The original Mario and Sonic at the Summer Olympic Games featured some known characters and a ton of mini games, some of which were quite fun, despite rather retarded controls at times. However, it was still fun and offered decent multiplayer gameplay for some folks in a living room, wiggling their remotes, and, as they’ll be happy to hear, the new game continues down the same path. This time though, it’s the Winter Olympics and it’s set in Vancouver in 2010. The range of mini games is impressive, a dozen of them, from skiing and showboarding, to hockey and bobsled. There’s even a curling game — which is quite a bit more fun that it seems (and definitely more fun that it appears in real life).

The gameplay involves a lot of wiggling with your Wii remote, but one overall factor plays in almost throughout all games; the feeling that it could have been better. The hockey game could have been great, but instead it’s simplistic and very easy, as with downhill skiing. The only mini game that seems to rise above the others, and quite surprisingly so, is Curling, which blends a perfect combination of controls and aiming, and can even get quite addictive. We don’t really feel any of that in the other mini games, which, sadly enough, seem like the developer didn’t put in enough effort, as the controls are pretty much the same: keep wriggling your remote and you’ll win. Or get across the finish line. As you play through the games, you earn coins which you can spend in a shot to improve your gear, get outfits and some custom icons for your gear, in case you need to pimp your snowboard.

Visually, the game resembles Wii Sports a lot, and most of other offerings by Nintendo. Not bad by any means, but certainly something that’s easy on the eye and geared towards the casual audience. This runs throughout the whole game — “casual” — every sense of it is too simplistic and seems to be intended for mom and pops and their little 4 year-old. Hardcore gamers will naturally be disappointed, as there isn’t enough challenge, and the controls are basically “waggle-waggle-waggle-pause-waggle-waggle-waggle”. Etc. It’s a great game if you have some casual gamer friends and looking for something to play with, besides chainsawing through the Gears of War campaign. But even then, the game could have been better, and could have offered something more than just cute characters and lots of snow.

The Good:
Easy to pick up and play
Casual audience will love it

The Bad:
Too easy
Controls are repetitive

Overall score: 6/10

This can only add to the criticism that Valve and Steam should be separated into different companies. But don’t count on that any time soon.

Hirai mentioned that Sony was looking into “premium subscriptions” for the online service, much like Xbox Live Gold on the Xbox 360. The PS3’s bit selling point has always been that it’s free to play online, and that may change soon. Hirai is quoted by CVG saying,

“Especially in the online area, we are studying the possibility of introducing a subscription model, offering premium content and services, in addition to the current free services.”

Great. Just as we thought the PS3 was catching up to the Xbox 360.

While it’s okay with a cheap DLC, it seems a bit too early. We’re in the process of reviewing the game (review coming soon!), and we’ve already strolled through some 30 hours of gameplay. It’s not like the game is light on content as it is.

“So we have been trying something new in terms of the structure of the Wii version of the new Zelda game this time. I am really hopeful that people will be surprised with the changes we have implemented for this Wii version.”

The game is set for a hopeful 2010 release. Very hopeful.

The story continues where the previous ended; Desmond, in today’s time, escapes from the complex that kidnapped him and captured his mind. This time he teams up with the good guys, and gets back in the seat in the machine that sends him back a few hundred years to Italy, during Leonardo da Vinci’s time, where he’ll play an assassin, in order to train himself the skills. We won’t go into detail of the story, but rest assured that it’s pretty well told and written, although the cut scenes and dialogue aren’t exactly top notch.

The gameplay is smoother than in the original game, feels more fluid and faster, especially the free-running, jumping and climbing around buildings. This is essential, since it’s a big part of Assassin’s Creed. Also, this time there are clear indicators that point you in the right direction, so you’re never lost on one of your missions. The missions in AC2 are certainly more varied than before, but the progress of how to approach and execute them remains largely the same. We wold have loved to see more variety there, taking cue from other assassin games, like Hitman.

Weapons are a plenty of, you can collect money and buy swords, hammers, knives, and lots of other gadgets (like clothes) at shops around town. However, the combat seems a bit slow and, dare we say, almost turn based at times, where a pack of enemies will attack you, but only one after another will actually fight you. Instead of surrounding and flanking — the obvious choices. The AI isn’t that great actually, your enemies are quite dumb and will remain frozen, swords drawn, and simply wait. To be killed. This doesn’t happen all the times, but too often for it to be noticed. Another thing that most might not consider a drawback, is that the game is very easy. Even on the most difficult setting, if you’ve played AC1, and if you’re just a bit good, you can complete Assassin’s Creed 2 without dying a single time. Or even being close to dying.

Visually the game still looks amazing, the city is beautifully rendered, the animations are top notch and there’s a great sense of good production quality throughout all aspects of the game. The missions can get too repetitive and there isn’t much new in terms of gameplay, but fans of Assassin’s Creed won’t be disappointed. However, if you didn’t like the previous game, there’s little chance that you’ll find what you’re looking for here. Still, it might serve as an interesting rental game.

The Good:
Beautiful visuals
Great animations
Great story
Lots of side quests

The Bad:
Enemy AI is dumb
Combat gets repetitive

Overall score: 8/10

However, it won’t include the hit song “Ain’t No Rest For The Wicked“, which has been featured in the game and its promo material. Bummer.