There were many games revealed during E3 last week that I’m excited for, and there’s 3 in particular that I’m really looking forward to because I liked their predecessors. Well, “liked” is an understatement. I absolutely love them and they’re on my list of favorites. So, here’s 3 of my favorite games and my thoughts on their upcoming sequels!
Assassin’s Creed 2 (PC, Xbox 360, PS3)
Sypnosis: Desmond relives the memories of his ancestor, Ezio Auditore da Firenze during the 15th century in Italy. Ezio’s family is caught in a political plot, and he witnesses his father and brother hanged. He then trains as an assassin while discovering who is behind it all.
My thoughts: …on the Assassin’s Creed series: I hated 1, loved 2, enjoyed Brotherhood, thought Revelations was ok, was disappointed in 3, and haven’t played 4 yet. AC1 had the right idea with the climbing around, blending in to escape guards, and assassination missions. It failed in its repetitive quests, clunky combat, an assassin who can’t swim, and guards that think running is a crime punishable by death.
Assassin’s Creed 2 is my favorite of the series because it kept the good parts of AC1 and fixed everything else. The combat was smoothed out, while keeping the nice climbing and guard escape elements. The pacing of the game felt good as it gradually introduced new assassination elements, and there was a balance of main and side quests. Basically, everything about AC2 just felt right, and I haven’t felt that way about the AC series since.
Thoughts on Assassin’s Creed Unity: Seeing an AC game set in Europe again with its nice tall buildings (YES BUILDINGS, NO MORE TREES) reminded me of AC2, and I think that’s why it immediately caught my attention. I’m also excited for the co-op since my husband plays the AC series as well. I think it’ll open up new and fun possibilities. [View E3 trailer]
Dragon Age: Origins (PC, Xbox 360, PS3, Mac)
Sypnosis: You play as a character who is recruited to be a part of the Grey Wardens in the fight against the Darkspawn. To save Ferelden, you’re tasked with recruiting across the different factions of the world, each with their own problems as well.
My thoughts: For a while, I gave up on RPGs because I was tired of turn based combat, but then I played the Mass Effect and Dragon Age series. The combat was real time, but allowed you to pause to command your party. I especially liked it in DA:O because it let me control 4 characters at once with a variety of spells and moves. Yes, there’s a tactics sheet that you could fill out for the AI to follow, but I actually preferred doing it all on my own. It kept my mind busy and gave me the multitasking that I love.
Bioware also does a great job with its characters. I felt like I had to work at earning the trust of my party. Being an “all around good guy/girl” wasn’t enough. I had to learn what each character was like and what they expected from me. In turn, this made me attached to them even more. I will give a warning that DA:O’s biggest downside is that it’s a very buggy game. Expect to save often because the game crashes sometimes.
Thoughts on Dragon Age: Inquisition: We’ve known that they were working on a new Dragon Age, but it was still nice to see it shown. I actually haven’t played DA2 due to the many complaints I’ve heard about it, but Inquisition excites me because Bioware has supposedly listened to the feedback. Rumors are that Inquisition should be bringing back the things that fans loved in Origins, and I can’t wait to give it a try. [View E3 trailer]
Bayonetta (Xbox 360, PS3)
Sypnosis: There are two factions that preserve the balance of dark and light: the Umbra Witches and the Lumen Sages, both sharing two treasures known as the Eyes of the World. Bayonetta is a witch who wakes up after a 500 year sleep with no memories, but she has a gem she believes is the Left Eye of the Eyes of the World. As she searches for the Right Eye, her memories start to return.
My thoughts: I was not expecting to like Bayonetta as much as I did. I mean, it looks like a game just meant for guys with its over sexualization and protagonist who often gets naked. But yes, I loved it. Very much so. I even liked Bayonetta herself, a confident character who knows that she can totally kick butt.
The story is Bayonetta’s weak side, but where it excels is in its combat. It’s one of the most satisfying and smoothest combat I’ve ever played. I loved how over the top the fights were. I loved the variety of combos. I loved the idea of witch time, which allows you to slow time if you dodge at the last second. It just felt really good to be in fights.
Thoughts on Bayonetta 2: This is another one that wasn’t a surprise. It was even shown in last year’s E3, but the new reveal was that the first Bayonetta would be bundled with it. I think this is awesome because Bayonetta 2 is a Wii U exclusive, but the first game was made for Xbox 360 (with a bad port for PS3). Now Nintendo fans can go back and enjoy the first one too. Bayonetta 2 looks much like the first game, which is fine by me. I want more of it. [View last year’s E3 trailer]
As an ending note, since I’m a big Mass Effect and Legend of Zelda fan, friends have been asking me if I’m also excited for the new games in those series. I just don’t think enough was shown of either one for me to feel excited yet. They more or less confirmed that “yes, we’re making this” which I think we’ve all known about anyway. So, perhaps next year they will make my list instead.
It’s amazing how these AC series come out so quickly! I still have yet to play AC 1+2… And 4. That concept of blending in to evade guards is a great idea! It really falls into that ‘assassin’ category. I’m surprised about how the assassin couldn’t swim.. Maybe there wasn’t a need to (compared to AC3 where Connor tried to foil the plans at the ship). Speaking of which, I heard AC4 was fun. One of my friends used to be in the navy and sang along with the crew’s singing because it’s one of those “boat songs”, haha. But yes, I also look forward into playing Unity (eventually XD).
I saw one of the Dragon Age games on sale on Origin the other day. The game sounds really hands-on with being able to control 4 character at once. You won’t get bored with having so many things to do at once XD.
Bayonetta has an interesting background to it. It’s nice to see a female taking that lead role. Hopefully you can get your hands on all of these games when it comes out 😀
Well, it was frustrating that Altair couldn’t swim because of the missions that required being near or over water ^^;; Basically, you’d have to hop on wooden poles or boats in the water and if you fell, it was insta-death. There were also narrow docks that you could be pushed off of, which was also insta-death. It was very annoying!
You know my foray into Dragon Age: Origins! Love the characters and the plot, but I sucked at the gameplay! Oh well! I enjoyed what I played.
Otherwise, I really wasn’t paying attention to much of the E3 news. My gaming preference is definitely limited, so unless there’s something that catches my eyes or is in a franchise I like, I won’t give a hoot about it, haha!
I was watching the livestream of the Bayonetta developer commentary and it looked awesome! I really liked the graphics and the combat animations look really cool. I’m more of a handheld gamer so I probably won’t get it unless I cave in and get a Wii U lol.
The most exciting things about E3 for me was Fantasy Life finally getting a release date and more news about Super Smash Bros *^*
I think I’m probably the only one out there who can’t sit still when a new Zelda is revealed (cept Hyrule Warriors, pfft) regardless of how much details. LOL.
I was going to list AC and DA in my Sony notes post but got lazy and probably won’t be writing about it now. I absolutely love how Bayonetta 2 is a Wii U exclusive and includes the first game because it gives Zelda fans who missed out on the PS3/Xbox360 generation (probably just me, lol) a chance to experience it. I’m trying to catch up on a lot of those games on Steam but there are just some exclusives that will be lost to me forevaaaa (Ni No Kuni). But AC II is definitely on top of the list. I will probably try out DA Inquisition on PS4 once it comes out because I’d like to avoid playing high-resources games on the PC. 😀
The fact that these sequels come out in everyone’s anticipation shows that they’re faring pretty well business-wise. Your thoughts on these games make them look pretty promising enough for me to consider playing them. Unfortunately, I don’t have any of the console you’ve listed above, so that’s that. I may change my mind and consider buying a PS3 [or any of its future derivatives] in a few years. In the meantime, I’ll just have to idly accept the fact that I’ll miss out. 😛 Oh well, as long as SONY and these games maintain great sales, a few years of wait won’t be all too much. 😉
I looked at the first two games, but not Bayonetta. I was so impressed with the Assassin’s Creed trailer, for me it blew almost every other game out the water. I was disappointed with the Hyrule Warriors trailer – not in the gameplay, I just thought the trailer was put together in a strange way. Zelda U looked beautiful. I enjoyed the DragonAge trailer, though not as much as Assassin’s Creed!
I love Unity, doesn’t matter if I haven’t played it yet. I just love the setting. The French Revolution! ^_^ I’m really so obsessed with that time period, it’s not even funny. Hahahaha*coughrobespierrecough*
Brotherhood was plain amazing! AC2 was fine, but what really hooked me was Brotherhood. Bought it with my own monies as a gift to my husband.
Never played Bayonetta, but my husband loves it.
I watched a trailer for Dragon Age: Origins and was very intrigued! It looks pretty cool imo. 🙂 I’ve never played any of the previous Dragon Age games though, so I can’t compare it to them.
We bought a Wii U last week, and I’m already getting excited for the new Zelda game, even if it’s a year away. To me Zelda is like pizza, even if it’s bad it’s still pretty damn good, so just the fact that it’s in the making is enough. 😉
Can’t say I’ve played any of these personally, but I’m sure they’re all fun.
I’ve too many games already & I don’t want to spend too much of my time playing games instead of being more productive in SOMETHING. Just anything. It’s always such a guilt trip for me playing games…something in my head says, “you’re being a lazy little poo.” So, yeah!
I think DA is on sale on Steam? Or maybe it was another dragon game. Meh, like you, I despise turn by turn games too, but the multitasking you described is pretty neat.