GamerNode's Mike Murphy writes..."There are several different elements that go into a game when it is made. Several factors that developers need to consider when creating their next product for the gaming masses. Factors that determine how the game looks, sounds, feels, and plays. These aspects are dissected and analyzed by reviewers in magazines, newspapers, and websites to determine whether games are bad, good, or great.
Many people wonder just which elements are the most important. Do good graphics trump poor level design? Can a great soundtrack make up for gameplay lapses? Can an unforgettable story be remembered if the main characters faces look like blocks? I have my own belief and theory on just what aspects of a game are the most important and which among them is most important of all."
Pure Arts Reveals Borderlands Collectible that fans should l8ve.
IGN - Assassin's Creed's focus on character-driven storytelling has been buried by its RPG sandbox features, and the series is weaker for it.
A rare W opinion piece from IGN.
IMO, Ubisoft needs to setup two primary AC dev teams. 1 would focus on and release character-driven OG-style AC games for OG fans and the other would continue the current RPG-ified AC style for current fans.
Release by them Bi-annually and alternatively. There'd less fatigue and a boost to quality.
I definitely appreciate 3 more after playing it again in recent years along with the Liberation game. Back when 3 was new I was still riding high on AC2 and Brotherhood so when I played 3 I felt a bit let down. Even the ship battles grew on me.
AC2 - Yes
AC3 - Urm...I don't know
I feel they kind of dropped the ball with AC3 and with the way the story went it just didn't make sense to me at all. I felt it would have made more sense lore wise if they had it so the Red Coats were mostly Assassins and the Templars were mostly the Colonists who wanted this "new world" as a fresh start for their operations, to build a country up they'd have full control of from the start so they manufacture the war as something else while really it's just a front for the Templars vs Assassins.
It just meant that since the Red coats lose the war it explains how the Templars have gained full control of future America and how the Assassins have slowly died out by then. This entire event would have been the turning point of how things went to s**t for the Assassins and how there's not many of them left in the present.
Haythem was a lot more interesting than Connor and he should have been the main Assassin of AC3.
I thought AC2 was the greatest of the series and it is but replaying it recently, I stared to see more flaws in the game. Basically every single mission is an assassination besides a few tailing missions lol. Still, the implementation of all the new mechanics were great. The smoke bombs, disarming guards, story, hidden tombs, swimming, flying machine, multiple locations, etc. it definitely felt a bit more special to me at the time of release though
Dunno about 3, the 1st act was cool, then i couldn't tell you what happens after that. But 2 was so good! The entire acts 1-3 were al memorable, whereas i really couldn't even tell you what happens in any other AC game
Kazuyuki Shindo, who worked on games including Legend of Mana, Final Fantasy XIII, and SaGa: Emerald Beyond, has left Square Enix.
I have to say that I really disagree with this column. It's a pet-peeve of mine when someone tries to separate all these elements to deduce a score out of it. SomethingAwful had a great review of Deadly Premonition where they admit that when looked at in isolation, each individual component wasn't that good. But taken as a whole, it blended together very well. Sure, I like good graphics, but if a game has poor ones but is good in every other capacity, you stop looking at them early on. Design and gameplay is more important, but what would you say of a game like Killer 7 that has poor straight-forward repetitive design and gameplay, a confusing story, yet is consistently intriguing? You have to look at how these elements come together as that's what counts.
A good story