And the Game of the Year is...

It should come as no surprise that Assassin's Creed II is my game of the year. I loved the first one, and Ubisoft Montreal blew my mind this time around. Visionary, stunning, phenomenal. These are words to describe this game. And every single one is an understatement. Since i know for a fact that the people who read this blog have already beaten the game, I will skimp on gameplay and just go to some thoughts. IF YOU HAVEN'T FINISHED THE STORY DO NOT READ THIS BLOG.

The story is excellent. The quest for revenge, the massive conspiracy, the historical implications and the confusing ending all come together perfectly. The interesting thing about how the game plays out is that I didn't feel like I was playing a nicer looking version of Assassin's Creed I. With the well drawn characters, multiple settings and varied missions, I felt more like I was playing Grand Theft Auto IV. And it worked. Ezio completely eclipses Altair, and most of this year's video game characters for that matter. His complexity really reminded me of Niko Bellic. Each character gets a great backstory too. No one feels one dimensional. I loved the Mario joke too...

Now on to some gameplay. The controls feel like I'd never left the first game, and I love the new addition of being able to jump up and grab ledges to more quickly traverse buildings. However, I would love even more fluidity when free running. Maybe some ropes to swing from or a faster way to get down to ground level than just dropping down from ledge to ledge. Just a thought. The new weapons are nice but not really necessary since most kills come from counters anyway. But the three things that jumped out at me were the brilliant economic system, water, and glyphs. Hands down, I have a man-crush on this economic system. You upgrade your shit and things are cheaper. You buy better gear and you fight better. You do more for your town and you make more money. It's a system that actually matters. Next up, the water. The first time I jumped into the water, it was one of the most freeing moments I've ever experienced in a video game. This is probably because most free roam games don't incorporate water into play (the first Assassin's Creed didn't). But it was like Ubisoft was saying, "Yep, we broke the rules. Now there is no place you can't go." Going from a high rooftop all the way down in a glorious dive to evade enemies was one of my favorite parts of the game. Thirdly, the glyphs. Ryan, make a category for best collectable/findable and give it to this. 20 encypted messages that reveal a massive conspiracy throughout history all commentated by Subject 16's slow descent into madness. It makes Dan Brown look like a pussy. The complex puzzles are a nice break from combat and free-running, and the photographs of the likes of Harry Houdini, FDR and Ghandi with a piece of Eden cleverly placed inside is awesome. No detail is spared, including letters revealing the Templars and Edison ruining Tesla's plan to reveal a piece of Eden, Henry Ford giving his own piece of Eden to Hitler, and Oppenheimer using his to create the bomb. Bloody brilliant.

But now onto what I really want to talk about: Assassin's Creed III. Now all this will be speculation, as the Assassins say: Nothing is true. Everything is permitted. First off, if there is a third ancestor of Desmond, I imagine he or she will be in a time later than the Renaissance instead of before. The question is when? I personally believe that they will skip ahead some time. Remember that it has to be during a historical time of great importance, both politcally and socially. Also remember that the difference between the first game and second was 1476 from 1191, a difference of about 300 years. The next game could involve the Protestant Reformation, but that would mean Ezio would still be alive to some point of it beginning. Interesting if it could work. What's weird is that if you tack on 300 years to 1476 you get the American Revolution. Thomas Jefferson (among other Founding Fathers) were notable Free Masons, which is usually interpreted as modern day Templars. But there is also the possiblity of the Mexican American War, the Civil War, the War of 1812, Reconstruction of the South, the Industrial Revolution, and a million other events that could hold the next chapter in Desmond's story. Also keep in mind that the cryptic ending makes perfect sense with the Sun's geomagnetical reversal; the Mayans predicted the world would end that way in 2012 (the year the game takes place).

So that's my take and final blog of 2009. One final note: I got my final two ACII achievements, Messer Sandman and Sweeper, in a single fight, then was able to escape the guards by casually getting on a gondola and rowing away. LOL. Thanks Ubisoft Montreal. You deserve this award. I ♥ you. PEACE.