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

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March 9, 2013

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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EGM Review: Fire Emblem: Awakening

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February 2, 2013

Fire in the sky

While the strategy-RPG might be considered mostly niche in terms of audience, a few franchises have permanently ingrained themselves  into the hardcore-gaming community. And fewer still represent this better than Fire Emblem. After its first several chapters were Japan exclusives, Fire Emblem crossed the ocean a decade ago and hasn’t looked back since, as we’ve seen one title in the series on every Nintendo system since the Game Boy Advance/GameCube era. So, if Fire Emblem were to continue this streak, it was only a matter of time before it graced the 3DS’s dual screens. And thus, we have Fire Emblem: Awakening, featuring the same core tactical turn-based strategy gameplay we’ve come to love.

Now, before we even get into the story, we need to talk about something that’s never been seen in a Fire Emblem on this side of the Pacific before: In Awakening, you’re allowed to customize your character. Sure, it’s not as detailed as something you might get in an open-world game, but you still get to name your character, choose their gender, hair, and facial features, and develop an immediate bond with them.

Of course, this also means it’s unlikely that we’ll see much of this particular roster of characters again beyond maybe a Smash Bros. appearance down the line, because your interactions with each and every one of them—especially for your created character—are critical. This leads to another feature never before seen in North America: the marriage/bonding system. By fighting alongside characters in battle, you develop trust; later on, if set to fight side by side again, the characters will get bonuses to certain stats like Critical Hit or Attack Avoidance. And if that trust builds up high enough, and if the characters are of the opposite sex, they can get married and have children—who later can fight for your cause!

A brand-new tactic—never before seen in any other Fire Emblem—can help with this bonding. By sacrificing a turn (strategy fans know how much of a risk this can be), two characters can team up and occupy one square. In the past, certain mounted characters could help move another character; now, though, that second character can also fight should the main character be attacked—and, thus, can also level up. This is a great mechanism to help evenly level up your forces—and advance your battlefield position.

And speaking of leveling up, each character has a new Skills feature that allows them to equip five unique skills—earning a new one every 5 to 10 levels. These skills can help in combat, increase stats, or give a variety of other bonuses depending on the terrain and scenario. Some are simple, like a plus-2 to defense, while others are more elaborate—like giving you a plus-10 to hit if your enemy’s wielding a particular weapon type.

All these combat adjustments and additions are all well and good, but the heart and soul of an RPG is the story. And though Awakening gets off to a slow start, the story’s just as immersive as any previous title —and you’ll soon find yourself as attached to these new characters.

Awakening begins with your character face-down in the mud and unconscious—but soon found by Chrom, Prince of Ylisse (the continent you find yourself on). Immediately, the cheesy RPG stereotypes start flying; not only does your character have amnesia, but you’re also immediately welcomed with open arms into Chrom’s band of merry men (and women) who fight to keep Ylisse safe from outside forces. And not only that, but you’re immediately made chief tactician, too! How convenient. And so begins the heroic, swashbuckling adventures of Ray the Tactician! Er, or…whoever you should actually choose to be. Like I said, it’s a slow start to the story, but you’re soon caught up in a conflict that’ll span two continents as you try to quell a threat millennia in the making.

A slow start to an RPG story is a more than forgivable offense, as it’s rare that they start off with a bang. That’s not to say there are no unforgivable flaws, though, with Fire Emblem: Awakening. If you choose to play the game with the traditional “permadeath” feature on, you may find your forces dwindling faster than you’d like. This isn’t uncommon in a Fire Emblem game, and there is an option to turn off permadeath via Casual mode. Still, I would’ve loved an easier way to restart battles where I lost characters, instead of having to restart the game over and over. I suppose you could say I should’ve just turned permadeath off, but that wouldn’t be getting the full Fire Emblem experience—and I still like the idea of being punished for letting one of my characters die. But restarting the whole game repeatedly became a chore, and I stopped caring about certain characters (I’m looking at you, Frederick!) after a while.

The biggest letdown, however, is easily the graphics. The animation style for the story cutscenes is fantastic; it exudes a level of detail rarely seen on any console, never mind a handheld. The problem comes from the sprites used on the battle grid that fail to take advantage of the system’s 3D. In fact, much of the game avoids using the 3D feature, which makes me wonder why they even bothered with it. And the few times 3D models are used—mostly during battle sequences—they look blocky and appear to have no feet. I questioned Eric L. Patterson, our news editor, to see if he wasn’t seeing what I wasn’t seeing; he agreed that all the models looked like Rob Liefeld designed them as they pranced around the battlefield on their tiptoes.

At the end of the day, though, these are minor complaints. Fire Emblem: Awakening stands near the pinnacle of the series, as it blends rarely seen elements and a few new twists of its own into the tried-and-true combat and storytelling. Awakening is one of the few must-have’ 3DS titles.  

SUMMARY: Aside for some minor annoyances, this is probably the best Fire Emblem to come to the States yet. Strategy fans everywhere should rejoice.

  • THE GOOD: As pure a strategy experience as you’ll get anywhere.
  • THE BAD: No simple way to restart battles.
  • THE UGLY: The 3D character models look like they were designed by Rob Liefeld.

SCORE: 9.0

Fire Emblem: Awakening is a Nintendo 3DS exclusive.

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EGM Review: Borderlands 2: Sir Hammerlock’s Big Game Hunt

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Darkest Pandora

If there’s one thing we learned in Borderlands 2, it’s that Pandora’s a sprawling planet with a bevy of different ecosystems supporting unheard of amounts of unique life-forms. This diversity looks to put itself on display once again in the game’s latest DLC: Sir Hammerlock’s Big Game Hunt.

After your glorious defeat of Handsome Jack, Sir Hammerlock feels that you and your fellow Vault Hunters need to be rewarded with a weekend of rest and relaxation—and nothing makes him feel better than shooting giant monsters in the face. Lucky for him, we feel the exact same way. So, the Vault Hunters are whisked away to the Hunter’s Grotto via Fast Travel and greeted by the smelliest, most bug-infested swamp you’ve ever seen. And to add insult to injury, the natives of this swamp aren’t too happy with you showing up and deciding to hunt their game. Oh, and a new Jack crony makes it his mission to wipe you out when he thinks you show up to mess up his plans, even though you had no idea he existed until now. Awkward. Have fun!

One of the most entertaining aspects of this add-on is the addition of hovercraft vehicles. After all, how else would you expect to get around a swampy marshland? The vehicles’ ability to transition from land to water—or vice versa—is critical in completing this DLC, as they offer a way to get around the half-submerged grotto with little effort, even if they’re a bit unwieldy. But these vehicles make up for their loose controls with a trio of new weapons that can be hardwired to the craft to crush the indigenous life found in and around the grotto. You can outfit your hovercraft with a corrosive grenade launcher, a shock grenade launcher, or a flamethrower, all of which clearly have their own advantages and disadvantages as you wage war in the swamp.

The most fun I garnered from the download, though, was discovering not just an entirely new section of the world, but the different enemy creature species that reared their heads (if they had heads to begin with, that is!). You’ll have to fight everything from exploding plant spores to giant scorpions—not to mention several new varieties of classic enemies like Skags.

The new tribal natives also prove a formidable threat, even if they’re similar to bandits in many ways—but they’re far less balanced than they needed to be. The natives are led by Witch Doctors, who typically control one of the game’s main elements (Fire, Shock, and so on). But they also wield the unique ability to heal themselves and the enemies around them—and they can even level up nearby baddies, too. This can often lead to a dozen or so Ultimate Badasses running around if you’re not careful, as even the most pitiful of tribal hunters can become a threat if you don’t remove the Witch Doctors quickly. However, because of their healing nature and the frequency with which they show up, they’re damn near impossible to take down. This often led me to just running past many of the tribal enemies I encountered on the way to my objectives. It often wasn’t worth the trouble to fight them, and this was a source of surprising frustration.

Besides these few moments, however, I really did enjoy this new side story. The new villain’s hysterical, and returning cameos by main game characters help the DLC feel like it’s really a part of the vibrant world of Pandora. And depending on how many of the sidequests you decide to do, you can expect somewhere between six to eight hours of brand-new content that flows along the same vein of the main game in terms of humor and gameplay, making it well worth the $10 asking price (800 MSP). So, if you love a plethora of blatant pop-culture references from the characters that inhabit the Borderlands universe, blowing up giant monsters with any combination of different weapons, or just need an excuse to hop online with your friends, Sir Hammerlock’s Big Game Hunt is a more-than-worthwhile DLC purchase.

SUMMARY: If the bulk of Borderlands 2 had you laughing till it hurt, then this DLC will certainly continue that trend. A couple of balancing issues with the new enemies introduced, however, will cause some headaches and encourage you to race through more daunting areas.

  • THE GOOD: Maintains the same humor and game play of the main game.
  • THE BAD: Some of the new enemies are poorly balanced.
  • THE UGLY: Hammerlock’s emotional barriers that prevent him from making friends.

SCORE: 8.5

Borderlands 2: Sir Hammerlock’s Big Game Hunt is available for Xbox 360 (XBLA), PS3 (PSN), and PC. Primary version reviewed was for Xbox 360. 

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EGM Book Review: Hitman: Damnation

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January 2, 2013

I’ll be Damned…

The last time many gamers saw the bald man with the barcode on the back of his head, Agent 47 and Diana Burnwood had taken down the Franchise in Hitman: Blood Money and things looked to be getting back to normal (well, as normal as they get for the world’s greatest assassin). When we begin Hitman: Absolution, however, things are far more different than we remembered, as 47 has a new handler and his new target is the previously mentioned Ms. Burnwood.

Although some of the pieces of this initial puzzle come together as you play Absolution, there are a lot of unanswered questions in regards to just what transpired between Blood Money and Absolution. Thus, we have Hitman: Damnation, a prequel novel by Raymond Benson (best known for having written several official James Bond novels) that reveals Diana’s fall from grace, introduces and fleshes out key Absoltuon characters like Birdie, Benjamin Travis, and his assistant Jade, and just what brings Agent 47 back into the ICA’s folds.

After Burnwood leaves 47 to die in the Himalayan mountains in the middle of a contract and drops off the grid, everyone’s favorite bald assassin finds himself drifting through life after recovering from yet another near-death experience. Wishing to leave the ICA behind, 47 survives on simple hits for various drug lords and other unsavory types. After all, old habits die a lot harder than most of 47’s targets.

It isn’t long before the newly reformed ICA wishes to reacquire their greatest asset, though, and with the promise of finding Diana and figuring out why she left him, 47 accepts being brought back into the ICA ranks. Wishing to see if 47 still has it, the ICA wants to test the hitman before sending him after Burnwood, should they be able to follow up on their guarantee of finding her. But what starts off as your run-of-the-mill political assassination quickly turns into a conspiracy of global proportions that will push 47’s bio-enhanced skills to their limits.

Considering how much I, like much of the EGM staff, enjoyed Hitman: Absolution, I relished the chance to see several of the blanks in the game’s backstory filled in. Benson shows off his Hitman chops almost right off the bat by how he easily allows readers to jump into the head of the near-emotionless assassin. Although 47’s internal dialogue and Benson’s narration can sometimes blend together a bit too much, getting a better feel for his motivations throughout this book really helped me enjoy what IO Interactive did with the game. This chapter in the Hitman franchise is easily the deepest slice of personality we’ve ever gotten from the cold-blooded killer.

Damnation isn’t just about deepening the character of 47, though. The book may get off to a bit of a slow start, but there’s more than enough action here to keep fans interested, as Benson beautifully describes several hits in stunning, meticulous detail. For the last 100 pages or so, I couldn’t put Damnation down as it ramped up to a thrilling, action-packed conclusion. Throw in some dynamic and interesting villains and I can’t see anyone who enjoys the Hitman games not enjoying this read. This book is more than worth the price ($9.99) considering how much enjoyment Hitman fans will get from its 300 pages. Damnation would make a great stocking stuffer or wishlist addition if you have a huge Hitman fan in your household.

SCORE: 8.5

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EGM Review: Family Guy: Back to the Multiverse

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Not always lucky there’s a Family Guy

It’s never easy to capture the essence of a licensed product in a videogame. Sure, games like Batman: Arkham City show it can be done, but for every gem, you get South Park: Tenorman’s Revenge, X-Men: Destiny, a half-dozen Simpsons titles (excluding Hit and Run), and the worst of them all, Aquaman: Battle for Atlantis (just beating out the equally awful Superman 64). So, when it came time for Family Guy to take another crack at a video game, six years after their first failure on the last console generation, it was hard not to think “Here we go again.”

Inspired by the Season 8 episode “Road to the Multiverse,” Family Guy: Back to the Multiverse centers around the machinations of an alternate universe incarnation of Bertram, Stewie’s evil half-brother who was destroyed in the main Family Guy universe episode “The Big Bang Theory.” This version of Bertram has built his own multiverse remote control and vowed revenge on Stewie for killing him in any universe. Knowing that their own vast multiverse experience makes them the only ones capable of putting a stop to the plan, the show’s beloved odd couple, Stewie and Brian, embark on a quest across 10 parallel dimensions to stop Bertram from putting together an unstoppable army that will squash the Griffin family once and for all.

As a fan of the show, I admit the premise sounded promising. When you consider that the plot was written by the Fuzzy Door writing staff and that everyone from the cartoon reprised their voice for the game, the story side of Back to the Multiverse didn’t worry me one bit. And it did, indeed, deliver in most instances, as there were many moments during the game’s cutscenes where I found myself laughing out loud as Brian and Stewie found themselves in a Pirate World, an Amish World, a world ruled by handicapped people, and much more.

Unfortunately, when it came to being a fleshed-out game, I found Back to the Multiverse lacking. The third-person shooter gameplay quickly became tedious as wave after wave of cookie-cutter enemies swarmed me in each level, yet still provided almost no challenge. Surprisingly, the handful of platforming obstacles in several levels—along with one very special level with Peter—provided some enjoyable variety to the grind of shooting everything in sight, but these brief departures from the blasting bonanza were too few and far between to save the game from becoming repetitive, dull, and simple.

The game is also extremely short and linear, and in order to try to cram in a couple extra hours of playtime, each level is littered with pointless item collection side quests that reward players with nothing but concept art and multiplayer skins. Somewhere between collecting my 10th wanted poster in the Amish world and my 7th handicap placard in the “Handicapable” level, I was already done with the hoarding.

And speaking of the multiplayer, what were developers Heavy Iron thinking by not making the co-op or versus modes online capable? The multiplayer suite here is impressive, with challenges, Deathmatch and CTF, a horde mode, and campaign co-op. Though far from revolutionary, Multiverse definitely has the potential to stand up to many other titles out there, but since all the modes are restricted to local play, they quickly lose their luster. The multiplayer levels, especially in Team Deathmatch, seem better designed for larger groups of players with their scope and size. With only up to four people locally, everyone is constantly wandering around, desperate for someone to shoot. I appreciate local play as an option, but it just doesn’t work well as the only option, not in this day and age.

In the end, this game is like many of those other licensed products that have come before it. There’s a very solid core here, with the visuals and the humorous writing capturing the animated heart of the show. If the fat from the single player had been cut out so there was only maybe only five or six more polished and varied levels, I could see this being a great downloadable or budget title in the $20-30 price range. For a full $60 though, Family Guy: Back to the Multiverse is far too flawed to be worth it for all but the most passionate (and delusional) of Family Guy fans, as this falls into place with the rest of the long list of other mediocre adapted media property video games out there.

SUMMARY: A solid comedic core cannot save what becomes tedious gameplay as you move through the 10 different dimensions of the Multiverse. Throw in the mind-boggling lack of online multiplayer for a suite that clearly could have benefited from it, and Family Guy: Back to the Multiverse should only appeal to fanatics of the FOX animated sitcom.

  • THE GOOD: Much of the game captures the humor of the show.
  • THE BAD: No online multiplayer, tedious side quests.
  • THE UGLY: Amish women. What? It’s not like they’re going to read this on the Internet or something.

SCORE: 5.5

Family Guy: Back to the Multiverse is available on Xbox 360, PS3, and PC. Primary version reviewed was for Xbox 360. 

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EGM Review: Red Bull Crashed Ice Kinect

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Crash and burn

Up until yesterday, I had no idea what Crashed Ice was. If you came up to me on the street and asked me, I’d probably say it was some sort of alcoholic beverage. And considering Red Bull puts on the event, I may start experimenting with that one later (I’m thinking some blue grenadine and vodka needs to be in there). But, no, Crashed Ice is actually a winter extreme sport involving skating downhill at breakneck speeds while dressed as a hockey player on a closed track. So, considering my love of hockey and my unfortunate experience playing many Kinect, sports, and Kinect sports games over the past couple of years, I figured “How bad could it be?” Famous last words if there ever were ones.

Released to coincide with the first event of the 2012-2013 World Championship season, Red Bull Crashed Ice Kinect allows your avatar to don pads and blades and try to become the faster skater out there as you avoid various real-life and in-game exclusive obstacles. Featuring avatars based on actual Crashed Ice competitors like Kyle Croxall and Jasper Felder, you and three others race to the finish in each event, just like in the actual sport. Being that the game is Kinect based, you’d expect maybe some leg movement, but instead of moving your legs to gain speed, you just swing your arms back and forth as fast as possible in a motion that is more reminiscent of skiing rather than skating. And, unfortunately, Red Bull Crashed Ice Kinect happens to be yet another prime example of a game that fails primarily because the Kinect sensor can’t pick up your motions a majority of the time if you go too fast, obviously defeating the entire purpose of what a race is supposed to be.

The controls aren’t the only failure of Red Bull Crashed Ice Kinect, however, since it’s not like there’s much strategy to this game. The entire concept is “you go downhill as fast as possible.” The faster you swing your arms, the faster you go (if the sensor picks you up), and so the challenge centers more around your level of aerobic fitness than anything the game actually throws at you. Sure, some sensationalized jumps and a Hulk-like stomp move to help knock your competition down to try to give the game a fun, arcade-like feel. But again the Kinect often fails to pick up the rare moments you need these over-the-top maneuvers to advance through the game.

Of course, it’s not like there’s much of a game here to begin with, either; the game consists of only five events. And given the brevity of these races, you can blow through the entire campaign in less than an hour. Even with online leaderboards and the ability to download ghosts of friends or top racers to go against, the game basically equates to a dollar per track. You spend more time on load menus than actually playing this game. So, with the control problems and lack of depth—and the fact that most people don’t even know what Crashed Ice is—this game could be free instead of $5 (400 Microsoft points) and it still wouldn’t be worth it! After putting in far too much time with this, I can say it’s a game everyone should avoid—and that I need to go comfort myself by experimenting more with my Crashed Ice drink recipe (maybe I should put some Natty Ice in there?).

SUMMARY: Even with its cheap price of only 400 Microsoft points ($5), when you combine the game’s poor recognition of your body movements and a severe lack of content, there just isn’t enough of a game here to warrant any sort of purchase.

  • THE GOOD: Head-to-head racing with ghosts.
  • THE BAD: Everything else.
  • THE UGLY: This may be the only skating we see this year with the NHL labor impasse (I miss you, hockey!).

SCORE: 2.5

Red Bull Crashed Ice Kinect is an XBLA (Xbox 360) exclusive.

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EGM Review: HISTORY: Legends of War: Patton

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November 21, 2012

All Blood, No Guts

George S. Patton was one of the United States’ greatest generals of all-time. Although a bit eccentric, his strategic mind and ability to inspire his troops by weaving colorful tapestries of profanity, akin to Rembrandt painting a landscape, was the stuff of legend. His leadership and larger-than-life persona in the North Africa campaign of World War II would position him to play a key role in Operation Fortitude, the critical deception of German military forces that led to the Invasion of Normandy. After Normandy, Patton would remain at the helm of the US Third Army and lead them across France and strike suffocating blows against the Germans, maintaining a ratio of killing 13 German troops to every one American lost through the rest of the war.

Because of this storied military career, there was no better choice to inspire a turn-based strategy game. HISTORY: Legends of War: Patton follows Patton’s Third Army in their march across Western Europe. Divided up into 21 missions, you’ll move your troops expertly through mid-20th century France and Germany as you do your part to disassemble Hitler’s war machine while commanding various Allied tanks, planes, and soldiers.

Right off the bat, Legends of War does a fine job of maintaining the historical accuracy of many of the battles that the Third Army fought, with only some minor dramatization done for the sake of providing an assortment of missions for you to partake in. The variety of missions you will be tasked with range from searching for and destroying key German installations, protecting or eliminating several high-value targets, or the more standard annihilation of all your enemies on the map. This array of different missions is supposed to help keep the game play fresh and fun. Despite a wide range of objectives, however, Legends of War quickly finds more ways to lose your attention that grasp it.

One of the primary flaws of the game comes with the lack of fluctuation in the action. Every battle and conflict plays out relatively the same even with the aforementioned mission variance. Whether it is a Bradley tank or a sniper, each unit you control (a maximum of eight per battle) only has one or two attacks. This removes much of the strategy from each conflict, especially with your troops able to one-hit kill many enemies, while surprisingly they can take a barrage of bullets before succumbing to their own demise. This reeks of poor balance and pulls you away from the realism of the mission scenarios.

Another problem that crops up is the control scheme. Not surprising really considering this is a strategy game, a genre that plays better 9 times out of 10 on a PC. But with several other games in the genre having overcome this dilemma over the past few years, its always disappointing now when a game comes along that falls into the same old, stereotypical traps of camera issues and unit placement. Along with this, the game’s textures are sub-par at best for any modern system, console or PC. How a game is allowed to ship looking and controlling like this is beyond me.

There are a couple of minor bright spots to the game play at least. The game’s economy and upgrade systems are as clear-cut as they come and make it easy for the users to prepare before each new mission. And as you complete missions and unlock more unit types, Patton can also level up in a plethora of different categories that can bolster everything from the offensive or defensive capabilities of your troops to the amount of money and prestige Patton receives with each ensuing victory. I have to say though that even the unit purchasing stinks from a lack of attention to detail at times as each new unit has a back story and name, but after just a couple of purchases, they start to repeat. I had three Donald Aldrich and two Charles Kelly in an eight-man group at one point!

When it comes down to it, HISTORY: Legends of War: Patton does not live up to the great general’s legacy. There is a solid core here for strategy enthusiasts, but there are far too many flaws that were easily avoidable to make this worth most anyone’s time or money. If Patton were here right now, someone would be getting slapped for making this game.

SUMMARY:  The historical accuracy and details of the game are a testament to arguably the greatest general the US has ever had. HISTORY: Legends of War: Patton, however, falls flat in many aspects of the basest execution we would expect from a current console game and this keeps it from fulfilling its true potential.

  • THE GOOD: World War II buffs will appreciate the attention to historical accuracy and detail
  • THE BAD: Makes classic console strategy game mistakes
  • THE UGLY: Not enough soldiers getting slapped by their generals anymore

SCORE: 4.0

HISTORY: Legends of War: Patton is available on PS Vita, PS3, Xbox 360, and PC. Primary version reviewed was for Xbox 360. 

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EGM Review: The Walking Dead: Episode 5 – No Time Left

Filed under: EGM (Electronic Gaming Monthly), Written — Leave a comment
November 20, 2012

For Clementine

Back in April, gamers had a chance to start an epic journey—one that involved being thrust into the midst of Robert Kirkman’s The Walking Dead universe via the start of a five-episode game series by Telltale Games. On this journey, the unlikely relationship between an 8-year-old little girl and a man turned convict after a crime of passion would consume everyone who played this landmark game; protecting this child quickly became the center of your apocalyptic world. Now, seven months later, Telltale’s episodic roller-coaster ride looks to come a halt, as Lee and Clementine’s adventures in the zombie apocalypse are all but done for the time being.

Admittedly, it’s hard to talk about a game such as this for several reasons—chief among them being that gameplay centers squarely on the story. Many gamers will have different situations going into this final episode of Season One due to the branching paths caused by the countless decisions made over the course of the previous four episodes. And because of this, the last thing I want to do is spoil any of the insane surprises in store for you in this episode. I can assure you, though, that if you thought the heart-wrenching moments and plot twists were going to slow down with this final chapter, you thought wrong.  There’s some resolution, but all I can say is that every decision has a consequence—and Lee’s sins will come back to haunt him in powerful, terrifying ways if you weren’t careful over the course of your playthrough.

I’ll also say that even though this episode may be the most emotionally charged, it’s also noticeably the shortest of the series. That’s not to say it’s not worth your money, since everything you’ve worked toward comes to a head here—but, clearly, not everything can burn at the high this particular episode does for as long as the previous episodes ran.

Aside from the emotionally charged story, this episode also features some new and tweaked gameplay elements that count on players knowing the controls. Fewer prompts and more frantic instances tested my reflexes more than any previous episode—while also heightening the tension of the events transpiring around me while I looked for Clementine.

At the end of the day, enough cannot be said about Telltale’s The Walking Dead, whether you’ve been with it from the beginning like myself and downloading the final episode today or purchasing the fully compiled season on disc on December 4th. It isn’t the most involved of videogames in terms of gameplay, but it’s truly an accomplishment in game storytelling—and this episode only continues what Telltale started while leaving plenty of questions swirling around to ensure the already confirmed second season will kick off with a bang. If you’re a fan of The Walking Dead, point-and-click adventure games, or just intricate storytelling, this series is a must-have and should be in everyone’s game-of-the-year discussions. You’d be doing yourself a disservice not playing this game.

SUMMARY:  Right from the start, this episode cranks up the tension to 11. Unfortunately, this may also be why it burns itself out as the shortest episode of the series. However, it’s also one of the most satisfying, as everything you’ve built up to finally comes to a head—and in the end, you’ll do whatever you can to protect Clementine in this accomplishment in videogame storytelling.

  • THE GOOD: Leaves itself open enough for a second season.
  • THE BAD: Shortest episode of the series.
  • THE UGLY: Human nature.

SCORE: 9.0

The Walking Dead: Episode 5—No Time Left is available on Xbox 360 (XBLA), PS3 (PSN), and PC. Primary version reviewed was for XBLA. 

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EGM Review: New Super Mario Bros. U

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Trouble with Koopalings

There’s been a lot of talk lately in the game industry about sequels and what we expect from them. How much they need to change or raise the bar to keep people coming back for more. How they need to break the mold so it doesn’t seem like each game is just cut from the same cloth over and over again. One franchise, however, never felt it needed to do that. It just kept churning out sequel after sequel and rarely changed a thing. A few new powers here, a couple new worlds there, but since the very beginning, everyone’s favorite plumber, Mario, has really never changed. And somehow, he’s still as fun as ever.

To put it simply, as Mario approaches his third decade of relevance, his games continue to define platforming perfection, and New Super Mario Bros. U is the new pinnacle of his long and storied run.

Bowser kidnaps Princess Peach for the 143,658,903,279th time, and it is up to Mario to once again stomp on the seven Koopalings, Bowser Jr., Kamek, and Bowser himself across eight themed worlds in order to get her back and save the day. Moreso than any previous Mario game, New Super Mario Bros. U is the perfect love letter to the era I consider the franchise’s heyday—Super Mario Bros. 3 and Super Mario World.

Wily old Mario veterans will immediately recognize the overworld map, which has shades of Super Mario World written all over it. Then there’s the item system, where you have a stockpile that you can reach into and arm Mario with before each stage, was a Super Mario Bros. 3 invention. It’s a departure from the more recent outings, where you could only have one item in storage but were able to use it mid-stage—presumably because that approach made the past few games a little too easy. Mario wants you to hone those jumping skills again!

And it’s not just the item system that will make you want to brush up on your platforming skills, as every Mario baddie worth his salt returns to get in our mustachioed plumber’s way and make things even more perilous. The level designs are also a bit more abstract this time around, so if you think you’re going to just stockpile dozens upon dozens of lives like in the past few games, you might want to think again.

One returning element that helps counteract all these changes, however, is the our good friend Yoshi. You’re still unable to bring him with you from one stage to the next, but he’s a huge help on the levels you can use him, as they seem specifically designed for Yoshi’s unique attributes, including his new power where if eats enough fruit, he will actually…uhhhh…produce power-ups.

We also see the return of Baby Yoshis in blue, magenta, and yellow varieties, each of which provides a special ability for Mario as he carries them through a level. Yellow lights up dark caverns, Blue shoots bubbles that trap enemies and turn them into coins, and  Magenta can inflate like a balloon and carry Mario for short distances. Although they never grow into full-sized Yoshis, these babies can also eat anything that gets in your way, making it worthwhile to lug them through as many stages as possible.

Aside from a lot of features from the past returning, there are also a few new additions that might make you “oooh” and “aaah.” The most obvious is the much ballyhooed (and somewhat belated) transition to full HD graphics. Simply put, no Mario game has ever looked this good. Some of the world backgrounds are so vibrant that they look as though they’ve been painted onto your TV. They’re so gorgeous, you almost want to take a pictures and put them all in some sort of incredibly dorky museum.

We also get a new power-up in the form of the Flying Squirrel Acorn, which joins old favorites like the Fire and Ice Flowers, Invincibility Stars, and the Super and Mini Mushrooms. It certainly isn’t my favorite power-up of all-time, since you can’t really fly with it like you could the Tanooki Suit or Raccoon Leaf. Instead, you just glide gently across the stage, which isn’t nearly as useful. Still, the Acorn did help inspire a new enemy to add to Bowser’s hordes, and there’s also a much more useful P-Acorn variant (like the P-Wing from Mario 3), where Mario can infinitely glide if you perform a spin jump at the right time. I  also would’ve loved to have seen the Penguin and Frog Suits return, but with a limited item storage system, I can see why the lineup has been cut back some.

There aren’t just changes to the single player game, though, as New Super Mario Bros. U also features three multiplayer modes. Yes, you and four friends (one person can now use the Wii-U remote’s touch screen to place helpful Boost Blocks to help their friends cross especially hard gaps) can still move your way through the single player stages together and cause craziness as you “accidentally” push each other into bottomless pits.

Specific to multiplayer though is a revamped Coin Battle mode, where you and your friends compete to gather the most coins as you work your way through a level. There’s also a coin editor system, so you can design your own stages for the mode. Another multiplayer mode is Challenge Mode that offers unique obstacles for you and your friends to overcome, like seeing who can earn the most lives or get the fastest time in one run. Rounding out the multiplayer is Boost Rush, where you try to traverse scrolling stages that scroll faster and faster as you progress.

All things considered, even though Mario hasn’t really changed that much after all these years, he finds a way to keep himself just fresh enough while still maintaining the high gameplay standard that keeps us all coming back for more again and again. New Super Mario Bros. U doesn’t disappoint and is a must have launch title for anyone picking up the Wii U.

SUMMARY: A love-letter to the days of Super Mario Bros. 3 and Super Mario World, New Super Mario Bros. U’s multiplayer modes, insane platforming, and beautiful HD graphics offer more than enough to provide hours of fun for gamers of all stripes.

  • THE GOOD: Same classic formula with a fresh coat of paint and puzzles.
  • THE BAD: Tanooki Suit > Raccoon Leaf > Flying Squirrel Acorn.
  • THE UGLY: The unbearable pain Yoshi must feel when he craps Fire Flowers.

SCORE: 9.0

New Super Mario Bros. U is a Wii U exclusive. 

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EGM Review: Assassin’s Creed III: Liberation

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The Bayou’s Lady Liberty

Up until this point, every game in the Assassin’s Creed franchise has followed the bloodline of Desmond Miles, with him acting as the supposed chosen one to save the world. Desmond has prepped for this monumental task by reliving the memories of his ancestors, who also fought in the never-ending Assassin-Templar War, by inserting himself into a device called The Animus. The Assassins aren’t the only ones with an Animus though, and so Liberation takes the unique approach of having you act as an unnamed trainee from Abstergo—the multinational company that serves as a front for the Templars—who’s placed into a Templar Animus in order to show the shades of gray of this ageless conflict.

It’s here that players are then introduced to the life of Aveline de Grandpre, the daughter of a wealthy French businessman and an African slave woman. Aveline grows up in the lap of luxury and so she may look the part of a noble when in her frilly dress or twirling her parasol while wandering around 18th-century New Orleans, but underneath her exterior lies the heart of a warrior, trained by an escaped slave and Assassin leader named Agate, who also happened to be a friend to Aveline’s mother. Aveline then uses this training to forward the movement to free the slaves while also protecting New Orleans from the ever-encroaching Templar influence.

Now, this sounds very much like a worthy Assassin’s Creed story. Unfortunately, due to the constraints of the Vita, Liberation feels like a game that gets cut off before it can really hit its stride in terms of the plot. Much like many of the other games in the franchise, there are twists and turns, but they are far more predictable in Liberation, because in order to make sure they all fit into this cramped little space, you get beaten over the head with the clues. At least the console versions attempted to be subtle.

This truncated story also lends itself to horrible character development. Aveline’s unique back-story gives her such a strong base as a protagonist that it’s a dirty shame when it unravels in just the span of a few short sequences. Worse still, many of the later plotlines (which I won’t get into here to avoid spoilers) are left entirely unresolved.

Speaking of resolving issues, Aveline at the very least can handle her problems as only an Assassin can, as the Assassin’s Creed combat and free running is one franchise staple that wasn’t completely lost in the transition to the Vita. Although the controls can feel a bit stiff at times, you chain together kills, counter attacks, and climb up buildings and trees just as if you were playing on the console. The Vita does offer a special chain attack that you can perform with the touch screen, but it is not necessary to make your way through battle.

And this is probably the best thing about Liberation as a Vita game: It rarely shoves the system’s touch screen capabilities down your throat. Almost everything is optional. There were only a few instances, like one gyroscope oriented mini game or pickpocketing, and as in most every other game franchise that starts on consoles and tries to expand and breakthrough on the Vita, these gimmicky mechanics failed miserably. The rarity of these instances, however, does make them a bit more forgivable than most other Vita titles.

Something not to be forgotten, though, is the one major new feature that Liberation introduces. Aveline has the ability to blend into a variety of situations by changing her garb to match the occasion. If she needs to eavesdrop during a ball, she wears her lady attire. If she needs to sneak onto a plantation, she can wear her slave costume. If you plan on facing a lot of resistance, Aveline can wear her Assassin gear. Each has unique strengths and weaknesses—the Assassin gear, for instance, allows for more weapons, but always has at least a level one notoriety. The lady costume, on the other hand, removes the ability to freerun, but allows you to charm or bribe soldiers to get out of your way.

Mind you, the freerunning aspect isn’t as important for Aveline as the other assassins in the franchise, because her world, much like the story, is much smaller than what we are used to. Although the fiction brings you across three different settings (New Orleans proper, the Bayou, and parts of Mexico), each one is a breeze to run across and perform whatever objectives are required for you to progress. I also found myself less willing to free-run in many instances, because the Vita’s small screen made it feel as if the camera was in too tight on Aveline and that my vision was more obscured compared to other Assassin’s Creed titles.

When all is said and done, though, Liberation is definitely one of the better titles out there for the Vita. Compared to what we have come to expect from something in the Assassin’s Creed family, however, it feels a little under par, especially in terms of the story. Still, if you can’t get enough of the Assassin-Templar war and plan on being on the go a lot, you could do a lot worse on than Assassin’s Creed III: Liberation.

SUMMARY: The strong core of the Assassin’s Creed franchise remains mostly intact here, but the truncated story makes Aveline’s character development feel rushed and the twists much more predictable here. Liberation is solid game if you’re on the go a lot, but it can’t hold a candle to Desmond and his ancestors.

  • THE GOOD: Combat and free-running that rivals that of the console versions,
  • THE BAD: Aveline’s development as a character feels rushed.
  • THE UGLY: Them crocs grow big down in the bayou!

SCORE: 7.5

Assassin’s Creed III: Liberation is a PS Vita exclusive. 

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