Assassin's Creed Review

Assassin's Creed is an action adventure open world stealth game, made by Ubisoft Montreal. The game was released back in 2007 on Xbox 360, PS3, and Windows PC. There are currently six Assassin's Creed games, one of them still in development. The Assassin's Creed series has always been in my top five list, I remember back when I first picked up a controller and played the first one, how amazed I was with how the game was presented and the mechanics it used. Anyone who has not heard of or even played any games in the this series should do so.

Story and Setting:

Technically the game takes place in the present day, you play as a bartender named Desmond Miles who was kidnapped by an organization known as Abstergo Industries. They built this machine called the Animus, which decodes our DNA and allows us to relive the memories of our ancestors. Abstergo is in search of a

powerful artifact called the Piece of Eden and the only way to find its location is through the memories of Desmond's ancestors. So he is strapped into the Animus and the player is then taken back to the Third Cusade and put into the life of' Altair ibn-LaA'had, an Assassin of that time. The Assassin order strives for peace and freedom and has always been at war with a group called the Templars, who's goal is to controller and shape the world as they see fit. During your time as Altair you witness and play his life as an Assassin, you will visit great cities such as Jerusalem while completing assignments and assassinating targets of vital importance as well as uncovering information through Desmond. Lots of surprises and historical moments are played throughout the game and with each bit of memory Desmond gets one step closer to revealing the truth behind the Piece of Eden.

Soundtrack

The music, though nothing amazing, was nothing underwhelming. The game features a solid and pleasing soundtrack that fits the mood and the setting of the game. The different tracks play well with the gameplay, whether you are sneaking around, in a fight, or in a chase sequence. I myself found the Crusader style themes very fulfilling and enjoyable.

Gameplay and Visuals

By today's standards the games visuals are not amazingly impressive, they were however top quality back in 2007. The game presents a relativly high gray scale with lots of dust and particles to try and capture the environment of the Third Crusade. The gameplay is where the games uniqueness really shines. This is a stealth based platforming game, what kind of Assassin would you be without stealth? While you are in the cities, the game generates massive crowds of people, which both brings the game to life as well as providing plenty of hiding places. You can actually use the crowd to your advantage while escaping guards or stalking a target. Another

features in this game is the platforming, the Assassin's have amazing parkour skills which allows you to scale any building in the game which can be real useful when you are in a tight situation.  You are also presented with a whole arsenal of weapons and gear, everything from swords, short blades, and throwing knifes to armor and upgrades. These tools are all hear at your disposal and are unlocked throughout the game, but a true Assassin does not need them, he makes due with his hidden blade. This is the iconic tool of the Assassins, it as a gauntlet which contains a retractable blade. Perfect for sneaking in, killing the target, and sneaking out. All of these features come together to form dynamic and thrilling gameplay.

Assassin's Creed is an amazing video game series and it all started with the original, I recommend anyone who has ever played an Assassin's Creed game to give this one a try if you have not already. It may not be the best compared to the games of today including the current Assassin's Creed games but it is definitely worth your attention, especially if you're a fan.  

Gears of War Review

Gears of War is a silence fiction third person shooter that was developed by Epic Games and was the first game I had ever bought on Xbox 360, I had no idea what it was about or what kind of game it even was, I just wanted something to play on my new console. Fortunately I was very impressed by what Gears of War presented, a good story, intense action, and great characters and voice acting. It was a great game to start off the next generation of gaming for me, and its a game I still play today.

Story and Setting:

Gears of War is one of those games with a very large back story that goes beyond the actual game. The story takes place on a fiction planet called Sera. A precious energy source called Emulsion, which was a liquid found beneath the planets service, was the result of a 79 long year war between two military organizations called the COG and the UIR who both wanted control of the Emulsion. Just six weeks after the war finally ended is when the Locust emerged from underground. The locust are non human creatures who saw the humans weakened state as a moment of attack, this day was called E-Day or Emergence Day. As a last resort, the COG decided to use the Hammer of Dawn, a space super weapon, to fight them off. But they ended up hurting themselves more than the Locust, destroying most of their own cities and crippling them even more. The game takes place fourteen years after E-Day and you play as Marcus Fenix, a hardened COG soldier who was found guilty of war crimes and sent to prison. During the beginning of the game you are busted out by Marcus's best friend and fellow COG Dominic “Dom” Santiago, just as the prison was being overrun by Locust. You later join up with “Delta Squad” a group seeking a device called the Resonator, which would be used to map out the underground tunnel system the locust use called The Hollow. In doing so, they would be able to deploy the Light Mass Bomb in hopes of severely crippling the Locust. Throughout the course of the game you will be visiting over run and destroyed cities as well as meeting survivors, also known as strandeds. The game does a successful job at capturing the depressing atmosphere and immersing the player into its once beautiful and now ravaged world.

Soundtrack:

The game features a variety of different pieces, whether they are moody and depressing to fit a scene, or they are intense and fast to fit a battle. The game successfully does its job at presenting a solid soundtrack and does it appropriately with whats taking place. There was actually this one level where you are sneaking through this destroyed and overrun city late at night,and music does its job at capturing the overall fearful scene. I found myself inching my way through the whole level, expecting something to pop out around any corner. Then there were also times where I am in an intense battle with my squad the music is revved up and intense as well, really amplifying the moment. Without a doubt, the soundtrack was one of the most memorable parts of the game.

Gameplay and Visuals:

With Gears of War being my first game for my Xbox 360, you can imagine how blown away I was by the HD graphics, at the time they were the best I had ever seen. The game goes for more of the grimy and warzone style graphics with the grayscale turned all the way up. That on the other had was something I had a problem with, the games lack of color. I understood that the game is practically a post apocalyptic game and is goal is to immerse you in this now dead world. But seeing white, black, and gray mission after mission got pretty old and pretty quick. Fortunately the game was no completely black and white, it did have color and later in the game it kinda showed more but not by much. The gameplay however is another strong point for Gears of War, it is a theirs person shooter/cover based game. The Golden Rule of the Gears is “take cover or die”. If you tried to go Rambo at all in this game, you wouldn't last long and thats one of the things I really liked about this game, it added a great deal of challenge and intensity to the game. You weren't just some bullet sponge, you actually had to watch out! And I greatly enjoy games like that.

Gears of War being my first arrival into the new HD gaming generation, it will always hold a spot in the top of my list of favorite games. While the graphics were very crisp and clear, the overall lack of color was a turn off. But the amazing gameplay mechanics, soundtrack, story and setting really compensate for that. As well as the games well voiced characters. Gears of War is not a game to be passed up if you have ever owned and Xbox 360.