Holiday Review Guide: Part 1 - Celebrating Christmas in May

[I know I'm posting this late on my own website but these reviews actually did run in the Pulse Niagara before the Holidays, so I'm not completely behind. Besides it cold enough outside in St. Catharines right now that it could damn well snow, so consider this a good list of games to snuggle up with right now until the real summer weather kicks in.]

Assassin’s Creed 2
Ubisoft, Ubisoft Montreal
Available for Xbox 360, Playstation 3 and PC

The time has come for Desmond Miles to return to the animus and jump into the memories of a new assassin, Ezio Auditore da Firenze, in Italy during the Renaissance era. Experience the gripping story behind the murder of Ezio’s family and his journey to uncover the conspiracy behind it.

Ubisoft has raised the bar with an amazing new combat system which evolves with each new weapon, improved enemy A.I and a whole new in-game economy system for easy money making. The running through the recreation of Italy is almost as good as visiting the city in real life and the game has some of the best voice-over work I’ve heard in long time.

If you want to feel the thrill of the chase from your couch, then grab a copy of Assassin’s Creed 2 today.

Rating: 10 out of 10
Buy this!

Ratchet and Clank: A Crack in Time
Sony Computer Entertainment, Insomniac Games
Available for Playstation 3

Ratchet & Clank: A Crack in Time continues the story from Ratchet & Clank: Quest for Booty with Clank being kidnapped by Doctor Nefarious and Ratchet & Qwark continuing to search the galaxy for any clues to Clank and Dr. Nefarious’ location. Both our favourite heroes will learn more about their past then they possible could have ever imagined in this fantastic new adventure from Insomniac Games.

New elements in the game include the ability to fly between planets and complete mini games and seek out hidden objects in order to upgrade your abilities and ship. Also the game has new constructo weapons that allow you to customize various elements and it includes a special time pad puzzle system which records multiple holographic images of Clank and then plays them back.

With tons of mini challenges and an exciting story line, this makes a great game to spend all those long, cold winter nights with.

Rating: 9 out of 10
Buy this!

Borderlands
2K Games, Gearbox Software
Available for Xbox 360, Playstation 3 and PC

Borderlands is like the Fallout 3 for people with not a lot of time to play videogames but a lot of friends to play them with. Part RPG, part FPS, Borderlands puts you on the planet of Pandora where the last remains of a society once there to mine has all but disappeared. You and the few inhabitants that still remain scavenge for what you can and cling to the legend of the vault which apparently holds a vast alien treasure. You and your team plan to find the vault though under the instruction of a guardian angel – a mysterious woman who only talks to you.

Choose from 4 playable character types and explore the world of Pandora via the main quest and various side missions. You can choose to play solo or join up with 3 other friends at anytime during your campaign for co-op play. Choose to play in your world or theirs. The world of Pandora holds a vast amount of cool weaponry and gadgets to aid you in your mission and you even get to hop into a cool vehicle or two.

The Holidays are time to get together with friends and family and what better way to spend time with your favourite people then riding around in tanks and blowing up skags.

Rating: 9 out of 10
Buy this!

Left4Dead2
EA, Valve Corporation
Available for Xbox 360 and PC

The outbreak has happened again and this time you are following 4 new survivors in the Southern United States as they fight their way through hordes of zombies in order to make their way to safety. The game is broken down into chapters which can be played solo with A.I team members or with up to 3 other players with co-op mode. You do also have the option to play 4 vs. 4 multiplayer in various maps.

Fans of the Resident Evil series will be out of their element here as zombies move faster and tend to attack in packs. Even on easy I had trouble surviving this game but thankfully your A.I. teammates are great shots, so if you learn to take backseat to the action, you’ll survive to see the next level. This is definitely a nice change to the normal zombie game though and I enjoyed the movie like cinematic scenes and story line.

Left4Dead2 definitely brings new life to the zombie horror survival genre and this is one game you can’t live or unlive without this Holiday season.

Rating: 8 out of 10
Buy this!

Review: January 2010 Downloadable Games

Fat Princess
SCE, Titan Studios
Available on the Playstation Network

Fat Princess is a 2 team, 16 player online game that is pure cartoon chaos. Two teams must work together to kidnap the other team’s Princess from inside a defended castle, while trying to defend their own Princess. To make things interesting each Princess can be fatten up by each team member with random pieces of cake found on the battle field. The more cake you feed your Princess, the bigger the she gets and the harder she is to kidnap which can help or hinder your team depending on the situation.

Each team member can choose one of 6 character classes like a mage or a warrior which each has their own abilities and weapons. Classes can be changed by grabbing hats from stations inside your castle. In addition to the main “Capture the Princess” mode, Fat Princess has a multiplayer death match mode and two single player modes: a story mode and a survival mode.

While I found this game to be clever and whimsical, overall the game has just too chaotic for me. I never saved the Princess once because I always died before I got to her and I tend to hate games that don’t give me even a fighting chance. I know some people love hard games like Mega Man but to me, this was like trying to ice skate up a hill. It just wasn’t possible.

Pass on it!

Final Fantasy VII
Sony, Square Enix
Available on the Playstation Network

Retro games are all the rage and most game companies are cashing in by placing old titles online for players to purchase and download. Now I personally would rather own the old systems and the games themselves, but sometimes it’s nice to be able to get these games instantly rather than having to hunt for them in flea markets and garage sales.

Square Enix is one of those companies that have taken up the task to re-release old titles from their vault onto services like the Nintendo Wii’s Virtual Console and the Playstation 3’s Playstation Network. While I’m still praying for Final Fantasy VI to show up, I have been thankful for the release of Final Fantasy VII which any fan will tell you is the most loved game in the series.

This online version of FFVI is probably as close as you can get to the actually game without actually buying yourself a hard copy – every side quest, chocobo ride and boss battle is here. So I suggest that if you want to relive the greatest heart breaking moment in gaming history, then download this game now. As for the newcomers to the game, please don’t delay – buy today, so you can finally understand what we FF fans are finally babbling about. Aerith who?

Buy it!

Sam and Max: Beyond Space and Time
Telltale Games
Available on the Xbox Live Marketplace

Sam and Max: Beyond Space and Time aka Sam and Max: Season 2 has finally made its way to the Xbox Live Marketplace. Based on the comic books series by Steve Purcell, this point and click adventure game follows up Season one aka Sam and Max Save the World which is also available on the Xbox Live Marketplace.

The crazy crime fighting duo of Sam and Max bring you five of the weirdest stories for your adventure solving pleasure. Sam and Max will encounter everyone from Abe Lincoln to Santa Claus during these coo-coo adventures and you will need to think outside of the box in order to keep up with them.

Each episode is better than the last and the hilarious dialog will have you rolling on the floor laughing. While I am a fan of the old 2D graphics from Sam and Max: Hit the Road, I do like the updated 3D graphics used by Telltales. Overall, this is a great series and I suggest my readers check out both Season 1 and 2.

Buy it!

Borderloads DLC: The Zombie Island of Dr. Ned
2k Games, Gearbox Software
Available on the Xbox Live Marketplace, Playstation Network and Steam

Considering how huge a game Borderlands is on its itty bitty own, it’s hard to believe anyone would want to purchase additional quests for the game but honestly offer up anything with zombies in it and I will buy. The Zombie Island of Dr. Ned is the first downloadable content for the holiday hit, Borderlands, which brings your team to the creepy island of Jakob’s Cove. There you discover zombies are eating the locals and you need to find away to stop them, starting with seeking helping from Dr. Ned – no relation with Dr. Zed, your health provider in the Arid Badlands.

There are quite a few new quests, items and enemies here for your skag killing enjoyment. The humour in the main story is far more off the wall than anything you’ll find in the main Borderlands game and the new enemies will have you on your toes every minute you traverse these new swamp lands.

Zombie related content is usually better released at Halloween but I’ll take my zombies any way I can get them. Zombie lover or not, I highly suggest Borderland fans check this download out whether you have finished the main game or not. The quests are tailored to your character’s current level, so you can jump in any time.

Buy it!