So I was checking Game of the year list on Wikipedia and noticed that Assassin’s Creed was never Game of the Year.
Not on any list around the world did it reach the top. The first one felt very fresh, but it just did not feel complete. But the 2nd one was just an amazing game and that one got beaten on some lists by Uncharted 2 which is understandable, but also by Batman: Arkham Asylum which is basically inspired by AC.
Maybe they should just ditch the whole Animus plot. I wished that Valhalla and Black Flag were just about being a Viking and a Pirate
Maybe they should just ditch the whole Animus plot.
I think if that was going to happen it would have happened after AC3.
Personally I’m glad the Animus is there, it makes it much easier for me to suspend disbelief about so many things in those games. I wish AC3 hadn’t messed up Desmond’s story though, I wanted a cool conclusion, rather than having Desmond get Poochied.
You’re right about AC2, especially since it’s a relatively quiet year for hits (2009) so getting a nomination shouldn’t have been that hard. That said, it has a lot to do with who is voting, money spent on promoting the game, etc., and I’m not sure it would have won GotY even though it might even end up on some people’s top games of all time.
Fun fact, apparently same year Minecraft released. Lol (I looked up a list, that and LittleBigPlanet are my favorite of the year).
It was an innovative series at a time where we still got them frequently, and while seemingly intended to be a trilogy, they chased dollar signs over prestige. It’s hard to say they made the wrong choice there, but the animus made a lot more sense in the context of a trilogy with a beginning, middle, and end. For my money, Unity was the best game in the series and came out in one of the the weakest years for video game releases giving it a really good chance at an award, but it was a technical mess, especially at launch. I don’t think I agree that Arkham Asylum has much DNA in common with Assassin’s Creed.
Unity is still underrated largely due to its reputation formed during launch with all the bugs. But I think there was also a case around then of “Assassin’s Creed fatigue”, which only amplified the negative reception. It’s actually a very interesting what if scenario, what would have happened if Unity wasn’t broken on release and was successful? It’s well documented that its failure led to the entire rejigging of the franchise into open world RPGs in Origins and beyond.
Yeah, but I was also fascinated by the dialogue directly speaking to that fatigue and the series’ failings to live up to the fantasy.
“So what’s the plan here?”
“Plan? Come up with your own plan! I’m not here to hold your hand!”
Yeah Unity also felt really special.
So the reason why I say inspired because I was thinking that countering was something AC had created, but I’m probably remembering this incorrectly.
I’ll bet there’s no shortage of games with combat models with counters built in to them that predate Assassin’s Creed, but Arkham Asylum’s came from an earlier prototype that they built that was basically a rhythm game. AC’s combat was pretty terrible for a long while, but it was also a stealth game, so it didn’t matter all that much.
Check, yes you are right.
Screw the awards…I mean, starfield won “most innovative game” for being exactly the absolute opposite of that.
I actually disliked AC until Origins. That was nice, and odyssey is my favourite. Malaka!
The animus-thing is probably the only part that strings them together to call it AC. But for me, it was always the annoying immersion killing part.
But for me, it was always the annoying immersion killing part.
I’m always exactly the opposite! For me it lets me forgive all the gamey-nonsense. Why can’t I leave the map? Because this ancestor never did so there’s no data for anywhere beyond here.
Fair point. That was indeed a good reason. But IMHO an intro would’ve been enough to explain the boundaries of this simulation. Not a whole “mini-game” around it. But anyhow, it didn’t really kill the vibe, just temporary. Loved the games. Even Valhalla was nice. At least the beginning…
It was an example to illustrate my point, not the entire line of reasoning.
starfield won “most innovative game”
No way…
I’m not a gaming drama queen, but that’s just silly.
EDIT: Oh, it was the Steam Awards.
That makes sense. The voting is largely a popularity contest.
Doesn’t make it better 😉 Still haven’t purchased. Not even pirated or played. That’s so sad they fucked it up.
It’s entirely a popularity contest.
Animus
I wish more games copied the way AC Odyssey did waypoints/exploration, I quite enjoyed that system =w=
It’s not inherently related to the post, but I think it’s one of the things in assassin’s creed games that was executed well but seemingly largely unrecognized/forgotten
I mean, Odyssey seems like an obvious target for a remaster, so maybe it will come back.
That was peak AC for me though. In fact, I have no motivation to try later titles because that felt like the series’ definitive game, to me. And Fate of Atlantis was such a good epilogue.
Odyssey only came out like 5 minutes ago. What year are we in?
Seriously, people need to stop saying everything needs a remaster. It’s precisely how we got into the current situation we’re in.
It doesn’t need a remaster imo. It’s not even 10 years old, and it still looks and plays very well.
