Assassin's Creed does a prequel sequel: A review of 'Assassin's Creed Origins'

I like Assassin's Creed. Shouldn't be a great surprise if you've been keeping up with these blogs or actually have the pleasure/displeasure of knowing me in the real world. In my eyes, it's the perfect game for me, as it blends exciting open world locations with historical story elements and a plot of secret societies, apocalyptic scenarios and plenty of violence that makes a session in Parliament look like a picnic. In the latest installment, Assassin's Creed Origins, my needs were very much met.

Oh boy oh boy oh boy oh boy

After jaunts in places such as Renaissance Italy, the Caribbean and Victorian London, we now find ourselves in Ptolemaic Egypt, focusing on the adventures of Bayek of Siwa. He is a Medjay, a fancy word for a badass bodyguard to the Pharaoh, and he is on a mission of vengeance. Having witnessed the death of son at the hands of a mysterious organisation known as the Order of the Ancients, Bayek sets out across the kingdom to bring down these evil doers and get some sweet loot along the way.

I presume that Ubisoft had two choices when developing a new Assassin's Creed game: either bring the Assassin's to the era of world wars and nuclear weapons, and go back to its roots and give our fans some delicious lore. They chose wisely, but don't be surprised if we see a new game set in the topsy turvy world of the 20th century. What Origins gives us is the beginning of the Assassin vs Templar conflict, as Bayek (along with his wife Aya and some historical friends) defend the people of Egypt from the ambitious Order, who aim to take control of Egypt by using the artifacts of the First Civilisation.

Hot damn

Time for a quick A.C. history lesson. Turns out that humans were created by the First Civilisation (or Isu to give them their proper name) to be slaves, but due to some epiphanies and a bit of inbreeding, humanity rises up and fights back. Then the world gets burnt and humanity just about survives. Artifacts, known as Pieces of Eden, were used by the Isu to control humanity, and are now the objects of desire for the Templars, who seek to use them for their own evil means. It's up to the Assassins to stop them, and protect the world from their twisted version of a utopia.

OK, that just about covers the lore- now we can talk Origins. First of all, it's beautiful. The landscape is endless desert, with expansive cities dotted all over the map to break up the continuous onslaught of sand. Ancient wonders are found all over the world, such as the Lighthouse of Alexandria and the Pyramids of Giza, meaning that once again we can all happily go to these locations (except the Lighthouse, that's not there anymore) and proudly exclaim, 'Yeh, I climbed that'. Definitely made my jaunt around Italy in 2013 fun by counting how many landmarks I had climbed with Ezio Auditore. I lost count, as a matter of fact.

Florence's Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore- climbed that

To really appreciate the scenery, I advise using the 'Follow Road' mechanic. Just switch it on and your mount will path find its way to a way point on the map, allowing you to sit back and take in Ptolemaic Egypt. Sand may not be your first choice in scenery, but the endless mountain ranges and sporadic oases give you some sort of respite. Nevertheless, Ubisoft have once again created an expansive world of great beauty, and one that is full of side quests, wild beasts and some very odd mirages. Watch out for burning bushes and freak bug storms.

Well then

I'm not an expert in Egyptian history, but the one thing that I do remember from my brief lessons in primary school on the subject of Egypt was that there were a lot of gods, all of which had their own agendas. My favourite, of course, was Sekhmet, the goddess of the sun with a lion for a head. In the early stages of the game, I completed all the quests surrounding the Temple of Sekhmet and was rewarded with a sick suit of armour. I spent the vast majority of the game with a lion shaped helmet on my head, and drove fear into the hearts of my enemies. In games like this, you can easily make up your own stories and adventures.

Beware the manly kitty cat

But now, let us focus on combat, which is tied with the free running mechanic as the most important aspect of the game. Combat has certainly evolved over the course of the series, as beforehand you could slaughter enemies by hammering away at the square button (if you were/are  part of the Play Station faction) or by hiding in a dark corner and stabbing away with the Hidden Blade. Over time, new properties were introduced, with light and heavy attacks becoming instrumental in defeating the expansive number of enemies dotted across the map.

It is now better to think tactically. For example, when faced with a 7 foot soldier armed with a two handed sword and donned in armour that weighs as much as the city of London, it is better to break their defence with a heavy attack and proceed to wail on them with a flurry of light attacks. Once they regain their composure, dodge away and wait for your time to strike. Shielding/blocking attacks also breaks their defence, and once again you can gain the upper hand in combat. Although it is similar to the mechanics of previous titles, defence is now a key part of the combat mechanism- and a welcome one at that.

Tactical brilliance is a necessity here

It's not all about combat though, for there is no point in being an Assassin if you can't be stealthy. Indeed, stealth doesn't lose any of its importance in Origins, as a stealthy approach lowers your chance of being totally outnumbered and can help get rid of those higher level enemies that could cause you a problem if trapped in a corner. Stealth hasn't really changed much in this latest instalment; there's still a detection meter, whistling can distract guards and there are plenty of hay stacks/ bushes to stalk your prey. But why change something that has worked well before? Yes, it can be a little buggy at times and certainly frustrating when an enemy over 100 metres away spots you and rallies all troops in a 10 mile radius to descend upon you, but that just means you have to try harder the next time. Think more tactically, go for certain enemies beforehand. It's all about adapting!

What helps to scope out the battle field is your trusty eagle Senu, who can glide over the terrain and pick out points of interest such as commanders or treasure chests. Ooohhh, I get it now- it's Eagle Vision! Oh that's very clever. Proper prequel stuff right there. But anyway, using Senu helps to create a strategy, and by synchronising viewpoints (which I love doing in Assassin's Creed games) Senu can increase her perception and become a useful tool in clearing out a camp or bandit cave. There's even an unlockable ability where Senu can swoop down and attack people. Very useful when sneaking by. Senu is a worthy ally, and at times is the real MVP.

Use the eagle- always use the eagle

Weaponry wise, we are once again treated to a wide variety. The Hidden Blade is still in the armoury (of course) and new categories of weapons have been added to the fight against those who wish to exploit the working peoples of Egypt. Basic swords, sickle swords, dual wielding, shields, blunt weapons and bows give you plenty of variety, with the more legendary and rare weapons giving added perks such as added health on a critical strike or bleeding when your shield blocks an attack. Some weapons are cursed, and they always tend to be the coolest or most damaging. You end up with only a third of your health remaining, which I didn't realise when taking on a swarm of crocodiles and realising I was dying in just a few hits. A steep learning curve for Ben.

Bayek's revenge road trip around Egypt takes him to various locations such as Memphis, Alexandria and Cyrene (even though that's in Libya). As mentioned before, Ubisoft do an excellent job in transporting us to the times of Ancient Egypt, as they have done in their previous titles. Each location brings with it new challenges, and a simple chain of side quests suddenly boosts your level to a point when you can continue the main storyline and even reward you with legendary armour or a new sexy weapon.

Actually, lets talk levels. You can max your level to 40 (as do the levels of enemies) and experience points are earned through killing, finding new locations, synchronising viewpoints; all the usually stuff. Missions have a recommended level, which encourages players to either be brave and tackle the problem head on or grind away with side quests or exploration in order to reach the recommended level. Sounds like a long and boring task, but the fact that there is sooooo much to do then you aren't going to struggle. Phylankes roam the countryside in pursuit of Bayek, and are a worthy challenger (not to mention that killing them gives you new weapons and a key in unlocking some sweet loot) and there are even war elephants. That's right, you can take on elephants and they are a bitch to kill. I would recommend doing them once you are at Level 40 and know the combat system like the back of your hand. But it's your life- don't let me boss you around.

Shit

On the subject of missions, the majority of them are straight forward. Important character has a task, bad guys show up, there's a really mean person bossing them around so they have to die, mission accomplished, hand shakes and puppies for everyone. Indeed, no longer do we have to contend with fully synchronising mission by doing tasks such as only killing people with a twig or having to be super sneaky as detection leads to auto failing missions. While that added a challenge to earlier titles, they stretched out simple missions to the point that you got pissed off and mucked about around the map for a few hours before coming back and trying again. I know that feeling...

Even though they are no longer part of the game, I do miss the full synchronisation of missions. It enabled you to use every single bit of your arsenal and experiment with different combat/stealth styles which would work well in the later stages of the game. Also, for all the completionists out there, it meant you had some replayability at the end of the game, rather than just finding all the loot or completing all the street races, fight clubs and all that. Origins doesn't leave you hanging at the end of the main storyline, of course, but once the mission is done then it is done. It is just locked in that mission log now- just another statistic.

One thing I did notice about Origins was that it felt like free running wasn't as big a component in this game than in others. I said before that it was the most important alongside combat, but there were points when free running just wasn't necessary. Walls could be climbed and towers could be scaled in order to air assassinate or observe the world around you, but you could get through mission with your feet firmly on the ground. Granted, I could have been playing to my own style and climbing could have made missions much easier, but there just felt like there was no need to climb except to synchronise view points. Just an observation from me- I might just be talking out of my arse, to be honest.

Don't worry, there are still plenty of landmarks to scale

Assassin's Creed Origins certainly gives us our share of historical figures. Ptolemy XIII rules Egypt, having expelled his co-ruler, sister and wife (yep, they got married) Cleopatra VII. Cleo then seeks the help of historical tyrant Julius Caesar, which ends well... I guess. Don't want to spoil anything, but lets just say that the game ends with Aya travelling to Rome with a few of her friends to deal with the ambitious Roman Senator, which conveniently fell on the day known as the Ides of March. I'm sure you all know where this is going...

Yayyyy History!

I've gone on long enough, so let me end this by talking about Bayek, our protagonist. His badass ways establish the common trait of our Assassin heroes, with diehard Assasin Altair, the Italian playboy Ezio and pirate captain Edward Kenway capturing our hearts. Bayek is a man on a mission, doing all that it takes to avenge his son and bring balance to Egypt. He defends the people of Egypt with his life, and detests all those who seek to take advantage of them. Essentially, he's a working class hero, and would bring a tear to the eyes of Karl Marx. I really do keep finding all the socialist undertones, don't I?

Creating a likeable is character is imperative in any video game. Players need to be motivated to help the protagonist complete their quest, and nobody wants to play as a dull one dimensional guy who doesn't want to do the mission in the first place. If the protagonist is motivated for a good reason, such as revenge or saving the world, then I'm on board. That won't be the case for everyone, of course, but if I hate the main character, then I'm not gonna come back to that game anytime soon. Listen up, game designers, for Ben has spoken.

Wayyy more likeable than Connor of Assassin's Creed III

What really drew me to Origins was that this was a prequel. It seems like a cheap idea to do that nowadays, but this series is all about lore. Fans are treated to the origins of the Assassin symbol, the early days of the conflict between Assassin and Templar and plenty of First Civilisation sites to build up the overall story. Plenty of questions remain unanswered, but history is very long so Ubisoft certainly aren't going to run out of ideas for historical settings. I just want all the lore I can get; I'm very much addicted to it. Much like Aldo in Inglorious Bastards, 'I want my scalps/ lore!'

Hell yeh

So, after chalking up about 75 hours of playtime over the last few days of December/ first few days of January, I reached the point in Origins where I could pat myself on the back and say 'Good job, until next time'. Swords were found, viewpoints were synchronised and elephants lay dead at my feet. Memories had been captured by the use of the in game camera, even though I spent the vast majority of the time taking selfies with cats or creating crime scenes that gave the impression that murder came about at the hands, or should I say paws, of a furry culprit. Nevertheless, I loved this game.

Of course, there are problems. Perhaps I was right about the free running and that actually is a major problem players found with the game. There are bugs all over the place, but no game is complete without bugs. Next gen titles need to have bugs in them now really; I don't know why, but a game would just deel empty without them. The one though lurking in my mind is a horrible one, and that is the question of when the series will end.

The modern day plot is still going on, with the Assassins and Templars still fighting over the Pieces of Eden and one of the Isu named Juno planning on taking over the world, so that all needs to be wrapped up soon. Yet this series can go on forever, because there are so many time periods yet to tapped into. Ubisoft just don't need to make the mistake of making a clone of an old title. They have every right to add sea combat (as they did with A.C. III, Black Flag, Rogue and even Origins), but there's no point making another pirate game. Similarly, making one set in the modern era runs the risk of it becoming way too futuristic, which was the mistake Call of Duty made. Either way, I shall sit here patiently and wait for the next release.

Don't let me down Ubisoft

But now it's time to bring this review to a close, especially as my fingers are tired and I run the risk of creating a post that is as long as the Bible. I could go on and on and on about this game, but the best way for you all to really get the essence of Origins is to play it for yourselves. Or, if you're lazy, watch someone play it on YouTube. Who knows, perhaps Absolute Shambles could create a Lets Play channel... I doubt it.

Ben G 😁 xo

P.S. Got my car back this week. The ordeal will carry on for many more weeks though. The police really are useless at times, aren't they?

I've missed you