This is once again a game with huge potential that somehow manages to fuck it up. All the gameplay videos and trailers before the launch showed a sandbox game set in medieval middle-east. But what we really got was a monotonous and repetitive action game.
The whole DNA-memory shit basically ruins the whole medieval vibe. Why is it mandatory for the fucking numbers and other computer shit to be seen everywhere in the ancient world? It just ruins the immersion. I guess the game is trying to tell you that you are a guy who goes through his ancestors memories rather than that you are playing as the actual ancestor. But the point is I really don't give a fuck about this modern bartender who gets kidnapped and who walks slower than a turtle. I want to be the medieval assassin for fucks sake!!! How about renaming the game "Bartender's Problems" and I would have known to avoid it.
I have no complaints about the very streamlined and simplified jump and running system. It works for me and it's fun to just run around the rooftops without constantly falling down. Fight mechanics work quite well allthough it could have used some of variation. One major issue with this game is the story structure and how they use it to justify the development of the characters abilities. In the beginning he can us all of the abilities. Then he makes a mistake and is lowered in rank so he loses most of his abilities. And I can understand this with weapons for example. You can't use throwing knives or the hidden blade because they are taken away from you. But how the fuck can you make a soldier lose his ability to counter attack?!?! I mean really this is supposed to be the result of years of training and suddenly he just willingly doesn't want to counter attack untill his master gives permission for it. Are the cities filled with assassin spies who will report the big man if our character would counter attack someone? It's just fuckin insane!!!
This is a game that also brilliantly utilizes the environment twist. The end of the game is just killing dozens of enemies and there is nowhere to climb or hide. You just have to kill every one on the screen and then move a little bit further and do it again and again and again. Great way to really ruin the mood of the stealthy assassin you were supposed to be until this point. The boss fight is really stupid and not suitable for the game in any way.
I think the design went something like this. At first they had a great and innovative game concept and they managed to choose an awesome theme aswell. Then they started to hype the game. Reception was amazing obviously but then they realized there's no way they can finish the game in time. So they simplified the structure of the game and threw in a really fucking mess of an ending. And everybody's happy right? At least that's what metacritic says. The average score is 81. This game is barely worthy of 70 points let alone 100! It's nice to play the game through once but there's really no reason to every play it again. At first the game feels really good but soon it's limitations and repetitiveness kick in and you just have to force yourself to play if you actually want to finish it.
So the sequel is coming out this November. I really don't expect much from it because of the lesson learned with the first one. It's likely to be over-hyped and generally an ok game but I don't think it will blow my mind. Actually this is kind of a test for the series. The second one actually has to earn its place in my game collection because its older brother work it's way up there by cheating.
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