Assassin's Creed 3: Tried-and-True Or Tired Out?

So within the past few days, we had our first glimpse of gameplay for the next title in the Assassin's Creed universe, Assassin's Creed 3. It gave us a few glimpses of the improvements to the game, as well as hinting at the storyline this game will follow. However, I am decidedly unimpressed with almost everything the trailer had to offer. Let's take a look at the gameplay shown during the trailer...
I must say, what was shown was unimpressive. The gameplay remains almost identical to the previous iterations of the franchise, stretching all the way back to the first game, first released in 2007. Granted, there are many advances to the combat and available moves, but nothing is overly different and it feels a bit too familiar. I'd actually liken AC to CoD. In my opinion, AC has become the CoD of action-adventure games. Throwing in a few new things, but without true innovation. Yearly updates with improvements. It's not as bad as CoD, but the comparison is there. In short, it's stale and has become formulaic. The only thing that I would say this game has going for it is the setting. There is a HUGE shortage of games set during the Revolutionary War and it's a nice change of pace from the WW2, modern warfare, and future warfare settings that have long since been the norm in the industry for quite a few years now. There was that one History Channel Civil War game, but that didn't turn out quite so good... But I digress. All-in-all, AC3 is going to have to do a lot more work to impress this gamer. At this point, it looks like it's nothing more than an expansion pack, as opposed to a true sequel.

Total Earnings for "The Avengers" (Thus Far) and What It Could Mean for the Future of Marvel Studios

******SPOILERS!!!!*****
So far, after opening weekend here in America, "The Avengers" has made a total of $654,838,708. $207,438,708 of that was made in America, according to Box Office Mojo, which smashed the previous opening weekend record holder, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2". This is great news for Marvel Studios and Disney, who almost doubled their budget in the foreign market alone.  This will hopefully mean that Marvel will have bigger movie budgets to work with, as well as being able to flesh out even more of their lesser-known characters, such as Vision and Black Panther. However, I must admit that I am not without misgivings.
Marvel is going to be taking some HUGE risks during the next few years as they set up Phase 2 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). With the inclusion of Thanos during the mid-credits scene and Kevin Feige having stated his intent to introduce the cosmic elements of the Marvel Universe, it seems that soon, we will have a MCU that has doubled in size. This is where my doubts set in. This will be amazing for any hardcore Marvel comics fan, but majority of the money that these films make comes from the casual audience. During my viewings of "The Avengers", I noticed that, aside from a few people in the theater of 300 or so, only about 10 gave any sign of recognition when Thanos appeared on the screen. Most had no idea who he was.  Thanos often fights against the Guardians of the Galaxy, who are getting their own movie in the coming few years. The members of the team include a telepathic dog and a three-foot-tall raccoon named Rocket Raccoon, who wields guns that are oftentimes bigger than himself. How will the casual audience react to seeing these characters onscreen, especially since these characters exist in the same universe as the likes of Captain America? The goodwill and faith that people currently have in Marvel might falter and fail once they see a talking raccoon with a bazooka. Marvel stands to lose millions of dollars with this venture, so I hope that they plan accordingly and hope that they don't bite off more than they can chew with Phase 2 of the MCU.

"The Avengers" - Childhood Dreams Come True

******POSSIBLE SPOILERS!!*******
"The Avengers". Possibly one of the most hyped movies of the year. It certainly has a lot to live up to. I'm very pleased to say that it more than lives up to ALL the hype and I can quite honestly say that "The Avengers" is the best comic book movie ever made.
Let me start off by saying that the visuals are some of the best that I have ever seen in a movie before. WETA Digital and ILM teamed up with several smaller studios to create some of the most realistic graphics ever seen. The Hulk and Iron Man are supreme graphical standouts. All throughout the movie, you truly cannot tell that they aren't actual beings on the screen. The level of detail is just that spectacular.
Of course, you can have the best SFX in the world, but it won't mean anything if you don't have a plot and dialogue to match. Rest assured, "The Avengers" is no slouch in either department. The plot, while not incredibly deep and complex, works greatly within the movie and is more than strong enough to carry the film through from beginning to end, as well as doing a great job of setting up Phase 2 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and did an EXCELLENT job of introducing the cosmic elements of the constantly expanding movie universe, which will play a HUGE part in Phase 2, along with mysticism and magic.
The dialogue all throughout the movie, particularly between the members of the team, is masterfully done. Every exchange, from the banter to the full-blown arguments, is done to perfection and showcase the personality of each team member with absolutely no faults in their portrayals. It must also be noted that the film is absolutely hilarious throughout the entirety of its run time. As serious as the movie takes itself, they always find time to throw in a joke or a wisecrack, with the best moments being when the various team members egg each other on, such as Tony Stark constantly attempting to get Bruce Banner angry enough to change into the Incredible Hulk.
The acting was superb and each actor truly shows why they were cast for their various roles. There is no bad performance in the movie and you could tell that each actor was throwing everything that they had into their role. The standout performance, however, was given by newcomer Mark Ruffalo, taking over for Edward Norton as Bruce Banner AND the Hulk. His portrayal of Banner was incredible and invoked strong images of Bill Bixby's Banner.
The action was spectacular and definitely is among the best action I've ever seen in a film, even beating out the likes of "Transformers". The final battle, in particular, is done to perfection and is a dream-come-true for every comic book fan. One scene in particular was fantastic and will stay with you long after the movie is over (those who have already seen it know the scene that I'm referring to).
All-in-all, the movie is nothing short of perfect. It is every comic book fans' dream. Even if you're not a hardcore fan, the movie will still be extremely entertaining and anyone who doesn't watch the movie is doing themselves a HUGE disservice. 5/5