Red vs. Blue
Assassin’s Creedis growing. Last year’sOriginsproved that Ubisoft putting the series on a brief hiatus could mature it into something more complex. The upcomingAssassin’s Creed Odysseyseemingly follows this trend, as it’s the first game in the franchise to offer dialogue options. It’s more of a role-playing game than ever before.
ButAssassin’s Creedis growing in terms of sheer size too. TheOriginsmap was absolutely ginormous. Judging by a quick glance at theOdysseymap during our hands-on E3 demo, this game will be similarly massive. Now, the battles are getting even bigger.
ThroughoutAssassin’s Creed Odyssey, there will be several opportunities to lead ht150 soldiers into combat. It’s called Conquest Mode in our demo, but this is a special slice for preview purposes. They won’t happen in their own mode inOdyssey;rather they’re naturally occurring events on the islands of Ancient Greece. Cohabitation is tough.
It’s Athens versus Sparta, a rivalry nearly as old as time itself.Odysseydrops 300 combatants on the same battlefield and wages war until only one side is left standing. The idea is that protagonist Alexios/Kassandra (depending on whether you choose to play as a man or woman) targets opposing lieutenants. Singling out the leaders quickly thins out the other team’s numbers, as they suffer from having less leadership or something.
Fighting through enough of the middle-manager guys compels the captain to attack. He’s an ornery bastard — the sort of actually-challenging boss figure that I found so oppressively tough intheOriginsE3 demoa year ago. It went better this time. It probably helps that the control scheme isn’t too different fromOrigins‘, which I spent extensive time with.
There are improvements to combat though and they make a world of difference.Odysseyhas iterated on the overpower (ostensibly special super-powerful) attacks. Now, through the skill tree, several abilities can be unlocked and assigned to the four face buttons on a control. Some examples are: instantly regenerating a generous portion of health, a Spartan kick attack, a small shockwave burst, and instantly ripping an enemy’s shield out of his hands and whacking him across the head with it.
Most of the rest feels like it’s coming over directly from otherAssassin’s Creedgames, chieflyOrigins. There’s naval combat, fly-by eagle scouting, unique weapons and gear, diving and swimming, and horseback galloping. It felt familiar. That’s fine and expected if Ubisoft wants to get right back to annualizing this series.
Like the protagonist subjects of each and every game,Assassin’s Creedwill always share substantial DNA with its ancestors.Odysseyis an obvious sibling ofOrigins, but it does enough new things that are worth honing in on. Whether dialogue choices can legitimately impact the narrative is the biggest uncertainty surroundingOdyssey. The setting, protagonists, and premise already feel capable of carrying a game. But, seeing a genuinely big battle in anAssassin’s Creedtitle is a neat little bonus.
