Oh god yeah, I just got to the island/set of quests from the E3 stuff, where you can choose to romance one of two rebel leaders.
That part is what it is. But the openness of the game makes this whole series of quests a huge mess. Like if you go and kill the main target first off, I’d assume it completely shuts the whole thing out.
Even barring that, I’d already completed one objective right our of the gate. And I opted for another side quest (to take over the island) and completely shut out another set of quests for one of the characters.
And I mean, it makes sense! None of this means anything if you strut right in and take care of business. But as a dork who wants to experience the story (and get that XP and loot that comes with)…c’mon y’all.
Well I blew through the rest of the main quest in Origins so I bought this even though I said I wasn’t going to and Red Dead is literally two weeks away. I made it a week! But after seeing the ending for Origins I became once again pulled into the lore of the game and now I want to see what I’m assuming will be the origin story of the Order of Ancients (who become the Templars).
Still in the menus and haven’t started it yet but right away I immensely appreciate the option to toggle on/off each individual HUD element, in addition to the presets. Origins only had the four presets which were on, off, light and minimal and in my case “light” wasn’t light enough and “minimal” was a bit too minimal.
It’s not gonna help with my saying this, but by skipping Curse of the Pharaohs you’re missin’ some real good content. Lotta really fun quests in some absolutely gorgeous environments.
(The Hidden Ones is OK, but there’s one plot line with that DLC’s version of the Phylakes that’s a really stellar callback to a character you met during the main game)
Oh I’m still keeping Origins installed and plan on getting to the DLC sooner or later. I just couldn’t help getting the jump on Odyssey while everyone is talking about it.
After two hours last night I really appreciate how much more responsive the game is overall compared to Origins. It just feels a bit less janky, from character movement to the menus and so on. And the more mountainous terrain is refreshing too after spending so much time on Origins’ flatter elevations.
So of course the day after I buy the game google tells me I’m in for the streaming thing. If anyone wants to play this for free until Jan. 15 and you have Chrome and a reliable internet connection let me know and I’ll give you the access code and details. US only (Google’s rule not mine).
I’ve played this for about 11 hours now and it’s pretty good!
I’ve heard people say it doesn’t feel like a “true” Assassin’s Creed game but I’ve been exclusively sticking to gear that boosts my assassin damage and picking almost exclusively assassin-related skills (had to get that spartan kick tho and like one other thing I can’t think of at the moment) and I’ve just been sneak-stabbing one-hitting dudes from stealth positions and I don’t know it sure feels a lot like an Assassin’s Creed game.
Except unlike “true” Assassin’s Creed games when you do get into open combat it’s actually fun, if a bit too button-mashy to be considered a “serious” combat system.
I also like the story and how it’s framed. In the main quest I’m currently going to find mom and I’m looking forward to seeing how they eventually tie all this into the greater lore of the series.
Hero Strike (?) is also a fantastic move for an assassin build, since you can use it right after the whole “teleporting spear chain attack” thing and generally take out most (if not all) of a small camp in almost one go.
Been taking a few days off from this game and I’m ready to hop back in. Time to commit one way or another to these Delos Islands quests and keep on moving.
The Delos/Mykonos island arc is really good. It’s too bad there’s a single side quest that can completely derail the entire thing (for anyone playing - don’t take the Spartan up on his offer for a conquest battle, it’ll cut off every other mission on the island).
Decided to get back to the story proper and…god this game is too big. Running from Korinthia, up one mountain, through a foggy forest in a valley below, up a cliff, and cresting a hill to see Argos spread as far as the eye can see is equal parts magical and “oh god look at all the question marks popping up.”
Edit: I do love that Kassandra eventually warms up to Socrates, and you can start engaging him in circular arguments about the definition of justice and things like it. They’ve made him a lot of fun.
One thing I kinda appreciate about the game trying to have a wanted system of sorts is that the world is much more responsive to your actions.
Run up to an altar, or a shopkeep’s table, or someone’s house, and take a bunch of gold in plain sight? They’re gonna get pissed and either report you, or come out swinging.
Likewise, killing guards out in the open (particularly if they’re the occupying military force in a given area) will enrage and inspire common yokels to wield brooms, or pry swords and spears from dead guards to avenge them.
Honestly it’s kind of a pain in the ass, and a really good way to get swamped by two or three mercenaries, some towns folk, a dog and maybe a chicken or two, but it makes more sense than people not reacting at all.
Decided to do some exploring and stumbled on what’s probably the location of a final boss fight, or some big climactic one. Whoops!
Anyway I’m…god like almost 80 hours in, maybe a bit more than half through with the story, less than half through with overall completion, and coming up on level 50.
So yeah, with the massive caveat of “if you’re willing to take your time,” I think the whole XP Boost brouhaha was severely overblown. You can stack so many bounties at once that sometimes clearing a fort full of soldiers will net you a level and a half worth of experience. If you want XP, the game will give it to you, but you gotta be willing to deviate from the main path, which I guess is what most folks aren’t really willing to do?
Which is kind of a shame, since the writing and characterization tends to be a lot more fleshed out in the side content. Mainlining the game is a really good way to suck all of the humor and levity out of it.
Doesn’t look like I’ll finish this before RDR2, not by a long shot, but I’m gonna keep at it before I get into that.
I gotta spend two weeks away from home for work training, which is a bummer because I finally hit a point in this game where The Real Stupid Shit this series does (as far as the sci-fi angle and Forrest Gumping with historical figures) is finally happening and it’s honestly great.
I do like that the game’s tool tips prompted me after a big story moment with a “Hey, if you’re under-leveled, make sure to explore some islands and do some side quests to gain experience!” I was at 48 of the level 50 cap at the time.
Speaking of max level! I took down the game’s top mercenary, and the game fails to follow the Afro Samurai rules of becoming #1 after taking down #1. Oh well.
Unfortunately, doing this gave me a very specific clue as to who the game’s secret big bad is that makes their identity so obvious that the next 40+ hours are just gonna be the world’s slowest band-aid peel of a reveal.
Still (mostly!) having fun, still (usually!) overwhelmed by entering each island and seeing a million and a half things to do every step of the way.
Reading that 2/3rds of players chose Alexios over Kassandra is 1) I guess not totally surprising but 2) wow way to fuck the game up for yourselves, nerds.
Yeah that’s weird. Especially since even reviews said that Kassandra is the better experience… Maybe people read other reviews than me or they just don’t care. But I guess 1/3 is enough to legitimize having a female character in there? Let’s hope
