Unboxing the Assassin's Creed IV US Limited Edition

Here's the first of the AC IV goodies I picked up, direct from Amazon.

The US Limited Edition..

The Back

Closer look at the contents

The box looks fantastic but I don't have space for these unfortunately.

Opening up the box to see the instructions for fixing up the statue.

Fixing it up isn't that hard, but I guess it always helps 

Inside is the "tray" similar to the Assassin's Creed 3 Limited Edition.

Containing the Steelbook, Artbook and the AC IV Flag

The Steelbook..

The Back..

Opening it up..

Yet another Steelbook that I will have to resist collecting. Really awesome if you ask me. The AC IV logo in the front and a nice portrait of Edward Kenway at the back. The game and soundtrack is included in the Steelbook plus the special offer code to redeem Assassin's Creed IV on the PS4 for US$9.99.

Since I already have the game in another CE, I'm actually selling the Steelbook and all the contents together if anyone wants it. I took special care when taking the pics so it will be as pristine as possible. It didn't come sealed so I'm selling it at it's original condition. I'm asking SGD $70 for it if anyone is interested. I believe it's a fair price for the contents included.

Here's the mini-artbook...

Pics of it's contents..

There's that cube I was talking about...

Artbook's pretty cool as usual. It makes a return after ACIII. Was very disappointed that there wasn't one in any of the ACIII CEs. I might be selling this as well, since the Black Chest Edition should have this. Not 100% sure if it's exactly the same.. But if it is.. I'll need this sold as well.

Hoist Lay out the Black Flag!

Cool stuff! Yet another flag after ACIII!

Looking at this actually makes me regret selling away my ACIII flag from last year's US Limited Edition. I sold it away thinking I wouldn't have space to display it anyway, but kinda regret it now. I still don't any idea where I'm going to put it but who cares? I want it!

If there's anyone looking to sell away their flag from the Assassin's Creed 3 US Limited Edition, please do drop me a mail. I'm sure we can reach an agreement. I'm sure some of you local guys bought it from Qisahn last year, so you still have a sealed or mint piece, I would love to buy it from you. I also don't mind buying from anyone overseas. Drop me a mail eh?

Lastly, we have the Edward Kenway statue!

Like always, the statue has always been the highlight of any Collector's Edition for me. As long as I'm a fan of the game and the CE has a statue, it's a definite buy for me. So no different for this one..

After fixing it up..

A stunning statue.. Measuring to the tip of the mast, this one is really tall! Really love the pose as well! Very dynamic and with Edward Kenway atop a mast, it really fits into the theme of the game. Glad to see Ubisoft (or UbiCollectibles) upping their game with each iteration of an AC game. They went for simple poses with Ezio but have done some nice dynamic ones with Connor and now Edward..

Of course, this isn't the only Edward Kenway statue for AC IV and I can't wait for the other 2 to arrive quickly.Will be really cool to see the 3 together or rather every single of them side-by-side. This post last year brought it plenty of views on the blog and it's the highest-viewed post on my blog so can't wait to see if a new update will outdo it..

More close-up pics of the statue to see the details..

Interesting decision to design this feature for the sword..

So you can slot the sword into the hand and close the tip.

A very cool CE altogether but not the best out there for AC IV as you will see in a couple of weeks. More pricey than the usual CEs but you can see the quality and size of that statue for yourself..

Thoughts on GTA V's ending(s)

Needless to say this post will contain spoilers so avoid this if you haven't completed the game..

Don't forget the Ubisoft Art Exhibition this weekend!

Don't forget the Ubisoft Singapore Art Exhibition happening tonight and tomorrow!

Posted about this sometime back and here's the event page on Facebook. 

It will be a great chance to see how character & environment designs evolve from paper into our games like Assassin's Creed IV and Ghost Recon Online.

So hope you guys can give our local gaming studios some support so we can see more gaming events like these in the future. The event is free and it's open almost the entire day tomorrow so try to head there for an hour or so. I'm sure it will be an awesome experience. I will definitely be there and will try to get some pics from the exhibition as well!

GTA V Display Collection

So you thought I wasn't GTA crazy enough?

This enough to prove a point eh?

Haha got some display promos from somewhere I can't tell you.. (I'l have to kill you Trevor-style if I did...) Was really crazy bringing back that standee in a cab but I couldn't resist having it in my collection. 

It's a triangular cardboard standee with all 3 characters on each side.

It's stunning but a little creepy though. It took a while for everyone in the house to get used to Michael staring down at them. For the few days, everyone, including me, would "jump" whenever we came out of the room or kitchen and see Michael standing there. It's better now.. thankfully, or I would have to cover the standee up or something. The front is now blocked by some other stuff to prevent "the little rascal" from knocking it over.

Also got the display promo box which is sitting under the GTA V Collector's Edition.

This is the smaller version that I have seen. There was also a bigger box but "they" didn't have one that was in decent condition. Oh well, at that time I thought it was too big.. but then I went and got the even larger standee. (Sometimes I bemuse myself with the decisions I make..)

The first GTA V display item I got was actually this "hanging thingy"

This was what started out my hunt for the display promos found in stores locally. So I got this, then I got the promo box and then the standee.. Notice how each item progressively gets bigger.. Anything bigger out there? Maybe I'll target these next..

Maybe one day, you will see these 3 banners hanging from some HDB block somewhere in Singapore.. Hmm...

Anyway... the first item was actually the GTA V carrier..

But it wasn't exactly a display promo as everyone who pre-ordered the game got 1.

How do you like my display/collection? Am I a big enough GTA fan for you?

Adding Facebook comments to the blog..

Thought of adding Facebook comments to the blog.. Most people who follow the blog are on Facebook right? And it seems, many of you are still shy to use the comments feature from the blog for whatever reason. So... let's see if Facebook will make you open up ;)

I'll also be adding a "Like" button just for the fun of it and see how it goes.  

"Read More" to let me know what you think below! Oh yea.. help me test it out, yea?

AC Liberation coming to PSN and my Dilemma.

You have probably heard it already but yes AC Liberation will be coming to the PS3, XBox 360 and PC. The previously PS Vita exclusive will now be getting the HD treatment and we will see it first on PSN as a digital download on Jan 14 2014. The HD version will feature 15 additional missions.



While it's great to see more gamers will be able to enjoy this game, I feel it's a bit disappointing for the PS Vita. If "exclusive" PS Vita games will get ported to home consoles in HD format and feature more content (additional missions in this case), there's even less reasons for people to get Vita games or even a PS Vita. 

Part of a console's strength is it's exclusive games but if this keeps happening, there's not many reasons to get a PS Vita for those who are still deciding. I feel..

However, on Ubisoft's point of view, this is a good way to build the Assassin's Creed franchise by putting up more games to the core gamers who only own either 1 of the home consoles. Especially for Playstation gamers, who will be getting an hour of exclusive content with their copies of the game, featuring Aveline. A great way to build on Aveline's story as well.

So having not played AC Liberation yet, this leaves me in a dilemma. I have been wanting to start on the game on my PS Vita but ever since I heard this news, I have been thinking.. Should I play the "better" version in a few months' time or should I give it a try on the PS Vita? I wanted to try out the game using the PS Vita controls and see how it fares. Playing on the PS Vita would be a different experience.. if you want to put it that way.. 

What do you think guys? Playstation 3 or PS Vita?

Looking forward to Assassin's Creed IV

Post coming a bit late but my Black Chest CE from UK won't be arriving yet so might as well..

The latest installment in the AC series heads over to the Caribbean with a Pirate theme, and this could be the biggest adventure yet. While the previous games have always been set in a mostly-land environment, AC IV could bring us mostly to the seas.

Some AC 3 spoilers later on.. just a warning

While most AC fans are excited about this new setting and theme, others feel that it's moving too much away from the Assassin setting. However, I don't think we have to worry too much. The Assassin theme will always be there. In fact, having watched all the trailers.. I have plenty of questions about the AC lore. Whether all of them will be answered remains to be seen however.

With Desmond dead, what now of the story in the current timeline? What's Juno up to? Not many people enjoy the modern story but it connects all the different Assassins' stories so I will be interested to find out where Ubisoft is heading next now that the world is saved and there's a new problem; Juno.

Then there's this cube at the end of this trailer.. 


Thought it was just some treasure initially and didn't give too much thought into it.. But after seeing UbiWorkshop post a teaser of possibly a replica of it in progress..

... suddenly, it doesn't seem like just any treasure.

Then there's Adewale, who's also an Assassin as we will see in AC IV's Season Pass DLC but surely a lot of him will be revealed in the main game itself. He was just so badass in the same trailer above.

Lastly, we will also have a couple of missions with Aveline. So is she just added to AC IV to entice us that it's value for money or is she somehow connected to Adewale or Edward. I have seen in forums that there is a connection between Adewale and Avleine in the Assassin brotherhood. So, it will definitely be interesting to see the different Assassins' stories being linked in some way. 

Credit to Ubisoft for creating this links to make the Assassin lore more exciting and interesting. Very well-thought out and planned, rather than having separate stories and just trying to connect them with the modern setting.

Most importantly, Edward Kenway himself. His story will be the most interesting by far. What's his link with the pirates and the assassins? What about his son, Haytham Kenway? Will the game give us more insight on why he switched from being an Assassin to a Templar?

Of course, I just want to enjoy the game in the end. However, Ubisoft has created an extremely interesting lore with the Assassins which has made their games a huge success. The game itself will feature the largest open-world setting in the franchise's history with hours and hours of exploration to be done, on land and in the sea. With each game, Ubisoft seems to be expanding the open-world to be bigger and more interactive.

The "Freedom" theme has been always evident in all the AC games but in each game, "Freedom" has been featured differently. With the vast Caribbean and lawless Pirates in AC IV, "Freedom" has been brought to a whole new level. Can't wait to get this game in hand to explore the Pirate life as an Assassin!

Check out the launch trailer for Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag!