Vladimir Rakhmanin
Deputy Online Editor
Less than two months. That’s how long we have until we finally receive the fifth title in the Assassin’s Creed series and witness the conclusion of Desmond Miles’ journey. We have spent five years with the franchise, and many of us fans are looking forward to seeing how this IP will evolve. However, over those five years, memories of past instalments may have become hazy – hence the reason for this retrospective, the purpose of which is to both refresh your memory of the franchise, and to get you excited about what is sure to be one of 2012’s most exciting games.
Things kicked off in 2007, when Ubisoft released the first instalment of the franchise. Many people saw Assassin’s Creed as a natural evolution of Ubisoft’s Prince of Persia series (in fact, AC was once planned to be a spin-off of said series). What the publisher promised was for the game to take full advantage of the new generation of consoles, offering an experience that was impossible before. The main highlights of Assassin’s Creed were a fluid parkour system, historically accurate cities and a Middle Eastern setting with an immersive atmosphere (that many believe to be the best of the series). The story was also intriguing, and introduced us to the sci-fi elements that would become a staple of the series. The plot of the first game revolved around a certain Desmond Miles, who was forced by the mysterious Abstergo Industries to relive his ancestor’s memory for reasons unknown to him. This added extra depth to the already interesting narrative of a brotherhood of assassins during the time of the crusades.
Unfortunately, as is the case for many debut games in any given IP, Assassin’s Creed featured some glaring issues – for instance, the tedious repetition of the tasks you could partake in in any of the cities. Also, there were huge pacing problems – the most interesting parts of the narrative took place at the very start and the very end of the game. Fortunately, the gaming public managed to overlook some of the serious flaws in the promising title, and the game was enough of a success to warrant a sequel.
The sequel, Assassin’s Creed II, featured Desmond breaking out of Abstergo – this time, he was to relive the memories of yet another ancestor, Ezio Auditore, who lived in Renaissance Florence. This completely different setting symbolised a fresh start for the developers – the gameplay was vastly improved upon, with varied missions, numerous side quests, and less collectibles (the feathers were much easier to find than those goddamn flags). In keeping with the conspiracy theory laden narrative, the game also featured mysterious puzzles, hidden around the game world. These puzzles were expertly construed, making you feel like you were genuinely unravelling historical secrets.
The characters were also much more likeable here than the one-dimensional Altair. Ezio, despite the fact that his character arc is suspiciously similar to Batman’s, is charming, and he has some amusing banter with the supporting cast. The world, even though not as exotic as the Middle East, was still fascinating to explore, with some of the architecture providing excellent platforming levels and dizzying leaps of faith. Try jumping off the Duomo and you’ll see what I mean. I also believe that part of the ending sequence, which has you sneaking through the rooftops of a cathedral to kill your target while a mass occurs below is one of the most exhilarating moments in gaming, and is the highest point of the franchise thus far.
Oddly enough, Ubisoft decided to continue Ezio’s story with the next game, Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood, instead of switching to a new assassin and time period. To be honest, I was glad that they chose this path, as I would not have been able to wait another two years without a resolution to the absolutely insane cliffhanger that we were treated to in ACII. I consider AC:B to have the best gameplay in the franchise – the game takes place in Rome, which allows for large, open fields for horse combat, and tight, intimate streets for assassinations. The amount of stuff to do here is absolutely staggering – you can’t walk five metres without being enticed into doing another side mission.
Unfortunately, Brotherhood is slightly lacking in the story department. It’s not that Ezio’s struggle against the Borgia family isn’t interesting, it just doesn’t feel as epic in scope as its predecessor. However, this is all made up for with the ending, which manages to top the insanity of the previous games in the series. While fans waited for the next instalment in the franchise, they could have passed the time with a new feature introduced in Brotherhood – competitive multiplayer. An odd addition to the single player series, but it worked fairly well, with a paranoid feel as you tried to guess who your target is – and who, in turn, was targeting you.
Ubisoft surprised once more by deciding to base the next game on Ezio once again. Assassin’s Creed: Revelations featured an aging Ezio on his way to Constantinople – this once again allowed for gorgeous Middle Eastern architecture, a breath of fresh air after two games set in Italy. The narrative also managed to conclude the story of Altair through flashbacks – it was great to see Masyaf once again. The only problem I had was the fact that the developers changed Altair’s voice – while the new voice sounds better, it feels a bit strange after the twenty hours we spent with the old one.
Out of the Ezio trilogy, I consider Revelations to be the weakest entry. Despite the fact that my favourite platforming segments were now incorporated into the main storyline, the side missions were lacking when compared to the onslaught that we received in Brotherhood. Also, Den Defense is one of the worst gameplay segments that I have ever had the misfortune of playing. Thank god the developers decided against incorporating it into future instalments.
Despite its shortcomings, Revelations still managed to impress, particularly in terms of narrative. If you’ve been with the franchise since the beginning, you will definitely start to feel emotional towards the end. It’s a fitting goodbye to both Ezio and Altair.
So now, with less than two months left, we are very close to seeing the outcome of this highly successful series. The completely different setting (American Revolution) and an interesting Native American protagonist definitely promise that the game will be unique – but will we still feel that rush of adrenaline when leaping off the buildings of Boston? Will we still experience that thrill of exploration when traversing the forests of North America? Will we still wonder about the rich historical backstory, and the sinister conspiracies that lurk within? I’m guessing the answer will be a resounding ‘yes’ – in any case, only time will tell.
