one direction while moving in another. And it grows more frustrating, as you face tougher and tougher ghosts—and the pull against them is what allows you to suck them into the Poltergust.

In light of the fact that the 3DS only has one analog stick—and that Nintendo decided not to offer support for the Circle Pad Pro—you’re left to make use of the system’s gyroscope, but I don’t imagine anyone playing this will want to spin around wildly with their handheld in an attempt to complete the game. I can just imagine someone sitting on a plane, flailing around and smacking their neighbors in the face. When they ask why you did that, you can just reply that you were desperately trying to catch imaginary ghosts. I’m sure that’ll go over well with the FAA.

The story’s also a bit of a drawback, because just like his brother Mario’s adventures, Luigi’s tale here hits almost all the same beats as the first Luigi’s Mansion. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, as the game still has a lot of charm and remains quite humorous as scaredy-cat Luigi progresses further and further. I just expected a little more. Then again, after 12 years, I’m sure not everyone remembers the original Luigi’s Mansion, so this could also serve as an entry point for rookies.

The single-player isn’t the only thing that really caught my eye; one of the more pleasant surprises here is the multiplayer. This option offers four different modes that can feature up to four friends in the ScareScraper, a haunted building where the game’s host can determine where the team of ghost-busting, multicolored Luigis can start at before racing to collect as many pesky poltergeists as possible. I wonder if part of my enjoyment was that it wasn’t just a rip-off of the Luigi’s Mansion minigame from Nintendo Land and instead its own unique feature, though. Nonetheless, if you can’t get enough of the single-player action and want more of a challenge, this is a solid place to look.

Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon’s charm, great looks, and interesting puzzles overshadow its few flaws to provide a quality experience that fans of the original and newcomers to the series alike should enjoy in earnest.

Developer: Next Level Games • Publisher: Nintendo • ESRB: E – Everyone • Release Date: 03.24.13
8.5
Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon maintains much of the charm of the original and benefits from a superior coat of paint and level design. But one limitation the 3DS has—its lack of a second joystick—can prove irksome, especially as you move into the latter stages.
The Good A large variety of levels and puzzles keep the experience fresh.
The Bad The aiming system is in desperate need of a second joystick.
The Ugly Nearly 12 years between titles and virtually the same story.
Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon is a Nintendo 3DS exclusive.
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Hands-On: Metro: Last Light

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The Mushroom Cloud Kingdom

Editor’s Note: This preview will reference events in Metro 2033 and might spoil some things for those who have yet to play it. Consider yourselves warned. 

It may not have been the prettiest game, and the AI was definitely flawed, but Metro 2033 was able to immerse gamers in ways other properties only dream of. Because of that, it earned a special place in the hearts of those who played it. In fact, it was difficult not to get sucked in to the hardship of everyday life that our hero Artyom had to go through, feeling like you were indeed living in Moscow’s Metro system after a nuclear holocaust.

You had to keep track of the air in your gasmask filter, scavenge for military grade bullets to use as currency, and use nothing but an old-school compass to navigate the world around you. And then, as many of these stories go, you became caught up in events much larger than yourself.

These events led to one of two endings in Metro 2033. The good ending saw you save the Dark Ones, strange creatures who were desperately trying to communicate with human kind and accidentally harming them in the process, and helping them learn how best to help us. The bad ending, which was much more common for most players, is also the canonical ending that Dmitry Glukhovsky penned in the book the game was based off of. In that ending, Artyom destroyed the Dark Ones, only realizing his blunder when it was too late, and then returning to the Metro, guilt-ridden and dejected.

After Metro 2033, Glukhovsky wrote a sequel titled, appropriately enough, Metro 2034 that took place one year after Artyom’s failure. But instead of having 4A Games craft a game directly around that novel, Glukhovsky wrote a new story, original to the video games, that follows Artyom down a different path. And thus, we have Metro: Last Light, which we were able to finally go hands-on with recently.

Still picking up a year after the events of the first game, Artyom, who was a bit green behind the ears before his encounter with the Dark Ones, has become a grizzled veteran Ranger of the Metro under the careful guidance of Miller, of the Spartan Order, since last we saw him. While going about his daily business, Artyom is confronted by one of his other mentors, Khan, who reveals to Artyom that a young Dark One survived despite his misguided efforts and was seen fending for itself amongst the shattered nest the creatures had once lived in.

Since many still perceive the Dark Ones as threats and that Artyom did the right thing, he is ordered by his superiors to destroy the creature, even if Artyom may have his doubts. Things have a habit of going sideways whenever you venture to the decimated surface, far away from the Metro, though. So, soon after beginning his search for the creature, Artyom runs across members of the Fourth Reich and things just get worse from there.

With the Metro series being so story driven, I really can’t go any further into the rest of the tale I saw unfold before me, but let me tell you, that if you’re a fan of the first Metro’s story, this looks to be shaping up to be even better.

I can talk a bit more about the game play, however. A lot of the great survival features from the first game are coming back. You still have to monitor your air when you go to the surface, ammo is scarce, and you still have to charge your headlamp manually. The entire idea of having to really struggle to survive is still perfectly in tact as you wrestle with situations like only having one clip left in your assault rifle, yet there is a room full of Nazis ahead of you and who are ready to turn their fully loaded rifles on you if you step into the light or make too much noise. Do you run or fight? And if you do fight, do you go the stealth route with your knife or go all out hoping to find extra ammo on dead bodies?

There are some critical differences to these situations as compared to the first game, though. 4A has crafted their own in house engine and have really keyed in on enemy AI with it. Should you alert one foe, the “hive mind” AI where the entire room would be aware from the first Metro is gone. Mind you, if you make too much noise you might alert the entire room anyway, but it makes sense now. Or if you’re too slow to take out the one enemy whose attention you’ve drawn, he will go get his trigger-happy buddies.

But should you choose to not fight and run away, or duck into air ducts or sewer grates and try to hide, the AI won’t stop looking for you after they’ve spotted you. You can’t trick the AI as easily in that regard. Like rabid dogs, if the AI knows there is an enemy nearby, they will continue to think their enemy is there, somewhere, until they get an all-clear from someone who has actually shot you, or you clear them all out first.  Or you keep moving away from where they are and hope they don’t follow, which sometimes they will!

And that is something else the AI impressed me with, even of the new mutant animals you’ll face: it is completely random. No situation will play out the same way twice. Paths enemies will walk around in a room, where monsters will or won’t spring up from, even who will attack whom when different species of monsters or conflicting human groups come across each other. You might be able to sneak by a firefight between the Reds and the Fourth Reich, or a shrimp monster (think of the prawn mutated to the size of a person) sparring with a dragon while on the surface looking for supplies.

The AI isn’t the only thing that is benefiting from this 4A engine, however. The graphics have been drastically improved, especially in terms of lighting effects. You can shoot a lantern and it will start a slow burning fire if it was set amongst dry boxes or kindling. Lighting is also a more critical factor in order for you to take the stealthier route through combat situations, as darkness is your greatest ally when you’re alone in the Metro.

In real life though, I hadn’t been alone and just as my hands started to work a groove into the controller from gripping it so tightly, it was time for me to relinquish it as my time with Metro: Last Light was up. When I was done with my slice of this post-apocalyptic first-person shooter, I was mighty impressed with how far the franchise had come technically in terms of game play, and I couldn’t help but immediately be sucked into the new, original story. Now it’s just a matter of waiting for May to go even deeper into the Metro.

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EGM Review: Assassin’s Creed III – The Tyranny of King Washington: Episode 2 – The Betrayal

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Fly Like an Eagle

Editor’s note: This review contains The Tyranny of King Washington: Episode 1 spoilers; it is recommended you play Episode 1 before reading our review of Episode 2.

Continuing the story started in the first episode of The Tyranny of King Washington, this episode, The Betrayal, features Ratonhnhaké:ton exploring a transformed Boston as he continues trying to unlock the mystery of how he’s ended up in an alternate universe.

After being captured by Israel Putnam during his assault against Benedict Arnold, Ratonhnhaké:ton is transported to Boston to be served up as a present to George Washington. Putnam has his own plan, however, hoping to use this gift to garner more favor with Washington and wrest Boston away from the clammy fingertips of the cowardly Ben Franklin. It’s while he is wasting away in a cell, waiting for Washington to decide his fate, that Ratonhnhaké:ton comes across an old friend from the past, learns that Sam Adams is a freedom fighter no matter what reality he’s in, and, most importantly, embraces his second spirit animal—the eagle.

The eagle spirit power focuses on the second pillar of Assassin’s Creed: movement. Transforming into an eagle allows Ratonhnhaké:ton to fly short distances, making it easier to cover more ground than on foot. Also, when in eagle form, Ratonhnhaké:ton can literally get the drop on his opponents as he performs some impressive aerial assassinations. Much better balanced than the wolf power, the eagle can only be used to move between certain points—and although it takes some getting used to, the additional crosshairs become second nature by the end of the tutorial, disguised as your “spirit journey.”

Unfortunately, a fair amount of the DLC still requires you to use the unbalanced wolf powers acquired in the first episode, making your time in Boston poorly spent; you can easily avoid open combat once again. Moving along the streets among Washington’s Bluecoats is a breeze, as you magically camouflage yourself in a wide-open area and reach your objectives with alarming speed; this turns your early missions into glorified fetch quests.

Despite a slow start to this section of the story, The Betrayal picks up dramatically once you no longer need to rely on your wolf powers. The second half starts an inevitable ramp up in the action that not only sees this episode conclude on a high note, but will hopefully continue to a satisfying climax in Episode 3.

As is the case with most Assassin’s Creed-related items, the story is the heaviest focus; in that regard, The Betrayal does a fine job of moving this tale along. Combine this with the inventive eagle powers and amped-up pacing seen in the latter stages, and anyone who enjoyed Episode 1 will no doubt enjoy their time, short as it is (the episode shouldn’t take most players more than 2 to 3 hours again). 

Developer: Ubisoft Quebec • Publisher: Ubisoft • ESRB: M – Mature • Release Date: 03.19.2013
7.5 The new eagle powers are far more impressive than the wolf skills from the first episode, and although the story drags early on, it picks up nicely towards the end, ramping up to a hopefully fitting—and satisfying— conclusion in the final episode.
The Good New eagle powers take some getting used to, but they make for interesting assassinations.
The Bad Needing to use wolf powers to worm your way through alternate-universe Boston.
The Ugly Ben Franklin as a sniveling coward in the mud.
Assassin’s Creed III: The Tyranny of King Washington – Episode 2: The Betrayal is available on PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and PC. Primary version reviewed was for Xbox 360.
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EGM Review: LEGO City Undercover

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We Built This City

As a child who grew up playing with LEGO, I came to love those themed sets that dealt with undersea exploration, deep-space mining, and pirates (not the stupid ones based off Pirates of the Caribbean, but actual pirates). Growing older, I also came to have an interest in Traveller’s Tales’ LEGO games, ever since the 2005 release of LEGO Star Wars (again, the Pirates of the Caribbean one was an exception). But much like how the models I created as a kid started to gather dust as I moved past that childhood phase, the licensed-movie LEGO games lost their luster—and my interest in the series became fleeting at best.

Then came LEGO Batman in 2008, which offered something substantially different: an original story not based on a movie. Of course, it wasn’t the deepest plot for a Batman-related property, considering the general audience of the LEGO games, but it rekindled a spark of interest in the series for me.

After LEGO Batman, though, Traveller’s Tales went back to their tried-and-true method of replicating movies. But, for me, it was too late. They’d opened Pandora’s Box. I’d seen that these games could actually take licensed properties and create original adventures—much like I did as a child with my toys. And it seems that, finally, Traveller’s Tales has realized this is the way to reach the largest possible audience.

Once they repeated their success with Batman in LEGO Batman 2: DC Superheroes, Traveller’s Tales turned their attention to LEGO City, the longest continuously running theme in the building blocks’ history (if you include the “Trains” series under LEGO City, which I do). Here was the biggest challenge yet—unlike Batman, no source material existed beyond the actual building kits themselves. And much like I did as a child, the developers used their imaginations to mold easily the most entertaining LEGO game to date.

The story revolves around one Chase McCain, a disgraced cop who gets a second chance when the criminal mastermind he once helped take down, Rex Fury, escapes from prison and sets off on the largest crime wave in LEGO City history. McCain’s greatest strength lies in the fact that he’s a master of disguise; he can don eight unique outfits to solve puzzles and work his way through LEGO City’s surprisingly seedy underbelly to get another shot at Fury. Rex can also commandeer most vehicles due to his police status, and he puts his police training to use to jump, climb, or free-run around any obstacles in his path.

In other words, a lot of the more “mature” mechanics we see in games like Grand Theft Auto or Assassin’s Creed are incorporated into a kids’ game here. Would this make LEGO City Undercover a “gateway game,” then, for younger players? I don’t know the answer to that one, but it allowed me to thoroughly immerse myself in an experience that I initially thought might have trouble appealing to a grown-up audience.

Stellar gameplay isn’t the only thing that transcends demographics, however. LEGO City Undercover makes constant references to classic TV shows and movies like The Shawshank Redemption, Starsky and Hutch, and every single Arnold Schwarzenegger flick without losing its primary target audience. I laughed at the Austrian-accented construction worker who makes references to avoiding “collateral damage” on the dig site and hates that the electric fence “jingles all the way” as it opens, while my 10-year-old cousin laughed because the character sounds funny. I laughed at the man in the prison yard who helps me break into Rex Fury’s cell because he’s doing a spot-on Morgan Freeman impersonation; my 10-year-old cousin laughed because the character sounds funny.

Mind you, these characters are also integral to moving forward a plot that takes you all over a massive LEGO metropolis that compares in scope to most any other open-world title—and should take most gamers 12 to 15 hours to complete. That timeframe’s only in terms of the story, though; LEGO City Undercover may also be a completionist’s worst nightmare, with dozens of different activities that include time-trial races, photo missions, foiling random robberies, and even catching aliens on the way to hoarding more than 500 collectibles. This could bloat the time needed to 100-percent the game to double—if not triple—what it takes to beat the story.

As good as all this sounds, though, LEGO City Undercover inherits a few issues from its predecessors—mostly on the technical side. The driving controls feel loose, and considering how large the world is, driving’s a necessary action to get from Point A to Point B—especially since there isn’t a fast-travel system to speak of if you don’t build it first. The idea of needing to collect bricks to build up the world around you to open up train stations, ports for boats, or car garages fits in well with the theme, but it’s counterintuitive for an open-world game and needlessly lengthens some trips between missions. It’s rare that you’ll have enough bricks to open up a point on your first visit there.

Speaking of needlessly lengthening the experience, the game’s load times are abysmal. I know these are a necessary evil, but LEGO City Undercover features easily some of the longest waits I’ve experienced in years; the game just seems to taunt you with a progress bar on the Wii U GamePad that ever-so-slowly fills up. Anytime I entered a building or started a new mission, I was met with yet another progress bar—and another clump of hair I’d pulled from my head in frustration.

While on the subject of the GamePad, not only is it used to communicate with the police station, but it also serves as an audio listening tool, and as a camera during surveillance missions. It’s an ingenious little plot device, but it was a mistake to also place the city map on the GamePad’s screen. I’d crash far too often while driving when I looked down for more efficient paths to my objective, since the ones given via the AI—represented by a path of green studs on my TV screen—were some of the most roundabout ways to get to a destination I’ve ever seen.

LEGO City Undercover is also one of the few Wii U titles that doesn’t allow you to play entirely on the GamePad because of these mechanics, which meant that I had to choose between watching hockey and playing this game—instead of doing both at the same time like with most other Wii U games.

Another returning LEGO problem here is the ever-broken camera. It’s understandably fixed in many instances in order to hide certain collectibles, but not being able to move the camera during a lot of the free-run sequences had me missing platforms, climbing in the wrong direction, or just not being able to see where I needed to go next.

These technical shortcomings aside, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t have a good time playing LEGO City Undercover. The plot’s definitely the best in a LEGO title yet, and it makes me hope that Traveller’s Tales continues down the path of original games based on licensed products—not straight-up movie rip-offs. The music does a great job of added to the lighthearted tone, and the voice acting’s superb all around. Children of all ages (even this 27-year-old one!) can laugh at different points about different things without the quality of the experience diminished.

If you’re one of the few people who actually owns a Wii U, LEGO City Undercover will serve as a nice break from the gaming drought you’ve been suffering as of late. If nothing else, the bevy of collectibles here should keep you busy just long enough until Nintendo releases another worthwhile title for the system—several more months down the road.

Developer: TT Fusion • Publisher: Nintendo • ESRB: E10+ – Everyone 10 and up • Release Date: 03.18.2013
8.0 Great gameplay and a humorous, well-written plot are more than enough to help LEGO City Undercover overcome some of the franchise’s lingering technical flaws, making it one of the few worthwhile experiences on the Wii U.
The Good Well written; incorporates all the best mechanics from previous LEGO games.
The Bad Also incorporates all the worst mechanics from previous LEGO games.
The Ugly So many collectibles that completionists won’t sleep for weeks.
LEGO City Undercover is a Wii U exclusive.
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Hands-On: Marvel Heroes

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Make Mine Marvel

I can’t remember a time in my life where I didn’t want to be a superhero. Whether it was wielding the Hulk’s impossible strength, firing lasers from my eyes like Cyclops, or cutting things to ribbons with Wolverine’s claws, superpowers have always been at the forefront of my imagination. So, I’ll admit that I relished being able to go hands-on with Gazillion Entertainment’s upcoming free-to-play MMORPG Marvel Heroes.

The story starts off with vintage Marvel bad guy Dr. Doom getting his hands on a Cosmic Cube—and the chaos he intends to bring down upon the citizenry of the world will be significant. Therefore, Marvel’s mightiest heroes from across all major lines must come together to root out Doom and his allies. Being as obsessed with comics as I am, this story may look like it’s been done before—on the surface, anyway. But the game’s writer, Brian Michael Bendis (best known for his long run on The Avengers), is clear that it’s difficult to write for a game like this.

“The challenge was to come up with a story that hits as much architecture and landscape in the Marvel Universe as possible without it feeling too much like a knee-jerk thing,” he says. “What’s interesting about the Marvel Universe is that there are just as many interesting things going on at the street level—let’s say the Daredevil level, the Spider-Man level—as there are at the cosmic level, the Guardians of the Galaxy, the Silver Surfer, the Galactus level. The cool thing—and the interesting idea for us—was to actually start the story at the ground level and kind of roll like a snowball downhill. As you discover more and more about the actual story and play through the game, you get to travel up toward the cosmic level of the Marvel universe, all the while not getting newcomers lost or confused. I looked at it like this grand opportunity to create almost like a Marvel event comic unlike anything you’d actually seen in publishing. And at the same time, create like a Marvel lifestyle product, if that makes sense. Then, there are some fans who live and breathe these characters—and are going to live and breathe this game. This is going to be, if done well, the next step of the worldwide community of comic-book fans and Marvel fans and just fans of games. To create something that really lives and breathes like the Marvel Universe for them all to live in is a real treat—and a real challenge.”

If you should live and breathe these characters, as Mr. Bendis so aptly puts it, then you’ll probably be as excited as I was to see what he was talking about. I was fortunate enough to play through three of the story’s dozen chapters; in that time, I went from Mutant Town in New York City to the Kingpin’s penthouse to the Morlock sewers to the Savage Land—hopping through some of Marvel’s most iconic locations in a way that makes sense to the story. I also took on iconic baddies like Sentinels, Mutates, A.I.M., and the Purifiers, not to mention individual supervillains like Green Goblin, Tombstone, Sauron, Bullseye, and Lady Deathstrike.

But including characters that we expect to see in a game like this isn’t going to be enough—the gameplay needs to be there, too. Fortunately, Gazillion president and COO David Brevik has a bit of experience in making games like this really shine (he created Diablo I and II, if you didn’t recognize the name).

Steering away from fully customizable avatars, Marvel Heroes wants to make you feel like those great characters we all grew up loving, so you only play as established characters from the Marvel Universe. If you want to smash with the Hulk, you can do it. If Ms. Marvel is more your thing, then no one will stop you. Or maybe purple really does it for you, so Hawkeye’s your man. If they’re a hero in the Marvel Universe, you can unlock them and play with them at some point. And if you don’t like their standard look, you’ve got a bevy of alternate costumes you can unlock—like, if you’d rather your Captain America have that 1940s helmet instead of his modern mask.

And playing with these characters feels as great as you’d expect. Setting hotkeys for special powers or just left- and right-clicking makes it so you can fire a variety of beams with Cyclops or set the world on fire however you wish with the Human Torch. It couldn’t be easier to start mowing down Mole People or putting the screws to Pyro than that.

As Brevik explains, though, you can’t just go it alone if you really want to get through the story and the inevitable expansions down the road. At times, you’ll have to team up, and Gazillion’s trying some different ways to make some of those feel more spur-of-the-moment than camping out in front of a dungeon entrance looking for help.

“We had an idea about the way that we’d like to get invites going and get people together,” he says. “We have events that are more traditional encounters, making sure that there are opportunities for people to socially get together and group up. You hang out in town, and people are like, ‘I need help with the Kingpin fight!’ or ‘Oh, I’m on that, too,’ and group up and go to this thing together. That’s something we wanted from the very beginning as part of the design. Then, we have optional grouping, which is this loose grouping out in the public combat zones. Green Goblin suddenly pops up, and then everybody can get together dynamically and work together, and everybody gets rewarded. So, there isn’t an official formalization of the grouping there. There’ll be other ways to group and other ways to do things, especially in the endgame, that I think will also play right into the kind of MMO hands that people are used to.”

I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the crafting system. Going to certain characters like Forge at the X-Mansion or Hank Pym at Avengers Tower will allow players the chance to upgrade their equipment or add buffs to items like Cyclops’ visor or Deadpool’s katanas. This just gives you an even deeper connection to the experience; it hearkens back to Diablo while still featuring the Marvel flair players expect.

Marvel Heroes is shaping up as one of the more special free-to-play MMO experiences. With the power of the Marvel license, writers like Brian Michael Bendis, and David Brevik’s Diablo background, every Marvelite will likely be shouting “Excelsior!” when this game’s finally open to everyone—hopefully sometime later this year.

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EGM Review: Dead Space 3: Awakened

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Rise and shine

WARNING: This review contains spoilers in regards to Dead Space 3. If you haven’t finished Dead Space 3, you shouldn’t read this DLC review.

After destroying the Marker signal at the end of Dead Space 3, Isaac Clarke and Sgt. John Carver’s fates were unknown. All we knew was that, somehow, they’d survived after Isaac’s voice came across the radio calling out for Ellie conveniently after she rocketed off into slip space. Dead Space 3: Awakened is downloadable content intended to explain just what happened after the Necromoon fell from the sky and crashed back into Tau Volantis—and how Isaac’s still kicking around on that iceball.

The primary problem with Awakened is that it fails to explain anything, is full of loopholes, and asks players to suspend belief far too many times. The story begins with Isaac waking up in an ice cavern on Tau Volantis. When he and Carver realize they’re not dead, they try to figure out how they survived riding a moon into a planet like a cowboy straddling a bull at the rodeo. Isaac’s answer? Aliens. Something on Tau Volantis didn’t want them to die. Even Carver recoils at the idea and calls Isaac crazy, speaking for everyone who’ll play this mess of a tale.

Once our heroes come to their senses a bit, they realize that many of Danik’s men who were stationed on the planet at the end of Dead Space 3 are still around. So, Isaac and John decide if they can steal one of Danik’s ships, they can get back to Earth, and if they need spare parts, they can grab some from the ghost flotilla still orbiting Tau Volantis. Of course, at this point, I’m still trying to figure out how anything survived on the planet so perfectly AFTER A MOON DROPPED FROM ORBIT ONTO EVERYTHING. The ship graveyard, the men still stationed on the planet, all the ships—they should all have been wiped out. Maybe because the moon was made of flesh, it cushioned the blow? Maybe because Isaac is crazy, he’s still just floating in space on life support, and it’s all a dream? I don’t know the answer, because Awakened asks you to just take everything at face value with no explanation whatsoever.

The technical reason why nothing was destroyed is a lot more depressing than poor storytelling—it’s just plain laziness. Instead of creating new levels, the three chapters of Awakened simply reuse sites that Isaac and John have already visited, culminating back on the Terra Nova. At least the locations look a little different at certain points, especially the Terra Nova itself. Danik’s men who survived (but shouldn’t have) have a rift form in their ranks, which leads to some forming their own cultlike church aboard the Terra Nova and deforming their bodies to look like Necromorphs, even though they’re not quite dead—and causing Clarke and Carver all kinds of trouble.

Beyond the story, Awakened‘s other major flaw is that it’s short, even for DLC. If it takes you more than 90 minutes to beat this, hang up your headset because you have to admit you’re just not that good at games. Heck, the end credits are nearly as long as Awakened itself. For $10 (800 Microsoft Points), there’s just not enough value here for that inflated price tag.

Now, my review has been resoundingly negative thus far, but I’d be remiss if I failed to mention some aspects of Awakened that I thoroughly enjoyed once I ignored the flawed logic the story beat me over the head with. Unlike in Dead Space 3, there’s actually a lot of tension here. The hallucinations that plagued Isaac in the first two games return in full force; you’ll be walking along, when suddenly, the screen will flash red and enemies will appear out of nowhere, making the action far less predictable than in the main game.

The red tint may signify that the enemies are only hallucinations—but to Isaac, they’re all too real, so you have to fight them as you would actual enemies, consuming ammo and losing health along the way. Of course, if they’re not real in the physical plane, they shouldn’t drop ammo, health, and items! But the idea that Isaac’s mind is being torn through like wet toilet paper is a theme that the main game sorely lacked, and it’s a welcome addition.

For its faults, Dead Space 3 was certainly a polished experience, and that’s also the case with Awakened. The non-story-related banter between Clarke and Carver is witty and entertaining, and the idea of a crazed space cult onboard a dead ship gives the game an old-school Dead Space feel that most fans of the series have missed—and will appreciate seeing again. I loved the boss battles, new enemies, and the general feeling of not knowing what was around every corner. If Visceral could’ve somehow combined the gameplay found here with the story of Dead Space 3, I think a vast majority of fans would’ve been a lot more satisfied with the final product.

Developer: Visceral Games • Publisher: Electronic Arts • ESRB: M – Mature • Release Date: 03.12.2013
6.5 Dead Space 3 would have been well served to include some of the thrilling gameplay featured here, but Awakened‘s convoluted narrative has far too many absurd plot holes—and is far too short—to be worth anything to anyone but the most die-hard Dead Space fans.
The Good Provides the kind of psychological horror we expected from the main game.
The Bad Very short; backtracking through old levels; too many plot holes.
The Ugly Trying to play with a solid grip on science and logic.
Dead Space 3: Awakened is available on PS3 (PSN), Xbox 360 (XBLA), and PC. Primary version reviewed was for XBLA.
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EGM Review: God of War: Ascension

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March 9, 2013

Kratos goes through the motions

When Kratos arrived on the scene back in 2005, he quickly became one of my favorite gaming protagonists—probably because we had so much in common. We both have familial roots in the Mediterranean. We both have wicked-awesome goatees. And we’re both fueled by an all-consuming rage that the rest of the EGM crew can attest to me possessing when it’s my turn to drive during lunch break. (Stupid SoCal drivers.) Anyway, it’s been with great joy that I’ve played every God of War game to date.

But I’ll admit that when I heard about God of War: Ascension being a prequel, I was filled with more fear than joy. Personally, I can’t remember anything with that label that lived up to what came before it, whether it was a movie, comic book, or videogame. So, it was with much trepidation that I fired up Ascension, not really knowing what to expect.

This trip back in time finds Kratos taking on the Furies in an attempt to break his bond to Ares—and sets our bald, brawny antihero down the path of the main God of War trilogy. You see, before Kratos was to make his mad, one-man assault against Ares in the original God of War, he had to break the magical bond that tied him to the god to begin with. Otherwise, he’d be powerless in his quest for revenge.

Breaking a vow with a god, however, is not taken lightly. It’s here that we meet the Furies, whose sole purpose is to make those who would go back on their word suffer for all eternity. And it’s with great joy that this trio of underworld goddesses adds Kratos to their list of prisoners. He’s not into BDSM, though (at least when it comes to himself), and so the game opens with Kratos escaping his prison on the massive, 100-handed Hekatonkheires, a giant more powerful than even the Titans—and the first to break his word to a god. In his case, Zeus.

These opening scenes pull you back into the familiar button-prompt events and blood-gushing brutality that’s defined much of the God of War series. For fans of the franchise, this will feel like second nature, as the game keeps the action heavy from this opening confrontation with the Furies to the end credits. And you’ll immediately appreciate the cinematic quality of the camera movements that attempt to give Ascension that epic feeling we all expect.

The camera isn’t perfect all the time, though, and it provides the only real technical flaw I found with the experience. As Kratos begins his escape of the Hekatonkheires prison, the camera pulls out—this game actually found an even bigger creature than the Titans to have Kratos run around on. The detail and scope of this monster is exquisite, and it makes you wish that the action would let up for just a short while so you can take in the magnificent scene properly.

As the camera pans out farther and farther, the action continues on the ground as prisoners under the Furies’ control continue their assault. With the camera zoomed so far out in order to give a glimpse of the monumental levels, though, I couldn’t differentiate between Kratos and the enemies trying to attack him. And this continues throughout the game; you’ll find several instances where the camera flares out and Kratos is a mere speck against this gorgeous background. But the enemies keep coming.

Despite the occasionally wonky camera and segments where the action flows poorly, Ascension is still an impressive achievement on a technical level. The graphics and sound are both top notch, and the gameplay itself may well be the best we’ve seen from the series. The new combat system is the most elaborate yet, with seven brand-new powers, a new sub-weapon system that allows for a bevy of new combos, and a refined Rage meter that fills up and depletes faster than ever before, offering the best button-mashers multiple moments for Kratos to flip out.

But while the game shines technically, it stumbles creatively. While the variety here is appreciated, much of it’s simply borrowed from other franchises, making several sequences feel less like God of War and more like any old action-adventure title—such as the sliding sequences down slippery hills, a flavor of the month in game design right now. Meanwhile, the climbing segments through dilapidated ruins remind me more of Uncharted than God of War, while Kratos’ new time-control power screams Prince of Persia.

And this brings us back to the story. Whether you’re a God of War apologist or a stern critic of the franchise, it’s easy to see that this is the weakest story the series has offered yet. I understand that it’s difficult to craft an original tale when fans already know that no matter what happens, Kratos’ fate is sealed. That’s a motif central to Greek mythology, but it’s not a really a big bonus for a videogame.

The new villains are poorly developed and desperately try to fill the role that Ares—and, later, Zeus—provided over the main trilogy, and they fail miserably in this attempt. The levels, although definitely gorgeous and massive, are also the weakest in terms of ingenuity the series has ever seen. And the mythological references are so obscure that you’ll need Google open nearby at all times. It feels like Ascension tries to wring out the last few drops from a dried-out dish rag of mythos. Oh, and let’s not forget the plot holes left open by Kratos’ new powers that he obviously never had in the main series. So, what the heck happened to them? Oh, that’s right—you take them into multiplayer.

Yes, here comes my obligatory statement on that segment. I did indeed try every mode several times and poured a half dozen hours into the experience, leveling up my character and maxing out several pieces of equipment. Early on in the game, while Kratos is escaping his prison, you come across another prisoner who’s thrilled—at first—to be freed by Kratos. But elation sooner turns to fear, as the chaos Kratos has unleashed begins to wash over him. But before this random NPC can pay the ultimate price, he’s magically teleported to Olympus and becomes the basis for your avatar in multiplayer, where you’re tasked with choosing a god to champion from Ares, Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades (based off the four elemental powers Kratos acquires in single-player). Depending upon whom you choose, your powers and buffs change.

After a quick training session with your chosen abilities, it’s off to the arenas—and it’s nice to see familiar series backdrops here, as iconic locations like the Labyrinth Cube from God of War III are reimagined. You also have theGod of War take on your standard smattering of multiplayer modes like Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch, Capture the Point, Capture the Flag, and even a wave based co-op mode. Some of these play better than others, though, as the arenas are smaller (for the most part) in an attempt to jack up the encounter rates, since every battle is hand-to-hand. This works well in Deathmatch and even Capture the Point, but Capture the Flag is a mess—a team that works well together can win a match in only a couple of minutes with the flags so close together. The small teams—maximum 4-vs.-4—also put a limit on what could’ve been some truly chaotic-yet-fun multiplayer action.

Really, this multiplayer isn’t anything we haven’t seen before; it reminded me of BioShock 2’s in many ways, as it takes modern designs and conforms them to the God of War theme. But the gimmick wears out quickly, and I found myself bored far too often. It’s not a bad add-on, but for as much as it’s been hyped, it’s not something that was really necessary, either—and I doubt many players will put more than a couple of semi-enjoyable hours into it.

God of War: Ascension is a highly polished action-adventure game—and probably one of the strongest we’ll see from a  technical standpoint this year. But the soul of what made this franchise great is lost here, as this ultimately feels like a last-ditch attempt to squeeze in one last Kratos appearance this console generation. In the end,Ascension will be remembered as if Kratos’ legendary rage and anger simply faded out as an exasperated sigh of resignation.

Developer: Sony Santa Monica • Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment • ESRB: M – Mature • Release Date: 03.12.2013
7.0 A clear example of a studio going to the well with a franchise one too many times. Although highly polished and still entertaining for fans of the franchise, Ascension lacks the soul of its predecessors as it scrapes the bottom of the Greek-mythology barrel to try to deliver on a franchise that’s clearly run dry of fresh ideas.
The Good More elaborate combat system punctuated by a refined Rage meter.
The Bad The story is easily the weakest of the series.
The Ugly A parasite-infected Hekatonkheires.
God of War: Ascension is a PS3 exclusive.
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EGM Preview: Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag

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Walking the Plank

WARNING: Due to the nature of this preview, there will be spoilers regarding previous Assassin’s Creedgames, especially Assassin’s Creed III. Consider yourselves warned.

The present day setting of Assassin’s Creed always served as a means to explain what we were experiencing in the past. This was done, of course, with Desmond hopping into some form of the Animus to relive his ancestor’s lives to find pieces of the puzzle that would prevent the end of days. But with Desmond’s ultimate sacrifice at the end ofAssassin’s Creed III to save the world, the catalyst to trigger these memories we so enjoyed as gamers is now gone. And yet, the Templar-Assassin War still rages on behind the scenes.

So, before we get into the juicy story and gameplay bits of Edward Kenway and his pirating ways in Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag (since it’s been leaked all over the internet anyway), we first wanted to look a bit at the new Animus user that would facilitate us experiencing early 18th century Caribbean life. You. That’s right, the player themselves are being directly inserted into the action. Looking to bring the players closer to the story, the unintentional barrier created by Desmond as a character is now completely removed by the narrative of previous games. Players will have a more personal say over their characters as they become one with the story to help immerse them in the Assassin’s Creed universe. And Game Director Ashraf Ismail was kind enough to explain to us how this works with the Assassin’s Creed canon.

“The Animus technology has progressed forward, so that it allows anybody to go into the ancestry of someone else as long as the DNA is in storage somewhere. And the way this is presented to the player is through Abstergo Entertainment. Abstergo Entertainment is a subdivision of Absertgo Industries, who are the present day Templars. So this is a company that does research on historical figures and historical events for entertainment purposes—or so they say. This is the façade. There’s obviously a darker, deeper intent behind all of this. And then you are hired as a research analyst. You’re told to use the Animus to research the life of this great pirate, Edward Kenway. You’re not told why, but as you progress through the story you will find out that Edward had a major impact on the Assassin-Templar conflict. The Templars of the present day need information about what Edward did in the past. And this is why you’re doing all of this.”

Abstergo Entertainment was introduced in the last game’s multiplayer under a similar premise. Therefore, it’s not a stretch to see this branch of the Templars expanded into another game. Just how the player will play through these modern day scenes, whether it’ll be a first-person experience like Desmond’s memories from Revelations, or something like a character customization suite that allows the game to maintain it’s more traditional third-person perspective, is yet to be seen, but something along these lines to help with the idea of being one with this new character was hinted at in our talks with Ashraf.

Because of this, we know now how we get into the world of Edward Kenway, but we should really look a bit more closely at the man himself. After all, it’s through his eyes most of the game really takes place. Edward’s backstory was explained with him being a charming and charismatic man of British decent who grew up very poor. This poverty led him to becoming very reckless and selfish. Upon adulthood, his only real career option was to join the British navy and once accepted, he was stationed in the West Indies (what we call the Caribbean today). The lure of gold, glory, and fame, however, leads him to quickly going AWOL from the navy and turning pirate. It is while being a pirate that Edward runs across the Assassin’s Order and becomes enamored with their struggle. And here is where we pick up with Edward, torn between the selfish pirate life he has cultivated for himself and the new selflessness of the Assassins and somehow, if he is to survive, he must strike a balance between them.

Edward is not just notable for his own exploits, however. He is also the father of Haytham and grandfather to Connor, two integral characters to Assassin’s Creed III. So even though the guys at Ubisoft weren’t looking to do another full trilogy like they did with Ezio, their focus on the Kenway bloodline was something they knew they wanted to do from the very beginning.

“Really early on, in conception and before this game really was started, the brand was headed toward telling the Kenway story. The Kenway saga. This is something that’s important—that we always try to surprise fans with the hero, with the setting. So at some point it was decided that we’re going to do the Ezio trilogy, and then we didn’t want people to just naturally assume that we’re going to do a trilogy with every hero going forward. So we decided for the next round we’re going to surprise people with the Kenway saga. So that’s what we’re telling now. We’re telling Edward’s side of this saga,” said Ashraf.

Like many Assassin’s Creed games though, the main protagonist can sometimes be lost against the backdrop of the recreated historical landscapes. Whether it was Connor in the American Revolution, Ezio in Renaissance Italy, or Altair in Crusades Era Middle East, the time period plays just as big a role in any game as whoever wields the hidden blade. And it looks like it won’t be any different with Black Flag.

The heart of Assasssin’s Creed IV: Black Flag takes place in the year 1715 in the Caribbean, as previously mentioned. Edward is captain of his own ship, the Jackdaw, and he has developed a reputation so that the likes of many other historical figures of the time, like Calico Jack and Blackbeard himself, know to beware of Edward as he is supposedly more ruthless or single minded than anyone else even these famed pirates have ever met.

And this untamed swathe of the globe is the perfect paradise for someone who finds himself clearly on the wrong side of the law as often as Edward does. Because of this, he will travel frequently on the Jackdaw to different islands to let things cool down when he kicks the hornet’s nest one too many times. Ashraf went into great detail about these unique locations Edward will travel to.

“Our map is centered with Cuba and Havana being one of the major cities. We have Nassau in the Bahamas, Kingston in Jamaica, and we’re bordered by Haiti and Yucatán. This is our game world, and it has 50 unique locations. So this is really the most different and freshest AC game that we’ve ever built. This is the most drastically different world. So three major cities, the first being Havana, is a Spanish-colonized city, which has a European flavor to it. For us, we really referenced Venice from ACII, because we love the rooftop running from ACII, and this city is inspired by that. Kingston, this is a British-colonized city, it’s a very dangerous, very threatening environment. It’s probably the most different AC city that we’ve ever had, because it merges natural environments with the city itself. The city actually had a lot of foliage and trees in it. It’s the first time we’ve had a city that’s dense in mixing houses and buildings plus trees and tree navigation stuff. And finally we have Nassau, which is a pirate haven. And this is a city that goes through a transformation in the game. It begins as the pirate haven, but then becomes besieged by the British. So the player really feels a different mood and atmosphere, and the gameplay actually changes as well here. So those are the three major cities, but we’ll also have tons of other locations, like hidden fisherman villages, plantations, tucked away coves where smugglers hide their goods and you can go in and steal it, really dense and claustrophobic jungles to do an opposite of the really open seas, we have naval forts, Mayan ruins, coconut islands— which are the picturesque image people have of the Caribbean—and a new location, a new setting for Assassin’s Creed, is the underwater.”

All these different locations will offer up many new and interesting gameplay challenges we’ve yet to see from the franchise. Just to accommodate the unique landscape of the Caribbean Sea, Ashraf told us to expect about a 60/40 balance between gameplay on land and at seas. And although Edward’s blonde locks may give him a passing resemblance to Aquaman, how exactly he is to navigate or survive in the underwater segments actually in game is still unclear. But no doubt there is a creative solution waiting for us once we experience those segments beyond Edward suddenly growing gills.

With the sea taking up such a large chunk of the game, it’s no surprise to find out that there has been a lot of focus on what you can now do with your ship. Taking a cue from the Far Cry 3 team, a new dynamic encounter system is being incorporated into the sailing portion of the game so that the Jackdaw never knows just when it may come across enemy British, French, or Spanish vessels patrolling a particular expanse of water. There are also several new mechanics now that will not only allow you to engage these ships, but whether or not you wish to board them and try to plunder their holdings or sink them outright.

And how you go about bringing a ship down or capturing it is completely up to you once you’re in the boarding process. You can have Edward lead the charge with sword in hand, use the Jackdaw’s swivel cannons to continue to wreak havoc on the deck, or even jump off the Jackdaw, swim around to the blind side of the enemy vessel, and clamber up the side to attack the enemy crew from behind. How you choose to do it is up to you. Just be careful, as too many failed encounters could lead to your own crew deciding to abandon ship…permanently.

There is a lot more to your sea faring adventures beyond just random encounters though. You can get goods from more than just enemy ships, as the Jackdaw is also outfitted with harpoons if you feel like going hunting for whale blubber or shark meat. There is also a random storm generator meaning Mother Nature is a foe Edward will have to spit in the face of as well. And a tool called the Spyglass will be to critical to scouting out naval blockades or unexplored islands before Edward actually attempts to interact with them, telling him what he might find there as well as what kind of an enemy force to expect.

Some of the new land gameplay elements we know about focus more on Edward’s signature weapons. Much like how Connor had the tomahawk, Edward wields a weapon unique to his character in dual cutlasses. These large swords make Edward even more of an intimidating persona as he strikes with them as easily as most men would with smaller blades. This isn’t to say he doesn’t also wield the traditional hidden blade, but depending on how much of a pirate you wish Edward to be, his swords are a staple that Assassin’s Creed fans should have a lot of fun wielding.

Another pirate weapon that Edward wields are throwaway pistols. Able to carry up to four at once, Edward can fire these pre-loaded pistols to keep his free flow combos going from a distance and it expands his range in the heat of combat, or allows him to take careful aim through a new third-person shooting system to surprise unsuspecting foes.

The most intriguing aspect of the weapons though may be the new upgrade system that allows you to strengthen whatever you wield. Pistols, blades, and even the Jackdaw itself, can be upgraded to make Edward an even more legendary scourge of the sea, and makes pillaging even more important as you look for key components to improve your items.

Much like the previous Assassin’s Creed games, Black Flag looks to be an adventure that brings its own special twist to an interesting period in world history. All while providing the high level of polish we’ve come to expect in game design and gameplay from the folks over at Ubisoft. If you are a fan of Assassin’s Creed, this latest chapter looks to continue the trend of one-upmanship from the franchise, while finally giving gamers the pirate game we’ve always dreamed of come October 29, 2013, for both current and next-gen consoles. Eye patches optional.

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EGM Commentary: Putting Away My Geeky Things

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Spector speaks, but who should listen?

I’ve wanted to write an article like this for some time now. I knew I wanted to vent my frustrations with the comics industry, but I didn’t know how to jump into the subject without coming across like a raving lunatic—which I admit to sometimes being the case.

As my comic qualms simmered in the back of my mind for weeks on end and I pondered how to kick off this editorial, DICE 2013 rolled around. I’d planned on burying my anger even further in the recesses of my mind in order to focus on the conference, but I found some inspiration in an unlikely spot.

Celebrated game designer Warren Spector was scheduled to speak at the conference; he didn’t cancel his appearance even after the disheartening news that his studio, Junction Point, closed just a week prior to DICE. I’m sure this experience inspired Spector’s talk about spending almost four decades in the game industry—and what he saw now that he had the chance to take a step back.

Anyone who’s had the pleasure to speak candidly with Spector knows that he’s quick with a joke no matter the subject. Because of this, his presentation was one of the more enjoyable ones at the conference, even if it lacked the structure of other talks. But shooting from the hip—as Warren is wont to do—certainly ruffled a few feathers. Spector condemned the tongue-in-cheek zombie-ripping romp that was Lollipop Chainsaw and gushed over Heavy Raincreator David Cage’s work (maybe Warren’s trying to line himself up for an interview?), but what made my blood boil was his encouragement that we all “put away our geeky things.”

This irked me on several levels. Not only does what we do as game journalists drip with geekiness, but my beloved hobby of comic books is another cornerstone in the foundation of any solid nerd cred. My rage was palpable, to say the least—to begin with, anyway.

Like many other geeks, my first instinct had driven me to anger, before rationale (and, later whiskey) settled in to calm me down. After all, the same old song and dance from our favorite games, movies, and comics are like geek comfort food, and we don’t take too kindly to folks messing with tried-and-true recipes. But the more I thought about Spector’s words, the more I realized that he didn’t mean for us to drop the hobbies near and dear to our hearts or to stop being inspired by them. He didn’t literally want us to stop being who we are.

Warren Spector wants us to get away from the same tired formulas we’ve been using in games since he got into the industry. He wants developers to stop being so geeky and to grow up in a figurative sense so that we can break boundaries as a medium. The same can be said for what’s going on in the comics industry.

And this leads me into the point of this article (yeah, I like the sound of my own voice—I know, I know!). For the most part, the comic industry, much more so than the gaming industry, has become tired and stale, at least when speaking of the Big Two, DC and Marvel. “Transmedia” was a buzzword thrown around liberally at DICE, and it seems that with the comics industry being so focused on crossing over into games and movies, Marvel and DC have completely forgotten what it means to tell meaningful, entertaining stories through the traditional pages of a comic book.

In fact, Marvel and DC have gotten so far away from what they once were that they’ve transformed into an Ouroboros—a snake eating its own tail. I’ll let you decide which one of the Big Two is the head and which is the tail, but it doesn’t really matter. At this point, we can’t tell which came first, the chicken or the egg—because both are scrambled. Every time there’s a major story in one universe, the other has to go for a copycat narrative. When one relaunches, so must the other.

And heaven forbid that an original idea actually explains the drastic story switches this constant cycle signifies. If a writer uses time travel one more time to launch a series, I’m going to break the fingers of whoever wrote it. I’ll still never forgive DC and Geoff Johns for how they brought Swamp Thing back. And I’ll never forget what Marvel and J. Michael Straczynski did to Spider-Man back in 2007; they felt the best way to relaunch the character was for him to sell his marriage to Mephisto. I want you folks to look back over that last sentence and contemplate that for a little while if you’re not familiar with a horrendous little story arc called One More Day. Spidey sold his marriage to the damn Devil! It’s too much for even a comic-book fan like me to swallow.

The worst of it—at least in regards to the Big Two—is that it doesn’t look like things are going to change anytime soon. In fact, if this weren’t my job, I might be tempted to take Warren Spector literally and stop buying comics altogether, because the stuff being printed nowadays on a regular basis is slop.

I do see some potential for hope, though. While the Big Two continue to bite off each other to the point that, soon, there’ll be nothing worthwhile left to read, the indie scene is resurgent. The return of classic Valiant Comics likeArcher & Armstrong and Shadowman, new Star Wars books from Dark Horse, IDW’s takes on Ghostbusters andTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and Archie’s continued success with other videogame properties like Mega Man andSonic the Hedgehog keep comics viable, much like how gaming’s own indie scene continues to breath fresh concepts into the industry year after year.

In the end, Warren Spector was right. It’s time for the comic-book industry, just like the game industry, to put a lot of their geeky, tired, uninspired ideas of what constitutes content away and to grow up. We can keep the capes, though!

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EGM Review: Assassin’s Creed III: The Tyranny of King Washington – Episode 1 – The Infamy

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Dances with Wolves

Editor’s note: This review contains Assassin’s Creed III spoilers; it is recommended you play ACIII before The Tyranny of King Washington.

Episodic content is hitting the game industry in full force these days. Halo 4’s currently on this trend with Spartan Ops, while The Walking Dead featured an enthralling episodic narrative that garnered several Game of the Year accolades. So, it’s no surprise to see Ubisoft taking a crack themselves with what’s being described as their most ambitious downloadable content to date—Assassin’s Creed III: The Tyranny of King Washington.

In this first of three chapters—titled The Infamy—Assassin’s Creed III protagonist Ratonhnhaké:ton (better known to fans as the far more pronounceable Connor Kenway) wakes up wearing traditional Mohawk garb in the forest…with his long-dead mother standing over him. Startled and shocked, Ratonhnhaké:ton can’t come to grips with why his mother is alive. Meanwhile, she can’t understand why Ratonhnhaké:ton is suddenly acting so strangely.

After speaking with his mother, Ratonhnhaké:ton comes to realize that he’s no longer in the familiar universe he once knew. In this world, he never joined the Assassin’s Order—thus, no one refers to him as “Connor.” Meanwhile, George Washington found an Apple of Eden, using it to help free the American Colonies from British rule. But instead of living under our beloved first President, the Colonies have a new despot to contend with now in Mad King Washington, who uses his Apple to govern with a bloodstained iron fist. So, was Ratonhnhaké:ton fighting alongside George Washington a dream? Is this new reality the dream? Could this be Juno’s doing? Maybe this is some sort of weird feedback from the Animus?

Or maybe, theorizing that one could time travel within his own lifetime, Ratonhnhaké:ton stepped into the Quantum Leap accelerator…and vanished. He awoke to find himself trapped in the past, facing mirror images that were not his own, and driven by an unknown force to change history for the better. His only guide on this journey is Al, an observer from his own time who appears in the form of a hologram that only Ratonhnhaké:ton can see and hear. And so Ratonhnhaké:ton finds himself leaping from tree to tree, striving to put right what once went wrong, and hoping each time that his next leap…will be the leap home.

Either way, the solution to this riddle eludes Ratonhnhaké:ton, but if he’s to survive this alternate world, he’ll have to adapt—and quickly—while searching for the answers as best he can.

Every previous Assassin’s Creed DLC has directly supported an established game world, such as Battle of Forli withAssassin’s Creed II. In this context, the idea of an alternate universe inspired by—but separate from—a game in the series is definitely a cool change of pace. Aside from the narrative itself, this twisted reality also provides a fresh coat of paint for everything you may have already played through. Each episode carries players through one of the three primary areas of the central game, with this first episode looking at the Frontier. Burned-down buildings litter Lexington and Concord, slaughtered animals dot the landscape of Charlestown, and even Ratonhnhaké:ton’s village and its inhabitants are different, as they, too, have begun to feel the pressure from Mad King Washington.

The story—combined with a fresh look at familiar locales—definitely kept me playing through the two-to-three-hour-long episode and see how the mystery would continue to unravel, especially once it’s revealed how other old friends have now become Ratonhnhaké:ton’s new enemies.

One new aspect didn’t quite click with me, though. Since King Washington holds an Apple of Eden, Ratonhnhaké:ton knows he’ll need assistance to overcome this Despot-in-Chief. The Clan Mother instructs Ratonhnhaké:ton—against his biological mother’s wishes—to drink tea made from the bark of the Red Willow Tree, a majestic beacon standing above the stark, wintry wastes that now make up the Frontier. By drinking the tea, Ratonhnhaké:ton embarks on a spirit journey, the first of three (one per episode), where he gains new abilities.

The first journey sees Ratonhnhaké:ton become one with the wolfpack, which allows him to sic spiritual wolves on groups of enemies—much like calling on Assassin trainees in previous games. Becoming one with the wolf also imbues Ratonhnhaké:ton with the ability to blend into the wilderness like a single flake of snow against the background of a blizzard.

At first, this super-camouflage feels amazing and gives the sense of a much more hardcore stealth experience, with missions tailored to take advantage of the new powers. For example, Ratonhnhaké:ton can move between hiding spots that are few and far between and cause panic among the enemy ranks with no one the wiser. But then, you realize that it feels like you’re using a cheat code and that the game has lost all challenge; Ratonhnhaké:ton is damn near untouchable, since no one can see him. The game attempts to balance this by only allowing use of the power for so long, as the special abilities sap Ratonhnhaké:ton’s health over time. But since it recharges in any hiding spot, all this does is delay its inevitable continued use as you move behind enemy lines, through patrols, and around any and all danger.

Assassin’s Creed has always been touted by the developers as being built on the three pillars of stealth, movement, and combat, and those have always been well-balanced throughout each entry (obviously better in some games than others). Removing combat almost entirely with this new power—and offering no challenge through the other two pillars—left me unsatisfied.

Despite the fact that this new grossly overpowered tool in Ratonhnhaké:ton’s arsenal holds the gameplay back, The Tyranny of King Washington weaves an intriguing tale that left me wanting more. And when it comes to Assassin’s Creed, the story’s always been the core focus more than anything else—at least for me. The free-flowing combat from Assassin’s Creed III is still intact, and the animation, voice acting, and new original musical score remind us how far the right coat of polish can push our senses.

If you play Assassin’s Creed primarily for the single-player experience, The Tyranny of King Washington is definitely worth it. Think of it in terms of Marvel’s alternate-storyline What If comics: It’s fun for what it is, but it doesn’t surpass the original in terms of enjoyment.

SUMMARY: Ratonhnhaké:ton’s new stealth powers are an interesting twist that causes some unfortunate gameplay-balance problems, but there’s enough classic Assassin’s Creed action and storytelling here to warrant the download.

  • THE GOOD: The beginning of an engrossing alternate-universe story.
  • THE BAD: The special powers don’t fit the established Assassin’s Creed vibe.
  • THE UGLY: George Washington wearing a crown.

SCORE: 8.0

Assassin’s Creed III: The Tyranny of King Washington—Episode 1: The Infamy is available on Xbox 360, PS3, and PC. Primary version reviewed was for Xbox 360. 

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