By
Matthew Scott Hunter
 ‘Assassin’s
Creed: Revelations’
(M)
****
Ubisoft
Xbox 360
Familiar game play we’ve all grown to love
“Revelations” picks up where “Assassin’s Creed:
Brotherhood” left off, with Desmond — our modern
era descendant of ancient hitmen — stuck in
a coma. In awkward first-person platforming
sequences sure to make longtime fans of the
series groan, Desmond must explore the surreal
landscape of his own mind. Fortunately, this
area simply serves as a hub world, leading to
the ancestral memories of Ezio and Altair (making
his first return as a playable character since
the original “Assassin’s Creed”). This brings
us back to the familiar game play we’ve all
grown to love, with the sprawling city of Constantinople
serving as the gorgeous backdrop for slick stealth
kills and frantic, parkour-style escapes. Ezio
and Altair have reached their twilight years,
but they’re as nimble as ever. New tools like
the hook blade allow them to scramble up structures
with ease and then zip-line from one rooftop
to the next.
“Revelations” is best when it sticks to the
established formula. New additions, like a tower
defense mode, are less successful. As Templars
attempt to recapture districts of the city that
have been claimed by assassins, you stand on
a rooftop and bark orders at your underlings
to fight them off. Getting your own hands dirty
is much more fun than micromanaging from afar.
Brand new multiplayer modes do a good job of
translating for multiple people what works so
well in the single-player game. Deathmatch allows
you to stalk your prey, and Capture the Flag
embraces the joy of free running through crowded,
Renaissance-era streets. It’s all more of the
same, but the innovations of the original “Assassin’s
Creed” haven’t quite worn out their welcome
yet, and hopefully the next entry in the series
will take us to a wildly different historical
era and introduce us to another member of Desmond’s
murderous lineage.
‘Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary’
(M)
****
Microsoft Game Studios
Xbox 360
New developer 343 Industries has taken the
reins of the “Halo” franchise from original
developer Bungie, but before they show us their
new take on the “Halo” universe with “Halo 4,”
they’re giving us this remake of the game that
introduced us to Master Chief a decade ago.
The first “Halo” still has the best story of
the bunch, and the gameplay holds up remarkably
well — although some repetitive level designs
are beginning to show their age. The visuals
have been completely modernized, and if you
want to be reminded of how much graphics have
advanced in the last 10 years, the game allows
you to toggle between the old and new graphics
whenever you want.
‘LEGO Harry Potter: Years 5 – 7’
(E10+)
**1/2
Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment
Xbox 360
The last three books in J.K. Rowling’s beloved
series get the goofy, building block treatment
in “LEGO Harry Potter: Years 5 – 7,” which is
a bit too similar to “Years 1 – 4,” which, in
turn, was a bit too similar to every LEGO game
ever made. A Hogwarts hub world leads you to
all the major areas featured in the last three
books, where you’ll magically disassemble blocks
and reassemble them into something else with
the push of a single button. The “Potter” books
got more complex with the later entries. It’s
a shame the LEGO games can’t do the same. |
