Archive for the 'Gaming' Category

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]

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Time for another round of video game recommends! This is actually the theme I planned to start with, but I did the co-op duos for Valentine’s Day instead. Here are a few of my favorite games that contain mystery and/or suspense.

Professor Layton and the Curious Village (DS)

Sypnosis: Professor Layton and Luke are summoned to St. Mystere to solve the mystery of the Golden Apple. Anyone who solves it will inherit Baron Reinhold’s fortune, except no one has been able to so far. However, shortly after they arrive, more mysterious things happen like a murder and kidnapping, and there are strange noises coming from the large tower in town.

My thoughts: I love puzzle games, so I’m a big fan of the Professor Layton series. The very first game (this one) remains my favorite of them so far, but the rest are also worth checking out if you enjoy this type of thing. Though it’s kind of in visual novel form, all of these games are still heavily puzzle games – with brain teasers, logic puzzles, sliding puzzles, etc. What sets the Layton games apart from other puzzle games is that there is actually an interesting story with likable characters.

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Every couple has their own “thing” that they like to do together. For my husband and I, it’s gaming. We love finding cooperative (co-op) games to play together. I also don’t think you have to be a “gamer” to enjoy a co-op game with your friends or significant other. Some co-op games really make you work together and figure things out. It can be fun to do together 😀

I wanted to give video game recommends once in a while, and I was actually going to start with a different theme. However, with Valentine’s Day coming up, I thought I’d start with a few of my favorite co-op games, specifically ones that use pairs 🙂

Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light (XBLA, PSN, Mobile, PC)

Sypnosis: Two thousand years ago, Totec (guardian of light) managed to imprison Xolotl (keeper of darkness) in the mirror of smoke. Knowing this legend, Lara sought out the mirror and found it, but is unfortunately followed by a band of mercenaries. Their improper handling of the mirror releases Xolotl, and the stone statue of Totec comes to life to help Lara stop Xolotl.

My Thoughts: We were pleasantly surprised by this one. This game is not meant to be part of the Tomb Raider series, and it plays much differently from it. It’s in an arcade style where the view is sort of top down; one controls Lara and the other Totec. They each have different skills, and the game makes you heavily depend on each other to solve puzzles and get through the map. Teamwork is stronger in this game than most other co-ops I’ve played, and I think that’s why we enjoyed this one so much.

Resident Evil 5 (Xbox 360, PS3, PC)

Sypnosis: Chris, who is now with BSAA instead of STARS, is dispatched to Kijuju, Africa to work with Sheva on stopping a bio-organic weapon from being sold on the black market. However, they find that the locals have been infected with a parasite and that the other BSAA team has been killed.

My Thoughts: Though from the Resident Evil series, I actually view this as more of an action-packed game and not much of a survival horror. It’s not a scary game, but it does play really well as an action co-op.

Chris and Sheva are pretty much equals, so it doesn’t feel like you’re playing an add-on character, and it’s fun to mow down enemies together. There are still a lot of Resident Evil-feeling elements to it, so if you ever wanted to play a Resident Evil game cooperatively, this is the one to try. (Rather than that Raccoon City game, which has not been well received.)

Orcs Must Die! 2 (PC)

Sypnosis: Though the War Mage and Sorceress were enemies in the first game, they team up in the sequel to fight orcs. Rifts have been opening up by their master, and the two must work together to defend them.

My Thoughts: The Orcs Must Die games are tower defense but in a different style. You control a single character who runs around to place the traps, weapons, etc. The second game introduced cooperative play where you can play as the Sorceress from the first game.

The two start with different skills but then have the same selection afterwards. They really toss a lot of enemies at you! It’s important to coordinate with your partner to make sure all paths are taken care of and to communicate when something gets through. I’m normally not into tower defense, but the co-op puts a more interesting spin on it, which is why I really liked this game.

And that’s it for now 🙂 There were other co-ops I wanted to cover too, but I’m limiting it to 3 at a time. Hopefully I’ll remember to do this again because there a ton of games I love. If you’re interested in recommends from another theme, I’d like to know what the theme is!