Assassins Creed: Origins Cinematic Trailer

Was I stupid for expecting too much from this game?

Honestly going into E3 this was my most anticipated thing.

Trailer was a bit weird, but I was fine since the combat in the trailer looked good...

But man once actual gameplay started, the more I dwell on it the more disappointed I am. I think I was expecting a huge jump in terms of gameplay since all the leaks seemed to be leading to a complete refinement of mechanics.

But what we saw today was the same thing I've been doing in ubisoft games for years now. The eagle is just a glorified drone/binoculars. The combat looks like janky soulsborne, I saw no improvements to the parkor, and the animations for climbing looked incredibly similar to AC3/4.

Like, I really hope tomorrow is a better showing because right now I am genuinely disappointed.
Gotta admit I felt the same way. As soon as he broke his eagle out to mark enemies I had the bad kind of de ja vu. I've only been doing exactly this in Far Cry Primal, Watch Dogs 2 and Wildlands. Then he climbs the wall super quick - no need for positioning or to find an angle to climb - just two big hurls and he's up on top. Crouching past an enemy who should see him before crawling into the special grass.

Its a refinement, but not as much as a change-up as I would have hoped. And levels and loot were never the problem in AC games.

That said, the ancient Egypt here looks so magnificent and alive that I'm in just on that account. I'd just like Ubisoft to branch out more, and not rely on such standard design elements across so many of their games. You could conceivably get AC fatigue without even playing AC, which is a particularly Ubisoft problem.
 
Gotta admit I felt the same way. As soon as he broke his eagle out to mark enemies I had the bad kind of de ja vu. I've only been doing exactly this in Far Cry Primal, Watch Dogs 2 and Wildlands. Then he climbs the wall super quick - no need for positioning or to find an angle to climb - just two big hurls and he's up on top. Crouching past an enemy who should see him before crawling into the special grass.

Its a refinement, but not as much as a change-up as I would have hoped. And levels and loot were never the problem in AC games.

That said, the ancient Egypt here looks so magnificent and alive that I'm in just on that account. I'd just like Ubisoft to branch out more, and not rely on such standard design elements across so many of their games. You could conceivably get AC fatigue without even playing AC, which is a particularly Ubisoft problem.

Even the mission they showed is "template ubisoft" of go to compound, and kill target. I honestly don't know what I was expecting, but I hoped what they showed would be more interesting.

I feel their demo did a disservice to the game.
 
Gotta admit I felt the same way. As soon as he broke his eagle out to mark enemies I had the bad kind of de ja vu. I've only been doing exactly this in Far Cry Primal, Watch Dogs 2 and Wildlands. Then he climbs the wall super quick - no need for positioning or to find an angle to climb - just two big hurls and he's up on top. Crouching past an enemy who should see him before crawling into the special grass.

Its a refinement, but not as much as a change-up as I would have hoped. And levels and loot were never the problem in AC games.

That said, the ancient Egypt here looks so magnificent and alive that I'm in just on that account. I'd just like Ubisoft to branch out more, and not rely on such standard design elements across so many of their games. You could conceivably get AC fatigue without even playing AC, which is a particularly Ubisoft problem.

My feelings too, word for word.

I'm in for the setting regardless. I love these games for historical tourism. But I'm worried if Origins can't turn Assassin's Creed back into a unanimous "great" series then the sales figures will continue to decline and the series will go the same way as Mass Effect. I want everything about this game to be great so I can get more historical tourism in the future.
 
If the world systems are anywhere are great as Watch_Dogs 2's San Francisco, I will be beyond satisfied because this setting is A+.

As for the gameplay, I'm disappointed that they're pushing more into RPG territory. I was hoping that by going back in time they'd be relying more on intensity, wits, and world interaction fueling the moment to moment gameplay rather than leveling and loot. The combat did not need an extra layer of RPG numbers under the hood, it needed to be more dangerous, quick, and fluid. Was hoping to see a bigger overhaul of the climbing system as well, but hopefully the tombs can add some much needed strategy to the traversal.

We'll see how this one goes.
 
Setting looks cool and all, but the combat looks as bad as ever.

This didn't convince me to care about the series again after AC3.
 
Looks good, i have to temper my expectations but hopefully this is great revival of the series and brings all the old fans including myself back in
 
Gotta admit I felt the same way. As soon as he broke his eagle out to mark enemies I had the bad kind of de ja vu. I've only been doing exactly this in Far Cry Primal, Watch Dogs 2 and Wildlands. Then he climbs the wall super quick - no need for positioning or to find an angle to climb - just two big hurls and he's up on top. Crouching past an enemy who should see him before crawling into the special grass.

Its a refinement, but not as much as a change-up as I would have hoped. And levels and loot were never the problem in AC games.
I get a lot of criticism with AC, but I never got the "climbing and platforms requires no skill". Traversal is a tool in these games, they're not platformers. They're a means to an end, to get from point A to B, to get into position for kills, for chases. That you'd need to find good angles or worry about positioning would be completely at odds with the general gameplay. That's not a legacy feature, that's core to the entire concept of Assassin's Creed, being that super agile killer/stalker/assassin who can strike from any angle and scale any structure with acrobatic grace
 
Looks very much like a Ubisoft game, but this is probably the most interesting AC setting so far, so I might actually check it out. I don't think I've ever played an AC game for longer than an hour or two.
 
I get a lot of criticism with AC, but I never got the "climbing and platforms requires no skill". Traversal is a tool in these games, they're not platformers. They're a means to an end, to get from point A to B, to get into position for kills, for chases. That you'd need to find good angles or worry about positioning would be completely at odds with the general gameplay. That's not a legacy feature, that's core to the entire concept of Assassin's Creed, being that super agile killer/stalker/assassin who can strike from any angle and scale any structure with acrobatic grace
You could say the same about Crackdown but the larger structures took some sizing up and trial and error to reach the top. Am pretty sure even AC2 had some areas you couldn't quite climb until you got an upgrade.

It doesn't have to be a climbing sim, but its fun to have at least some moderate puzzle elements to reaching the top of these places, especially the major landmarks. It should feel like a prize, and not just that you held down the right trigger while pushing up. Its all so automatic, which is probably my main gripe with the series - it needs more player involvement and risk/reward and cleverness in every system across the board.

On that note, adding loot might just be another avenue to make you an automatic god at all things (purely through stats and passives) and make the gameplay feel rote and without real danger, which is always how I feel by about halfway through any of these games, if not earlier.
 
I get a lot of criticism with AC, but I never got the "climbing and platforms requires no skill". Traversal is a tool in these games, they're not platformers. They're a means to an end, to get from point A to B, to get into position for kills, for chases. That you'd need to find good angles or worry about positioning would be completely at odds with the general gameplay. That's not a legacy feature, that's core to the entire concept of Assassin's Creed, being that super agile killer/stalker/assassin who can strike from any angle and scale any structure with acrobatic grace

Compare the platforming in the first game and the Ezio trilogy to the platforming in every AC game since AC3, though. I mean, sure, even in the originals it wasn't overly challenging but it took quite a bit more input from you than it does now and that made it more interesting to play. Unity's and Syndicate's platforming wasn't as terribly automated as AC3's but it was still mostly boring to control and definitely not as satisfying as the originals'. It just feels too much like the game doing the work for you and you just watching pretty animations.
 
I hope they show something more impressive in the Ubi PC, I mean, what I have seen so far is good but lacks that "wow" effect I was expecting. The combat looks OK but I don't like the way the character dodges....
 
I get a lot of criticism with AC, but I never got the "climbing and platforms requires no skill". Traversal is a tool in these games, they're not platformers. They're a means to an end, to get from point A to B, to get into position for kills, for chases. That you'd need to find good angles or worry about positioning would be completely at odds with the general gameplay. That's not a legacy feature, that's core to the entire concept of Assassin's Creed, being that super agile killer/stalker/assassin who can strike from any angle and scale any structure with acrobatic grace

Even with that said they've been dumbing it down more with every passing title. The climbing glove upgrade is gone, needing to jump to reach higher handholds is gone, wall jumps are barely used anywhere, scanning for climbing routes is pretty much gone. The thrill of climbing a viewpoint is totally absent for the more recent games because its become SO automated, especially in Syndicate where you literally have a Batman grappling hook to launch yourself around the city. And I say this as a big fan of Syndicate. Climbing down has gotten even worse, where the fear of falling (which was only ever barely there) has been reduced to nothing thanks to an (admittedly cool) "parkour down" button that guides you all the way to the bottom mindlessly.

Now I get there has to be a balance between speed, cool factor, and ease of use because this isn't a platformer, and the Assassins are supposed to be monkeys, but when everything is so automated, there's no sense of getting better or thrill in reaching the top of structures. There's no need to time button presses, no need to look at anything. Very little involvement. It would be much more interesting if they found a middle ground between the fluid "means to an end" flashiness and more technical, precision based mechanics.
 
You could say the same about Crackdown but the larger structures took some sizing up and trial and error to reach the top. Am pretty sure even AC2 had some areas you couldn't quite climb until you got an upgrade.

It doesn't have to be a climbing sim, but its fun to have at least some moderate puzzle elements to reaching the top of these places, especially the major landmarks. It should feel like a prize, and not just that you held down the right trigger while pushing up. Its all so automatic, which is probably my main gripe with the series - it needs more player involvement and risk/reward and cleverness in every system across the board..

I had a similar complaint back when the first AC released, so I kind of see what you're saying. Maybe for those big, major landmarks they could have some more puzzle-like approaches, and require the player to size up the site from the outside first to find the best route. That could be interesting, especially if it meant a reward at the top.

But for traversal and climbing simple structures in general, they should make it even more streamlined imo. I'm holding forward and R1, and expecting to just blast across rooftops to get away; not have my guy stop at every other joist to do a little pirouette, or pause at every handheld to make it seem more realistic. It hurts the momentum, and it doesn't contribute to feeling like a badass assassin as More_Badass (naturally!) pointed out. The real strategy is choosing the right entry point, the right tools, and the right timing for your execution. Players shouldn't be fighting with the climbing controls while doing all this.
 
The only thing I am disappointed about is the lack of expensive collectors edition. They only have standard, deluxe and gold on the website.

I need my Assassin statue dammit.
 
Even with that said they've been dumbing it down more with every passing title. The climbing glove upgrade is gone, needed to jump to reach higher handholds is gone, wall jumps are barely used anywhere, scanning for climbing routes is pretty much gone. The thrill of climbing a viewpoint is totally absent for the more recent games because its become SO automated, especially in Syndicate where you literally have a Batman grappling hook to launch yourself around the city. And I say this as a big fan of Syndicate. Climbing down has gotten even worse, where the fear of falling (which was only ever barely there) has been reduced to nothing thanks to an (admittedly cool) "parkour down" button that guides you all the way to the bottom mindlessly.

Now I get there has to be a balance between speed, cool factor, and ease of use because this isn't a platformer, and the Assassins are supposed to be monkeys, but when everything is so automated, there's no sense of getting better or thrill in reaching the top of structures. There's no need to time button presses, no need to look at anything. Very little involvement. It would be much more interesting if they found a middle ground between the fluid "means to an end" flashiness and more technical, precision based mechanics.
The involvement is in learning the mechanics and getting better so that you can use it to your full advantage. Big difference between someone who has done so stealthgamerbr and people who don't know how the windows work. You have more manual controls than ever and allowing the system to run automated is typically what leads to the character doing something you didn't want them to do, i.e. getting on objectis because people forget how to vault.


On another note, the demo guy took some significant fall damage just from jumping off that tree and not rolling:
j69DxuC.gif


that threshold for fall damage seems much much lower than in Unity and Syndicate....man this game really IS inspired by TW3
 
Even with that said they've been dumbing it down more with every passing title. The climbing glove upgrade is gone, needed to jump to reach higher handholds is gone, wall jumps are barely used anywhere, scanning for climbing routes is pretty much gone. The thrill of climbing a viewpoint is totally absent for the more recent games because its become SO automated, especially in Syndicate where you literally have a Batman grappling hook to launch yourself around the city. And I say this as a big fan of Syndicate. Climbing down has gotten even worse, where the fear of falling (which was only ever barely there) has been reduced to nothing thanks to an (admittedly cool) "parkour down" button that guides you all the way to the bottom mindlessly.

I agree with the bolded, but the glove was a shitty idea, and climbing down was a shitty thrill, because with that janky ass parkour system, you often "failed" for mistakes outside of your control.

I'll take automated, over failing due to the game's messing up'.

I was hoping they'd rework the parkour more, though.
 
I had a similar complaint back when the first AC released, so I kind of see what you're saying. Maybe for those big, major landmarks they could have some more puzzle-like approaches, and require the player to size up the site from the outside first to find the best route. That could be interesting, especially if it meant a reward at the top.

But for traversal and climbing simple structures in general, they should make it even more streamlined imo. I'm holding forward and R1, and expecting to just blast across rooftops to get away; not have my guy stop at every other joist to do a little pirouette, or pause at every handheld to make it seem more realistic. It hurts the momentum, and it doesn't contribute to feeling like a badass assassin as More_Badass (naturally!) pointed out. The real strategy is choosing the right entry point, the right tools, and the right timing for your execution. Players shouldn't be fighting with the climbing controls while doing all this.
In the original AC days I used to run drills on escape routes before going for the assassination missions. I didn't know what exactly to expect from those missions, except that the alarm would be raised and I'd have to hightail it out of there to safety at the Assassin hideout. So knowing where and how I could climb and cross over streets and break out of line of sight was key.

It was one of the most satisfying feelings to have an escape run perfectly, down to having my own group of converted thugs to hold any pursuers at bay.

I'm sure I'm an outlier with that playstyle and that they're catering to people who just want to flow from one scene to the next without any prep or ingrained knowledge of the open world, but I do miss it. I guess I'm just looking for something that's even a shadow of that feeling.
 
I haven't played an AC since brotherhood (or Farcry or Watchdogs for that matter) but I like the Egyptian setting and I'm a sucker for bow mechanics in games so I'm going to be keeping an eye on this one.

Too bad it doesn't look like the stealth gameplay has evolved much since then but it should be a fine open world sandbox fix until Red Dead comes along.
 
Not sure how I feel about this one. AC is always such a crapshoot. I adored 2/Brotherhood, and I really enjoyed Black Flag and Syndicate and played them all to completion. But 1/Revelations/3 are all games I started and quit within a few hours. The things that really set the good apart from the bad in that series were always a willingness to not take themselves super seriously, and a very strong sense of place. The bits we saw of the character here already felt like a reversion to a Connor-esque dour protagonist, and while their Egypt is gorgeous, I'm worried it may come out feeling more like a sort of meticulous tourism than the very lived-in, characterful Italy and London they built for those games.
 
In the original AC days I used to run drills on escape routes before going for the assassination missions. I didn't know what exactly to expect from those missions, except that the alarm would be raised and I'd have to hightail it out of there to safety at the Assassin hideout. So knowing where and how I could climb and cross over streets and break out of line of sight was key.

It was one of the most satisfying feelings to have an escape run perfectly, down to having my own group of converted thugs to hold any pursuers at bay.

I'm sure I'm an outlier with that playstyle and that they're catering to people who just want to flow from one scene to the next without any prep or ingrained knowledge of the open world, but I do miss it. I guess I'm just looking for something that's even a shadow of that feeling.

That's way I actually enjoy AC1 the most. Only game where I actually felt like an assassin, even though it had its problems and was rough on the edges. Really disliked the direction the franchise took after it, and haven't cared for a single game since AC2.

My interest was piqued when I heard we'd have settings in Ming China or October Revolution, but then these idiots decided to use them on goddamn sidescrollers.
 
Honestly I was a bit disappointed, I'm not sure if it's the alpha gameplay looked rough cuz that really looked bad considering they had more time to develop this game and seeing it in this state gave me a bad first impression

I loved the settings in Unity, Paris looked gorgeous and dense, also London in Syndicate, and that's is the reason I loved all Assassins Creed games, but here I'm afraid the world is not that thrilling to climb and traverse and as I expected feels like only the pyramids would be the best thing to scale and feel awe.

Also the idea they didn't want to focus on gadgets and weird techs and instead give more focus on Gods, mystery (stoy?) or whatever put me off cuz I'll miss that and I don't think the Story will be that great, all of a sudden, in an Assassin Creed game
 
I miss Ubisoft "cinematic" demos. Sure they weren't exactly representative of what you'd do during most of the game but at least they were much more hype-machines than this one... This gameplay showcases some cool ideas and features to play with but it's pretty boring to watch, like who cares about the loot in a demo.

As a comparison, here is AC4 gameplay on stage demo : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IDlEwUP7lps
 
In the original AC days I used to run drills on escape routes before going for the assassination missions. I didn't know what exactly to expect from those missions, except that the alarm would be raised and I'd have to hightail it out of there to safety at the Assassin hideout. So knowing where and how I could climb and cross over streets and break out of line of sight was key.

It was one of the most satisfying feelings to have an escape run perfectly, down to having my own group of converted thugs to hold any pursuers at bay.

I'm sure I'm an outlier with that playstyle and that they're catering to people who just want to flow from one scene to the next without any prep or ingrained knowledge of the open world, but I do miss it. I guess I'm just looking for something that's even a shadow of that feeling.

I'm in agreement with you there. Being able to execute a plan perfectly is extremely satisfying. Maybe I went off on a tangent, but I was commenting on how the controls can often hamper that satisfaction. When something as "simple" (to a master free-runner assassin at least) as traversal feels stunted, then the player loses that fantasy and as a result the experience loses value.

Then again, I acknowledge that overly sensitive/peaky automation can also be extremely frustrating, so can sympathise with the argument for a more balanced system. Dying Light (and to a lesser extent Mirror's Edge) does "skillful" parkour very, very well. Maybe it's a constraint of the high object/detail density in a game like AC, or simply harder to make believable/consistent in 3rd person.
 
Enemies not seeing you because you're above their field of view is a pretty common in stealth games, even the good ones.

This. That was literally my tactic in Dishonored 2. I'd just Far Reach my ass on top of a bookcase or light and watch the enemy walk past me.
 
Trailer looked more fun than the gameplay. I really dislike the hawk drone. Ubi really has one mold which they use for all their games.
 
I don't quite understand the hate this is getting.

The previous games felt of the GAF bandwagon because they kept stuffing it with pointless filler, counter combat, meaningless side quests and a terrible story. I can't say much about the last two but it definitely looks like they are improving on the filler and combat.

It is still alpha gameplay so it might get better in the long run. They changed the combat, they made the world bigger so you have more cities to explore (just like the original AC), you have a semi loot based system and even that can't even be taken positively here.

I for one welcome this new addition into the AC franchise. This has the potential to be something great and not as mediocre as Unity, Syndicate and AC3.
 
I don't quite understand the hate this is getting.

The previous games felt of the GAF bandwagon because they kept stuffing it with pointless filler, counter combat, meaningless side quests and a terrible story. I can't say much about the last two but it definitely looks like they are improving on the filler and combat.

It is still alpha gameplay so it might get better in the long run. They changed the combat, they made the world bigger so you have more cities to explore (just like the original AC), you have a semi loot based system and even that can't even be taken positively here.

I for one welcome this new addition into the AC franchise. This has the potential to be something great and not as mediocre as Unity, Syndicate and AC3.

the combat looks the same and just as janky as syndicate. they are making the repetitive grinding for level ups even worse now since you cant even assassinate higher level enemies this time. god how can a company consistently make such poor decisions. who wants all this crappy rpg grinding in whats suppose to be a story driven action game
 
I miss Ubisoft "cinematic" demos. Sure they weren't exactly representative of what you'd do during most of the game but at least they were much more hype-machines than this one... This gameplay showcases some cool ideas and features to play with but it's pretty boring to watch, like who cares about the loot in a demo.

As a comparison, here is AC4 gameplay on stage demo : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IDlEwUP7lps

There's going to be one at the Ubisot conference (and the usual CGI trailer).
 
the combat looks the same and just as janky as syndicate. they are making the repetitive grinding for level ups even worse now since you cant even assassinate higher level enemies this time. god how can a company consistently make such poor decisions. who wants all this crappy rpg grinding in whats suppose to be a story driven action game

It is not even remotely the same. Come on now. You are reaching.
 
Dronehawk, Marking, Press "Y" to "chain kill", nu-Tomb Raider style combat

and looting...

What else have they missed? It's all the AAA homogenized mechanics rolled over into one. I find so hard to believe this franchise was born out of the original AC.
 
I like the setting for sure. If I get to encounter ancient romans, then my interest will be piqued even more. I love consuming media that encompases the Mediterranean in old times.

... I hooe they don't all sound British.
 
It seems like with each new AC I get excited at the prospect of the setting, then disappointed that it all seems so formulaic. I guess at this stage I should just accept that the franchise isn't for me any more.

I was really hoping for some kind of bold evolution, but those animations in particular are really starting to look old to my eyes.
 
Not really excited. I played and finished each AC. But not really digging the setting and this new huge open world looks like a huge grind and sidequest festival.
 
in what way does it look different other than the weapon in use?

For starters; You have an adrenaline bar. Enemies do not wait their turn. You can use your sword, shield and bow simultaneously.

Those are already 3 different things. I do have to say that the dodge mechanic looks wonky, like you are on rails but we'll see how they improve that.
 
For starters; You have an adrenaline bar. Enemies do not wait their turn. You can use your sword, shield and bow simultaneously.

Those are already 3 different things. I do have to say that the dodge mechanic looks wonky, like you are on rails but we'll see how they improve that.

im talking about how it looks. same bad animation and transitions, speed of movements are all wrong, the terrible looking dodge you mentioned
 
I have to say the trailer had me much more intrigued than the actual gameplay. They changed stuff, but I'm not sure it's stuff I wanted. Especially the fighting system looked awkward to me. Yet another ubisoft game with a flying animal/drone to spot enemies also gets old.

I miss Ubisoft "cinematic" demos. Sure they weren't exactly representative of what you'd do during most of the game but at least they were much more hype-machines than this one... This gameplay showcases some cool ideas and features to play with but it's pretty boring to watch, like who cares about the loot in a demo.

As a comparison, here is AC4 gameplay on stage demo : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IDlEwUP7lps

It sure is less hype but it seems like a response to all the complaints regarding their scripted demos not reflecting the real gameplay. I appreciate that. In the AC4 demo they didn't even turn on the hud.
 
im talking about how it looks. same bad animation and transitions, speed of movements are all wrong, the terrible looking dodge you mentioned

I think you are expecting to much perfection from Ubisoft. I am glad they are changing a bunch of things and we shall see if it becomes good enough.
 
I've got a feeling this might be a GTA: San Andreas situation.

Janky and rough around the edges - but actually engaging and fun to play in a way the series wasn't before. Rough due to the new ambitious focus on gameplay systems meshed with world design.

Like everywhere you look in this video there are dodgy details and weird gamey things, but imagine actually having freedom to take over at any point in this video. There are gameplay opportunities everywhere, the controls and systems look more responsive than before, the actual level and world design looks excellent.

I, for one, am stoked.

I thought the new melee system looked really rough. The character was sliding around way too much. Seemed like For Honor Lite.

It looks janky visually but in gameplay terms, when you consider the button presses vs actions, it's probably pretty nice to play. Looks very responsive and much faster than the previous games. Actually being able to dodge and thwart enemy moves now.

More like what you'd actually expect of a 3D Prince of Persia.
 
Map is valley of the Nile on the east side from north (Alexandria, open to the sea) and Cairo (pyrramids)

it appears the the that the western side is mostly desert and mountain range
 
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