Hard to believe the last time I fully emerged myself into a video game was back in 2012 (see Assassin's Creed). Sure I play FIFA on a regular basis, but that is a competitive sports game rather than an adventure/story based game. So I made the decision, rather on an impulse, while shopping with Gabriel on Black Friday to purchase two Assassin's Creed games, Origins and Odyssey. I loved playing the original game back in 2012 and figured these new ones would be quite similar style. What I love most about this series is the free-roaming-map game play yet more so because of it's historical context.
The Story
The game Origins is set during the period of Ancient Egypt, more so during the Ptolemaic Era of Greek Influence, approx 50-40 BC. The story revolves around the main hero Bayek, a medjay who is out for vengeance for his son's murder. His quest takes him across the map of Egypt solving mysteries and assassinating those that have wronged him. He also works with his girlfriend and mother of his child, Aya who is also an assassin. Aya is also the protector of Queen Cleopatra who is in the midst of securing her role as pharaoh of Egypt.
Bayek's quest takes him thru the ancient cities of Memphis, Giza, Alexandria, and Cyrene to name a few with incredible monumental detail. Each of his main targets lead him to another target. Later in the game he takes on Roman soldiers as Julius Caesar begins to infiltrate the region and begin a relationship with Cleopatra. Bayek is finally able to unravel the conspiracy behind his son's death which involves a Roman lieutenant Flavius who seeks to control all of Egypt. After Bayek assassinates Flavius, Aya infiltrates Rome and assassinates Caesar disguised as a senate member. Aya and Bayek then split apart to begin establishing an Assassin Brotherhood throughout Egypt and Rome.
The Gameplay
I got off to a great start on the game enjoying the exotic setting of Ancient Egypt. It instantly sent me into a new found appreciation for Egyptian history, mythology, and culture. I enjoyed traveling thru the ancient cities and being able to explore and interact with locals. I enjoyed being able to travel on foot, climb, swim, ride on horseback, or navigate via boats. I especially enjoyed climbing and exploring the monuments such as the Great Pyramids of Giza, the Great Sphinx, and the Lighthouse of Alexandria. Exploring tombs with a torch felt like something right out of the Indiana Jones series.
The fighting was also quite intense and I enjoyed the arsenal of weaponry Bayek possessed. I quickly discovered that it was important to collect weapons, upgrade them, and use the ones with best damage rate. Bayek possessed a collection of swords, clubs, spears, and sickles, as well as a variety of shields and arrows. The best weaponry I found was the golden version ones bought at the bazaars in town. It was also important to hunt for animals and collect hides to improve Bayek's clothing and armor.
I also discovered that the key to achieving most missions was thru stealth. It seemed the majority of quests, outside those that involved assassinations, was sneaking into a fortification and stealing something or freeing a prisoner. I also hit quite a wall in the game when I was getting killed very easily by the enemies. I later discovered it was because my level was too low and in order to easily fight off enemies I needed to be at the same or at a higher level then them. So it was important not to rush thru the game yet to do as many side quests as possible to build Bayek's level. Once I figured this out I continued to enjoy the game.
The game had many unique quests such as horse-racing, exploring tombs, fighting in gladiator arenas, hunting animals such as birds and lions, sea battles, and many more. The map is massive and while I am proud to say that I beat the game, I probably only unlocked half of the game's map and quests. I still was very satisfied with the game and look forward to starting up on Odyssey next and other games in the series later on (such as AC II, AC: Brotherhood, AC III, AC IV: Black Flag, AC: Rogue, AC: Unity, AC: Syndicate)
The Story
The game Origins is set during the period of Ancient Egypt, more so during the Ptolemaic Era of Greek Influence, approx 50-40 BC. The story revolves around the main hero Bayek, a medjay who is out for vengeance for his son's murder. His quest takes him across the map of Egypt solving mysteries and assassinating those that have wronged him. He also works with his girlfriend and mother of his child, Aya who is also an assassin. Aya is also the protector of Queen Cleopatra who is in the midst of securing her role as pharaoh of Egypt.Bayek's quest takes him thru the ancient cities of Memphis, Giza, Alexandria, and Cyrene to name a few with incredible monumental detail. Each of his main targets lead him to another target. Later in the game he takes on Roman soldiers as Julius Caesar begins to infiltrate the region and begin a relationship with Cleopatra. Bayek is finally able to unravel the conspiracy behind his son's death which involves a Roman lieutenant Flavius who seeks to control all of Egypt. After Bayek assassinates Flavius, Aya infiltrates Rome and assassinates Caesar disguised as a senate member. Aya and Bayek then split apart to begin establishing an Assassin Brotherhood throughout Egypt and Rome.
The Gameplay
I got off to a great start on the game enjoying the exotic setting of Ancient Egypt. It instantly sent me into a new found appreciation for Egyptian history, mythology, and culture. I enjoyed traveling thru the ancient cities and being able to explore and interact with locals. I enjoyed being able to travel on foot, climb, swim, ride on horseback, or navigate via boats. I especially enjoyed climbing and exploring the monuments such as the Great Pyramids of Giza, the Great Sphinx, and the Lighthouse of Alexandria. Exploring tombs with a torch felt like something right out of the Indiana Jones series.
The fighting was also quite intense and I enjoyed the arsenal of weaponry Bayek possessed. I quickly discovered that it was important to collect weapons, upgrade them, and use the ones with best damage rate. Bayek possessed a collection of swords, clubs, spears, and sickles, as well as a variety of shields and arrows. The best weaponry I found was the golden version ones bought at the bazaars in town. It was also important to hunt for animals and collect hides to improve Bayek's clothing and armor.I also discovered that the key to achieving most missions was thru stealth. It seemed the majority of quests, outside those that involved assassinations, was sneaking into a fortification and stealing something or freeing a prisoner. I also hit quite a wall in the game when I was getting killed very easily by the enemies. I later discovered it was because my level was too low and in order to easily fight off enemies I needed to be at the same or at a higher level then them. So it was important not to rush thru the game yet to do as many side quests as possible to build Bayek's level. Once I figured this out I continued to enjoy the game.
The game had many unique quests such as horse-racing, exploring tombs, fighting in gladiator arenas, hunting animals such as birds and lions, sea battles, and many more. The map is massive and while I am proud to say that I beat the game, I probably only unlocked half of the game's map and quests. I still was very satisfied with the game and look forward to starting up on Odyssey next and other games in the series later on (such as AC II, AC: Brotherhood, AC III, AC IV: Black Flag, AC: Rogue, AC: Unity, AC: Syndicate)
No comments:
Post a Comment