The Games of 2017. (Off-Topic)

by cheapLEY , Friday, December 29, 2017, 17:11 (2308 days ago) @ CruelLEGACEY

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.

I can completely see and understand where you're coming from. I think this game would be much stronger without the Assassin's Creed name--that brings a lot of baggage with it and doesn't necessarily meet the expectations that name my bring.

I think, for me, the issue is that I just don't like what Assassin's Creed turned into. The combat in that series has always been mediocre at absolute best, and I think the new system is much better. I can understand folks not liking it, but I think it works really well, and I actually find it pretty satisfying. It can be a little button mashy and brainless, but there are a lot of fun abilities in that skill tree that I just enjoy utilizing.

I agree with you on the assassination missions. It's super weird and bad when you kill your target and are still surrounded by a dozen enemies. I still would absolutely love to see an Assassin's Creed game more in the vein of last year's Hitman. Something much more systems/simulation driven. I feel like that is what the first Assassin's Creed was hinting towards, and I would love to see that game actually happen. I do miss the actual assassin missions that amount to more than just assaulting a fort and killing a dude. That said, I still actually enjoy assaulting the forts and killing the dude in this game, and with more of the abilities unlocked, I'm actually surprised at how dynamic that can be. I've gotten very good at sneaking through those large encampments and killing only my target and getting out.

I also understand why you wouldn't like the world. For a traditional Assassin's Creed game, it's just big and flat. There are very few areas where you can just climb up and run along the rooftops. But again, I think that's why I loved it. To me it feels like a fully realized, real place. I can grok the argument that it doesn't make for a good video game and doesn't necessarily service the gameplay you would expect from Assassin's Creed, but I just don't care about that. I just love walking around that world, seeing what the NPCs are doing, checking out all the neat little details. It doesn't quite match doing so in The Witcher 3, but it comes much closer than I would have ever anticipated. I like talking to the NPCs and the sidequest stories they tell. And I don't actually understand the repetitive argument. I mean, I get it, it's a lot of sand, but I was genuinely surprised at how varied that world is. The actual desert, the delta, the cities, the mountains, the big lake and surrounding marshes.

Most importantly, though, I like Bayek. He's the first AC protagonist that I genuinely like. I like how charming and warm he is. He feels genuine in a way that none of he others have, and I appreciate how much he actually cares about the people around him.

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

Oh, not at all. I'm nearly done with Giant Bomb's 25 hours worth of end of the year podcasts, so I'm in a mood to talk about and debate games (Their list is an absolute shit show this year).