And...the final Year in Review for 2023 (seems like last year had fewer than before).  This one for gaming, and specifically on xbox.  It's no surprise that my game of the year was Assassin's Creed Valhalla.  I think in 2022 my most played game was AC: Odyssey.

You know... I don't remember when I completed this game (or at the very least I said "OK I am done") - Based on when the achievements I unlocked were timestamped, it must have been April 2023.I wanted to finish this game before the new AC: Mirage game launched, and hey - goal achieved!In this game I chose to play as the Eivor that the game wanted me to play - so in the real world I was female, and

 OK, this is one the last blog from my backlog with a games-related theme ;-)Not gonna lie, at the end of Assassin's Creed Valhalla I was in a "WTF?!?!" mood. I wasn't really sure I wanted to know more about Basim and his ways, but...now that there's a trailer out and we get to see Basim's origin story (and hopefully some kind of redemption arc in the modern day...) I can't wait for this game

 This past spring I got an Oculus 2 to play more with VR.  The technology isn't new to me, I've had my first VR experiences in high school in the late 90s with those clunky enclosures that we used to have (and probably still do?). Then, with virtual worlds like Second Life in the mid-to-late 2000s.  I've never really been impressed, but heck...give me an assassin's creed game and I'll

Assassin's Creed: Brahman by Brenden Fletcher My rating: 5 of 5 stars I think this is my favorite comic story to date. While you do have the who assassin/templar thing going on, the protagonist is just a regular Joe Schmoe working for Abstergo.  His significant other is of an Assassin heritage (something she doesn't know) and ultimately becomes a victim

Assassin's Creed: Volume 3 Homecoming by Anthony Del Col My rating: 3 of 5 stars This was an OK story. Reading it made me wonder if they had more in mind as a continuation to this, or if it just fizzled.  It wasn't bad, but it was also not super exciting. Publisher's summary:The Brotherhood of the Assassins is in trouble. Resources depleted by their

Assassin's Creed: Assassins Vol.2: Setting Sun by Anthony Del Col My rating: 5 of 5 stars Fun continuation to the first volume.  The animus components of the story take place in the Incan Empire during the Spanish invasion. This is not addressed in the comic book or the lore, but I'd love to get more background as to how the Assassin Order's numbers dwindled

Assassin's Creed: Assassins Vol.1: Trial by Fire by Anthony Del Col My rating: 4 of 5 stars Interesting story. I was pleasantly surprised to see that the past life/animus sequences take place in Salem during the Salem Witch Trials and the hysteria that ensued.  Of course, it was all a templar ploy ;-) I do like that at the end of the individual comics they've

One of the games that I've been playing periodically while watching TV, is Assassin's Creed Rebellion. The game is a mobile strategy RPG with all the regular fixings of a free-to-play game: a limited in-game currency that you use to play missions. The currency replenishes at fixed time intervals, or you can pay to get more of it ahead of the full replenishment time. The game draws from the story

Assassin's Creed: Revelations by Oliver Bowden My rating: 5 of 5 stars This was a good ending to the Ezio storyline (and it wrapped up the Altair line as well). It follows the events of the game with the same name, but I think the author adds some more details to fill out the story. I like that they've also added the events of the short film "embers" in this book, but again - lack