This post is going to kind of work as a supplement to my “Broken Addiction” post from a few days ago. Among the things I mentioned that I have time to do now, considering I no longer have to think about WoW, is the ability to enjoy some other games. I’ve been playing the crap out of “Dragon Age: Origins,” but I decided that I should give some other stuff a try too. So I finally picked up “Assassin’s Creed II” and started digging into that. This is also from some pressure from Lando to play it because it’s his game and I’m sure he’ll want it back soon.

This game is so very awesome so far! The original “Assassin’s Creed” was a fantastic game but it also had a lot of shortcomings that I believe they fixed in this one. The old game got pretty repetitive pretty fast, which was really unfortunate because they put an awful lot of work into the style. The guys at Ubisoft, the company that developed the game, said that they just didn’t have as much time to flesh out the content as they really wanted. They spent tons of time working out the game engine, which explains the excellent combat and free-running system, but didn’t have time to really give you a whole lot to do with it. All of that changed with “Assassin’s Creed II.” They already had the framework done so they spent a few years really fleshing out content and adding some features. More missions, more climbing, SWIMMING, and plenty of other stuff has been added to make this game so very enjoyable. Loving it so far.

So I dug into Assassin’s Creed but I also downloaded a couple demos of some games that I’m interested in playing. One of those is “Dante’s Inferno.” There is a ton of controversy surrounding this game, and I totally understand why. Having played through the first couple scenes, you get a really good grasp on just what a “Mature” rating can mean in a game. There’s boobs within the first 10 minutes! BOOBS in a game! Who would have thought? It’s about time if you ask me. The ESRB, the ratings board for games, is way too hung up on nudity when they are willing to let somebody entrails me ripped out and spread across the floor without even a blink. This is a fundamental problem in America that I think needs fixed. I’d rather kids be shown a boob or two than some poor guys head getting ripped off, spit on, and then shoved up his rear. Anyway, I’m going way off topic. This game is so very gruesome. It’s got a quick, button mashing style of gameplay which I really dig. A lot of people have compared it to “God of War”, which I actually can’t do because I’ve never played that game. The closest thing I could think of to it is “Ninja Gaiden.” Yes, I have to go back that far in order to find a game in my memory with a combat system similar enough. Clearly I don’t play enough games.

I guess what I’m trying to say is that it’s a crazy romp through Hell where you slash the crap out of demons and have to deal with the sins you committed in your life all to save your wife who was struck down and taken straight to Hell so very unjustly. There, done! The guys who made it based it on “The Divine Comedy,” which I’ve never read because it’s all Old English and probably way over my head anyway. Kind of like reading the original “Beowulf.” It’s just not something I’m going to run out and do, although I’m sure the original story is fantastic. Somebody tell it to me someday.

So the next big adventure for my Xbox after I finish “Assassin’s Creed II” will hopefully be “Army of Two: The 40th Day.” Steph and I played the original together and have never had so much fun with a console game. I love marrying a girl who is into video games. She’s amazing, our future is going to be so very grand .