Retro Review! Planescape: Torment - PC

    Your eyes snap open and you gasp as your lungs refill with air. The ceiling above you is splattered with what appears to be old blood. You suddenly become aware that you're laying on your back on something very cold. You swing your legs over the edge of the platform and sit up only to notice that you have been laying on a slab in what appears to be a mortuary. The pounding in your head slowly subsides leaving you with only an empty, blank feeling. Where are you? Why are you here? Who are you? You examine your body and find many, many scars tracing their way across your skin. Your back itches incessantly, but no scratching can alleviate the crawling of your skin. Suddenly, a skull floats up to you and greets you. The skull explains that you were dead. There's no sugar-coating it. You were dead. The skull floats around you and examines your body. You explain to the skull that you do not know how you got here, or who you are. In fact, it seems that your memory is completely blank. The skull explains that this has happened before. In fact, you have died many times in the past - always returning to life with just a little bit more of your mind gone. The skull mentions a tattoo on your back - so THAT must have been what was causing the itch. The skull reads what has been tattooed there and describes instructions left there by one of your past incarnations. Along with a brief explanation of your never-dying "condition" are two simple commands with little explanation: "find your journal, find Pharod, both of these tasks will help you learn who you are." With these instructions in mind, you make your way out of the mortuary with your new boney companion.

Fruit Slave - Illuminated BrewWorks

    Uggghh, you've been grocery shopping for what feels like HOURS with your mom. Sure, it was fun to see all the different food - fun for about 10 minutes. Now you're bored to death and getting cranky. Soon your mom pushes the shopping cart toward the front - a sign that your suffering is nearing its end! You somehow managed to stay cool throughout the entire trip, and didn't even entertain yourself by throwing things on the floor or by breaking anything, so your mom says that you can pick out a piece of candy at the checkout. Suddenly, this entire grueling trip has become worth it for that one delectable treat of your choosing! You look over the selection: boring chocolate bars, "old people" candy, mints that burn your mouth, suckers shaped like jewelry or baby bottles - and then you spot it. Before you, glowing with the reflected fluorescent lights of the supermarket lies a bright, multi-colored pack of gum with a cartoon zebra on it. You grab the pack and put it on the conveyor belt. Soon, outside, you break into your treasure while your mom loads up the car with groceries. You pull out a stick (it's your favorite color after all!) and shove the gum into your mouth. WOW! What an explosion of fruit flavors! You can't believe that this gum is so delicious, and that you have AN ENTIRE PACK OF IT! With the boredom of the day's previous events fading from your fruit-blasted memory, you settle in to the car's seat thinking about how well you've got it made. Suddenly, you're shaken from your reverie by the sensation that you're chewing on flavorless rubber. What!? No! How could this have happened? Looking to re-live that life-changing fruit experience you shove another piece of gum into your mouth only to find this time the fruity nirvana you thought you had discovered is just as fleeting as it was with the first piece. You shove piece after piece into your mouth - the wad of chewing gum growing larger and larger. Finally, you reach down for the next piece and find nothing. Could you have really just chewed that entire package of gum!? Maybe you dropped one on the floor? No, nothing there. Could it really be over!? Your mom opens the car door and sits down, finally having finished loading the groceries. You spend the ride home with the flavorless lump of rubber sitting in your mouth - serving as a reminder that the world you're growing up in is dark, and empty.

    Illuminated Brew Works in Chicago, Illinois calls Fruit Slave a Double Dry Hopped Double IPA. The bottle states that it is hopped with massive amounts of Mouteka, Citra, and Mandarina Bavaria hops, and the beer's haziness definitely backs up that claim! I've avoided the trend of New England IPAs for long enough, so here comes the "hazy juice".

    Fruit Slave pours a hazy, brown-orange color. The beer appears quite thick, and almost milky similarly to coconut water. An ivory froth tops the brew with decent lacing on the glass.

A "slam dunk" of fruit flavor!

    The beer's aroma is heavy on the tropical fruit. I'm talking mango, papaya, orange, and pineapple here. The brew smells relatively sweet, but in more of a juice-like way than the normal caramel or biscuit bready scents from malts. There is a slight acidic tang to the beer's smell, which is reminiscent of tropical fruit juices I drank as a younger child.

    Fruit slave is medium bodied with a medium level of carbonation. Together, the carbonation and body make the beer seem almost creamy in your mouth. It honestly feels thicker than a Double IPA would normally feel, and somewhat oily. At 7.5% ABV, Fruit Slave seems a bit weaker than I'd expect from a DIPA, but that just means that I can drink more of it!

    I'd say the beer is aptly named, as Fruit Slave provides some massive fruit flavors. Similarly to the beer's aroma, tropical fruits are at the front with mango, guava, papaya, pineapple, melon, and orange. A very, very slight pine character seems to add some prickliness to the flavor, and plays well off of the beer's acidic fruit notes. Mild, wheaty malts add a sweetness to the beer, making it take on a character that's even more juice-like.

    I had avoided NEIPA style beers for a while because, well, honestly they looked different from what I was used to and sounded sort of silly. I've had quite a few NEIPAs now, and it's been a good lesson to not "knock it before you try it". I've really grown to like the tropical juice flavors that hops impart to beer when brewed in this manner. I can't say that my life is changed and that I only want "juicy" beers from now on, but I definitely enjoy a well made NEIPA quite a bit. Fruit Slave does a great job of showcasing the fruity flavors that dry hopping can produce. You can tell that a huge amount of hops went into this brew. When I had finished my glass, there was literally a thin layer of hop-leaf debris on the bottom. Fruit Slave was definitely a fruit-explosion, but just like that gum from my childhood, the bottle runs out eventually.

Amulets and Ale Rating:

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Charlatan - Maplewood Brewery & Distillery

    Step right up folks, step right up! Here we have a magnificent potion of potency - a wonderfully divine draught - a breathtakingly benevolent brew! Guaranteed to cure such maladies as a lack of lust for life, forlorn feelings of forgotteness, and of course, being burdened by boredom! One taste of this masterful brew and you too can find the very same bacchanalian bliss that I, myself, enjoy! Yes, you may be wondering why I would share such a secret with you rather than keep it all to myself. Well, you see, I have found that true joy only remains pleasant when you share it with others! That's why today, I offer you all the chance to purchase (why, only at cost for ingredients of course!) this magnificent medicine. Be sure to buy now! I would hate to have you miss out on this beguilingly beneficial bargain! Tonight only, for tomorrow I must be on my way to share this wonder with others!

    Charlatan is an American Pale Ale brewed by Maplewood Brewery & Distillery in Chicago, Illinois. Maplewood is another brewery that is literally within walking distance from my home, but for some reason it never occurred to me to review one of their beers! One thing I find very cool about Maplewood Brewery & Distillery is that they are very transparent as to what is in their beer. Every one of their cans shows the grain and hop bill for that specific beer. It is for this reason that I can confidently say that Charlatan is brewed with a mix of barley and wheat alongside Warrior, Simcoe, Centennial, and Citra hops.

    Charlatan pours a luminous, hazy golden orange. A healthy inch or two of off-white, fluffy foam tops the beer and laces nicely the entire way down. My first thought was that this beer looks a bit like orange juice!

But he seemed so trustworthy!

    Well, it looks like juice, and it smells an awful lot like tropical fruit juice! Strong, sweet scents of mango, passionfruit, orange, and grapefruit greet your nose as you bring the glass to your mouth. There is also an earthy, grassy smell in the beer - similar to the smell of hay. The smells together give the beer a sweet, juicy, and almost floral aroma.

    Maplewood's APA is somewhere between light and medium bodied, with a medium level of carbonation. The beer's mouthfeel is slightly oily, but finishes mostly dry. And yes, as was said, this is a pretty potent potion at 6.1% ABV.

    Well, it looked similar to fruit juice, it smelled similar to fruit juice, I guess I shouldn't be surprised that it tastes a bit like fruit juice! Again, sweet flavors of tropical fruits, orange, pineapple, grapefruit, and passionfruit dominate the flavor. The grassy notes from the beer's aroma are also present in its flavor, as well as notes of subdued, resiny pine. Caramel and biscuit flavors from the malt balance the more acidic and bitter fruit flavors quite well.

    While I mentioned juice repeatedly, I should specify that Charlatan definitely still tastes like a beer. The fruity flavors remain hop-tasting, creating a very enjoyable APA. I really enjoyed these flavors but felt like it might be a little too far on the "tastes more like juice than beer" side. Nonetheless, Charlatan is very tasty, and would be quite nice on a hot day on a patio. Trust me, I tried it.

Amulets and Ale Rating:

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Free Bird - Begyle Brewing Company

    It never fails, you're finally seeing your favorite band live for the first time. You've wanted to see them for years, but for some reason they never toured close enough for you to be able to attend. Finally, the planets aligned, and you got tickets to a show near you. The band sounds amazing, and the crowd is loving it. As one song finishes, the crowd begins cheering loudly. As the cheers fade into the general din of conversation and the band prepares their next song you hear it - some jerk in the front screaming "FREEBIRD!!!" The band takes notice and seems to say with their expressions "yeah, real funny guy, we've never heard that one before." And just like that, the band's mood turns from happy to be visiting your city to annoyed that they're playing for a group of idiots that don't appreciate their music. The band's energy changes from excitation to indignation. Your experience has been ruined by that one guy. Thanks a lot guy.

    Free Bird is an American Pale Ale brewed by Begyle Brewing Company in Chicago, Illinois. The can touts Free Bird's sessionable alcohol content, and also points out that the beer was named for the use of falconer's flight hops in it's brewing.

    Begyle's APA pours a slightly hazy, dark orange color with a finger of head made up of compact bubbles on top. The head fades a bit, but sticks around much longer than I would have expected. As the beer is enjoyed, the bubbles leave a thick, almost soapy, lacing down the glass.

"Play me!!"

    The beer's aroma includes notes of citrus fruits such as orange and lemon. Earthy smells of pine and dry grass are subtly present in the beer's aroma as well. There is a surprisingly strong scent of bready malts to the ale - making me wonder if this brew is going to be overly sweet. Only one way to find out!

    Free Bird is medium bodied with a similar level of carbonation. The body and carbonation together balance the beer's oily and slightly sticky mouthfeel with a certain crispness that keeps things refreshing rather than mouth-coating. I'm not really sure that I agree with Begyle's claim that the beer is sessionable. It's alcohol content of 5.6% ABV seems stronger than the 4% ABV or so I would expect from a session ale. While the beer definitely retains a certain crispness, I still find that it ends a bit wetter than I would want from a session ale as well.

    Free Bird tastes a more bitter than I was expecting after smelling such a strong malt presence in the beer's aroma. There are strong notes of lemon and orange in the ale's flavor, as well as a prominent grapefruit-like bitterness. Flavors of pine sap and hay round out the fruity flavors to give the beer a bit of a spicy, earthy character. While I was afraid that the beer would be too sweet, I'm actually surprised to find that the malt balances well with the beer's bitterness. I actually almost feel like the beer could use a bit more sweetness to tone down its bitterness. Even after I swallow the beer, my mouth remains tasting bitter for a while - again, not what I'd want in a session ale.

    While Free Bird being shouted at a concert might make things worse, I can safely say a Free Bird being opened would make things better. While the beer feels quite off from what I'd expect of a sessionable Pale Ale (in fact, it seems a bit more like an IPA), I'm pretty happy with it. I'd never heard of falconer's flight hops before picking up this beer, but I'm interested to see how it is used in the future. It seems like the hops provide quite a bitter kick alongside some earthy and citrus tones, so it could be interesting to mix with other hops in future brews!

Amulets and Ale Rating:

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Wizard King - Pipeworks Brewing Company and 7venth Sun Brewery

    Legends tell of an ancient kingdom besieged by gigantic insects. These monstrosities ate the kingdom's food entire fields at a time. The bones of those peasants unlucky enough to be tending to their fields when the swarm hit would be found by others the next day. Desperate for help, the royalty of the land sent out for a hero to assist in the kingdom's plight. Many mercenaries, champions, and hunters tried their hands at defeating the swarm. Each time their well-equipped bones were found the following day - stripped bare of flesh and lying on the ground. One day, a mysterious wanderer arrived in the kingdom. The man was of smaller than average height, walked with a staff, and wore a long robe with a hood over his head. The man was clearly from a far-off land, as he spoke with a strange accent which seemed to stress the letter "s" in a way that sounded almost like a hissing sound. The stranger met with the royalty and explained that he would rid the kingdom of its flying menace, but that in return he must be made king of the land. Having seen the many previous "heroes" fall to the swarm, the royalty agreed to the man's terms - secure that this strange man who required a cane to even walk would simply become another pile of bones. The foreigner spent the entire next day waiting in a field of ripe barley. Soon enough, the horrible sound of gigantic, insect wings filled the air. Reports of what happened next are sparse and are likely unreliable as most humans in the area fled to safety and were under great duress. What has been heard, however, is that the strange man was engulfed by the swarm immediately. Some witnesses reported great gouts of fire spraying from the man's outreached hands - burning insects out of the sky. Others swear they saw what appeared to be a great tongue darting from under the man's hood, skewering insects and returning them to his waiting mouth. No matter how it happened, the man returned to the castle and left a field full of uneaten barley and torched insect corpses in his wake. The kingdom's royalty, having seen from a distance what this wizard was capable of, scrambled to ready the crown. As the symbol of kinghood was lowered toward his head, the strange man removed his hood. To the shock of all who were present, a green, scaly face with yellow eyes slowly emerged from the cloth. Before the royalty was able to stop it's descent, the crown landed on the creature's head. This wizard was no man. This wizard was a lizard, and now, he was Wizard King!

    Wizard King is a collaboration between Pipeworks Brewing Company in Chicago, Illinois and 7venth Sun Brewery in Dunedin, Florida. Wizard King is a fusion between the mosaic Pale Ale Lizard King from Pipeworks, and Electric Wizard, a strawberry citra IPA from 7venth Sun. As you might expect from it's parentage, the collaborative brew is a Double India Pale Ale which features cryo mosaic and citra hops alongside strawberries.

    Wizard King pours a slightly pinkish, hazy, golden orange color. I saw some huge bubbles on pouring which makes me worry about the beer having poor retention of carbonation. The beer sort of resembles peach soda when in the glass because of these bubbles. A foam of large bubbles makes up about a half-inch of head on the beer's surface, and what few big bubbles stick around leave some funky lacing down the inside of the glass.

A wizard lizard drinks precisely when he means to.

    The collaborative brew smells quite nice! Between the citra, mosaic, and strawberries there are tons of fruity and interesting scents in the beer's nose. I get everything from mango, lemon, grapefruit, apricot, pineapple, and obviously strawberry - to pine and some nice grassy and earthy notes. Clearly the hops are going to be the stars of the show here, though there is a slight malt sweetness in the nose.

    The DIPA has a medium body, though it feels almost full bodied. There is a slight stickiness to the beer which feels right for its fruit content. My glass started out being carbonated at around a medium level, but the gas definitely escaped this one faster than I would have expected. As the carbonation dwindled, the beer seemed to become thicker and a bit more syrupy. The Wizard King is a potent ruler with an alcohol content of 8.5% ABV.

    Flavor closely follows the scents in the brew, and I'm very glad for it! Tropical fruit flavors are probably the most prevalent of tastes in the brew. There are also the classic IPA pine and citrus notes, alongside mosaic's earthy hay or onion-like flavors as well. At first I was disappointed in the level of strawberry flavor in the ale. It seemed to me that since strawberry was called out as a main ingredient that it should be more pronounced in the beer's flavor. As I continued to drink the beer, I came to realize that the sweet and somewhat earthy flavors of the berries perfectly compliment those flavors from the mosaic and citra hops - which I really appreciate! The hoppy bitterness of an IPA is well balanced with the sweetness from the fruit and malts as it should be in a DIPA.

    I really didn't know what to think when I first opened up Wizard King. As I said, I was a concerned about the beer's carbonation level, and I do feel like I wish the bubbles had stuck around a bit longer. More carbonation might have kept the beer feeling lighter than it did toward the end of my glass. My biggest fear was that the beer would just taste like strawberry jam. Luckily, the balance between bitter and sweet ingredients is very well done - making the beer enjoyable even after it started to feel a little bit syrupy. I have had Lizard King before, and now I really want to try Electric Wizard!

Amulets and Ale Rating:

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The Last of Us - Playstation 3

    After years of humanity imagining it's own end, it has finally come. Though many expected human extinction to come in the form of bombs, climate change, or some interstellar danger - it was Mother Nature herself that began wiping humans from her earth. Perhaps she finally took her revenge for the raping and wanton destruction of her planet, or perhaps it was just a freak mutation of a plant that was otherwise harmless to humans. Either way, the end of humanity comes in the form of a tiny, microscopic, fungal spore. Who knew something so small could be so destructive? At the beginning of the end, scientists reported that the small spores, once entering a human's body, would directly attack that person's brain. At that point, a parasitic fungus would begin to grow in the cranial cavity - slowly taking over control of the human's body. Once started, the fungal growth cannot be stopped and progresses until its human host no longer behaves or even physically appears the way he or she once did. With no way to stop the transmission of the fungal infection, what few humans are left gather in military-run quarantine areas to live out what few miserable days they might have left with the rest of the world in shambles. Yet, humanity struggles to continue, even in the face of their own extinction.

Galaxy-Hero - Revolution Brewing

    Blasting off from his secret base hidden deep within an asteroid, Galaxy Hero flies to the assistance of earth! Using his state of the art Hop Rocket and hopped-up ray gun, Galaxy hero fights to save us all from the evil genius, Dr. Badbeer! Who is this galactic warrior, and will he be able to defeat the maniacal minions of Dr. Badbeer to save the day? Tune in to next week's exciting conclusion to find out!

    Galaxy Hero is an India Pale Ale brewed by Revolution Brewing. Revolution created this entry in their "Hero" series for Chicago's annual Comic and Entertainment Expo (C2E2) which features comics, cosplayers, and all sorts of pop culture-y goodness. The beer is released every year right around the time that C2E2 takes place (March-April-May). It's kind of surprising that this is only the fourth Revolution beer that I've reviewed. As you may have read in the past, I live literally just down the road from the Revolution brewery here in Chicago, Illinois. My wife and I both drink a lot of Revolution beer, but for some reason I never think to review it!

    Galaxy Hero has a very clear, coppery-orange appearance with a sandy-colored head. I poured this beer the same way that I pour all non-nitro beers, but somehow ended up with a huge, two finger head on top of the beer. The head dissipated pretty quickly though, leaving just a few white bubbles that slightly laced the glass as I enjoyed the beverage.

Galaxy Hero piloting his Hop Rocket to the rescue!

    The IPA's aroma is heavy on the citrus, such as grapefruit and tangerine. There is also a slight bit of a resinous, piney smell, as well as tropical fruits. The beer's aroma is sort of musty-smelling, but in a good way if you can imagine that.

    Galaxy Hero is on the light side of medium bodied, with a medium level of carbonation. The brew finishes quite wet, leaving your mouth feeling somewhat oily and sticky. The beer has an alcohol content of 7% ABV.

    Galaxy Hero's flavor is extremely grapefruit-forward. There is both the citrusy tartness of grapefruit as well as a strong grapefruit peel bitterness to the beer. The pine, tangerine/orange, and tropical fruit notes from the beer's aroma are also present in it's flavor - though they are more subdued than I would have expected from their smell. The IPA's galaxy hops definitely lend a sort of musky, grassy, earthiness to the beer's flavor. There is only a small bit of pale, cracker-like malt sweetness to the beer. I feel like there is room for a bit more malt flavor to come through and knock back some of the beer's bitterness here.

    Galaxy Hero was the first of Revolution's "Hero" series that I ever had. I remember being really excited about the brewery showing off different hops against a similar malt profile. Revolution continues to create new Heroes for us to enjoy, and I am still excited to try each new one! Galaxy Hero is quite good, but I feel as though it could be balanced just slightly better. I was really kind of surprised at how much grapefruity bitterness was present in the beer. Overall, though, Galaxy Hero really showcases the musky, tropical, citrus, and earthy flavors that galaxy hops bring to the table in a delicious way!

Amulets and Ale Rating:

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Folklore - Playstation 3

    It's been 17 years since your mother passed away. Or has it? Yesterday you received a letter, supposedly from your mother, asking you to meet her in a seaside village in Ireland. You are supposed to meet her on the Cliff of Sidhe near the village of Doolin. It is said that in the village of Doolin the living can meet with the dead. You have great trouble believing that the letter could be from your mother, but what if it is? You make the trip to the island hoping to be reunited with your mother, whom you thought you'd lost forever.

    Many miles away, the editor of an occult magazine's phone begins to ring. He answers it and hears a panicked female's voice on the other end. "Help! Help me! These faerys, they'll...they'll kill me.... The village Doolin....on the Cliff of Sidhe!.....Please!" Ugh, another prank call. Will these childish bullies never cease to leave him alone? Faerys, right, how foolish do they think he is? But what if it was real? What if someone needs his help? Uncovering faerys could make for one hell of an article. Against his better judgment, he to sets off for the village of Doolin.

Coffee End of Days - Pipeworks Brewing Company

    The end of days are upon us. First came the beginning of the End of Days with its cacao nibs, vanilla beans, cinnamon sticks, and ancho chilies. Many fell in the first few hours. Those who survived saw the End of Days transform into Imperial End of Days with even more of everything that made the End of Days so powerful. Now, there aren't many of us left. Very few of us even bother getting out of bed anymore, and those who do require a strong dose of morning coffee to get started trying to rebuild. Recent news tells of another coming of the End of Days, and this time it's turning our very reason for getting out of bed in the mornings against us. We are preparing - struggling to piece together supplies and weapons. Even with these preparations, I don't think we can survive the Coffee End of Days. Farewell.

    Coffee End of Days is a Milk Stout created by Pipeworks Brewing Company in Chicago, Illinois. This is the third rendition of their End of Days Milk Stout, and it builds on the previous release, Imperial End of Days, by adding coffee to the already delicious Mexican hot chocolate inspired brew.

    Coffee End of Days pours a deep onyx that is as black as the void from which it fell to earth. The beer's head quickly dissipates into a tan ring around the edge of the glass. The foam leaves little to no lacing.

People said they could smell it as soon as they woke up.
They knew that today might be their last.

    The Milk Stout smells nicely sweet, with an obvious scent of chilies punching you in the nose soon after. Coffee, chocolate, cinnamon, and vanilla scents follow the spicy assault of the chilies. Honestly, the scent seems kind of muddled though. While I can work to experience each of these notes in the beer's aroma, without concentrating they all kind of mix together. It's almost like a band in which every member plays their own instrument as loud as they possibly can to the point that it all just become noise without really working to hear each part.

    The beer is full bodied, with a much tinglier level of carbonation than I had expected. The carbonation almost propels the chili spice up into my nose and stings it. The beer finishes extremely smooth and warm. I'm not sure if it's completely the chilies giving the warmth or if the brew's 10.5% ABV alcohol content is helping that along.

    The flavor of Coffee End of Days is quite layered. At first, the beer tastes smooth and sweet with cocoa and vanilla. The flavor then transforms into a bitter and roasty coffee flavor with hints of cinnamon. Finally, you'll notice a slow burn in the back of your throat from the ancho chilies. Personally, I love a little chili heat, but I know that some people are more sensitive to it than others. I will say that the strength of the chilies in this brew surprised me. I actually thought it was pretty warm, which pleasantly surprised me, but I could see others really being burned by the beer. To me, the best part of the beer was building up that chili burn, then taking another smooth sweet sip to mellow the heat and then do it all over again.

    I thought Coffee End of Days was extremely tasty. I was a little disappointed by the coffee part of the beer though. With it being a part of the beer's name, I really expected it to be a bit more pronounced in the brew's flavor. As it is, the coffee was a nice partner to the other strong flavors in the beer, but it doesn't become the star of the show as I was thinking it might. I have a feeling that Pipeworks will bring the End of Days back around again, but for now, I'm just glad I've survived one more round!

Amulets and Ale Rating:

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Killzone 2 - Playstation 3

    Two years ago, the Helghast invaded Vekta. Two years ago the Helghans murdered civilians, burned buildings, and attempted to seize the Vektan homeworld. The Helghast invasion was repelled, but barely so. After two years of recovery and build-up, the Vektans are ready to take revenge on the Helghans for the destruction suffered during the attack. The Interplanetary Strategic Alliance (ISA) has loaded up their cruisers with soldiers and weaponry and blasted off for the Helghan homeworld. This time, they're going to make the Helghast feel what it's like to defend your own home against an enemy.

Assassin's Creed III - Xbox 360

    Assassin's Creed has proven to be quite a successful and prolific property for developer Ubisoft. At the time of this writing, a total of 20 video games, a live-action film, a series of comics, and a series of novels have been created with the Assassin's Creed name. Unfortunately, I am horrible at keeping up with playing games as they come out. So, while Assassin's Creed III was the 8th chronologically out of the 20 games released, I'm just now arriving to the party. Partially this is because I found myself feeling disappointed with the series after playing and reviewing Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood. Against my better judgment, I forced myself to play the next game in the series, Assassin's Creed: Revelations soon after finishing Brotherhood. Revelations was so similar to Brotherhood, including all the things that I didn't like from the earlier games, that I found myself very burned out with the Assassin's Creed series. So much so, that didn't play another one of the games until...well....now. I'll admit that I had pretty low hopes going into Assassin's Creed III due to my past experiences, but I actually ended the game feeling a little better about the series. This review will cover the game's single-player mode only, as I did not attempt to jump into multiplayer.