Hitman Absolution wonderfully balances stealth and Woo-style gunplay.

Avion Foster-Jarvis, Staff Editor
Hitman: Absolution, without question, is one of my most anticipated games of the year. I wasn’t exactly excited back when Square bought Eidos, but IO Interactive is still developing the Hitman series and it looks as if the company has another smash. Agent 47 is back in full effect. The pre-alpha build that Square showcased at CES took place in a nun-run orphanage and it looked pretty damn good. Yes, you could see that some things weren’t finished (such as objects not moving when you attempted to interact with them), but the demo was so amazing that none of that mattered.

The Square Enix rep played through the demo twice. The first go, he was stealthy and patient and hid the bodies of any NPCs he had killed. The second time around things got a bit more violent. To show us just how many options you have in tackling missions, he rescued a cop that was being interrogated by criminals and used a fire axe to take out three thugs. This doesn’t sound all that gruesome in text, but seeing is indeed believing. With axe in hand, Agent 47 entered the room and drove it into one of the enemies spines causing the other two to panic. As he was being fired upon he decided to get up close and personal and placed the axe between the eyes of another and lastly, my favorite part, was when Agent 47 flipped and threw the fire axe across the room into one of the enemy’s faces.

Anything can be a weapon, from a fire axe to a toy robot and even a bible. It just bleeds replayability. The in-game dialogue is equally bad ass. There never once seemed to be a low point in which characters were not talking; if they weren’t dying they were talking. Hurling insults to Agent 47 while they took cover or even speaking on a team members drug addiction or perhaps even speaking of “popping” nuns.

Will you be a silent assassin or a brutal killer? It’s entirely up to you.

Tim Torres, Senior Reviews Editor
I never played Hitman before. The most experience I’ve had with Agent 47 is with that movie. Yeah, yeah, it was a crap plot, but I liked Timothy Olyphant and Olga Kurylenko in the leads, so by extension I kind of sort of already like Hitman! The real fans of the games will likely be very, very pleased with the new one, Hitman Absolution.

The demo we saw at CES looked good. Damn good. It showed a very comprehensive game, with lots of stuff for Agent 47 to do and interact with. He took out mooks with a variety of items found on the spot — a fire axe, a fire extinguisher, a crucifix — and many more items were highlighted on the UI as 47 brushed by them. It looked like each new level was a playground for 47 to toy around in, with multiple paths and objects to use. I know Hitman is primarily a stealth game, but what really got me was when the John Woo-inspired slow-mo kicked in and Agent 47 locked several areas of interest in his aim — guys’ heads, guys’ arms, gas canisters, the private parts of one unfortunate goon — then the action sped back up and he made each excruciating shot perfectly. So, in case I get tired of sneaking around everywhere I can choose to pull off some incredible gunplay.

I was really pleased with the presentation as well. IO Interactive is taking a cinematic approach with a very clean HUD and continuous dialogue from the bad guys, yet they’re still, thankfully, keeping it a video game. No QTEs, no game-interrupting cutscenes or explanations, it all looked very natural and smooth. Thank goodness. With Deus Ex back, a new Thief on the way, MGS5 on the horizon and now a promising new Hitman, we’re entering a new renaissance for the stealth genre. Hitman Absolution was barely on my radar before. Now it’s near the top of my most wanted list for 2012.

Tatjana Vejnovic, Managing Editor
I’m a huge Hitman fan. I haven’t played the games since I was a lass, but hey, I know enough to say I’m a pretty big fan. Agent 47 is an intriguing character. Critics cite his lack of emotion and personality as an example of a two-dimensional character, but in my opinion, that’s what makes him who he is–a stone cold assassin. But Hitman Absolution changes it all; Agent 47 is now after his old boss, Diana, and must go through hell and back to save a girl who he knows nothing about.

If you know me at all, you know that I love the Mass Effect series for its dynamic storytelling. Hitman Absolution has the potential to top Mass Effect. NPCs have over two thousand pages of dialogue–now keep in mind, one page is one minute of dialogue. The NPCs have their own personalities, back stories, and opinions. You can get three different sets of dialogue from the cop in the beginning alone; you can let him die, save him, or kill him yourself and have a completely different experience with each choice. You can pick up a toy robot and throw it to distract the other gang members, or you can kill one with it. You can pacify your enemies, or you can kill them with large crucifixes. Let me just warn you now, Hitman Absolution is NOT for the easily offended, or the queasy.

New to the game is what they call an “Instinct Meter.” The more “professionally” you operate, the faster the meter fills up. For example, when the meter was full, the developer went into a room full of thugs and entered the Instinct Mode. He instantly went in slow motion and began to target several different parts on each body; knee caps, faces, and even crotches.  Depending on which target you select, it may cost more instinct points (like the double-knee-cap-triple-crotch-shot). Don’t forget, you don’t have forever to do this; you are timed, and only have what you’ve filled on your meter. As you select targets, you see Agent 47 slowly raise his guns, and when you target and release, sit back and relax for an epic cinematic playthrough.

I cannot express enough words for how excited I am about Hitman Absolution. With a Q3/Q4 release prediction, I have enough time to go back through the trilogy and relive the series before diving into the new installment. Reserve your copy as soon as you can, because you sure as hell don’t wanna miss this one.

Sonic CD has been available on Xbox Live, the PlayStation Network and the iTunes App Store for a little while now, so hopefully you’ve played it already. If not, let me explain why Sonic CD is more than a mere port. SEGA went above and beyond and made the definitive version of a classic.

Previously available on the ill-fated Sega CD, a buggy PC port and Sonic Gems Collection for GameCube, what differentiates Sonic CD from its peers – Sonics 1,  2 and 3 for the Genesis — is the Back to the Future-style time travel element. Before Sonic CD, one could just plow through levels, collect rings and call it a day. In CD you can do the same thing for the most part, but you gain a better ending if you seek out the time travel signposts placed around each level. Run through a time-post labeled “Past”, find a good spot in the level to do your best Marty McFly impression, that is, run at top speed long enough to see some serious sh– I mean, make sparks fly, and Sonic warps through time to a past version of the level. Once there, you have to seek out and destroy big machines that will make the Present version of the level much easier to get through and the Future version of the level much brighter and nearly hazard-free.

Don’t expect a cake walk, though! Sonic CD is damn hard thanks to the craziest level design the series has ever seen. Loop-the-loops, spike traps, pitfalls, and dastardly enemy placement will give Sonic a tough time. There’s an entire level later on made entirely of bouncy material that sends Sonic skyward constantly. And I mean constantly. It can be maddening at times, especially since there aren’t many useful power-ups beyond the usual invincibility, shield, and fast shoes to help the poor hedgehog. On top of that, it’s never obvious where the machines in the Past levels are located. Exploration and memorization are key. Or you can just cheat and look up maps online.

Will the future be bright or dim?

The honest alternative to get the best ending (a longer, super-well-animated anime cutscene, by the way) is to collect 50 rings by the end of a level to access a weird UFO bonus stage. Bonus stages in Sonic games are usually pretty awful, and this one is no exception. The behind-the-back Mode 7-looking graphics are cool, but it’s difficult to control Sonic in this mode and gauging distances between Sonic and the UFOs he has to bash is extra-tricky. These bonus levels are also filled with difficult-to-dodge water and bumper hazards that slow Sonic way down. It’s a tall order, but defeat seven of those stages and the good ending is yours.

Despite the difficulty Sonic CD‘s a guaranteed fun time. The controls are spot-on, the twisted level design will get under your skin and each battle against Dr. Robotnik gets more creative and challenging. They’re some of the better boss battles in the series, I’d wager. I don’t want to say too much without spoiling anything, but the best encounter in the game is against Metal Sonic. Maybe it’s the music, maybe it’s the idea of Sonic engaging in a death race against a robotic version of himself, but I just love that ‘bot. Definitely one of the best characters in the series. Certainly one of the best designs.

A lot of personality comes through in CD’s timeless presentation, particularly the sprite work and the music. The various animations for Sonic are a joy to just look at, especially when he jumps on a spring and twirls high into the air, or when he revs up the peel-out dash move that makes his legs look like a red infinity symbol. More than any other game in the series I think this one shows you how heroic — how cool! — Sonic can be. This version of the game even lets you choose between two different types of the spin-dash animation: the Sonic CD version or the superior, more fluid-looking Sonic 2 version. It’s this attention to detail — the option to select between two different versions of sprite animation – that elevates this port from merely “good” to “they thought of everything.”

There’s also the much-appreciated option to play either the American or Japanese soundtracks during gameplay. I’m more partial to Spencer Nielsen’s American score, but the Japanese one is just as good. It’s worth replaying the game to listen to both soundtracks.

Sonic’s pint-sized sidekick, Tails, is the bigger reason to replay. He never appeared in the original game at all, but once you finish it you can take control of Tails and fly around, so it’s easier to hover around levels looking for those pesky hidden machines in the Past. He’s a huge addition to the game, one that SEGA didn’t even have to include, but they chose to put him in. More value to an already impressive digital package.

whaaa sonic help meee

Sonic CD is an evolutionary off-shoot of the Sonic series.  Time travel returned as the main plot conceit in Sonic Generations, but not something that factored into gameplay. The only other thing to get carried over into later games in any meaningful fashion was Amy Rose, Sonic’s unofficial girlfriend. Even Metal Sonic never returned… until a Sonic 4 secret ending, apparently. It’s probably a good thing he’s not as overexposed as the other characters. Still, it would’ve been cool to see the ideas in Sonic CD refined and improved upon, perhaps in a spin-off series or something. Sonic CD‘s a a one-off, an unusual experiment, and with its bizarre level design and sometimes off-putting difficulty it often feels like one.

But it’s a great game regardless and I’m thrilled to have such a robust version of the game available in HD with so many options on so many different platforms. SEGA, with the help of a programmer named Christian Whitehead who spearheaded the project on his own on iPhone, did a brilliant job bringing this classic game back to life.  It’s the new shining example of how to resurrect an old game for new audiences.

Earlier today, Capcom made Resident Evil 6 official with a trailer and a release date set for this year. Mark your calendars for November 20th, 2012.

Before that, Sony Pictures released a Sony-flavored teaser trailer for the new Milla Jovovich movie, Resident Evil: Retribution.

The demo for Resident Evil: Revelations also went went up today on the 3DS eShop.

That’s a lot of evil for one day. Let’s focus on the biggest announcement, for Resident Evil 6.

It’s Raccoon City all over again… for the 6th (7th? 9th? 11th?) time!

Yeah, I love this new announcement trailer, if just for one thing: It looks like the president’s a zombie, so finally — FINALLY — we have… President Evil.

Besides that, it’s a lengthy beast at over 3 minutes long, shows all the main characters we’ll play as including a bald, scarred guy who may or may not be Hunk (calling it) and it shows a lot of new gameplay (for Resident Evil anyway) like cover, dashing, dashing into cover only to have a bandersnatch from CODE: Veronica or something grab you out of it (so cool) and that awesome slip-under-a-zombie’s-legs-then-turn-over-and-shoot-while-on-the-ground move Leon does. It does a lot to build excitement and raise questions like: Is that woman with Leon the president’s daughter Ashley? Or that chick from the CG Degeneration movie? Or perhaps an older Sherry Birkin from Resident Evil 2? Seriously, Capcom, where has Sherry been since the Resident Evil 3 epilogues? And if Resident Evil 2 and Resident Evil 4 are the best games in the series so far (they are), will that make 6 the best one ever? Y’know, because 2 + 4 = 6?

From the looks of things Leon and Chris are both playable though it’s unknown how that will work exactly. If it’s in the same mold as Resident Evil 2, where Claire and Leon had separate overlapping scenarios to play through, that would be great. I’ve wanted the series to return to that style of narrative play for a while. A more linear progression like in CODE: Veronica, where you played as Claire then moved onto her brother Chris just because the plot demanded it is far less interesting in my opinion. I want Chris A/Leon B speed-runs!

Yes, I took a picture of my PSP. Yes, my RE2 time could be better.

I’m not sure how Bald Guy (Hunk!) fits in this situation. It looks like he might be a third playable character, which kind of kills my It-Will-Be-Like-Resident Evil 2 theory unless they go for three whole separate scenarios, each with different styles of gameplay perhaps. Insanely ambitious, but it could happen. Leon could be there for the classic survival horror style, Chris for the run-and-gun Gears of War style and Baldy/Hunk for some kind of close quarters combat style. He could also just be a co-op partner for Chris, while Ada or Ashley/Sherry/Degeneration Girl supports Leon. But then it looks like Ashley might also tag along with Baldy? Gah, I dunno, I need to see more. Much more!

Going back and forth between all these characters might be a tough balancing act for Capcom, too. Besides the increasingly convoluted plots, treating all these fan-favorite characters well has always been a problem with the Resident Evil series. I didn’t really like what how anybody in Resident Evil 5 turned out (Ironically, of course, I love they turned Wesker, Chris and Jill into hilarious buffoons), and I’ve been waiting a long time to hear about a lot of the other characters who have been MIA like Barry, Carlos, Sherry and former leading lady Claire.

I also hope it’s not as bland and serious as Resident Evil 5. I’d love a return to the campy, adventurous feel RE4 had where weird, goofy moments and one-liners (“Where’s everyone going? Bingo?”) supported the harrowing, nail-biting segments. Maybe 6 could strike a balance between the two. Like a real story, I suppose!

Messy plot and characters aside, the game looks phenomenal and I’m so glad they didn’t go with the typical reboot route. With Leon (and zombies!!) back in a starring role, a former Resident Evil Outbreak leader in the director’s chair, and the promise to return to “dramatic horror”, I have faith RE6 will pump new blood into the series. Of course, they could renege on some of these prospects — remember how RE5 was supposed to have a sunlight/heat system? — but barring that, I haven’t been this excited for a game in a while and I can’t wait to see a whole lot more.

…Now where’s Mega Man?

Avion Foster-Jarvis, News Editor

RESIDENT EVIL 6! I’m so damn excited. I’m calling it from now that 2012 is now the Year of Resident Evil. We’ve got Milla Jovovich coming out with the newest RE movie, Resident Evil: Revelations coming for the 3DS, Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City (which I personally can’t wait for) and now the just announced Resident Evil 6 (which I also can’t wait for).

Resident Evil 6 though looks like it’s going to be a huge change to the RE formula. With Leon and Chris making appearances and this new character whose blood is definitely important to the plot in some way, it’ll be the first time players get to see multiple character views and how they unravel. I enjoyed Resident Evil 4 so I’m glad to see that Leon will be coming back to the series and I’m sure this takes place between 4 and 5 because Sheva hasn’t been seen (yet) and the president has just turned into a “zombie” (he was still human, or uninfected, in RE4).

One new character that has been shown is this scarred bald man who the internet has been hinting may be Wesker (DOUBTFUL!!!!) while our very own Tim Torres is hinting at Hunk. Whoever this new, or existing, character is it is pretty obvious that he’s going to play a huge role in the plot of Resident Evil 6. With Capcom revving up the Resident Evil machine it would seem that it’s aiming for COMPLETE GLOBAL SATURATION.

rahhh that's right chris i may be back again for you rahhh

Does the Resident Evil 6 trailer excite you, too? Got your own impressions and theories? Let us know below!

Warning: This game isn't a sequel or a port!

Just a quick update on Gravity Rush, the Vita game from Silent Hill creator Keiichiro Toyama. I got to play an entire demo at Sony’s enormous booth at CES from beginning to end, instead of a mere few minutes and walked away more impressed than I was before. Not only that, it’s now confirmed to be a launch title in the U.S.

So, the great new thing I learned about Gravity Rush: You can jump-kick enemies from ridiculous heights by manipulating gravity. It’s a fairly unique concept, launching oneself into enemies from on high to defeat them… Satisfying, too, and I hope this concept gets explored further as the game goes on.

The other great thing: The difficulty ratcheted up when a boss character showed up and started knocking off chunks of my health. I love a good challenge and I was happy to see Gravity Rush deliver.

Look for it on February 22nd when the PlayStation Vita launches in North America.

Composer Timothy Williams has updated his résumé. That wouldn’t be particularly notable to the gaming community, except for the fact that in this instance he’s added God of War IV to his list of recent projects.  GOD OF WAR IV.

But where can Kratos’ tale go?

(WARNING: SPOILERS, AHOY!!!)

At the end of God of War III, Kratos defeated the king of gods, Zeus. He then stabbed himself with the Blade of Olympus, which released the power of Hope that he attained from Pandora’s Box. Kratos appeared to have bitten it, but after the credit roll we saw a blood trail that led from what we thought was his final resting place to the edge of a cliff.

The rumor mill states that the next God of War will feature some form of multiplayer. If you recall Kratos has a brother Deimos, who was introduced in God of War: Ghost of Sparta. That game’s conclusion saw Deimos aid Kratos in an epic battle against Thanatos the god of death. This resulted in Deimos’ death, and he being cast to the Underworld. Maybe Kratos is now out to make good with his brother and save him?

Again at this point it’s all speculation.

We’ve reached out to Sony and are awaiting a response.

Hat tip: Siliconera

Jack the Ripper!

The Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance trailer that debuted during the Spike VGAs is absolutely captivating. What isn’t to like? In it, Raiden tosses a Metal Gear Ray into the sky, leaps into the air to pursue it, and basically dismantles the walking death machine as he runs up its arm. It was a beautiful sight to behold, and the revelation that PlatinumGames is the developer helped solidify the reaction.

Unfortunately, many of my peers had a  negative reaction to that same trailer. Some said that gameplay doesn’t fit the universe; others said this game is a spinoff, thus guaranteeing that it won’t be any good; others have called it nothing more than fan service. But when a developer like PlatinumGames takes on a project you have to take notice. The studio has an amazing track record–Bayonetta, MadWorld, and Vanquish. PlatinumGames shows that it knows how to make games with amazing gameplay. Pair that with Kojima Productions and you should know that we have something potentially special here.

If this isn't badass, then what is?

When I first saw Rising during E3 2010, the game looked visually amazing, but the more I saw the game in motion, the more awkward the controls and animations seemed. This didn’t look like the fast moving Raiden I saw and gushed over while playing Metal Gear Solid 4. Every time Raiden appeared on-screen during MGS4 he demanded attention, and every time he was in action, it reminded me of Devil May Cry‘s frantic action. A prime example of this is armless Raiden cutting foes into shreds with a katana in his mouth. I won’t even get into the Raiden vs Vamp stand-off mid way through the game. That bad ass Raiden is back.

Hmmm Looks familiar.

Then there are the people who are complaining that Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance is too “cartoony” and unrealistic. Question: When has the Metal Gear universe been anything but silly? There’s a walking, robotic dinosaur that launches nukes (and roars!), cyborg ninjas, clones, and super-soldiers. It’s G.I. Joe, but without the jingoistic trappings. Plus, Kojima has dropped “Solid” from the title, thus denoting that this game will differ from its predecessors.

Truthfully, if the game has an amazing plot it will be stellar title, as it is almost guaranteed to have competent gameplay. In short, lets give PlatinumGames the benefit of the doubt. So sit back, relax, and lets see what it can do with this title. But most of all, pipe down until more details are released.

HD remakes are all the rage. Ico, Shadow of the Colossus, and games within the Metal Gear Solid series have all received a modern facelift. Capcom’s Devil May Cry HD Collection, arriving this spring on April 3rd, 2012, joins the club.

Available for $39.99 on both the PS3 and Xbox 360, the DMC HD Collection features the original Devil May Cry, Devil May Cry 2, and Devil May Cry 3: Dante’s Awakening Special Edition. The collection will also come with Trophies and Achievements for added replayability.

The Devil May Cry franchise  is one of the best action series to grace gaming as it features insane combo and weapon displays. Plus, the series reinvents itself with every iteration, which prevents it from becoming stale.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Sonic CD is now available to download on Xbox Live for 400 Microsoft Points, and should be available in the iTunes App Store for a cool $1.99 later today. The PlayStation Network version will go up next week on December 20th for $4.99. There’s the launch trailer up there!

This version of the game includes Tails as a playable character, the option to play the American or Japanese soundtracks during gameplay, and a spiffy new HD face lift.

Along with Sonics 1, 2 and 3, Sonic CD is another one of the “golden age” games of the series, though it probably doesn’t often get the attention it deserves because it was released on the unsuccessful Genesis add-on, the Sega CD. Originally released in 1993 and developed by a team led by Sonic’s co-creator, Naoto Ohsima, Sonic CD boasts a peculiar CD-quality soundtrack, a somewhat complicated time-traveling system that affects the game’s levels and ending,s and the craziest level design of the series. The placement of enemies and trademark springs and bumpers borders on cruelty at times, making it the most challenging of the classic games. Just look at this madness.

Plus, it’s the first game to feature Sonic’s biggest female fan, Amy Rose, as well as his most dangerous rival, Metal Sonic. This was back when Sonic characters were still welcome.

Sonic CD was also one of the first games with anime cutscenes during a time when anime was “Japanimation” and Akira and Sailor Moon were the only ones anyone knew about. Check out the colorful, kinetic animated intro below. Players of Super Smash Bros. Brawl or Sonic Generations may recognize the theme song.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Trifecta of Assassins!

With Assassin’s Creed: Revelations ($54.96, Amazon), Ubisoft deftly builds on the story established in past Assassin’s Creed titles by adding bomb crafting, tower defense elements, and the all-new hookblade that gives you a fresh way to traverse cities and dispatch swift death. Dripped in drama and mystery, Assassin’s Creed: Revelations pulls you into its rich world and keeps you playing with bated breath as it simultaneously maintains secrets about the last game while opening up new plot twists. It’s easily one of the best games of the year.

Picking up where Brotherhood left off, Desmond awakes on Animus Island where he is immediately confronted by none other than Subject 16 himself. Not a hologram or bunch of zeroes and ones, but an actual human form of the mysterious past-Animus test subject. Subject 16 explains that the island is a grey area between life and death, that Desmond’s conscience is stuck here, and his body is hooked up to tubes and machines in the real world. Desmond quickly makes the decision to again live through Ezio to solve the many mysteries he has already lived through. You’re immediately thrown into a beautiful, full-length cinematic where Ezio is about to be hung by the templars, but he quickly escapes.

Altair: WAY more badass than in 2007.

Living through old Ezio, you thankfully have no handicaps. You can still run, jump, and climb towers, but you now you have a new hidden weapon at your disposal: The hookblade. The new hookblade is a-freaking-mazing. The game shows you how to use it in a tutorial-in-disguise when you meet Yusuf (who is totally a hipster bro). Yusuf guides you around town on various zip lines and shows you how to effectively use the hookblade, and even assassinate from a zipline. However, when you do eventually play through old Altair, don’t expect the man to run, jump, or even walk quickly. Still, he’s definitely a major badass as he can, through his younger years, sustain a lot more damage, and still assassinate with the much-loved double hidden blade.

Living through Altair was incorporated into the storyline quite smoothly; a lot smoother than I would have ever expected. As you collect more keys to the final destination, you live through the memories Altair left behind witinh the keys. Getting the keys is the main part of the story, and how you know you’re truly progressing. Sofia tells you about certain books you have to locate, which you find by using your eagle senses to locate symbols. Those books lead you to other dungeons and tunnels in which the keys are located.

Nice view.

Assassin’s Creed: Revelations uses the same face-mapping technology as L.A. Noire, and as such, the improvement in cinematic scenes is quite noticeable. Characters’  facial movements, down to the blinking of their eyes, is incredibly realistic. In fact, their eyes glistened and held emotion as flesh-and-blood orbs would do in real life.

Another very noticeable improvement especially is Altair himself. It was really cool to see Altair recreated with a new engine, since he hasn’t been playable since 2007. Before we was the hooded-mystery-man, but now you actually get to see his face. Using Altair in the new title has the benefits of using a far less aggravating control scheme.

The in-world graphics, sadly, haven’t seen much improvement. The environmental differences between Brotherhood and Revelations are slight, with the building design being the real give away that we weren’t in Italy anymore. The one area where Ubisoft never fails is the in amount of detail placed in the environments regardless of graphical and engine upgrades. Individual pieces of food on stands in the Grand Bazaar, individual blades of grass in the cemetery, and even jewelry on random citizens of the town are all rendered with care.

The introductory cinematic has mind-blowing graphics; I had to watch it three different times in order to discern if I had seen computer animation and not live action. The same goes with the closing cinematic, which was simply beautiful. Whether or not Ubisoft felt the need to improve on graphics, it still fit well, and aged well, too.

Oh snaps, they'll never see it coming!

Music is one of the most important parts of a game for me, even over graphics. A soundtrack needs to blend into the game world to where it’s almost never noticed, and when it needs to be noticed, effects your senses from the inside out. Jesper Kyd knows exactly how to do that, and is on my personal list of musical masterminds.

The slightly socially awkward redheaded Dane composer looks like a collection of enigmas himself. But then again, any human that specializes in ambient music usually carries that description. If the name doesn’t ring a bell, he also did the music for several Hitman games, Forza 4, Borderlands, and Kane & Lynch (and that’s only a small portion of his resume). Jesper Kyd does a phenomenal job of using music to affect your mood and feeling while playing the game. If you don’t believe me, purchase any Assassin’s Creed soundtrack and go out for a nice night drive. For example, on the ambient note, the music he creates for Desmond’s memories fit like peanut butter and jelly. As Desmond goes through memories of his past, the music adjusts to that moment. One minute Desmond is talking about his family, in which the music is subtle, quiet, and peaceful; the next he’s talking about being a bartender, and Tron-like music starts blaring through your speakers; you can’t even help but nod your head to the beat.

Assassin’s Creed: Revelations’  controls are smooth, yet hard to master as all the buttons are flip-flopped. On the PlayStation 3, Eagle Sense is no longer triangle, but now L3, and triangle is now replaced by dropping bombs and setting up trip-wires. In the last game, you would go around town looking  for owl posts to send out your assassins on missions. In Revelations, you have wall-mounted posts; one square box for the assassin quests, and then a large box with the assassin symbol on it for the bomb crafting.

Bomb-crafting is a new to the franchise, and although I personally didn’t use bombs much, the ability to be able to make your own was a welcome addition. There are two types of treasure chests that you loot d around town; some contain medicine and money, while others house several different bomb-crafting components.

The bomb crafting is quite simple; you have three pouches: lethal, tactical, and diversion. When you select a pouch, the game displays the materials that you’ve gathered around town. It also shows you how many you have, and the effects of that specific material. There is no impossible combination, as you can craft whatever kind of bomb you want.

Bomb crafting menu.

In addition to taking over dens (formerly known as towers), the Templars also have the ability to take over your den if you do not have a lead assassin assigned to a den, or a lead assassin who isn’t level fifteen. These attacks are completely random, and would start flashing on the map in the lower right corner. When you reach the attacked den, you’re dropped into a tower defense type game.

Ezio stands on the roof and observes, well, other roofs, in which he assigns assassins and assassin leaders to do anything from killing from the air to using rifles. Initially, I found this gameplay element quite complicated and confusing, but it grew on me as I unlocked other abilities such as Greek fire cannons and barricades. This was, surprisingly, my favorite new addition to the game, as it was completely different from anything else in the franchise.

Instead of clusters and weird puzzles this time around, Ubisoft took a completely different path on this one. Animus particles help you unlock “Desmond’s Memories,” archived memories in the purest form on Animus Island that tell the story of Desmond’s life from childhood to present being. The puzzles are quite hard, as they are truly an abstract and ambient experience in themselves. You’re in a very minimal, modern “world,” in which you are in your purest form. You have no body, you are just you. Using the R2/RT button, you cast a shape in front of you, which is toggled with R1/RB. That shape is either a triangular ramp, or a straight-away. Using these shapes, you wrestle through several obstacles. The downside to these is that (the third one in particular) they can be stupid-hard and really frustrating. The middle part of the third memory, my hands were filled with sweat as I gripped my Dualshock, almost breaking it into two. Once I got past the challenging puzzles, I finally felt at ease. With these puzzles, make sure you complete them prior to sequence seven.

Official concept art released by Ubisoft!

Overall, Brotherhood played out a bit better than Revelations, but Revelations has the first ending in the entire series that carries a sense of completion. The conclusion to Ezio’s story was so perfect, as with Altair’s, that tears built up in my eyes. And although you come to a big surprise on who the mysterious voice on Desmond’s side truly is, and what Desmond must do next to save the world, the ending makes it a bit easier to wait for the next installment.

Rumor has it that the next Assassin’s Creed will take place in ancient Egypt, and that a new protagonist will land the starring role. This title will be released November of next year, as Ubisoft wants the final title to be out before what they believe is going to be the overcoming of the Templars. Oddly enough, this title will be Assassin’s Creed III, so retail employees across the world, prepare for tons of confusion and aggravation in explaining this to a lot of people.

Too close for comfort.

How cyclical things can be! James Cameron’s action classic  Aliens inspired nearly every video game since its release, from Halo to Resident Evil to the original Metroid. (Really, anything with a casually swearing space marine or bio-weapon corporate conspiracy owes its existence to Aliens.) Then Metroid inspired a whole slew of other games, particularly Castlevania: Symphony of the Night and its handheld sequels, to the point that they formed their own comfy subgenre, the “Metroidvania.” Now, WayForward’s Aliens: Infestation ($29.96) follows the Metroidvania formula to a tee, by throwing  a squad of 20 space marines (collect ‘em all!) into a 2D platform-style adventure heavy on action, exploration and backtracking to blocked passageways once you find the appropriate weapons or tools to bypass them. It’s a good formula, one responsible for many of my all-time favorite games, and Aliens happens to be one of my all-time favorite movies. Aliens: Infestation mashes the two together in a pretty good fanservice-packed package, making it one of WayForward’s better accomplishments.

The game goes like so: You have four marines at your disposal. Select one and explore various locations familiar to anyone who watched the first two Alien films. Along the way, you encounter the iconic acid-blooded Xenomorphs, as well as some human opponents you can dispatch with upgradeable weapons, including a default pistol with infinite ammo. Weapon upgrades come in the way of hidden power-ups strewn throughout the futuristic environments. Health gets restored the same way in a refreshing, retro throwback. Nothing gets regenerated here, including the marines who can die permanently if you don’t tread carefully through each hall and passageway. The famous beeping motion detector makes things easier, though it made things too easy for me. It pinpoints every enemy exactly, so I knew where each threat was before it even showed up. It kind of killed the tension for me until I turned it off to keep things nice and strenuous.

The aliens themselves become too easy since they respawn every time you re-enter a room. It kills suspense, but keeps difficulty high, somewhat. There’s no difficulty at all once you get the flamethrower around the middle portion of the game. It burns down secretion-encased doors, keeps aliens at bay, kills them and has unlimited ammo, so there’s little need for any other weapon. Before finding that game-changer, some of the action can get heated, and when it does the game gets really good. There were moments where I was low on health, tapping the touchscreen to reload, equipping the pistol while in cover, and tossing grenades to keep alive. Those moments were when the game, its controls and all its functions, came together for me. They were fantastic but few and far between. I wish this kind of intense, arcadey action was the norm, instead of the more methodical approach most of the game goes for. Aliens: Infestation won’t challenge for the brunt of its brief playtime, but when it does, it’s a thrill.

Besides the motion detector there’s tons of Aliens fanservice in the way of authentic sound effects. Aliens screech, smart guns blast, and facehuggers whip their tails exactly as they should. There are even some daring surprises in the mix. I won’t spoil any, but fans of the first Alien film will be pleased, then want more from what the game offers. (Apparently, Ridley Scott’s upcoming film Prometheus will deliver on that.) Environments from the movies are replicated faithfully, from the lived-in Sulaco to the slimy hives where aliens bring their victims. Unfortunately, there’s a lot of copy-paste design. Thank goodness there’s a map, as many parts of the Sulaco and other areas have backgrounds that all look the exact same. Despite this Flintstones-style shortcut, the levels are easy to navigate as long as you drop flares and pay attention to objective waypoints. They bring you all over each location in a logical fashion so it never feels like obvious backtracking, something  a lot of Metroidvania games often struggle with.

There is no "nuke them from orbit, it's the only way to be sure" option.

There are a few other caveats that dwell in spoiler territory. Skip this paragraph if you want to keep your experience with Aliens: Infestation snow white. They don’t mar the entire game, but they drag down the game in its final moments. Here goes: Towards the end of the game there’s a stupid space-walking part with an awful lot of platforming. Since it’s in space, of course the controls become delayed and floaty. Worse, at some sections it’s difficult to tell what’s a wall and what isn’t. You could keep walking and run into an obstacle, or keep walking and fall to your death. Jumping’s a challenge only because you don’t know where you’ll land, and on top of that, aliens just rush at you on flat ground. It’s not the most inspired section of the game. The final boss fares poorly, too. Braindead attack patterns and tons of HP just make for a repetitious and overlong final battle, not the exciting climax an Aliens game should have.

Early game nit-picks: It’s difficult to deny the low-budget look of Aliens: Infestation upon its start. Grainy-looking JPEGs adorn the title and menu screens as what sounds like stock music pulled from an archive somewhere plays over them.  Minor details maybe, but they count, don’t they? Ideally, an Aliens game would have something that sounds like music from Aliens.

Instead, all the effort goes into the animation of the game’s characters. As BloodRayne: Betrayal and the Shantae games show, WayForward are pros at the 16-bit style of sprite animation. Each marine gets their own sprite and accompanying idle animation, unlockable bio and way of speaking. There’s a fair amount of story and dialogue to read, and it reads fast and concise. The writing is excellent, always to the point and it doesn’t sacrifice little flourishes of personality for each grunt. Just like in the movie, I found myself getting attached to these soldiers. Because they can die permanently I was careful to choose who to send into battle. My favorite was Zoe Kennedy, the goth girl marine who got particularly dark near the end once it was time to come to terms with the requisite company man. Portrait artwork for each marine, done by comic artist Chris Bachalo spreads the gamut. Some marines look good, others very odd. The chef marine is obviously an in-joke of some kind. I could’ve done without some of the naming, too. Cameron, Geiger and Henriksen are a little on the nose …

At the end, I was satisfied with this snappy, sharp game. It’s a brief one, with jokey end credits and a song full of film quotes and references that suggests the developers had a good time making the game. I had a good time playing it. I would’ve had a great one had they went that extra mile and addressed all those points I touched on to make it even better. Fans of Aliens and action games should check it out.

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