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Assassin’s Creed Origins is set to release worldwide on October 27th, which Ubisoft says should breathe new life into the series. For the first time in a long time, a major title has been released with a gap of a year since the release of Assassin’s Creed: Syndicate in 2015, thus destroying the annual pipeline of the series, hated by many fans. Origins will be the tenth major release of the line, telling about the early days of the Assassin Order. It’s time to run through the previous nine.
Assassin’s Creed (2007)
Interestingly, the famous series was originally just a spin-off to the game Prince of Persia: Sands of Time. After Ubisoft relaunched the storied prince tale and surprised gamers with a mix of parkour, acrobatics, and impressive multi-opponent combat, game designer Patrice Desile set to work on the next title that follows the adventures of an assassin protecting the royal family.
The prototype of the protagonist was Hassan ibn Sabbah, who founded the state of the Assassins in the 11th century. Over time, Ubisoft realized that the game had the potential to become a standalone line set in the 12th century, during the Third Crusade.
According to the plot, the Brotherhood of Assassins is fighting the Knights Templar, while the former personify the struggle for freedom, and the latter are oppressors who believe that people should be controlled by a dominant force. In the future, the series will more than once raise the question of whose side is “right” and question the actions of the main characters.
The developers made a knight’s move and drew a chain between 1191 and the modern world. In 2012, the bartender Desmond Miles is kidnapped by the Abstergo corporation in order to connect him to a machine called the Animus and, through DNA, get to the memories of one of his ancestors, the assassin Altair, in the role of which the players will play.
Already in the first Assassin’s Creed, almost the entire fundamental gameplay skeleton was demonstrated, which in the future with the release of the next parts of the franchise will acquire new ideas and mechanics.
By the time the series debuted, three parts of the new Prince of Persia wave had already been released, so it would not have been possible to surprise players with acrobatics alone. The main selling factor of Assassin’s Creed was the ability to climb almost anywhere and any way. The ideas of Prince of Persia this time were realized in the context of an “open world” filled with buildings and towers that you can climb up and get a great view of Masyaf, and then take the signature element of the series – “Leap of Faith”.
Also, don’t underestimate the excitement that players got from stealthy killings in a Hitman-style crowd, or chasing victims across rooftops to keep the repetitive gameplay interesting.
The situation was the same with battles. On the one hand, the combat system was quite simple, and the enemies only attacked in turn, while the player counterattacked, or attacked at the right time. However, the satisfaction of another cleverly executed deadly combination kept the players from getting bored.
The game was dubbed “social stealth” by critics and was generally praised. Assassin’s Creed, of course, got it for its monotony, which became more and more evident as it progressed, but Ubisoft was hurt much more by the leak of the PC version of the game, which was supposed to be released six months later than the console releases. As a result, sales of the PC version were extremely low, which did not please the publisher at all.
Assassin’s Creed II (2009)
In the second part, the action takes place in Italy, during the Renaissance. There was more emphasis on the story, with a key element being the new charismatic protagonist Ezio, head of the Italian Brotherhood of Assassins and another ancestor of Desmond.
If the debut title was a solid debut of the series, then it was Assassin’s Creed 2 that revealed its potential as it should, and is still considered by many to be the best in the entire line.
It turned out that wandering in the new setting is much more interesting. The crowd of citizens made Florence alive, and the developers’ attention to the specifics of the architecture of that time created the right atmosphere. In addition, the player plunges into history and makes friends with such historical figures as Leonardo Da Vinci and Nicolo Machiavelli.
Several game mechanics have been added to the familiar formula. The main character can now swim, grab weapons of enemies during the battle and customize everything your heart desires, from clothes to the construction of buildings in your villa that will bring you income. Armor, weapons and other things can be bought, again contributing to the prosperity of your area.
As in the case of the first part, the Danish composer Jesper Küd took up writing the soundtrack, whose composition Ezio’s Family is still a favorite for many within the line.
To say that the game was accepted successfully is to say nothing. April 15, 2010 Assassin’s Creed 2 hit the Guinness Book of Records, due to the fact that in one year she managed to visit the covers of 127 gaming publications around the world.
Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood (2010)
It is difficult to call Brotherhood an independent title, because it did not offer almost anything radically new. However, it cannot be called a spin-off either, due to the fact that the plot in the game develops immediately after the end of Assassin’s Creed 2. Brotherhood was the first game in the line, the development of which ended without the participation of the game designer and father of the series, Patrice Desile.
Ezio continues to fight the Templars, and this time he will have to restore the order of assassins in Rome, which in turn made it possible for the developers to implement some gameplay ideas, such as recruiting new assassins who can be called for help at the right time or sent on missions.
Brotherhood is best remembered for being the first in the series to introduce a multiplayer mode. Those wishing to play online are available 21 character classes and eight game modes in which you can hunt live players.
A week after the release, Ubisoft sold a million copies of the game, and a year later it reached the mark of 8 million.
Assassin’s Creed: Revelations (2011)
Revelations completes the trilogy dedicated to the history of Ezio. In addition, players again got the opportunity to play for Altair.
In terms of gameplay, the game hasn’t changed much since Brotherhood, with the possible exception of the grappling hook, self-made bombs, and tower defense mini-games.
Revelations turned out to be interesting, first of all, to those who went through the previous parts, because it answered many questions hanging in the air. Desmond has fallen into a coma, and must once again relive the memories of his ancestors, as well as his own, so that the “Animus” does not “delete” him.
Although the game pleased the true fans of the series, putting an end to the story of the elderly Ezio, in general, the public already wanted something new and was looking forward to Assassin’s Creed 3.
Assassin’s Creed III (2012)
The third part of the series was in development for three years, while another development team was engaged in Brotherhood and Revelations. At the same time, the fresh AnvilNext engine beat in her chest, thanks to which the series visually jumped quite far.
In Assassin’s Creed 3, Desmond turns to his ancestors one last time for help. He called on the memory of the Native American Connor, who sparked the American Revolution in 1775.
Connor helps the founding fathers make a revolution, tries to save his tribe, and at the same time continue his father’s work and destroy the Templars. One of the things that disappointed many was that before becoming a full-fledged assassin, players are required to spend several hours on the prologue.
Tall towers have been replaced with branching trees, rocks and wildlife in general. Parkour was simplified a bit, but now the developers offered to run in the rain and snow, thanks to the changing seasons. “Social stealth” became less crowded, which was not to the liking of the players. But the surprise that most liked was sea voyages, during which the protagonist controls the Aquila ship.
As a result, Assassin’s Creed 3 was a solid release, but not enough of a revolution for the series in the eyes of the players, which is the bane of almost any long-running line.
Assassin’s Creed III: Liberation (2012)
Liberation doesn’t really belong on today’s list, due to the fact that the game was originally only released for the PS Vita in support of Assassin’s Creed III. However, Ubisoft later found it appropriate to re-release the HD version of the title for PS3, Xbox 360 and Windows.
This is most likely due to the fact that for the first time in the series, a female protagonist appeared in Liberation in the person of a certain Aveline de Grandpre, who defends the interests of the Assassin brotherhood in front of the Templars, striving for power. Also, a notable feature of the game was the ability to change the appearance of the heroine depending on the goals, each of which has its own advantages and disadvantages.
Everything about the coupe made Liberation stand out from other smaller releases in the series.
Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag (2013)
Many were already ready to write off the series, but suddenly found themselves playing Black Flag with pleasure, which, in fact, is a kind of pirate simulator in an embrace with good old parkour.
Connor’s grandfather, Edward Kenway, together with Blackbeard and Mary Reid, founds the Republic of Pirates, and later joins the Assassins.
Initially, the title was supposed to be a spin-off like Brotherhood and Revelations, but the developers changed their mind in time and turned the game into a full-fledged sequel.
Of course, the heart of Black Flag was the previous installment, but Ubisoft surprised everyone by dedicating the game to the mechanic that received the warmest reviews last time – naval battles.
Scuba diving, boarding ships, whale hunting, island exploration, ship customization. All this was done with taste and the players liked it, despite the arcade nature of many innovations.
Black Flag was a breath of fresh air for the series, and one of the first games to be released on the eighth generation of consoles.
Assassin’s Creed Rogue (2014)
It was clear in advance that Creed Rouge was released after Black Flag, and one should not expect anything special from it. However, the developers managed to introduce novelty into the series, turning the familiar confrontation between the assassin and the Templars by 180 degrees.
The player takes on the role of Shay Cormac, an assassin who over time revised his views on life and decided that it was his duty to exterminate his former clan brethren in the name of the prosperity of the ideas of the Templars. The game takes place after Black Flag and covers the Seven Years’ War (1756-1763).
With the release of Creed Rouge, Ubisoft completed the series of stories about North America and answered some questions from the previous parts.
Assassin’s Creed Unity (2014)
The biggest failure of the series, at least judging by the feedback from the players and the press. First, Unity has an incredible amount of bugs that you don’t expect to get when you buy a AAA game. As with Mass Effect: Andromeda, the glitches quickly escalated into long-running memes circulating the internet, discouraging uninformed players from getting familiar with the series, let alone Unity itself.
It was obvious that the annual releases are only to the detriment of the series. The last nail hammered into the confidence of the fans was the decision of the developers to introduce microtransactions into the game. The developers later apologized to the community and began giving away DLC and their past games for free in the hope of appeasing annoyed players.
Among other things, Unity returned to the gameplay of the original parts, which could no longer impress the public. A large map filled with monotonous missions did not impress or surprise in the way that, for example, Black Flag did. This is partly due to the fact that its development began back in 2010.
Unfortunately, in view of all of the above, the strengths of Unity were deprived of due attention, such as, for example, a bewitching setting in the form of Paris in 1789, engulfed in revolution. A skill tree appeared, which the player could develop at his own discretion, pumping, for example, stealth or attack from a distance.
Assassin’s Creed Syndicate (2015)
After Unity, the attitude of the players to the series, as well as to Ubisoft, has seriously cooled. But the very next year (and how could it be otherwise) Syndicate comes out and works on the bugs.
1868 London undergoing an industrial revolution. The main characters are the twins Jacob and Evie Fry, between whom the player switches during the game. Despite all the similarities, Jacob prefers to use his fists, and his sister tries to deal with opponents silently. The twins have to liberate London from the Opressor Templars and for this they turn to everyone from Charles Dickens to underground crime for help.
The gameplay migrated to Syndicate from Unity, though in a much more polished form, adding shengbiao and carriages to it, allowing you to move around the map much faster. This time the developers decided not to include multiplayer in the game.
And although the series was somewhat rehabilitated in the eyes of players and critics, the Unity nightmare continued in the form of low sales.
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In 2016, the long-awaited film adaptation of the series called “Assassin’s Creed” starring Michael Fassbender and Marion Cotillard was released, which, however, received moderate reviews from critics, to put it mildly, and was immediately forgotten.
In the same year, the second and third parts of the 2.5D Assassin’s Creed Chronicles trilogy were released, in which the assassins operate in Italy and Russia, respectively, but the eyes of the fans were fixed on the upcoming and promising Assassin’s Creed Origins.
In the new part, Ubisoft promised to reinvent the series and for this they chose the setting of ancient Egypt, in which we will be told about how it all began. The developers have promised an open world inspired by the latest The Witcher and the Elder Scrolls series, with a heavy emphasis on free exploration. All other aspects, such as the combat system and Eagle Vision, have also been reworked, but it will only be known at the end of October how much the declared will correspond to the reality.
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