I just nerded on myself

A few days ago, or last week sometime, I beat a video game (Assassins Creed 2) in fairly record time, at least considering how I’ve felt lately. The ending of it was mind blowing and we'll get into that; video gaming has really come so far and I can’t begin to scratch the surface of how far it has before I head to work. But there’s lots of documentaries to watch on it, and its interesting to us nerdy many.

Here's a brief recap below.

This evolution affects the marketing of games too – which is one reason this game was so anticipated. They filmed a mini-movie before this game ever came out! So not only did you know the character – you became emotionally involved with his family before you ever picked up a controller. If you’re into that sort of thing I guess. I am. A lot. It was like an antiquated Godfather with cool weapons and a much more agile Vito – like a Di nero Vito from Godfather II when he’s chasing the Don in the white hat on the rooftops.

I've posted the movie below, as if to throw down a gauntlet - only the nerdiest can possibly sit through the 35 minutes it offers. Maybe in pieces, that's how I did it.

The game spans 30 years and you really watch the character grow – after each assassination the game goes forward two years and you watch the relationships and the cities evolve. Leonardo DaVinci is a close family friend – so what else do you really need to know. I don’t want to give much away anyways, but there is a justice to these assassinations, and the morality of the assassin you play (Ezio Auditore Di Firenze) grows as the game goes on….till…you know, stuff happens!

A few very quick cool points – the first movements you make in the game are as a child, like literally an infant that has just been born (the cut scene is your birth). Everyone thinks that’s creepy – I think it’s awesome. Then you watch that child grow; you even get this cool beard at the end. You just look super cool. And you can upgrade your outfit; which is important even in fantasy world for a fashion hound like myself. What? Yep. I said it.

This paragraph is going to have a small spoiler, so skip it if you want to play this game. You fight the pope. I’ll leave that there – how awesome. And not only that, but you know his history and how and why he became the pope and what his connection – his bloody connection – to your family is. So super cool.

Finally, the game literally echo’s what anyone watching the ending thinks. I had some friends here to watch it with me and we all said the same phrase, “What the fuck” – then the game said it back to us!! It was nuts! We all had a man-laugh and then were instantly re-focused to see if anything else happened – and it does!!

Never played a game quite as artistic as Assassins Creed 2 – now to wait for number three. Pardon me please, I have to go wipe this nerdy off.