CO-OP 0306 -- Assassin's Creed 2 Review Special
matt chandronaitWe’re going to be on our Thanksgiving break next week, so keep your eyes out for a special episode of CO-OP on December 1st that’ll be a departure from the norm. We’ll be back on December 8th with our regular programming. More after the show:
Better than its predecessor in every conceivable way, one of the best games Ryan has played, ever, and nearly-equal high praise from our guests Will Tuttle of GameSpy and Arthur Gies from Team XBox, the RebelFM podcast, and Eat. Sleep. Game. One unfortunate, though important, point raised in the chat this week is that the PS3 version is clearly the inferior product. To be clear, we hate the console wars and find it inane to decry one console in favor of another, but the difference in AC2 is apparent enough to merit at least some quick discussion in this week’s extra-long chat. And extra time is exactly the kind of favor that this game warrants. JayFresh and I are the final two members on the AC2 Love-Fest board of directors.
Reader Comments (29)
One of my favorite episodes you have done so far, i love the in-deapth view on the game, especially cause I agree with Ryan on the first one 100%! You have pretty much put down all my concerns towards this game, and I will be getting it after watching this!
Also guys, digg link is halfbroken again! I can't digg it from your frontpage area5.tv, but have to go in to : http://area5.tv/blog/co-op-0306-assassins-creed-2-review-special.html , to be able to digg it!
Pretty sweet episode makes me wanna play it. I will check it out for sure!
Damn it, is the PS3 version that inferior, are you guys using RGB mode (this is my last hope), being a graphics whore :) I may have to wait till I get my 360 which will be around Q1 2010. I've heard RGB mode improves the clarity of some games if your not using it, that could be why (same issue with Assassin's Creed 1).
Anyways great show and not to belittle your scripts, I kind of prefer this version of just showing the reviews though I might be minority, it's because your opinions are more valuable (and passionately spoken) than every other site, this is because of the fact that alot of viewers have been tuning in since the 1up days, thus we can relate better to your impressions as we understand your tastes (e.g. I loved AC1 and so did Ryan so I knew his opinions would most likely correspond to mine). Anyways great show as always :).
Download links still point to episode 3x05 ("oscarmike"). :(
@Sakimori I apologize, links should be fixed now!
HUZZAH! Thanks!
Wow thank you for the great episode. I didn't hear anything about AC2 before it came out and since i had a coupon on amazon I grabbed it. All I can say is wow, this is my GOTY. I liked AC1 but this game is just so much better its insane. This is one of the few times that I felt like a group of guys created a game and realized that there was a lot to fix and actually went and did it.
Great episode, although the 360 version is the better version, you guys made it seem like it was ghostbusters ps3 compared to the 360 counterpart. I don't think the difference is that noticeable when you compare the two side by side. I thought the 360 version version had better textures and color, but the ps3 version had better lighting. You guys should go to lensoftruth.com and check out their head 2 head.
@ steven: what may seem close in video is alot more apparent on a larger screen and in reality :), which is why I don't feel as if the differences are understated after all this is CO-OP, the one show untainted by bias and largely because more than 1 opinion is shared assuring a diminish to any favoutitism not to mention Ryan (the most trusted reviewer I know) said it lol, which means he said for good fortunately for me I'm starting to think that my measley 26"s of LCD may work in my favour :).
I gotta say, AC2 has been one of the best gaming experiences I've had in a good long while. I was instantly immersed into the story, the environment, and gameplay mechanics, and have never once felt like any part of the game was dull. It's not entirely perfect, but it's perfect enough in the things it executes. I've put in a little over 15 hours into completing the story, and I'm tempted to go back and get a 100% synchronization. Definitely my game of the year.
Also, THE JASON SHOW RETURNS?! I almost feel as if I'm partially responsible for this... ;)
Really, reallly awesome episode guys :) My only criticism is that you seem to apologise for the fact that the episode is different from what you normally do. It almost feels as if you're saying, "sometimes we need to go on vacation, and so here's something to pass the time". That was sort-of warranted with stuff like the GTA IV: LATD special (which was still really good), but not here I don't think.
Now this is my sort of game! I love how it's such a well-crafted game that can teach you more than what you could get out of a textbook session lol
The game hasn't even been out a week and you post a full on spoiler discussion? Might as well call it something other than a review, as I definitely wouldn't watch this if I wanted to get hyped to play the game.
I like the show, but I think you guys are discussing some games too quickly after they come out. I won't be able to watch this episode for a few weeks probably, and if there are others like me, that could result in a substantial viewership/clicks/hits drop? Just a thought.
Keep up the good work, see you in a couple weeks.
Hey, guys. Loving Assassin's Creed II; I've put up some footage on YouTube myself. It is definitely one of my favorite games, ultimately superior to its predecessor.
I am hoping you could answer a general question for me -- what audio equipment do you use to record your sound (discussions, not game)? I am looking into getting audio equipment for myself, and I can tell that what you've got is really nice (I honestly have no idea what I should be looking for). Thanks in advance, and keep up the great work. Don't give up!
Amazing show. This is by far my favorite episode. Sticking to the review and going in-depth with triple A games should be a must-do for you guys. Hope to see these kinds of episodes more!
@Shiboopie: people and spoilers, I never get what the issue is as long as the end is not told in advance I see no damage. Stories these days, especially in the aeas of originality have become so rudementary that I seldom care if parts are shown to me and a 25-30 hour game couldn't by my reasoning ruin a 30 minute show unless the end was shown, I've got to bare in mind that until I saw this review I was going to wait to get ACII however I'm buying noow going to buy it :). It's how the story is told and not what it tells, that matters.
Just brought ASSASSIN'S cREED 2 PS3 version, I know exactly what the CO-OP guys mean about some performance issues (fewer though from my experience thus far, fortunately) however I was able to negate many if not all of the visual discrepancies that apear when you compare it to the 360 version. For people who have a Samsung and find the colours to be washed out and textures that may lack definition go to your TV settings menu and CHANGE HDMI BLACK TO LOW, this isn't lowering brightness, instead it registers areas on display or in the game that were naturally created to be dark but for some reason aren't enough (dependent on personal preference and the game as I never use it for any other title), by turning this option on it provides alot of definition, sadly this is not the same as changing brightness as doing so will not conclude with the same results because that method (changing brightness) ends up darkening light areas or colours as well, basically everything :), hope to have been of some help :).
great show. this episode in particular really felt like content i couldnt get anywhere else. having a look at a single game for an extended amount of time is a fantastic idea.
Great show Area!
Can't wait until a couple weeks to watch a full episode!
You guys really need to start talking about old SNES games
It would be much appreciated....
I also own the PS3 version. I wish I had known about its technical shortcomings beforehand because, yeah, the framerate and screen tearing is just terrible. I've seen my friend play his 360 copy of ACII and it just made me angry. I kept playing through the PS3 version mainly because Gamestop wouldn't allow a return of an opened game, and after a while I grew to tolerate the technical issues.
I'm assuming that you guys took most of your footage from the 360 version? I don't blame you.
Anyway, I loved the game and I loved this episode of Co-Op. Happy Turkey Day, guys.
honestly, watching the gameplay and a little spoiler here and there make me MORE psyched to play the game, rather than the opposite. never once in the show did i feel angry at the co-op crew for revealing too much!
p.s have a good break guys, will miss you all :)
love, fangirl
Thanks guys - I really look forward to these.
You know - of all the old 1up/EGM cadre, I always believed in Ryan's passion for games. 1UP Show and later 1UP Yours were the only reason I gave a damn about anything else 1UP. Enjoy the weekend.
Unfortunately, with their new show entitled "Live Update", 1Up has turned itself into a Microsoft infomercial, losing all journalistic integrity in the process.
Maybe they should take a page from Shawn Elliot's playbook and dump on the hand that feeds you? Where's his podcasting ass now? I thought so.
I've not had a single problem with the PS3 version of AC2. I think you guys should lay off the weed. ^_^
But in all seriousness, no frame drops, no graphical issues, notta. Zilch. Zing. Zatta. Zo. Nilch. Nill. Nuttin.
@ Peter Lount - They lost all integrity when they fired most of their staff in one swift motion, imo.
@ Shiboopie - A spoiler warning was included in the show. I personally waited till after I'd completed the game, before I watched the show. It kind of defeats the purpose of the review, but it was the safest way to avoid anything being spoilt.
@ CO-OP Team - Great show, as always :)
Can you guide on a high definition review website. I got this from my friend looks ok
High definition camera
Bob