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Has Assassin’s Creed had its day?

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With nine games under its belt, and an upcoming film on the way, the Assassin’s Creed series is undoubtedly popular. But has it lost its charm? Or do I want to enter the Animus once more?

On the whole, I have always referred to Assassin’s Creed as a great franchise. If someone asks me if it’s worth playing I will, without hesitation, say yes. Although the series has had its ups and downs, I stick by this statement.

This is mainly due to the historical aspect, the series’ main attribute. The games allow you to go back to some of the most notable moments in history, with each one working in its own story around that. These include the French Revolution, Renaissance Italy and the Golden Age Of Piracy. While last year’s addition, Unity, was a slight let down, I think people forget some of the things it tried out. While Black Flag was brought out on Xbox One, Unity was the first Xbox One built AC game. It took bold risks, with new combat and parkour systems, and beautiful graphics; coupling in crowds of hundreds. It may not have been the best in the series, but it showed the potential of Assassin’s Creed.

assassins creed pic 1

Some steps have been in the wrong direction though. Revelations, for me, is one of the worst. The whole story was only moderate at best, with nothing new being brought in, other than the setting and even this was something not massively wanted.

Hello? Ubisoft? China and Japan please? Though I’ll admit, they have taken the series there. Sort of.

Recently, a three part, 2.5D side scroller known as Assassin’s Creed Chronicles was detailed with the first part now released. Looking at three separate assassins in three different locations, each with their own art style. While this sounds interesting, I was never that fussed about playing it. In my eyes, If Ubisoft were to release an Assassin’s game set in China, it shouldn’t be “half a game”.

The newest release, Syndicate however, is definitely one of my favourite installments. This is mainly down to setting. Victorian London is an excellent location to use, with plenty of famous monuments to explore and historical characters to meet. Its protagonists, Jacob and Evie Frye, other than being fun to play around with have brought another ‘new’ to the franchise – two playable characters.

ac syndicate header

Overall, the series has been remodeled twice, first in Assassin’s Creed 3, then again in Unity. Both times getting face lifts in the graphics and some revamps of core elements. Provided they can keep the games’ original flair, while adding in new and innovative ideas, the popularity of this franchise is here to stay. For those who claim games such as Far Cry or Call Of Duty are better, at what point during your play through of them could you climb up a huge famous building (say, the Roman Colosseum or Big Ben) before popping off to have a chat with the likes of Leonardo Da Vinci or Charles Dickens? All before breaking into the Pope’s crib at Vatican City or sneaking around Buckingham Palace? I challenge you to find one game that allows you to say these things. I even said to my friend the other day: “I can now say I’ve grappled up the side of 10 Downing Street thanks to Assassins Creed.”

While moving forward, then stopping, then going slightly backwards, the AC series has always managed to redeem itself in my eyes. There have been highs and lows, and emotional moments throughout the whole, rather excellent story, but Assassin’s Creed has always brought me back. It has never had to drag me back, I have always been willing to pick up the next installment and in all fairness, a series going on as long as this has, must be doing something right.

I’ll definitely be pulling up my hood for next year.

Gabriel Brown
Gabriel Brownhttps://gabrielirbrown.wordpress.com/
A random enough guy who loves writing and The Walking Dead. I have worked on all sorts of things, ranging from papers to book and film festivals. On my blog you can expect film and tv show reviews/talk, as well as various pieces of writing: whether they be local, worldwide or fictional. If you have anything you'd like to speak with me about, contact me at [email protected] Or on Twitter @GabrielBrown123

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DarthDiggler
DarthDiggler
9 years ago

IMHO they try to shoe horn too much history into the game. The Templars disappeared from history in the 1300s. So any appearance of Templars after 1300s is a complete fabrication and not reliant on history.

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