Why yes, I would like to elaborate on that.
(This post will contain vague spoilers for all the AC games except Revelations.)
Assassin's Creed is a series that has no shortage of potential but is being continually held back by baffling design decisions.
The first game introduced itself with a nice take on sandbox gameplay (basically, "climb everything") and a basic but elegant mission structure ("find guy, stab guy, run like stink"). When it hit its stride, there were some good times to be had pursuing fleeing targets over the rooftops or desperately dodging through crowded marketplaces with crusader patrols closing in from every direction.
Now, that's not to say it was without flaws. Whoo boy, did it ever have flaws. Those tedious preliminary mission obscuring the good bits. Not one but two utterly boring protagonists. A pathetically stilted attempt at character development. A lacklustre, albeit fairly well presented, story which only goes anywhere five minutes before the credits rolled. Yeah, flaws were in plentiful supply. But hey, at least it was something new. It didn't spark a revolution, but it was a little breath of fresh air and that can cover many sins.
Two years pass and Assassin's Creed 2 shows up. At first it seemed like it had managed to deftly throw out the bathwater while leaving the baby intact. No more grinding preliminary missions and a protagonist wish some actual personality. (Can't say I've ever really warmed to Ezio. He just strikes me as yet another basic wish fulfilment persona, but damn he was an improvement on Altair.)
Sadly it also abandoned any notion of challenge. Between Ezio's expanded arsenal of overpowered weapons, healing potions and easier combat, AC2 became a walk in the park. I beat the final boss so fast he didn't even get to finish his dialogue. It also began what would become a trend by introducing an utterly extraneous economy system, equipment upgrading and that renovation thing. Then the story pulled a bait-and-switch by replacing an unremarkable but basically functional tale of revenge with the whole Templar conspiracy bollocks and finally going belly-up at the end with an incredibly silly reveal that still barely advanced the overarching story at all.
Then Brotherhood shows up. Even easier (chain kills). More extraneous fat added (assassin management and city renovation). A story that goes nowhere until the last half hour with a final twist that reveals bugger-all. The only thing of value was the amazingly good multiplayer.
And finally Revelations. Addition of bombs lowers challenge still further and yet more extraneous fat in the form of tower defence. Lastly, I keep getting the disquieting impression that it somehow expects me to give the slightest vestige of a damn about Desmond and his pals. Yeesh.
*sigh*
So... am I going anywhere with all this obnoxious whining? No, not really. I'm just a little miffed that an exciting series that started out with a great deal of potential has slowly devolved into bargain-bin material. Damn shame.
Oh, and just to finish off, now Ubisoft want to bring in a yearly release schedule. Because, as everyone knows, all the best products in this world are stamped off production lines.
(This post will contain vague spoilers for all the AC games except Revelations.)
Assassin's Creed is a series that has no shortage of potential but is being continually held back by baffling design decisions.
The first game introduced itself with a nice take on sandbox gameplay (basically, "climb everything") and a basic but elegant mission structure ("find guy, stab guy, run like stink"). When it hit its stride, there were some good times to be had pursuing fleeing targets over the rooftops or desperately dodging through crowded marketplaces with crusader patrols closing in from every direction.
Now, that's not to say it was without flaws. Whoo boy, did it ever have flaws. Those tedious preliminary mission obscuring the good bits. Not one but two utterly boring protagonists. A pathetically stilted attempt at character development. A lacklustre, albeit fairly well presented, story which only goes anywhere five minutes before the credits rolled. Yeah, flaws were in plentiful supply. But hey, at least it was something new. It didn't spark a revolution, but it was a little breath of fresh air and that can cover many sins.
Two years pass and Assassin's Creed 2 shows up. At first it seemed like it had managed to deftly throw out the bathwater while leaving the baby intact. No more grinding preliminary missions and a protagonist wish some actual personality. (Can't say I've ever really warmed to Ezio. He just strikes me as yet another basic wish fulfilment persona, but damn he was an improvement on Altair.)
Sadly it also abandoned any notion of challenge. Between Ezio's expanded arsenal of overpowered weapons, healing potions and easier combat, AC2 became a walk in the park. I beat the final boss so fast he didn't even get to finish his dialogue. It also began what would become a trend by introducing an utterly extraneous economy system, equipment upgrading and that renovation thing. Then the story pulled a bait-and-switch by replacing an unremarkable but basically functional tale of revenge with the whole Templar conspiracy bollocks and finally going belly-up at the end with an incredibly silly reveal that still barely advanced the overarching story at all.
Then Brotherhood shows up. Even easier (chain kills). More extraneous fat added (assassin management and city renovation). A story that goes nowhere until the last half hour with a final twist that reveals bugger-all. The only thing of value was the amazingly good multiplayer.
And finally Revelations. Addition of bombs lowers challenge still further and yet more extraneous fat in the form of tower defence. Lastly, I keep getting the disquieting impression that it somehow expects me to give the slightest vestige of a damn about Desmond and his pals. Yeesh.
*sigh*
So... am I going anywhere with all this obnoxious whining? No, not really. I'm just a little miffed that an exciting series that started out with a great deal of potential has slowly devolved into bargain-bin material. Damn shame.
Oh, and just to finish off, now Ubisoft want to bring in a yearly release schedule. Because, as everyone knows, all the best products in this world are stamped off production lines.
