I bet these guards thought they'd be safe from the assassin when they got assigned to the post office, of all places. Wrong, suckers.
Basim probably internally monologues "got mail, motherfuckers" before assassinating them.
Still playing after about 10 hours because I like the world and setting.Basim can't walljump, can't run up diagonally, can't parkour down. The freedom is limited, especially compared to Unity, which is the golden standard of freedom of movement.
Cherry on top is jank. Just dumb, typical Assassin's Creed jank that's been in these games for far too long to be acceptable.
I didn't even play Valhalla because it looked like ass but I played a ton of Origins and some of Odyssey.Valhalla burnt me out of these ac games , played all expansions but the side content was so much unnecessary junk it really took all the fun away.
Is this alot better than Valhalla?
Still playing after about 10 hours because I like the world and setting.
Yes I'm back again yelling in my living room "WHAT ARE YA DOIN'??" as Basim just jitters crouched on the corner of a rooftop or stutters in a loop mid-parkour like in a funny silent movie.
You make me want to reinstall Unity
Yep, this is in short how I would review the game. I'm actually temped to make a full write up post with some example videos. This is as close to an AC1 remaster as you're getting.Alright fellas, I have completed the game. Wall of text time!
I've been playing AC since its inception and to this day it has a special place in my heart. Mirage is an intended homage to the original, and I can say 100% that they have managed to hit every note and transport me back to the AC1/AC2 days.
- Beautiful 9th century Baghdad setting where the city is the focus and the star. While there is a "wilderness" section, it's not where you spend a lot of time during your gameplay, unlike the RPGs where I felt like it was the exact opposite. For instance I really didn't think Alexandria in Origins or the useless Cyrene had any staying power. That is not the case here. It's an urban focused experience, where AC belongs.
- Very stealth and assassination focused gameplay. Combat is possible, but definitely not encouraged. It's idiotic to stay in combat for too long, and the game really drives that point home. You really get the feeling of being an assassin, a blade in the crowd that gets in and out. That is, or should, be the DNA of Assassin's Creed. Just as advertised.
- Huge emphasis on parkour. They have an awesome city layout in here where there are tons of paths that you can take, a lot of them seemingly intentional. Can't imagine the amount of work that went into this aspect. If you can do it right, you can have some parkour moments that feel cool.
- Linear design, no dialoge options or choose your gender BS. You have a set character that you follow from beginning to end, and certain upgrades, tools and outfits are locked behind main story progression. There's a sense of progressing together with Basim since it's only after you kill certain targets, that he ranks up and tools get unlocked. Kiiiinda like Altair did after losing his status.
- City feels more alive due to a good amount of NPCs, not quite Unity level but much better than the cities in the RPG games. You have a pickpocketing mechanic which doesn't sound too exciting on paper but in practice is actually fun. I pretty much did everytime you could.
- City is more reactive than ever. It's not some insane high end stuff, but it's hilarious that it took them 20 games or something to finally have characters go "HEY! IT'S THAT GUY FROM THE WANTED POSTERS!" or "mfer stole my purse!". You can even see them reporting to guards, and the guards will actively look for you. After a while when they can't find you, they'll go back to the NPC and apologize: "Sorry, there's no one like that here".
- The missions are mostly actually well designed, there are some great ones towards the end which take place in some of the most beautiful places, like the Bazaar or the Palace. That also applies to some of the contracts on your mission board which are side missions.
- The music is insane and really elevates the experience. I'm a huge fan of their composer choice for this one.
There's some more stuff but that's off the top of my head. You can tell that this game OOZES love and respect for the original games. I saw someone say that it's basically like putting AC1/AC2 in Valhalla's engine. That's pretty much how it is. I have no idea how they managed to pull this off considering the assets they had to work with. Of course, it's because of that that it doesn't manage to reach the highs of the earlier games. Parkour is still a little wonky, for instance. However, it doesn't detract from the experience all too much. If you love the earlier games, miss them, want to get transported back, this is literally made for you. It's genuinely fantastic in what it wants to be.
Oh, and I'd have to say that it's very gameplay focused. While the story is important and is obviously the main driver behind everything that happens, it's not great. There's some cool beats here and there I thought, but it's not the star. For those that already know Basim's story due to Valhalla it'll be okay enough, for those that don't, I can't imagine how lost and disappointed they'd be by the time the credits roll. Still, amazing experience that doesn't overstay it's welcome, I have finished it with around 28 hours clocked in, most people probably have a few hours less than me.
8/10.
Clicking the thread happened to put me at your post so I figured I’d respond.Really nice OT cormack12
Been dodging AC since Origins, but I might pick up this one on a lower price. Feels short and sweet, not convoluted as the previous ones.
I had over 120 hours in Vallhalla and got physically ill 1 hour into the Ragnarok expansion. Just recycled assets & systems.Valhalla burnt me out of these ac games , played all expansions but the side content was so much unnecessary junk it really took all the fun away.
Is this alot better than Valhalla?
At TrueAchievements there was a tip where you can stay just out of a reach of a snake for 10 minutes and it'll unlock. I used this method and it worked.I finished off the platinum trophy last night. Some dumb ones for sure (10 minutes is a remarkably long time to be in open combat in this game, you just have to find a mook enemy and dodge easy attacks for 10 mins) but overall not bad, got me to explore a few things I missed. 30 hours total. Had a pretty good time with the game overall.
Skärp dig!Im sad to say it, its the worst game in the series since AC: Liberation. Lots of unlikable characters.
At TrueAchievements there was a tip where you can stay just out of a reach of a snake for 10 minutes and it'll unlock. I used this method and it worked.
Where'd you find 40% off?I’ve been eyeing this since release. Played through Valhalla as my first in the serious (not counting about two hours of the first PS3 game) and I was enamoured. Fantastic game. Followed it up with Odyssey, which, as the female protagonist, was amazing. I own Origins, still sealed.
I decided to nab this while it is 40% off for the PS5 disc. UBI had a knockout with Prince of Persia, so I am hoping for something intriguing here.
My mental math was off, it is only 30%. Currently on sale at GameStop in Canada. The deluxe edition is also discounted if you want to pay $10 more for skins and a "digital art book".Where'd you find 40% off?
Mirage is definitely supposed to be a bit less like those two you mentioned, so that could be part of it. It's supposed to be more like the older games, though I have yet to play it myself and am on pretty much similar blackout so can't confirm. As far as Eagle Vision, I can't imagine they expect it to be on all the time. In the older games it was for specific instances or moments.So, I received the game and played for a few hours today. My interest in the game deflated pretty quickly. I completely avoid any videos, spoilers, and almost all reviews for most games, so maybe someone here can comment.
Valhalla was the first game in the series that I played. I thought it was great. I spent 100 hours and did almost everything. I then went to Odyssey, and again, it was great. I didn’t finish, but played for 80 hours and came close. Both of these games are heavy on loot and combat, with minimal stealth. I now realize that may be why I enjoyed them so much.
Mirage just seems to be pure stealth. Am I wrong?
What’s with the eagle vision? Is it intended that you will have it enabled the entire time? It ruins the game. In the other games, it is literally an eagle flying overhead, temporarily allowing you to see and mark enemies. Vision here is simply a wall hack that shows you all enemies, items, etc with no consequence. It doesn’t make sense, but you are seemingly forced to use it at all times while in a hostile area.
I really need to play this.Mirage is fantastic, first Assassin's Creed since II that I've platinumed.
Valhalla was actually the first of the new games that could be played in full stealth, and they got rid of a lot of the loot elements from odyssey and origins, they also got rid of level gating, so it's closer to mirage than the others, but yes mirage is a more focused experience of just building up to an assassination, basim isn't a warrior like eivor or a demi-god like kassandra.So, I received the game and played for a few hours today. My interest in the game deflated pretty quickly. I completely avoid any videos, spoilers, and almost all reviews for most games, so maybe someone here can comment.
Valhalla was the first game in the series that I played. I thought it was great. I spent 100 hours and did almost everything. I then went to Odyssey, and again, it was great. I didn’t finish, but played for 80 hours and came close. Both of these games are heavy on loot and combat, with minimal stealth. I now realize that may be why I enjoyed them so much.
Mirage just seems to be pure stealth. Am I wrong?
It actually regressed from valhalla, back to how it works in odyssey, the eagle cannot tag enemies in valhalla because it slowed down the game flow a lot before every encounter.The eagle still works as usual.
what do you mean with explain the animus? Like how the actual machine works?We really need console hardware that can put out 4K/60. I played all day yesterday in quality mode. Today, I decided to try performance mode and it looks terrible in comparison. I think the higher framerate makes it look even worse, because you can see more of the missing detail.
For people who have played most of the games in the series, which game was the most recent to actually explain the Animus?
I only have a partial clue due to playing the first few hours of the first game on PS3. Odyssey and Valhalla are heavily based around it, but never explain what is going on. Mirage (so far) just ignores the whole thing, despite having a few callbacks in the loading screens and menus. It's also kind of weird that the towers are still used to "synchronize" when the game doesn't explain what that means.
Yeah, the whole thing about being in someone else's memories or whatever. If I hadn't done the tutorial of the first game, I wouldn't know anything about it. I was curious when they stopped explaining it. I don't even know why they continue with it. Odyssey and Valhalla would have been fine if they had completely left out those parts. Hell, Valhalla probably would have been better!what do you mean with explain the animus? Like how the actual machine works?
That stuff kinda ended when desmond died, by now they just expect you to know I guess.
We really need console hardware that can put out 4K/60. I played all day yesterday in quality mode. Today, I decided to try performance mode and it looks terrible in comparison. I think the higher framerate makes it look even worse, because you can see more of the missing detail.
For people who have played most of the games in the series, which game was the most recent to actually explain the Animus?
I only have a partial clue due to playing the first few hours of the first game on PS3. Odyssey and Valhalla are heavily based around it, but never explain what is going on. Mirage (so far) just ignores the whole thing, despite having a few callbacks in the loading screens and menus. It's also kind of weird that the towers are still used to "synchronize" when the game doesn't explain what that means.
Yeah they stopped after black flag, desmond is dead and abstergo gets his body/dna so they can continue the research into the ISU by framing the animus as a video game, so in black flag you're essentially playing a video game inside a video game until the assassins come and tell you the truth. This protagonist "disappears", but its likely he was turned to the assassin faction.Yeah, the whole thing about being in someone else's memories or whatever. If I hadn't done the tutorial of the first game, I wouldn't know anything about it. I was curious when they stopped explaining it. I don't even know why they continue with it. Odyssey and Valhalla would have been fine if they had completely left out those parts. Hell, Valhalla probably would have been better!