It’s that time of year again. The time to give gifts of death to unsuspecting targets from high rooftops or bushels of hay haphazardly strewn about in the city streets. Yes, it’s time for Assassin’s Creed: Revelations, the next chapter in the loosely historical-based series from Ubisoft.

Much like Keanu Reeves in the last Matrix movie, Desmond awakens from the climax of the last game to find his mind is trapped in the Animus. He is told from Subject 16, who has become one with the machine, that unless Desmond wants to lose his mind, he will have to experience all the remaining memories Ezio has left to show him. So the bulk of the story follows Ezio’s twilight years as he helps a guild of assassins in Constantinople fight off Templars and searches for keys to open Altair’s library while consorting with historical figures. Supposedly, the library holds untold knowledge on how to prevent the doomsday approaching. The journey to the library is fraught with danger though and will require a long line of stealthy kills and assassinations to reach it, which itself seems like just as large a massacre compared to whatever the great evil the Templars are after will do.

The gameplay remains largely unaltered in its core design. Rather, the big changes made are more like tweaks. One is the replacement of one of your hidden blades for a hookblade. This curved, extendable blade allows Ezio to not only stab enemies, but climb to higher places, possibly to compensate for his age since he most likely can’t jump up walls like he did in the second game.

The other big change is in bomb construction. Apparently, homeland security was created far too late, as everyone either carries or leaves materials around the entire city to create a variety of bombs: sticky, poisonous, fake blood, and many others. You can craft each one yourself, applying different casings, mixing various ingredients inside, and selecting other aspects of your handmade explosive.

Besides bombs and the hookblade, there’s also the oddest addition one could think of to put in an Assassin’s Creed game: a tower defense mini-game. Riding the wave of popularity to invade other consoles besides the DS and PC, you’re forced to play this mini-game whenever the templars attack your stronghold if you’ve attracted too much attention. Everything else is still very much the same from Brotherhood and the past games. You still can recruit and control other assassins, renovate buildings to earn money- whose income is considerably less-, and kill guards in any manner without worry since the other soldiers will remain unperturbed by the incident, content to assume the dead person fell off the roof and onto his still-sheathed sword. Of course, you’ll also explore the excellent recreation of Constantinople too as you climb various sky-reaching buildings to admire the wonderful view. Combined with the haunting choir in the background music and the good voice work, this makes it a treat for not only the eyes, but the ears as well.

Multiplayer still plays a part in this new entry too. Once again, you’re “competing against other Templars in a training program” as you choose your character from a colorful cast of assassins and try to kill each other in various match types. Some of the maps seem a little smaller from Brotherhood, but that keeps you closer to the action or, in some cases, your constant demise. The controls for it and the single player both handle well, retaining that free-flowing acrobatic style of movement common to the series.

Without a doubt, if you’ve enjoyed the games thus far, then you’re sure to enjoy this one. For those rare, strange individuals that would rather disregard playing games in order or choose to jump into the series this late, it’s a solid purchase for them too. Grab your hookblade and start your murder spree. Just remember the saying about hookblades: it’s not about the size or curvature of your instrument; it’s about how you use it.

Developer: Ubisoft Montreal

Publisher: Ubisoft

Release: 11/15/2011

Platform: Playstation 3. Also available on Xbox 360 and PC.

Rating: ACB- MA15+; BBFC- 15; ESRB- M; PEGI- 18+; USK- 16

You too can be a pinball wizard – and now you’ll be able to show off your skills in 3D!

Nintendo 3DS owners will be able to download Zen Studios’ Zen Pinball game starting January 12, 2012 for $6.99. Featuring four original, beautifully crafted pinball tables, Zen Pinball is now playable in stunning stereoscopic 3D.

Here’s the Zen Pinball 3D Table Line-Up:

•Earth Defense pits the player against hordes of hostile aliens as they try to take the planet by storm! As the captain of the Earth Defense Special Forces, it is your mission to rally the defenses and protect planet Earth.
•Players will experience life as a novice sorcerer who must master the trade of summoning spectacular natural phenomena in Shaman.
•Travel back to the middle ages to the Kingdom of Camelot and become a Knight of the Round Table in Excalibur.
•Experience the unexplored jungles of Eldorado as you hunt for hidden treasures and uncover the mysteries of ancient civilization.

Zen Studios will support Zen Pinball 3D with additional DLC so stay tuned for more announcements.

And here’s a look at another Zen Pinball game:

Classic Game Room: MARVEL PINBALL: IRON MAN table for Pinball FX2

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"In Your Nature (David Lynch Remix)"

Sky Combat review. Classic Game Room reviews SKY COMBAT for iPhone and iPod Touch being played here on the iPad 2. Sky Combat is an old school style vertical scrolling shooter where you control a helicopter that destroys waves of enemies with machine guns and missiles, hooray!

Classic Game Room – Sky Combat for iPad 2 Video Review >>

Are you ready for some football? Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: EA) announced today that the all-new HD version of NFL Blitz™ from EA SPORTS™ is now available via digital download on Xbox LIVE® Arcade for 1200 points and PLAYSTATION®Network for $14.99.

First released as an arcade game in 1997, NFL Blitz quickly became one of the most memorable football titles in video game history. In 1998, the first console version became available for the Nintendo 64™ and PlayStation® computer entertainment system, with several console editions released between 1998 and 2003. The new NFL Blitz by EA SPORTS is the first version of the game to carry the NFL license since 2003 and is the only version to be released for HD consoles to date.

We’ve reviewed a few football games in our time. Here’s a look at just one of them:

Classic Game Room: MADDEN 12 review

Next time someone makes a comment about the lame, oversized late '90s era Lexus sedan down the street, show them a picture of this and laugh. Lexus LF-LC Concept ($TBA)...

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Considering all the other things we've seen reduced to stick form, it's no surprise that the Roku Streaming Stick ($TBA) looks ready to make that not-so-smart TV of yours a...

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