Posts Tagged ‘assassins creed’
Know This Developer: Ubisoft Montreal
As I was looking into doing a history on this fantastic studio I came upon an excellent reference that was so good there’s no point in me doing one. While it’s easy to rag on big media conglomerates, IGN’s Mitch Dyer did a fantastic story of the origins of Ubisoft Montreal that includes stories of Splinter Cell‘s origin, the reinvention of Prince of Persia, and the visual treat that is Far Cry. It’s a fascinating story that documents the major franchises you can thank that studio for and a must read for gaming history buffs like ourselves. Head on over and check out House of Dreams: The Ubisoft Montreal Story when you can.
Podcast: Heed the Call of the Creed
As a change of pace, we are discussing a current generation series that is widely regarded:Assassin’s Creed. This week’s guests are Chip Cella from the B-Team and Ali from 42 Level One and the entire series thus far is covered. Join us as we delve into the next generation of the Prince of Persia series about historical events in the ongoing battle between the Assassin Brotherhood and the Templar Knights. All music is from the soundtracks of each numerical title.
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***Due to technical issues we had to re-record this podcast with just Fred and Chip, the original with sync issues that is longer and includes Ali can be found here.***
Suquels: Newer Isn’t Always Better
Okay so the title (pronounced “suck-wells”) is a tad unsophisticated as is the concept it implies, but frankly I’ve had it up to my ears in recent sequels that don’t even remember what made their predecessors great. Congratulations gaming, you’ve now entered into the same dangerous realm Hollywood has where production budgets are so great that the slightest tweak can result in a hit or miss product. Don’t get me wrong, this isn’t a new problem – ask anyone who was around for the crankfest that was the Mega Man series on the NES and they will tell you that it peaked at either Mega Man 2 or 3 and then tapered into oblivion. Don’t misunderstand me, though, these games aren’t bad by any stretch, they just can’t live up to the quality of the previous game. I know what you’re thinking, you’re wondering how one goes about topping Uncharted 2 within the same series or competing with the achievement of Legend of Zelda. In short, perhaps you don’t. Maybe its high time that publishers, because they are the boss, understand that some games run their course. On the other hand God of War 2 was definitely the apex of that series but thanks to a console generation between the second and the third, it was refreshing to receive a sequel that looked so much better. There’s a formula that works, so stop worrying about your own personal issues or listening to too many focus groups and do your best to capture the magic of the property. Please keep in mind that like the mantra of Scream 2, trilogies are not considered sequels in my eyes and thus are awarded certain liberties as a result. That doesn’t mean I’m not going to rip into the entire trilogy once the third releases if obvious oversights weren’t dealt with.
Gaming History 101 