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The Defense Grid: Containment DLC adds 8 new levels to the game, comprising 4-5 challenges each. The levels feature a continuation of the storyline where the main game left off and also introduces a couple of new characters, which is pretty cool (though the voice acting leaves much to be desired). Although some of the new levels feature different types of environments, nothing has fundamentally changed about the core gameplay (same towers, same strategies, etc). And just to be clear - I'm not saying that's a bad thing. This is pretty much all I want or need out of a Defense Grid DLC. That said, I do have one slight disappointment, which is that these levels all seem particularly easy (or maybe I've just gotten better at the game... I dunno). Regardless, if you're like me and just find this game fun and relaxing to chill out with, then picking up this add-on is a no-brainer.

If you enjoyed the Trine 2 base game, or just enjoy looking at pretty things, don't hesitate to pick up this DLC. It's more of the same gameplay, but the 6 additional levels take place in completely new environments that will make you go "ooooh" and "aaaah" all over again. Also, they finally included a tough boss at the end. I recommend playing with at least 1 friend for maximum enjoyment. Good stuff.

After 5 years and 4 games, you would probably expect the 5th game in a series to be pretty close to perfect, right? Sadly, that is not the case with Assassin’s Creed III. It’s not a bad game, but it also doesn’t exactly rise to its full potential.

Plot-wise, AC3 closes the book on the first major chapter in the Assassin’s Creed storyline. Although Desmond's quest concludes, the ending leaves enough unanswered questions to allow for future games (though I suspect many may feel the actual ending is a bit anticlimactic). The bulk of the game takes place in Boston and New York during the American Revolution and feels quite different from its predecessors. Part of the "mystique" of those games is, I believe, the unfamiliar settings. Conversely, the setting in AC3 is much more familiar to people and I think it diminishes the impact a little bit. I don’t exactly fault them for it, as I think it’s a good idea to switch things up, but just be aware that you might not get the same "wow factor" as from previous games.

One thing that *did* bring the wow factor, at least for me, is the world they built. In addition to Boston and New York, there is also an expansive wilderness to explore. These areas are not only enormous, but visually beautiful (at least, with all the PC settings cranked to the max). Maybe I’m just an old fogey or easily impressed, but I really was amazed at what they were able to pull off technically, in terms of the environments.

You play as Connor, a young Native American. He doesn’t start out as an Assassin, but comes to learn the way of the Order after a series of events lead him to discover his destiny. The character is interesting, but not as immediately likeable as Ezio. One of the annoying things about the game is how they’ve made Connor into an 18th century Forrest Gump - he always somehow happens to end up at (or play a part in) seemingly every major event leading up to and during the Revolution. I know the idea behind this series is that history isn’t exactly what we thought it was, but AC3 really stretches it to levels of absurdity.

Gameplay-wise, AC3 is a lot like its predecessors (which is good), but somehow they managed to take steps backward in a number of areas. For one thing, they decided to completely change the control scheme (after spending 4 games perfecting it): combat and free-running are now handled differently (requiring a bit of time to re-learn), targeting is a mess, the weapon and map menus have been changed for the worse, and the stealth mechanics sometimes don't work at all. A lot of it just feels totally half-assed. And don’t even get me started on the bugs. I can’t recall any other game I’ve played that was as buggy as AC3. I would run into a completely new bug seemingly every hour, many times having to reload checkpoints or restart in order to continue.

But not everything is bad. As I said, the environments are amazing, and the gameplay is generally OK once you’ve settled into the new control scheme. So it’s more of the standard AC formula, and that’s not a bad thing (when it works). New to AC3 are naval missions, which look amazing and feature awesome water-based physics. I had fun with these bits, but I can also see how some people might get bored with them, as they are a bit repetitive. Luckily, these missions are mostly optional.

Ultimately, AC3 is a good, but slightly disappointing game. Do the negatives completely ruin the experience? Not really... but it is nonetheless a disappointment when a game like this has so many rough edges. For fans of the series, it is still worth playing, especially since it concludes the story. For those who haven’t yet played an AC game, however, I would recommend starting with either AC2 or Brotherhood instead.

Grade: B-

Note: I don’t recommend playing any of the Assassin’s Creed games unless you have an Xbox360 controller (or equivalent-featured gamepad). The AC games have complicated control schemes and were clearly designed with controllers in mind, so proceed with mouse/keyboard at your own risk.

Assassin’s Creed: Revelations is the 3rd game to feature Ezio Auditore, and the 4th game overall. While it doesn’t really move the present-day plot along very much, it does conclude both Ezio’s and Altair’s (the protagonist of the first game) storylines, effectively wrapping up every major loose end before the start of AC3. The game primarily features an older, mid-16th century Ezio, on a quest to learn more about Altair and the Assassins. This leads him from Masyaf to Constantinople, where the majority of the game takes place.

The new setting of Constantinople is visually nice and as usual is a cool place to explore. However, it feels smaller than previous games. My feeling is that making this game was most definitely more of a financial than a creative decision. In other words, because of having to crank out a new game on a yearly basis, the scope of Revelations had to be reduced. This is not only reflected in the smaller size of the world, but also in many of the creative aspects. There are no major changes to the established formula that one might expect from a series on its 4th iteration. The mission types and game mechanics are all pretty much the same as in Brotherhood and AC2. Luckily, that means that the game is technically near-flawless... however, on the flip-side, it’s creatively a bit stale.

The one major thing that Revelations introduces is a sort of "tower defense" sub-game, which involves (you’ll never see this one coming) defending towers using various types of Assassins and defenses. However, this is an odd addition, as I came to find out, it can potentially be avoided entirely. You see, these missions supposedly only pop up when your notoriety gets too high, but if you manage to keep your notoriety low and assign Assassins to each of your towers (as I did), you will never experience this mini-game beyond the initial tutorial. I had completely forgotten this was even a thing until I was just now thinking about what new mechanics were added to this game. So unfortunately I can’t speak to how good or bad this new addition was. It just seems an odd choice to add this whole mechanic and then not have it be a mandatory part of the main game.

One other new gameplay addition comes in the form of a series of optional 1st-person puzzle levels. These are available in the present day Desmond sections, and serve as a way to tell the story of his past. These levels are really hit or miss. The 1st-person controls are awkward and the abstract nature of the levels is a bit odd. I thought the idea was interesting, but eventually the whole process became quite tedious. Your mileage may vary on these levels. They are completely optional, however, so there is nothing lost by avoiding them, except some Desmond back-story. Incidentally, there is also a DLC pack featuring similar levels which fills in the story of Subject 16 (Desmond’s Animus predecessor) and Lucy Stillman. If you like the style of these levels, you may be interested in checking that out, but I’m not sure it’s worth the price (I recommend just watching the important bits online).

At any rate, the main draw in this game is clearly what it does to conclude the storylines for Altair and Ezio. For that reason alone, it’s worth checking out if you are a fan of the series or either of those characters in particular. However, just keep in mind that other than that, this game is literally just more of the same, with little innovation. If you played the previous games and find yourself tiring of the AC formula, Revelations likely won’t satisfy you from a gameplay aspect. But, if you can handle one more round of the same thing, this is a nice ending to the first part of the AC story, and worth checking out.

Grade: B

Note: I don’t recommend playing any of the Assassin’s Creed games unless you have an Xbox360 controller (or equivalent-featured gamepad). The AC games have complicated control schemes and were clearly designed with controllers in mind, so proceed with mouse/keyboard at your own risk.

Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood is a direct continuation of Assassin’s Creed II, in pretty much every sense. The story picks up exactly where the last one left off (both in the past and the present), and the game mechanics are more or less identical. In some ways, the need for this game to exist seems a bit unnecessary (i.e. it feels more like the result of a corporate mandate to make an annual franchise than a creative decision). That said, it’s forgivable if only for the fact that it’s just as good as its predecessor, if not better. Part of what feels forced is the contrived story revolving around Ezio losing his Apple of Eden and having to retrieve it. But there you go... it is what it is - basically, a flimsy excuse to move to a new setting and do more cool things with a well-loved character.

The game takes place in the early 1500s, almost entirely in Rome. While that may sound like a reduced scope in setting from the prior games, it’s actually not. Rome is huge. Like, really huge. There are also a few other places that you get to explore in some of the main story missions as well, so there is plenty of variety in the environments. As usual, it’s a lot of fun just to explore the city and discover its secrets. Brotherhood also greatly expands the role of horses (you can ride them pretty much anywhere), and there are some fun combat mechanics added as well. The missions in the game are similar to those from AC2, so nothing major has changed on that front. The other primary mechanics introduced in AC2 (notoriety, blending, etc) all return here as well and are also just as good.

The main addition this game brings to the series is the titular Brotherhood. Ezio can now recruit citizens to the Assassin Brotherhood. As you progress through the game, more recruit slots are unlocked. Once recruited, you can call your Assassins to assist in combat or send them on missions in a sort of optional sub-game. Doing either of these things awards XP to the recruits and eventually they level up and become more powerful. Though hardly revelatory by any means, it’s a fun new aspect to the game and is a welcome addition.

While Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood doesn’t really do anything groundbreaking or expand on the established formula in any major way, it is still worth playing if you enjoyed AC2. While it is essentially more of the same, at least it’s a *good* more of the same.

Grade: A-

Note: I don’t recommend playing any of the Assassin’s Creed games unless you have an Xbox360 controller (or equivalent-featured gamepad). The AC games have complicated control schemes and were clearly designed with controllers in mind, so proceed with mouse/keyboard at your own risk.

Assassin’s Creed II is what the original Assassin’s Creed should have been. With the inner workings of an engine already in place and two years to work with, the developers were able to produce a game that proves the potential of the series. AC2 successfully builds on the formula that was established in the first game and manages to improve upon what worked and fix most of what didn’t. The story picks up where the original left off, with Desmond Miles (and some new allies) on the run from the Templars. But this time he’s going back into the Animus willingly to re-live the memories of another ancestor, an Assassin named Ezio Auditore, in order to brush up on the Assassin skills that he’ll need for the battle ahead. Ezio’s story takes place in 15th century Renaissance Italy, primarily in the cities of Florence, Forli, and Venice.

The environments are, as usual, the most interesting element in the game. The sheer scope of the cities and all of the activity going on within is amazing. Just exploring the city, climbing buildings, etc is pretty fun in and of itself, but what you actually get to do in those cities is what elevates AC2 so far above its predecessor. The missions are no longer a series of boring identical tasks cranked out of some tedium factory. Instead, there is a huge variety of mission types and new game mechanics to go along with them. You now have the ability to blend into crowds at will, hire groups to assist you, and much more. Another welcome change is the addition of a “notoriety” system, where you gain notoriety by performing suspicious or illegal actions. Guards will typically only attack you on sight if your notoriety is high or if they see you doing something illegal. This is a huge and most welcome change from the first game, where you’d end up being attacked for the most ridiculous of things (you know... atrocities such as walking too fast). Combat is also improved from the first game. Although it’s still ultimately really easy, it remains fun due to the sheer variety of things you can do (there are lots of different weapons to try and a whole series of new techniques).

In addition to the main quest, there is also a ton of other stuff to do. Dozens of optional side missions are available, as well as a series of levels that take place in unique environments that utilize the free-running and platforming elements of the game to great effect (think Prince of Persia style tombs). There is also a “home base” Villa area that you can spend time upgrading and exploring if you wish. Doing so awards you with income that can be used to buy further improvements, more weapons, paintings, etc. This can potentially add hours of playtime and is completely optional. Such is the scope of this game. Perhaps my favorite “extra” bit this game offers is a sub-quest dubbed "The Truth". Hidden throughout the environments are glyphs that grant access to a series of puzzles, that when solved, unlock tiny portions of a mysterious video (which, when fully decoded, truly expands the mythology underlying the whole series).

What really makes all of these elements come together so well is the main character of Ezio. He is just a likeable guy and is fun to play as. It’s really as simple as that. All in all, it’s hard to ask much more from a sequel. While yes, there are still some flaws here and there, there was nothing that ruined the experience for me to any large degree. Maybe part of it is just how leaps-and-bounds better AC2 is than AC1 that it’s easy to be more forgiving of any blemishes. I suppose that could be it. But then again, it could just simply be that a good game is a good game... I’m inclined to think that’s probably the case here.

Grade: A-

Note: I don’t recommend playing any of the Assassin’s Creed games unless you have an Xbox360 controller (or equivalent-featured gamepad). The AC games have complicated control schemes and were clearly designed with controllers in mind, so proceed with mouse/keyboard at your own risk.

Assassin’s Creed is a game with lots of cool ideas that ultimately fail to come together cohesively. You just get the feeling that the developers were forced to release whatever they had done for the 2007 holiday season, whether it was ready or not. In that way, it reminds me a lot of the first Mass Effect - lots of great ideas, cool story and universe, but ultimately not as good as it should have been (which, like AC, was mostly rectified with the second game in the series).

But first things first... let’s break down what works and what doesn’t. As mentioned above, what works are the ideas the game puts forth, both in terms of story and gameplay. The story centers on a clandestine battle between two orders - the Assassins and the Templars. You play as Desmond Miles, a present-day descendant of Assassins, who has been captured by an organization named Abstergo (the modern day corporate face of the Templars). Using a device called the Animus, Desmond is forced to re-live the memories of his ancestor, an Assassin named Altair, in order to find a mysterious artifact.

The game is played from Altair’s point of view and takes place in the cities of Jerusalem, Damascus and Acre, circa 1200. It is here that you can see where the majority of the work was put into the game. The cities are sprawling, alive, and built with tons of detail. You really do almost feel like you could be in those places at that time. It’s quite impressive, technically. Gameplay centers around two main mechanics - free-running and combat. Free-running allows you to run across streets, rooftops and climb buildings in a fluid manner. When it works, it’s great fun, but oftentimes you’ll accidentally fall off buildings or jump in a completely wrong direction or climb something you didn’t want to, etc. Clearly the developers hadn’t worked out all the kinks yet. The combat is interesting, but nothing special. There are lots of options and it looks great in motion, but it’s not particularly difficult or engaging. Simply mashing buttons usually works in most cases. However, you can clearly see the potential in it. So again... good ideas, but not yet implemented as well as they could be.

Where the game ultimately fails is in the design. Assassin’s Creed 1 can basically be boiled down to the following: go to a city, climb a few towers, beat up a few people (or some other menial task), assassinate a high-priority target, return to home base. Repeat this 9 times and you’re done. It’s all very tedious and gets boring quickly. While there are a few different types of tasks and side missions that you can do in the cities, none of it really rises above being mediocre. The most interesting parts of each chapter are the final assassinations, but even in these cases, the verdict is mixed. Instead of actually being able to sneak around stealthily and assassinate your targets, many of these encounters just end up turning into a big brawl (not exactly what one would expect in a game involving secret assassins).

Ultimately, the game is promising, but flawed. The ideas underlying the story are definitely cool and the environments are really nice (for their time), but as a game, it is simply average in most respects. It also doesn’t help that the Altair character isn’t terribly compelling and nothing really interesting even happens until the very end. That said, this game is worth checking out if the premise intrigues you and you think you might be interested in the series as a whole (which, for the record, DOES get better). If you think that might be the case, my recommendation would be to either skip this game entirely and watch all of the cut-scenes/ending online, or play through it doing only the barest minimum needed in order to continue.

Grade: C

Note: I don’t recommend playing any of the Assassin’s Creed games unless you have an Xbox360 controller (or equivalent-featured gamepad). The AC games have complicated control schemes and were clearly designed with controllers in mind, so proceed with mouse/keyboard at your own risk.

NightSky is a very short, but neat, physics-based puzzle platformer. You control a ball which must be rolled through a series of levels, solving various puzzles along the way. The game does a good job of easing you into the various different techniques required to progress. It starts off easy, with simple things like speeding up and slowing down to control momentum, then advances to more complex tasks such as changing the spin of the ball on walls and slopes to fling yourself to otherwise unattainable heights. Along the way, you'll also have to solve a number of puzzles involving objects such as balls, cannons, rotating platforms, wagons, blocks, an assortment of different ball-powered vehicles, and more.

Complementing NightSky's solid physics gameplay is its unique graphic-style. The levels are rendered in a dream-like palette of rich hues in the background and stark black terrain and objects in the foreground. It really is quite impressive and soothing to look at. Add in some subtle music that plays from time to time, and it all comes together nicely. If you're like me, you'll also find yourself wanting to take a screenshot of nearly every screen, because there's always something neat to look at. That said, one major downside to the graphics (and the game in general), is that it only runs at an extremely low resolution. This is a seriously unfortunate issue for a game like this that depends so much on its visuals to stand out. Additionally, the game doesn't even run full-screen properly. In order for it to run full screen (albeit with "blown up" visuals), you should make sure to download the "unofficial" 1.1 patch from the developer's web site (more info below).

That one major issue aside, this is still a game that is worth checking out. Between the solid gameplay and the beautiful visuals, there's a lot of variety packed in such a small package. And small, it is - the game can be fully completed in around 3-4 hours. Once finished, there is an extra bonus level that can be unlocked by finding a series of hidden "stars" throughout the main quest (don't worry, the game tells you which specific sub-levels the stars are hidden on, so it's fairly easy to find them all). But aside from that, there's not much else here. There is supposedly an HD version in the works (which will in theory fix the one major issue noted above regarding graphics resolution), so it may even be worth waiting in case that ever materializes. Regardless, whether you get the current version or hold out for a true HD update, this is a game that is worth experiencing if you're a fan of physics puzzlers or games with unique styles and gameplay.

*** Note about updating the game: The default download that comes from Steam runs in a very low resolution that can't be changed. However, there is a post in the developer's forums (and also in the official Steam discussions) which links to an updated executable (NightSky11.exe). I recommend downloading this. Rename the original "NightSky.exe" in your SteamApps folder and replace it with the 1.1 version (rename it "NightSky.exe". This version allows the game to run full-screen, though unfortunately not at a higher resolution (so the graphics will be slightly blurry). Still, it's much better than nothing.

Wizorb is an Arkanoid-style brick-breaking game, dressed in the style of an 8-bit fantasy RPG. --- Side thought: what is up with this retro RPG style trend lately? At first it was novel, but now it's getting a bit old --- Anyways... despite that, this is still a fun little game for fans of the genre.

For those who don't know what this type of game is, you basically move a paddle at the bottom of the screen left and right, hitting a bouncing ball back and forth towards the top of the screen in order to destroy various types of objects and enemies. You also have the ability to use a handful of power-ups such as shooting fireballs from the paddle and slightly altering the course of the ball, among others. The game consists of 5 worlds comprised of around a dozen levels each (which makes the experience only 3-5 hours long, unless you are a completionist). Between levels, you can also visit a sort of "hub town" where you talk to characters and help them out by giving them money. It's a neat side aspect of the game, but really doesn't offer all that much to the core experience other than a little background story and a few extra items and achievements. So unless you are down with the core brick-breaking gameplay, there's nothing much else here to recommend for you.

The game was well worth the small asking price for me. One of my favorite games as a kid was the original "Breakout" for the Atari 2600, so I have always had a soft spot for these brick-breaking style games. If you aren't a fan of that style of game, then nothing about Wizorb will change that. However, if you've enjoyed games like that in the past, then this will definitely give you a few hours of solid mindless fun.

Faerie Solitaire is... yep, you guessed it - solitaire with a "faerie" theme. And that's more or less all there is to it, with a few twists.

As far as the gameplay goes, I don't know if this is based on a real type of solitaire card game or if the rules were made up specifically for this game, but it definitely is NOT based on the standard rules of solitaire that I know (e.g. the type that Windows solitaire is). It's much more simple. In fact, it's as simple as a game can possibly be. Seriously. All you do is choose cards that are either one value higher or lower than your "foundation" card. Repeat this over and over again, trying to build combos and clear all the cards from the screen. Card color and suit make no difference at all (which makes me wonder why the cards even have suits, but whatever). Aside from the need to strategize a tiny bit, which is required to get "perfect" hands (clearing all cards on the screen), not much skill or deep thought is needed. It's a very easy game. At least, the main "adventure" mode is. There is also a series of challenge levels available, but those are only moderately more difficult than normal.

Two additional factors distinguish Faerie Solitaire from being just a standard card game: the use of "power-ups" and the story that accompanies the gameplay. The power-ups are special abilities that can be unlocked using cash you earn by playing. For example, you can purchase the ability to see the next card on the pile, unlock additional "undo"s, etc. Power-ups are especially helpful later on when the requirements to proceed or attain perfect hands become a bit more challenging. The story plays out between hands in the adventure mode and involves some dude trying to save fairies or something... I honestly just kinda rolled my eyes at these parts because it was really kind of cheesy and pointless. It's not a game killer by any means, but it's also not really integral to the experience (title aside). The game also includes a bunch of collectible eggs that - unless I am completely missing something - don't seem to have any purpose... so I am really not sure what the point is in having them. One final negative is that the game only runs in a very low resolution.There are no options to change this, unfortunately.

So what do we have? A very easy, good-but-not-great (but addicting) solitaire game intertwined with a cheesy fairy-tale story. Though that may not be a glowing endorsement, this game does have a few good things going for it. If you enjoy mindless laid-back solo time-killers like solitaire, you will probably like this. It's perfectly suited to short pick up and play sessions. And while the difficulty level is low, in this case, that may not necessarily be a bad thing. It lends itself nicely to the laid-back time-killer vibe, but also coupled with the faerie story and collectible eggs, seems like it might be a good game for kids (I haven't tested this theory, but just something to keep in mind). If you don't care for solitaire in any form, nothing else about this game will change that for you. Otherwise, this is good as a mindless time-killer if you can pick it up on the cheap.