A Sneak Peek Inside Assassin’s Creed II
Assasssin’s Creed 2 is the sandbox-style action adventure sequel to Assassin’s Creed. It is set to be released worldwide on November 17, 2009 on Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.
Modern Warfare 2 – Unlock and Personalize Your Killstreak Loadout
Not since Mortal Kombat’s “Fatalities” have I been excited about multiple options of destruction immediately following my domination of other players. We’re all familiar with the killstreak loadout in COD4; 3 kills gets you UAV, 5 kills gets you an airstrike, and 7 consecutive kills will get the ever powerful helicopter. From the looks of this one minute, 22 second video clip, there will be much more than 3 killstreak awards. More importantly, you can unlock the ability to launch your own pattern of awards. The award focus in this video is the AC-130, which is a slow moving, low flying plane that drops bombs precisely where you ask it to, with the help from a laptop or portable GPS screen that the player looks at on the fly. So no more dropping to one knee and your whole screen turning into map-mode to chose where to drop your airstrikes. I’ll be waiting patiently for Infinity Ward to release more multiplayer screen shots so we all can see the other killstreak awards. If there are Babalities, I might call this the best game ever made before even playing.
Empirical Evidence of a Shadow Complex
Empire was an interesting novel written, somewhat ironically, by Orson Scott Card that has an interesting premise. It muses upon the possibility of America plunged into a second civil war created by the vacuum of power left by the assassination of the President of the United States, as well as several of his closest colleagues. The stakes are high as the nation cannot withstand such a gaping wound for long, and the Restoration immediately makes move to wrest power from the right-wingers that occupy the office at the time of the attack. At one point during the novel, it compares the United States to the Roman Empire in its scope from its prominence to its inevitable decline where it becomes crushed under its own gravity. Oddly enough it is a conspiracy of mammoth proportions that destroys the country and centralizes power in the hands of one man, Averell Torrent. However, we know that this series is a trilogy, and we also know that Shadow Complex doesn’t take place in the events of the first book. So what happens after Mr. Torrent sits upon his perch of infinite power? Does he do right by the people? Does the Restoration become disbanded after its attempted and failed coup? Let’s put it this way, Jason Fleming of the Shadow Complex would be stretched out on a beach somewhere enjoying Hennessy and Coke with his better half and none of us would give a shit about August 19th, 2009.
Call of Sisyphus: World at War
When I was still in grade school I developed this weird fascination with the world of Greek mythology. This likely as a result of watching Clash of the Titans when I was still a wee lad but it left such an impression on me I felt compelled to read these stories of bickering gods and the quests that they would charge mere mortals to endure. Some of the most memorable stories that I can recall have dealt with the everlasting punishment exacted upon the unfortunate few from the gods. Prometheus was chained to a mountain where he was doomed to have his liver pecked out daily as it would forever regenerate so his pain would only be perpetuated as the sun set and then rose again. Atlas was forever destined to bear the weight of the world on his shoulders. Pandora and her wretched box (no pun intended) was sent to punish mankind for being in league with the bringer of light. Yet it is Sisyphus that reminds me most of the frustration that World at War players are experiencing. Now I don’t have an exact number of individuals that have been stricken with this most annoying bug but it would be Sisyphus who can empathize with these unfortunate players. You see, he was supposed to roll a boulder to the top of a mountain, and after the arduous deed was done, he would watch in tired horror as it rolled back down to the bottom as if he did nothing all day. He also suffered from the compulsion to try, try again…. see where I’m going with this?
Battlefield 1943: The Review and Juxtaposition
What is it about World War II that compels us to pick up the controller for the umpteenth time to resume our imaginary hostilities towards the Germans, in this case the Japanese? Perhaps war was more simple then where the technology was only advanced enough where the killers saw the white of their prey’s eyes before sending them to hell for their audacity to stand. Battlefield 1943 puts you in the thick of this mayhem and it does this all the while making you forget that you only paid fifteen dollars to witness it. The latest downloadable game from Electronic Arts is a throwback to the original Battlefield 1942 in that the maps are preserved from its predecessor but it also makes it current by making employing some current conventions as you will see…
