1. I gave up on Assassin’s Creed 3 over the weekend; I went about as far as I could go before accepting that I just. didn’t. care. And it’s a shame, too, I suppose, because even though the overall narrative was ridiculous, I was getting to a point in the story where there was some actual, insightful perspective on what the American Revolution was really about. And certain relationships between characters – specifically, that of a father and son, newly reacquainted – had the potential to get quite interesting. But the game itself is broken, undercooked, with a thousand extraneous things to do and none of them particularly interesting or designed. The Homestead mechanic – a variant on the mechanic in AC2 / Brotherhood where Ezio built up his mansion and ancestral city / his band of assassins, and in which I spent a lot of time working on and developing in those games – is barely taught, its benefits utterly unexplained. The hunting mechanic felt tedious and without any sort of tangible reward – yes, you can sell what you scavenge, but I never found myself hurting for money mostly because I never bought anything, because there was nothing of interest to buy. You do precious little assassinating for an Assassin in a game called Assassin’s Creed, too, but you do find yourself getting chased by the British for no particular reason at all, in chase sequences that last anywhere between 5 and 20 minutes, and which GOD JUST MAKE IT STOP. Ubisoft: I implore you. TAKE A YEAR OFF. We know you won’t, as you like to be all over console launches, but WE DO NOT NEED A NEW ASSASSIN’S CREED GAME NEXT YEAR.
2. Besides giving up on AC3, I didn’t really do all that much gaming this weekend, as I was busy with some music stuff I’m working on. But when I did get my game on, I found myself getting pulled back into Batman: Arkham City, which I bought during the Thanksgiving Steam Sale. The similarities between Batman and Assassin’s Creed are many, as it turns out, but Batman does everything so much better. Even though I’ve already beaten it, I’m still enjoying it just as much this second time around.
Do you guys do this, too? Do you ever find yourself replaying old games? I do this every once in a while, especially if an old game kinda keeps popping up in my memory – for me, it’s almost the same feeling as re-reading a favorite book; I get to live in that world again, and often times it’s just as good (if not better) the second time around, because you get to pay attention to details that you missed the first time, and you can skim over the parts you don’t like.
I think I mentioned the other day that I’ve already started work on my “BEST GAMES OF THIS CONSOLE GENERATION” post, and as such I’ve had a jones to play a bunch of old favorites again – Uncharted 2 (and maybe even 3), Bioshock, Red Dead Redemption. (For whatever it’s worth, Portal 1/2 will be on my list, but I’ve played both of those games too many times for me to feel nostalgic about them right now.) This even though I still need to finish XCOM, and even though I’m now suddenly looking forward to Far Cry 3, what with all the amazing reviews it’s been getting…
3. I turn 37 on Saturday, and I’ve been toying with the idea of getting myself a 3DS (or the XL version) as a birthday present. I don’t really know why, though – it’s not like the game library has suddenly, dramatically improved. And while I’ve heard amazing things about Pushmo, and while I’d certainly like to check out OoT and the new Professor Layton, that’s not really enough to sink $250 on, especially with a baby on the way in April. And especially since my iPhone 4’s home button is becoming very unreliable, and I’m eligible to upgrade to the 5 in a few weeks anyway. Still, it’s something I’m thinking about.
That’s it, and that’s all.
Shouts From The Couch 