Assassins Creed: Brotherhood

Some readers may remember that a few months ago I posted a review of Assassins Creed 2, mostly because I was really excitied about Assassins Creed: Brotherhood. And now that its here, I can't help but have mixed feelings for it. Lets get into it, shall we? Oh, and just a little heads up, if you havent finished the two preceeding games, there are gunna be spoilers.

STORY
Brotherhood continues on from AC2; following the story of Desmond Miles, the apparent "Chosen One" who is reliving the memories of his assassin ancestor Ezio Auditore. Why? To save the world of course!

The game features a nice little recap at the beginning, so anyone who's forgotten the previous major story points can catch up again nice and easy. Desmond is back in the Animus, leaping around Rome and stabbing people as Ezio Auditore; but dont think this is just for fun. The Assassin's (Desmond and pals) are searching for the Piece of Eden that Ezio seems to have been the last to have his hands on.

While searching these memories in the Animus, everything Ezio had worked towards in the last game kinda goes to hell. The Villa Auditore is ransacked, and some of his Assassin buddies are killed or captured in the process. Now he's out for revenge against the guy who should have died in the last game.

Now, this game seems like it could have been added to AC2 (although the size of that game would have been fucking gigantic). While the story does add lots to the rich background of the AC universe, it seems like we would have learnt more if we had fun with a new ancestor. That said, Ezio's story was largely entertaining and it drew me in; so thats all you can really ask for. Oh, and if you liked the WTF ending of the last game, trust me when I say that Brotherhood will not disappoint.

PRESENTATION
Assassins Creed: Brotherhood largely looks and feels like AC2, and with only a year between the two games, thats fair enough. That said, the look of everything in the game; from Ezio's kill animations to the expansive landscape of renaissance Rome looks alot more smooth and polished since last time. While keeping the same basic look, Brotherhood does a good job in smoothing out AC2's rough edges.

The soundtrack is fairly cool, and really picks up during open combat with guards. The music really suits the games intended atmosphere (including the creepy subject 16 files) and its nice to see so much effort put into sucking us back into this world of Templars and Assassins.
Voice acting and dialogue remain at the high standard they were at last year, with the Italian dialogue in particular being quite cool. Its great that by the time I finished the single player, I had learnt a few new phrases in another language. Not what I expect from a game, but I can't complain about it.


GAMEPLAY
Once again, Brotherhood remains largely the same as its predecessor, whilst providing some much needed polish on various gameplay elements.
While sometimes when free-running, Ezio will miss a jump or not go where you want, the free running is still the smoothest it's ever been. While it was easy to get bogged down in earlier games, Brotherhood feels fast paced, whether you're running through the streets, on rooftops or galloping along on a (slow) horse.
Not sure why the horses are so friggin slow, but its cool to jump to a beam, flip up, assassinate the guy behind me, and steal his horse.

Combat also feels alot smoother, with execution chains spicing things up nicely. Get on a roll while fighting, and you can now dish out the pain with one hit kill streaks. While this doesn't solve the problem of AC2's combat being too easy, the more aggressive AI takes care of that to a degree.
Enemies will often attack simultaneously, making you think quickly as instruments of death fly bast your face.

About the best thing I've found about the new single player story was, in fact, the addition of 100% synchronisation. This feature forces you to play through missions as Ezio would have in real life, if you want to unlock some repressed memories. The stipulations for 100% synch could involve time limits, or damage limits, or force you to be as stealthy as possible.

While not bringing a WHOLE lot of new stuff to the table this year, Assassins Creed: Brotherhood is a lot more of what was good about AC2, with a bit more polish.

REPLAYABILITY
While free running and killing in AC2 was fun and all, it did get old pretty quick. While there are a plethora of side missions and collectibles, Brotherhood brings one extremely new feature to the mix. That's multiplayer. One of the most interesting parts of this game for me, simply because Ubisoft are trying something new in this world of Multiplayer frag-fests like Halo and COD.

I'm not going to spend a whole lot of time here, but I do want to talk about this. Brotherhood's multiplayer casts you as the villains; agents of Abstergo Industries, who are training in the animus in preparation for any confrontations with the Assassins. Game modes like Wanted and Alliance (team wanted) are basically games where you hunt your prey but at the same time, must watch your back, lest you be killed horribly.

It makes for some of the most intense multiplayer around. Black Ops can suck a lemon.
Oh, and there are trophies and achievements for all you hunters and whores. Go nuts!

OVERVIEW
While the general message of this review has been that Brotherhood is more of AC2, with polish; I can't help but feel like Assassins Creed: Brotherhood is just AC2.5. And that seems really harsh, considering the size of the map, the amount of missions and collectibles PLUS the addition of a stellar (if a little buggy) multiplayer.

So do I recommend it? If you're a fan of Assassins Creed, hell yes (although you probably got it day one, didn't you?). If not, I can still recommend it, but I highly suggest diving into the previous installations for a more in-depth catch up. Not that desmond doesn't cover things adequately. But he doesn't.


Next week.. I don't know. Could be Borderlands GOTY, could be your mother. Anyways, see you next time!

Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit

I'm drowning in a sea of new releases; a sea primarily filled with sequels and next installment in series. Black Ops and New Vegas were just the beginning, now I'm just bogged down with Assassins Creed Brotherhood and the new Need For Speed. And its not that they're really difficult, its that the multiplayer from Black Ops, ACB and NFS is too tempting to avoid.
Well, this week I played a hell of a lot of NFS: Hot Pursuit and here's what I thought about the reboot of the classic game from 1998.

STORY
As far as I can ell, there is no real story in NFS: Hot Pursuit. Basically, you reside in Seacrest County, a region infested with street racers and high speed cop units trying to clean their mess up. You are a racer OR a cop, and Hot Pursuit gives you the opportunity to switch freely between both careers.

Thats really all that this game gives you to work with in terms of story. While it provides an adequate framework for your NFS experience, I personally found that it didn't give me much motivation towards progressing through the races set out for me. That may just be me though.

PRESENTATION
Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit is an absolutely beautiful game. Cars are sleek and realistic looking, and the colours are vibrant and bright. The landscape of Seacrest County is amazingly varied; ranging from highways to forest roads, to desert tracks. The look of the game is very cool, but not everything about the games presentation is fantastic.

The soundtrack (on the most part) is absolutely horrible (at least, in my opinion). With the exception of one or two tracks, the music is really lame. In a racing game, i expect to hear fast or heavy rock tracks, not electro or rap (well, some rap was good in NFS Underground... I'm looking at you "Get Low".) Seriously, it was so annoying to me, that I actually ,muted the soundtrack and listened to my iPod as i raced.

I'm not sure where to put this in my review, the menu in Need for Speed is really cool. The "Autolog" has been described as "the game's Facebook" and it tells you where you have placed within your circle of online friends on races, as well as suggesting races to you that your friends have beaten you on.
It doesn't stop there though; the Autolog actually suggests other Need For Speed players to add as friends. It's honestly pretty cool.


GAMEPLAY
Hot Pursuit returns NFS to its roots, with Cop VS Racer gameplay. Long gone is the racing sim gameplay of Pro-Street, but so is the customization of the Underground games.
Controls are pretty standard for a racing game, but they work well and thats about all you can ask for.

I noticed some small problems with the gameplay, such as the collision detection between racers and traffic cars is a bit strange. While you may just tap into a car and get wrecked, an opposing racer may smash into oncoming traffic and drive away like it never happened. This was a fairly rare occurrence so I'll let it slide.

I really enjoyed the hot pursuit/interceptor race types for the Cops; which involves chasing racers and taking them down with equipment (spike strips, roadblocks, etc), BUT the racer AI is often too perfect. I've hardly ever seen computer racers smash into my roadblocks, or get hit by spike strips dropped by my helicopters (although the main problem here is with the roadblocks).

Exotic, fast, expensive cars make up this games garage; for both racers and cops, and its good to see that the developers weren't afraid to let you crash the hell out of them. Honestly, the crashes are really fun to watch, if annoying to be a part of. Its Criterions little stamp on NFS, (hopefully you'll remember their previous racing games; the Crash fests known as Burnout).

My biggest problem with the game is with the unreasonable times that must be set for certain time trial type races. I understand that to get the highest reward, it must be difficult, but after performing a somewhat perfect run with no collisions and boosting along the straights, you may find you are still 10 seconds off the top time.

REPLAYABILITY
Like any good racing game, Hot pursuit offers players a fun multiplayer experience, as well as challenging single player races that can be repeated over and over. However, it features no split screen. I thought split screen was just a no brainer in the racing genre. Whats the point of being able to race fast cars if you can't do it with someone in the same room?

NFS does have an amazing online mode, but split-screen should have been there. Just saying. oh and theres a bunch of trophies and achievements for you hunters and whores out there.

OVERVIEW
At the end of the day, yes Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit is fun; if a little annoying. Some races can really get on your nerves; simply because the AI can be truly "PERFECT". AI racers don't make many mistakes, and when they do, they reset almost instantly. On top of this, the distinction/gold medal times for certain time trials are just too much. I understand that the highest marks in levels need to be hard to get, but it can get extremely frustrating.

Do I recommend Hot Pursuit? Sure. The level of customization seen in previous games is non existent, but the inclusion of Cop vs Racer gameplay is a welcome addition. It makes for some action packed, fun gameplay, especially during multiplayer. Yes, the game is difficult, but that makes the triumphs all the more sweet.


Next week, I'll definitely be review Assassins Creed: Brotherhood. That game is making me paranoid, i swear. You never know who's gunna break your neck. Anyway, see you next time!

Call of Duty: Black Ops.

Its that time of year again. The games season is well and truly upon us, and many find themselves answering the call. "What call?" you ask? The Call of Duty, my friends.
This year players find themselves not playing through World War II scenarios, nor are they battling through this modern warzone. No sir, Treyarch have taken the reigns on this one again, and we're getting a behind the curtains look at the cold war. This is Black Ops.

STORY
One of the biggest changes to this years installation is in fact the setting. No WWII, no Modern Warfare; this is a period almost untouched by many video games. While a few games centre on Vietnam, Black Ops. goes beyond this and provides a story about classified, unmentionable missions undertaken by Special Forces teams during the time of uncertainty between the U.S and the USSR.

The campaign begins with Alex Mason strapped to a chair in a dark, intimidating interrogation room. Bombarded with questions by unknown captors, Alex must relive past missions to provide the information that may stop an international terrorist act. It's a nice twist in the usual COD formula and it's nice to have something fresh, without sounding way over-the-top (flying snowmobiles anyone?).

While this doesn't really follow the formula of a typical COD game, it certainly does feel like one. You have big battles that are mostly dependant on the actions of your character; and you occasionally switch between the perspectives of Mason and his CIA handler Hudson. Don't be mistaken though; this is a truly character based story, and theres no mistake that Mason is the focus here.

PRESENTATION
Now, its no secret that Call of Duty games look fantastic, and have done since COD4 (at the very latest). So while it may not be worth dwelling on for very long, I must say that the high quality lighting effects in this game stand out in particular. Even in the multiplayer, the light of a stage may indeed be the difference between you seeing an assailant around the corner, and getting knifed in the face.

Sound effects in the main campaign are really great, but its all been heard before. Explosions, gunfire, the noises of war-machines... COD games have them down to a fine art. That said, last month's MoH inched past them with sound effects, and playing through them side-by-side, i noticed a difference.

Voice acting throughout the campaign is stellar and it features work by Ice Cube, Sam Worthington, Ed Harris and in particular, Gary Oldman (reprising the role of Reznov from World at War). The script that they perform is also pretty fantastic, though theres alot of swearing. This is just personal preference, but I'm a bit over "realistic shooters" needing to have gritty and often vulgar dialogue. However, this didnt hinder my enjoyment of the story.

Oh, and as well as the original soundtrack (masterfully composed, i might add), the soundtrack features "Sympathy for the Devil" by the Rolling Stones, and "Fortunate Son" by CCR in the Vietnam levels. Those songs really made the experience feel authentic for me.


GAMEPLAY
Black Ops. feels as straightforward as any COD game; you'll often follow your squadmates from checkpoint to checkpoint, point and shoot at enemies, and for some reason, every important action falls to your character. But hey, where would the fun be if someone else had to do this crap?

Shooting mechanics still work well, and enemy AI is still fairly smart. On the harder difficulties, enemies will flank you or charge you; forcing you to change your strategy every so often. Apart from the usual run to cover and shoot enemies gameplay, there isn't much to Black Ops.

There were a few vehicle sections that were fun, and did well in changing the pace of the campaign; but we as gamers missed out on epic Sniper missions like we had in COD4 ("All Ghillied Up") and World at War ("Vendetta"). While there are missions that go for the "Stealth" feel, they don't pull it off half as well as those missions.

Another thing that bugged me was that certain things aren't really explained during some missions. The only truly aggravating example of this, is during the defense of Khe Sahn, where you must clear out the opposing trenches with barrels of Napalm, however, you aren't told how you are meant to do this. Aside from this, there aren't many things I have a problem with in this game.

Multiplayer gameplay is still bit iffy, but treyarch are working on patches to deal with lag and unstable maps as i type this. So yay for all you gamers who plan on skipping the campaign and going straight to the multiplayer.
The biggest changes with the game overall are probably with the multiplayer setup. CODpoints are now used to buy weapons and perks, and alot more emphasis is put on personalisation.

I have two gripes with these changes. One, if you're going to let me buy guns, have them available from the beginning. Unlocking each gun by levelling up was the way that previous games did it, but now Treyarch are forcing me to both unlock my weapons, THEN buy them? No thank you.

Two, the new pro-perk challenge system is... well.. its annoying to say the least. For example, in MW2, you could unlock Marathon Pro by sprinting 26 miles. While this feat wasn't the hardest thing to do, it was time consuming.
In Black Ops, to gain marathon pro, you must now sprint 26 miles (with marathon being scaled back, meaning you are now unable to sprint continuously), AS WELL AS get first blood ten times AND win 15 capture the flag medals.
I DON'T PLAY CTF! I DON'T WANT TO PLAY CTF! FUCK OFF.
Rant Over.

REPLAYABILITY
As you may well know, Black Ops is relying heavily on its multiplayer content to get sales. And while this may be worth your $100, Black Ops also offers a co-operative Zombie Survival mode as seen in WaW. Very addictive stuff. Especially since it gives you the options of playing as Nixon, JFK, Castro Fidel and Secretary of Defense Mcnamara. Awesome to the MAX.

New variations in MP matches, such as the wager match types are a nice addition, and you know what? Shooting some kid who lives on the other side of the world in the face... that is a good feeling. And its something to do when you're bored.

There are also loads of Intel items to find in the campaign, so collectible hunters will have some fun here too.

OVERVIEW
Strong story, solid gameplay, amazing presentation.. Sounds like a COD game to me. Annoyance at the online community of douchebags, minor hiccups in the campaign and some poor creative decisions (in my mind)? Sounds just like a COD game. While not perfect, it is certainly one of the better games to see the light of day this year, and I can recommend this title with no doubt in my mind that you will probably enjoy this.
If you don't, either you have a massive hard on for Modern Warfare 2 and need to go to fanboy counselling, or you dislike "realistic" war shooters, in which case, why are you reading this? Go play Fable 3 or RDR Undead Nightmare.


We're at a very good stage with video games, where many great ones are out these days. And you know where to hear an honest opinion on those new releases. Right here, on Tophat-game-reviews.blogspot.com. So see you next time!

Fallout: New Vegas

Earlier this year I posted my review of Fallout 3: Game of the Year edition, and since then I had been waiting for Bethesda/Obsidian's next outing into Post-apocalyptic America. Was it worth the wait? Well.. its really quite hard to say.

STORY
Fallout: New Vegas carries on from previous games of the series; America (nay, the world) more or less came to an end in the year 2077 after world let loose with its nuclear weapons.
Over 200 years after the apocalypse, the player finds themselves in the shoes of The Courier, assigned with the task of delivering a platinum chip to the New Vegas Strip. The story literally starts with a bang; your character finds himself/herself on the receiving end of a 9mm bullet to the skull. The Courier is revived in the town of Goodsprings, where he/she is pointed in the direction of the would-be murderer.
Along the way, however, the Courier becomes a key player in a power struggle between warring factions of the Mojave Wasteland. The main questline isn't nearly as strong as Fallout 3's, but that's not to say that it's weak. It's interesting and well thought out, but I had less of an emotional connection to the player character (if only because the tutorial levels of New Vegas don't begin at your birth, like Fallout 3).

PRESENTATION
Fallout: New Vegas looks almost exactly like it did in Fallout 3, save for the new colour scheme and slightly different environments. This is because New Vegas runs off the same engine as Fallout 3, and as such, you would expect the technical difficulties of the last title to have been fixed. Unfortunately, this is not the case.
Texture and environment pop-in, massive drops in framerate, and constant crashing almost ruin this game for me. The Fallout games for Next-Gen consoles are both excellent games, but they lack the polish that could make them truly amazing. It wouldn't be such a problem, if the game was at least running differently from its predecessor.

As for music and sound design, it's fantastic as usual. Many characters have unique and fun voices full of personality, while the radio stations are full of 50's era tracks, all of which feel perfectly home at this futuristic, yet 50s cultured world.


GAMEPLAY
Much like its look and sound, New Vegas plays the same as Fallout 3. Many of the characters actions are influenced by their stats and abilities; such as gunplay, lockpicking, hacking and conversational perks. Combat can be a bit stiff, although the addition of iron sight aiming makes it much more enjoyable. Vault-tech Assisted Targeting System is still the preferable way to deal out the pain, but the iron-sight aiming AND weapons Mods really do make a difference to real time gunfights.

Talking to companions is another major change, allowing players to customize and order their companions without lengthy dialogue branches. Though many new little features like this have been added, the gameplay is largely the same; which was a little disappointing.

My favourite change to the game would have to be the addition of hardcore mode, where players must eat, sleep and drink water to survive; as well as plan the amount and types of ammo that they carry due to their added weight. This adds another layer to gameplay, as well as adding a new challenge to overcome.

That said though, challenge is about the last thing that New Vegas needs. The Damage Threshold system means that enemies take more punishment than ever, and better planning will lead to victory. As well as this, enemies don't seem to scale with the players Level; meaning that a Mother Deathclaw that will absolutely destroy you at level 6, will keep you on edge, even at levels in the high-20s.

Once again, my biggest problem with the game comes from its bugs and technical faults, often causing me to restart my console several times in 2 hours. It can be extremely frustrating and truly gamebreaking at times.

REPLAYABILITY
Though I may have been a bit harsh on New Vegas, it certainly does offer one hell of a lot to do. Gambling, combat and exploration are all addictive and fun, if you can get past the bugs, and most of these aspects will reward the player, perhaps with money, special armour or even weapons (holy hand grenades FTW).
Aside from that, theres no multiplayer aspect; which is great, because I personally am sick of games relying solely on multiplayer.

Around 51 trophies/achievements at launch will keep you crazy kids occupied for a while,and multiple endings await those bold enough to take on New Vegas.

OVERVIEW
Did you play and enjoy fallout 1 and 2? This game is for you. Did you play Fallout 3 and enjoy it? This game is probably for you. However, if you enjoyed the games, but wanted something a bit more varied from the 2008 post-apocalyptic RPG, then you may need to look elsewhere. I know its extremely harsh to say that New Vegas is just a large expansion pack, buts its really hard to not say that.

Its so similar, right down to the technical issues, that it isn't funny. In the end, yea, i enjoyed New Vegas, but only because I loved F3. I was appalled that the Dev. Team in charge didn't address these issues, but I guess it was bound to happen in a game so big. That's not to say that they couldn't fix the framerate and crashing issues.


So, Black Ops comes out on Tuesday. Whoop de doo. It'll be eating up more of my free time in the next year than anything else. Review should be on Sunday, look out for it. See you next time!

Fallout: New Vegas