After 38 straight hours of Assassin’s Creed II… haha, just kidding. After 38 hours of Assassin’s Creed II over the last few months, I have finally completed all 14 chapters of this single-player action adventure with a 97% rating. As anyone who has played either of the two Assassin’s games knows, Ubisoft loves to put random treasure hunts and grinds within their games in order to get what they refer to as extended replay value. Personally, I refuse to do these exercises in futility all the while teasing my best friend because “he must” complete them. For example, there are 100 random feathers hidden throughout all six areas of the game. I only found 21 of them in my travels.

There were a number of “collect type” quests that I did complete, but these were all ingrained within the story, and I did not feel as though they were a chore to complete. I really enjoyed the six Assassin’s Tomb side-quests. They played a lot like Ubisoft’s sister game Prince of Persia, where crazy acrobatics wins you the prize. Completing all six of these dungeons also unlocks the best armor in the game, so it is well worth the trouble. As someone who never goes out of his way to complete “senseless quests”, I was really shocked and pleased to find that I had completed 97% of the game. The developers did a great job of leading you through a story while making you feel like you were calling the shots the entire time.

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Here is an official Starcraft II: Wings of Liberty recap video that replays the backstory to help get everyone up to speed on the events that lead up to this sequel. If you’ve never played Starcraft, or forgot the story, this is a great, quick way to catch up.

This is only Part 1 of 2. Be sure to check back for the second installment!

Personally I’m not very excited for Starcraft 2. I never really played Starcraft much, and the few hours I played Starcraft 2’s beta was rather uneventful. It is worth noting that I do not enjoy many RTS games, at least not beyond the first few hours, so it isn’t very surprising I’m not going to be purchasing Starcraft 2.

A few weeks back, we got our hands on a few hours of Cataclysm, and we spent that time exploring the new Goblin starter area. We only got through the first ten levels or so of content, so this time, we are going to complete our adventures on the Lost Isle and join our place among the Horde. If you missed our previous installment called Goblins, Goblins, Goblins, be sure to check it out first!

The story of the goblin is a sad one, full of greed and slavery, and if they aren’t careful, history is about to repeat itself all over again.

Head on over to IGN Vault to read Sprawl’s Scrawl #119: Goblins, Goblins, Goblins (Part Deux) or click below to view a bunch of exclusive screenshots directly from the beta!

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