The next installment to theAssassin’s Creedfranchise is just a little over a week away. CalledAssassin’s Creed: Origins, this action-adventure AAA title from developer Ubisoft Montreal boasts new features that takes the series in a new direction, hoping to redefine and breathe new life into the IP. The game will launch on October 27th for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC platforms.
Genre: Action-adventure, Stealth, Open World
Developed by: Ubisoft Montreal
Published by: Ubisoft
Release date: October 27th, 2017
Platforms: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC
Website: https://assassinscreed.ubisoft.com/game/en-us/home/
Assassin’s Creed: OriginsFeatures
Story & Setting
The story takes place during Cleopatra’s ascent to the throne in 49 BCE and centers around Bayek, the last Medjay, after he has left his native village of Siwa to pursue a certain mystery. This journey will lead him to travel across Ancient Egypt as the country experiences a shift in power, and play a role in the birth of the Assassin Brotherhood.
A new force called the Order of the Ancients is controlling Egypt through Ptolemy XIII’s rule. Ptolemy XIII is the younger brother of Cleopatra and is referred to as ‘the Boy-King’. Cleopatra and Bayek need to stop his rule which they do with the help of Julius Caesar.
For the most part, gameplay inAssassin’s Creed: Originsis pretty atypical for the franchise. You’re thrust into this large open world playground as Bayek of Siwa, and you roam around Giza performing sick parkour, running and climbing onto structures then leaping off them, taking on missions and completing them either with stealth or an all-out massacre. Mission types can vary from tailing and/or chasing targets, fetch quests, infiltration, thieving and more. As standard as it may seem, there are certain changes, big and small withinAC: Originsthat shakes up the franchise in a refreshing way.
For instance, combat in previousACtitles revolved heavily around “Counter Attacks” to clear out a mob of enemies, while thrilling in of itself, can grow stale later on.Assassin’s Creed: Originssteps away from this and encourages more aggressive tactics from players. Enabling this type of tactic is a new battle system with a focus on combo strikes, dodges, and deflections, ranged weapons and more. Dodges in this game is very reminiscent ofBloodborne’sdash/dodge, quickly side-stepping to avoid a hit, stepping in for a quick jab and so on.
A highlight of the combat is the bow among the plethora of weapons available. Players can equip multiple types of bows for specific purposes with single-shot, spread-attacks and more. These implementations to combat will demand more thought and patience from players, and will reward them with a satisfying thrill.
Exploration inAssassin’s Creed: Originshas had some innovations as well. Players are given an eagle companion, which can be used as a primitive type of UAV for map reconnaissance. There’s also a map players can use to fast-travel to any available locations unlocked.
Audio & Visual
As with all triple-A titles, graphical fidelity inAssassin’s Creed: Originsis top-notch. The world is simply beautiful and Ancient Egypt has never looked more fascinating. Lighting in this game looks and feels organic. Shadows are done well giving a great impression to depth. Texture resolutions are of high-quality on environments, objects, vegetation and particularly on character models. Physics inAC: Origins, are for the most part realistic, with foliage and vegetation seamlessly swaying with the wind and creating an incredible life-like experience.
Tying all of this together, players will experience breathtaking vistas when they “Synchronize” points throughout the game’s map. High fidelity also seeps intoAssassin’s Creed: Origins’audio department. The shriek/cry of your companion eagle commands a powerful presence as you soar up into the sky. And voice-acting for the characters sound decent and believable.
From what has been shown so far,Assassin’s Creed: Originsappears to have taken a step in the right direction with the new changes. There’s something new for fans and returning players to look forward to, and even more reason for newcomers to just leap right in.
Assassins' Creed: Originsis set to launch onOctober 27th, 2017for PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC.
