G'day there guys and gals! Enjoy this impromptu review!
(Warning: some slight DLC/Story spoilers ahead!)
Since the rumours of Assassin's Creed "Victory" being set in the 1800s, many of the people in the community have wanted a whisper of Jack The Ripper and in this DLC, that's exactly what those fans will get. Assassin's Creed Syndicate's storyline jumps twenty years, to the year that Jack The Ripper plagued the streets of Whitechapel and the city of London. You play as Evie, returning from India on the word from her brother Jacob, who has mysteriously disappeared during his manhunt for Jack The Ripper. Now it's up to her, with the city of London slowly turning against her, to hunt down Jack and bring him to justice.
The storyline itself takes a twist of the original and creates a great atmosphere where the murderer's identity was never found and gives him one, if ever so slight. You will be restricted to Whitechapel and City Of London but the overall atmosphere and tons of side missions make up for this, as well the fact of those two areas being reworked for the twenty years of progress. Playing as Evie is also a delight, as she brings in a new game mechanic - fear. With the use of Brutal Takedowns, Fear Bombs and Spikes, players can take down an enemy with ease by making them flee, shoot their allies and more. Gameplay also introduces two new characters as well as a few twists on the old side mission, such as tailing an enemy and interrogating them with fear, transporting allies with info on Jack The Ripper silently, shaming prostitute abusers (No Bell-Lady from Game of Thrones, however) by walking them through crowds of people, breaking up fighting pits and more. The classic Bounty Hunt, Stronghold and Cargo Hijack also return with various differences. Much of the gameplay's main storyline will side with the Syndicate-style assassinations, but there is a return of the Murder Mysteries mechanic from Assassin's Creed Unity, completely reworked and reimagined. Players will have to find all the clues and recreate the victims steps in order to find clues and information from Jack. Personally, these were the highlight of the DLC.
Voice acting is incredibly well done, especially by Victoria Atkin, showing both Evie's newfound passion and sternness. Sam Crane (Frederick Abberline) truly shines in this DLC, as well as Alec Newman (Jack The Ripper), both bringing the heaviness and bulk that was necessary to set the atmosphere.
I also want to give mention to the updated graphics, musical score and sound effects: Playing as the secondary character was truly perfect, it sounded absolutely amazing, like every part of clothing had weight, very much suiting the animation. The new musical score (with the obvious Indian overtones) was perfectly suited for Evie's new look, which you can further customise in the game (especially with colours, not so much with weaponry).
Overall, this DLC is a definitely must own for fans of the series. The DLC itself is around 6-10 hours, more so if you look to perfect it, but in retrospect the asking price may seem a bit too much to casual players of the series. With new mission areas to explore, new weapons and a much, much darker take on the Assassin world, there's something for everyone in this new addition to the series.
Assassin's Creed Syndicate - Jack The Ripper DLC: B+
Jack The Ripper DLC is out now for the standard price of $20.
G'day there guys and gals!
Yes it's that time of year again when we revisit all our gaming memories over the past year and see which ones stick with us the most. As in every year, this is my personal list of games that exceeded in one area or more, and in saying that, some ground rules!
If the game releases in episodes and the majority came out this year, I'm counting it as a release of this year. HOWEVER, I'm not including any recent HD remakes if their original game was only released a few years ago. So Saints Row IV Re-Elected, Sleeping Dogs, all that noise, not gonna count.
So! Let's begin!
10: Wolfenstein The Old Blood.
The New Order was supposed to be a brand new look to the world that was Wolfenstein, a game where those of us that can remember, helped push forward the First Person Shooter genre into the giant that it is today. The Old Blood is the Prequel to the story of the The New Order and much like it's previous game, is incredibly fun. The storyline was...admittedly a little choppy in areas but still held up well, and although nothing was improved immensely, the game itself is still a great addition to your collection.
9: Rare Replay
So some of you may count this as just a pushout of the older titles, but there are so many games in this collection, I just had to add it into my Top 10. Featuring the huge library of game titles over Rare's lifetime (minus those that couldn't get release against their copyright), the game features hours upon hours of old and relatively newer titles we have enjoyed over the years, with the bonus of interviews, achievements and revisiting our childhood.
8: Assassin's Creed Chronicles: China
Now, for those who know me, you know another AC title will appear on this list later on but I wanted to give this game the spotlight it deserves. One part of the a three part trilogy, AC Chronicles China is unlike any other Assassin's Creed title to date; players traversity a 2.5D universe and solving puzzles of both stealth and deadly assassinations in order to complete their mission. Surprisingly long, and with Chronicles India and Russia on the way, I can't wait to see the other two games.
7: Dying Light
I have been (somewhat) a fan of Dead Island, loving the gameplay but hating mostly everything else. Then comes Dying Light; taking the horror and fear of a zombie apocalypse and putting it into a well balanced and fun parkour gamestyle. Sure, I can complain about the ending until the cows come home (Who uses this saying anymore? What am I, 80?), but the game overall is solid and more that worth your time.
6: Halo 5: Guardians.
Without a shadow of a doubt, I probably just pissed off a lot of Halo fans, and subconsciously, myself as well. Don't get me wrong; technical wise, this game is solid, plays incredibly well and is fun with a bunch of your friends on multiplayer, but the storyline's cut and dry ending/set up plus being overall dissatisfying leaves this game much higher on the list than intended. Play for the Co-Op/Multiplayer, but be wary of the Campaign.
5: Gears of War: Ultimate Edition.
While I am breaking my rule about remakes, the original came out nearly a decade ago and I consider this much more than a remake. Gears of War has always had a large cult fandom, and this game definitely appeals to all. Revamped controls, cutscenes, new levels (and now with Horde!), this collection of the first Gears game is a definite must own for fans of the series and those who love a good gory game.
4: Assassin's Creed: Syndicate
As a giant Assassin's Creed fan, I will personally kick my own arse for not putting this game higher on the list, BUT the game plays beautifully (Rare are the Unity glitches this time around), looks beautiful and is just a delight to play. Fans of the series who are looking for a way back into the series, this is your sign. Everything about this game takes all the old elements and improves upon them ten fold.
3: Telltale's Game of Thrones
While Episode One came out roughly this time last year, the majority of the parts came out in 2015, and one after the other have been an intoxicating experience. While still maintaining the classic Point and Click style gameplay, the storyline, voice acting and mechanics of the game itself hold this game up much higher on the list.
2: Fallout 4
I can already see some people immediately leaving this post because this game isn't number one, but don't let that discourage you! Fallout 4 is by far one of the greatest RPGs in recent years. The gameplay, storyline, voice acting, every part of this game has been created lovingly and obviously been put through a lot in order to be released in such a pristine and excellent state. The missions do tend to repeat but you won't care are you're battling your way through a legendary Deathclaw! This is a must by before the end of the year.
1: Life is Strange
Without a doubt, the people at DontNod Entertainment have put a massive amount of thought into creating this series and personally, and admittedly, at first it was one that I reluctantly avoided for the time being. I saw the hype, I had been burned by so many terrible, terrible games this year. But then I started playing...and immediately got hooked. I started writing theories, I started debating on what was going to happen next, and it was one of the few series I started streaming live for people to watch! This game completely destroyed my innocence; the gameplay was simplistic but brilliantly inventive, the puzzles were fun and creative, the storyline and the voice acting was sublime, everything about this game was brilliant. If you have yet to play this game, I implore you to buy the series now.
With 2016 now on the horizon, I can't wait for next year's titles, especially the new Dishonored and Deus Ex. What games are you excited for? Let me know!
And as always, have fun and game on! See you next year!
G'day there guys and gals!
Very recently, Rooster Teeth has released their in progress game RWBY: Grimm Eclipse onto Steam Early Access due to overwhelming support from the fans of the show and the community at large. And thanks to my old friend Simon, I obtained a copy of the game in early access. Since the game is in early access and a full review is unnecessary here, the following is a short list of pros, cons and suggestions for the game in its current state.
(Please note: This list will be updating as the game updates over time)
Pro
- All four characters of the RWBY team are playable straight from the get-go, and have unique abilities to their fighting style
- Even on Potato quality, the game still looks incredibly good.
- Each character has unique dialogue when approaching/engaging/defeating a task. (Personally, my favourite is Ruby's "explosion" sounds)
- Grimm attacks are also fleshed out and unique, some offering an offense = defense attack or some plain disappearing to attack from behind.
- Commentary voice acting and the RWBY team are excellently well done.
- Gameplay is simplistic, but fun, especially with friends.
Con
- Gameplay objectives can be a taaaaad repetitive. Understandably due to the shortness of the game, but variety is the spice of life.
- Players cannot select a different character from the menu if they please. They must leave mid match or crash.
- Revival time limit is too long, especially when playing with one other friend.
Suggestions
- Weiss' Nova attack, when upgraded, is utterly overpowered, wiping out weak or strong Grimm alike in a single move. Most players play as her for this move alone. Perhaps take its damage down a tad.
- Allow players to change characters mid-game. Sometimes a character doesn't suit their style of gameplay.
- Allow custom controls. Personally, pressing numbers for my special moves is a tad irritating.
- Increase HUD size. I didn't realise Aura was my health/shield bar until much too late in the game!
- Apply XP bonuses to teammates. Every mission is a mad dash for players to get to each box first and collect their XP. That and with all three teammates playing as Weiss, players cannot get much XP outside completing tasks and the few Grimm the others miss.
- More characters please! I understand Grimm Eclipse is a RWBY story but personally I'd love to play as Penny or Pyrrha.
- Customisation? Early screenshots of the game showed colour swaps for players using the same character. These would be okay, but RWBY's alternative costumes would definitely be a big plus.
