Creative Gamer Girl

Sims 3: Generations review

Monday, August 15, 2011

It's been a while, but I finally wrote something.

EA’s newest expansion pack for Sims 3 is ‘Generations’, which was released in the UK on the 3rd June. It is a welcome expansion pack amidst all the ‘stuff packs’ EA are churning out lately. ‘Late Night’- the last expansion pack before ‘Generations’- was released as far back as October last year!

There have been many complaints on The Sims Facebook page and EA forums about ‘Generations’ automatically updating people’s games and causing crashes and a load of bugs. Personally, I have not experienced this. It could be the case that EA released a batch of glitch filled games and you were unlucky if you happened to purchase one. However, this is not an excuse for EA. They should not have to apologise about game play issues a mere day after release; the game should be perfect the day it goes on sale. For a company like EA, this is unacceptable. Despite these problems, ‘Generations’ is what you expect from an expansion.

It adds a lot of new objects for your toddler and children Sims. They can now have tree houses, sand pits and seesaws. You can also dress them up as princesses and dinosaurs and hold tea parties for your toys. Children can sleep in bunk beds in a bedroom decorated with castles, dragons, rainbows and unicorns. Princes can hold a mighty feast in their wooden palace tree house, and throw water down onto the heads of any unwelcome guests that try to climb up.

Another interesting aspect for the young ’uns is the imaginary friend. Your newborn baby is given a special toy from birth and can interact with them when they reach the age of a toddler. Depending on how often you play with the toy it might grow up with you when you become a child. If you continue playing with it and building a relationship, the toy will eventually become an imaginary friend, visible only to that Sim. With the new chemistry table added in ‘Generations’, Sims can learn to make a potion to turn their imaginary friend real- but you need to have a high logic skill to be successful. ‘Generations’ adds in a lot more interactions between friends; you can give gifts, watch the stars with your lover or woo hoo in the shower.

Teenagers can pull pranks, have teen parties when their parents are away and go to prom. If you want them out of the house, they can be sent off to boarding school and return as a young adult in graduation robes. It would have been nice to be able to control them while at boarding school- like in The Sims 2: University- but I’m sure EA will release that as another expansion pack some time in the future.

There is also the addition of the video camera. With this new object, you can film any moments you like in game and your Sims can watch it back on their TV. Finally, there is the new wedding cake and wedding arch so your Sims can have a formal wedding. In The Sims 2, these came with the base game but for some reason EA thought it would be better to release them separately. In addition, there is the option to have a bachelor and bachelorette party before the wedding. Scantily clad strippers dressed as firemen might even turn up (probably the reason for the 12 rating!)

It is worth a purchase if you enjoy telling stories with your Sims and if you like playing with younger Sims. However, if you prefer adults, there isn’t much more additional content for them. There is a walking stick for when they grow older and they can have a midlife crisis, but it can be totally ignored. If you like adults, ‘Generations’ is one to miss.

Fans of The Sims are still clamouring for ‘Seasons’ and ‘Pets’ for The Sims 3. The next expansion is indeed ‘Pets’ coming out in the autumn. In ‘Pets’, all types of animals can become part of your household, including horses. I would suggest your save up your coins for ‘Pets’ and steer clear of ‘Generations’ if you’re not a family orientated The Sims player.

Lauren

Creative Snippets

Random Flash of Past Poems

Saturday, March 12, 2011

Game Reviews

Assassins Creed: Brotherhood Review

Saturday, March 05, 2011

Another review I wrote for my University's online magazine. This time looking at Assassins Creed: Brotherhood.

I seem to be the resident Assassins Creed fan, so I thought it only proper to review the next instalment: Assassins Creed: Brotherhood, released back in November. Originally, I thought it would be a short game- being released so close to its predecessor, I expected it to be a glamorised DLC with a few extra missions and the multiplayer the real reason for its release. How wrong I turned out to be.

Assassins Creed: Brotherhood is a full game that carries on the story of the Florence nobleman Ezio Auditore. We join him straight after the second game; Ezio is in the Vault at the Vatican and has just listened to the cryptic message from the holographic type figure, Minerva. Ezio decides to entrust the Apple to his uncle Mario, and they travel back to Monteriggioni together. However, Cesare Borgia attacks their villa. Cesare is the son of Rodrigo Borgia, the main bad guy in the second game who managed to escape from Ezio at the end. The villa attack leads Ezio to Rome where he decides to overthrow the tyrant Borgia family and free the Rome citizens from their power. Ezio is reunited with old friends from the Assassins Guild and his family- Maria and Claudia.

You also play as Desmond Miles- who we last saw abandoning the hideout and running from Abstergo Industries with Shaun, Rebecca and Lucy. We return to them driving to another sanctuary, which you will recognise as the present day Monteriggioni villa.

Unlike the other games in the series, you have much more playing time as Desmond. You get to finally test out how much has ‘bled’ through from the Animus. Desmond must explore the ruins of the Auditore villa and it’s nice finally having a chance to stretch his legs. Also, you can leave the Animus at any time during the game and explore the modern Monteriggioni. I thought it was very interesting to compare the Renaissance Monteriggioni with the future one; complete with cars parked along the roads and street signs. There is an incentive to explore the Desmond-time Monteriggioni too: there are five artefacts to find such as Claudia’s record book and Maria’s feather chest.

Now, the big question for me is where to start? There are so many things to do, side missions, main missions, Leonardo missions and assassination contracts. The first thing we need to be aware of is that the game only really takes place in Rome; but the map is humungous! You can use horses to get around or- when you refurbish parts of the city- secret tunnels can be used to fast travel from one area to another. So, despite just being in one place through the whole game, you don’t really get bored of the scenery because there is so much to see.

The Borgia family own all of Rome, spearheaded by Cesare Borgia who we meet at the beginning of the game. They are responsible for shutting down blacksmiths, tailors, art merchants and stables. Buildings are abandoned and famous landmarks are being left to ruin. You must release Borgia’s influence over the city and rebuild Rome. One of the most important ways to do this is to destroy the Borgia towers. By burning down the towers, you free that area of the map from their influence, allowing you to re-open the shops and refurbish the secret passageways in that tower’s proximity. It then follows; the more towers you burn down, the more Rome you can rebuild and the more money you earn.

As well as rebuilding shops, Ezio can also inhabit abandoned buildings with his choice of Guilds. There are many allies standing beside

Assassins Creed: Brotherhood gameplay killing guards

Ezio to free Rome, the Mercenaries, the Courtesans and the Thieves. If you decide to fill an empty building with courtesans, for example, you will see them standing outside that building and in the surrounding area. You can then hire them for distracting guards or blending. The same goes for the Thieves and Mercenaries; except the Mercenaries will actually join you in battle too.

Similar to the feathers in Assassins Creed II there are 101 Borgia flags to collect throughout Rome. There are also 10 feathers to collect along with boxes of treasure. You can purchase maps for all of these at the art merchant, so you can find all of them when you’ve exhausted every other part of the game.

Another addition to the game is the synchronisation element. Each time you begin to complete a mission, be it secondary or main, you are given something you must achieve to get the maximum 100% synchronisation. For instance, for a mission where you had to assassinate a Cardinal at a big party, you could only achieve maximum synchronisation if you assassinated using poison while sitting on a bench. If you did it any other way, you would not get the whole 100%. You may be asking, why is this important? Well, it’s not very- unless you want to unlock some cheats or be able to access more of the ‘Cristina memories’ (who you may remember is Ezio’s love interest at the beginning of AC II.) The 100% synchronisation is an aspect of the game that will get you frustrated one minute and excited the next. Even if you start out just playing the game and ignoring the criteria asked of you to achieve 100%, you’ll soon find yourself replaying memories over and over just so you can get the full synch.

As you continue with the game, eventually you will be able to see citizens on the map that need your help. They then can be recruited into Ezio’s Brotherhood of assassins. After helping every defenceless citizen, you should end up with a total of twelve recruits under your control. These helpers can be called on during fights with guards and infiltration missions if you need a distraction.

Pigeon coups are important places for the Brotherhood of assassins. Here you can choose to send them off to other countries- such as London, Russia and India- to complete contracts. They gain experience from completing contracts that enables them to gain levels and eventually become an assassin themselves.

The old friend of Ezio- Leonardo Di Vinci- makes an appearance in this game too. You can pay him to make you extra weapons. He is also being paid by the Borgia to make War machines for their use and world gain. There are contraptions like cannons, tanks and the familiar flying machine, but this time with a gun. Once you destroy all of Leonardo’s machines- as well as destroying Borgia’s stronghold over Rome considerably- Leonardo also gives you a gift to use, (it’s fun more than anything.)

Not only is there so much to do in this game, but it comes with a multiplayer option. I reviewed the multiplayer experience in an earlier article so will not be looking at it in this review. But briefly: in the story mode, there are Templar missions where you must track down the Templar agents that you will recognise from the multiplayer mode, and assassinate them in game.

Lastly, Assassins Creed: Brotherhood is linked with a Facebook flash game called Project Legacy. You can unlock achievements and cheats in the console version the more you progress with the Facebook flash game. I thought this was a very innovative way to get even deeper in the games universe; in Project Legacy, you learn more about the characters in Brotherhood and come to get more out of the game. You can also train your assassins with the Facebook game, allowing them to progress through the levels much faster.

Ubisoft have kept familiar elements from the previous game- subject 16’s hidden glyphs, hidden tombs etc- but have added in a whole host of new material. I seemed to have only scratched the surface of this game; the more I write, the more I remember about Assassins Creed: Brotherhood. I haven’t even mentioned the Virtual Training room or the upgraded fighting mechanism, but I guess you’ll have to give Brotherhood the attention it deserves to find out everything it has to offer.

Of course, the ending of Brotherhood leaves it open for the next instalment. I am sure I wasn’t the only one gaping and demanding the next game as I watched the credits roll. Maybe we will finally get to play as Desmond in Assassins Creed III. However much I will miss Ezio Auditore, I can honestly say his chapter in the story is over…but you never know, watch this space.

Lauren

article

Article- The Truth About Wicca Pt. VI (END)

Saturday, February 05, 2011

Can I be a Wicca?

Wicca is one of the fastest growing religions in the country according to the Office for National Statistics; but one of the smallest at the moment, apparently only consisting of 7,000 people following the religion in the UK. But, there are many people who follow the Wicca way of life without even realising it. I did for many years posses the values, morals and beliefs that Wiccas held without even knowing that I was a member of a religion, You have to ask yourself one question: do I really believe in what Wicca stands for? Do I really want to commit myself to this?

What the majority if people do not understand is that it is not just getting initiated and making magic that will work immediately. You have to completely change your view of the world and make it a way of life. Small things will show you are committed, i.e meditating at least once a week, praying to your Gods/Goddesses every single day, respecting nature and everything it gives you.

Unlike some religious groups, we do not see our religion as the 'right' one and try to convert others to our way of thinking. We respect other people's views and let them tread their own path through life.

You can choose whether you want to be a member of a Coven, which is a gathering of Wiccas who meet at least once a month and worship and celebrate festivals together. You have to find a Coven you trust and who trusts you. This is important as you will be working with energy together and need to have complete control over it. Alternatively, you can become a Solitary, which obviously means you work alone. This can be hard while first starting out on the path, as you have to teach yourself about what not to do, and how to do it. There is a positive side; you only need to rely on yourself and can worship in a way that is comfortable for you. It depends on what you would prefer. Wicca does not tell you what to do but only guides you through your own world.

So, what do I say when someone asks me what Wicca is? I tell them the truth. If they want to have an in-depth discussion, I am more than happy to try and teach them. If I can tell one person about the religion, maybe in turn they can spread the word that we're not evil with green faces and warts.

Game Reviews

Multiplayer xbox review

Saturday, February 05, 2011

Anyway, here is an article I wrote back in December 2010. Microsoft gave a free Gold weekend to Xbox players, and this article just touches on two games I had a go at playing.
Enjoy.
xx

I know online gaming is old news to most people, but I have never picked into my pocket and forked out for xbox Gold subscription. The Playstation Network is free, but Microsoft believes you must pay for the privilege. Maybe it’s because I’m a poor student that I haven’t felt the need to hand over cash, but I’ve also never had that much time to spare so didn’t want to pay for something I would rarely use. However, I have always wanted to have a little go.

On the weekend of the 26th November, Microsoft let you upgrade to Gold for free. Everyone who hadn’t paid for Gold got a free weekend trial. I made the most of the offer and took full advantage.

As you may already know, I am a big Halo fan and as everyone else knows, Halo is known for its online multiplayer. At last, I had my own chance to experience the online phenomenon.

There are so many types of games to choose from, and you can either play team games or a competitive match with up to sixteen people.

For my free weekend, I chose to give Matchmaking a go. Matchmaking finds players of a similar level to you. You can choose to filter them by experience, country and more. They even have psych profiles so you can really check whether you want to play with them from the type of person they are.

The first game we voted for was Slayer Pro- and I must admit I was pounded! The classic Slayer puts about eight people fighting against each other to get the most kills, but Slayer Pro gets rid of radar so you have no idea when someone may be sneaking up behind you to do a meelee attack. Being used to having a Radar and seeing little red dots representing enemies, I was slow and wary, always forgetting to look behind me.

Then, after being at the bottom of the board, I got the hang of it and was able to stop someone stabbing my Spartan from behind. Slayer is a lot of fun- basically shooting your opponents until they die and you get a point.

It is extremely competitive as you can imagine, especially when you are winning and suddenly someone kills you and you’re halfway down the board when you re-spawn.

Throughout the Halo multiplayer experience, I found myself laughing a lot- mostly at myself. I also found myself swearing at the

strangers who kept throwing sticky grenades at me. Just to be spiteful, I would run after the sticky-grenade-thrower so when it exploded their own grenade also killed them. I’ve always thought grenades are for cheaters who don’t want to fall back on their crappy shooting skills.

Another hectic multiplayer is ‘King of the Hill’, ‘Oddball’ and ‘Headhunter’. You can either play them as a team or individually. I think I found these the most fun because everyone is vying for one place. For ‘King of the Hill’ you must keep in the selected territory for as long as possible before someone steps in the space or it moves somewhere else. As soon as another person steps into the area, your points stop and you must kill them to begin regaining the area. The space also moves, so even if you get points for defending your space, when it moves to another spot on the map you’ll have to run to get into it first. It was a lot of fun to try and defend yourself. Also grenades ended up flying everywhere and sometimes people got killed even when they weren’t anywhere near the main battle (I won those rounds).

‘Oddball’ is similar, but instead of defending an area, you must carry a skull for as long as possible while other gamers try to get it from you. ‘Headhunter’ is the same as Slayer but with every player you kill, you collect a skull. When you’re killed, the other player can pick up all your dropped skulls and receive your points, if you don’t drop them into a designated area beforehand .

You can decide to plug your headset in and converse with other players from all over the world. It was amusing to hear the other players who did have their microphones on. This is more useful in a team game, so you can strategize with the other players in your team about a game plan. In competitive matches, all I really heard was people swearing and shouting at other players.

It is also- (even though this sounds incredibly sad)- a great way to make friends. You may never meet them, and I would never expect to. But if you meet someone you get on with while playing there is nothing stopping you adding them as an xbox friend and meeting them for other matches. I met a few Americans while playing; people I would probably never meet otherwise- and managed to have a good laugh with them.

With all the stories you hear of males talking to women gamers, despite being a girl I never experienced that personally. All the people I played with seemed to be playing for the main reason multiplayer is made for- fun.

I also played the new Assassins Creed: Brotherhood multiplayer. AC:B came out on the 19th November. It’s the first time the Assassins Creed franchise has ever had a multiplayer and was the main selling point for the game- that and Ezio.

The Assassins Creed: Brotherhood multiplayer is very enjoyable. Firstly, you must pick an assassin out of a selection of characters, each with their own weapons and character moves. You can also unlock characters the more you progress through the multiplayer and the main campaign.

You are given a target to assassinate and a little compass shows the direction of your target. Your target might be being pursued by more than one person, including you, so another player might get to them first. If they do, you have to wait until you’re given another victim and lose valuable points in the process.

While you are pursuing someone, there can also be other assassins following you. The higher you are on the leader board, the more pursuers you can have. If people are acting suspiciously, it’s more than likely they are following you. You can always try running and see if they follow you. If they do, you can use a ‘chase breaker’ to get some distance between you and your pursuer. ‘Chase breakers’ can be things like closing gates that don’t open for a few seconds to give you time to get away. You can also hide in haystacks and blend with groups of people. If you do it right, you pursuer will accidentally kill a civilian, letting you off the hook.

The AI walking around the maps look like all the multiplayer characters and it’s very difficult to see which ones are controlled by the computer or other gamers. If you see someone running, then that means they’re being controlled by a player and you have to suddenly be aware of why they might be running.

Assassins Creed online multiplayer screenshot

You also get more abilities the more you proceed, like smoke bombs and disguises. If you mistime your usage of the disguise then your chaser instantly knows that they are following the right person and kills you quicker. The multiplayer is definitely all about being stealthy and aware of what is happening around you.

You get more points if you are stealthy and surprise your target. You have a meter on the right of the screen which tells you whether you are ‘ingonito’ or ‘silent’ or ‘stealthy’. Running can make you more noticeable to your target and they can become aware of your presence. If you start running and your meter runs out, then you will be instructed to chase your target because they are trying to escape from you. If you do manage to catch them and kill them, you will have only a fraction of the points you could have got if you were stealthy about it.

Also, one last point: be careful about how open the space is while you are assassinating someone. If you are being followed, your attacker will see you kill someone and know that you are actually an online player. That way they can kill you as soon as you’ve killed your target; the voiceover would then say ‘massacre’.

There are a number of different maps to play. They are small, but that’s good because it would be far less intense if you were able to run around for miles to get away from your attacker. There are also team games where each team takes it in turns to either be the attackers or the targets. You get points from how well you hide, if you escape your pursuer, or how many of the other team you end up assassinating. I’ve only touched on two of the games, but there are many more to explore and enjoy.

Now, after that free weekend, I’ve decided to sign up for a year’s worth of Gold. I guess Microsoft got what they wanted, because of course, you get nothing for free. By giving people who don’t have the Gold subscription a try, they tempt them with forbidden fruit. They’ve tempted me and have one more paying customer as a result. And I doubt it will just be me signing up for the online experience after the free trail. If you haven’t got Gold yourself, I would certainly recommend it.

Sims 3: Generations review

Random Flash of Past Poems

Assassins Creed: Brotherhood Review

Article- The Truth About Wicca Pt. VI (END)

Multiplayer xbox review

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