Assassin's Creed Origins - it's an RPG now

[AwesomeButton]

This is what an RPG stealth plays like. We live in the age where Assassin's Creed is an RPG, and Dishonored is a Thief-inspired stealth game.

 

[Falksi]

One significant difference - I like TW3's story and characters. This provides motivation for me to cruise the open world and do entertaining but not very effort-intensive errands. Rinse and repeat for 500 hours. AC Origins? I don't know, but from what I'm seeing it doesn't have the same magic.

True. It'll be interesting to see how it all fits together. I've always hated the AC series tbh, but I'm gonna play this one when it's in the bargain basement bin just to see how it compares to TW3.

 

[fantadomat]

Looking at the charts and it have barely 200,000 sold. If i have to guess,they have around a half a million sold on all platforms.

 

[Paul_cz]

Looking at the charts and it have barely 200,000 sold. If i have to guess,they have around a half a million sold on all platforms.

it has 200K on steam, but you need to realize that every single retail copy, and every single electronic nonsteam copy, uses uplay, and not steam. So in total it probably sold that half a million on PC alone, and then even more on PS4 and Xbone.

Personally I bought it yesterday and refunded it in 20 minutes - I wanted to run to Alexandria to see how it looks and performs there, but after I ran into huge black wall with DESYNCHONIZATION IMMINENT plastered on the screen, I shut it off and uninstalled it.

Looking at the sales a bit more...

For example, Wolfenstein 2 sold 138K and that is ALL PC copies, but retail and electronic. So AC Origins is much stronger seller, although still quite weak in regards to the AC series itself.

 

[cvv]

One more thing I realized just now - the lack of optional challenges hurt the game more than the devs prolly expected. Since AC3 trying for 100% sync in missions was literally the only thing that kept me going. It gave the game the needed challenge and spice. It was much more interesting to sneak in a camp, do something and sneak out undetected than just rushing in, slaughtering everything in 10 seconds and walk out in the sunset through the main gate.

Without optional challenges Origins quests feel like dumb XP vendor machine - go to X, press a button, receive XP. Sad.

 

[fantadomat]

Looking at the charts and it have barely 200,000 sold. If i have to guess,they have around a half a million sold on all platforms.

it has 200K on steam, but you need to realize that every single retail copy, and every single electronic nonsteam copy, uses uplay, and not steam. So in total it probably sold that half a million on PC alone, and then even more on PS4 and Xbone.

Personally I bought it yesterday and refunded it in 20 minutes - I wanted to run to Alexandria to see how it looks and performs there, but after I ran into huge black wall with DESYNCHONIZATION IMMINENT plastered on the screen, I shut it off and uninstalled it.

Looking at the sales a bit more...

For example, Wolfenstein 2 sold 138K and that is ALL PC copies, but retail and electronic. So AC Origins is much stronger seller, although still quite weak in regards to the AC series itself.

Yeah i know mate . But this one is performing very poorly compared to the others. Who knows,it could be because you play as nigger in this one,or because of their shit marketing?! It performs far beneath expectations. I doubt that it will break even. I am more interested in the fate of the wolfi. Will we see another andromeda,where the publisher is talking about how successful is the game,and a month later the studio is closed? If that happens,well good riddance,fuck those swedish cucks. Still it is shame that Bethesda's single player games are not selling very well. One of the few publishers that make gambles and invest in new singleplayer IPs. And sticking it to the journos.

 

[flyingjohn]

Yeah i know mate . But this one is performing very poorly compared to the others. Who knows,it could be because you play as nigger in this one,or because of their shit marketing?! It performs far beneath expectations. I doubt that it will break even. I am more interested in the fate of the wolfi. Will we see another andromeda,where the publisher is talking about how successful is the game,and a month later the studio is closed? If that happens,well good riddance,fuck those swedish cucks. Still it is shame that Bethesda's single player games are not selling very well. One of the few publishers that make gambles and invest in new singleplayer IPs. And sticking it to the journos.

If this game fails you can say goodby to Ubisoft and hello to Vivendisoft.
And that will make past assassin creed games look like masterpieces compared to what will be coming in the future.
And you can also forget any future rayman games as well since Vivendi doesn't care.

 

[fantadomat]

Yeah i know mate . But this one is performing very poorly compared to the others. Who knows,it could be because you play as nigger in this one,or because of their shit marketing?! It performs far beneath expectations. I doubt that it will break even. I am more interested in the fate of the wolfi. Will we see another andromeda,where the publisher is talking about how successful is the game,and a month later the studio is closed? If that happens,well good riddance,fuck those swedish cucks. Still it is shame that Bethesda's single player games are not selling very well. One of the few publishers that make gambles and invest in new singleplayer IPs. And sticking it to the journos.

If this game fails you can say goodby to Ubisoft and hello to Vivendisoft.
And that will make past assassin creed games look like masterpieces compared to what will be coming in the future.
And you can also forget any future rayman games as well since Vivendi doesn't care.

Honestly don't care what colour a shit is. I haven't enjoyed a ubisoft game for a decade,also don't care about Rayman. Even if it fails,i doubt that they will be overtaken. They had pretty good few years.... surprisingly. It will be healthy to see the big corporations implode. It will be chaos for a few years,and then new players will come.

 

[Jarmaro]

The big lie I've been seeing these days is that AC: Origins is good (beceause of the way game is, not quality) beceause they took a year break
No. That's not true.
It takes years to make single AC game. They had time to polish it maybe, but it for sure changed litttle to nothing concept of game. They had it planned long ago.
I want journalism to stop repeating that lie.
Stop.
Don't embarass yourselves.

 

[vonAchdorf]

Now the game focus is on social stealth and yet it fails in the fundamental thing social stealth needs:A disguise system or a event system.
Just taking whores/thieves and using them for distraction is stupid considering that draws attention.Also using crowds as stealth means the designer has to make crowds static which is unnatural.A proper disguise would work wonders and if there was an actual event system like hitman it would be even better.

Unity had some form of disguise, wehere you switch into the outfit of any random character.

In Origins, there's no social stealth, you can't blend into crowds, something I only noticed after I read it in a review, because it always was an annoying mechanic which I rarely used. The "grass stealth" feels more natural for a predator. The stealth booth, which are still scattered in Origins feel a bit out of place and gamey.

 

[vonAchdorf]

It takes years to make single AC game. They had time to polish it maybe, but it for sure changed litttle to nothing concept of game. They had it planned long ago.
I want journalism to stop repeating that lie.
Stop.
Don't embarass yourselves.

The devs repeatedly said that the game development time has been pitched for 4 years from the beginning and that didn't get an additional year after the predecessors tanked.

 

[fantadomat]

It takes years to make single AC game. They had time to polish it maybe, but it for sure changed litttle to nothing concept of game. They had it planned long ago.
I want journalism to stop repeating that lie.
Stop.
Don't embarass yourselves.

The devs repeatedly said that the game development time has been pitched for 4 years from the beginning and that didn't get an additional year after the predecessors tanked.

Sooo there is a good chance to not see asscreed for a long time. Maybe it will die for good if we are lucky.

 

[Taxnomore]

I do not buy it. UBI SOFT literal survival depended on that game. If AC:Origin tanked, they would have been bought by Vivendi. They just saved their bottoms with both the new South Park and this.

 

[vonAchdorf]

I do not buy it. UBI SOFT literal survival depended on that game. If AC:Origin tanked, they would have been bought by Vivendi. They just saved their bottoms with both the new South Park and this.

What's this strange law in France, that they have to offer their company to a minority shareholder, if he holds 30%(?) of the outstanding shares? Or is this misreported? Seems a bit strange to enable a squeeze out for someone who holds just 1/3 of the shares.

 

[Taxnomore]

Are you talking about this ? https://www.reuters.com/article/us-...-take-over-ubisoft-analysts-say-idUSKBN19J2F5

I have no idea of how the % evolved, but I wouldn't be shocked if Vivendi would have been able to control Ubi with 30% shares, by allying themselves to other shareholders.
Still, they seem to be out of the woods for a while.

 

[vonAchdorf]

Are you talking about this ? https://www.reuters.com/article/us-...-take-over-ubisoft-analysts-say-idUSKBN19J2F5

I have no idea of how the % evolved, but I wouldn't be shocked if Vivendi would have been able to control Ubi with 30% shares, by allying themselves to other shareholders.
Still, they seem to be out of the woods for a while.

I looked it up - it seems to be a combination of various effects.

First a law which boosts voting rights:

The long-standing battle between Vivendi and Ubisoft's founding Guillemot family may conclude in November, the Financial Times reports. Vivendi, who currently owns 26.6% of Ubisoft's share capital and 25.2% of voting rights, may see its stake in the company doubled under France's Florange Law, thus boosting the company's stake in the games-maker past the 30% needed for a takeover.

Then a law, which allows a take over when you hold 30% of a company.

When Vivendi’s shares reach 30%, the media company will be required by French law to make an offer to Ubisoft.

The latter seems a bit strange. If they want a takeover, nothing hinders them to make an offer before they have 30% and it's just an offer, other investors don't have to agree to it. Unless it's a squeeze out, which I doubt can happen at 30%.

 

[Gerrard]

I know a guy who's a fan of the series but he said he won't be playing this as he doesn't want to deal with all that loot trash. Hasn't played W3 either.

 

[vonAchdorf]

Someone needs to nerf or urgently change the mechanics of poison. At this moment it is too strong and too contagious, completely unbalancing the combat. I almost annihilated the entire population of Alexandria, unintentionally, because of half a dozen poisoned bodies on the main street.

Can't be worse than the casualties I (unintentionally) cause by merely trying to drive a cart through the city.

 

[Trash]

Bought the game because I was really interested in the setting. Enjoyed the first AC as a parkour game through the medieval Holy Land. Then the second one as a tourist trip to renaissance Italy. Including fun details on historical places and buildings. Later games simply stopped interesting me as the gameplay got too samey, the patent Ubisoft cookie cutter open world formula took over completely and it felt like the next games simply rolled off a conveyer belt. So, I sampled them for a bit and moved on. Even Black Flag which I tried for a bit and enjoyed for awhile got boring and samey fast.

This one however? I love it. Mostly because the setting looks and feels brilliant. The world is just so vibrant, alive, beautiful and well made that I keep finding great sights whenever I boot this up. Not to mention some great sound design that really brings the place to live, from busy streets to the noise of insects at the water’s edge.

Gameplay is a much smoother and more polished AC. No lame collectibles, combat that’s a fresh breath, looting that’s easy, quick and hardly a bother and a leveling system that’s simple and doesn’t get in the way. Lots of places to explore that usually have you infiltrate something, climb something, find something, kill something or explore something. With some added races, Witcher III detective stuff and naval combat thrown in. Is it AC? Yup, definitely. But it’s a much fresher take on the franchise. Still, it is very much AC.

Storyline for the main mission is, well, passable. Considering the retardation that the whole AC went into after the first game. Thankfully they replicated a lot of AC II’s simple but effective quest for revenge. Including the much missed list of targets to work through. Side mission storylines are wildly diverse, from utterly infantile to pretty decent. Nothing splendid so far however. In-game purchases are cosmetic bullshit tailor made for the retarded idiots that buy shit like that and some time savers that no one who explores a bit needs.

What I didn’t like? I miss grabbing npc’s and using them as cover or throw them off roofs as I could do in the first AC. Then you got this amazing setting and there is no in-game information on its places, habits and buildings. Come on guys, this game just screams for a bit more behind the scenes stuff. Speaking about that, the tombs are fun but don’t really come close to the platforming and puzzle sections in ACII. Loved those almost as much as the hit list you had in that game, and while that one does return it does not have quite the oomph as AC II’s. Another minus is the fact that pretty much everything can be found by exploring question marks on the compass. Unless they actively hid some interesting places around the massive gameworld that don’t show up as an icon. Dunno, haven’t found them yet.

In the end however there is one thing that really stands out. Origins gameworld is such an amazingly well crafted, beautiful and fascinating place to visit that I love exploring it. From small vilages that are dwarfed by huge temples, the massive desert with its small oasis that get hit by sandstorms, the great cities, the swampy shores of the Nile, mountain tombs, the decaying architecture of the Old Kingdom and the new shiny marble Greek and Roman stuff. They got the sense of the world being a genuine place right. Playing a digital tourist is good fun again.

 

[cvv]

Unless they actively hid some interesting places around the massive gameworld that don’t show up as an icon.

They did. So far (about 20 hours in) I found one such place.

 

[His Majesty]

Bought the game because I was really interested in the setting. Enjoyed the first AC as a parkour game through the medieval Holy Land. Then the second one as a tourist trip to renaissance Italy. Including fun details on historical places and buildings. Later games simply stopped interesting me as the gameplay got too samey, the patent Ubisoft cookie cutter open world formula took over completely and it felt like the next games simply rolled off a conveyer belt. So, I sampled them for a bit and moved on. Even Black Flag which I tried for a bit and enjoyed for awhile got boring and samey fast.

This one however? I love it. Mostly because the setting looks and feels brilliant. The world is just so vibrant, alive, beautiful and well made that I keep finding great sights whenever I boot this up. Not to mention some great sound design that really brings the place to live, from busy streets to the noise of insects at the water’s edge.

The open world is indeed the highlight of the game, it is stunningly beautiful. Despite that I am not yet convinced of the game. It feels a lot like The Witcher 3 minus everything that made it such an enjoyable game. The side-quests feel cheap and easy, there are no dialogue choices or decisions to be made, the writing is poor and I have yet to encounter a single interesting character outside of the main quest. And the compass reduces most of the game to another Ubisoft checklist simulator.

You can't hide the compass by the way without also permanently hiding your health bars and looting windows.

 

[cvv]

It feels a lot like The Witcher 3 minus everything that made it such an enjoyable game. The side-quests feel cheap and easy, there are no dialogue choices or decisions to be made, the writing is poor and I have yet to encounter a single interesting character outside of the main quest. And the compass reduces most of the game to another Ubisoft checklist simulator.

Pretty much this. The more it's trying to be an RPG the more painfully obvious it is that it's actually not an RPG.

As I said, the lack of optional challenges underscores the checklist simulator nature of the game something fierce.

As for quests and characters, I liked the small side quests about the beta dweeb who lost his virginity to a marriage scam artist. And I actually liked the Scarab character and quest quite a lot.

 

[Trash]

Not to mention the desert hallucinations. Love that stuff. Someone played Dune back in the day.

 

[muds_animal_friend]

In the end however there is one thing that really stands out. Origins gameworld is such an amazingly well crafted, beautiful and fascinating place to visit that I love exploring it. From small vilages that are dwarfed by huge temples, the massive desert with its small oasis that get hit by sandstorms, the great cities, the swampy shores of the Nile, mountain tombs, the decaying architecture of the Old Kingdom and the new shiny marble Greek and Roman stuff. They got the sense of the world being a genuine place right. Playing a digital tourist is good fun again.

Have you been to Memphis yet? The level of detail is incredible. All the little nooks and hidden places to find. I can't believe they put that level of environmental modeling work in for locations most players will never even see, or at most spend a couple of seconds dashing through on the way to someplace else. It's the Platonic ideal of open world environment design, and if the game design had even one tenth of the ambition of the environment design it would be game of the year.

 

[vonAchdorf]

Then you got this amazing setting and there is no in-game information on its places, habits and buildings.

That's something I found strange, older ACs had some kind of in-game Encyclopedia about people and places. There will be a FreeLC "Discovery Tour Ancient Egypt" which looks like it might be something like digital tourism and maybe deeper information.