boy buys Grandma pop gun*
Feb. 21st, 2010 10:32 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
anotheranonD. recently got us a Playstation 3. He got it for the Blu-Ray as neither of us are really big game players - I know next to nothing about computer games and the few he plays he plays obsessively until he wins, and then never looks on them again.
Still, he figured he ought to have some game to play on this thing, so he did a bit of review-reading and chose Assassin's Creed II because of my interest in the Italian Renaissance: the premise is an assassin avenging the deaths of his family in 15th century Tuscany/Venice.
Take a look at the trailer - it is visually stunning, and I could swear that the Florentine streets are laid out fairly close to reality! Even the clothes look right(ish), with tied-together pieces and covered heads on both men and women. Landmarks are beautifully detailed, from the Campanile to the humble roof tiles.
Also it is well researched and involves a lot of historical figures and events (the Pazzi Conspiracy and Lorenzo di Medici; the art of Donatello, Leonardo and his inventions, etc.). It's not just a shoot/beat'em up, there's learning, planning, puzzles, treasure, alliances, purchases etc. so it involves layered strategy and information collection.
As I said, I don't know much about video games, but Assassin's Creed II calls to mind that interactive games can be a powerful teaching tool - for history, strategy/war gaming, language, etc.
And I'm sure it plays fantastically well. See, I learned all this from watching D. play :P
He plugged it in Friday night and has barely put it down - was up all night defeating the Pazzi and moving his surviving family to the country palazzo :P Problem is that this game is so dense that he may never win, so I have to remind him to stop!
*Saying in our family that means getting someone a gift you'd prefer to have for yourself :P
Still, he figured he ought to have some game to play on this thing, so he did a bit of review-reading and chose Assassin's Creed II because of my interest in the Italian Renaissance: the premise is an assassin avenging the deaths of his family in 15th century Tuscany/Venice.
Take a look at the trailer - it is visually stunning, and I could swear that the Florentine streets are laid out fairly close to reality! Even the clothes look right(ish), with tied-together pieces and covered heads on both men and women. Landmarks are beautifully detailed, from the Campanile to the humble roof tiles.
Also it is well researched and involves a lot of historical figures and events (the Pazzi Conspiracy and Lorenzo di Medici; the art of Donatello, Leonardo and his inventions, etc.). It's not just a shoot/beat'em up, there's learning, planning, puzzles, treasure, alliances, purchases etc. so it involves layered strategy and information collection.
As I said, I don't know much about video games, but Assassin's Creed II calls to mind that interactive games can be a powerful teaching tool - for history, strategy/war gaming, language, etc.
And I'm sure it plays fantastically well. See, I learned all this from watching D. play :P
He plugged it in Friday night and has barely put it down - was up all night defeating the Pazzi and moving his surviving family to the country palazzo :P Problem is that this game is so dense that he may never win, so I have to remind him to stop!
*Saying in our family that means getting someone a gift you'd prefer to have for yourself :P
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