On summing up E3.

I started this week off with hope, because I wanted E3 to be successful. Yes, I had my doubts when they became elitist by cutting the public out, and I really wanted to throw out a few choice words, but then I realized that this was all a matter of opinion. So, I waited. We all held our breaths waiting for something stupendous to occur.

And yes, there were a few videos that were released, that got me a little bit excited. I must confess I almost swooned over Fallout 3, but then again, someone can just breath Fallout and I go mushy all over, so that was just cheating.

FarCry 2, I will nod my head and say, love the concept, sure wish there was more than just video of the developers playing the game for the media to back it. And I cannot forget Tom Clancy’s EndWar, I love what they are doing with it. UbiSoft, your breaking my heart here! I have a huge heart for UbiSoft, even if there are others that might not care for them, but they have some games that I just love.

EA showed some love in a game that will have people gagging with the psychological horror in Dead Space. The game appears to be creepy and scary and shows a very innovative form of game play. With no more messy pop up screens all over the place, and the health meters all visually right on the bodysuit. Pretty crazy and awesome.

So what gives? Why am I here to display so little love for E3 as a whole. We are a gaming community. Developers produce games for the consumer to play. The media spreads the words getting the consumer pumped up. E3 started out small, and that can be appreciated, everyone starts small. My question is, why go back to the proverbial “good ol’ boys” club? Restricting the game play may cause a slight degree of anticipation to gamers by not being allowed to be there, however, the heightened degree of anticipation that was ramped up by gamers being able to go and see the wares being produced, play and experience, then go home and brag, caused all that much more excitement in the gaming world. It kept people coming to the news reels and reading all the latest news, and in reciprocation, had gamers ready to buy far before the date of release. All of which benefited the game developers and production companies.

So who loses in this big mess that E3 created? Everyone. Who knows, and trust me I dare not speculate what they were thinking. The fact of the matter is, while it would be way cool checking out the games first hand, giving back to the community is what it is all about. If we don’t do that, why do we even make the games in the first place?

Getting the games out even to a small market of gamers to let them get a feel for the games, lets you really experience whether your market is going to love the game. Sure, the media in games journalism, if they are worth their salt, have got to be gamers as well, for surely to write love of the game you must love the game. However, there is something to be said for the unadulterated love of gaming and nothing else written on a gamers face. Whether girly geek or gamer stud, all the way down to the smallest child who plays their little heart out, gaming is about playing for no other reason than to enjoy the wares. And that, my friends, is what I love to write about, love of the game. E3 bigwigs, I am sorry, but you lost your love for the game, by denying those who thrive on it.

Is Seattle ready for all the geekiness of PAX V?

Are you ready to join Gabe and Tycho at PAX?  Aug. 29-31, 2008 at the Washington State Trade and Convention Center in Seattle proud geeks will be flocking to get their Penny Arcade loot signed by the duo that started it all.  If they may not acquire a signature or hints to On The Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness, they will garner much more geeky wisdom from the vast array of gaming heads of state that will be there.

Three days of hands on game play sound like enough to make PAX a roaring success alone.  Microsoft, UbiSoft Games, Nintendo, and Sony, are just some of the big hitters that will be exhibiting and showing of prereleases at this gaming show that stemmed from a hobby.

The ECTO-1, of Ghostbuster fame, the PAX 10 independent games showcase, and two nights of music are just teasers of what you will enjoy while you are the exploring every square inch of the almost doubled exhibition hall.  What more can one ask for, next to face to face time with Jerry Holkins and Mike Krahulik themselves?  Well, if you cannot settle for that, be sure to check out the approximately 72 games exhibitors that are going to be geared up ready to keep you occupied.  Game on!

Assassin’s Creed

From my perch on the highest point of the synagogue, all of Jerusalem stretches out in front of me.

This is an experience that I shared with the protagonist of Assassin’s Creed countless times while I reviewed it.  Before we dive into stories and gameplay and graphics, it’s a point I want to make as clear as the developer made it to me:  Assassin’s Creed is a technically astounding game.  The sheer size of the world, and the eagle-eye view from which players take it in, is easily worth the price of the title.  If you’re thinking of picking up the game on the 360 (I reviewed the PC version), I can see it being an excellent reason to buy a monster TV as well.

As you might have guessed, Assassin’s Creed is the story of an assassin.  While that would normally be enough to pull in the gamer love, Ubisoft went the extra mile to create a story that combines both the present day and the time of the Crusades in the cradle of civilization.  I’ll not spoil the plot for our readers, suffice to say that the story didn’t appear as usual to be slapped in at the last minute by a motley group of drunk developers.

The title falls into no genre, although we imagine that Assassin’s Creed must have been meticulously cross-bred from the likes of Splinter Cell, the Grand Theft Auto series, and Heavenly Sword.  Players find themselves slinking around a large realm, making contacts with allied ne’er-do-wells and learning more about each of the nine targets the game presents for assassination.

Players are given a choice to avoid guards and ruffians with a small arsenal of sneaking techniques, or throw caution to the wind and kill every obstacle in their path.  Do you want to sneak up on your mark and dispatch him with a hidden blade, or are you feeling lucky?  Why not waltz right into his sanctuary, in front of 10 guards, and draw your blade?  Assassin’s Creed let’s you decide, and though we found stealth assassination to be more “in character”, it was a blast to usher on your opponents and leave no man standing.

The game thrusts players into the combat system when an overly anxious guard spots you or you cause a disruption in a crowd.  Galloping through a group of jar-carrying peasants will do it, as will jumping on the roof in the presence of guards.  Regardless of how it happens, once the combat system is tripped the player has two choices: fight or flight.

The combat system is a combination of swashbuckling and Jujitsu, and players deciding to shed blood are given an arsenal of fighting techniques that makes a field of dead soldiers seem commonplace.  Swords and the occasional lunge can be countered with deadly blows, all presented in theatrical angles that look great and stamp the ESRB rating M all over the landscape.

If bloodshed’s not your cup of tea, you can also bolt like the sissy-coward you probably are.  To make a clean getaway, however, takes more than skills of the foot.  Players must first break line-of-site with their pursuers, then blend into the city through a variety of hidy-holes and busy crowds.  As fun as the combat is, the real action takes place in flight.  There’s no better cardio workout than running across the roofs of Bethlehem like some sort of crazed circus performer, and I’m talking about your heart racing, not the assassin’s.

Each assassination bring players closer to unraveling the overlying plot, which spills out in modern day throughout the game.  More importantly, perhaps, is that each dead boss increases your arsenal of weapons as well as your combat repertoire.  As players approach the end sequence, they’ll have a somewhat overwhelming series of options as to how to accomplish each mission.  At the end of the day, however, these options are what make the title worth playing. In fact, the one option you don’t have is passing up this game.

Assassin’s Creed is all of the good things we’ve enjoyed in action-based sandbox games, with a measure of stealth thrown in for taste.  The immersive landscape and killer combat systems make for a great game, and the only thing to complain about (which I didn’t, I might add) was the occasional minor PC camera issues that source from the game’s origin on a console.  If you’ve got a copy of Steam running, or just want to run to Wal-Mart today, pick up Assassin’s Creed and burn up a weekend or two.  Never mind the mess afterwards, the peasants will clean it up.