I liked Altair in the first game. People write him off as a douchebag, but he only STARTED the game that way. If you actually listen to what he says in his conversations with his fellow assassins throughout the game, his words and his tone in general shift. He gets a better understanding of the creed, treats his peers with more respect, and he's humble.
One of my favorite moments in all of the Assassin's Creed games is actually a very small one.
At the end of the game, when Altair reaches Masayaf and it's under the control of the Apple of Eden, he meets with Malik and the two talk strategy about how to take back the fortress.
Altair: "Safety and peace, my brother."
Malik: "Your presence here will deliver us both."
They hated each other at the beginning of the game, over the course of Altair's trials and conversations with Malik, the two start to see eye-to-eye, and finally at the end, Malik accepts that Altair is a good man, and a superior assassin.
In Assassin's Creed, enemies are just as capable of blocking as Altair or Ezio is. They also grab, dodge, and perform other techniques. So you're forced to use grabs, dodges, disarms, throwing knives as well as attacks to get them off balance for a kill, or bait them into attacking and letting their guard down. And you have to think about this for all enemies, at all times, because they are ALL capable, not just a bunch of a scrubs backed up by a few guys with car doors for shields or guns.
I'd really like to see the game you were playing. This simple tactic would work for 99% of enemies in the game: kick, 3 hit kill combo, tap attack once for each enemy to instakill them. If I see anyone attack at any time, I can counter to keep my kill streak alive. Even if I get hit a few times, I've got a ton of health packs to rely on. Even if I can't fight for whatever reason, I can just call in an assassin to kill the enemies for me. Or I can drop one bomb which will probably kill all enemies around me.
When I do combat, I don't ask myself how I can effectively fight the enemies, I ask myself which one of the overpowered moves would be the most fun. The only times they make it difficult is when you fight enemies which arbitrarily auto-evades 90% of the attacks you do against them, so then you have to figure out which one move you have to spam to kill them, or just use an alternate way of killing them (assassins or bombs for instance).
I think AC series has always struggled with the combat system. In AC1 it was all about spamming counters and doing basically nothing else (as a personal annoyance, I wish they'd go for more realistic moves considering they tried to make the world seem historical accurate). With AC2 I get the impression they threw out the notion of challenge and just decided to let the combat be about toying about your enemies.
There's some fun to be had in the combat system, but it's definitely the primary thing I'd like to see them overhaul in the next AC game.
I'd really like to see the game you were playing. This simple tactic would work for 99% of enemies in the game: kick, 3 hit kill combo, tap attack once for each enemy to instakill them. If I see anyone attack at any time, I can counter to keep my kill streak alive. Even if I get hit a few times, I've got a ton of health packs to rely on. Even if I can't fight for whatever reason, I can just call in an assassin to kill the enemies for me. Or I can drop one bomb which will probably kill all enemies around me.
When I do combat, I don't ask myself how I can effectively fight the enemies, I ask myself which one of the overpowered moves would be the most fun. The only times they make it difficult is when you fight enemies which arbitrarily auto-evades 90% of the attacks you do against them, so then you have to figure out which one move you have to spam to kill them, or just use an alternate way of killing them (assassins or bombs for instance).
I think AC series has always struggled with the combat system. In AC1 it was all about spamming counters and doing basically nothing else (as a personal annoyance, I wish they'd go for more realistic moves considering they tried to make the world seem historical accurate). With AC2 I get the impression they threw out the notion of challenge and just decided to let the combat be about toying about your enemies.
There's some fun to be had in the combat system, but it's definitely the primary thing I'd like to see them overhaul in the next AC game.
Break-down of each of the enemy types over the Assassin's Creed games, their abilities and the dice rolls behind their behaviors, and the ways that players need to try and open them up for a kill or counter-kill.
As stated in the post comparing the combat in AC to that in Batman, not only is their a greater variety of enemy types (with different strengths and behaviors), players have more options in as far as how to dispatch them. There is no single way to take out the 'leader' guard in AC2 (one of 17 enemy types in that game), for example. He dodges attacks, counters your counters, etc, so it may require taunting, or throwing sand, or using throwing knives, or smoke bombs, etc. The choice is yours.
Oh man, I'd forgotten how awesome the tombs are to traverse through. I just completed the first one (Galata Tower), and although I missed the full sync requirement by mere seconds, I don't care.
Oh man, I'd forgotten how awesome the tombs are to traverse through. I just completed the first one (Galata Tower), and although I missed the full sync requirement by mere seconds, I don't care.
Just wait till you get to Maiden's Tower or Haga Sophia.
These are definitely some of the best parts of the AC series.
It was like after Assassin's Creed, Ubisoft heard all the people complaining that the AC controls did all the platforming for you, and said 'you think we can't do platforming with these controls? Try THIS shit on for size, whiners.'
Confession: I always equipped the Altair Robes before heading through the Assassin Tombs in AC2. Since I was such a huge fan of Altair, and was bummed he wasn't in the game, I liked to pretend that I was actually playing him at the time he was exploring and burying the tombs. Like a flash-back sequence.
I think that was just an old fellow calling a young guy 'son' not as in 'you are my child desmond.
Also, the first people stuff, was that guy infering there were more cycles of this happening? He said something about 6 cycles, reminded me of the matrix and what the architect said.
And it turns out that there's a reason for it besides random arrogance... Well, in part, at least. It's mentioned briefly in one of the optional intel assignments in the game.
They hated each other at the beginning of the game, over the course of Altair's trials and conversations with Malik, the two start to see eye-to-eye, and finally at the end, Malik accepts that Altair is a good man, and a superior assassin.
I thought Malik's shift was pretty sudden, actually. There was no gradual softening of his harsh(albiet semi-justified) attitude towards Altair. He was doggin' on him until their last confrontation at Jerusalem.
And it turns out that there's a reason for it besides random arrogance... Well, in part, at least. It's mentioned briefly in one of the optional intel assignments in the game.
Indeed. I actually already knew about it in detail, thanks the amazing AC Encyclopedia. Altair actually had a pretty tough life. Combine the detachment that comes from childhood trauma with the arrogance that comes from being 20 years old and held up as the best of your kind, and his character makes sense.
EDIT: Sorry. Though, to be honest, there's very little about Altair's childhood in the flashbacks, and the specifics that ARE divulged in Revelations have still been left for you to find out yourself.
I thought Malik's shift was pretty sudden, actually. There was no gradual softening of his harsh—albiet semi-justified—attitude towards Altair. He was doggin' on him until their last confrontation at Jerusalem.
I thought there was a pretty gradual softening, the second encounter serving as the mid-point where you get the sense that Malik hasn't forgiven Altair, but sees that he's starting to understand the creed and putting effort into making amends. Here are some choice quotes courtesy of Gamershell:
Altair: With your help I will. Where would you have me begin my search?
Malik: What's this? You're actually asking for my assistance instead of demanding it. I'm impressed.
....
Malik: What news, novice?
Altair: I am not a novice.
Malik: A man's skill is defined by his actions, not the markings on his robe.
...
Malik: And that is why you remain a novice, in my eyes. You cannot know anything, only suspect. You must expect to be wrong, to have overlooked something. Anticipate, Altair. How many times must I remind you of this?
Altair: As you wish. Are we done?
...
Altair: Jerusalem needs a new ruler.
Malik: So I have heard.
Altair: What's this? No words of wisdom for me? Surely I have failed in some spectacular fashion.
Malik: You performed as an Assassuin should, no more, no less. That you expect praise for merely doing as told however, troubles me.
Malik's tone is already starting to change, in large part because he notices a change in Altair's tone.
No, they're not buddy buddy, but Malik isn't taking shots at Altair's character anymore. He's not insulting his work as an assassin. Compare that to the first encounter, where he berates Altair for doing a terrible job, takes every chance he can to take a shot at Altair for what happened in Solomon's temple ('your actions very much concern me' and '[This information] is a start, and it's more than you deserve').
He's speaking more in the way a tutor might, calling Altair on his casual arrogance, but correcting it with advise - sternly delivered as it might be.
It's a subtle shift, but noticeable.
Then you get to the third mission, and they're on an even level. Malik calls Altair 'brother' and says 'truly, you are not the man I once knew'. Altair, in turn, assures him that he has changed and that he is guided by the Creed and not personal motivations, to kill the next target.
It's also important to note that Altair's manner and interactions with the other two informers are also shifting, and that Al Mualim is sending word of what's happening via pigeons the entire time. So while Malik and Altair have only met twice before they reconcile, the player gets the sense that the entire brotherhood is seeing Altair in a new way.
God, I hated that so much. The meta-story and puzzles were my favorite parts of Assassin's Creed games, so I basically started the game by collecting as many fragments as I could, which resulted in Desmond's character development going straight from
"Waaah, Lucy, I'm so sorry"
to
"Man oh man, those sweaty chicks were so hot and sweaty. I could smell them all day. *wubwubwub*"
Started playing this today. Hours in and I still feel like I'm playing a tutorial.
They really took that AC1 criticism to heart, now they're trying to put every game known to man in Assassin's Creed. Add Peggle to AC3 and you might as well end the franchise.
Started playing this today. Hours in and I still feel like I'm playing a tutorial.
They really took that AC1 criticism to heart, now they're trying to put every game known to man in Assassin's Creed. Add Peggle to AC3 and you might as well end the franchise.
Rev does start slow, especially if you're a veteran with the AC series. But stick with it. Not sure how far you are yet, but the game really turned around for me in Sequence 4. Some fun, exhilarating missions that set the tone for the rest of the game.
God, I hated that so much. The meta-story and puzzles were my favorite parts of Assassin's Creed games, so I basically started the game by collecting as many fragments as I could, which resulted in Desmond's character development going straight from
"Waaah, Lucy, I'm so sorry"
to
"Man oh man, those sweaty chicks were so hot and sweaty. I could smell them all day. *wubwubwub*"
"Why am I still unhappy? Oh it's cause my life is fucking shallow and meaningless."
Push forward, he recalls being taken by Abstergo, and reflects on why he wasn't happy during that time, even though he had successfully escaped his Assassin upbringing.
I mean seriously, nobody else here went through a phase in college (or that age range), where they drank, socialized with anybody and everybody, had a ton of sex, maybe experimented with drugs? It's not exactly a rare phase, and it rarely ends with 'yes, this is totally how I want to live my life forever.' But most people do try it before they realize it's not as fun or fulfilling as it immediately seems.
Why do we demand videogame characters stand above the kind of self-discovery that most human beings go through? ESPECIALLY in a game where the thematic thread connecting the three characters is the Jungian journey of looking past one's immediate personal and emotional motivations, and seeking greater fulfillment by reaching understanding of one's place in the grand scheme of things and the world.
Now, all that being said, the meta-games and historical puzzles were one of my favorite things about AC2 and AC:B as well, and I would rather have them than the Portal-esque Desmond sections.
And quite honestly, the move to first-peson puzzle sections was idiotic. The final Subject 16 test in Brotherhood was fucking amazing, with you free-running through a digital environment as it formed in front of you. AC + Bastion +The Matrix. Why the fuck would you ditch that amazing concept for the Portal ripoff? Only answer I can come up with is that they are cheaper and easier to design quickly.
Just wait till you get to Maiden's Tower or Haga Sophia.
These are definitely some of the best parts of the AC series.
It was like after Assassin's Creed, Ubisoft heard all the people complaining that the AC controls did all the platforming for you, and said 'you think we can't do platforming with these controls? Try THIS shit on for size, whiners.'
Confession: I always equipped the Altair Robes before heading through the Assassin Tombs in AC2. Since I was such a huge fan of Altair, and was bummed he wasn't in the game, I liked to pretend that I was actually playing him at the time he was exploring and burying the tombs. Like a flash-back sequence.
God, I hated that so much. The meta-story and puzzles were my favorite parts of Assassin's Creed games, so I basically started the game by collecting as many fragments as I could, which resulted in Desmond's character development going straight from
"Waaah, Lucy, I'm so sorry"
to
"Man oh man, those sweaty chicks were so hot and sweaty. I could smell them all day. *wubwubwub*"
And quite honestly, the move to first-peson puzzle sections was idiotic. The final Subject 16 test in Brotherhood was fucking amazing, with you free-running through a digital environment as it formed in front of you. AC + Bastion +The Matrix. Why the fuck would you ditch that amazing concept for the Portal ripoff? Only answer I can come up with is that they are cheaper and easier to design quickly.
You literally just kept running forward. That section was completely pointless. The Reward in ACII was about a million times better and I much preferred the Desmond segments in this one (as bad as they are) to that dull experience.
Of course, the only time Desmond had any interesting segments to me were in AC1 when everything was a mystery and he was sneaking around and such.
Where the fuck was Da Vinci Ubisoft? I don't give a fuck where he was at that time based on actual history, you built up a great fucking relationship between two characters in the first two games and then you leave it out of the third one completely. Ditto goes for Ezio's family. Letters don't cut it. This should have been the most personal of the three Ezio games and it ended up being the least personal for him.
Still really enjoyed the game though. The tombs were bitchin' (though there were way to few) and the later acts had some great missions. Constantinople was absolutely gorgeous on PC.
Oh man, I'd forgotten how awesome the tombs are to traverse through. I just completed the first one (Galata Tower), and although I missed the full sync requirement by mere seconds, I don't care.
The first one is probably the most fun I've had platforming in an AC game. I just missed full sync also, but I happily played it a second time to get it.
I'm enjoying the game a lot so far, although I did get stuck fighting my first den defense today(after the initial tutorial one) which I lost when I screwed up the barricades. But I spent a couple hours this morning just sending my Assassins on missions in between doing stuff around the house and I'm not far away from being able to lock down all the dens with Master Assassins.
Oh man, I'd forgotten how awesome the tombs are to traverse through. I just completed the first one (Galata Tower), and although I missed the full sync requirement by mere seconds, I don't care.
Stay tuned, they get even better! The tombs are quality stuff in Rev. The controls really shine in the dedicated plat-forming sections, and I'm stoked they made these levels part of the main story. Hope this means more to come in the future.
You literally just kept running forward. That section was completely pointless. The Reward in ACII was about a million times better and I much preferred the Desmond segments in this one (as bad as they are) to that dull experience.
Of course, the only time Desmond had any interesting segments to me were in AC1 when everything was a mystery and he was sneaking around and such.
Yes, it was simple, but I was in love with the concept.
Instead of the Portal levels, they could have made more interesting and thrilling versions of that.
The fact is, Assassin's Creed has some of the best third-person traversal and free-running mechanics in games right now. And I'd take any opportunity to take advantage of those over a janky first-person puzzle level.
Is it just me or does ACR have a very depressing overtone to it. Rome was vibrant and colorful and Constantinople just seems drab, dirty, and depressing.
Love the hook blade though. And the fact that Janissaries are actually a challenge to fight.
Is it just me or does ACR have a very depressing overtone to it. Rome was vibrant and colorful and Constantinople just seems drab, dirty, and depressing.
Love the hook blade though. And the fact that Janissaries are actually a challenge to fight.
I've been playing AC:R for just a couple of hours now, but I find the city colorful and beautiful just like Rome. Must be your TV/monitor settings, the PC game looks stunning in 1080p.
Is it just me or does ACR have a very depressing overtone to it. Rome was vibrant and colorful and Constantinople just seems drab, dirty, and depressing.
Love the hook blade though. And the fact that Janissaries are actually a challenge to fight.
Constantinople feels colorful, and every inch feels full of life and distinctive mediterranean culture.
Rome had some beautiful areas, but a ton of wasted space too, and most of the color palette and architecture felt very similar to AC2... only with less variety, since AC2 went to four distinctive cities.
Every Assassin's Creed setting is amazing in it's own way, IMO.
Is it just me or does ACR have a very depressing overtone to it. Rome was vibrant and colorful and Constantinople just seems drab, dirty, and depressing.
Explore a bit more. There's a ton of variety in Constantinople; navigate through the city and really take it in. It's incredibly vibrant and lively. But it's also much more compact, so it requires a little more patience to seek out the landmarks or areas that are really unique to it. And don't miss the Hagia Sophia.
I have to say that while I've enjoyed every AC location, Constantinople feels the most alive to me.
Agree.
Stuttering in the framerate ruins it for me sometimes, but it holds very high quality none the less. Also really useful in a game where depth perception is critical.
Well, every time I've taken a stronghold my awareness stuff goes up like 2 fold. So I have to hunt a bunch of guys down to get the meter, well, down. This led to den attacks and then...I could see it getting real tedious.
Just was hoping it wouldn't screw me late into the game if I decided not to touch them.
Well, every time I've taken a stronghold my awareness stuff goes up like 2 fold. So I have to hunt a bunch of guys down to get the meter, well, down. This led to den attacks and then...I could see it getting real tedious.
Just was hoping it wouldn't screw me late into the game if I decided not to touch them.
Heralds, use them constantly. It sucks that buying anything raises awareness by 25% and that taking on a tower fills you up. You have to constantly be paying off heralds and killing eyewitnessess(use your brotherhood)
lol that was the only tomb that I actually got full sync. Not sure if I like it or not, but the camera tends to point you in the right direction after every 'cutscene', which takes out the exploration element in this game vs the tombs in the previous games (I think, memory a bit hazy, need an animus for myself).
I agree. Was looking forward to that being unlockable. I wouldn't bet on Ubisoft releasing anything post release to make it available, since they probably have like 6 studios working to turn out the next game already. Very unfortunate.
I also really hate the armor selection too. You don't really feel like a stealthy assassin with full scale bulky armor equipped. Ezio ends up looking more like the brutes in the game. I hate even more that since AC2, people have complained about having an option to remove equipped armor. Ubisoft as yet to address it. A alternative I have found is to fully equip the master assassin armor (a guess or any other set) and then replay Sequence 1 - Memory 2. Doing so will switch Ezio back to his default robes from the beginning of the game, and stay that way when you complete the memory and resume where you left off.
Alol that was the only tomb that I actually got full sync. Not sure if I like it or not, but the camera tends to point you in the right direction after every 'cutscene', which takes out the exploration element in this game vs the tombs in the previous games (I think, memory a bit hazy, need an animus for myself).
Yeah, the tomb pointed you in the right direction most of the time but one missstep and you are in the water. Went left when I wanted to go up and I was already dead.
I also missed the 6 minute one because I kept trying to open the wrong door for 15 seconds <_< that one was my bad,
I hear ya on that. What I really wanted was the Altair's robes unlockable in the game. I'm not talking about the "old eagle" ones. Again, hoping that they will be downloadable in the future but I doubt it. Only DLC i heard about was more stuff for multiplayer which I could careless about.
Just finished this sequence, and yea, best look in the game so far. Nothing flashy, helps to conceal his weaponry, and somewhat blends in with the region. Less is more with the armor designs.
So I just finished Brotherhood (took me a while but I finally set aside some time this weekend to run through the majority of it). I found that doing 100% sync on all the missions got extremely annoying and frustrating, especially on some of the cheaper missions (don't get hit in the mission where your base is being assaulted by French troops and you need to close all the gates). Eventually I got so angry that I started failing the syncs on purpose and murdering everyone in the "do not be detected" missions because they were just so cheap.
Anyway are the 100% sync requirements in Revelations any better? I'm going to play this game at some point, but I'm wondering whether to do it sooner rather than later, as Brotherhood left a slightly bad taste in my mouth (even though it is overall a great game).
So I just finished Brotherhood (took me a while but I finally set aside some time this weekend to run through the majority of it). I found that doing 100% sync on all the missions got extremely annoying and frustrating, especially on some of the cheaper missions (don't get hit in the mission where your base is being assaulted by French troops and you need to close all the gates). Eventually I got so angry that I started failing the syncs on purpose and murdering everyone in the "do not be detected" missions because they were just so cheap.
Anyway are the 100% sync requirements in Revelations any better? I'm going to play this game at some point, but I'm wondering whether to do it sooner rather than later, as Brotherhood left a slightly bad taste in my mouth (even though it is overall a great game).
So I just finished Brotherhood (took me a while but I finally set aside some time this weekend to run through the majority of it). I found that doing 100% sync on all the missions got extremely annoying and frustrating, especially on some of the cheaper missions (don't get hit in the mission where your base is being assaulted by French troops and you need to close all the gates). Eventually I got so angry that I started failing the syncs on purpose and murdering everyone in the "do not be detected" missions because they were just so cheap.
Anyway are the 100% sync requirements in Revelations any better? I'm going to play this game at some point, but I'm wondering whether to do it sooner rather than later, as Brotherhood left a slightly bad taste in my mouth (even though it is overall a great game).
Yeah I have a feeling I will be doing that in Revelations. However there's always that one part of me that is OCD and wants to 100% everything, especially in stealth games.
The Antitype said:
Uh... well there is this one mission where getting detected fails you. Period.
