(Credit: Ubisoft)

2009's big slate of holiday games got pared down when a lot of titles slipped to 2010, and those that remained have largely been released already. One of the last, Assassin's Creed II, is a sequel to one of 2007's most-hyped original IPs, a game that got good reviews and sold well but was still seen as a bit of a disappointment.

A mysterious story about near-future Templars and virtual-reality access to the memories of 12th-century assassins acted as backdrop to beautiful open-world parkour and stealth. Does the sequel surpass its predecessor? After a week of play, here's how we felt.

Scott:
Assassin's Creed II is a stealth game that's appropriately crept onto our radar after a lot of far-more hyped titles this year, and it merits some serious attention. The strange plotline of the original continues, but updates the focal setting to Renaissance Italy. Rendered in beautiful detail, Florence and other cities can be climbed around and navigated through--although in self-contained zones--and the characters this time around are a lot more lively and spicy. Famous historical figures, including a young version of Leonardo da Vinci, are great additions to the storyline, and also provide you with inventions to use in-game.

Assassin's Creed 2--photos

Unfortunately, it's hard to figure out the fragmented storyline, which sometimes feels about as clear as a chapter of Metal Gear Solid, but the game's missions and layout are a lot easier to dive into and play than in the original Assassin's Creed. A funky computer sim-type interface and lack of a true tutorial force players unfamiliar with Assassin's Creed to feel somewhat alienated, which is a shame considering the amount of research that's been poured into this universe.

Assassin's Creed II is, in the end, a sort of open-world game that at times feels like Grand Theft Auto set hundreds of years ago, especially in its mission-focused structure and its roster of quirky side characters. It's one of the most pleasant surprises of the year--a game that's better than its hype. However, its Dan Brown spirit and arcane framing might not be for everybody.

Jeff:
Unlike most of the gaming press, I found the original Assassin's Creed to be a trite and redundant open-world action game that had tons of potential. The cities were beautiful, the climbing mechanic was on point, but the repetition of mostly lame mission objectives almost prevented me from finishing the title. ... Read more

Having become fairly disenfranchised with all things Star Wars over the years, I didn't really expect to like Star Wars: Trench Run.

And really, the new game from THQ is little more than two kinds of arcade sequences sprinkled with a few familiar cutscenes.

So why can't I stop playing it?

Because Trench Run ($4.99) is a little slice of Star Wars heaven, that's why. It reminds me of the old vector-graphics arcade game from the early 80s--a game that consumed a considerable number of my quarters.

Of course, visually Trench Run blows that coin-op classic out of the sky. And what it lacks in variety, it makes up for with engaging gameplay.

You're at the tilt-sensitive controls of an X-Wing, which you can view from inside the cockpit or from behind. Tapping the right half of the screen fires your guns; tapping and holding the left half engages Force Power, which temporarily slows down the action.

As you might expect from the title, half the game takes place in a Death Star trench. You've got to steer past obstacles, blast turrets, stay out of Darth Vader's gun-sights, and, eventually, "blow this thing so we can all go home."

When you're not racing through trenches, you're dogfighting TIE Fighters just above the Death Star's surface. The only thing that changes from one level to the next is the difficulty.

And Trench Run does get difficult, though a little Force Power goes a long way toward helping you lock in a target or avoid a rapidly approaching turret.

Throughout it all, you're treated to all the familiar Star Wars sound effects along with John Williams' timeless score.

There's not a lot of replay value in Trench Run, and the limited variety means boredom is pretty inevitable. But until then, you'll have a blast.

Will 3D gaming help the PS3, or is it a gimmick?

(Credit: Kotaku)

Sony has a strategy for upping the quality of its content and providing an incentive for gamers to upgrade their home entertainment systems next year, and it involves the PS3 going 3D.

A presentation to investors yesterday underlined that the PlayStation 3 will be a fully 3D-capable game console by the end of 2010, and that a firmware update would share this upgrade across all existing PS3s. A few demos of PS3 3D gaming have been shown previously, but the news of an across-the-board firmware update is new. Of course, a gamer would still need a 3D-capable Bravia HDTV and glasses, the latter of which haven't been announced yet.

We're curious how the quality will be--Nvidia's 3D game technology, now being embedded into laptops, looks great, but requires a 120Hz monitor for fluid motion. But it's a smart idea, if manufacturers want anyone to adopt 3D tech, to include it as a Trojan horse inside laptops and game consoles. And we hope it works on HDTVs other than specific Bravias. It doesn't sound like the PS3 will double as a 3D Blu-ray player, but we certainly hope that's the case.

Does 3D gaming appeal to you? How about 3D movie-watching? We're certain to hear a lot more 3D news at CES.

(Via Kotaku)

Scott playing Left 4 Dead 2 on the Asus 3D laptop.

(Credit: Dan Ackerman/CNET)

Earlier this week, Asus unveiled a 15-inch laptop with Nvidia's 3D Vision technology built in. The $1,699 Asus G51J 3D has a 120Hz LCD panel, an Intel Core i7 CPU, and a high-end Nvidia GeForce GTX 260M GPU, and comes bundled with a pair of Nvidia's active glasses and the USB-powered IR emitter required to make the glasses work.

We've just had a chance to take the system for a test drive, and came away largely impressed with the results, especially compared with Acer's Aspire 5738DG, a 3D laptop that uses a pair of passive polarized glasses and a special screen coating to create a 3D effect.

That Acer model was unfortunately underpowered for gaming, especially with the added overhead of running its 3D software in the background. The Asus G51J, on the other hand, with a high-end processor and video card, seemed well-suited for mid-to-high-end gaming. Of course, it lacked dual SLI video cards and the 1,366x768 15-inch display is no match for some of the nicer 17-inch 1080p displays we've seen.

The Asus G51J with Nvidia's 3D glasses and IR emitter.

(Credit: Dan Ackerman/CNET)

While playing Left 4 Dead 2, the 3D effects appeared crisp and appealing, and didn't seem to distract from the speed of gameplay or the screen brightness. There appeared to be no real hardware burden in generating the 3D in terms of frame rate or graphics detail, either. On the other hand, the 15-inch screen is a little small as compared to a nice big gaming monitor, and that mitigated the overall immersion of the 3D effects.

The bigger problem is that 3D gaming is still a novelty. It's not actually needed to appreciate any game at this point, and it has an expensive and often clunky set-up for users to navigate through.

Many people haven't even seen 3D of the caliber that Nvidia is currently offering, and so they have no idea how smooth and crisp it is compared to the fuzzy double-vision experience of years past. What's particularly great about Asus' solution is that it's already integrated into a reasonably priced Core i7 gaming laptop, so the set-up and research into compatible hardware components is almost entirely eliminated.

This is an interesting trend to watch for in gaming laptops, and it should be included in more Core i7 laptops aimed at gamers, especially if Nvidia is serious about getting a larger adoption. We expect to see more 3D Vision capable laptops from major PC makers by early next year.

It's National Toilet Day today, and Justin isn't here to celebrate. Fortunately, we more than make it up with dozens upon dozens of fecal jokes. Mark Licea of The Green Show joins the show today to talk tech and...lingerie?

(Credit: CBS Interactive/Wilson G. Tang)

Admittedly, we here at The 404 celebrate National Toilet Day at least three times a day, but we're glad to see that people across the planet are starting to recognize the importance of the porcelain throne. It may sound a bit unusual for us to be so beholden to the toilet, but most New Yorkers can sympathize. After all, most of us here have to deal with a mixed bag of ethnic food and $20 dollar fees to use a public restroom.

In nonpoop news, we talk about a Warner Bros. program to let DVD owners upgrade their discs to Blu-ray versions. The program is called DVD2Blu. This only applies to Warner Bros. films, and viewers must pay a fee of $8 to $10 per disc. We think this is a great idea. Wilson is especially keen on not having to pay $30 for each disc in his "Lord of the Rings" and "Star Wars" collections.

Also, Jeff has a follow up to our video game censorship series. He interviewed Major Nelson of Microsoft to talk about racism, misogyny, and homophobia in online gaming. Check it out. A keen chat room listener though points out the irony of talking about derogatory words when players are shooting people in the head.

If you're worried about your cheating wife or girlfriend, a Brazilian line of lingerie from LindeLucy that comes with a built-in GPS tracking device. Now, the device is not exactly subtle, but for the paranoid ones out there, this might be the trick to keep your lady in line--or get her mad at you, again. Trust, after all, is the bond that holds all relationships together.

Finally, we get to some voice mails and viewer feedback about cool moms that play video games before their children do and an early review of "2012." Wilson is disappointed with the fact that the film won't be available in IMAX. He just wants to watch the world burn. Meanwhile, the rest of the crew remember the movie magic of the first "Jurassic Park" movie. The t. rex at the end: Priceless.

Send in your feedback and callbacks to the404 [at] cnet [dot] com. Or call us! We are after all an audio podcast too! The number is 1-866-404-CNET (2638). Thanks again!

Zombies now wear protective suits. Clever zombies.

(Credit: Valve Software)

Last week's launch of a certain game may have eclipsed the first-person shooter landscape for some time, but there are other gripping, visceral shooting experiences to be had at the tail end of 2009. Last year's Left 4 Dead found Valve adapting its skill at multiplayer online gaming to a co-op grindhouse-style horror genre, one in which cooperation played more of a factor than lone-dog competitiveness. While the original Left 4 Dead had only four campaigns and was a chiefly online experience, it sustained some criticism for being too short and for not having more multiplayer modes.

The new Left 4 Dead (we played the Xbox 360 version) has only five campaigns--one more than the original--but they proceed through much larger, far more interesting zones, all set in the deep South. Heavy thunderstorms, a bizarre carnival, and lots of swampy backwaters add great environments. On top of that the game features additional infected zombie types, weapons, and items to acquire, all of which make the game more unpredictable and diverse--our one complaint with the original was that it started to get a little repetitive over time. Shoulder-riding Jockeys are the best of the new, while fast and cruel Chargers seem to pummel too quickly. The new Infected can also be controlled in Versus mode, adding new playable characters.

Left 4 Dead 2--photos

Also new are a collection of chainsaws, frying pans, and other hard-core bludgeoning weapons. They aren't always the most efficient tools, but they feel great to use and can cut through Left 4 Dead 2's zombie swarms better than rifle-butting. There are also new items like the adrenaline boost to speed up play.

We had as much fun, or more, playing the sequel than we did the original, although the graphics and general feel don't fall far from the zombie tree. ... Read more

Rumor has it Sony's in talks with Mozilla about porting Firefox over to the PS3.

(Credit: Gizmodo)

We've been hoping for a while that Sony would replace the PS3's mediocre built-in Web browser with something more robust, so it's nice to hear that Sony might be in talks with Mozilla to port Firefox over to the PS3--even if it's just a rumor.

The folks at PlayStation Insider say they've "received a tip from a source very close to Sony" about possible conversations between Mozilla and Sony. No word on whether a deal is close, but having Firefox on board would put a little more wood behind the PS3's arrow in its battle against the XBox 360 and the Wii.

Do you agree?

(Source: PSInsider via Gizmodo)

(Credit: Asus)

Hot on the heels of the well-regarded HP Mini 311, Asus has moved the Netbook bar forward by taking a 12-inch Netbook chassis and including both Nvidia's Ion graphics and a dual-core version of Intel's Atom processor (called the Atom 330). We've previously seen dual-core Atoms only in a handful of Nettop desktops, because of heat issues, and it's unlikely we'd see one in anything smaller than a 12-inch laptop body.

While still small, the 1201N fits in a full-size keyboard and a 250GB hard drive (plus access to 500GB of online storage space). The system comes with Windows 7 Starter and 2GB of RAM. Asus claims the 6-cell battery should last up to five hours, similar to what we've seen in other Eee PC models.

In a brief hands-on demo, we noted that the Asus Eee PC 1201N looks very similar to the current Eee PC line, including the popular 1005HA, with a black glossy finish and textured touch pad.

Combined with a 1,366x768 HD display, the Nvidia Ion GPU makes for a great video watching experience, once you download the new Flash 10.1 beta, which allows the Ion to accelerate streaming Flash video.

When it's available later this year, the Eee PC 1201N should retail for $499, which is a $100 premium over the HP Mini 311 (with Windows XP and 1GB of RAM).