So what with all the awesomeness floating around out there today, there’s not always time to sit down and hammer out a full article; for those of you left wanting by this, I apologize. I don’t know how frequent my input may be, so for now I’m just going to give you guys a “wham-bam-thankya-ma’am” of what’s been getting my attention.

Books

• The Prince of Nothing by R. Scott Bakker – It’s the crusades, except in the future, or maybe an alternate past; that doesn’t matter. What does matter is that this trilogy is fantastic in its scope, and though a little heavy-handed at times, has enough blood, sorcery, and gratuitous bits to keep you entertained through most of it. Book one is The Darkness that Comes Before.
• The Book of the New Sun by Gene Wolfe – If you like your sci-fantasy heavy on the “wtf” and light on the mass-market appeal, this set is for you. Set unknown-eras into a possible future, Wolfe tackles everything from theology to philosophy to physics and beyond as he drags his main character – a torturer, complete with violent depictions – from one side of reality to another. The first two novels are collected in one tome called Shadow and Claw.
• Terry Brooks – This man has written a good half-dozen trilogies, any of which can be read separately from the others. Though many claim his work is cliché, the dude has been at it since ’77, and is arguably part of the reason high fantasy still exists. If you want something very elves-with-pointy-ears, pick up The Scions of Shannara; if modern-era demon fighting is more your thing, try out Running with the Demon.

 Games

• Metro 2033 - If you own a 360, you should get this next time you go into GameStop. If you have a computer with Steam – and if you have a PC, you need Steam – just get it now. An FPS set in post-apoc Moscow – or rather, then metro tunnels under said city – this chilling sci-fi tale has it all. Beautiful production values, a too-good-to-be-true story, tight gameplay mechanics, and several moments that will keep you up at night.
• Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light - I hate to be such an XBot, but this Live Arcade action / adventurer has sucked up many hours in my house since its release. With full on-box or online co-op, this little gem will surprise you and whoever you get to play it with you. The graphics are impressive, the puzzles are either thoughtful or oh-$#^%-a-giant-spike-wall intense, and each level has multiple challenges and time-trials to keep you coming back for more.
• Torchlight - A little more PC love, again brought to me by the goodness that is Steam. This Diablo-style loot grabber is all about becoming bigger, meaner, richer, and then selling all that old crap two level-ups later. Created by the same mind that brought us the aforementioned devil-monikered title, this single-player-only experience is the testing platform for an MMO that will launch later on down the line. If my time with this version is any indication, adding the ability to play with friends will render me useless for a month or so.

That’s all I’ve got for now; keep a weather eye on the horizon, as tomorrow should bring similar tidbits from the cinema and comics areas of entertainment.

Click Here for the A-Team trailer

kill. kill. kill. kill. kill. lunch. kill. kill. kill. kill. tea. Yeah. I stole an Eddie Izzard joke. Sue me.

Now for the goods. If you played the first Assassin’s Creed then you’re in luck. Not too much has been added or changed. In fact, that’s one of the complaints i had with the game. Its too similar to the first game as a whole. For a sequel that was as anticipated as this one, there should have been a sea of upgrades, bug fixes, changes, etc. But instead, its closer to an Assassin’s Creed 1.5 than it is a Part II.

The engine itself has several problems. The combat seems to have de-evolved from the first one, making fighting more clunky, less cinematic, and incredibly frustrating at times. The first game was much better about keeping the flow of combat while still keeping the engine performing like it should be. On top of that, ive witnessed tons and tons of instances of items or objects phasing into the items in the  environment, or just the level itself. On top of that, the assassinations i performed only had a fraction of them actually come off looking good, the others suffered from “Where is that pointing” Syndrome. that’s what she said. Meaning that if i were using my hidden blade, the actual blade would be above the targets head, or off to his side. More often than not did i have an assassination weapon actually make contact with a target. Throw in the old “jump on that wall. no that wall. that’s the same wall. That’s still the same wall. the other wall.” and you’ve got a muy frustrated TFC.

Now to the non complaining part. The additions to the game are a nice way to waste a little more time and get a little more involved. You can now renovate the city that you consider home, allowing you to receive money from the business you help. Mini-economies are always fun, thank you FarmTown. There are many weapon additions, allowing you to use anything from swords, to maces, to pole-arms. Each with its own stats for speed, defense and attack power. Add in a few extra hidden items to hunt down thru the course of the game and you’ve got yourself a solid time consumer.

Mostly all of the visuals are all very very eye pleasing. Buildings, people, items, etc all have a nice polish on them that kept me pleased. The only real thing i had a problem with was the lack of gore. I’m not normally one to criticize the lack of, because you don’t need gore in a game to make it a great one. However i seem to remember that all of the more violent scenes and assassinations and blood all looked better in the first one. The scene itself is great whenever you kill someone, but the way the engine handles the blood and whatnot is just a little sub-par compared to the original. Apart from that, absolutely no complaints. The rest is amazing. The views from the Eagle Vision Points, especially the ones in the bigger cities in the higher buildings, are stunning. And the fact that you can travel to anything you see sells it even harder.

The rest of the game is all pretty much Grade A. The story is great, its actually whats been keeping me playing thru the mega repetitive last 1/4 of the game. You don’t spend half the game outside of the Animus walking around being lost, once they throw you in, you pretty much stay in until the story calls for you to do otherwise.  All of the voice acting is great. I kept getting lols because I apparently love the way Italian accents sound.

Done aaaaaand done. All in all its a solid game. It might be one that you want to hit a price drop first. If you haven’t played the first one yet, pick it up and play it, and by the time you’re done with it there should be a price tag on this one that is maybe a little more suiting.

Assassin’s Creed II – 7/10

http://robertvsredick.blogspot.com/ has posted the prologue for RATS, enjoy.

A cup of milk tainted with blood. Pazel looked down into the steaming chalice and felt trapped, an actor in a part he never wanted, in a play full of violence and rage. They were waiting for him to drink: the priests, the princes, the three hundred guests in the candlelit shrine. His best friends were waiting, and a few men who wished him dead, and one man who wanted everyone dead and just might get his wish…

To read the rest simply go to the above mentioned site.

For all of you who read my last post on this topic the book will be arriving in early November so my review will be posted then.

As always yours in truth

Jerimiah Wolfwood

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hbhaADAZHJIfrom the ashes

This is a really cool video that just plays fast and loose with the Anime’s story.

The funny thing is that this story is better than the one the anime tells.

Well until next week Jerimiah Wolfwood.