The News - 09.22.14

Hello again, Parents and Gamers!

Another week and another fresh batch of The News! Today we are going to be taking a look at three things of note. The first one will have to do with Sony and their new PlayStation TV product which will be released this October. After that, we will stay with Sony as we have good news regarding your chance to check out the online function for PlayStation 4 for free. Finally, we will end on a game-focused note with a new reveal in the Assassin's Creed franchise. Let's take a look!

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Sony has announced the release of a new product called PlayStation TV which will be released this coming October 14th.

For those that don't know, PlayStation TV is a new idea that will rival current video game system technology by providing its owners access to nearly 700 games from the PlayStation Vita, PlayStation 3, and PlayStation 4. The unit itself is designed to act as a "remote system" meaning that it will function using "Remote Play". You can plug the PlayStation TV into any television (with an HDMI port) and than access your PlayStation Vita, PlayStation 3, and/or PlayStation 4 via the internet, essentially making it ACT like it was one of those systems.

To provide another example, imagine if the PlayStation TV acted like a DVD player. Through the Remote Play capability, you could use the internet to connect to your actual DVD player in another room (which happened to have the movie you wanted to watch in it) and WATCH that movie on the TV you're AT without ever needing to grab the DVD or the DVD player from the other room. Or, if you don't own he other systems, you can utilize the internet connection to access the previously mentioned PlayStation Now and stream the game to your television like Netflix might stream a movie.

When PlayStation TV comes out this October 14th, there will be two versions. The standalone version will go for $100, however, the $140 bundle version will come with PlayStation TV, and 8gb Memory Card to store games and saved data, a DualShock 3 controller (for PlayStation 3 games and below), and The LEGO Movie Videogame.

References: 
PlayStation TV: Nearly 700 Games to Play Starting Octobert 14th - PlayStation.blog
PlayStation TV launches in North America next month - Destructoid.com
Sony Confirms PlayStation TV's Release Line-Up - IGN.com
PlayStation TV Launching in October with almost 700 Games on Day One - GameSpot.com
PlayStation TV arrives Mid-October, over 700 Compatible Games at Launch - GameInformer.com
PS TV hits US on October 14 with 'nearly 700' compatible games - Joystiq.com
PlayStation TV is out in October - Kotaku.com

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Along with everything else, Sony has decided that it wants to show players not utilizing the Internet capabilities for PlayStation 4 what they could have this weekend.

From Friday, September 26, starting at 12:01am Pacific through Sunday, September 28 at 11:59 Pacific, Sony is giving ALL PLAYSTATION 4 PLAYERS access to their PlayStation Plus multiplayer access. Among other things, this means that players will be able to access the online component for games like Destiny, Madden 15, and Diablo 3 absolutely free. While PlayStation Plus also gives access to things like Free Games every month, discounts all over the place, and more, Sony will only be providing access to multiplayer for the time being.

So, if you own a PlayStation 4 and haven't checked out the Internet functions of the system, give it a shot! It's totally free all weekend.

References:
Free Access to Online Multiplayer for all PS4 Players this Weekend - PlayStation.blog
PS4 Online Multiplayer will be Free this Weekend - Destructoid.com
Online Multiplayer Free for all PS4 Players this Weekend - IGN.com
Free PS4 Multiplayer this Weekend - GameSpot.com
PlayStation 4 Multiplayer is Free this Weekend - GameInformer.com

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As we have mentioned it before, Assassin's Creed is one of the biggest titles to come out every year. This time, however, Assassin's Creed Unity is going to offer something very different in their "Season Pass".

Among the usual fare of downloadable content, extra missions, gameplay, and equipment that players will receive from purchasing the "Season Pass" for the upcoming Assassin's Creed Unit, players will receive something called Assassin's Creed Chronicles: China.

Assassin's Creed Chronicles: China will be a stand-alone game, separate from the story and gameplay available in Assassin's Creed Unity with a new character and a new gaming style. Whereas Assassin's Creed is normally 3D, focused with the camera following behind the character, China will be "2.5D", meaning that the game will work more similarly to Super Mario Bros. with the character running from left to right across the screen. On top of this, players will control a female assassin named Shao Jun in 16th Century China free running across the Great Wall of China.

While Assassin's Creed Chronicles: China has not been rated, please note that most Assassin's Creed titles are rated M for Mature by the ESRB of America. The game is recommended only for players over the age of 17. Most often, this is due to intense blood and gore, violence, and language.

References:
Assassin's Creed Unity's DLC will take you to China with a Female Protagonist - Destructoid.com
Assassin's Creed Unity DLC includes New Story in China - IGN.com
Assassin's Creed Unity DLC Pass includes a New 2.5D game Set in China - GameSpot.com
Assassin's Creed Unity Season Pass includes Newly Announced 2.5D Downloadable Title - GameInformer.com
Assassin's Creed Unity's Season Pass includes game set in China - Joystiq.com

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And that's it for today! As always, if you have any questions, comments, or concerns about our article today or just Video Games in general, feel free to reach out to us at our e-mail at theparentsguidetovideogames@gmail.com or simply by clicking on my name below. Make sure to follow us at Facebook and Twitter to get up to the moment updates! See you soon!

LabR@

The Parent's Guide to Video Games

Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood

Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood Review

Kid Safe: Low                     Game Quality: Very High

Genre: Open World Action/Adventure

-    This game takes place where choice is everything. Rather than providing a set story that a player has to follow, they are provided a world that they can explore and do as they wish with a focus similar to an action movie. Likewise, as players adventure through this title they will find alternate means of completing their tasks including battles, negotiation, and puzzle solving.

Internet Requirements: Moderate

-    This game features a moderate amount of online content. The game features a very in-depth multiplayer mode where players can battle with and against individuals from around the world in a variety of different game modes; the more someone plays, the more weapons and special abilities are unlocked for usage in battle.

Story Summary: In Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, you take on two roles, the first as
                           Desmond Miles, a man from modern day who is on the run from the Templar-run

   Abstergo company who desires to take over the world; the second as Ezio

   Auditore da Firenze, a master assassin and the genetic ancestor of Desmond

   Miles who Desmond is studying (and you play) through a high-tech machine

   called the Animus that allows individuals to access genetic-based memories. As

   Ezio, you must travel to Rome after your home is attacked and many of your

   family murdered by Cesare, the head of the Papal Guard and aspiring ruler of

   Italy. Upon arrival in Rome, you must build relations with the Thieves' Guild,

   Courtesans, and local Mercenaries before rebuilding the Assassins' order and

   taking your revenge on Cesare and the Papal Guard. 

 

Kid Safe: Low

-          Foul Language: Without Captions - Low / With Captions - High

o   Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood features a very interesting approach to foul language by presenting almost all cuss words in Italian due to a "translation program error". The observed foul language consists of the following words: f*ck, w*ore, a*shole, s*it, and b*stard. For individuals not using captions, the amount of foul language is low and is presented solely when using Desmond Miles. The majority of foul language instead takes place with Ezio is only translated from Italian to English through caption usage.

-          Violence and Gore: High

o   Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, as the name might imply, features a high amount of Violence and Gore. Players are able to kill guards and soldiers with a variety of weaponry and skills including crossbows, daggers, swords, hammers, axes, guns, and Ezio's Hidden Blade which is a blade that is hidden beneath his wrist and snaps out when he wants it to. This title features depictions of very up-close and personal killing where the character Ezio will stab enemies, often showing a small amount of blood and a blade sticking through wherever was stabbed (including head, chest, or neck). Likewise, there are scenes in both single player and multiplayer where characters have their neck broken violently as well as have their throat slit up close to the camera. There are also scenes of individuals who have been hung up and crucified as well as a woman who has been hung.

o   Blood and Gore requires special mention in Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood. To begin, there isn't really that much to begin with in the Single Player story. The blood that is shown is low with it primarily being red spots on clothing as well as small amounts of red spray from an enemy that is attacked. However, in the multiplayer mode, the gore is increased. Whenever a character is killed, there is often a long spray of blood from whatever wound is sustained on the obvious exception of manual wounds (such as a broken neck). This aside, the reason the Blood and Gore requires special mention is because the game allows you to turn off depictions of Blood; therefore all of the above is avoidable should the player so choose.

             

-          Sexually-Related Content: Moderate

o   Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood features a moderate amount of sexually related content. This content is primarily done through reference with the exception of some hints of nudity and sexual contact. To begin, the hints of nudity and sexual contact occur first between Ezio and one of his allies who take to the bedroom. You see this young woman strip to lingerie and then there is an extended scene of them kissing and grinding against each other. After a black out you see them together under the sheets with the suggestion that they are nude. The second scene slight nudity/sexual contact takes place at a large party where individuals run about spanking each other and giggling in their underwear. Finally, the sexual references occur in the form of sexual innuendo as well as discussion concerning cuckolding, orgies, sexual preferences, and the fact that you are in league with a Brothel.

-          Use of Drugs and Alcohol: Very Low

o   Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood contains a very low amount of use of drugs and alcohol which pertain only to alcoholic references in conversation as well as a scene at a party where individuals are imbibing alcohol.
             

Game Quality: Very High

-          Graphics / Visuals: Very High

o   The graphical quality in Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood is absolutely astounding and stands out as some of the finest work to date. To begin, the detail that goes into every visual in this game is incredible and, so long as you have an HD TV, are able to make out everything from the the fine grooves and intricate designs of Ezio's armor to the aged and pockmarked appearance of the rotting stone of Roman buildings. And should the sprawling city of Rome not be enough, you are welcome to take to the countryside and marvel at ancient monuments such as the Coliseum or Aqueducts. On top of this, the character animations are nearly flawless and people move realistically with no single action being the same over and over no matter if they are walking, climbing, swimming, or fighting.

o   Probably the only graphical flaw that we have found in the presentation of Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood are in the horses which do not seem to move realistically but instead have this odd loping action that seems to move slower than all the other characters around it. That aside, they also don't seem to have a fur texture but instead look like glossed plastic.

           

-          Audio: Very High

o   Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood features a very high audio quality in almost every form. To begin, the music of this title is impressive, on par with an epic play or musical, and features a full musical score by Jesper Kyd. The music covers a full range of emotions and easily heightens the player's experience as it rises and falls, quickens or slacks; making chase scenes hard throbbing and the loss of a friend earth-shattering. Likewise, if the music doesn't get you, the voice acting will. Bringing back the talent of Roger Craig Smith and others from the previous title, "Assassin's Creed 2", the voice acting is absolutely spot-on and brings emotion and feeling to each scene whether it's with the tone of someone's voice or perhaps the soft, amusing banter between friends as they try and lighten the tense mood. Finally, if the first two didn't appeal to you, perhaps the ambient sounds of the world will. The changing clatter of horse hoofs as they pass from different types of stone or soil or perhaps the soft creaking of rotting wood and rope as your clamber across it after your target. The audio for this title is a treat and I encourage the usage of headphones or surround sound.

-          Gameplay / Playability: High

o   Overall, Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood features a high amount of Gameplay and Playability. To begin, the controls are streamlined so that they work quickly and cleanly and so that almost every action seems natural and smooth. With just the touch of a button, players are able to seamlessly scale a massive tower or building. Likewise, combat is simple and effective, allowing players to specify weapons that they normally use and draw them without delay. Once in battle, players who are able to kill an opponent can quickly glide from enemy to enemy, killing each with a single button. This was so smooth that we were able to kill 32 enemies in a fight.

o   However, while the controls are generally smooth, Assassin's Creed's problem boils down into telling you what those controls are. The game generally presumes that individuals played the previous iterations of the franchise and only vaguely explain the controls in the middle of a massive battle. It took some time to fully get a hang of them, but once I did it worked well. The one other problem that we found was concerning Leonardo da Vinci's Flying Machine which, once again, explained the controls slowly and I had actually crashed and died twice before I was told how to properly control it.
          

-          Dollar-Value: Very High

o   Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood features an impressively high dollar-value. To begin, the game's single-player story will merit somewhere in the range of 14 to 20 hours of gameplay, depending on how thorough the player is in completing everything that can be done. In the single-player story, players will not only be able to explore the vast expanses of Rome, but also pilot prototype flying machines, tanks, boats, parachutes, and more. They will be able to purchase and rebuild sections of Rome and ancient Roman monuments. They will be able to rescue, train, and call in the aide of other Assassin's to help take down their enemies. Likewise, should they want to practice their skills, players have a vast array of training and challenges sections where they can bolster their skills. Finally, if players still aren't satisfied, they have a vast multiplayer mode available online where they can challenge other Assassins from around the world in several different game types where points are awarded based on subtlety and skill rather than number of kills; as is common with most online games. 

Recommendations

-    While Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood might be a bit too gruesome for your taste, several other titles may be appropriate with Sly Cooper and Infamous both able satisfy a player's need for exploring a vast city in any fashion they so choose. However, the reviewer feels it necessary to note that, should blood and captions be turned off, this game very likely could be enjoyed by younger audiences with little issue.