Poll: Ubisoft has never made a masterpiece

[Adam Jensen_v1legacy]

I know what some of you are thinking - Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time. But as someone who's never enjoyed a single game in that franchise I have to disagree.

I'd still like to hear your opinion, of course. This is pretty much a subjective thing. But my opinion is that even though Ubisoft has made some pretty great games in the past, even some of my favorites like Assassin's Creed 2, Black Flag, Splinter Cell franchise etc. they don't have a real masterpiece like some of the biggest devs/publishers in the industry, despite having an enormous library of games. Even freakin' EA and Activision have a masterpiece or two on their hands.

BTW, when I say masterpiece, to me that means a game that is original, that is obviously a labor of love and passion that it just can't help but get universal praise from critics and gamers and it ages well and is regarded as a must play title for years to come. And none of the games that came from Ubisoft ever truly felt like pure labors of love or at least like love and passion were the driving forces behind key design decisions.

 

[B-Cell_v1legacy]

Oh really??

this game was nothing less than masterpiece. probably best stealth game of all time. since then ubisoft game started to suck.

the day AC released. is the day ubisoft gone downhill, splinter cell become dumbed down action game. but back in days they were reallly good.

 

[Squilookle]

Your opinion aside, Sands of Time has been widely regarded as a masterpiece anyway, so I guess Ubisoft has made one afterall. I'm no huge fan of Half-Life, but that doesn't stop it being a masterpiece. Same sort of deal.

I've never played it, but Beyond Good and Evil might qualify- though perhaps it's more cult darling than masterpiece.

IL-2 Sturmovik however, is still seen as the pinnacle of an entire genre, and is also most definitely a masterpiece.

 

[Adam Jensen_v1legacy]

Oh really??

I love Chaos Theory. It's the best Splinter Cell. But it's hardly a masterpiece. It's not the pinnacle of stealth genre, it didn't push the genre forward, it didn't influence other stealth games and it wasn't exactly original since it didn't really offer anything that previous two games didn't already do. It wasn't a passion project or a labor of love. It was just a more refined sequel. Sequels are rarely masterpieces anyway. Max Payne 2 and Metal Gear Solid 3 are examples of such sequels.

I'm no huge fan of Half-Life, but that doesn't stop it being a masterpiece.

I agree with you on this. I'm not a big fan of Half-Life either, but I do consider it to be a masterpiece for other reasons. It stood the test of time. Remarkably so. I could still play it today and aside from dated graphics I wouldn't have any issues with gameplay. It's as tight and solid as any modern day shooter. Half-Life also pushed the boundaries of the genre and it inspired a lot of games that came after it. But the same can't be said for Prince of Persia. It is just a very competent third person puzzle platformer. And it is overshadowed entirely by God of War. Which is, IMO a real masterpiece.

IL-2 Sturmovik

Made by an independent studio and only published by Ubisoft for the NA and EU market. It doesn't count as a Ubisoft game. That would be like giving Rockstar instead of Remedy credit for Max Payne 2.

 

[Casual Shinji]

But the same can't be said for Prince of Persia. It is just a very competent third person puzzle platformer. And it is overshadowed entirely by God of War.

Overshadowed, sure, but not entirely. In PoP the platforming is great, but the combat sucks. In GoW the combat is great, but the platforming sucks. GoW puts less emphasis on its platforming then PoP does on its combat though, so GoW is overall a way more solid gaming experience. I still enjoy the setting, characters, and story of Sands of Time though.

 

[Dalisclock]

Valiant Hearts: The Great War.

Sure, it occasionally feels like a puzzle game but it might have more fucking heart then almost anything else Ubisoft ever made. It's one of the few games that consistently has me on the edge of crying big soppy man tears every time I get to the ending....and that'a a very, very short list.

I still have to double check to verify it was actually made by Ubisoft and not some indie studio using ubisoft as a publisher, because it doesn't feel like the typical UBISOFT GAME TM@ they churn out at a constant rate now.

 

[B-Cell_v1legacy]

Oh really??

I love Chaos Theory. It's the best Splinter Cell. But it's hardly a masterpiece. It's not the pinnacle of stealth genre, it didn't push the genre forward, it didn't influence other stealth games and it wasn't exactly original since it didn't really offer anything that previous two games didn't already do. It wasn't a passion project or a labor of love. It was just a more refined sequel. Sequels are rarely masterpieces anyway. Max Payne 2 and Metal Gear Solid 3 are examples of such sequels.

.

max payne 2 is easily weakest game in series. original Max payne is masterpiece

chaos theory is masterpiece because its one of few pure stealth simualator along with thief. the level design was incredible, and this type of pure stealth game donot exist today its sad.

 

[Adam Jensen_v1legacy]

original Max payne is masterpiece

It's an antiquated mess of half-baked ideas, lazy level design and bad cliche writing. Max Payne 2 was a colossal improvement. But I know why you don't like it as much. It's because of that one section where you have to play as a female character.

chaos theory...stealth simualator

You need to stop using the internet. Forever.

 

[Saelune]

Assassin's Creed II. That game I would consider a near perfect game. The gameplay is great, the story is amazing, it made me go back and like ACI. That was ofcourse when AC had a point and wasn't just a game being pumped out for money.

 

[Pseudonym]

I don't know precisely what the standards are for masterpiece but Rayman 2 is wonderfully charming (I might have a somewhat specific perspective on that game since it was my first game that wasn't Freddy Fish), Rayman Legends is just plain fun and Beyond Good and Evil is a great action adventure game for people who don't like to slog through 40 hours of 'guess what the devs where thinking'. These games clearly come across as labors of love too.

 

[Squilookle]

Assassin's Creed II. That game I would consider a near perfect game. The gameplay is great, the story is amazing, it made me go back and like ACI. That was ofcourse when AC had a point and wasn't just a game being pumped out for money.

I'd really like to agree with that, but by sheer virtue of it including that godawful DRM that was among the worst type ever conceived, which was never removed, it kinda gives it an instant disqualification.

 

[sXeth]

See, the thing with this thread is you're not providing any actual qualifications. Not even so much as a list of games you do consider valid masterpieces by whatever arbitrary criteria you're using.

Ubisoft obviously has had beloved games that are frequently cited, such as BG&E, PoP (though that wouldn't qualify under your "original" test technically) and Rayman. And even more mainstream products like Assassins Creed (Probably 2 would be the go-to example, unforgivable DLC shenanigan notwithstanding) have obvious craft in them, and *enormous* levels of influence.

 

[Saelune]

Assassin's Creed II. That game I would consider a near perfect game. The gameplay is great, the story is amazing, it made me go back and like ACI. That was ofcourse when AC had a point and wasn't just a game being pumped out for money.

I'd really like to agree with that, but by sheer virtue of it including that godawful DRM that was among the worst type ever conceived, which was never removed, it kinda gives it an instant disqualification.

Well it doesn't.

 

[Canadamus Prime]

Can you give some examples of games that you do consider masterpieces?

 

[Pseudonym]

Come to think of it, what about Far Cry 3. I wasn't a big fan (didn't hate it either, but I was a bit bored by it after a few hours) but a lot of people really liked it and it set an example for open worlds ways after it in a big way.

 

[Samtemdo8_v1legacy]

I am enjoying Far Cry Primal at the moment. And it has the most simple but effective story telling in the franchise yet.

 

[Samtemdo8_v1legacy]

I will say that Ubisoft so far has consistantly made relatively ok games. IMO they don't have as bad of a track compared to EA.

I mean despite Yatzhee's "being broken" from playing Assassin's Creed Odyssey, I rather play that then play the Slaughtering Grounds of Mass Effect Andromeda.

 

[Adam Jensen_v1legacy]

Can you give some examples of games that you do consider masterpieces?

Max Payne 2, Metal Gear Solid 3, Half-Life and God of War have already been mentioned. I would also say The Witcher 3, Baldur's Gate 2, Diablo 2, Resident Evil 4, Shadow of the Colossus, Deus Ex (even though I enjoyed HR far, far more than the original), WarCraft 3, System Shock 2, Bioshock and Bioshock Infinite, Hitman Blood Money, GTA 3, Yakuza, Mass Effect 1, KoTOR and KoTOR 2, Portal, etc.
They're all masterpieces for different reasons but you should be able to tell why someone would consider these games to be masterpieces if you played through them.

See, the thing with this thread is you're not providing any actual qualifications. Not even so much as a list of games you do consider valid masterpieces by whatever arbitrary criteria you're using.

Well it's a tough thing to qualify. I said that it's subjective. I'm not asking people to agree with me. I just want opinions. For example, I adore Assassin's Creed 2 and I find it to be absolutely magical, but there's just something about it that feels too corporate driven preventing me from seeing it as a masterpiece. Same thing with Deus Ex Human Revolution. Square-Enix actually wanted to put ads in the game. They did it, actually. But they quickly had to patch them out. But the intent was there and that's all that matters.

I'd really like to agree with that, but by sheer virtue of it including that godawful DRM that was among the worst type ever conceived, which was never removed, it kinda gives it an instant disqualification.

Maybe that's it. Maybe if they put it on GoG one day I'll get to see it as a masterpiece. I'd like that.

I will say that Ubisoft so far has consistantly made relatively ok games. IMO they don't have as bad of a track compared to EA.

I agree. They do make some pretty entertaining games and they're not quite as evil as they used to be. Most of their games offer a lot of value for the money. But that's not quite the point of this topic.

 

[sXeth]

Can you give some examples of games that you do consider masterpieces?

Max Payne 2, Metal Gear Solid 3, Half-Life and God of War have already been mentioned. I would also say The Witcher 3, Baldur's Gate 2, Diablo 2, Resident Evil 4, Shadow of the Colossus, Deus Ex (even though I enjoyed HR far, far more than the original), WarCraft 3, System Shock 2, Bioshock and Bioshock Infinite, Hitman Blood Money, GTA 3, Yakuza, Mass Effect 1, KoTOR and KoTOR 2, Portal, etc.
They're all masterpieces for different reasons but you should be able to tell why someone would consider these games to be masterpieces if you played through them.

I've played through Warcraft 3, System Shock 2, Bioshock Infinite, GTA 3, Mass Effect 1, and KotoR 2, and I have no idea why anyone'd consider them masterpieces. Mass Effect maybe barely if you're a big fan of Biowares writing style. GTA3 was a tech demo. KotOR 2 wasn't even properly finished. Warcraft 3 is pasted Starcraft that simultaneously managed to dumb down its original series and overcomplicate with weird hero mechanics (that may have spawned the MOBA genre via community mod, but were highly unwelcomed in the core RTS game). System Shock 2 is a 5 years too late sequel to the actual groundbreaking game, that was janky even compared to its own peers and games that came out before it (such as the aforementioned Half Life)

I don't particularly like Diablo, but sure I can see the potential appeal, and certainly the influence.

BG2 is a weird non-entry in its own series progression, and has an atrocious filler middle act, but there's a lot of highlight to it if taken as an individual game. And obviously outclasses its own peers of the era. Its usually what people mean when they refer to Baldurs Gate, and no even mentions the other 3 isometric era D&D CRPGs.

 

[Bad Jim]

Can you give some examples of games that you do consider masterpieces?

Not Beyond Good and Evil or Rayman Origins, that's for sure. Nor Assassins Creed Black Flag or Far Cry 3.

I definitely think we are owed a definition here. Something more than "I know it when I see it".

I know why you don't like it as much. It's because of that one section where you have to play as a female character.

Woah dude, there's no need for that.