Managing Hype: Assassin's Creed 2

With the holiday release season thinning, Assassin's Creed 2 is quickly becoming my most anticipated release of 2009. The first game was a real accomplishment in terms of presentation but failed to deliver because of several key game design flaws. The sequel looks just as impressive as the original but lets face it, there is long list of ways that this game could go wrong. Ubisoft has said that they have corrected many of the original games problems but that opens the door for a number of new problems as well.

For the second part of this series, I dissect one of this years few remaining juggernauts to see exactly what Ubisoft could do to fall victim to hype.

Nick says:

1.) Mission Variety – You can’t discuss the original Assassin’s Creed without mentioning its undeniable lack of mission variety. It was so bad in the first game that repeating this mistake in the sequel would probably be a death sentence for the franchise. The game stuck very close to a “rinse and repeat” style of game play, making it increasingly difficult to remain dedicated completing the game. Luckily, Ubisoft has already assured fans that missions will be unique and allow players to approach the missions in different ways. Instead of switching between three medial tasks (eavesdropping, pick-pocketing, and interrogating), players will now switch between 15 different tasks. Once again, this all sounds good on paper but the game could still fall apart if it relies too heavily on a set formula and simply gives you more options. For this game to truly be superior to its predecessor, missions must change significantly depending on the situation and progression of the story. Missions shouldn’t be triggered by returning to your home and speaking to someone. Significant story events should be woven into the missions and determine the approach you take to missions that follow.

2.) Presentation-  The original game looked absolutely breathtaking with its accurate recreations of the time period and culture. Unfortunately that same polish wasn’t applied to the story presentation. Dialogue and major story events unfolded in boring, lifeless interactions seen from a fixed camera position. Ubisoft should take a page out of Bioware’s book and apply some of the presentation prowess of a game like Mass Effect to help bring the story to life. Assassin’s Creed has a very unique story concept that should be supported by an equally impressive presentation. Hopefully the team has focused on keeping the player invested in the story with better use of camera and cutscene implementation. You know that awesome cinematic trailer that debuted at E3? There is no reason why cool cinematics like that shouldn’t be in the actual game. Alas, i’m sure we will have to be satisfied with whatever “in-game engine” tactic that they use.

3.)  Human Interaction- One of the new technologies that made the original Assassin’s Creed so impressive was the characters ability to realistically interact with people as he moved through a crowd.  As he walked, he would bump shoulders and push people out of the way.  Unfortunately, the player’s interaction with the world around him ended there.  In order to make the world feel more alive, players should be given the ability to be a part of it.  Players should be able to start a dialogue with NPC’s to learn more about the world and perhaps your assassination target.  Like an RPG, every person should have something to say the player.  This should obviously lead to side quests that involve using your Assassin abilities in new ways.  The new trailer even hinted that you might be able to bribe various NPC’s to provide a distraction, unlock a door, or perhaps even provide an escape route.  All of these things need to be in the game to really make the player feel like a part of the world.

4.) Side Quests-  One of the biggest questions that many people asked themselves while playing the first Assassin’s Creed was:  “Why the hell would I want to collect all of these damn flags if it doesn’t give me anything?!”  I don’t mind collecting flags or emblems if it gives me some kind of bonus.  Collecting flags this time around should provide the player with either extra content like art, videos, developer diaries, or costumes or it should somehow tie into upgrading your characters stats or combat abilities.  To make a long story short, there had better be incentive to do these missions (already confirmed by Ubisoft).   In addition to providing an incentive, there should be an abundance of new mission types like taking bounty missions or helping factions take out smaller targets that don’t necessarily tie into the main story.  These of course, should reward players with money or upgrades.  

5.)  Character Development-  Altair was a cool character to play as but the guy had the personality of a doorknob.  This new character, Ezio, is apparently motivated by revenge, suggesting that he might actually be human.  Hopefully he will talk and give some insight into what drives him.  Make him a living, breathing part of the story and not just a silent bag of potatoes with a cool weapon.  

6.)  Character Customization- Above all, Assassin’s Creed is a video game, so the developer should treat it as such.  Provide the player some choices in how he/she developers the character.  By the end of the game, my Ezio should be different from yours.  The inclusion of Leonardo DaVinci as a major character leaves plenty of room for a variety of gadgets and weapons that could allow players to tailor their gaming experience the way they want to.  If every player’s character advances the same way, every time, where is the replay-ability?  If these RPG elements aren’t present in this sequel, my faith in the IP will be shaken.

7.)  Improved Combat-  There isn’t a whole lot to say here because I was actually rather satisfied with the combat in the original game.  The game used a unique control scheme that mapped Altair’s limbs to each of the face buttons and relied on well-timed button presses to trigger quick kills.  My complaints however were with the way that enemies would only engage the player one at a time.  I’m not saying that the player should be overwhelmed with multiple enemies at once but there is a balance to be struck by forcing the player to think about evading one enemy while attacking another.  New attacks such as the double stealth kill and the ability to kill while hanging from ledges or hiding in hay open up combat even more.  If they combine these things with customizable weapons and new stealth kills, the game could so much more engaging.  

It seems that Ubisoft is one of the few developers who hasn’t cowered in fear from the release of Modern Warfare II this holiday.  Hopefully this means that the team has tremendous faith in their product.  Hopefully, it is clear that there is a tremendous amount of room for improvement over the original game.  If the team doesn’t make many of these improvements, I can see myself not being nearly as excited for the next game in the series.  Introducing new IP often yields imperfect products but sequels are where these games have a chance to really shine.   Hopefully, the dev team has taken many of these constructive criticisms to heart but I won’t believe it until I see it. 

Thanks,

Nick