Let me start off with answering some of the questions of this game. The time placement of the game goes; when you are in the animus, it is the prequel to Assassins Creed 3. The character you play outside the Animus, it is right after Assassins Creed 3. SPOILER ALERT! IF YOU HAVE NOT PLAYED ASSASSINS CREED 3 SKIP TO NEXT PARAGRAPH. So no, you are not Desmond, he is still dead.
You are an employee of Abstergo Entertainment, the child company that uses the data collected in the Animus and turn the exciting stories into movies and helps fund Abstergo's larger projects. The character you play in the Animus is Edward Kenway, a pirate out to make a better life for himself and his family out in the Caribbean. You might recognize the name Kenway, yes you are playing as Haytham's father, the character from Assassins Creed 3.
This game has made a lot of nice improvements since Assassins Creed 3. For instance, this is the most smooth and crisp graphics of any of the game series yet. I was really impressed with all of the great details in the characters and the sceneries. You also get to sail in the pirate ship Jackdaw and try to loot from other ships and either claim it for your own fleet or send it to Davy Jones Locker. Some side activities you can do in some free time, while out at sea, are hunting sharks or go whaling. Everyone in a while, you will get the chance to hunt the Great White Whale.
Hint: upgrade your boat, harpoon and max the number of harpoons you carry to give yourself a better chance of capturing it.
Call me Ishmael!
When you are outside the Animus, you are out doing some errands for the computer engineer John, which involves you hacking into some of your fellow worker's computer. By doing so, you get to unlock stuff like audio from Desmond and more of what happened after he died, audio from subject zero, and just other facts on Abstergo.
Let's try the password: GUEST and see what happens....
You can also claim forts which help you uncover hidden areas on your map. As for the story, the plot line is pretty solid. I liked how they went with this game and was able to follow it pretty easily. The fighting mechanics are pretty much the same so don't expect too much from that but they did finally add free aiming to this one, so that was handy at times.
This baby will soon be mine.
As for the multiplayer, there have been a lot of improvements to that was well. As usual, there are a whole list of new characters, from an Adventurer or Buccaneer to a Night Stalker or Puppeteer. You are able to customize a lot with your characters, from clothing, faces, and other accessories. There are a few new abilities but kept a lot of the favorites. To be honest, I didn't play the Multiplayer to Assassins Creed 3 so I'm not sure if this was added to 3 or not but 4 has a Co-Op mode called Wolfpack where you are able to work with three other players and try and complete some missions. You can now also create your own game mode using the Game Lab, being able to create your own matches, goals, and restrictions. This was a nice touch they added and can't wait to give it a shot.
Oh yes indeed.
The thing I didn't really like about the game was event though some of the side quests were fun, there was just so many of them. You can collect Animus fragments but there were so many of them, I just felt a bit overwhelming, grew tired of collecting them and just skipped it all together. You are able to collect songs for your crew to sing when you are traveling on the ship but collecting them is annoying. It is just like collecting the Ben Franklin pages in Assassins Creed 3, when you get close to it, it flies away and you have to chase it down before it vanishes and you have to wait for it to re-spawn, just annoying. I did experience a glitch in the game, I was taking over a fort and had to make it to the war room, to kill the guy inside, and right before I could open the door, some guy tackles me and I get phased through the door and was trapped. I was forced to fast travel to a near by location but thankfully I didn't have to start over again. So just a heed of caution when taking over the fort, don't get tackled when near the war room.
My rating for this game is 9/10.
This game is definitely one to own if you are a fan of the series. Assassins Creed 4 is one of my favorite from the series, mainly because I really like looting from other ships. But seriously, it was so beautifully done and well worth it. I recommend though if you have not played any of these games to do them in order to get the full story of the fight between Assassins and Templars.
Since Halloween is just around the corner, I felt it would be a great tribute to the Holiday of Horror to come up with a list of scary console games. But there are so many of them out there, it wasn't really easy to figure out which ones were the scariest. I am a huge fan of anything horror, from movie to video
games. I just love playing scary games and having that rush of not knowing what
is going to happen when I open the door or turn the corner. I am one of those
players that will do what the games tell you to do before you start, turn off
the lights and turn up the volume to get into the mood.I know a lot of people have their top
scariest games but here are what I feel are the scariest to play on the
console. Note: these games are not in order because it is hard for me to pick
which one is scarier than the other, so here is my top 10.
1. Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth (Xbox)
For any of you that ever read an H.P. Lovecraft book or know
anything about Cthulhu, you should know how creepy those stories could be. For
those of you that know nothing about Cthulhu, here is just the basic info about
him: Cthulhu is one of the “Great Old Ones” that ruled the earth long ago. Put
the world into darkness and is now resting and waiting to be awakened. This
first-person shooter will leave you on the edge of your seat with every moment
of the game. You have to look for clues on to what is going on in this strange
village, avoid being killed by the cultish townsfolk and avoid losing your sanity
by seeing some creepy stuff in the game. Note: There are multiple endings to
this game and they are based on your sanity level and it is not easy to keep
sane. Stay sharp and Agon Cthulhu!
For those that love the Resident
Evil series, there was just something that added that extra creepy factor to
Resident Evil 4 that tops the rest of them. This game puts you on high alert as
you play as Leon Kennedy, from Resident Evil 2, and have to try to save the
President’s Daughter in a Spanish town filled in not only just zombie
villagers, a crazed zombie villager with a huge chainsaw and robed cultists,
but you get to buy all your sweet gear from some sketchy guy in a huge robe and
not only seems to be just ignored by all the zombies but apparently isn’t
willing to just give you the weapons for free during a time of crisis. No, you
have to still pay him money. Resident Evil 4 added a new camera angle and 3D
environment to allow for the player to get more into the game than the previous
RE games. Not only that but the villagers will do whatever it takes to kill
you. SO find a house and board it up because it might be the only thing that
will help keep you alive in this game.
3. F.E.A.R. (Xbox 360, PS3)
I love the F.E.A.R. Trilogy but nothing compares to the very
first one. This game has everything you could want to give you the creeps: a
game that is mostly dimly lit environments, creepy sounds always off in the
distance and the scariest thing of all, this creepy little girl that will pop
out of nowhere and scare the crap out of you. It feels like she appears all the
time in the worst of places and every time she shows up, you just want to do
whatever it takes to get away from her. I don’t know about you but she was the
icing on the cake that gave this game that extra scary vide to it. The game not
only will attack your player but will psychologically attack you with constant
usage of never knowing what lurks in the shadows.
4.Bioshock (Xbox 360, PS3)
To be honest, Bioshock isn’t really a horror game but man
does it just make you want to scream like a little girl at times. Your player
wakes up with no idea where he is or how he got there. You get to move about
the city of Rapture trying to figure out what happened and who you are. A long
the way, you get to meet the lovely psychotic people of Rapture that want to do
nothing but end your life. Also, meet up with the Little Sisters and their
Guardians Big Daddy. Creepy little girls are always a great add-on to any
creepy game. You must venture through this one beautiful city with the fear
that a crazy resident could be around any corner, waiting to strike you. Not
only that but listening to the audio diaries do not add much comfort as you
learn more about what has happened to this broken down city. Do what you can to
stay alive and learn everything about who you are and why the once great city
of Rapture had become a stick hole of psychopaths and mutated freaks.
5. Dead Space (Xbox 360, PS3)
With a title like Dead Space, you should know already that
you are about to open up a can of maybe it might be best to play this one with
the lights on…. You are Isaac Clarke, an engineer that is part of a maintenance
crew, sent to repair the communications equipment on a mining ship. Upon
arrival, you find that these unknown creatures have slaughtered the entire
crew. This is a game where you can’t just make a quick head shot to kill these
creatures, you need to actually dismember them to take them down. This is one
of the scariest game series I have ever played. The necromorphs will pop out of
everywhere at any given time. Just when you think you are safe, WRONG! Bam,
necromorph pops out of the ventilation system and tries to chew your face off.
This game is just straight up scare the pants off you. Your heart will be
racing from the moment you start the game to the end of the credits.
6. Condemned: Criminal Origins (Xbox 360)
Condemned: Criminal Origins is a unique type of game that scares you unlike other scary games. In this first-person thriller, you are Agent Ethan Thomas and you are out to stop the serial-killer known as Match Maker. The atmosphere of this game makes me think of the movie Se7en, the game is gloomy, dark and the murders are just brutal. You will have enemies constantly popping out and trying to kill you. You have to use your wits and your surroundings to stay alive. I can honestly say, I have not played a game that was like this one, one that isn't scary because of monsters, ghost or demons but it scares you because its realism gets you into the game and feel apart of it. That psychological type of scare that makes you do what it takes to try and keep your sanity.
7. Fatal Frame 2 (Xbox, PS2, Wii)
Ok. I am pretty sure that most of the people have seen the movie The Grudge. I just as myself this one question: What is with all of these haunted japanese homes? I mean seriously, you would think they would have had some ghostbusters type people around there by now or something. How would you like to be trapped inside a haunted old mansion
with nothing but a camera to help fend off the evil spirits inside? No sane person would like this type of situation that your character is placed in. Fatal Frame II is just chock full of sheer, abject
terror. Steeped in very Japanese horror style, the game is eerie as hell, with
tons of disturbing imagery and enemies. This game forces you to confront
the terrors in front of you by waiting until the last possible second to snap a
spirit's photograph. Doing so will damage the ghosts, but at the same time, it
will also diminish your will power. There's only so many times you'll be
willing to stand idly by while demons come hurtling at you at top speed. After playing this game, you might want to think about maybe investing in a camera.
8. Silent Hill 2 (Xbox, PS2, or in HD for Xbox 360 and PS3)
Of all the Silent Hill games, nothing scared you more than the introduction to Pyramid Head. Nothing else can compare to the first time running into a large man with a huge Pyramid on his head and a large sword itching to just cut you in half. Once you knew he was near, you heart was racing, palms sweating and you just wanted to hide and pray he would just go away. The psychologically disturbing atmosphere and inhabitants of Silent Hill will surely make your skin crawl and make you want to sleep with one eye open.
9. The Suffering (Xbox, PS2)
In The Suffering, dropping the soap is the least of your worries in this prison. Your character is Torque and you have been sentenced to death for the murder of your family, which you can't remember because you blacked out when it happened, and sent to Abbot State Penitentiary on Carnate Island, Maryland. On the night of your arrival, an earthquake shakes the island and the demons of the damned rise up and walk the land of the living again. You might survive and escape the island. Along the way, you are haunted by the visions of your dead family and learn the horrible secrets of the island. Along your journey to escape you will encounter the demons of people killed, those by injections, beheaded, shot, etc., and they will come out of no where and want nothing more but to have your innards become your outards. The atmosphere is dark and dim and you have to use your flashlight to see down creepy corridors, not knowing what is hiding in the darkness. You will be given choices along the way to either help people or not and these choices will determine how the game ends. Fight to survive and learn to release your inner demon to fight your way off the hellish prison.
10. Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem (Gamecube)
Now lets be honest, when you think of Nintendo, you don't really think of them as creating scary games. With Eternal Darkness, that changed everything you once thought about Nintendo. Eternal Darkness is one of those games you either remember
fondly for messing with your brain, or you can't stand to talk about it because
of all the horrifying memories you don't want coming back to haunt you. Few
games used as many tricks and surprises to fool players into thinking they were
going crazy, and included a handy sanity meter to track just how far down the
rabbit hole they had fallen. Whether it was the creepy children screaming, the
bleeding walls, or your TV seemingly turning on and off at random, Eternal
Darkness pushed the limits of interactive horror in a way that hasn't been
replicated since.
Well there you have it. I'm sure you might feel that some games should be on the list or not on here, so let us know what your Top 10 are and from all of us at GameXCape, we hope your Halloween is a safe and frightful one.
This is my Sheppard. There are many like her, but she KICKS ASS.
Welcome to 2013's first post! And with that, let's start off with a look at my personal favorite games of 2012.
2012 was quite the interesting time for me gaming wise: I didn't nearly have the amount of free time I used to have to play, nor income to buy all the games I wanted to, but I did make sure to save my money for the ones I wanted and for the most part they didn't disappoint.
So keep in mind that it is just me and I am only going off of games I have personally played. There are a lot of games I've missed out on this year like The Walking Dead, Far Cry 3, and Mark of the Ninja that I just couldn't get around to but hopefully will at some point.
So without any further ado, let's get to the list!
It's been awhile but welcome back to New Video Game Releases, your weekly dose of what's new and happening in games this week.
The beginning of 2012 has been rather light luckily enough and I've had enough time to go and try to make a dent in my backlog. Fortunately, last week saw the big release of Final Fantasy XIII-2 and Soul Calibur V to break this gaming lull and get us back into the new and happening
To find out all the gaming goodness that drops this week, click the link.
Every year the best of the best in the fighting game world come together in Las Vegas to find out who is the best of the World Warriors! Or is it the King of Iron Fist? The King of Fighters?
Well whatever catchphrase you happen to enjoy, this years fighting game line-up for EVO 2012 has been announced and it's full of both new and old.
So ladies and gentlemen, welcome to 2012's first Salvador's Top 7. This time around, I'm taking a look at my favorite games of 2011.
No, this isn't some Game Of The Year article. I am unfortunately only one guy and don't have the time to sit around and play games all day like I would like to. Thus, I've missed out on some great games this year. For example, I haven't finished Crysis 2, Deus Ex: Human Revolution is incomplete as well, I haven't played anything on the 3DS, and haven't even touched The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (GASP!).
Simply put, there were just too many good games and not enough free time for me to sit and play them all.
Still, 2011 held some great game time for me, and these seven games are my most memorable of the year. So hit the jump to find out which ones they are.
Note: I only include games I have personally played.
Well, 2011 has come and gone. The year has brought us all some great games that we all have enjoyed playing. There are a lot of Video Game Awards out there but this one is special because we asked you, the fans, to vote for your favorites on our Facebook Page and the winners have been selected. Here are the results for the 1st Annual Video Game Awards.
This trailer fleshes out a bit of back story about Constantinople, the main location in Assassin's Creed: Revelations.
A prince trying to keep the city from being overtaken by a rebellious faction and Ezio's own appearance in his own journey certainly make for an interesting tale to be woven through the streets of Constantinople.
Just remember, it's now Instanbul, not Constantinople. For those of you that don't get the reference, video after the jump.
As if games like Skyrim, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, and Assassin's Creed: Revelations weren't enough to keep you busy for the rest of the year, Square has decided to tempt our digital wallets with the 'Winter of RPGs'.
Square is releasing three big name RPG's as PSOne Classics through the beginning of December: Chrono Cross, Final Fantasy V, and Final Fantasy VI.
And to think, I was happy with just Chrono Trigger.
Today, Rockstar Games finally unveiled the first game footage of the long awaited Grand Theft Auto V. The game is set back on the west coast and looks to take place in fan favorite city, San Andreas.
Personally, I always get majorly sidetracked in GTA games, hitting ramps and seeing how long I can last against the law instead of doing the actual missions. Hence why the only GTA game I've beaten is Vice City, though that might be because I loved the entire 80's vibe it had going.
For those of you more interested in the now, check out the how far R.A.G.E. has come since Rockstar Games Presents Table Tennis after the jump.
Bonus points if you know what R.A.G.E. stands for!
Yes ladies and gentlemen, we are still alive and kicking though our posts would prove otherwise.
Unfortunately many things have come up to occupy my time, but rest assured that we haven't forgotten about you.
All I ask is that you guys stay patient with us. There are at least half a dozen big games that come out every week for the next two months and unfortunately we don't have the manpower to cover it all and play everything.
So I ask of you dear readers, what do you want to see from us? Are there certain games you care about more than others? Do you want us to review a certain game more than another? Would you like more Wii games (Wouldn't we all?)?
And as a heads up, I did finally manage to get my hands on Super Metroid and Chrono Trigger so expect a write up on those two games within the near future! For those of you that don't know what I'm talking about, check out the article here.
Please let us know either in the comments, via email, or on Facebook!
You guys remember that Call of Duty has a single player campaign right?
Well if not, Infinity Ward is set to remind you with this trailer. It looks like it's taking all the best moments of the previous Modern Warfare games and making them so big and over the top it would make a Michael Bay film look like a Disney Movie.
Looks like Nintendo is trying it's hardest to make me dust off my Wii and actually hook it up with The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword.
The game looks amazing and the fact that Nintendo says it has at least forty hours of gameplay has me willing to almost forgive them for ignoring the hardcore.
Almost.
Check out the opening cinematic after the jump. No gameplay, but some cool backstory.
It's almost here Xbox fans, live TV streaming on Xbox Live!
Major Nelson revealed on his blog that Xbox is partnering with multiple TV and entertainment providers to offer a wide variety of TV choices around the world to Live members.
The exact details of how it will work and what kind of subscriptions will be needed have not been disclosed, but they did list which providers have hopped on board.
Hit the jump to see the complete listing and trailer showing how Kinect will interact with Live TV as well.
Remember that Zelda: 25th Anniversary that's going on? Well instead of giving a gift to Nintendo, they have decided to give back to the fans with a free game!
The Legend of Zelda: Four SwordsAnniversary Edition isn't just a straight port of the original games, but an enhanced version of it.
There is a single player campaign that has you switching between two Links, you can now do two player instead of four, and Nintendo even added two new areas as well!
The game is free from now till February 2012 on both the 3DS eShop and the DSiWare store as well. That means DSi, DSi XL, and 3DS owners can play together.
Dark Souls, the spiritual successor to Demon's Souls, is scheduled to hit next week on October 4th.
From Software has decided to toss out one more hype trailer showcasing the game and some of the bosses ready to beat you into submission over and over again.
Demon's Souls was notoriously difficult and a definite throwback to old school games that punished you for running blindly into situations.
Think you're up to the challenge? Check out the trailer after the jump.
My car experience only constitutes changing my oil, tires, and Top Gear. Yet every time I see some racing game or simulator I feel like I could be an F1 racer or an automotive engineer.
Forza Motorsports 4 sees to help me with my delusions of automotive grandeur on October 11th, but the guys at Turn 10 have decided to be kind though and let us have a taste of what to expect in the game in the form of a demo releasing on October 3, little over a week from the games full release.
Also announced was the Forza 4 Season Pass which is similar to what Microsoft did with the Gears of War 3 season pass which allowed you to save some money on future DLC.
All the details on what you get with the Season Pass after the jump.
