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My least favourite CoD entry.

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"A laugh can be a very powerful thing. Why, sometimes in life, it's the only weapon we have."

Suspect's Reviews

Ach shame. The world looked like it was well realised, if all cell-shadey. Something didn't seem that alluring about it to me tho in the playthroughs - think it was the way everyone said the kill was a let down. Made it seem unfocussed somehow.

But of course Liked the look of the combat game improvements you linked earlier. Stuff like mixed bows for range and that. I guess I'll have to live with taking away advantages rather than adding new content - and talking o'which...

Yeah I'm no fan of stuff like the glass armour - and dragon stuff looks pretty naff from screengrabs too. Shame. Which means I'm mainly using a ragtag of stuff I think just looks a bit better - and have a (probably very unoriginal) plan to just dress in very basic clothes / unique crappy armour by the end, if I'm feeling too souped up. I'm deliberately leaving lots of the side tasks for mini Thane-doms etc so I can do em as that style of forest ranger fella. (Also taken by the very kung fu blue robes you snag early on ). Will prob enchant em a bit - but hoping to go with non enchanted weapons, of some lowly nature.

That and me still having the min health might keep it challenging. Or possibly just be an exercise in running away a lot

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Yeah, the glass armour is 'orrible to look at. In fact, the standard light armours generally are a bit naff and that's a pain because I like playing nimble characters. Best vanilla armour in the game though, for me, is the Nightingale set.

The Thieves Guild stuff is ok but the Dark Brotherhood armour looks awful. A catsuit? Really?

I started a new character with the SkyRe rebalancing mod and quickly junked it. The one aspect I liked was the combat - things are tougher but not in the way the vanilla game ramps up the difficulty, which is a bit clueless. Skeevers being as tough on Master as Sabrecats are on Adept isn't the most realistic thing in the world...

SkyRe makes combat a lot more dependent on Stamina and I like that aspect. The new spells and perk trees seem like you could get overpowered much earlier than you can in the vanilla game but luckily the whole thing seems modular so I'm planning to start once more with just the combat improvements ticked.

All my natty new threads might have to fall by the wayside too because armour stats has been re-jigged by SkyRe. There are a few compatibility patches around but none yet for the Evil Mastermind armour.

Oh well.

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"Critics are like eunuchs in a harem; they know how the Tatty 100 is done, they've seen it done every day, but they're unable to do it themselves." - Brendan Behan

Well, I finished Assassins Creed: Revelations.

It was a fun ride with Ezio Auditore. He really has been a fantastic lead character, and I couldn't be happier with how Ubisoft developed him over the course of three games. It's a rare thing to feel connected to a character because you've had the pleasure of accompanying him through most of his life. He'll certainly be missed by me, though I guess it's time for a change in character.

Honestly, I'm surprised I've stuck with these games—and simultaneously, I'm not surprised. The plot is always overly convoluted and heavy, even for a history buff like me; and there's always some new gameplay aspect or added feature that's more frustrating than fun. (In this game, it was the impossible-to-win Den Defense mini-game. AGH!)

That said, there's just something inherently thrilling about the gameplay. It never really gets old scampering across rooftops, diving down onto bad guys, and cutting through guards with deliciously bloody ease—all with some beautiful ancient city providing the backdrop. And these games always deliver a thrilling ending.

Sigh. I had planned to wait on Assassin's Creed III until it came down a bit in price, but now I want to blaze right in. Ubisoft has done a great job of marketing the new stuff surrounding Connor and the American Revolution, but it hasn't said anything about how Desmond Miles fits in or what his team will be doing. That's where the real story lies, after all.

Damn, I still need to *start* AC Rev.

Other games wot I've bought in the last 6 months and never played - Arkham City, Botanicula, Dungeon Defenders and Napoleon: Total War. Then there's Mass Effect 3, which never seems to get game time...

I'll not buy AC 3 until Christmas, at least. Probably

I played Arkham City and thought it was woefully inferior to the first game.

Mass Effect 3 is great, obviously, but I know you've lamented the move toward straight action-shooter. There are some light RPG elements still, though I doubt they'll satisfy what you'd like out of the game. I do think Bioware mostly ties things up nicely, but the final sequence/choice is just bollocks.

I do think Revelations is worth your time, if you have enjoyed the games thus far. Other than the Den Defense minigame (which can be pretty quickly circumvented if you get involved early and often in recruiting assassins and building up their XP via missions), I think the game is pretty solidly paced. You never feel overwhelmed with stuff to do (ie. Brotherhood) and there's enough story to keep you from feeling like you need additional content.

I'm definitely getting Assassin's Creed 3. Actually, it gets released stateside tonight at midnight, so I'm heading to the local Gamestop to pick up my pre-order with the PS3 extra missions, the new weapon, and the Mayan ruins DLC. I've played all the other games to death in anticipation for this, and now it's finally coming to a head XD

Ah Assassin's Creed... such straight-jacketed gameplay, yet such an expansive feel . I'd be tempted to buy the latest, if it didn't look so heavy on the bad-guy-Brits

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Yahtzee seems to be back on form with his Dishonored review. The 'robo protagonist' bit definitely hits home. The playthroughs I saw did seem to be laying on the aristo-evil with a trowel. Made from serf bones.

Good to know that AC Rev has less of the 'Assassin's Creed: Civilization' aspect because that bogged me down in Brotherhood and stopped me finishing the game. The whole city building shtick was bearable in AC 2 (even though you had more money than you could spend very quickly) but Brotherhood laid it on with a trowel. A shovel, even.

I like the Civilization games, by the way. They're the only turn-based strategy things I can play without losing the will to live after 5 minutes of menus.

Talking of turn-based strategy, has anyone bought the new XCOM? The first one passed me by (nearly 20 years ago, to be fair) and I've not got any plans to buy the new one, even though the reviews have been good.

EDIT - Oh yeah, there's a mini Steam Halloween sale just started (until Nov 1st) if anyone's after some cheap PC stuff. Doubt if I'll get anything but a quick head's up that Vampire The Masquerade: Bloodlines is on sale.

Dunno how much it is in USD but it's Ł3.74 in proper money - A steal if you remember to install the unofficial patch and a game which doesn't go on sale very often. If you like well written, adult RPGs then this is a must and still looks good today. It should run on loads of machines too, seeing as it's written on the Source (Half Life 2) Engine.

The "restore the city" bits are still there, with plenty of tailor, medicine, and blacksmith shops to renovate. But since the Constantinople game map is far more manageable than Rome, you won't be running yourself ragged with seemingly endless properties to buy. And while there are several expensive "historical" properties to buy as well, like chapels and ruins, I never bothered with them.

There aren't many additional sidequests to do, short of the occasional Master Assassin quest or challenge. But I think having the game uncluttered and focused really works better that way. I never felt overwhelmed, just busy. Really, the only extracurricular things you'll do, short of restoring the city, is boss around your assassins and defend your headquarter dens (the latter of which happens infrequently and can be avoided by building up Master Assassins and placing them in charge of your dens).

Tatty I tried the XCOM demo briefly, but wasn't that taken with the presentation. (The fluid paths looked promising, but the cartoony style detracted from any claustrophobic aspect)

This talk of turn-based alien squad games got me thinking of Incubation tho. Loved this ole thing when I was nipper. Nearly snapped it up on GOG for some nostalgia but don't have a working PC at the mo (just a finikity mac )

They don't make trailers like they used to... 'IT'S TACTICAL!'...

GOG announced recently that a number of games are now Mac compatible - Do a search by System and quite a few pop up. Fallout, for instance, and the mighty Theme Hospital.

Dark Souls just keeps burying me... I haven't seen the sun in a couple play sessions now, and I am waaaaaaaay down at the bottom of some nasty poison swamp, fighting a vicious spider-witch. DS is quickly becoming one of my favorite games in this gen...

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I'd become so annoyed with the shoddiness of the PC Dark Souls port that, while out shopping this morning, I picked up a cheap Xbox copy and will concentrate on that. I guess a lot of people wouldn't have done this as a protest but, as you say, it's a great game.

Mods fixed the PC graphical problems but the game is now refusing to recognise my controller (and Keyboard/Mouse is terrible on this game so controller is a must). I'm guessing it's because I bought a new keyboard (a G510) and the game is recognising that as a controller and not my wired 360 pad. A lot of people had been complaining about the issue but I'd not encountered it until recently.

I had heard of this - one post says to change drivers on the pad for a fix...

This is better though! Even though you have to deal with slow frames in Blighttown (which weren't THAT bad, truth be told), we can now participate in Jolly Co-op if needed!

My character's name is Jaia, for the record!

I think they've patched it since I played - a download popped up when I booted it up - because I played through the tutorial dungeon without any noticeable slowdown. I can remember the first boss causing the fps to go down to single figures first time I played.

EDIT - About the co-op. I'm XBL Silver and it won't let me do multiplayer on 360 sadly, but there's a special offer on Gold right now so might well hit it up.

And then we should all meet in the Minecraft Demo for some relaxing chicken chasing.

Nah alright, not that . (Altho I do miss having some ludicrous mini-Mofo hangout, like Second Life became for a bit. Even if MC lacks robot avs the size of mountains, and voodoo doll control hax. Not to mention Furries who were afraid of the Forest. Damn that place was weird )

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DS is looking more graphically lush than I realised it could be in that screenie. Thought it just hit up the green and dour look. An ode to mould. Clearly much going on in there too.

Oh and PS Tatty yeah I looked at the Mac GOG stuff, but only Fallout was tempting me. Altho I'm kinda hankering for something squad based.

Not that I can actually GET to you right now.... Deep...in the swamp....

@GOLG - Forget the graphics, Dark Souls is just THAT good. The graphics DO look somewhat antiquated, but that is part of the game's charm, IMO. The character graphics and armors look amazing, but you deal with some muddy textures etc, as the X-box is showing its age at this point. I wouldn't have the graphics any other way in this game - they just work perfectly with the design and rich atmosphere. I was nonplussed by screenies, but i am glad I grabbed the game!

The cool thing is the way the design of the world begins to click together for you after a few areas, and you realize that there is ZERO filler space in the entire game. Something that is tough to say for a lot of RPGs.

Warning - this game brings the PAIN, big time.



And the beauty...

Been going through Assassin's Creed 3, and holy friggin cow, this game is fantastic. The setting, the characters, the overall story are all marvelous. It's bigger than the previous games, the action is faster and more detailed, and the plot twists keep you invested in everything. Yeah, it's a little glitchy, but what game of this size isn't? (Looking at you, Skyrim). There are a few areas where I think they could've improved (hunting, gun control, climbing detection), but the whole package is too awesome to ignore. Definite must-buy for any Assassin's Creed fan.