The Games of 2017. (Off-Topic)

by CruelLEGACEY , Toronto, Friday, December 29, 2017, 14:55 (2519 days ago) @ cheapLEY

Assassin’s Creed Origins really does nothing for me. The franchise has gone so far away from what drew me to it in the first place. It’s also a game that fails to do anything particularly well, IMO. The combat, storytelling, graphics, music, world design... it’s all just “ok”. I find it especially disappointing given that Ubisoft took a year off the AC franchise so that they could really invest in this game, and the results are possibly the most boring and generic entry in the franchise so far.

Man, really? That genuinely surprises me. Maybe it’s just the fact that I hate what Assassin’s Creed had become. AC II was my favorite AC, and honestly the only one of the entire series that I genuinely completely liked. I enjoyed Black Flag, but that was really only for the pirate aspect. The actual Assassin’s Creed part of that game still sucked.

I genuinely enjoy the combat in Origins, and I think it’s the the best, most engaging open world this year. Zelda is close, but it ends up feeling too empty of actual worthwhile things to find.

That said, I played Origins for 20 hours, then put it down for something else and I haven’t gone back to it yet. I’m still looking forward to doing so though.

AC II and Black Flag are by far my 2 favorite games in the franchise as well (although I did really enjoy Brotherhood as a direct sequel to AC2). But to me, both those games had incredible core pillars that everything else was built around. In AC2 it was the story and interweaving of narrative & gameplay mechanics, the world building, the role playing (the game truly made me feel like I was playing the part of an Assassin). Black Flag was basically an amazing Pirate game with the AC label slapped on it (and I agree that the more traditional "AC" parts of that game were the weakest, but the Pirate stuff was SO GOOD). But to me, Origins just doesn't have a pillar holding itself up. I haven't done a single thing that I would describe as "fun". Like I said, it all just strikes me as "ok" or "competent", except when it fails completely. The world is huge, but instantly repetitive. None of the assassinations I've performed so far were the carefully executed, meticulously thought-out operations like the ones in AC II or Brotherhood... most of the level geometry just isn't laid out in the sort of way that is conducive to that style of play. It's almost always a straight-up brawl that comes to a sudden end when I happen to kill the actual target in the middle of a mass bloodbath. Which would be fun if I enjoyed the combat at all, but it just feels very clunky and un-intuitive to me.

Not trying to be a downer, because I know you like the game :) Just explaining why it doesn't do anything for me.