Argo (2012)

This review is protected by Fair use.

During most of my life, Ben Affleck has been used as a punchline. I remember Conan O'Brien having a scetch where they once pulled out a big box containing, as they put it, unsold tickets to Ben Affleck movies. This was long before his directing career, and I believe such a joke won't be able to be told in a few years, because the term "Ben Affleck movies" has changed significantly in a fairly short period of time. Back then, Pearl harbor and Daredevil were Ben Affleck movies. Today, The town and Argo are Ben Affleck movies. Allow me to explain a little.

In 2007, Ben Affleck had his true directing debute with Gone baby gone. While critically acclaimed, it did not preform well at the box-office. One cannot judge a director fairly simply from a single movie, so Gone baby gone might have been concidered beginner's luck. His next movie, The town, was released in 2010, recieved much critical acclaim, and did a lot better at the box-office, earning over 100.000 USD, a huge improvement over Gone baby gone's 30.000 USD. Around now, the name Ben Affleck was starting to get a lot more respect than ever before. A lot of people I have talked to this year was suprised to hear that The town was, in fact, directed by that bore from Daredevil. I have a feeling that 5 years from now, people will be suprised that the same guy who directed The town was in Pearl harbor long before he started directing.

This brings us to 2012, and his new movie, Argo, hit the swedish theaters this very day. As they say; third time's the charm. This is no longer beginner's luck, this is skill. I can say, after watching all three of Ben Affleck's movies, that this man, if he continues to do as good as this, might be the next Martin Scorsese, and I mean that in the best way imaginable. This man really knows how thrillers are supposed to work, and moviemaking as a whole. While I don't really aprove of how he shows himself shirtless and having the camera spin around at certain times, this man might be somewhat of a genious. I am truely suprised by Ben Affleck's talent.

Honestly, I don't want to talk about the plot of the movie too much, as I usually walk into movies only knowing their titles and if they are good or not. To give a short synopsis to those who might be genuinely curious, though (if you've read this far, this might apply to you), the movie is loosely based on the 1979 hostage crisis in the US embassy in Iran. Tony Mendez, Ben Affleck's character,  who works for the CIA comes up with a plan to save six of the hostages who have escaped from captivity. What is this plan? Watch the movie to find out!

Keep in mind, though, as at one point in this movie does it become somwhat of a "movie about movies", but I didn't find it too distracting. Just don't go into this movie expecting a 100% deadly serious thriller, as this movie does have its lighthearted moments. Some might find it distracting, but like I've stated, I didn't.

One more thing to remember is that this movie is, indeed, LOOSELY based on true events. A lot of the scenes, and sometimes even characters, in this movie were made up and history is not 100% represented well. For example, Canada's involvement is mostly kept to a minimum, as this movie focuses on CIA's role. A note about this is before the end credits, so it doesn't come off as disrespectful to me. It also might be hard for actual Iranians to watch, as this movie focuses on a dark chapter in that country's history, and it may and may not come off as portraying that country incorrectly. I do not think this was done with ill-will against any culture or country, as I do not think Affleck encourage hate against middle eastern countries, only to give his version of a certain dark event that happened. For one thing, if Affleck would make a movie of the Norrmalmstorg robbery (where the term Stockholm syndrome was coined) next, I doubt I would assume he saw all Swedes as robberers or people who always defend people who do them harm. Remember that this is a movie, it needs to have dramatic tension and a lot of other stuff real life might not have. While it is not always accurate to history, I doubt it was done with bad intent, as it seems to be aware that it takes liberties and admits it fully.

In spite if its shortcommings, this is a pretty damn good film, Apart from a few shorts, mostly involving spinning cameras (seriously, Hollywood, kill that fad off!), it's shot beautifully. The music, while not spectacular, is pretty good, and oftenly sets the mood of the scenes well. Most notably, the acting is very solid, as the cast gives an all-around good preformance, although maybe not Oscar-worthy. Ben Affleck, much like in The town, has probably realised that if your acting works in a particular way, make movies where that acting fits that movie's universe. He, much like Keanu Reeves, has been known not to show too much emotions. In movies like this, this works to his favor, gives his role. Calm, collective and intelligent. People who have seen this movie and The town knows what I'm talking about. Oscar-winning Alan Arkin also does a really good job, even though his character was made up for the movie.

All in all, this movie is really good, and well deserving of your money. It is currectly running in theaters, so go watch if you're a fan of thrillers or overall good movies. If this is not in theaters when you read this, buy this movie! I wholeheartedly recommend it!

Argo fuck yourself.

Summary: Ben Affleck has proven to be one of Hollywood's currently best directors, and this movie shows exactly why. Though not always historically accurate, it's an exciting movie well acted, well shot, well deserving of your time and money. Buy this movie!

Grade: 8/10 

My thoughts on Nintendo's E3 conference 2012

This article is protected by Fair use.

I will not directly link the conference. If you wish to see it, please look it up yourself (which shouldn't be too hard).

Nintendo and Sony has dominated my video gaming for my entire life. The first console I ever got was a Gameboy and the first non-handheld one was a Nintendo 64. I consider the Super Nintendo the best console released so far and the PS2 a close second. Fortunately, my brother had a Megadrive (Genesis) and some of my friends had Xboxes (if that's even correct english), so I had the chance to experience other companies game systems. While I mean no disrespect to fans of this and that, Nintendo and Sony will most likely go strong in my game library for years to come, although I don't mind trying different platforms or even getting some of them in the future once I get the budget to do so. I must confess, though, that Nintendo have always been a personal favorite of mine, despite their flaws. They have been the only company whose conferences at E3 I have followed online, live or in video form published later, although I have seen summaries of other companies' conferences.

This year, I have decided to show the world my thoughts on this year's conference by Nintendo. I admit that I will most likely not bring anything new to the table especially regarding my lack of professionalism, but like I always say: the only thing I can always give that hasn't been given or said already is my own personal thoughts.

 As a whole, the theme of this year's conference seems to be asymmetry. The Wii U has two different screens, one on the gamepad and the TV itself, allowing you to play the games in two different ways at the same time, etc. To answer the most common critism of the Wii U: I don't care too much about the name, we all laughed at the name Wii a few years ago and 95 million units sold later, the only ones left laughing is Nintendo. What I mean is don't judge the book by its cover, wait for it to be released first.

Ever since the Wii, Nintendo has felt like Apple of the gaming world; whatever new groundbreaking way of playing games they invent, everybody laughs at first, buys it and realize it's pretty good, and try to copy it. Compare to the iPad which initially nobody believed would be a hit. It's amazing how influential Nintendo is and they find new ways to keep video games interesting. They don't just target gamers, but consumers. Some might say they're just trying being "gimmicky" and are only looking for new ways to print money for themselves, which is true to an extent. However, they have great financial ideas, target consumers, giving you a wider audience, and good ways to execute this with new ways of playing games that has never been tried before or taking older ideas and making them new and fresh. Sometimes this works, the DS, sometimes it doesn't, Virtual boy. If the Wii U becomes a hit in the likes of its predecessor, it won't be too long before more controllers have screens on them, much to the dismay of the nay-sayers.

Yes, I am completely aware that the Dreamcast did this before the Wii U, this is what I meant with taking new ideas and making them fresh. Some call it "ripping off", but taking a concept that works and try to reinvent it is what makes business business. Like it or not. If that wasn't true, Sony wouldn't have made Move and Microsoft wouldn't try to make more family friendly games or make Kinect. I am aware that companies "rip off" each other, but I do not blame them for doing so.

Admittingly, one aspects of the Wii U, specifically, being able to play in the gamepad while the TV is on a different channel or something, I do kind of like. This is great for families with only one TV (20 years too late for me, though) and kids probably have fun playing Wii U while mom is watching [insert any TV-show here]. Gimmicky? Sure, but I have to give Nintendo some credit for once again trying something different.

As for the games themselves, I will go through most of the conference and give my quick thoughts on the games. Before that, though, I feel I should say something about the conference as a whole. Honestly, it was decent. They did a good job on most parts, they were fairly interesting to listen to, and not many glaring mistakes were found on my part. I won't call them out, at least not all of them, I will leave that to the people who have a greater sense of humor than I do to properly make fun of them. I was disappointed that some text was also used in the actual trailers, speciffically Arkham city. You'd assume they write seperate texts to promote the game slightly differently. I've always liked how Nintendo doesn't always resort to celebrities to promote their games or random people to come in and play their games just to show how familyfriendly it is in the middle of their conferences. As such, I didn't like the part with the dancers, though it didn't last that long. The "conversations" the presenters had with each other felt kind of forced and rehearsed at best, but, once again, it didn't last long enough to bother me too much. I also find it interesting that they've barely shown the actual Wii U, they focus mostly on the controller, not the actual console, as in the part where you put the game in. Then again, I don't remember Nintendo dragging an actual Wii around on-stage as opposed to just the Wii remote. Once again, nothing too big, but just something I've noticed.

Finally, I will NOT talk about the games people were hoping they would show but didn't. E3 isn't over yet, after all (although I don't have my hopes up). Some were hoping for news on the new Smash bros. game or Pokemon black 2 and white 2. I didn't expect them to talk about these two, and I'm not suprised they didn't. There's something specifically related to 3DS tomorrow (I think), it's possible they'll talk more about DS titles then, too. I can give my comments on that later if my readers want (which, as of now, are nonexistant). However, I'm slightly disappointed they didn't talk too much about Assassin's creed 3, since it's one of the most hyped and talked about games this E3. I suppose the Ubisoft conference took care of that, but it wouldn't have hurt if they BRIEFLY talked about it, at least, such as the Wii U specific controls, like they did for Arkham city. I was also disappointed that they very briefly showed Mass effect 3 and Tekken tag 2, since both those games are pretty hyped, although Mass effect 3 has already been released, and the fans still haven't seem to recovered. Come to think of it, it might have been for the best if the didn't talk about Mass effect 3. Also, I do hope 3DS lite or something are in the works, because I'd love to see that. Maybe next E3.

That said, let's talk about the games they showed (apologies if I miss any)!

Pikmin 3: The first game they showed. They even had a few Pikmins visit Miyamoto in the begining. Nice way to get things started, I guess, especially since Pikmin 3 has been pretty requested lately, perhaps mostly because Olimar was featured in Brawl. I haven't played that much of Pikmin. It was years ago, but from the little I played, I liked it. It's possible I'll get Pikmin 1 and 2 if Pikmin 3 get good enough reviews for me to bother with it (if I get a Wii U).

Since I'm not a Pikmin fan, or at least not yet, I don't think I can do this game justice. I do admit that it looked good from what little we saw (like most games do on E3), especially the graphics. It's good that Nintendo seems to catch on in the graphics department, although Microsoft's and Sony's next consoles will probably have even better graphics, I guess Nintendo might be doomed to have graphics one generation behind if this keeps up. That said, the game looked pretty good, although the use of the Wii U felt kind of tacked-on, it could might as well have been a Wii game. Then again, don't speak too soon. This is Nintendo we're talking about, they're damn good at making games and usually suprise even me. I can only hope this game will be the game Pikmin fans have been waiting for and deserve, and will hopefully introduce new fans to the series.

Just to get it off my chest: Reggie and Miyamoto are both awesome. There, I said it.

Wii U: I know this isn't a game, and I've already talked about it, but I figure I'd give it another look.

I have to be honest, the controller looks pretty good. While the graphics on the gamepad and the games themselves are most likely exaggerated and won't look half as good in the final product, it looks pretty impressive as of now. Wii U is basically a DS where the upper screen is your TV. The gamepad has two control sticks, one gamepad, four buttons (A, B, X, Y), four shoulder buttons (very similarly to a PS-controller), start and select buttons, a microphone, a camera and a touch screen. I left some details out, but it basically sound like a single screened DS with a few more buttons. It supposedly have built-in sensors as well, alowing you to tilt your controlpad and affect the game, like in Wario ware: twisted (speaking of, I can't wait for the next Wario ware for this console, it will be even sillier than ever before). I hate to admit it, but I'm impressed and this looks rather promising. The only REAL problem is that it might come with an extremely high pricetag, maybe more than 599 USD. Since the controller is fairly high tech (for a controller), it's possible the actual Wii U won't be as impressive, similar to the Wii. Mind you, I own a Wii and I still use it, but even I know it's rather lacking in some part, like graphics or online play. Naturally, graphics aren't the only thing that matters, it's called video GAMES after all, i.e. you're meant to PLAY them, not look at them. that would be movies. It's too bad that sometimes hardware have to be sacrificed for innovation sometimes. I've looked up some technical specifications for the Wii U, most of which were gibberish to me, but it looked somewhat lackluster in its hardware, although not flat-out terrible (couldn't find any mentions if it will finally have a DVD-player, though, something that might not go unappreciated).

They also talked about the social aspects if of the Wii U, most of which was browser based. I honestly don't care about that sort of thing, but you are free to check it out if you wish.

All in all, it looks promising. It has all the potential to be the next Wii or the next Virtual boy. Tread carefully, Nintendo.

New Super Mario bros. U: Honestly, how long can you call this "new" Super mario bros.? It's not thaTt new anymore.

That aside, it looks pretty fun. They've added some new features, such as chatting or watching replays, Yoshi and its abilities, or a player using the gamepad placing blocks on the screen. Other than that, it seems like your basic Mario game: innovative and fun. If I get a Wii U, this will be one of the first I'll get. Seems like a perfect launch day game, like how Super Mario 64 was for Nintendo 64. I only wish they did the same with Super Mario 3D land, then I would have been one 3DS richer today.

However, it might not go down in Mario history as one of the best in the series. I can only hope for me and my friends' entertainment that I'm wrong.

Batman: Arkahm city: armored edition: Too bad Harley Quinn didn't lead the entire presentation, though that small cameo on the screen was pretty fun. Also, the picture above uses the british way of spelling armored.

I've been thinking of reviewing Arkham city for a while now. I think it's way better than Arkham city and might be the best superhero game yet, or at the very least the best Batman game yet (which used to be the Batman on the NES in my opinion, seriously). Honestly, the Wii U version of it (armored edition, seriously?) seems pretty good. They've mostly just changed the controls a bit, such as searching for clues on the gamepad's screen, or using the gamepad's screen (expect to see the "using the gamepad's screen" a lot in this article) to change weapon or steering remote controlled batarangs. Some of the old weapons seems to be tweaked a bit, for example, you now hack using the touch screen on the gamepad and try to avoid sensors while looking for the password. It's hard to explain, but it looks pretty decent. The only really new thing they've added is BAT-mode. During fights, a new meter will be filled. Once it's full, you can activate BAT-mode via the gamepad's screen to make Batman momentarily stronger. To any and all self-proclaimed pros of Arkham city believing this system to be nothing but a way to help newbies become better at a game that is generally believed to be pretty hard at times: I believe you don't actually HAVE to activate it. You can probably still carry on the fight without giving a crap about the BAT-gague.

This game is perfect for launch day. People are already familiar with this game, it has recieved critical acclaim and sold pretty well. We know what to expect from this game. Arkham city is regarded as one of the best games of 2011, and it could work again, although maybe not out-do itself. The Wii U gamepad is PERFECT for a game like this. Batman is the world's greatest detective (in the DC universe at least) and he have always used a wide array of helpful gadgets and items to carry on his investigations. The gamepad feels like one of Batman's toys, it's certainly high tech and gimmicky enough, just look at his cryptographic sequencer. Best of all, there's really not much risk involved, since gamers know that Arkham city is a damn good game and a gamepad will most likely not change that. That, and this has was announced for the Wii U almost as soon as the Wii U itself was announced. It won't suprise me if this game comes bundled with Wii Us on release date. I'd buy it, at least.

Seriously, check this game out, either version is fine! Please check out a trailer for the Armored edition (or armoured) while you're at it!

Scribblenauts unlimited: There's mot much I can say about this game. This is especially too bad after all the stuff I wrote about Arkham city. However, I've never played any Scribblenauts game. I've heard the first game was pretty good and the second game was slightly better recieved. I know that it's about the playing being able to draw anything and stuff, but it never interested me. I'm not saying it's bad, I'm just not all that interested in it.

However, the trailer did its job, it showcased the game pretty well and gave me a good idea of its features and what it's about. It didn't convince me to buy the game, though. I do recommend Scribblenauts fans to check it out themselves if they haven't already. It's also for 3DS.

Wii fit U: Once again, I'm indifferent. I know the Wii fit introduced people who aren't into video games to the Wii, and it sold pretty well. The trailer shows some decent features for a game of its kind, such as additional pedometer support and whatnot. If I was into Wii fit, I would probably be excited for this, it looks like Wii fit but bigger (no pun of any form intended).

Sing (working title): This seems like a Kinect game, honestly. It advertises as a sing game the people who aren't singing can join in, via dancing or singling along. How can the game know they're dancing in the background exactly? Does the gamepad's camera take care of this? Seems like something you'd need a camera on the TV for, or a Kinect. Then again, this is probably intended to be a game you can just bust out at any party in the world and people might have fun, so I guess the game might do its job in the end. Plus for the imaginative title, I think they forgot the "star" at the end, though.

New Super Mario bros. 2: This one's for 3DS. It looks pretty promising, actually. My overall thoughts are mostly the same as NSMBU, but this one seems to focus on transforming everything on the screen into coins via various means. Guess Nintendo really can't hide their love for money anymore. Jokes aside, this might be a pretty solid platformer for a handheld, probably up there with Super Mario 3D land.

Paper Mario sticker star: 3DS game. Another series I'm indifferent to. I know a LOT of people like the Paper Mario series, I've only tried the first game and Thousand-year door. They were pretty good games if memory serves right, but nothing that hooked me. It wasn't the graphic style or anything, which might be a common complaint about the series or not, I just simply never got into them. I will say that I might play them again and it's possible that I'll like them better than the first time, some games needs the right mindset to get into.

For those interested, you collect stickers in this game, which also works as your attacks. For example. you can find a shoe sticker and you can then stomp enemies. Sounds fun enough, can lead to some interesting game elements. I'm sure Paper Mario fans will be thrilled, I know a few. I'll wait until I've played other Paper Mario games, though.

Luigi's mansion: dark moon: Once again, 3DS game. Never thought they'd make a Luigi's mansion game, honestly. Yet, here we are. It was one of the first gamecube games I bought, third to be exact, and I remember that I enjoyed them back them. I've played it quite recently, and it holds up ok but today's standars. It's by no means a horror classic or anything, or "Mario" classic, even. It's a pretty original "Mario" game for its time and deserves a second look.

In the new game, there's more than one mansion that needs investigating. Sounds interesting enough. New ghosts were promised, some which might require unique capturing types. Seems like a basic sequel. If I ever get a 3DS (or 3DS lite as I hope), I'll be sure to check it out, and you should too. Although I don't expect the new Super Mario galaxy or the likes.

Lego city undercover: More stuff I'm indifferent to. I loved to play with Lego as a child, but even then I though that Lego didn't really need video games. Legos are too blocky to fit in smooth 3D. Good thing I wasn't born five years ago, there seems to be Lego versions of EVERYTHING today, even Lego rockband.  I know people like the Lego games, but I'd rather stick to actual Lego instead. This game looks ok, though, something I'd probably play if I was a child. Probably. If you're interested in the Lego video game universe, check it out. It's got to be better than the old Lego island games, at least. It also has an 3DS version in the works, too.

Just dance 4: Nothing I care about the slightest, but I know the Just dance games sells pretty well and is probably fun if you're a 15 year old girl or something. This also has that dance number I talked about. In the end, this is nothing I will be playing anytime soon, even at parties.

ZombiU: A somewhat pleasant suprise, actually. If unlucky, this game might be the Wii U's Red steel; a pretty cool idea with a lot of potential with mediocre-at-best results. What I mean is that this game looks pretty neat, but it might be just another attempt to use a gimmick without trying to make an actual game or gaming experience. However, the game seems to use the gamepad pretty well, maybe even better than a future Resident evil game might. It also awoke my curiosity in a Fatal frame game for the Wii U, as it could turn out pretty good. I'm afraid there's not too much to say about this one, it's just your basic zombie game with a twists, the gamepad, that is. Could be great, could be lame, only time will tell. It also seems to use a "zombify yourself" function with the gamepad's camera. Zombie Reggie was suprisingly entertaining, something you could look up if you wish. It also opens up new posibilities for horror games for the Wii U, something that might work. For a while, at least. Check this game out!

Nintendo land: Also a suprise, didn't see it coming, nor did I read about it beforehand or anything. Unfortunately, I'm not the least interested in this game. Granted, it's the first themepark based game with Nintendo characters I've seen, but it would've probably been a better idea if they opened an ACTUAL themepark. If Angry birds can, Nintendo can. There might be one somewhere, but I'm too tired to check that at the moment. As for the game itself, it's just a few Nintendo-themed video games that's meant to be fun for the whole family and such. If I had kids, it could have been a decent choise if they kept it to themselves. Pass. I do admit that the Luigi's mansion game seems pretty fun.

There was also two quick trailer collages of games, only two of which I wish they could have talked about more. The Wii U games shown were Darksiders II, Mass effect 3, Tank! Tank! Tank!, Tekken tag tournament 2, Trine II: Director's cut, Ninja gaiden 3: razor's edge, Aliens colonial marines, and the 3DS games were Castlevania: lords of shadow - mirror of fate, Disney's Epic Mickey: power of illusion, Sribblenauts unlimited, Kingdom hearts 3D: dream drop distance. Additionally, Ubisoft had their own collection of mini-trailers; those shown were Assassin's creed 3. Rabbids land, Your shape fitness evolved 2013, Rayman legends, Sports connection, Avengers battle for earth. The only one that caught my attention was Assassin's creed 3, but I bet Ubisoft's own conference took care of that one.

There's an additonal 20 minutes of extended trailers for some games at the end of the conference, but it was prerecorded, and most of it was for Wii fit U, Nintendo land and ZombiU, so I don't count it as a part of the actual conference. You can check that out too, if you wish, though.

Summary: In my opinion: this conference was decent. There's stuff to make fun of, such as occational slip up,  the stiffness of the interactions between the presenters (if that's what it's called) or the dance game sequence. Fortunately, they showed some seemingly good games, although many were simply glanced through. The Wii U looks promising enough, and could become the next Wii or the next Virtual boy. If you have time to spare, check out the conference yourself, or a summary at least.

All images found via google and are copyrighted by their respective owners.

Assassin's creed 2 (2009) PS3

This review is protected by Fair use.

Note: The version I've played is the Assassin's creed 2 game of the year edition + Assassin's creed. I do not know in great detail how this version differs from the previously released ones.

Additionally, please play Assassin's creed before reading this review as this review might contain spoilers. 

In the world of video games, sequels are usually a good thing. The developers oftenly listen to the critism of the previous installments, work how they can make the next game even better, while sticking true to the same formula and at the same time tweak it enough it becomes a whole new experience. Unlike movies, video game sequels are usually better, or at least more critically acclaimed, that their predecessors. Your favorite video games are most likely a sequel of some sort, or at least part of a series in some way or form. For example, I prefer Streets of rage 2, Street fighter 2 or Kingdom hearts 2 over their originals. Of course there are sequels so far into the series that it's almost unfair to compare them, mostly because the predecessors were most likely great for their times and the sequels are and always will be closer to the ideal video game today since they always will be newer. Super Mario bros. were great for its time, but Super Mario world outpreforms it in all aspects. Ocarina of time and Final fantasy VII are said to be two of the greatest games of all time, although no one seems to mention the original Zelda or Final fantasy game in the same sentence. While there are sequels that does not get the same approval of the installments before them, such as Devil may cry 2, this rule mostly holds true in video games. I personally believe a series needs at least a trilogy, one to start the series, one more to test new things and experiment a bit, and a third to perfect it. I believe Spyro: year of the dragon is far better than Spyro or Spyro 2, just to give an example. This, too, isn't all true, since I still prefer Streets of rage 2 over 3, or Chrono trigger over Chrono cross  (though this doesn't usually count as a trilogy).. Video games needs sequels in order to improve, and in turn, risks needs to be taken,

Assassin's creed 2 (AC2) is a perfect example of this done right.

Everything Assassin's creed created, AC2 expands. Assassin's creed was a linear and somwhat boring game with not much variety to it. AC2, on the other hand, is a LOT more open and is more of a sandbox game á la GTA at times. There are  much more sidequests to do, you now have money, enabling you to buy new weapons and amror among other stuff, and even throw away to the people on the streets. The annoying beggars and drunkards are now gone (although street musicians, or bards, act in a similar fashion to beggars, but they're not quite as annoying as beggars since they're quiet when you're not around unlike beggars who continiously beg even when they don't see you), so there's no one to push you around anymore, literally. The carriers are still around and still annoys me, but they seem slightly less frequent in various locations. The climbing is also improved, since you now can climb faster by holding R1 and you learn new climbing techniques as well. This game feels like how Assassin's creed was ,meant to be, but never was for some reason.

Another major improvement is the storytelling. Let's be honest, by the end of Assassin's creed, we don't know too much about Altaïr. There's not mention in the game of his family, his hometown, how he came to join the assassins, etc. While I think Altaïr is a decent character, although bland, I wish the game that introduced him could tell us a little more about him, since this was his first ever appearance. Some might say it adds to his mystery, but I see no reason to keep the player in the dark about the main character in such a story driven game as Assassin's creed. The new protagonist, Ezio (pronounced Ett-zih-o) is more fleshed out, and perhaps that's why he has become more popular. I won't give away much about the story, but let's just say that most of Ezio and his past is shown in the game (though I still can't believe he has the same voice actor as Sonic). The game even explains the shift to Ezio and do try to cover up some questions one might have by simply being introduced to the new premise and characters. This is something I actually like, even if the explainations are brief and usually only lasts a line, but I don't recall having too many questions unanswered during the course of the game (until the ending at least).

The controls are largely the same as before. You learn some new moves, most of which are helpful, such as climbing faster. Finding out exactly what the new tricks are is pretty fun, and I won't spoil anymore. I do think parts of the climbing could still be better, such as jumping from walls, but at least they are improved.

Not so suprisingly, the graphics are much better, even though the first game had pretty good graphics, too. It feels more colorful and at the same time more "real" to me. If you liked the viewpoints from the other game, you're going to love this one. I still don't quite get why there have to be so many viewpoints and why you pretty much have to use them in order to navigate correctly. Something I wish they could have cut down on. Additionally, the music is pretty decent, but not anything I wish to rehear soon. It doesn't have to be all time high in order to be good, though.

In spite how varying the missions feel, the game can be sort of long sometimes. It drags its feel in the later part, but by the time I started to notice this, I was pretty close to the ending I was motivated enough to keep going. Of course the story was a major factor, too. It's nothing "game breaking" or something unbearable even. Just something I hope Ubisoft will think about until Assassin's creed 3. Some of the sidequests , like the feather gathering, weren't all that interesting to me, although I liked the Villa one since it made me feel like I had my own mansion and even made money off of it. Still better than no sidequests, though.

All in all, this game is a huge improvement, and is a lot more fun to play than its predecessor. If you somehow haven't tried this game out yet, do so. I recommend the Assassin's creed 2 game of the year edition + Assassin's creed version.

Also, I assumed people wanted me to make some sort of this line, but I will only say it instead: Requiestat in pace.

Summary: A huge improvement over Assassin's creed, this game is more open, has better storytelling and gets rid of a lot that held its predecessor back.

Grade: 8/10

All images found via google and are copyrighted by their respective owners.

Assassin's creed (2007) PS3

This review is protected by Fair use.

Please note that I got the Assassin's creed 2 game of the year edition + Assassin's creed version of this game. In this case, you downloaded Assassin's creed (hereby abbreviated to AC) to your PS3 or PSP (I haven't tried if the latter works, though) and Assassin's creed 2 (AC2) needs the disc to be played. Thus, it is possible that this version of AC has shorter or maybe even longer loading times and other slight differences. For once thing, some of the speech was sort of disorted, but not by much, possibly to compress the game for minimum size and whatnot. In other words, I cannot speak for the stand-alone version of this game, i.e. the one on a seperate disc, only this one version I happen to own.



As for the game itself, which is probably why you're reading this in the first place; all I need to say that it took me 5 years for me to play this. I remember the trailers and that it was pretty hyped during its release. It was supposedly a good rival of Prince of persia. In the end, it recieved pretty decent reviews, ofthenly with final ratings in the likes of 7 or 70% and the likes. Which isn't bad, but not enough to pipe my curiousity enough to actually buy it. That, and because I had no PS3 or 360 back then. Still, I liked the look of the game and the character designs. I even got the mobile version, which was ok in my opinion.

So where does this all lead to? Not much, actually. To be perfectly honest; I have very little to say about this game. Since it's so story driven, saying too much will end up spoiling the story and give away major plot points. I can still talk about some of the gameplay, though. During AC's initial release, it recieved complaints about the climbing, many claiming that pressing and holding one single button will get tedious after a while. Honestly, I didn't feel much of that, since Uncharted uses mainly a single button for climing, but not entirely., and Uncharted has some of the best climbing control I have experienced so far in a video game. This game's climbing is ok, though. It feels a little akward to get the control scheme down at first if you have played Uncharted as much as I have, but it will stick eventually. For example, in AC you hold circle to catch onto ledges when falling or dropping. In Uncharted, you hold circle to NOT grab into ledges. However, once I learned it, which didn't take long, it felt pretty good. You do climb kind of slow, though. I also don't get why you have to climb towers and churches and look over the area (aka viewpoints) in order to see your surroundings on the map. Why is this so necessary? I find it next to no fun, although I do understand that it was put in the game in order to add to its "variety-factor". I will talk more about this later.

The fighting mechanics are pretty decent as well. Attack with your weapon with square, grab with circle, block with R1 and lock into enemies with L1. Naturally, you will learn more moves along the course of the game. I do like that you recover health pretty quickly in this game, especially useful after accidentally dropping down from a building and hurting yourself pretty badly. However, enemies hurt you suprisingly hard, and it can be easy to die quickly if you are careless. Playing it safe, like standing in a corner and counterattacking all attacks, can too be a little annoying at times, especially since there are some times you HAVE to fight and not flee like a coward. There is one thing I still don't get. How does the enemies sometimes counterattack everything you do without fail and sometimes they don't? Some enemies counterattack all your attacks and grabs leaving you with little to nothing to defend yourself with. It depends on how strong the enemy is and how far you have gotten into the story, as your sword skills improve over the game. Sometimes, though, especially in the final parts of the game,  enemies counterattacks everything you do. At times, it's easier to simply throw them to the ground and finish them off with a single stab, instead of having to fight them for a minute or so. This is especially annoying in the early parts of the game when you can randomly stumble across the more powerful enemies that roam the entire map who and you can't do anything other than run and hide. I know this game encourages feeing and hiding ,like Metal gear solid, but when the game forces you to fight, it shouldn't have to be so random just to land a hit.

Also, if you want information on the game's plot, go buy the game, even if you have never heard of it.  I won't go into much detail, all you need to know that you play as the assassin Altaïr and your job is to assassinate people and get away from the guards. It's about as varying as it sounds.

Amazingly, this game's civilians are more unhelpful than any civilians in all Marvel comics combined.  The beggars run up to you and blocks your path, begging for coins which you can't give them even if you wanted to. The carriers (women holding pots on their heads or men carrying boxes) will drop whatever they're carrying and give away your position to the guards or assassination targets if you bump into them, although this can be avoided by using the Gentle push command by holding circle while walking. The drukards and madmen will push you, which will poltentially break your cover. They can also push you into water, causing instant death (another thing I hate, Altaïr can't swim, and this game WILL exploit this). You can punch or grab them to make them flee and will not cause the guards to notice you, most of the time. Lastly, there are the thugs who will engage in fistfights with you, which can be annoying since you have to engage in fistfights in order to get information. If a few thugs happen to be around, they can hurt can possibly kill you. The only helpful civilians are the scholars, which act as moving hiding spots, hiding among them will not cause the guards to be suspicious of you. Also, the game clearly state that you must not kill civilians, doing so will cause you to loose HP (I know it's not actually called that in-game, but people get my point) and killing three will kill you. Their bodies will also cause guards to be caucious, once again potentially causing you to have your cover blown. Honestly, whenever I see a drunkard or madman, I wish I could simply assassinate them to save me the trouble. Honestly, in the end, it might not be worth the trouble.

The graphics are actually pretty nice for its time, and they hold up pretty decent by today's standards. The scenery is pretty beautiful and the lightning effects are good. The music is pretty good as well, but nothing that will go down in history. Overall, I guess I'm fairly neutral in these particular aspects, but at least someone out there might enjoy them more than I did.

The voice acting is ok. The character's accents are believable at best, although it's weird that Altaïr seems to have none when all others do. Nolan North does a pretty good job as one of the characters, not going to say whom, though (Nolan North is also the voice of Nathan Drake, yet another funny similarity to Uncharted) and Philip Shahbaz is ok as Altaïr. The lines themselves are usually good as well, can't recall any extremely silly moment or laughing out loud at a single line or something. Could have been a lot worse.

One thing I really did like was the story. The game shows some interesting and somewhat fresh ideas and they make the story as a whole a lot more whole and enaging. This part I wil not talk to much about, as I recommend the story and playing the game through just to get the story.

However, there is one final and major complaint I have: Sometimes, it can be pretty boring. You go to a town, climb viewpoints just to know what's going on in the district you're in, gather information about your assassination target by talking to pickpocketing maps, making small quests for informatives, eavesdrop etc, rest up and finally kill the target. Repeat eight times. They only give interesting tweaks in this formula late in the game, and by then I was pretty tired of formula anyway. Fortunately, the story does keep the game interesting most of the time as it's the only reason I kept playing it. The motivation Altaïr seems to have for most of the game is to restore something, until he realizes there are bigger things to worry about, and before those bigger things unravel, there was little to no motivation for me to keep going. The tiresome foruma and unhelpful civilians sure didn't help either. Plus the fact that you seem to drop like you've just been shot when you're near a ledge if pushed or attacked, mostly causing you to fall to your death even with circle held down. Sadly, for me, the very good parts of this game, its story and ideas, are almost lost. If the parts I have talked about, its variety-factor in particular, this game could have been really good. Sadly, it's merely decent to me. It was the start of a pretty good series, though. I do recommend that fans of this series replay this game and see if it still holds up as well as they think, which it doesn't in my opinion.

How do those guards summon stones to throw at you no matter where they're standing?

Summary: This game's strong points, its story and ideas, are almost lost in the of lack of variety and tedious NPCs, although this is marked the beginning of a good video game series. However, it will not stand the test of time.

Grade: 6.5/10


All images found via google and are copyrighted by their respective owners.

My top 20 favorite breakdowns in Ace attorney

This article is protected by Fair use.

WARNING: CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR ALL ACE ATTORNEY GAMES, INCLUDING GYAKUTEN KENJI 2!!! READ AT YOUR OWN RISK!!!

The Ace attorney series is famed for its weird and quirky characters. Everything from their design to name can be described as over the top. Fortunately, they're usuallt not 100% played for laughs. Some of these people are genuine assholes and even murderers. Which is why I love do expose their lies in their testimonies as much as I do. Most of the people you cross examine or have rebuttals with deserve to be exposed for what they are: criminal scums. That's why it's also fun to see their reactions when you expose them. Their over the top reactions, oftenly called breakdowns, are oftenly very satisfying and rewarding, as well as entertaining to watch. But which breakdowns are the "best"?

Below is a list of my favorite breakdowns in the entire series. The only criteria to make this list is that it must be a breakdown, i.e. the reacton the character makes when you have fully exposed their lies and they have admitted defeat and guilt. It must also be entertaining in some way or for, at least to me. You may have your own picks, but these are MINE.

Finally, this is not a particularly serious list. This is mostly for good fun, so if I happen to miss your favorite(s), please don't be rude about it.

All that said, here are my picks!

20

Frank Sahwit was the first witness you ever examined, so naturally he was the first one to have a breakdown. Unfortunately, he's not an interesting character, just a simple cowardly thief. He did suffice as the first witness ever, though.

The breakdown: Easily one of the most famous in the series. It's technically two, but I count them as one. First, he rages and throws his tupé at Phoenix (Edgeworth in GK2) and simply goes insane. Later, when all reasonable doubt has been removed, he starts to froth at the mouth and faint. How? Who knows, but it's pretty rewarding for being the first breakdown in the series, so extra points for that.

19

This one is from the so far Japan-only Gyakuten kenji 2 (Ace attorney investigations 2). I will be fair with spoilers from this game, since it hasn't even gotten an english release. However, some of the breakdowns in this are far too good to ignore. I won't give all the details, but needless to say, Yukata Kazami is guilty.of murder. After a long struggle, Edgeworth finally finds out. What followed was...

The breakdown: Being a pastry chef,Yukata oftenly shapes "sculptures" during his dialogues. This one is his masterpiece. In pure rage, he blows up pastry  and violently sculptures it to a replica of himself. He then pauses for a moment and slices it in half. The symbolism in this game is astonishing to say the least. This one gets an extra point for its "artism". Art can be funny sometimes.

18

A lot of fans will probably be angry with me for placing Godot so fairly low on this list. While he is easily one of the best villains in the entire series, far superior to those we have seen on this list so far, his breakdown wasn't exactly dramatic or funny, just pretty standard. However, his reveal had a great build up, as he was the prosecutor of all cases Wright faced in the game, only to be framed for "murdering" the woman who ruined his life. We can sympathize with him because his life really did suck in the end, he had pretty much everything he loved stolen from him in one way or another. One can't help but to feel sad for this truely tragic character as he finally is sent to jail for his crime. His coffe metaphors is pure nonsense, though.

The breakdown: His vizor explodes and he flinches backwards. Later, he is seen bleeding through his vizor. He says that since he can't see red, they must be his tears. The whole scene is truely dramatic, but the breakdown itself isn't all that great. It's a decent end for a great character.

17

Enough of drama and character development for a while, you came here to see silly over the top reactions, right? Well, I've got a pretty good one for you right here. Cammy Meele interest include sleeping, murdering, and blowing bubbles. Once she stops sleeping during her rebuttal with Edgeworth, she starts blowing some bubbles (perhaps joking about the common cliché in media where sleeping persons are shown blowing bubbles through the nose or mouth) and gets a more serious attitude. Eventually, like all criminals, she breaks down in a pretty funny scene.

The breakdown: Cammy starts blowing bubbles more intenstly than before. The bubbles starts popping and damages Cammy in the process, causing her to endlessly being barraged by her own bubbles. I'm not going to make a Bubblebeam joke, pokémon fans that saw this breakdown already made it in their heads already.

16

From the same case as Cammy comes Zinc Lablanc. Sure, he's not the ultimate criminal in the case, he's just some witness douche. I was originally only going to put the true culprits of the cases they star in on the list, but this one is too funny to overlook.

The breakdown: Somehow, Zinc is struck by a huge wind,eventually causing him to fall backwards. The way his skin moves is what makes this breakdown as funny as it is.

15

There are a few lame villains in the series, and Richard Wellington is one of them. He mostly spends time bragging about his education and looking down on people for not having the same class as him. What's worse is that he actually caused Wright to loose his memory for a short while, making it hard to defend his client. Richard most likely meant to kill him, making him even more of a douche he already is. However, he also has one of the funniest reactions in the game he's in, not just his breakdown.

The breakdown: In sheer panic, he shouts at the top of his lungs and pulls both ends of his scarf so hard that he strangles himself and faints. Frankly, it would have been more funny if he accidentally killed himself, but I digress.

14

Another one from GK2. Once again, not gonna say much about guy, other that than his name is Manosuke Naitou and he is the culprit in the first case. He also likes to spin his guns and style with them. His greatest gun trick is saved for last, though.

The breakdown: He spins his guns faster than usual. Eventually, he throws them into the air, probably hitting something on the way up. A bunch of objects falls down on his head, including a miniature statue of The thinker, and his head is knocked into his neck brace until he falls down. This makes him the only person in the series to be hit by The thinker and survive, although he is murdered in the following case. Suddenly, it doesn't feel as funny anymore, does it?

 

13

GK2 time again. This is Bansai Ichiyanagi, a prosecutor. Unfortunately, he's rather corrupt. Not going to give all the details. but that hair if his isn't real. The reveal of this fact is quite hilarious.

The breakdown: His lighter starts erupting while he screams in agony. Or something. His beard then catches fire his entire "headpiece" is burned up withing seconds. He then cough up some smoke. When I saw this the first time, I laughed at it, it's kind of bizarre even by Ace attorney standards. Even if you know his hair is fake.

12

Jacques Portsman is not interesting. At all. He's just a your basic douche prosecutor. He does, however, have some funny reactions. Here's the prime example:

The breakdown: He starts chewing on his medal faster and small pieces of the medal fills the air. The accidentally swallows it and faints. Never knew gold was so incredibly lethal

11

Remember when I said that Naitou would be murdered? His murderer's name is Marie Miwa, and this is her breakdown.


The breakdown: She starts panicing and puts her hands onto her head while she screams, She is then electrified or shocked or whatever. This causes the fox around her neck to jump away. Somehow, her fur coat turns out to be live foxes, or brings them back to life by some miracle of God, which also jump away, leaving her shuddering in a prison uniform. She also proved to have a pretty impressive rack as well.

10


Her true name is unknown even to this date, but this spy is somewhat of a more final boss than Alba. Calisto Yew, Shih-na, call her what you will. She for some reason had a fetish of laughing for no reason. While in the guise of Shih-na, she mostly manages to keep this under control. Until the truth of her involvment in the final case is revealed more and more. She first starts laughing like she did while she was called Yew, however...


The breakdown: Shih-na starts laughing hysterically. She continues to laugh. And laugh. And laugh. And laugh. She also grows fangs for some reason. Honestly, this one animation perfectly sums up her character, all it needs is her jazzy theme.


 












9


The only think you need to know about Teikun Ou is that he isn't as tough as he looks. He's not the true culprit, though. In a sense, anyway.


The breakdown: He screams out his muscles, revealing him to be a fat person. Or he screams out his muscles and replaces them with fat. Your guess is as good as mine.

8


There was no end to the excuses and lies Quercus Alba spouted in order to hide his guilt. Even after his "transformation" there seemed to be no way he would finally break. Once you finally got him, man did he deliver.


The breakdown: Alba stats shouting and gets surrounded by lights. He bends forward with his skin all dried. I truely hope the image below never becomes broken, so this absurd moment can be preserved forever. That and I have a hard time explaining what's going on, but hey, it's entertaining.

7


I can't believe that Souta Sarushiro was the "mastermind" in GK2. His reveal was actually quite suprising to me. Not going to give details, but he acted all shy and drawn back in the game until the final case when he revealed himself. Naturally, it was just a matter of time before he got owned like all the other culprits.


The breakdown: He is attacked by a barrage of animals, some of which has helped him such as changing make up or making a pillar he can rest on. This, my friends, is animal cruelty on a whole different level. [/lamejoke]

6

I love this guy. He is always full of himself and confident, but in all reality he just want people to like him. Fortunately, the great detective Luke Atmey is far from "unbreakable". He was pretty darn close to getting away with murder, efficiently using loopholes in the lawbook. The build up for this one was pretty good, especially since he uses it two times but it in a sense have a different meaning each time.

The breakdown: Luke starts shaking, as if gathering a massive amount of energy, causing the whole court room to shake. He finally burst out in laughter, and yells "Take a good look everyone! Unable to find a rival worthy of my genious, I was forced to create one by myself! Here I am! The tragic clown...". I was going to do a zvarri joke, but I'm too busy laughing at a tragic clown right now.

5

I was honestly shocked on so many levels when Matt Engarde's true intentions was made clear. Up until the case he's in, ALL of your clients had been innocent. All had been found Not guilty in court. Then this guy came along and ruined that whole thing. Sure, he didn't kill Juan himself, but he hired an assassin to do it. The whole kidnapping of Maya to ensure victory in court was also really well handled in the game, and made the case the most dramatic one in the series until that point. Fortunately, Wright manages to prove to Matt that no matter the verdict, a betrayed assassin would hunt him down. That's when this happens.

The breakdown: Matt furiously rips his face while screaming "Guilty". This one ranks pretty high because of how suprisingly brutal it was. I even thought at first he had pieces of his skin on his fingers when he was done, but that is not the case. Still, a rather brutal and fitting end for an asshole of his caliber.

4

The build up for Manfred von Karma was pretty good. A prosecutor who has never lost a single case in his 40 year long career, as well as being Edgeworth's mentor. This man strives only for perfection, and all he cared about was getting Guilty verdicts, no matter the costs. Forging evidence, manipulating witnesses, murdering someone who has even given him a penalty in court; nothing was too much for this guy. During the trial with him, no matter what you say, he always objects and says that whatever you're trying to discuss with the witness has nothing to do with the case. Easily one of the worst enemies Wright has faced in the entire series. However, apply enough pressure, and all men break.

The breakdown: First he screams and howls Edgeworth's name. He is later seen hitting his head against a wall. His scream also helps Edgeworth recognize the scream from the day his father was murdered, futher proving von Karma's guilt. This breakdown is funny and rewarding, a fitting way to end a 40 year long career of being evil.

3


Damon Gant is the chief of the police. What more than that do you need to say about him? Even the police force is full of evil people in this series. Once again, great set up for his reveal, and his breakdown remains one of the series most recognizable. Mostly because of how crazy it is, but also perhaps because that Gant was a pretty good villain. For one thing, he used his position in the police force to his advantage, and often coming up with good points during the trial. He even wins if you present the piece of cloth too early. He is almost as persistent as Alba. Then again, most "real killers" in this series are.


The breakdown: Gant starts laughing uncontrollably, clapping his hands faster and faster as he continues to laugh away. What a perfect balance of laugh-out-lound and what-the-hell-am-I-watching.

2


Apollo Justice was a let down for me. However, some of the cases are still as clever as ever (no rhyme intended). Kristoph Gavin is one of the reasons this game was pretty enjoyable in the end. He reveals himself as evil in the first case, not even gonna try to convince the players that he's a good person. What follows is pure acts of sheer evil. It turns out he forged evidence in a trial Wright was supposed to be the defense attorney, causing Wright to loose his attorney badge. The he kills the defendant in that case possibly because he chose Wright over Kristoph to defend his case. Not only that, but he tricks the girls who made the forgery to wear nail polish whenever she would go outside, claiming it was a "good luck charm that would loose its power if she told anyone about this", causing the girl to poison herself when she bit her nails dosed in the poisonous nail polish out of nervousness. Oh, and he also kills her father when he used a stamp that Kristoph had poisoned, causing the girl to be framed for the murder of her own father atop of being poisoned as well. Kristoph is, without a doubt, a truely insane man. If it wasn't because of the new Jurist system Wright "tested" in the final case, Kristoph would have gotten away with everything since there was no decisive evidence. Fittingly enough, his breakdown is just as insane as his crimes and peronality.

The breakdown: Simply put: Kristoph goes "super saiyan". Less simplier put: He gathers energy like Luke did, causing various objects in the background to levitate when he does it in the first case, and finally slams his hand to the table. He then screams Wright's name as his hair fly up and he looks absolutely over the top insane. He is left with his hair in a mess and starts to ramble. At the end of the case, he is seen laughing insanely before he's taken away. The build up and fantastic delivery is what makes this breakdown so great as it is.

1

What in the world could possibly top going super saiyan, laughing beyond all reason, getting barraged by bubbles or animals, or even screaming your muscles out? The answer is: Build up. Dahlia Hawthorne is one of the most overlooked video game villains of all time. She is my personal favorite in the whole Ace attorney series. She is a very unusual villain. She first tries to charm you by acting cute and innocent, binding all men to her will. If that doesn't work, she will most likely kill you. Sometimes both. She is was born in the Fey clan, although she posseses no spiritual powers, so her family was ignored and her mother's sister's family was chosen to be next in line. Her mother, Morgan, spends the rest of her life to get the revenge she "deserves". She remarries and her two daughters, Dahlia and Iris, are seperated, Iris is sent to Hazakura temple and Dahlia lives with her new father and his daughter from a previous marrige, Valerie. To try to keep things short, Valerie, Iris, Dahlia and her then boyfriend Terry was supposed to set up a bogus kidnapping to steal a 2 million dollar diamond from Valerie's father. Iris doesn't show up, and the then 14 year old Dahlia betrays them by stealing the diamond and jumping into a river. Terry is framed for the murder of Valerie 5 years later, although Dahlia was the one who killed her. In court, he kills himself because Dahlia told Terry to drink from a bottle of poison in a necklace if he could not trust Dahlia anymore. Dahlia later poisons Diego Armando using the same necklace, charms Phoenix Wright and gives him the necklace "as a symbol of their love". She later plots to kill him, but her sister Iris tries to take it back during the dates she has with Wright. Dahlia grows impatient and finally tries to kill Wright by poisoning his cold medicine. Her ex Doug Swallow tries to warn Wright that she is dangerous, but he refuses to listen. Since Doug was about to blow her cover, Dahlia killed him by electrocuting him on a snapped power cable. Wright is framed for the murder of Doug, but Wright's defence attorney Mia Fey exposes Dahlia for all her crimes, and Dahlia is sentenced to death by hanging. HOWEVER, still manages to pester Wright beyond the grave in the final case of Trials and tribulations. One of the members of the Fey clan is supposed to channel her spirit and kill someone, but the plan fails. Dahlia is even mixed up for her sister Iris, the defendant in the case, and is even in court for a while. The reveal of which member of the Fey clan that is currently channeling Dahlia's spirit is one of the highlights of the whole game, and I will remember it as long as I live.


The breakdown: Dahlia's spirit is forced away, or exorcised if you will, from Maya's body, and her angry spirit screams she is not ready to go back yet, and all her crimes flashes by in the background in a scene that I will remember until the day I die. As funny as the other breakdowns are, this one wins because it's sort of silly in a sense, but has an enourmous build up, and the whole "you can't punish someone who is already dead" scenario is what makes this breakdown so spectacular as it is. You might disagree with me, but this is my personal favorite breakdown in the entire series.

Honorary mentions:


Terry Fawles had a breakdown that did suprise me, although it was still sort of predicable. I wouldn't really call it a breakdown, but Ace attorney wiki lists it as one, so it gets an honorary mention.

Furio Tigre's shouts can make the lights go out. Or in his breakdown's case, make them rave. This one isn't too funny or dramatic, although I like how he completely freezes at the end. Tigre is not one of the best Ace attorney characters either, but his breakdown is nice at least.

This one was pretty funny, especially how Franziska von Karma has acted all tough and cold during the game. I decided not to put it in the top 20 becaus she's not a culprit, and most other breakdowns are actually funnier. It's still a good breakdown, though.

Winston Payne's "breakdown" in the first case of Trials and tribulations is not only funny, but shows how he lost his hair. He's not a main character OR a culprit, so he didn't make the list. It's still fun to watch his breakdown, though.

Don't get me wrong, Acro's breakdown was good and it had a nice build up, especially since he was the true culprit. However, it's not all that entertaining for me, and Acro is not THAT interesting as a character to me. That doesn't change the fact that he had a good backstory and reason to do what he did, and I do feel sorry for him in the end. A little.

Thank you for reading! I hope you've enjoyed these breakdown as much as I did.


Images found via Ace attorney wiki and court-records, videos found via youtube, and are copyrighted by their respective owners.