Assassins Creed II Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)If you like games that require thought then this is a good one. You can leap and climb all over the games richly detailed environment, which reminds me of Tomb Raider. There are many secrets to be found and upgrades for your assassin...from weapons to dying your clothing. You can even pour money into the villa you stay at for renovations. Many of the challenges have to deal with navigating the games environment and coming up with ways to eliminate a target. The VO seems to be pretty well done so far and the story is also pretty good. Combat is not overly difficult and relies mostly on timing counter attacks. You might have some difficulty figuring out the controls at first, but have patience and take your time learning it.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Assassins Creed II

Assassin's Creed II is the follow-up to the title that became the fastest-selling new IP in video game history. The highly anticipated title features a new hero, Ezio Auditore da Firenze, a young Italian noble, and a new era, the Renaissance. Assassin's Creed II retains the core gameplay experience that made the first opus a resounding success and features new experiences that will surprise and challenge players. Assassin's Creed II is an epic story of family, vengeance and conspiracy set in the pristine, yet brutal, backdrop of a Renaissance Italy. Ezio befriends Leonardo da Vinci, takes on Florence's most powerful families and ventures throughout the canals of Venice where he learns to become a master assassin.

Get 20% OFF

Click here for more information about Assassins Creed II

Read More...

Fallout 3 Game Ad-On Pack: Broken Steel and Point Lookout Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Broken Steel does for Fallout 3 what the Extended Editions did for Lord of the Rings: by adding more and deeper content it makes you care more and feel like things have properly been resolved. Plus, after the dramatic, explosion-packed finale, you get to play on as long as you like with a raised level cap.
Point Lookout adds a huge swampy area for you too look around with plenty to see and do. The quest is fun and interesting and there are some great characters and locations. It's a great Fallout add-on, but those who enjoyed Bethesda's Shivering Isles and Morrowind will enjoy the landscape too.


Click Here to see more reviews about: Fallout 3 Game Ad-On Pack: Broken Steel and Point Lookout

Get 52% OFF

Click here for more information about Fallout 3 Game Ad-On Pack: Broken Steel and Point Lookout

Read More...

Assassins Creed II Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Gaming has hit an all time low thanks to UBI Soft. If you didn't like draconian DRM schemes, you're going to hate UBI Soft's new policy: you must be connected to their servers 100% of the time to play Assasin's Creed 2. If you don't have internet, or if your internet is out, or if you are on vacation, stationed in Iraq, or want to play at the airport, you are out of luck. No game for you. That in itself is very troubling and reason enough to NOT BUY THIS GAME. However, there are additional reasons that are even more frightening:
1) Setting the precedent for future games
If gamers buy Assasin's Creed despite this huge limitation on game play, it will open the door to many more games like this in the future. That would be awful for the consumer.
2) Turning 'owning' into leasing"
Tying games to some sort of server for activation is bad enough, but making them DEPENDENT on a server is horrible for the consumer. It takes away our rights (to play the game we paid for on our terms) and creates a system whereby you are simply LEASING a game. If at some point UBI Soft decides to take down their servers, you lose your game. They can take away your rights to play the game at any point in the future if they decided to. They have you by the cajones! If you give into this model, expect to never own any digital medium again; the makers of games, producers of music, and distributors of movies would love to see our current model of OWNING a physical copy of your game \ album \ movie replaced with a system where you only own the 'right' to access \ play that medium. It's their wet-dream to turn the current system of ownership on its head so they can re-sell you things endlessly as well as take them away from you at their discretion. As a consumer, it's important that we speak out against this by supporting DRM free games (Mass Effect II, Dragon Age, Fallout III, etc...) and DRM free music (buy it from Amazon!) and REFUSE to buy this junk with built in limitations and restrictions that SERVE NO PURPOSE.
3) Making games dependent on 'phoning home' means you're at the total mercy of UBI Soft (or whomever runs their servers)
If their servers are down, you lose access to your game. If their servers are overtaxed, you may experience problems connecting to your game. Think that isn't likely? Think again. Currently (03/09/2010) the servers have been down for the last 12 hours or so, creating chaos for all those who expected to be able to fire up Assassin's Creed. It doesn't even matter if UBI Soft is malevolent or not; if your service provider has a bad week you may be out of luck. If there is a storm in your area, you could end up out of luck for weeks (this happened to me when a tree knocked out my cable internet for 9 says straight--I thought I was going to die). You're screwed if your internet, their servers, or anything along the line between the two goes down.
4) DRM is pointless (and this online restriction is one of it's worst forms!)
Want to pirate games? It's tragically easy these days. Even more tragic is that DRM, supposedly designed to prevent piracy, is a total failure at actually accomplishing that. Want proof? Google "Spore + DRM + Piracy" and see what you come up with. I'll give you a hint: Spore was pirated BEFORE it was officially released. Many games are unto torrent sites well before their release date. The worst part of this is that the pirated versions are in almost all cases SUPERIOR to the DRM infested versions: they don't contain the invasive, crippling, and destructive DRM that past games have been ruined by (Bioshock, Mass Effect I, Spore, etc...). I am NOT ADVOCATING PIRACY. I think you should buy the games you want to play. I am advocating NOT BUYING games that violate your basic consumer rights (right to resell your game, right to play your game WHENEVER you want to without restrictions). If a game limits those rights, I say skip it entirely. Because UBI SOFT are morons doesn't give anyone the right to steal. As your Mom (or at least mine) used to say: two wrongs don't make a right!
I am not opposed to simple DRM schemes (disk check, or even Steam which has established very good rapport gamers by being both consistent, fair, and show a long track record of stability). I am totally opposed to anything that PREVENTS ME FROM PLAYING THE GAME that I paid money for. I don't want to see this standardized (and I don't think it will be) and so it's time to take action NOW and refuse to buy this garbage.
The bottom line is DRM is not and has never been about preventing piracy. It's about CONTROL. Control over you and how you are able to play the very game you paid your money for. It's about wrenching ownership away from the consumer and replacing it with something much lesser: rental \ leasing. Don't let them do that to you.
Final Thoughts:
UBI SOFT and those like them have got to be taught a lesson. The only way to get heard by these huge companies is by hitting them where it hurts: their pocketbook. Refuse to buy this game or games like it that infringe on your rights. Tell your friends not to buy it. Write reviews that inform people about the risks of doing so. That's how you get things to change. To the inevitable trolls who will tell me that DRM should just be 'given in to,' I'd like to point out that currently game makers are MOVING AWAY from DRM schemes. The reason is because of the backlash against pointless restrictions by those like myself who are unwilling to sit around and watch PC gaming be ruined by greedy scumbags. It's because of grassroots action (Spore for example) that the tide has turned and that DRM is now much less common than it was a year ago. Top shelf games are being released DRM free. You know what? I've bought all of them and recommend you do the same. Let's all give our money to the makers of games that RESPECT us--after all, WE ARE THE CUSTOMERS. Enough said.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Assassins Creed II

Assassin's Creed 2 PC

Get 10% OFF

Click here for more information about Assassins Creed II

Read More...

Far Cry 2 Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Far Cry 2 is OK. It's nothing to write home about, though.
My issues with the game:
1. - Guns - Who did the firearm research on this game? Some guns, like the AK-47, are completely mirror image. Some, like the HK G3, are just wrong. (Charging handle and ejection port both on the left side? Not in this reality.)
2. - Damage - Shooting someone in the chest with 10-20 rounds from the PKM to kill them? Zzzzz.
3. - No prone? Come on, is this the 90s?
4. - Enemies can see me in the dead of night, and know where I am, even when I am in the bushes and using a silencer. Hmmm...
5. - Repetative missions - Wow, let's do the same missions over and over and over and over and over...
6. - Respawning badguys. Just cleared that guard post? Funny that all the guards are back 3 minutes later...
7. - "Most realistic fire ever!" - with fire graphics that look completely unrealistic.
Give this property back to Crytech. Ubisoft did a half-baked job at best.
EDIT: Also, the DRM this game installs broke the Burn feature of Windows Media Player on my PC. Buyer Beware.
EDIT 2: SecuRom has a program on their website that will allow you to remove their DRM from your machine. However, it will be reinstalled - without warning or notification - the very next time you play a game with SecuRom DRM. If - like me - you have issues with burning CDs after installing one of these game, you pretty much have to uninstall the DRM anytime you want to burn. Convenient, huh?

Click Here to see more reviews about: Far Cry 2

Far Cry 2 by Ubisoft is the anticipated sequel to the award-winning original that brings players into the beautiful and hostile world of Africa. Far Cry 2 for Windows Vista/XP features open-ended gameplay that allows you to play the game whichever way you choose, with the choices you make affecting where the game leads you.
Outstanding Graphics Ubisoft developed the Dunia Engine specifically for Far Cry 2. Among other things, the Dunia Engine delivers realistic, interactive environments, special effects, real-time night-and-day cycles, and smart enemy AI.
Expansive, Realistic Environment Far Cry 2 is set in a fictional region of Africa where you are caught between two rival factions at war. The Ubisoft team spent a lot of time filming and photographing in Africa to get all the details of the landscape and native wildlife. The result is a huge gameplay area that is 50 square kilometers, taking players into and out of the jungle and savannah. Wild animals such as zebras, buffalo, gazelle are encountered during the game, with both players and enemies allowed to interact with them.
Far Cry 2 features an incredible level of detail and realism, with a minimal in-game interface to detract from immersion. For example, players will need to navigate the world using an in-game map and navigation system, weapons will disintegrate over time, and fires will spread and propagate.
Each of the actions a player takes is reflected in the environment and changes the content of the game. To fulfill your mission, you need to play the enemies against each other, using both strategy and skill.
Huge Range of Weapons and Vehicles Far Cry 2 offers gamers a wide range of weapons, from a machete for hand-to-hand combat, to a sniper rifle that can stealthily pluck off enemies from afar. As weapons disintegrate over time, they might jam or even explode in your hand.
There are also a large range of vehicles such as gliders, trucks, cars, and boats that will let you fly, drive, slide, and hover over the open landscapes.
Multiplayer Options for up to 16 Players Far Cry 2 supports up to 16 players and has four gameplay modes: Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch, Capture the Diamond, and Uprising. Players can choose from six different classes in multiplayer, each with its own set of pros and cons. Just as in the single-player mode, multiplayer games will feature dynamic elements, making each session unique.

Get 50% OFF

Click here for more information about Far Cry 2

Read More...