Game of the week
Although Need for Speed: Most Wanted came out this week and I love fast-paced racing, the obvious choice for this edition is Assassin’s Creed III. The third main entry in the stealth-action franchise taps into the history of the American Revolution, following half-English/half-Native American protagonist Connor as he violently takes out enemies in Colonial America.
It’s worth noting that Assassin’s Creed III wraps up the present-day Desmond storyline and its continual dive into the absurd and unbelievable. I admit skepticism at the franchise’s strange take on ancestral origins and mega-corporations in the first Assassin’s Creed title, but here I am five years later itching to play the latest release so I can see how the series wraps up.
Streamlined controls will make assassinations even easier this time around, and there is no shortage of activities to take part in — including sea battles for the pirate in all of us. The game has already received plenty of praise from video game publications, and I imagine I’ll follow suit in the coming weeks.
This week in news
Electronic Arts placed a lot of emphasis on its latest military shooter, Medal of Honor: Warfighter, but the game’s critical failure appears to have negatively impacted the company’s third-quarter financial prospects.
EA CEO John Riccitiello explicitly mentioned Medal of Honor during a second-quarter investor call, citing it as the main reason for the company’s bleak-looking third quarter: “Our Q3 appears soft, due mostly to Medal of Honor,” Riccitiello said.
Also making matters worse is the recent cancellation of NBA Live 13. This marks the third year in a row that EA will fail to release an NBA video game while 2K Sports dominates the market with its popular NBA 2K series.
EA does still plan to support Medal of Honor: Warfighter this holiday season, so perhaps that will help boost sales for the disappointing first-person shooter.
ANTHONY LABELLA can be reached at arts@theaggie.org.
