Rumors have been circling the net for a few weeks now on the next Assassin's Creed. Instead of controlling the leaked info, Ubisoft decided to just officially announce it - The next Assassin's Creed is Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag, coming to PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii U, and PC.
It's a bit odd that they are quickly moving on to the fourth with just a year gap with the third. Not much information is given so far, all we get is confirmation and the box art suggesting a new assassin character, pirate themed, and the setting to be in the Caribbean? The box art for the PS3 also confirms exclusive 60 minutes of extra content, similar to before.
In Assassin's Creed 3, it featured amazing naval battles, and it looks like we'll be getting more of that in the next game. Ubisoft does promise more information about the game next week,
Is it too soon? Is the publisher squeezing whatever's left in this franchise? With the industry slowly entering the next generation, I'm surprised Ubisoft is still pushing a yearly release for Assassin's Creed. I won't say more until we get more info, but I do wish they tone it down a bit before the series just dies out from constant use.
Every time I browse online game stores whether it's from Xbox Live, PSN, or Steam, I always get tempted to get independent titles. I've experience great indie games that come out just as good or even better than some retail games priced at $60. Maybe it's the freedom they have to make the game? I'm not too sure, but indie games is always a breath of fresh air with an industry filled with sequels and games all about shooting people. 2012 was another great year for indie developers, but my Pick 5 is a mix of new and old games.
Super Meat Boy - $14.99
Release date: November 2010
To this day, if I want some good old fashion platforming that would really test my patience, I head back to Super Meat Boy on my Xbox 360. It was released in 2010, but I only got my copy of the game around 2011 and I'm glad I did. It's simply a 2D platformer with the goal of reaching the end of the stage, but don't think this will be easy. They have one of the most ridiculous stages and game mechanics, and since you die in one hit, the tension never goes away. There are around 300 stages in this game, and have a good amount of characters with unique abilities, so this title has a good amount of content.
FTL: Faster Than Light - $9.99
Release date: Sept 2012
This is actually one of the newest title in the bunch. FTL: Faster Than Light is a PC indie title that can kill your whole afternoon if you're not careful. This Real Time Strategy game let's you take command of a space ship that must deliver vital information to the allied fleet. You manage everything in your ship from, ship upgrades, ship repairs, which crew member mans a station on the ship, and do battle against other ships that you come across. This game is a time sink. When I finished downloading the game(only 157MB) I couldn't stop playing. This also has one fo the best soundtracks from an indie game so far.
Terraria - $9.99
Release date: May 2011
Terraria is a 2D action adventure platformer with a hint of RPG elements. This game is all about exploration and experimentation. You simply start with nothing and slowly create what you need to survive with the materials around you, Sounds familiar? There's no story, or objective. But as you go deeper into the world, more monsters and items will unlock, bosses will show up, and you instantly find yourself invested in this game.
Legend of Grimrock - $14.99
Release date - April 2012
Legend of Grimrock is old school dungeon crawlers return to modern gaming. This game is greatly inspired by past titles like Eye of the Beholder and Dungeon Master. You hardly see games like this anymore, but it's good that a very new indie developer took the challenge at bringing it back. As you go deeper in, you find weapons, level up, figure out clues, find hidden rooms, and trigger traps that will instantly kill you. The way the combat works may feel awkward for people unfamiliar with games like this, so have an open mind when you give this game a try.
Binding of Isaac - $4.99
Release Date: September 2011
This is one game that's disturbing and addicting at the same time. It's a top down 2D action adventure with a very strong replay value. It's a pretty tough game and every time you finish it, new items, bosses, and stages unlock, as well as more endings to see once you reach the end. Each time you play the game, your play style always comes out different thanks to the many random item upgrades you pick up, making each playthrough appealing. It's worth the investment if you are looking for a game that will never go dull after your first run through it.
Since Guild Wars 2 was released, Arenanet has kept its promise of releasing new content for players every month. For the month of Feb, they keep that promise rolling by releasing a trailer to show the new content for this month - Guild Missions.
The content this February is coming on February 26. The big feature is the addition of Guild Missions, giving guilds something to do together. Doing these missions give the guild merits, which can be used to unlock new perks and banners for the guild to use. There will be five mission types on release:
Guild Bounty – Your guild is tasked with tracking down and capturing various targets for the Orders. These people are wanted for a variety of reasons and have all sorts of tricks up their sleeves to resist arrest!
Guild Trek – Think you know Tyria? Well the Tyrian Explorer’s Society has a challenge for you! Find the list of locations before time runs out.
Guild Challenge – These challenges leverage our existing event system but are specifically geared to require multi-group, coordinated play to succeed. So gather your guild and see if you’re up to the challenge!
Guild Rush – Test your skills with a mad dash over harrowing terrain, traps, and other hidden dangers. Just remember, there’s safety in numbers!
Guild Puzzle – It’s a puzzle and a jumping challenge all in one! This mission type requires multi-group coordination as well as individual jumping skills to get to the treasure at the end.
I was an avid player for the first three weeks of Guild Wars 2, but with the many games releasing that year, I had to stop playing to give time for other games. But thanks to the constant updating from ArenaNet, there's always something new to check out, making it very easy for me to log in after a long break. I loved the game already as is, and adding the free content every month makes it even worth the investment.
If you are planning to get Irrational games next BioShock title on PC next month, maybe you should check out Steam and Green Man Gaming's pre-order rewards, because It's quite rewarding.
Steam
Pre-order and you get access to the Industrial Revolution pack for free, which includes three gear items, 500 bonus in-game money, five lock picks, plus the Industrial Revolution puzzle game. But that's not the interesting part. Steam is also doing the pre-order reward tier system for BioShock Infinite. As more people pre-order the game, the more rewards you earn. The first reward (already unlocked), gives you a free copy of the original BioShock. On the second reward, you get exclusive BioShock Infinite TF2 items. And the third and last reward is quite a treat, a free copy of XCOM: Enemy Unknown. Have a look at the pre-order yourself.
Green Man Gaming
Green Man is a bit more generous and provides a bit more freedom in what you get for pre-ordering. All pre-orders give you a free copy of BioShock and one free game of your choice out of the following games: BioShock 2, Spec Ops: The Line, The Darkness 2, Civilization V, and Mafia 2. You can have a look at the pre-order here.
This got me thinking. I'm definitely picking up BioShock Infinite, but I was planning to play it on my Xbox 360. Pre-ordering a digital copy of the game online to get free games is quite tempting. I'll need to think about this more before committing to anything.
BioShock Infinite comes out on March 26 for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and PC.
Indie developer Almost Human announced that their next project will be Legend of Grimrock 2. They were hard at work on adding DLC content for the first game, but decided to create a sequel with all the new content created so far. This is great news since Legend of Grimrock is one of the best indie titles to come out last year.
we are now officially working on… Legend of Grimrock 2! Creating a mere DLC or expansion to Grimrock simply would not have felt right. As today’s meeting proved, we still have a lot of ideas we’d like to explore, lots and lots of new content already done (originally made for a DLC/expansion) and a big engine update in the works. Simply put, a DLC would have limited too much what we can do. With a full blown sequel we can raise Grimrock to the next level.
If you haven't played the first Legend of Grimrock, and love old school dungeon crawlers , you're missing out. The PC-only game was out last year in April. It got an updated last year that added a user friendly dungeon editor, allowing players to created their own campaigns and share them to other players via Steam Workshop.
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Rumors have been circling the net for a few weeks now on the next Assassin's Creed. Instead of controlling the leaked info, Ubisoft decided to just officially announce it - The next Assassin's Creed is Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag, coming to PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii U, and PC.
