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Here at Bitmob, we like to write. We know you do, too. In fact, you guys pump out so much great content that some of it gets lost in the abyssal depths of the Mobfeed. And it's scary down there. (Seriously, I think I saw a sasquatch in there once.)

So to save you the trouble and from a possible horrific death, we bring these valuable articles to you in a feature called Hidden Gems. Similar to our weekly Spotlights, these are unedited stories that didn't quite make the front page but are worth highlighting...but perhaps these have fallen between the cracks after some time.

In this edition of Hidden Gems, since Assassin's Creed 3 is about to drop later this month, we're featuring older articles about Altair, Ezio, and the fight against Abstergo. Check 'em out below. Or take your chances with the sasquatch.

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What bothers me about the Assassin's Creed franchise
By Thomas Isbell

Thomas likes the AC series, but he argues that yearly installments are causing the gameplay to get stale. "The release of Revelations," he writes, "dampened my hopes for a top-tier masterpiece ever coming to light in the AC universe." I wonder if Thomas feels differently now that a new, main entry in the series is nigh.

Blood is thicker than water: An Assassin's Creed: Revelations prologue
By Matt Polen

Matt scripts out a fictional preview to Revelations, the most recent entry in the series. He really captures the tone of the story and characters, especially protagonist Ezio. I'd read a whole book in this vein, Matt.

A few florins short -- Assassin's Creed 2 review
By Michael Wenzel

If you've been on the fence about jumping into the Assassin's Creed series, Michael's thorough review might help. He's pretty tough on the game, though -- do you agree with his criticisms?

What I hate about Assassin's Creed
By Toby Highfill

Toby is less ambivalent in his thoughts on the original Assassin's Creed. His biggest beef? He can't get past the science-fictional Animus machine, which connects present-day Desmond to the memories of his ancestors. "DNA is an owner's manual for your body, not a written family history," Toby says. "Since AC does not take place in a fantasy setting, this should not be possible." What do you think?

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PlayStation Vita should be a phone. After all, we now have the ability to provide the same visual quality on a device meant primarily for calling people, and the Sony Xperia Play smartphone and PSP Go have both given good blueprints of how buttons could be added to a device without compromising its other functions.

So why didn’t the Vita phone happen? I believe Sony still plans to make it happen. It simply makes too much sense. The realities of the video game industry led to the Vita serving as a necessary steppingstone on the path toward a phone/portable console, however. Let me explain. 

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Japanese artist Makaon has a knack for turning unusual items into stunning 3D art.Most recently, Makaon has been using soda and beer cans to make models of popular video game and cartoon characters. 

Besides Mario, Makaon also made a fantastic Pikachu and a whole family of first generation Pokémon. None of the figures are for sale, but you can check out the full gallery here.

Just imagine the kind of work that goes into precisely cutting and molding aluminum cans. The Mario pictured above has at least four different products, and if the blue is the Japanese beer Asahi Blue Label, those cans feel indestructible compared to an American beer or soda container. 

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I don’t know if I’ll ever get over mixing together video game music and hip hop. This time, I blended a song from the iPad game Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery EP with one of the recent collaborative offerings from rapper/producer Kanye West. Actually, the main wordsmith on this recording is one of Kanye’s protégés, Big Sean (though you can hear a some lines and grunts from Ye at certain parts).  

The inspiration for this mashup came from driving around town and listening to a couple of CDs (yes, I still use those musical disc things). I was alternating between the album Cruel Summer from Kanye West’s G.O.O.D. Music collective and the soundtrack to S&S:EP, music by singer-songwriter Jim Guthrie.

After a while, I began to rap the words from the G.O.O.D. music track "Mercy" over "Lone Star" from the S&S:LP -- EP changes to LP in the title to distinguish the game from the soundtrack --  just to imagine how a mashup would sound. I also did the reverse and sang Guthrie's melodies when I’d listen to Big Sean's verse. Sure enough, they flow together quite well. I call it "Sword & Mercery."

I love the juxtaposition of whimsical music and somewhat vulgar lyrics. I also like to imagine Big Sean and Kanye West in the game world, rapping to the background melody. Enjoy!

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The other night, a friend and colleague, a game writer I admire and follow, considered giving up.

Like Batman turning to Robin saying, "I don't feel like fighting crime tonight."

Ouch, that's my soul you're stepping on.

I labor in obscurity, looking to the horizon as my hero lists respected video game website after respected video game website he's written for, and then says, "What's the point?"

"What's the point??"

I would kill (not actually) to have written the thoughtful pieces you've written! I'd lie, cheat, and steal (probably not) to be as well-known and highly thought of as this guy, and he considers giving up.

If he doesn't see the point, what chance do I have?

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Last month, I asked the community to examine the controls of their games and their effectiveness for the Total Control Bitmob Writing Challenge. Four writers submitted their takes on both classic and modern titles, and all of these pieces made the front page of the website. This is the final prompt I'm hosting for now, so put down your gamepads and check out these great entries.

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The perfect controls of Assassins Creed
By Jonathon Oyama

I can’t think of anyone other than myself who has participated in more writing challenges than Jonathon, so it makes sense to start this farewell off with him. While modern action games like Bayonetta feel like you need a cheat sheet to remember all the combos, Assassins Creed’s simple scheme felt just right.   

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Once again, it's time to get the spin from our unelected representatives!

Obama vs. Romney -- Fight! Now that almost all of us can watch the presidential debates live on Xbox live, it's our duty as carbon-based lifeforms to do so. Unless you're poor and don't have a Gold membership. Or an internet connection. Or an Xbox. Those people aren't supposed to vote, anyway.

Never mind that their first presidential debate turned out to be a snoozer. We live in a world where Vice President Joe Biden and Vice-Presidential candidate Paul Ryan spent 90 minutes beating each other with rakes. That put us one-all in terms of debates wins so far (Romney: 1, Biden: 1), and that makes tonight's town-hall-format match the official tiebreaker!

So, panel of experts ... what can we expect from tonight's slugfest?

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"Like Caesar presiding over the gladiators, I don't care who wins. I'm just there for the blood and glistening man-flesh."

- Isaac Clarke, Dead Space 3

 

 

 

 

 

"The Americans would save so much time and money if Obama just imposed tyranny on the land and ruthlessly crushed the faintest whisper of opposition to his iron rule. Then I could go back to watching Dancing with the Stars."

- M. Bison, Street Fighter X Tekken

 

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I like blood and guts. Part of that, I have no shame in admitting, comes from my gib-tastic experiences playing Quake and Half-Life as a kid. Another part of me isn't quite as juvenile, however. It yearns for maturity in video games and to see them taken more seriously as an artistic medium, but it still wants more pixilated viscera.

For example, games like Half-Life 2 and Grand Theft Auto IV reward you with a humorous display of ragdoll physics after you shoot a baddie with a rocket launcher. The recently deceased goes flying across the terrain, but where’s the meat? A guy who’s just been hit square in the chest with a rocket launcher should have his entrails strewn all over the place, an arm here and a leg there, and a severed head in the gutter.

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One thing I've never wondered about the Pokémon Bulbasaur is where its vines come from. Busted Tees artist Ryan Mauskopf, on the other hand, has created anatomical charts for the original Pokémon characters that leave nothing to the imagination ... including where Bulbasaur's vines are [via Technabob].

RIght now, Mauskopf only has designs for Squirtle, Charmander, and Bulbasaur, but he plans to release a Pikachu design in the near future. Busted Tees sells each shirt for $20. I'm not sure how interested I am in these, though, since I think wearing them makes you look like a mad Pokémon butcher.

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I’ve been meaning to write something for Bitmob for months now. Perhaps a discussion of immersion, a critique of live systems, maybe some reviews. A lot of things have been brewing in my mind, but with this new Pokémon Black & Blue game that PETA released last week, I am enraged and finally motivated to speak out.

I never thought much of PETA before. Yeah, the group’s intentions are good, but I don’t personally support much of what they’re doing (at least not to the point of actually pledging support). But now, I might just hate them forever.

If you haven’t heard, Pokémon Black & Blue (hereafter PB&B) is a parody game that PETA released to coincide with the launch of Black 2 and White 2 last weekend. The player controls several abused Pokémon in battle against their former masters with equal parts civil disobedience and over-the-top comic violence.

Offensive, ignorant, and ill-conceived, this mockery of a game is a half-hearted attempt to portray Pokémon as something that it absolutely is not.

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I was always terrible at Dr. Mario, as I am at most puzzle games. I can only watch in envy as a player named Sabo creates one of the most ridiculous feats of gaming I've ever seen, filling up almost the entire screen full of pills and swiftly destroying them all with one ridiculous chain.

Of course, medically speaking, this is a horrible way to treat a patient, Mario. That poor person has to overdose at some point. Anyway, watch for yourself after the break.

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I noticed the dancing bear warrior appeared to be ... ahem, flopping around. I easily defeated the Grizzled Boor in Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery EP, the point-and-click adventure game for iPad. But I was definitely distracted during our battle.

I couldn’t help but stare at his crotch. I thought, “Dude, that’s totally his junk hanging out.” To be sure, I asked Nathan Vella, co-founder and president of developer CAPY Games, and he confirmed my suspicion.

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