Assassin's Creed ll
Assassin’s Creed ll is Ubisoft’s follow up to the fastest selling new IP in video game history, Assassin’s Creed, and is available to buy at prices from £39.99.
The game uses the same gameplay style as its predecessor but now there are added features with a stronger emphasis on open-world exploration, greater interaction, nonlinear gameplay and more variety in missions. There’s also a new improved in-game economy. The protagonist, Ezio Auditore da Firenze, a young Italian noble come assassin, is also more clearly delineated as a character. In fact he’s a bit of a lady’s man who possesses a certain panache and some endearingly human traits.
The location is new too, set against the beautiful backdrop of Renaissance Italy in the 15th century, the action follows an epic story of corruption, conspiracy and brutal murder as Ezio strives to exact revenge for the deaths of his family members.
As in Assassin’s Creed, the story revolves around the Animus, the machine that views the memories of the ancestors of Desmond Miles in 2012, who comes from a long line of assassins. The action features some challenging experiences as through Ezio, the player becomes a master assassin and learns how to brandish weapons, disarm enemies and use their weapons against them, helped or hindered on the way by real-life historic characters. These include Machiavelli, Pope Alexander Vl and Leonardo da Vinci, who acts as a kind of Q figure from James Bond, providing miraculous inventions such as flying machines to assist Ezio to use on his mission.
There’s a welcome return to free running with added swimming and flying. With a more deeply and finely tuned combat system players roam through Venice, Tuscany and Florence using a host of new weapons created by Leonardo including swords, poison blades, miniature firearms, cutlasses, maces, spears and daggers. There’s even a database that gives information on historical figures and landmarks. It’s a game that combines an absorbing storyline with superb graphics and thrilling action and it’s waiting to be played by you.
Sherlock Holmes Vs Jack the Ripper Xbox 360
The brilliant fictional detective is back – this time to track down the most infamous villain to stalk the streets of Victorian London – Jack the Ripper.
This game not only offers the chance to pursue the murderer, it also allows you to solve one of the greatest British mysteries of all time as you uncover the true identity of Jack the Ripper. Well, OK … I suppose no-one will ever really know who that is but the script is taken from police and newspaper records of the time and represents an authentic recreation of events. When Jack brutally murders five prostitutes, Holmes and Watson are at hand to inspect the crime scene and extract clues. What distinguishes this game is that although Holmes and Watson are fictional characters, you are actually investigating real life crimes with actual evidence. The creepy action that ensues allows for two different views that can be accessed at any time; you can play from a third-person viewpoint in a cinematic perspective or from the first-person for total immersion.
During the course of the game, you’ll traverse the dark streets of London and the shadowy alleyways of Whitechapel; the favoured haunt of Jack, using objects and gathering clues that will help you to discover more about the murderer’s true identity and motives. You also have to perform some surprise quests on the way. The story is well told and the script and acting first rate. Action is fully rendered in 3D and uses an original crime scene reconstruction that allows you to analyse and test out your theories as you venture on the trail of the killer and eventually use your amazing powers of deduction to discover his true identity. And who could it possibly be? Well, it’s elementary, my dear Watson.
The Saboteur is set in 1940s Paris
Pandemic Studios invites you to enter the covert world of the saboteur in a stylised 1940s Paris as you attempt to overturn the Nazi occupation and track down your mortal enemies in this revolutionary new game released on 4th December.
You will play in the character of Sean Devlin, a tough, Irish racing mechanic based on the real-life war hero William Grover-Williams seeking personal revenge after his friends have been killed, one by one, by the Nazis. With a bit of help from the French Resistance, British Intelligence and a full arsenal of weaponry, you’ll use your wits to track down high ranking German officers and officials, blowing up zeppelins, derailing trains and exploding bridges on the way.
Features of the game include The Vertical World which takes you up on to the rooftops of Paris; the perfect place to initiate surprise attacks, plus gameplay systems called Climbing, Sneaking and Stealth Kills to help you infiltrate the Nazis.
Will to Fight combines visual style with gameplay as the environment of Paris changes around you according to the success of your missions. In order to make the district brightly coloured and “happy” you must weaken German forces occupying the area. In doing so, the district’s citizens will also regain hope and assist you in your fight. Areas with low WtF will be dark with the exception of brightly coloured German flags.
You’ll be fighting your way from the top of the Eiffel Tower to the banks of the Seine, taking in the whole panoply of the city. With a RRP of £49.99 The Saboteur is not only a great game, it’s a great way to see Paris.
Mass Effect 2 is being released on 26th & 29th January
The heroic Commander Shepard is back for the second installment of the epic trilogy Mass Effect and will be on the shelves on 26th January 2010 in North America and 29th January in Europe.
Leading games developer BioWare has also announced pre-order incentives to be released at key retailers in North America and across Europe with codes for downloading being provided on the release of the game. Described as “awesome bonus content” by co-founder of BioWare, Dr Ray Muzyka, these incentives include special in-game armour and weaponry to boost skills and abilities.
Having fought off the threat of the invading Reapers in Mass Effect 1, Commander Shepard now faces an even more terrifying enemy that lurks on the edges of the known universe and is responsible for the disappearance of entire human colonies.
Assuming his role, you have to assemble the crew of elite operatives and command the most powerful ship ever built. Then you have to train and equip the team to survive and choose from a powerful arsenal of heavy weaponry that can end a battle in seconds. The team members are potentially dangerous and a new recruit who has a tattoo for every person she has killed, there could also be a threat from within the team, or maybe not…
With intense shooter action and cinematic effect, you’ll be transported to a vast universe filled with alien life and mysterious planets as you embark on what is described as a “suicide mission” to save humanity. Have you got what it takes to prove them wrong?
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PES 2010 release dates
Konami Digital Entertainment GmbH has provided a tantalising foretaste of the amazing graphics to be featured in the up and coming PES 2010 title due for release on October 23rd on PS3, Xbox 360, mobile phone and PC.
A series of incredibly realistic images of members of several national football teams has to be seen to be believed with lifelike representations of the likes of Rio Ferdinand, John Terry and Steven Gerrard portrayed in all their glory – even down to blemishes, hairs on arms and weave of kit.
Gameplay will be all about real football simulation with more versatile goalkeepers and intuitive zonal defending with players constantly needing to look out for new ways to attack. The referees have also been revamped. Crowd reaction will be more realistic too with rumours that the Tokyo-based development team has tried to differentiate between crowds at home and away fixtures. Gamers can also now move several players at once and the individual talents of each player will be reflected in the way they play and will affect the way in which the other players react.
Taking the world of virtual football to another level, the development team has added a further degree of realism in the new lighting system where real-time shadows and weather conditions influence the game – in fact – all the realities of a UK football match replicated in grim detail – never mind, it could be worse – you could actually be there!
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Halo 3: ODST release dates
Halo 3: ODST, the first-person shooter Xbox 360 video game, is now on general release with an RRP of £34.99. Introducing a set of new characters, film-noir setting, graphical enhancements, epic adventure and multi-player option it ships with the added bonus of the mind-blowing co-operative mode, Firefight.
A spin-off from Peter Jackson’s acclaimed trilogy and conceived by Bungie, ODST explores events leading up to Halo 3. Set in the 26th century, humans are embroiled in a bloody war with a theocratic alliance of aliens known as the Covenant. Unlike Halo 3 however, which focussed on the protagonist, Master Chief, Joseph Staten’s storyline follows the ODSTs, or the Orbital Drop Shock Troopers, the black- armoured elite command soldiers, centring on one young member in particular – The Rookie.
After having crash landed on Earth the Rookie has to locate his teammates by following clues and solving mysteries. When a clue is discovered, for example, a sniper rifle hanging on a lamppost, flashbacks allow the player to operate as the other ODSTs as well.
Although there are some similarities to Halo 3, ODST comes with many changes that escalate tension and action. Improved graphics with a full-screen-shader system, parallax mapping and depth of field include touches of realism provided by details like advertisement hoardings and civilian characters. Much of the action takes place in the dark, in the urban environs of New Mombasa in Africa, but enemies are outlined in red and allies in green thanks to a new feature called VISR (Visual Intelligence System Reconnaissance). Exclusive weapons include the addition of a suppressed machine gun and re-vamped pistol.
Receiving universal praise for its visuals, atmospheric jazz-influenced music and for its powerful audio, ODST comes as a two disc set; the first contains the campaign mode and the Firefight co-operative mode. The latter allows players to show off their skills in an on or offline battle with increasingly formidable enemies and is claimed by some fans to be one of the best features of ODST. The second disc contains the multiplayer mode with the complete set of Halo 3 maps, plus three others and open world environment.
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The official box-art for BioShock 2 isn't yet available, here's a mock-up the fans came up with!
The original BioShock was one of the huge surprises of 2007, and finally, it’s time for the long-awaited sequel, BioShock 2.
Bioshock 2 promises to continue the deeply disturbing game-play from the original BioShock. This time around, you switch sides. Instead of re-visiting the role of Jack, you control a rogue Big Daddy. If you haven’t played the first game, this all sounds a little bit dodgy, but trust us, if the original BioShock – which turned the classical First Person Shooter (FPS) genre inside-out – is anything to go by, its sequel will be something quite special indeed.
This time around, the game doesn’t end once you’ve played through single player mode: Multiplayer in BioShock 2 will provide “a rich prequel experience that expands the origins of the BioShock fiction.”, according to Take 2 Interactive, who produce the game.
The game will be available on Xbox 360, Playstation 3 and for Windows from the 9th of February 2010.
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