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My wife and I will be going on a vacation to Europe starting tomorrow (9/15), and I won’t be back to post anything new until October 7th. 

Unfortunately, this means I’ll be missing the Halo 3 launch (and the launch events MS has planned for the Seattle area).  Sorry everyone, but the wife comes first.  When we booked the vacation several months ago, I didn’t expect Halo 3 to launch until October.  Whoops! 

Also, unfortunately, I will not be back in time to cover the World Cyber Games finals in Seattle WA (October 3rd-7th).  I will try, however to get info on the winners on the day I return & post up some info about it. 

Enjoy Halo 3 while I’m gone!  You’ll all have a head start on me by the time I get home to pop it into my 360. 

See you on the other side…

Another look at the massive Halo 3 Diorama - and keep an eye on Master Chief near the end:

This is the first teaser trailer for the upcoming “Diorama” in which a major scene from the Halo 3 trilogy was modeled by famous designer Stan Winston—to scale—in a massive 1200 square foot setup reaching 12 feet into the air.

Enjoy!

Halo 3 - Museum Trailer (WMV Format)

“The name “assassin” is commonly believed to be a mutation of the Arabic “haššāšīn” (حشّاشين).

 Although apparently known as early as the 8th century, the foundation of the Assassins is usually marked as 1090 when Hasan-i Sabbah established his stronghold in the Daylam mountains south of the Caspian Sea at Alamut. Hasan set the aim of the Assassins to destroy the power of the Abbasid Caliphate by murdering its most powerful members.” (Source - Wikipedia)

Hassasin - Hashashin - Assassin: whichever word you choose to employ, they are swift, deadly and not to be trifled with.  Are you ready to be one? 

Taking place 101 years after the foundation of the Assassins as described above, and inspired by actual historical events and characters, you assume the role of master Assassin Altair (الطائر, Arabic, “The Flying One”).  ”You are an elite Assassin sent to stop the hostiles by suppressing the powers on both the Crusader and Saracen sides.  But as you carry out your missions, a conspiracy begins to unfold. You find yourself tangled up in a conflict that threatens not only the Holy Land, but the entire world - Jerusalem - 1191AD.”  While the game begins in the sprawling city of Jerusalem, you will also travel to the equally detailed cities of Acre and Damascus during the game. 

All of the environments in Assassin’s Creed are fully interactive.  You can climb and go anywhere you wish.  If something sticks out from a wall as little as two inches, you can climb it.  While you cannot venture indoors too much, the vastness and detail of the outdoor environments should keep most explorers quite satisfied. 

Ubisoft has strived to make the gameplay in Assassin’s Creed conform more to ‘real world’ rules as opposed to ‘video game’ rules.  Your abilities are based on real human abilities (albeit, a human capable of jumping, climbing and moving like the world’s best Olympic athletes).  You can jump distances of 26 feet and jump vertically over 6 feet.  While a bit far-fetched for ‘real human abilities’, your exceptional agility will be necessary for navigating amongst the beams and rooftops of the cityscape (it should come as no surprise that the Ubi team from Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time is the same team who has been working for the past four years on Assassin’s Creed). 

Each city in the game is heavily populated with NPCs, each modeled on one of over 200 generic character models.  How you move amongst the crowd will have a direct influence on how these characters react to your presence.  If you walk through the crowd slowly, brushing past people or perhaps using a hand to gently move someone aside as you pass, then there will be little reaction to your presence.  You will be perceived by the NPCs as just another inhabitant of the city.  You can use this to your advantage to ‘hide’ in plain sight in the streets of the cities. 

If, on the other hand, you go charging through the crowd, weapons drawn, knocking people over or possibly even killing someone (which can become necessary sometimes as you attempt to flee the city guards), then the city’s inhabitants may fear you or could even band together to revolt against you, forcing you to find a route of escape.  Whether you choose to fight the guards or try to evade them is up to you.  Keep in mind, however, that there are quite a few guards in each city; and even if you kill all of the guards in the immediate vicinity, the rest of the guards in the city may still be on alert.  You can get away with dispatching a few for fun or as part of your escape, but you are not invincible.  The guards will measure their reactions based on other events and knowledge in the game - for instance, do they know yet that there is an assassin in the city?  If they do, you’d better watch your step. 

Control and movement in the game is very fluid.  Virtually all of your movement in the game (running, jumping, climbing, vaulting, etc.) is controlled by the left thumbstick.  However, this is augmented by different button presses corresponding to different body parts or actions.  Arms (with or without weapons drawn), legs, etc.; and the character animations involved will correspond to how you approach each obstacle (jumping over something vs. using your arms to vault over it, for example).  Then, of course, there is the move we’ve all see in the trailers: The Leap of Faith.  When you are high among the rooftops, there will be certain spots where you can perform this move - indicated by pigeons flying overhead.  Done correctly, you will land in a crate full of hay positioned below.  Miss the crate and you’re in for a world of hurt. 

LEAP OF FAITH VIDEO (.mov format - R-Click & Save Target As)

During combat, holding the right trigger will put you into defensive stance.  When in this stance, you will automatically parry attacks from your opponents.  The targeting system for attacks is very intuitive.  Just tap the left trigger to lock onto a target.  However, the system is dynamic and will automatically switch to a different target as soon as you are attacked by another enemy.  The targeting system is active regardless of the weapon selected; be it your fists, your sword, your Assassin’s blade, etc. 

Each attack you perform or movement you make appears to look and feel more ‘natural’ than most other action games I’ve seen.  This can be partly attributed to the vast number of animations in the game: over 10,000 in all.  You also get to control Altair 100% of the time.  You read that right.  Even during the game’s fully integrated cutscenes, you still have freedom of control and movement.  Essentially, you are controlling Altair all of the time, from the beginning of the game to the very end. 

After viewing the live demo of the game at this years PAX in Seattle, WA, I’m even more excited for this title than I was before.  It really looks to be shaping up nicely, and I’m really looking forward to getting my hands on the final build. 

Assassins Creed is due out on November 13th for the Xbox 360.  There will also be a collector’s edition released, which will include:

• A Collectible Altair Figurine
• A Short Strategy Guide
• Penny Arcade Comics
• A Bonus Disc Containing:
  • Winners of Assassin’s Creed Short Film Contest
  • Behind-The-Scenes Videos
  • Developer Diaries
  • Game Trailers
  • Interviews With The Game’s Producers

 If you’re still hungry for more Assassin’s Creed media, scroll down to my Day 2 Coverage of PAX ‘07 for more videos and pictures. 

Even with the amazing revenues the gaming industry brings in these days, it’s still rare that gaming and gamers are recognized or covered by the mainstream media. 

So it’s nice to see that one of the Xbox 360’s well-known community groups, GamerchiX, have been featured on latimes.com. 

Follow the link above for the full article.  Here are a few excerpts:

“American society has evolved since the advancement of women’s rights in the 1960s. But the world of video gaming has been largely stuck in a time warp with its frat house culture of sexual insults and put-downs.”

“The hostile climate has kept many women away from online gaming, she said. Microsoft says it doesn’t track the gender of its players, but Phillips estimates that 10% to 20% of Xbox Live’s 7 million players are women.”

“Phillips said the group was “awesome for empowering women,” but she thought Xbox Live needed a group that made online life easier for pros and newcomers alike.

“I wanted to create a safe place for all women gamers,” she said. “It’s a place where you can go to socialize and not have to worry about being harassed or hit on.”“

This week’s rant is about rumors and their place in the gaming world. 

Are rumors ‘news’?  This is a hotly debated issue in the world of video games.  The 360 has seen more than it’s fair share of rumors - some true, some not; and some we have no idea about…yet.  For example, have you heard that Halo 3 will be launching two weeks early (September 11th instead of September 25th)?  No?  Well this is one of several completely unfounded rumors currently circling in the gaming community. 

How do such ridiculous rumors get started, you ask?  Well, that all depends on the source.  Where did the rumor originate?  Most gaming rumors today begin on forums and message boards.  ‘Someone heard from someone that someone else said something’.  Sound farmiliar?   Now, whether or not you can take these rumors seriously can depend on a few different factors.  First off, who is the member on the message board posting the rumor?  Are they a well-known poster or someone who just created a new ID to post?  Also, who are they citing as their source?  Did they hear this from a friend, a game shop employee, an industry insider, etc.?   If the rumor you are talking about originated on a forum or message board, these two things are the most important factors to consider. 

Some well known industry professionals (for example: Xbox.com’s Major Nelson or Epic’s Tim Sweeney) have known ID’s on popular message boards, and are considered very trusted sources.  Several other sources, however, should be treated with skepticism.  If the person posting the rumor is citing a friend, a game shop employee, an un-named ‘industry insider’, etc. then get our your BS-detector.  That’s not to say that whatever rumor being proported isn’t true, but considering the source it must be viewed with a critical eye. 

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