Good Game: Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood, Lara Croft, Dragon Age 2, Infamous 2, Fable 3 and more

Good Game is a column about the latest news in video games and casual gaming.

New Releases

Lara Croft and the Guardian of the Light (XBLA; PC and PS3 in a month) – I don’t really like arcade games, but I played this one because it’s been so well reviewed. Overall, it’s pretty good: Nice graphics, and good variety of challenges in the levels. Definitely worth checking out if you’re a fan of Lara Croft or arcade games, but buy it soon because the first DLC will be free for the next 30 days (no doubt to make up for the lack of online co-op in the first release of the game – they’re publishing a patch to fix that next month).

News and Announcements

There’s so much gaming news, previews and trailers this week from the international gaming convention Gamescom that I can’t properly cover it all in this week’s column, but I’ll try!

First up: a lot of Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood news, including the first gameplay footage.

Overall, I like how the game seems to keep what was good about Assassin’s Creed 2 (the setting, the challenges, the costumes, etc.) and adds a layer of complexity by making Ezio build and train a group of assassins – including female ones! Here’s a screenshot:

You can read all the new AC: Brotherhood details and see several new stills in my post about it here.

Also improving on its predecessor is Little Big Planet 2 (Nov. 16 on PS3), which gives players the ability to create complete games this time, not just levels, and much better tools for creating them. The new trailer highlights the changes:

I love the new costumes that will be available for your sackgirl/sackboy, too – especially Gonzo the muppet.

I spent hours playing the first LBP with my 9 and 12-year-old nieces, and it really is enjoyable for all ages. Just be warned: if you like to build things, don’t leave yourself alone with this game over a long weekend when your partner’s out of town, or the next thing you know, you’ll have carpal gamer syndrome and a lot of empty pizza boxes.

In even more exciting news, we finally have our first look at Dragon Age 2 (Xbox 360, PC) – and a release date: March 8, 2011.

Here’s the trailer, which features a male Hawke (default first name Garrett):

You can choose Hawke’s gender (Lady Hawke’s first name is “Marian” by default), but not Hawke’s race (you’re stuck with human, I’m afraid). This is reportedly because unlike in the first Dragon Age, your character in the sequel is voiced, and it would take up too much disk space (and cost too much) to voice several different versions.

For lots more Dragon Age 2 details, read this extensive, detailed preview at IGN.

The new trailer for Infamous 2 (PS3, 2011) doesn’t show us very much, but the new gameplay footage does, and the stills are pretty good.

Although the graphics seem more polished and Cole’s powers more extensive, Infamous 2 seems a lot like the first game. That’s not a bad thing if you enjoyed Infamous, which I did, but it doesn’t “wow” me, either. Also, Zeke kinda bugs me. But zipping across a city on telephone wires never gets old!

A new gameplay trailer of Fable 3 (XBox, PS3, PC on Oct. 26), a special Fable 3-themed Xbox controller, and a Fable novel were revealed this week.

If you’re new to the game, here’s the trailer:

What this doesn’t tell you is that you can play as either the King’s brother or his sister. Here’s a screenshot of the female hero:

Most games that allow you to customize a character’s gender only use male characters in their trailers, but this trailer bothers me more than the others, maybe because the story is presented in a very gender-specific way with a heavy emphasis on being the king’s “brother.” I’m still looking forward Fable III, but it’s a problem when you can’t tell from the trailers or the boxes how the gameplay in Fable or Dragon Age is fundamentally different from Infamous or Assassin’s Creed. Check out this blog post on feminist gaming blog BorderHouse for more on that subject.

On the other end of the spectrum, Nintendo just began running this TV ad for Metro: Other M (Aug. 31, Wii), which makes it very clear that the lead is a woman (most likely because the character is a classic one and not customizable).

I don’t really enjoy animated games, so I’ll probably skip this one, but I’m interested to see how an action-oriented game on the Wii fares against all the other action games coming out this fall. (I love my Wii but only play sports, Sims, and kids games on it, mostly because I find the Wii remote difficult to use in action games that require more precision.)

BUT WAIT, THERE’S MORE!

Mass Effect 2 is coming to the PS3 in January 2011.

Zombies are coming back to Call of Duty: Black Ops (Nov. 9)!

New screens were released for Medal of Honor (Xbox 360, PS3 and PC on Oct. 12).

The new extended trailer for The Lord of the Rings: War in the North (XBox, PS3, and PC, 2011) emphasizes the co-op gameplay.

There are new maps and gameplay footage for Halo: Reach (Xbox 360, Sep. 14).

There’s a new Heroes of Might and Magic (PC) coming in 2011.

Final Fantasy XIV Online (Sept. 30 on PC, and March 2011 on PS3) has finally been unveiled.

There won’t be a sequel to Heavy Rain (PS3).

Tropico 4 (PC) was announced for 2011.

Insomniac games announced Ratchet & Clank: All 4 One, the first game in the series to feature four-player co-op.

The first screenshots of Sims Medieval (PC, March 2011) were released.

Excalibur Online (PC), a “free to play MMORT set in the days before Camelot,” started their open beta this week. Registration is free and you can start playing immediately.

BioWare revealed the Advanced Classes for your Jedi in Star Wars: The Old Republic (TBD 2011).

Metal Gear Solid: Rising (XBox, PS3) allows you to play as a pacifist.

New trailers/teasers were also released this week for Arcania: Gothic 4 (XBox, PS3, PC, Oct. 12, 2010), Tera (PC only, 2011), and Kingdom Under Fire II (Xbox and PC, late 2010), and Lord of the Rings: War in the North.

Square Enix previewed an upcoming shooter game called Gun Loco (Xbox 360) in which you fight intergalactic criminals who are wearing large rabbit heads. Seriously.

Among the new games on the iPhone/iPad is Jaws, by Bytemark Games. Yes, that’s really the name of the company.

An unconfirmed set list for Rockband 3 leaked this week, and it includes songs by Tegan and Sara, Elton John and Amy Winehouse.

That’s it for this week! Let me know in the comments what news you’re most excited about, and whether there are any games I’ve haven’t reported on that you’d like me to cover in future editions.

Sarah Warn currently runs EntertainHer.com and writes for TheTorchOnline. Follow her on Twitter and Facebook.

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