ASSASSIN’S CREED (M)
Rating: ****1/2
Ubisoft
Xbox 360
You don’t hear much talk about the game Thief: Deadly Shadows. It was a stealth game set in an unending night in Medieval times, but what was most remarkable about it was its sense of place. You would navigate through twisted streets and across hidden rafters and rooftops. Picking locks to enter buildings made you feel like you were able to reach places the game didn’t necessarily intend for you to go, and pickpocketing local pedestrians—all of whom came with unique dialogue—made you feel like you were inhabiting a living, breathing city. Of course, Thief did all of this through clever level design and sleight of hand. The amazing thing about Assassin’s Creed is that it doesn’t have to cheat.
You see that building? You can climb it. When you reach the top, you see that building that looks 10 virtual miles away? You can go to it. And when you get there, you can go inside, where you’ll find the interior as intricate as the exterior. The people you run into along the way—huge crowds of NPCs—all seem to have lives of their own. You’ll be shoved by a drunk or panhandled by a bum. It all seems so real. The game has assassination plots with storytelling highs and lows, but it doesn’t seem to matter. What matters is that you have the freedom to explore another world—one big enough to lose yourself in, and one you’ll want to lose yourself in.
ROCK BAND (T)
Rating: ****
Electronic Arts/MTV
Xbox 360
Essentially, buying Rock Band is like buying Guitar Hero, Taiko Drum Master and Karaoke Revolution all at once (and at full price). But once you’ve set up your expensive peripherals and invited a few friends over, something magical happens. The whole becomes greater than the sum of its parts. When everyone’s separate skill sets come together cooperatively in a single party game, it really makes you feel like you’re in a band. You may even get the urge to set it up in the garage.
RESIDENT EVIL: UMBRELLA CHRONICLES (M)
Rating: ***1/2
Capcom
Wii
Umbrella Chronicles is an on-rails stroll down memory lane for Resident Evil fans. In House of the Dead arcade fashion, you’ll gun your way through Raccoon City and several key events from Resident Evil 0, 1 and 3. The twist is that, this being a Resident Evil game, you still have to conserve your ammo, which means one-hit-kill headshots are a must, and oh-so-satisfying.
KANE & LYNCH: DEAD MEN (M)
Rating: ***
Eidos
Xbox 360
Anyone remember those levels in GoldenEye when you had to protect Natalia, but she kept getting shot (often by you, in frustration)? The single-player campaign in Kane & Lynch feels like that, with you constantly babysitting and reviving your dimwitted squad-mates. The multiplayer makes up for this somewhat, with a unique, team-based heist mode, where you’re actually encouraged to screw over your teammates and make off with all the loot.
When Las Vegas Weekly contributor Matthew Scott Hunter realized his career as a lab technician was seriously interfering with his gaming, he pink-slipped himself into a successful career as a freelance writer. Bug the hell out of him at [email protected]