Some random thoughts and opinions on some of the games I've played over the past few months.

-- The biggest disappointment of the entire year was ASSASSIN'S CREED. How can a game that got so many things right get so many MORE things wrong. The parkour-style free running is amazing and incredibly rewarding. The combat system is top-notch, with a slower, timing based feel to the swordplay. And the graphics are truly a sight to behold, both from an artistic standpoint and a technical standpoint. The animations are truly life like.

Then there's the story, which, quite frankly sucks. The whole sci-fi swerve could have worked brilliantly, but they decide to spoil it in the first 5 minutes. They could have salvaged it, but they chose to end the game with the worst cliffhanger in history. After 40+ hours of repetitive gameplay, they cut you off without warning.

More on that repetitive gameplay. Each of the assassinations consists of two parts; an investigation and the actual assassination. The investigating is fun the first...oh...two times. But when you find that you have to conduct the same fucking eavesdropping and flag fetching and pick pocketing missions for EVERY assassination, with absolutely NO deviation...well, you get my point.

So instead of being the ground-breaking experience it should have been, ASSASSIN'S CREED is hampered by repetitive gameplay and a botched story. I really can't recommend it. I give it a 6/10.

-- The best game of '07, by far, was CALL OF DUTY 4: MODERN WARFARE. The single player campaign was fantastic, but I've spent most of my time playing online. The online multiplayer is the most rewarding online experience out there. Not even HALO 3 comes close. And no, that's not a bold statement. It's merely a fact.

-- I've also been putting in some serious time with BURNOUT: PARADISE. Seriously, if you have a PS3 or 360, pick it up (along with COD4).