Other entertainment?

Hi


"Other entertainment" seems a bit odd, considering pro wrestling hasn't been that entertaining, but I digress. This is simply going to be a non-wrestling related entry. In fact, it's going to be related to video games. (I'm not going to lie, it's just going to be about the Assassin's Creed series, since it gives me happy boners).


First and foremost though, I've got to say something about the recent console announcements. Nobody cares for Nintendo consoles, since the WiiU is in no way competitive in terms of next-gen gaming. Our Japanese friends will have to be happy they completely trump everyone in the handheld market. As for the other two, it  seems like Microsoft has made a huge mistake.

Not only does the XBox one look like a tacky VCR that no one wants to see in a living room, all of the other announcements have pretty much killed any momentum it could've garnered before the first one rolled off the conveyor belt. Honestly, I wonder what the people at Microsoft were thinking. Having to connect to the net once a day, fees for second hand games (even if someone borrows it?), ... I'm not going to vent on the backwards compatibility because it's been this way for the current gen as well. I've never been an XBox enthusiast so it doesn't really matter for me personally.

As a loyal Playstation user (since I got the PSX in 1998), I was quite happy to see the PS4 specs. It'll be a couple of years before I buy it, however, but to see that it trumps XBox One in every possible way (including pricing!) is very positive. Retailing at only 399 is almost spectacular. Sony must be taking losses on it, but it'll give them a nicer edge already.

Anyways. Assassin's Creed has been a particular favorite of mine, ever since the first game. It's huge in popularity for sure, but with good reasons. As a fanatic for historical events, I like the way that the creative forces behind the series have managed to provide an alternate take, and fleshed it out in a manner that can be perceived as realistic (aside from the supernatural elements).

The first one was a bit of letdown, compared to newer installments though. It could be considered a revolutionary game, but ever since II was released in 2009, its flaws have been highlighted more excessively. Repetitive in nature, no replayability, lack of ability to swim (which made the harbor assassination of Sibrand the Templar much more of a nuissance than anything). The second part was better in every possible aspect.
Being able to roam free throughout Firenze, Toscana, Monteriggioni, Venezia etc. in a renaissance era Italy was beyond superb. The upgrade abilities were superior, the armor collectible, side missions ... I could go on. The story was nicely expanded on, fleshing out both the bad and good guys.

Everybody loves the main character of II, probably because the gamer was basically living his life "while it happened" with added expansions of Brotherhood and Revelations. We all saw Ezio Auditore go from a 17-year old womanizer to a hardened warrior well into his fifties by the time Revelations ended. Besides that, Revelations also offered some closure to the story of Altaïr, the protagonist of the first game.

All the more reason for people to have gotten excited for Assassin's Creed III. Quite frankly, I was gifted the game and I'm kind of glad I didn't fork out full price for it. There were some added features to the game, like hunting and the entire frontier that could be explored, but some flaws were just too big to ignore. Glitchiness was a big factor and made it feel as if the game was a little rushed to accommodate to its rising popularity after the Ezio trilogy. I mean, having about 30 guards chasing after you, with no notoriety seems a bit odd.
Freerunning, which was a staple of the games before, was much less fun, unless in the frontier, even though you could now climb rocks and trees as well. 

The story however, was pretty well executed. A lot of historical characters were once again part of the tale, much like characters such as Leonardo Da Vinci, Niccolo Macchiavelli, Lorenzo De Medici and Cesare Borgia had been before. George Washington, Ben Franklin, Paul Revere etc. 

The Naval missions were also a nice added feature. Still, it didn't feel right. I might be biased, since I loved the Renaissance era games and personally never really cared for colonial America. 

Despite all that, I'm looking forward to the release of IV: Black Flag. Featuring the protagonist Edward Kenway, father and grandfather of the playable characters in III. Wide open jungles and cities to explore, naval missions etc. I'll probably buy it once I've finished GTA V.

Now, I can't stress this enough. There's something I actively despise in the game business and it seems to be common practice these days: DLC. Playing WWE Games and AC games have made me painfully aware of it. If I fork out full price for a game, I expect it to be complete. I don't want to have to fork out another 20 to 30 bucks for add ons. I wish I could've played with Gangrel in WWE '13. I can't because I need a net connection to my PS3 (Which I don't have) and more money to buy the DLC packs. AC series is more of the same. I had the expansion packs for II because I bought it much later and got the "GOTY" edition, which had two added DLC (Battle of Forli and Bonfire of the Vanities). I would've loved to have more weapons available, cool new armor and extra stuff to play (Da Vinci Disappearance, Tyranny of King Washington) but I refuse to pay even more money for a little bit extra.

I don't "jailbreak" my trusty PS3 in order to be able to play homebrew games. Nope, I buy every game I want and have probably spent a couple of thousand euros in the past decade to do so. Why would I have to pay extra money on top of the sixty euros for a game to get it complete. Dick move, game business. Very dick move.


How about that? I thought this would an entry that would dry hump the AC series and I still managed to get some criticism in. I really fucking hate DLC. I so wanted to play with the unloved character Rain in Mortal Kombat, but no retailer carried the "Komplete Edition" so I had to buy regular. No Rain :(

The guy who came up with DLC should have a rusty spike rammed up his urethra, slowly. Ya fucker.

~D.

(any and all criticism about this entry should be sent to complaints@coitusyourself.fu or in the comment section. I won't care either way, but I'll still love you ... even if you are a dude.)