REVIEW: Assassins Creed Unity

Assassins Creed Unity
Action-Adventure
PS4, Xbox One, PC

For the seventh game in the series we head to France during the French Revolution. You play the character Arno Dorian, a young man whose father was murdered at an early age and upon sneaking into your step-sister's secret birthday party witness his guardian murdered. He is arrested for the murder and meets and assassin who sets him on a course for revenge and to seek the truth about his both murders. Along the way he meets various historical figures that help him on his quest.

I have always enjoyed the Assassin's Creed franchise. I still feel that the controls could be better as I often find myself stuck on a barrel or not climbing when I should be. The parkour system still hasn't ironed out every little bug. And while many people are reporting strange bugs and glitches within the game, I have yet to experience anything.

One huge improvement for Unity is that the map is massive. I thought that Black Flag had plenty of things to do and Unity surpasses it. When you first open up your map it is covered in various activities and collectibles. One thing that I enjoyed was that the room puzzles have returned. I felt as if there weren't many puzzles in Black Flag but very early on you have to navigate a room in order to unlock its secrets.

While I haven't had much time playing Unity as I would like, what I have played has been positive. What updates they have made really improve the game, but combat still feels the same and the parkour control system still has its issues when your need it to be flawless.

It should also be noted that in Unity the multiplayer has been overhauled allowing you and your friends to play together and take down missions and other objectives.

If you have enjoyed the previous incarnations of the Assassin's Creed series you will definitely enjoy this installment as they have kept what worked in previous games and made little tweaks to enhance gameplay. There is plenty to do and truth be told, probably too much to do. Assassin's Creed Unity continues the fine tradition of the series while providing a new backdrop in which to hone your skills. It would have been nice to be able to customize the sex of your character considering there are so many variations to your costume but it was not to be. Assassin's Creed is highly recommended.

Overall 8/10

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REVIEW: Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare

Call of Duty
First person Shooter, Multiplayer
Xbox 360, Xbox One, PS3, PS4, PC

Every year we receive a new Call of Duty, this time publisher Activision has handed the reins to Sledgehammer for their latest entry. Advanced Warfare is set in the future where private military contractor and CEO of Atlas, Jonathan Irons, has the largest army in the world and has some of the most lucrative contracts around the world. Jack Mitchell is a Marine who served with Iron's son, Will Irons, when they push back the North Korean invasion of Seoul, South Korea when Will Iron's is Killed in Action. Mitchell loses an arm in the process and is given a second chance by Iron's Sr. to return to duty and finish what he started. Jack is given a prosthetic arm that enhances his combat effectiveness. As the story progresses, you learn more about Jonathan Irons, Atlas and the terrorist organization known as the KVA and their ringleader, Hades, that is threatening the world.

The campaign is short, which seems to be the norm for the series. It shouldn't take much longer than 6 hours to complete the game. There are very few twists and turns and within the first couple of missions the overall story arc is laid out in front of you and you should have things figured out. I knew immediately how the story was going to end and sure enough, it came to fruition just as expected. The biggest disappointment is that there is level that stands out. In previous installments you are the gunner in a SPECTRE gunship (Modern Warfare) or the ghillie suit. Advanced Warfare never had a mission or level where I wanted to replay it. The overall campaign is a flash in the pan.

The last entry in the Call of Duty series, Call of Duty Ghosts, left a sour taste in my mouth. The multiplayer would constantly have me respawn directly in front of the enemy causing me to respawn again in dangerous territory, creating a vicious cycle of unfortunate deaths. While not the best in multiplayers to begin with, the constant dying with little chance to turn the tide made for a very unsatisfactory game experience.  Advanced Warfare does a better job on respawn locations and very rarely do I find myself quickly dead. However, the game still hasn't found a way to limit the amount of campers and quick scoping that plague the series. The balance has improved but they are still very far away from making it perfect. The addition of exo suits give the game a little bit of a Titanfall feel to the game that does enhance the play ability but also feels more like a gimmick than anything else. Not every game requires a double or super jump.



I will say that graphically, Call of Duty Advanced Warfare is outstanding. Aside from Jonathan Iron's strangely dead eyes, the game is amazing and impressive. The guns are a bit lackluster but the addition of care packages that give you new weapons and items is interesting but not as exciting as I think the developers were hoping for. After roughly 5 days of multiplayer, I still have yet to receive anything that has me jumping from excitement in a care package. However, with that said Call of Duty doesn't do much to bring anything new to the table. It is a obvious improvement from Ghosts but that isn't all that hard to do as Ghosts was awful.

Overall, Call of Duty Advanced Warfare is an improvement from Ghosts but if you are stuck deciding between this title and something else that is coming out this holiday season, I would recommend grabbing something else. There just aren't enough improvements or changes to warrant the upgrade. Unless the next Call of Duty has some outrageous or ground breaking changes, I don't see myself picking it up. While I don't feel burned on this purchase, I am just getting tired of more of the same.

VERDICT

7.5/10

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REVIEW: Luigi's Mansion Dark Moon

Luigi's Mansion
Action Adventure
3DS

I recently picked up a 3DS and one of the first games I picked up, by recommendation, was Luigi's Mansion a game featuring Mario's brother. Luigi as a ghostbuster. Professor Elvin Gadd tasks Luigi with removing poltergeists from various mansions, tackling puzzles, and collecting coins.

While I enjoyed playing Luigi's Mansion for several hours, the controller scheme made the game less enjoyable. In each room of the mansion there are hidden coins and items and the single joystick made for a bit of frustration and took some of the enjoyment out of the game. The constant manipulations in order to capture all the items really took me out of the game.

The graphics are top notch considering the game came out so long ago (2001) and the puzzles are a lot of fun to solve. The ghost catching, while fun in the beginning gets a little monotonous very early on. The basic strategy is to weaken the ghost by using your light and then sucking them up with the vacuum cleaner. In order to suck up the ghosts you need to move your controller in a certain direction and then hit a button. While it seems simple, the ghosts put up a fight and create a challenge.



Luigi's Mansion is an entertaining title but the wonky controls and repetitive gameplay really tired me out and took some of the fun out of it. While it is perfect for younger gamers, older games may grow tired of it quicker. I know that it is a highly regarded game but for me it was a quick game that didn't have a whole lot of lasting appeal.

Overall 6.5/10

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