LightYagami245

Assassin's Creed has a well-developed story than most games in the same genre. You play as Altair, but you are actually his ancestor, Desmond Miles. Using a machine that allows Desmond to view the memories of his ancestor, Desmond can view the events Altair went through to uncover mysterious artifacts and defend them from his organization's rivals, the Templers.

Story:

The story progresses very well from start to finish. There are some major plot twists, but instead of letting the player revile in the shock, it moves on to the next part of the story. The last major plot twist with Altair is surprising, but it's not that much as a major "I didn't see that coming". While you will be surprised, you might of thought about the idea once or twice before the scene even occurred. The characters develop well.

Altair is a good main character. He has the "I don't care, I won't spare you" anti-hero mindset(similar to Kratos from GOW series), which is always refreshing to see in a main character. Desmond is alright, but he mainly complains and whines throughout the game, which may fit the situation he's in, but still annoying.

Gameplay:

While the storyline was well developed, what brings the game down is the gameplay. Every way to get information for an assassination is the same. You can eavesdrop, interrogate, pickpocket, or do a mission fo an informer, which is either get all the designated flags or kill these designated people. After acquiring the go-ahead, you can go take down the target. Based off the game's title, stealth should be the main idea to take the target out, but the gameplay says otherwise. You can just walk in the area and take the target out. Once performed, you must get out of there without attracting attention, which isn't the case after Altair learns an attack counter. Once learned, you can just walk in, kill the target, and take on all of the guards, which removes the point of stealth from the game. They should of put some kind of restriction to the technique. Also, if you are in the middle of the counter, if another guard tries to attack you, the attack of the guard will not register, which, if done right, would of been a good limitation on the technique.

Another thing I did not understand is the AI of the guards. The citizens' AI act their role. Cause a disturbance and they will stare at you, making you more aware to the guards, while acting normal makes you unsuspectable. The guards on the otherhand are idiotic. Kill a guard and blend in with the scholars, and they will ask who killed the other guard, while people are yelling that you did it. Kill a guard on the rooftop, and another will ask who killed him, while you walk right behind him.


Music:

The music is pretty good for the setting of the game and the situation at the time. When you are running from guards, the music will be fast-paced, while just in the city, the music is normal-paced. The score does not stand out though. Most people will not be online looking for the soundtrack compared to the soundtrack from a game such as Final Fantasy or Guilty Gear, but for the game itself, it suffices.

Graphics:

The graphics are pretty good.  It is very fluid from the transitions from Altair's position during a cutscene to the scene of another character speaking. The characters fit the setting and mood of the game. if you love graphics, you will be satisfied with the game's use of  the Blink video software.

Overall:

The game is pretty good for a game that I got for $20. I would recommend renting the game or buying it used(like I did) since the game has no replay value. Once you beat it, you might go back to perform some optional tasks, but you probably won't start the game over to play it all over again. if you have some extra cash to burn and you have most of the games you want for the moment, check this game out.

Story: The story isn't as mature as Twilight Princess, but it's still good. It takes a few years after Winder Waker, starting out with link and Tetra riding the ocean, seeking adventure. They soon find the legendary Phantom Ship, which takes Tetra captive after she boards it(Why would you board a haunted ship by yourself? ). Link goes in to save her, but misses the boat and falls into the ocean. he winds up on a shore with a navi named Ciela, who has no memory of her past. After talking to her grandfather, Oshus, you find out that Bellium, a fiend from the depths is plaguing the oceans, and as always, only you have the power to stop it. The plot is done very well, despite being a plot that has been done in all the other Zelda games too. I like how the game gives you a recap of Wind Waker in the beginning, which is good for those who haven't played it(me) or forgot what happened in the game. The characters are good too. I like Linebeck who's greedy and cowardly, but caring too. I also like how he fights with Ciela on everything(literally).

Graphics: The game has the visuals of the N64, but I really didn't mind at all. It looks smoother than Orcarina of Time, but not by much. I think Nintendo did a good job cel-shading the game.

Sound: The sound was composed very well. The music fits the area you're in, and changes flawlessly. The sound of clashing your sword with an opponent was done well. I like how they arranged the Legend of Zelda theme in the beginning of the game, from a renaissance theme(the original theme) to a sea-faring kind of theme(the new version in PH).

Gameplay: This game shines very much in this section, it'll make you blind. This game shows what the DS is capable of. Everything is used with a stylus, so make sure you have one before you get this game. To jab,you move your stylus in a forward motion. For a horizontal slash, you move your stylus in a curved sweep. To do the Spin Attack, Link's signature, you rotate your stylus in a circle motion. Evading is a lot more difficult, since you have to move your stylus to the edge of the screen and do mini-circles. It's harder than it sounds, but you get use to it after awhile. You will also have sea battles, while it sounds cool, it's very tiring after awhile, mainly because of the difficulty of it. The game also uses the mic to blow out flames and to bargain or get people's attention. The downside is that sometimes, it doesn't get what you said right, especially with the bargaining thing. In battles, while wanting a horizontal slash, it will sometimes read it as a jab, which will annoy you, but it might be how the player does their strokes.

Let's recap

Pros:

+ Controls are great and comfortable to the player's arm(you won't get sore for a long time, if not at all).
+ Music is composed very well
+ Story is a light-hearted ride of fun
+ Mic usage is good

Cons:

- Depending on the player's strokes, the attacks might not be what the players wanted to do.
- The mic might not make out the exact things you say
- Plot isn't anything new to the Zelda series

Conclusion: The game is very innovative in many aspects, and has a good story to add onto the pros this games have. I think the other companies that are going to put games on the DS should use this game as an example on how to tap the DS' latent abilities. I recommend this to anyone with a DS.

One of the most anticipated games for the Wii, Super Smash Brothers Brawl is a major hit with casual and hardcore gamers alike, but the game does have some mess ups.

The story is more fleshed-out than the previous installments due to the Subspace Emissary. The writer of the story for Brawl, Kazushige Nojima, who is the scenario writer for the Final Fantasy series, does a good job for the storyline, but it is a little cliched at times. You start out seeing Mario battling Kirby. The game then lets you choose who you want to play as for this battle(Mario or Kirby). After the match, the villains for the story strike the arena releasing a Subspace bomb, which sends the arena to an alternate plane called Subspace. The Nintendo heroes then must unite and repel the enemy forces, which consist of the villains of Nintendo games such as Ganondorf, Bowser, and Wario, just to name a few.

The gameplay works the same as the previous installments with the only difference being the Smash Attack that Brawl has(and a few items). The thing that separates the game from the previous ones is the ability to use 4 different styles for controls. A player can use the Wiimote alone, the Wiimote and the nunchuck, the Gamecube controller, or the Classic controller. While I use the Wiimote and nunchuck, I would(and so would many reviewers) recommend that a player use the Gamecube controller.

Now for the combat. The characters each have their own style of fighting, even though the controls for doing their attacks are the same. The tiers are back, however, Bowser and Ganon are still in the lower tiers, while Sonic and Wolf are some of the characters from the higher tiers. There are two new things in Brawl, the Smash ball and the assist trophy. Let's start with the latter first. The assist trophy calls guest characters from some of Nintendo's other titles to aid the summoner in battle. The assist trophy is a good advantage to have in battle, just try and not let the opponent get it.

The Smash attack can be a make or break in battle. The player must hit it 3-4 times(depending on the strength of the attack) to break it. Once broken, whoever hit it last to break it, has the ability to unleash their Smash Attack, which is Brawl's version of finishers. Some are avoidable though(like Mario's and Samus'), but others aren't(like Pit's or Luigi's).

The musical score is great. One of the cool things is the game's music player, which plays the stage music you have collected so far. You can control how many times a song is played on a stage. If you don't like listening to the theme song for Brawl, turn the appearance rate down to zero, if you love it, crank it up! It's all up to you. You find more songs by fighting in any brawl(including online and in Solo mode). It takes a long time to get all the songs, but there are a few shortcuts that you can find on youtube or wikicheats.

The introduction to Wi-Fi for Brawl was a great idea, but badly executed. The Wi-Fi is a good thing, you can play online with your friends. The bad thing isn't inputting the 12 digit friend code(that's a downside, but not the worse thing), but the connection in battle that's the problem. Several times I have been playing online and I would be disconnected from a match. I tried all the tips Nintendo Wii support has said to do. I changed my channel, which was the best tip, but matches still lag sometimes. Even if it's not you, you can see others who are lagging. I know Nintendo did a good job cutting down the lagging from the beta testing to launch, but I wouldn't mind if they took a little more time to reduce the lagging even more.

Another technical glitch is the tripping that the characters do. The Havok engine is one of the most powerful physics engines in the gaming industry. While Nintendo might of had fun using this engine, they must of forgot to take out characters tripping on nothing. You might think I'm crazy for saying that, but if you play a match for 5 minutes, without any items, you will see a character trip on nothing. My character even tripped when I slightly tilted the nunchuck.

With all of this being said, the game is a great title for Wii owners. It has been a very long time since the last Super Smash game, and Smash fans deserve a game as good as Brawl. Brawl has many things that will keep the player coming back for a few months to the least.

Lost Odyssey is a special breed of JRPGs. While it doesn't do anything completely new with the gameplay, the story does a complete 180 compared to most out there. It tells the story of Kaim Argonar, an Immortal who has lived for 1000 years(so far). While most people think that living forever would be great, Lost Odyssey shows the brutality and hope that life gives to everyone through the eyes of Kaim as he wanders across the planet. Some of the Dream Sequences Kaim has are very powerful, and will surprise you on how moved you will be to the story. Mistwalker did story-telling that hasn't been seen in JRPGs in awhile.

The gameplay doesn't do anything completely new, the acquiring of abilities like Black Magic are changed for some of the characters. While in most RPGs, the player levels up the characters and they learn new abilities, right? Half-right. The Immortals cannot learn any skills or spells, so they must rely on the mortals for abilities. After the SP of the ability is fulfilled, the Immortal has learned that ability. The setup is similar to the skill setup in Blue Dragon.

Another thing is the removal of armor. The characters still have defense, but armor has been replaced by rings. Equipping rings do the same thing as armor, but the Immortals can learn from some of the effects the rings have(like immunity from paralysis). If you have a ring attached to a character, in battle, when the character attacks, a ring appears on the enemy. If you time it right, you can add the rings' effect onto the enemy(like poisoning it or adding extra damage if you have a ring that does extra damage to a certain types of enemies).

The music is amazing. Uematsu always amazes me with his music, and Lost Odyssey's soundtrack is no different. Every song fits with the moods throughout the game perfectly. Once hearing the theme of Uhra, I had to get the soundtrack for myself.

Wile the game is amazing, it does have a few downsides. The first being the loading times. The loading isn't long at all, but there are many of them throughout the game. Walking into a tavern and walking out has around a 2-5 second loading time. While minor, it is very annoying. The second are the Dream Sequences that Kaim gets. There stories would be better if they were vocal and not written, but that's not the main problem. the problem is the color of the text to the background. if the background is very dark, the text will be white, which is fine, but in one of the dreams, the bottom of the screen was a bright glowish-red, which signifies the event happening then. The text was white, which made me having to squint at the television trying to make out the words in that location.

Lost Odyssey is a great game, despite the downsides that should be picked up by any RPG fan who owns a 360. Now the question is, do you want to dive into 1000 years of memories?