Land of the Pharaohs

The start of the Assassins

2013 saw the release of Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag, and it brought a lot of freshness to the franchise. See, up until that point, Assassin’s Creed had started treading familiar territory a little too much. The original game was something of a breath of fresh air when it first arrived, despite complaints about repetitive game play.

The second game – arguably the best in the franchise – took the series to fantastic new heights, spawning two great expansions as well. But by the time the third title came out, things were feeling a little stale. It didn’t help that, until the release of Assassin’s Creed: Unity (with its many, many bugs and issues) Assassin’s Creed 3, despite a strong story and a whole new setting, was considered by a great many to be the series’ lowest point. It lacked the depth of the second game, and the uniqueness of the first.

So when Black Flag hit shelves and afforded players to take on the pirate life, it made something of a splash. The hero wasn’t the noble Assassin that we had seen three times before, and the focus of the game was somewhat different. It was something of a triumph for a franchise that was becoming long in the tooth far too quickly.

This was perhaps also due to the fact that Assassin’s Creed had become a regular feature in the video game calendar. Other than a gap between the first two games, released in 2007 and 2009 respectively, the series has seen a major release in every year. 2010 brought Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood, 2011 Assassin’s Creed: Revelations, 2012 Assassin’s Creed III and 2013 Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag. In fact, the trend continued after Black Flag, too; 2014 brought Assassin’s Creed: Rogue and the lamentable Assassin’s Creed: Unity, and 2015 Assassin’s Creed: Syndicate. And then, in a surprising move, Ubisoft announced that there would be no game in the franchise in 2016, opting rather to release a remastered version of Assassin’s Creed II.

That two year gap may be important, if trends are to be believed (and considering there was a two year gap before the release of the excellent Assassin’s Creed II). Because this year – two years after the release of Syndicate – Ubisoft have announced Assassin’s Creed: Origins.

Just before E3 2017, rumours started spreading about the game, and that it would be set in Ancient Egypt (a setting many fans have believed would be explored by the franchise sooner or later). And those rumours proved founded in truth - Assassin’s Creed: Origins will take place in Ptolemaic Egypt (a period that lasted from 323BC until 30BC). And it will also explore the origins of the shadowy Assassins, which there has been quite a bit of speculation about.

In Assassin’s Creed: Origins players will take on the role of Bayek, who is a Medjay (basically an Ancient Egyptian paramilitary force who had sweeping policing and protection duties). The players will use Bayek to protect his people from threats, although whether the Templars will be the main bad guys this time around (the order was established in 1129AD) remains to be seen. What we do know, however, is that taking out bad guys in Assassin’s Creed: Origins will be a little different.

Missions will build towards something that has been missing from the franchise – boss fights. And each boss fight will be different, forcing players to consider loadouts and tactics with each and every one, rather than just taking to the mission with their favourite kit. Additionally, mission completion will be freer than before… this time around, targets won’t just stroll around areas where players will expect to find them. Rather, they will have lives, meaning that they will travel between different locations at different times of day.

This means that the player will need to strategies and choose the best time to strike, adding a new level of freedom to mission completion. That, all on its own, is reason to get excited; this freedom will enable players to take advantage of differing conditions, and make each hit their own, rather than being shoe-horned into tighter situations.

Players will also be able to undertake missions at their own pace, which is a good thing when one considers that Assassin’s Creed: Origins offers an entire country to explore. There will be varied environments, ranging from lush, overgrown oases right through to desert landscapes. In addition, players will be able to discover and explore tombs and more, meaning that there is going to be a lot to do in Assassin’s Creed: Origins… just like there was in Black Flag.

And at the core of the action – in addition to great graphics and a number of expected new mechanics – will be an overhauled reactive combat system, as well as a host of new weapons that all have their own characteristics.

It is all rather exciting, particularly for fans of the franchise who have seen chinks appearing in its armour. But possibly one of the most exciting factors is one that is happening behind the scenes… and is the reason why Black Flag has been mentioned so often here. The team behind Assassin’s Creed: Origins is the same team that created Black Flag, an undeniable high point in the franchise’s history. That team brings with it not only the know-how that went into creating Black Flag, complete with its enormous playing area, but also the time that they have put in; Assassin’s Creed: Origins’ development started in 2014, not long after Black Flag was released.

Many Assassin’s Creed fans are suffering from “once bitten, twice shy”. The franchise’s misstep with Unity left a sour taste in many mouths, which many feel Syndicate did not do enough to change. But initial reports for Assassin’s Creed: Origins seem hopeful that the franchise will be aking a long overdue return to the heights achieved by Assassin’s Creed II and Black Flag… all we can do is hope that our upcoming adventures in Ancient Egypt will be what the franchise needs to return to its former glories.