Venice is great, just stay away from the water

A white clad and totally not conspicuous hooded assassin impales yet another target on his blade. Meanwhile on another screen not far away - in other words less than 2 feet away - a lone wonderer flame grills an old man's head on a stove, while the guy's grand children sit in the other room, wondering what smells so good.

 

Assassin's Creed II: because even 15th century Italians need to sort out feuds 

Yeah, just another casual gaming night at a a friend's house, while munching on snacks, staying up late and knowing full well that there's no early morning lecture or work to wake up to tomorrow. We're in the living room, Phil gripping his PS3 joypad and experiencing the sites and sounds of renaissance Venice in Assassin's Creed II, while I'm right next to him with my laptop experiencing the brutal and unforgiving Capital wasteland of Fallout 3.

We're chuckling away, not quite realising yet that not only are we enjoying the site of old man Harris' head on a stove a little too much, but that I'm choosing this R & R time to play my laptop at my  friend's house when we could be doing something a bit more worthwhile and less pathetic on this fine evening.

 

Get it while it's hot kids!

It gets worse, I'm collecting garden gnomes now

However if there's anything I learned in that evening, it's that no one in 15th century Venice knows how to swim. Anyone - apart from the protagonist - who falls into one of the many waterways of the city is a dead man. Maybe medieval people are allergic to water, that's why no one bathes.  

 Watch out for the water!

 

At least the night life seems pretty good. That guy's just drunk. Honest