I am presented with a strange decision when reviewing something like Asura's Wrath.  Capcom has, for sure, created one of the most unique experiences that can currently be had on any console.  The action is fast, the characters are memorable, the world is vibrant - All of the puzzle pieces for a near-perfect title are laid out before me.  The decision one must make is not how to rate or score Asura's Wrath, it is much more basic than that. The question is...can one even call Asura's Wrath a video game?

Wrath takes place in an insane world, one where sci fi and mysticism have colided head.  Asura and pals are all servants of an Emperor, the best warriors humanity has ever seen.  They are known as the Eight Guardian Generals, and while called "demi-gods", they are in reality a group of humans whos genetic and cybernetic enhancements make them by far the strongest beings alive.  They fight a seemingly neverending, looping war for the protection of humanity's souls against "the will of the planet" and it's quite random soldiers, the Gohma.  Without ruining how or why, Asura finds himself betrayed and his family taken from him.  He is thrown from the heavens (or just a giant space station, you be the judge) to Earth, called Gaea in this world, and lies dormant for 12,000 years.  Then, everything starts picking up speed.

Asura himself is quite a sight to behold.  He is a very rough and feral fighter, constantly moving forward despite whatever may be in his path, and theres something about that which makes him appealing.  Theres a lot of repetition in the things he does, but he does them with such feeling, with such pure determination, that you want to see what he will do next.  There are entire levels you will play in the game where Asura has lost use of both of his arms and is forced to fight with legs and body alone, and yet his fighting prowess seems undiminished.  His design works well too, and really shines when you release his "Infinite Mode", where the lines on his body glow an orange/reddish hue and he gains the ability to use multiple powerful attacks.  I can easily recommend that Capcom should start putting Asura in as many things as they can.  If he is ever put in a fighting game, I am buying that game no matter what it is.

Visually, Wrath is something to really marvel at.  The enemies may be a bit too repetitious for their own good, not to mention that the Gohma look like normal wildlife animals, just slightly mutated, but the world is something to behold.  The game makes wonderful use of the Unreal Engine and spins it in a direction most aren't used to seeing.  When I think of the Unreal Engine, I think big, bulky, gritty, and fourty shades of brown...y'know, essentially Gears of War.  In Wrath, everything is vibrant, fast, hard hitting and overall unique in the current gaming catelogue.  Asura himself constantly goes through wear and tear, and his multiple forms are something to marvel at as well.  Every one of the eight Generals are animated wonderfully, and the pace of the fighting can get so frantic that Kratos would find himself left in the dust.  My only problem visualy with the game was for some reason the lips of characters kept changing which language they were speaking (They've been animated for both Japanese and English), but if one can get over that you won't find much to fault in this games incredibly varried visuals.

The core gameplay of the game is split up into three real parts.  The first is the actual combat, which like the rest of the game around it, is fast and flashy.  It isn't complicated by any means, and you'll find yourself hitting the attack button more times than a Dynasty Warrior game, but its satisfying.  Opponents who are knocked down can usually be met with a short, powerful animated attack (some of which just really, REALLY look good). The entire point of main combat is to hit enough enemies to fill your "Burst Gauge" underneath your health bar.  Once you do this, you enter what is really the heart of the game, Burst Mode.  Burst Mode is nothing more than a highly stylish cinematic that is also sort-of a quick time event.  Frantic anime-style fight scenes begin and you are constantly given input prompts to follow along with the action.  Most of the time these are not even necessary - the game will go as it was wether or not you do the input.  It all adds up to an accuracy rating at the end of every mission.  It does make one pay attention during all cutscenes though, as one never knows when these prompts may appear.  The third part of gameplay is a bit of a surprising addition, but you'll be doing plenty of it - On-rails shooting.  Entire levels play out much like a level of Panzer Dragoon, and one in particular later in the game stands out prominently as the best visual design in the game.  Dodging, locking on "missiles", destroying anything in your way, but the goal remains to fill your Burst Gague.  This game is all about its flair, and its constant goal is to get you to the next big moment.

Asura's Wrath is certainly not without some glaring flaws, the chief amongst them being the actual length of the game.  On-disk you are looking at an absolute maximum of seven to eight hours of Wrath to experience, and that quite simply just will not do.  No full price title these days can have anything less than twenty hours of content or everyone will label it "not worth admission", and in Wrath's case, there are further problems. Beyond it being short, there is a distinct lack of gameplay, the focus instead on telling an entire story through very long (yet often beautiful) cutscenes.  If you play this, you are going to have to accept the fact that Wrath is much more interactive fiction than it is video game, and that isn't necissarily a bad thing, but it will catch many players off guard and leave them feeling short changed.  The plot is the main focus here, and I have to applaud the development team for finding a goal and sticking to it, despite what the reaction might be.

Thus the question must be asked - Is Asura's Wrath a video game?  In all honesty, I can't really say that it is.  It is more of a new branch, a kind of interactive animation.  It is very much set up like a typical Japanese anime, split into "episodes", each of which even have eyecatches thrown in as if there would be a commercial break in the center of each level.  The story that is there is good, there is little doubt there, but it is a ride you have to be willing to accept goes where it wants to.  Fans of anime will see some very typical conventions coming to play, and Naruto fans especially will be able to point at more than one thing as a little bit too familiar.  There is also the now typical glaring Capcom DLC issue where to see the REAL ending of the game, you have to buy it as an additional six "episodes".  

Still, all of this added up is not enough to deter me from saying that every gamer should at least experience Asura's Wrath.  I cannot promise that it will be an experience you like, but if it is, it will be one of the most memorable in recent history.  

WARNING:  This artice contains discussions about the Assassin's Creed series that may contain spoilers.  If you have not completed previous games in the series, you have been warned.        

Information is starting to flow quite readily about Assassin's Creed 3, one of the most highly anticipated games of 2012.  There are a few bits of information coming down that are quite interesting - and some that make AC3 stand out a bit from its predecessors.

1 - It's All in a Name

Assassin's Creed 3 will be staring Connor Kenway, son of an English father and a Native American mother. Connor Kenway is actually the name given to him by the Brotherhood once he joins up - his actual name is a bit harder to pronounce - Ratonhnhaké:ton, pronounced Rah-doon-ha-gae-doon.

More interesting than this for you name source enthusiasts is the choice of the name Connor.  The names of all previous assassins in the storyline (Altair, Ezio, Aquilus, Orleov) all have to do with Eagles.  Connor, on the other hand, is Gaelic for "Lover of Wolves" or "Hounds".  Seems like we won't be jumping from heights nearly as much with Connor as we have with others, but that makes sense - whats the tallest thing in colonial America, a bell tower in Boston?

2 - We've Already Got One, You See?

The items central to all of the Assassin's Creed universe are the Pieces of Eden, artifacts from the "First Civilization" used to control humanity that the Templars just go crazy for.  During the time of Connor there will be 50 pieces in total (In modern times two of the pieces have been destroyed, leaving 48).  Of course, if the history of the series is anything to go by, the focus during the Revolution will be much more than just the fight for independence.

But part of the plot may have already been spoiled.  Through "Glyph Hunting" in Assassins Creed 2, we already know that Washington has the Third Apple of Eden, or at least obtains it by 1781.  Does he have it the entire time?  More imporantly, what does this mean for Washington's true motives?  Is he a Templar, or allied with the Brotherhood?  We don't yet know how it got into his hands, but we DO know this Third Apple is passed down to later presidents including FDR and JFK - but by what means remains a mystery.  We know it ends up with a Templar (President Johnson) as well, so who owned it first?

3 - Fine, I'll Get Another One

The goal of the Templars has always been total control, we know that.  But do you know how close they really got?  With current technology, the main goal of the Templars is to use the Pieces of Eden on a very grand scale, and they have gotten very close.

The image on the right represents one of the Apples of Eden sitting above all else and controlling it.  Seems mostly allegorical, but the Templars took this rather seriously.  The Templars would love nothing more than an aimable Piece of Eden floating up in space. The entire reason they took in Desmond to find a piece of Eden is that they already screwed up not once, but twice.  First, as covered in the American Assassin's Creed comic, Orleov and Nikolai Tesla destroyed one of the Staves of Eden in what would later be called the Tunguska Explosion.  The Second Apple of Eden was destroyed in an incident called the Denver International Airport Satellite Accident, were a Templar lost control of the Apple and ended up killing his entire team as well as a large number of others.  Theres apparently one survivor, a baggage handler, who I hope shows up in the next game.  Either way, the Templars find themselves desperately needing a new Piece of Eden, so they start hunting.  Eventually they find this guy named Desmond...

BONUS:  And Europe Thought Their Plague Was Bad...

A quick bonus to make your head spin.  According to emails that can be read in the first Assassin's Creed, a virus called "L-11" broke out in Africa in late 2006.  Within three months, 96% of Africa's population was killed.  Six years later (2012, when the games take place) Africa is still abandoned for the mostpart.

I'll come right out of the gate by saying there is something very special about this game.  Despite the fact that I have not played its predecessor and have very little knowledge of the plot and lore of the game's world, I can easily say The Witcher 2 oozes so much quality and charisma that I was instantly hooked.  If you pull anything from this review, know that the developers CD Projekt RED have created a game that has something rare these days - real heart and soul.

The Witcher 2 continues the tales of Geralt of Rivia, the titular Witcher of the series, in his quest to find further clues regarding his past.  He finds himself the personal guard of King Foltest, who is about to unleash hell upon La Valette castle and, really, thats about all you can say about the plot without begining to go into spoiler territory.  Just know that you are instantly thrown into the fray, and that is a good thing.  The game also is much less linear than its predecessor.  Three storylines exist in the game, and a single decision made at the end of the first act completely changes how and where you will play the second act.  It demands at least two playthroughs for this reason alone.

Geralt is a master of many things, so you'll find yourself spending quite a bit of time amongst menus crafting alchemic potions or altering your current set of items.  In fact, if you haven't played the first game in the series, the learning curve is quite steep.  Collecting items from almost anything, setting traps, making oils to enhance your blades, knowing what enemies need to be slain with steel and which need silver - theres quite a bit to learn.  The combat, though, is fantastic and frantic all at the same time.  The mix of swordplay and magic creates a wonderful flow during battle, so dealing with multiple enemies becomes not just a test of your equipment, but one limited only by your own creativity.  The addition of traps and throwable items just adds further depth to the numerous ways you can take care of situations.  You won't find yourself bored fighting.

Also, I did play this game on XBox 360 as opposed to PC, and I can imagine its interface being much simpler to understand when equipped with a keyboard and mouse.  This is not to say the game is impossible to play - I was able to more than cope with the controller's layout, but its efficiency is not quite what it could be.  Also, looting can be problematic with the controller as items usually appear in great big bundles, and its difficult to choose specific sets of those items.  You'll be spending a bit more time in your inventory selling or dumping useless loot than you may be used to.

The heart of this game is in it's character interactions.  The world is truly bustling and alive, though not a very cheerful place.  Blood and coin rule the day here, and alliances are necessary to ensure you'll at least see tomorrow.  Plenty of rivalries abound, as well as a good amount of straight up racism between men, dwarves and elves.  If you aren't the kind of gamer who enjoys going around talking to NPCs to find every little quest, you aren't going to have a very good time.  However, if you are, this game is an absolute gold mine.  The sheer number of things to do is insane.  Monster hunts, dealing with internal quarrels, treasure hunting - you'll never have a shortage of people to help or things or slay.  The world's areas, by compasason, feel surprisingly compact compared to other games, but don't take this for a shortage of content: every inch of this world has its worth.

The Witcher 2 is an utterly fantastic game that gamers will truly enjoy.  If you are a fan of Mass Effect or The Elder Scrolls, this game is right up your alley.  Memorable characters and plotlines, fantastic combat, a thriving world - I could list the good things about this game all day.  Simply, I reccomend you find a way to play it.  Find a friend who has it, rent it, buy it, whatever.  As I said before, this is one of those rare games where you can really tell the developers are one with their product, a true product of love.  For that reason alone I say this game is worth a go.

WHATS THE PLURAL OF KRATOS?

Well this is one hell of a surprise if you ask me.  If you pointed out most of the major single-player franchises there are left and said one of them would soon have a multiplayer component, God of War would not be my immediate choice.  Alas, we find out this morning that God of War: Ascention will feature a multiplayer component for the first time in the franchise's history.  The multiplayer looks quite intriguing actually, especially when you take into account the series' love for killing HUGE things, and this will carry straight over into multiplayer.  Still no word on a release date as of right now, but despite my hatred for the saying, this really does look like Sony Santa Monica's most ambitious project to date...and that's saying something.

GAMERS HELPING GAMERS

A quick update - If you havent heard, Michael "MYK" Kwon was recently rushed to his local hospital with a very dangerous skin disease that needed immediate treatment.  The fighting game community was able to pitch in and help with generous donations, raising their goal of $3100 in a very short amount of time.  I just think its fantastic to see a community support one in need, and fighting game players have really showed their comradery here.  Heres hoping for the best for MYK.

SUPER SONY SMASH BROS

News of the long-rumored Sony-themed Smash title has finally made its way public.  What we are getting is called PlayStation All Stars: Battle Royale, or PSASBS for short, which I have no idea how to properly pronounce.  Anyways, from what we can see from the trailer below, the game looks to play very similarly to the Smash Bros series, and you won't really get any complaints from me about that.  What is very interesting is that the studio in charge, SuperBot, was created to make this game, and has MANY fighting game enthusiasts and veterans on its crew, including Street Fighter legend Ed Ma.  I've always had a problem with including this kind of game under the "fighting game" umbrella, but maybe PSASBS can change that.

CROSSOVER ≠ CASH

Looks like its been long enough since the release of Street Fighter x Capcom to judge it as a bit of a flop sales-wise.  In the (just about) two months since the game was released it has barely managed to top 500k total worldwide sales.  This puts it a solid 175k back of Soul Calibur 5, and waaaaaay behind the sales of Street Fighter IV.  The real question at this point is simple:  what about TxSF?  Will the other side of the coin ever be seen, or will these sales numbers scare Namco off? Considering that Tekken 6 sold well over 3 million copies, I'd say Namco still has reason to be positive.  Still no potential release date on TxSF, but with no other Capcom fighters on the horizon, it's release will likely have a strong effect on the Street Fighter franchise and its current plans.

THE BEST OF THE REST

No major releases this week, but it is basically May, which means Diablo III is peeking around the corner.  Also, congrats to the Skullgirls crew for having over 50,000 downloads of the game!  It is a fantasic fighter, if you haven't played it yet, I strongly recommend it.

Thats all for this rant.  Good Luck, Have Fun.