VIDEO GAME REVUE: Assassin’s Creed III (PC/PS3/X360)

ASSASSIN! The final chapter of the story. This is where Desmond Miles, Altair, Ezio and now the Native American Connor. What was the appeal of the Assassin’s Creed story? It is segments of history, romanticized and retold as a subtext to a modern plot of global takeover. The Knights Templar, now running a fictional R&D company named Abstergo are seeking powerful ancient artifacts that asserted almost-automatic dominance over everyone. Abstergo has the technology to make these effects go global. Who is stopping them? An ancient group of Assassins that have kept their group around since before recorded time. All of this leads to a 2012 apocalypse that Desmond has to stop. Learn more after the jump…

SECOND LOOK: PlayStation VITA

With the advent of iPhone and Android phones, things have not looked great for dedicated handheld gaming systems. With three different Angry Birds titles, Fruit Ninja, and other fun games that pop out of the woodwork every 3 or so months. The Nintendo 3DS, despite being a proper upgrade from the DSi and the DS, is selling far worse than was possibly expected to. Sony released a new handheld, an upgrade to the PlayStation Portable – the PlayStation VITA. Now that it has been market and field tested, TRR will take a fresh look at the new handheld. Let’s jump right into it…

VIDEO GAME REVUE: PixelJunk Eden (Steam)

Today’s /revue is one of a two-part TRR series on re-released games. PixelJunk Eden was released over Steam last week, after previously being released in 2008. The new release is almost exactly identical to its original version from 3.5 years ago. Let’s get right into it…

VIDEO GAME REVUE – Katawa Shoujo (PC/MAC/LINUX)

Once in a while, an anomaly occurs in entertainment. These anomalies can exist between lackluster sales of an anticipated game or system, and unexpectedly great games. There are, of course, other anomalies; in the life of a reviewer however, a majority of these events will be ‘good game is terrible,’ and ‘I didn’t expect this game to be so good!’ This review is certainly the latter, and it is about, of all things, a dating simulator: Katawa Shoujo.

VIDEO GAME PLAYTHRUE/REVUE: Call of Duty – Modern Warfare 3

I admit my personal bias toward Role Playing Games (RPGs). The games are long, they usually have choices that impact the game, have multiple endings, and most importantly have deep storylines. I will also admit that I am not good at First-Person Shooters (FPS). So when I put Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 into my PlayStation 3, I had a strong level of trepidation. I know this game will have a wide level of support among game enthusiasts, and if I didn’t like it, I would be marginalized for a perceived ‘bad review.’ Fortunately, I had nothing to worry about.

VIDEO GAME REVUE: Battlefield 3

 

Let’s get something clear; I like DICE. DICE has made games that I will return to time and again. Despite my frustrations, I still play Mirror’s Edge on a quasi-regular basis. DICE has a wonderful habit of making games that are good. So with Battlefield 3 in my PS3 (after trying to make it work on my PC – more on that in a moment), let’s get right into it.

VIDEO GAME REVUE: Batman – Arkham City

So there’s something about a Batman game that historically has made people cringe. Such games are unreasonably too hard, too short, irrelevant, or a combination of all of them. So when Batman – Arkham Asylum was released two years ago, it hit this sweet spot. The game had plenty of villain cameos, Batman regulars showing up to cause chaos, a plot that fit within the ethos of the established story, and most of the voice actors from the 1990s animated series. The combat system was more…Batman-esque. The TITAN formula – the amped up version of the Bane venom – gave an appropriate new challenge. So we’re two years older, and given a new glimpse into Gotham City in Batman: Arkham City.

VIDEO GAME REVUE: Child of Eden (PS3)

It’s 200 years in the future, and everything on the internet is made of pretty pictures. Kind of abstract, right? That’s the point, though. Something has happened to the internet (called Eden), and it’s up to the player to make it right.

VIDEO GAME REVUE: El Shaddai – Ascension of the Metatron (PS3/360)

Religious works do not typically get made into games. This is a pity, as there is an as-of-yet unexamined world of content ready to be explored. The industry sort of delved into this with Xenogears, but its prequels in the Xenosaga storyline more or less diverged from the original framework. TRR has revued Ignition Entertainment’s foray into religion – El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron for the XBox 360 and the PlayStation 3.

VIDEO GAME PLAYTHRUE/REVUE: LIMBO (PSN/Steam)

Independent games are not only a bit of a gamble, aren’t they? Sure, the cost is lower than that of the average industry release, but one doesn’t know the quality of the gameplay. Is it long? Short? Was it put together slapdash, or is this company trying to show what is possible, but need financial backing to produce a truly monumental game? There are two really good venues for buying indie games – one being Xbox LIVE, and the other being Steam, the virtual marketplace set up by Valve (some advanced warning about the new Counter Strike would have been nice, fellas). While there is open discussion about which one is better, Steam is certainly more user-friendly when looking for specific games. Today’s indie gamble is LIMBO, remade and released for Steam (having been previously released on Xbox LIVE).