The trials and tribulations of loyalty

When the PlayStation 4 came out in 2013, I watched on in envy as Ubisoft announced the latest instalment of Assassin's Creed, Unity, would only be available on the latest generation of consoles. Those left behind were given  Assassin's Creed: Rogue, which was a decent enough offering due to its continued piratical theme and storyline revolving around an Assassin who grows tired of the Creed and decides to become an Assassin hunting, French killing pawn of the Templars. Yet years of curiosity (and the fact that Unity was the only instalment I had yet to play in the franchise) finally led me to purchasing it as it would keep me occupied as I continue my expulsion from employment. The old PS3 helped me through my teenage years, so when that passed away in 2014, a funeral had to be held.

No jokes. Elton John sang 'Candle In The Wind' and everything

I knew exactly what I was getting myself into; gameplay I had seen from all those years ago (2014, to be exact) showed a game full of bugs and game mechanics that made even the most hardcore of fans roll their eyes. When I finally got around to playing it, my brow would become furrowed with frustration as protagonist Arno Dorian would refuse to jump through an open window or would climb on a cart in the middle of an epic escape from the extremists that roam the street of Revolutionary Paris. Indeed, it felt like my immersion experience was ruined by the lack of French accents. There were still plenty of NPCs speaking French, yet no major character had an accent. We are in the capital of France! I want to hear the cries of 'Mon Dieu!' as I take someone's life in the middle of the packed street, or even a 'sacré bleu' after I jump from the top of the Notre-Dame into that handy hay bale. Yet all I heard was 'Oi, get off from there, you damned Royalist!'. Throughout my journey as a historian, I had no idea that so many East Londoners lived in Paris at the height of the French Revolution.

Not many people were schocked with the open violence in the streets- this was the French Revolution, after all

Now, I could spend my time moaning about this game, but there are good points to it (of course there is, it's Assassin's Creed). The setting is once again breathtaking, as Arno stalks the streets of Paris as Louis XVI loses control of the country to those liberty loving peasants of the Third Estate. There are plenty of monuments to take in, such as Versailles, the Champ de Mars and the Bastille, as Arno continues the fight against the Templar Order. Even though the game forces you to repeat missions in order to unlock every single collectible (not to mention the fact that 'Helix Credits' are required to uncover all the collectibles on the map) and the combat system, redesigned to stop button mashing, only prompted more button mashing with parries and dodges. But even though I constantly sighed and exclaimed revenge on whoever was in charge of the free running elements of Unity, I still enjoyed it, not just because the French Revolution is one of the rock stars of the history world, but because it was still an Assassin's Creed game and the basic elements of sneak, kill and run were all still part of it.

But that got me thinking. Did I only play through Assassin's Creed: Unity just because I was a massive fan of the franchise and would digest anything with Assassin's Creed on it? I mean, I knew about the bugs and the hindering mechanics of the game, yet I still put my heart and soul into joining Arno on his journey of revenge. I upgraded my equipment, carefully planned my missions and still go back to Unity to just do a few missions and find one or two more elusive chests or cockades. My process of 'cleaning up' after completing the main story in an Assassin's Creed is a tried and tested path, yet that just brought me back to the clunky free running, the un-French AI and the will-sapping combat. It appeared that my love, and above all loyalty, to the franchise kept me in Revolutionary Paris.

So let's talk about loyalty this week, since I'm sure none of you really want to read a review of a game that came out four years ago. I'm sure we all know that 'loyalty' means having feelings of support or duty to a particular thing, and is a major component of our lives. For example, our smart phones are so instrumental in the way we live our lives that we pledge our loyalties to the likes of Apple or Samsung. Loyalty was certainly put to the test when Apple released the iPhone X in November 2017 and marketed it at around £1000. They are marvels of technology, but that's such an incredibly high price. Does a better camera and screen really make it justifiable to put prices at that level, or do Apple know that there fans will pay that amount of money just to show off their latest purchase? That Apple logo has a strong hold on people.

A meme that speaks so much truth

In the first financial quarter of 2018, 77.3 million iPhones were sold, although there are no figures to show how many of these were the iPhone X. Although those numbers are smaller than those recorded in Q1 2017, iPhone revenue increased by $7.2 billion compared to the previous year, so those pricey new phones must have played a key role. Apple doesn't enjoy total domination over the market, as Samsung flies the flag of Android, the thorn in the side of the Apple empire. The S9 has been in stores for just over a week, and in my honest technical appearance not much has changed from the S8 (the phone that I have). The camera has improved and, much like the X, has improved security features to keep those crafty thieves/ suspicious girlfriends out of your phone. Even though initial sale numbers are lower than the S8 when that was first launched in April 2017, Samsung has still set a target of selling 43 million units across 2018. The changes aren't massive, but it's the latest model from Samsung, therefore making the Samsung fans determined to buy it. To be honest though, I would stick with the S8; I can't wait to have my phone back.

Seriously, the camera is pretty incredible

Our loyalty in the world of sport is certainly worth mentioning. A few weeks ago, Sky Sports pundit and Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher was filmed spitting out of his car after being taunted about Liverpool's recent defeat to rivals Manchester United. Sadly, the open window meant that Carra's projectile landed on a young girl, making the whole thing even worse. Speculation circulates over why he did such a thing (trouble at home, bad day at work, etc.), but perhaps all it came down to was the fact that it was a tough loss for Liverpool to swallow. With plenty still up for grabs (except the title), a game of this magnitude had so much riding on it as these two great rivals fight for Champions League qualification. For someone who spent his entire career at Liverpool, then you would have some extreme loyalty towards that particular club. Although, when on the subject of player loyalty, there have been some very dubious change of hearts over the last few years. It appears that loyalty does come with a price.

In one particular case, the price was an underrated Armenian playmaker

It's the fans that are more likely to act out when their team is defeated. In the last few weeks, we have seen West Ham fans stage demonstrations on and off the pitch (in a 3-0 home defeat to Burnley, some fans ran onto the pitch and confronted players; one even stole a corner flag and planted it in the middle of the centre circle) and the Arsenal fanbase explode in rage as their team fails to emulate the glory days of old. While rival sets of supporters laugh at these particular meltdowns (yes, we all enjoy the rants on ArsenalFanTV), I'm sure they are all too aware that, if their team began to perform badly, they could easily react in the same way. While I am mainly focusing on football, this is the sport that draws the most attention in incidents relating to fan uprisings and the 'ultras' that stalk the streets searching for travelling supporters. As Bill Shankly, Liverpool manager between 1959-1974, once said:

'Some people believe football is a matter of life and death, I am very disappointed with that attitude. I can assure you it is much, much more important than that'.

Legend

Supporting a certain team usually runs in the family, and the younger generation of fans being introduced to a particular club's history is one of their first lessons in loyalty. On the subject of the younger generation, the concept of loyalty means a lot in regards to the politics of the playground. There's a lot of talk nowadays of having 'fake friends', who have no concept of loyalty and are content with spreading vicious rumours. Nobody likes getting back stabbed, and when you put your trust in someone then you expect them to reciprocate that level of trust. On the surface, they are friendly and spend plenty of time with you, but deep down they take pleasure in slagging you off to others when you are firmly out of earshot. We have all been the victim of a bitching session, and I know that I have said some very nasty things about other people, but in a world now run by social media, it means so much more to the younger generation.

We have all seen the stories on the news of kids who have been victimised to the point where their social reputation is in tatters and the only viable solution would be to the end their lives. I'm not saying that 'fake friends' are a prime factor in suicide rates among teenagers, but the younger generation absolutely take their social standing more seriously than we would have done at their age. Their social media presence means a lot to them, so to be isolated/taunted across all platforms doesn't do well on someone's mental well being. To be betrayed by someone that they view as a close friend is a betrayal to their loyalty, and when you mix that in with the hell storm that is puberty then the results are never going to be pretty. I want to steer away from this particular example ASAP due to my own mental fragility in my late teens, but all I will say is that the concept of loyalty to a young person would be someone they could hang out with, play Fortnite together and talk about their personal lives. For the information passed between the two to move across all the social groups, online or at school, then their feelings of loyalty have been misplaced.

One of the most destructive weapons of our generation

As I mentioned last week, I certainly prefer Costa over Starbucks, and will go out of my way to find the nearest Costa, rather than lower myself to the level of Starbucks (although, on one hot day last summer, I did enjoy an Iced Coffee from Starbucks). Again, the modern day interpretation of loyalty shines through. Coffee is the beautiful substance that powers us through the day, and even though there should be no discriminating when it comes to how we get our caffeine intake, we all have our favourite coffee chains. Indeed, it doesn't just end with coffee; supermarket loyalty also determines our shopping patterns, as we take into account factors such as average price, location and even the experiences we have had with staff. I'm more of a Sainsbury's man myself, but the mighty Tesco meal deal got me through my student days. It will always hold a special place in my heart.

Deserves a knighthood, TBH

I am sure we have all felt some sort of shame as we bring a Sainsbury's bag for life into the realms of a rival supermarket, especially if it's Waitrose and the faithful shoppers there look at you with disgust as you clearly earn less than £300,000 a year. But yet there's even more loyalty for chains on the high street- in this case, restaurants. Once again, price and convenience (perhaps even average calorie content) come into play here, as parents look around desperately for a way to keep the kids quiet, or hungover members of the populace look for the nearest source of sustenance. Subway and Nando's have always steered me in the right direction, even though Subway have been through many cases of poor hygiene, and Nando's is generally seen as a chavvy establishment. Loyalty to places like this have always been a part of our lives (my Dad, for example, seeks out Little Chefs when driving along motorways as they used to be super popular 'back in the day'), but when you realise that where we obtain one of the major parts of our lives, i.e. food, it's amazing how once again loyalty influences our decisions. Although, if I were in charge, there would be a Subway in every settlement in the country.

Mouth... watering...

In my final example of loyalty, it is probably the most divisive one out there, regarding of where you live. It is loyalty to your country, and to the ideals that it upholds. Patriotism is still very much a part of our society, as nations sing of things such as :

• 'Einigkeit und Recht und Freiheit für das deutsche Vaterland!' (Unity and justice and freedom for the German fatherland!)
• 'Aux armes, citoyens, formez vos bataillons, marchons, marchons! Qu'un sang impur abreuve nos sillons!' (To arms, citizens, form your batallions, let's march, let's march! Let an impure blood soak our fields!')
• 'Siam pronti alla morte. Siam pronti alla morti, l'Italia chiamò! Si!' (We are ready to die. We are ready to die, Italy has called! Yes!)

Stirring stuff really, especially when compared to the upbeat, inspiring anthem of 'God Save The Queen'. I love the royal family, but I would rather belt out the lyrics to something like 'Land of Hope and Glory'. Rather than go down the rabbit hole of whether we should change the anthem or not, let's talk nationalism. The British populace today can look back at our history and pinpoint great moments such as defeating the Spanish Armada in 1588 and being victorious in both World War I (1914-1918) and II (1939-1945). However, it is now seen as a more right wing tendency to take pride in Britain's past, especially on the subject of the British Empire. To glorify a system that promoted the slave trade and conducted some very controversial practices across the realm (for example, the brutal suppression of the Mau Mau Uprising in Kenya between 1952-1964) puts someone to the right on the grand political scale. Political correctness has found its way into how to interpret the past.

Again, this isn't a rant on the PC culture of today, but rather on how loyalty to one's country now translates to being a right wing extremist i.e. a fascist. The fact that particular nations, such as Nazi Germany, promoted a celebration of nationalism throughout inter-war German society certainly makes people nervous on whether or not it is right to celebrate the past. Yet we can look at the example of Germany in regards to how they look at Prussian history, which was essentially the predecessor of what we now know as Germany. Rather than focusing on the military aspects of Prussia (which, again, was instrumental in the ideologies of one Adolf Hitler), Germans today celebrate the non-political aspects of the Prussian state. In 2010, for example, it was decided that the Stadtschloss (the 'Berlin Palace', which housed the Hohenzollern dynasty of Prussia from 1701-1918), which had been demolished by the communist German Democratic Republic, would be rebuilt. Berlin's Museum Island, located in the middle of the River Spree, currently houses five museums, and has been labelled 'Prussia's Most Beautiful Jewel' due to being a symbol of the culture of the Prussian state. 

The Bode Museum, being just one example

I am in danger of falling into the pit of reminiscing about my time in Berlin in the summer of 2013, so I shall return to the point at hand. It is fair to say that some members of British society are very much part of the right wing, and shout of their loyalty to England in their quest to make England as white as the snow that brought the country to a halt a few weeks ago. In their minds, that is 'loyalty' to the nation, and it is their duty to uphold the cause that is derived from this 'loyalty'. The topic of nationalism is one that I hope to cover properly some day in the future, but for now the question is all about loyalty. In regards to a member of our island home being loyal to the nation, perhaps we should do as the Germans have done and focus on the non-military aspects of the empire. Instead, we focus on culture, and how this nation is one of exploration and innovation, rather than imperialism (although imperialism depends a lot on exploration and innovation). Nonetheless, loyalty to a nation is now interpreted as an extremist tendency, and panic begins to spread when the flag of St George is hoisted in someone's back garden, even though there are no major international sporting events currently taking place.

Give it a few more months 

What began as a casual stroll into the world of Assassin's Creed: Unity led to a journey that covered the superior smart phone, 'fake friends', the greatest high street chains and even the poisoned chalice of nationalism. The concept of loyalty plays heavily in our society, and it was my loyalty to the Assassin's Creed series that made me play Unity, and thus gave me inspiration to write on the subject today. Yet ranting about loyalty didn't save me from the fact that has been hanging above my head this whole time... Unity was just OK. Not awful, not brilliant, but just floating around in the purgatory that is 'meh'. Playing this game reminded me that even the things that I love the most, and indeed devote my loyalty towards, have their drawbacks. I think that's a pretty good message to take away from all of this. Essentially, if you have been 'triggered' by this post, then please send all your grievances towards Ubisoft, as it was their award winning series and one buggy title that brought us to this particular point in time. Or maybe not- I am still loyal to Ubisfot after all.

There have been some disturbing moments though

Ben G 😁 xo