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  1. In Memory of LAJ_FETT: Please share your remembrances and condolences HERE

Lit Eleven-ThirtyEight and stuff

Discussion in 'Literature' started by CooperTFN, Jul 8, 2013.

?

Well?

  1. I don't care

    20 vote(s)
    17.7%
  2. Hm, neat

    49 vote(s)
    43.4%
  3. OMG COOPER IS MY HERO

    44 vote(s)
    38.9%
  1. RC-1991

    RC-1991 Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Dec 2, 2009
    Roma and Istanbul were fantastic settings. I do kinda wish that Revelations had revisited Acre, Damascus and Jerusalem a bit more, though that probably didn't fit the story Ubisoft wanted to tell.
     
  2. Loopy777

    Loopy777 Jedi Master star 1

    Registered:
    Apr 8, 2013

    I should probably just skip the first one and play the second one that everyone raves about.
     
  3. CooperTFN

    CooperTFN TFN EU Staff Emeritus star 7 VIP

    Registered:
    Jul 8, 1999
    Commandeered?
     
  4. Zeta1127

    Zeta1127 Jedi Grand Master star 5

    Registered:
    Sep 2, 2012
    Its been loaned out to my sister-in-law's brothers, not my doing.
     
  5. Havac

    Havac Former Moderator star 7 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Sep 29, 2005
    Brotherhood is probably the best game in the series. Rome is gorgeous and the single-city setting lets you get the most out of the game map, the gameplay is elevated, and the story is rock-solid. Its only flaws are that it rushes the climax a little, and it holds back a few corners of the city too long for no good reason. Revelations is maybe the high point of the series' gameplay (HOOKBLADE) and it's fantastic about opening up the entire city to you at once (and Constantinople is awesome). Ezio's maturation is a great arc for him. The story gets a little thin, though, which is its main problem. It missed an opportunity to be bigger and maybe be the best game of the series.

    The first is actually the best at getting across the feeling of being an Assassin -- gathering information, planning the hit, visiting the location to get a feel for it, and then leaving it up to you how you want to pull off the kill. The gameplay was also the most balanced -- combat was deliberately slightly tedious, so that you could still have tons of fun kicking ass but wouldn't want to do it constantly, and thus incentivized stealth play in a way no AC game has managed since. Plus, Jerusalem and Damascus are absolutely gorgeous. It does suffer some from being the first go at the concept, but it does have huge upsides that make it worth playing.
     
  6. Gorefiend

    Gorefiend Chosen One star 5

    Registered:
    Oct 23, 2004

    Ah it was a backwater provincial brouhaha, only so “interesting” one can make it. :p
     
  7. instantdeath

    instantdeath Jedi Grand Master star 5

    Registered:
    Jul 22, 2010
    Did it? Granted, I haven't played ACI since 2008 or so, and while I remember enjoying it, I seem to remember that it completely lacked anything that resembled a stealth system, which always kind of annoyed me. Of course, I know you don't need the ability to hug walls or crouch to be stealthy, but I remember being aggravated that the only way for the endlessly resourceful Altair to assassinate someone was to dive onto him in a large crowd.
     
  8. The_Four_Dot_Elipsis

    The_Four_Dot_Elipsis Jedi Grand Master star 5

    Registered:
    Mar 3, 2005

    Yeah, Hitman in its prime it aint.
     
  9. CooperTFN

    CooperTFN TFN EU Staff Emeritus star 7 VIP

    Registered:
    Jul 8, 1999
    Basically how I feel at this point. As much as I love the tableau that unfolds in the Ezio story, and am anxious to see what happens in the next handful of games, I feel like the first one was the only one that had sufficient faith in the original premise. One game later, and suddenly I had to own property? The hell?
     
    Havac likes this.
  10. darthcaedus1138

    darthcaedus1138 Force Ghost star 5

    Registered:
    Oct 13, 2007
    But what ended up happening was that it all felt rather monotonous after a while. You did the same exact thing, the same exact way, every single time. The only thing that changed was the environments and the targets. If they had just varied the lead up missions or even the way they died...it didn't even have to be you coming up to them and directly killing them, I would've preferred a long segment where you sneak into their castle and poison them or some way to liven it up.

    It just became playing the same segment repeatedly, which in a video game that's driven by story is killer. Before I replayed it with the explicit purpose of seeing it for the story and characters, it was all a haze of riding horses from place to place, doing the same three essentially mini-games, and actually killing the guy. It's just not memorable, other than the basic concept.
     
  11. CooperTFN

    CooperTFN TFN EU Staff Emeritus star 7 VIP

    Registered:
    Jul 8, 1999
  12. Havac

    Havac Former Moderator star 7 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Sep 29, 2005
    Well, stealth meaning "don't get detected by guards, don't pick unnecessary fights," vs. "stab your way everywhere." So the social stealth system, based on not attracting attention. It was primitive compared to what the games have done since, but it was a major component of the gameplay style.


    Yeah, I'm replaying Revelations right now, and really, is having to go sit on a bench and eavesdrop on somebody once or twice per assassination really more tedious than having to run around amusing myself for twenty minutes to build enough money to buy the Hagia Eirene?


    Eh, the monotonousness is oversold. The informer missions, for example, went from races to assassination missions to assassination missions with multiple targets and timers. All the other types of missions were pretty minimal-effort, so it's not a big deal if they don't evolve much, though they did throw different curveballs. And you only had to play one or two missions to move on in the game anyway.


    But really, all video games are monotonous. The actual mechanics are limited. It's all about doing the same thing in different places, in different combinations. Other games have been better at making it seem more varied, but even the original AC wasn't that monotonous, not if you were paying attention to anything other than the mechanics.
     
  13. Mia Mesharad

    Mia Mesharad Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Sep 2, 2012
    Hey Havac, just wanted to say that I loved both of your "What Star Wars can learn from Assassin's Creed" pieces. Excellent, excellent points all around.

    This too, Coop. :)
     
    CooperTFN likes this.
  14. Havac

    Havac Former Moderator star 7 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Sep 29, 2005
    Thanks!
     
  15. Arrian

    Arrian Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Aug 15, 2011
    I find it ironic that the Assassin's Creed series, in my opinion, has now become meandering and boring.

    Also, Havac is now the second person I've ever known to use paramour in a piece of writing, and not be talking about ASoIaF.
     
  16. Iron_lord

    Iron_lord Chosen One star 10

    Registered:
    Sep 2, 2012
    CooperTFN likes this.
  17. CooperTFN

    CooperTFN TFN EU Staff Emeritus star 7 VIP

    Registered:
    Jul 8, 1999
    I'm sure he uses it in everyday conversation, too.

    Guys, guys--that article is so yesterday. :p
     
  18. The Loyal Imperial

    The Loyal Imperial Manager Emeritus star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Nov 19, 2007
    Who doesn't?
     
  19. RC-1991

    RC-1991 Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Dec 2, 2009

    Xim fans/Megas Alexandros fans, eat your heart out.
     
  20. CooperTFN

    CooperTFN TFN EU Staff Emeritus star 7 VIP

    Registered:
    Jul 8, 1999
    So it turns out that, even without a VIP draw or anything, today was a record-shattering day for traffic at ETE. I love you all.
     
    RC-1991 and AdmiralNick22 like this.
  21. AdmiralNick22

    AdmiralNick22 Retired Fleet Admiral star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    May 28, 2003
    Like the Rebel Alliance, our ranks will swell with each small victory!

    --Adm. Nick
     
  22. Gorefiend

    Gorefiend Chosen One star 5

    Registered:
    Oct 23, 2004

    [​IMG]
     
    Force Smuggler likes this.
  23. DigitalMessiah

    DigitalMessiah Chosen One star 6

    Registered:
    Feb 17, 2004
    They obviously didn't want to go with this one:
    [​IMG]
     
  24. CooperTFN

    CooperTFN TFN EU Staff Emeritus star 7 VIP

    Registered:
    Jul 8, 1999
    I'm sure that's RC's next article.
     
  25. RC-1991

    RC-1991 Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Dec 2, 2009

    I'm just thrilled that my Mando article is still getting views.