Assassin's Creed Unity, the game that changed the Assassin's Creed franchise forever.

Step into the boots of Arno Dorian, an Assassin in Paris whose childhood best friend and later lover is the daughter of the Grand Master of the Parisian Templars in Assassin's Creed's take on Romeo and Juliet. As the French Revolution tears the city apart, engage in the most intense chapter of the Assassin-Templar war yet, with both factions fighting to steer the revolution in their own desired directions.

This game was supposed to be a love letter to everything that makes the Assassin's Creed franchise great. It has the deepest customization options of any Assassin's Creed game. Customize Arno's gear and weaponry to be a perfect fit to your playstyle. Are you the one to charge in with a heavy axe and bury it in the nearest enemy's skull? Are you the one to swiftly and gracefully assassinate multiple enemies at once in a cloud of smoke? Or are you somewhere in between? Unity allows you to create a perfect build with your favorite color and gear pieces to set yourself apart from the other hooded rogues that populate Paris.

Assassin's Creed's assassination missions are brought to new heights with a system called "black box" assassinations. These are sprinkled throughout the singleplayer campaign and all allow for multiple different ways to assassinate your target, meaning they never play out the exact same way. There are opportunities to steal keys to a building for easy access, distract a gala with a firework show, block chimneys to create a smoke screen, and other opportunities to help make each time you play the mission different. If the right conditions are met, you can perform a unique kill that comes with a cutscene which makes the kill all the more satisfying.

What really sets this game apart from the others is it includes multiplayer co-op. With up to three friends you can take on special co-op missions that really involve Arno in key events of the French Revolution. These are the most fun for me, as playing with others really enhances the experience. Even so long after the game was released you can still find people playing this, just don't be picky about which mission you'll be playing and you can still find matches.

The combat system takes getting used to, especially if you've played the games that came before it where you simply blocked an attack and then counter-killed the enemy that just attacked you. Those don't exist in Unity unless you are a significantly higher level than your adversaries. The parkour system is easy to learn but hard to master, so keep practicing with it and you'll be doing some of the best parkour that the franchise has to offer.

Some things that still kind of irk me about this game is that they've removed some features from previous games that I think would have enhanced this game, such as whistling, being able to move bodies, being able to use enemies as a human shield when you're about to be shot, and being able to hire groups like prostitutes and mercenaries to help achieve your goals.

I'll admit it took a while for me to like this game, and its disastrous launch set Assassin's Creed as a franchise on the path it is currently on that ultimately culminated with what we now see in Assassin's Creed Origins and Assassin's Creed Valhalla. All the game mechanics are a bit difficult to get the hang of at first but once you do, you'll be seeing some of the best of Assassin's Creed. Almost all of the bugs in the game have been fixed since launch, and it is a much more refined experience. I would even dare to say that in it's current state, this is one of the best Assassin's Creed games ever made.

Welcome to one of the most brutal but exciting times in world history, The Golden Age of Piracy.

The story begins with a young privateer named Edward Kenway doing battle in a storm off the coast of Cuba. During the skirmish, he locks eyes with a shadowy, hooded figure. After vanquishing this figure with his expert blade skills and looting the corpse, Edward takes the robes of an Assassin and a letter from the Grand Master of the Caribbean Templars, sweeping him up in the fight between the Assassins and Templars we know so well.

What do I love about this game? What makes it stand the test of time so well? Is it the exciting gameplay and atmosphere? That certainly has something to do with it. Few things are more satisfying than leaping and bounding across the rigging of a ship during a storm to assassinate a target. In what other game can you board a massive warship and clear the deck with cutlasses and flintlocks? It's something I could do for hours on end and not get tired of. And of course, just casually sailing the high seas while your crew serenades you with sea shanties makes me feel a way no other game has.

But another thing that makes this game one of the crown jewels of my collection is its unforgettable story. At the beginning of the story, Edward is a brash, arrogant, self-serving 22 year old. Although he has an estranged wife back home in Wales, he will never miss an opportunity that he thinks will make him rich, or a chance to take part in the drinking and whoring men of his occupation were known for, which often leads to trouble.

Over the course of the story he meets many well known pirates, including Charles Vane, Benjamin Hornigold, Jack Rackham, Anne Bonny, Mary Read, and of course Edward "Blackbeard" Thatch. He also soon learns that the life of a pirate rarely ends peacefully, witnessing most of their bloody deaths one after another. Through that he learns that in his pursuit of everything he wanted, he lost everyone he needed.

I think this is what makes Black Flag my favorite Assassin's Creed game of all time, because only after Edward has lost everyone and everything he cared about does he decide that he needs a cause greater than himself to serve, and becomes an Assassin. This is what sets him apart from the other characters in the series, who joined the Assassins because they were born into the order or because their goals aligned. Not to mention, Black Flag is one of the few games that has made me cry at the end, not only because of what happened but because I didn't want the game to end.

So what are you waiting for? There's plunder to be had, rum to be drank, sea shanties to sing and a breathtaking story to be told.

WARNING: Play Assassin's Creed II and Assassin's Creed Brotherhood before playing Revelations

It's now 1512, and an aging Ezio brings himself to Constantinople in search of answers. With new tools given to him the by the Ottoman Assassins, Ezio can use a hook-blade to enhance his parkour and craft bombs to fill a variety of purposes. Ezio believes Altair's library at Masyaf fortress holds the answers he seeks, and he begins his search through Constantinople for the keys to open it in the final chapter of his long journey as an Assassin.

I found this to be a thrilling culmination to one of the most beloved video game characters of all time. This is my personal favorite of all three of his games, and if you liked II and Brotherhood I'm sure you'll enjoy this one as well.

WARNING: Play Assassin's Creed II before playing Assassin's Creed Brotherhood, as it picks up right where Assassin's Creed II left off.

The House of Borgia is not happy with a now 40-year-old Ezio for his actions in the Vatican at the end of Assassin's Creed II. After Ezio barely survives their counterattack, he travels to Rome to exterminate them from the legendary city. He realizes he must fight a war, and in order to that, he wil need soldiers. Who are these soldiers? Any citizen who is willing to put on a hood and pick up a weapon to join the Brotherhood, of course. Summon them to assist you in combat or send them on contracts all across Europe to undermine Templar influence there.

If you liked Assassin's Creed II there's no reason you won't like this. It expands on everything that made II great and builds upon its shortcomings to make it even better.

Welcome to Renaissance Italy. It's 1476, and a 17-year-old Florentine noble named Ezio Auditore lives a life of comfort with a loving family and only one concern: chasing tail. After tragedy strikes, Ezio is swept up in a journey for vengeance that will take him across Florence and Venice over the course of the last few decades of the 15th century. With the help of his friends and well-known historical figures, including Leonardo da Vinci, Lorenzo de Medici, and Niccolo Machiavelli, and others, Ezio begins his journey to wipe northern Italy clean of the Knights Templar's influence, and in turn become a Master Assassin.

This game is the logical next-step in the Assassin's Creed series' development, with a more likeable player character, deeper customization options, and more advanced ways to assassinate targets, the most notable being the addition of twin hidden blades and the ability to use hidden blades in open combat. With the gorgeous backdrop of Florence and Venice and the amusing quips of Ezio, you would be remiss to skip playing this one. This is a great jump-in point in the series, as this is what most players consider to be the example of what a "traditional" Assassin's Creed game is like.

Assassin's Creed; the game that established a story that would last almost a decade and a half, and counting; The centuries-long struggle between the Assassin Brotherhood, a faction of hooded rogues fighting to bring peace via the free will of the people, and the Knights Templar, a monastic order bent on bringing about peace through control of the populace. It's 1191, and as the Third Crusade rages on, the Assassins and Templars continue their invisible war.

Step into the boots of Altair Ibn La-Ahad, an Assassin armed with a hidden blade, a weapon worn under the left wrist that shoots forward at the flick of the wrist, the signature weapon of all Assassins. Hunt for the nine Templars pulling the strings behind the scenes to keep the Crusades raging, gaining more advanced equipment with each kill.

If you've been eyeing the Assassin's Creed series but been overwhelmed by the massive volume of games in the series and aren't sure where to start, this is the very first game. The controls are a little bit difficult to get the hang of, but once you figure them out you'll be moving around Damascus, Acre and Jerusalem with the grace of a swan and the stealth of a ghost. Combat is simple, revolving around countering opponent's blows with your sword and then striking. If this doesn't sound fun to you, you won't miss out on anything serious by skipping it, but if you really want to dive into the game's lore, I recommend you pick this one up.

Well, here you are, probably stuck at home due to a pandemic and looking at a game involving the deadliest pandemic in history. I was there with you, and decided to buy A Plague Tale: Innocence, and it is certainly something special.

If you're like me and have gotten tired of most multiplayer games and looked towards single player games, then this is a solid choice. Follow Amicia and Hugo in their struggle to survive in a medieval France ravaged by plague-carrying, flesh-eating rats. If that's not enough, the Inquisition is also after them due to a mysterious affliction Hugo has that isn't the plague that he has had since his birth. Use your stealth and cunning to avoid this infamous organization and unravel the mysteries of Hugo's disease with the help of the friends you make along the way; Lucas the alchemist who can craft helpful concoctions, thieving twins Melie and Arthur who can pick locks and help you silently move around, and Rodric, who can silently take down even the heaviest armed guards and bash through doors. The way the characters interact with one another and the tender moments they share will get you to genuinely care for all of them. Most importantly, the bond Amicia and Hugo share and the innocence of two children cast into a extremely hostile and cruel world are the main points of the story. They do things typical siblings do, argue from time to time, but come together when they need to, as they quickly realize that they can't survive without each other. It is filled with many moments that will have you in shock and unable to breathe, but it also has many that will make you smile and find a bit of sunshine in this dark world.

The soundtrack perfectly captures each of these moments, consistently creating a heartwarming or gut-wrenching atmosphere at the appropriate times. The heart-stopping rapid violin strokes that play when rats appear or move to a new location makes my skin crawl. The sound effects are all perfect. The clinking of medieval armor as enemies walk, Amicia's heavy, worried breathing when she's hiding and an enemy is near, and of course, the chirps and squeals as the rats scurry about. Although the story is linear, it makes you want to go there, it makes you want to see what happens next. It grips you right from the beginning and doesn't let go until the very end. Each chapter feels different and makes you want to keep playing. This one was difficult for me to put down. Even when I managed to step away, I found myself constantly thinking about what might happen next. After just finishing Red Dead Redemption II, I didn't think I'd ever find a story better, but this one is definitely a strong contender. If I haven't explained it well enough, this game did win a Steam award for storytelling recently, and I believe it was deserved. The one negative critique I have for the story is that there are only a few "down moments" where the game is like "hey, there isn't much that will happen in the immediate future, you can put the game down for now if you like" but the game does use an auto-save feature that is usually conveniently placed, so you don't have to worry about losing too much progress.

The graphics are also stunning, and the game is well optimized, on Ultra I only had one or two hiccups in the entire playthrough, and they weren't at crucial moments, which I appreciated.

The gameplay is simple, but interesting. Amicia is trained with a sling, and she uses it and its various ammo types to interact with the environment around her to produce the desired outcome. It can be used to break objects, light and extinguish fires, attract rats (which can also be warded off with light or distracted with flesh) and many other functions that will help her achieve her goals. There is a lot of balancing light and darkness in order to get past the swarms of rats, and puzzles that require you to think a bit and use the elements around you in order to solve them. Stumped? No problem. the characters give voice lines that will give you a hint, in addition to a prompt to look at whatever the characters are referring to. I never found any of it tedious and was always curious as to what the next challenge would be. Although I died more times than I'm willing to admit, I still enjoyed the gameplay wholeheartedly, and I only had to look up what to do one time, early in the game before I was entirely familiar with the mechanics. An upgrade system also exists in the game, allowing Amicia to upgrade her sling, her attire, the functions of ammo types, and the carrying capacity of the materials she picks up. It is simple to understand, with just tiers that are unlocked when enough of the required materials are present. However, you have to consider how important said upgrade is in the situation you appear to be in, and what ammo types you may need. Without thinking carefully, you may make the game harder for yourself than you intended. There are also some collectibles for you to find. Hugo loves flowers, and often gives them to Amicia, which can be collected. There are also gifts you can find as keepsakes, and "curiousities", which are medieval objects that will provide more information about the Middle Ages and the many aspects of life during it. As a history buff I was particularly excited for these.

Now that I think I've covered everything important, I'll talk about the things that irked me a bit, and it's mostly nitpicking. The voice acting is phenomenal, and is provided in English, French, and German. For my playthrough, I chose to use the French voices, as it felt most appropriate as the game is set in France. I've noticed a bit of controversy about which language has the best actors, and it appears the English voices are most favored. Although the acting is great, their accents seem out of place to me. As someone who has experience with acting, I think both the English and French actors go a great job, so I say listen to both and decide which one you like better. Don't forget to enable subtitles if you can't understand French, should you choose to use their voices. Another similar thing that bothered be was there is a section where you interact with English soldiers, as the Hundred Years War is going on at the time, and they were speaking French. It hurt the immersion for me a bit, and I think it would make sense for them to be speaking English regardless of what language the game is being played in.

I also think the game is a bit overpriced for its relatively short length, however some might argue the quality makes it worth it. If you are interested in buying this, I'd personally say wait for a sale like I did. All in all, I'm glad I invested the time into this wonderful game that left me wanting more, as it should. Thank you Asobo Studios for a truly great story. I'm excited to not only play this again, but also see what else this studio produces in the future.

Edit: formatting

We've all played a game and thought "If they make video games into movies, this would be a great one."

Mafia II is definitely one of those games. Play as Vito Scaletta, an immigrant from a small town in Sicily in the mid 40s and early 50s, who creates one of the best rags to riches stories since Scarface. The jobs you partake in start small, like stealing cars and sticking up gas stations, but progresses to doing bigger jobs, like assassinations and raids. Meet new friends and slaughter your foes, but be careful who you trust, as some of them might not be as friendly as they seem. The absolutely amazing story will keep you zooming down the streets of Empire Bay going to the next job, all leading up the ending that will cause a tear to roll down your cheek.

This game is a classic, and I highly recommend it to anyone who likes crime games or Mafia culture.

So, you see this game everyone's talking about and want a piece of the action, huh? Hold on a second before you add this to your Steam cart.

I'm gonna start with what's obvious and everyone agrees on. The graphics are beautiful, probably one of the best I've seen ever. The dinosaurs are all unique and can be altered before birth by changing their genome to change their stats and appearance. Sound like a boatload of fun, right? Not everyone agrees....

There's still some problems that need to be fixed. Although it's a good thing the dinosaurs are unique and not just reskins of each other, they are so different in preference of social groups and preference of other species in the same enclosure that it's difficult to put diverse groups of dinosaurs together. I know what you're thinking, "Why don't you just build another enclosure?" That brings us to Problem #2. The buildable area is TINY. I like for my dinosaurs to have wide, open spaces, which means I can only fit maybe 4 enclosures on the islands, and that's on the reasonably sized ones.

Jurassic World Evolution still suffers from the problems a lot of building and management games suffer from, and that's a whole lot of grinding for hours on end. Let me read your mind again, you're thinking "Just watch the dinosaurs if you're bored." Yeah sure that's fun, if you like watching them aimlessly wander about, eat from feeders when they get hungry, drink when they're thirsty, communicate with one another, and start going ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ if they can't get enough of any of their requirements, which again, due to space, which you also have to juggle with facilities, like power stations and restaurants and gift shops and other generic ♥♥♥♥ like that, becomes difficult to satisfy. Because of this the island "variety penatly" is difficult to get rid of without remaking the movie this game was based on.

Verdict: I've enjoyed every minute of playing this, because I enjoy the challenge. But I can see why other people dislike this. I agree that it's not worth its hefty price tag. Wait for a sale if you really want this. I think it's a good start, but as with most games right after launch, there's room for improvement.

Some of these include:
Decorations
More ways to view dinosaurs
MORE BUILDING SPACE (biggest problem)
Different demographics of guests

I know there's gonna be a Fallen Kingdom patch at the time of the new movie releasing next week, hopefully they'll fix some of the problems with that patch. I really want to see this game improve, but I've leared that Frontier apparently loves blueballing their consumers with pretty visuals but lackluster gameplay. Truly a shame, people waited for a long time for a sequel to Jurassic Park: Operation Genesis, and this is what we got.

Yep. This is where the meme came from.

Do I need to explain more? Go to UGANDA, get the avatar and find da wae with yo bruddahs.