Assassin’s Creed Should Take Another Year Off

Assassin's Creed
Assassin's Creed

Let me begin by saying how much I love the Assassin’s Creed series: a lot.

It’s the one modern gaming series that I’ve consistently and gladly parted way with my hard-earned cash for. I don’t play many new games because of mortgage/car/bills etc., but I’ve always found money and time for AC.

I borrowed the first game from a friend not long after getting my 360 and was captivated immediately. When the second instalment was released two years later I picked it up straight away and I was overcome with an odd feeling I’d never experienced with a game before. It was an urge, no, a need to collect everything in the game, to hit all the achievements I’d previously scoffed at people for clamouring for in other games. AC had turned me into a hoarder. I loved roaming these digital recreations of historical periods in time and exploring every climbable structure before swan diving off and repeating.

I should have seen the warning signs when quasi-sequel ‘Brotherhood’ was released only a year later. My initial fears were put to rest upon playing the game and repeating my hoarding ways. The same happened again with the follow up ‘Revelations’ and then again with AC III, then Black Flag and so on. Even as the review scores were becoming more mixed and even negative, I pressed on. But as the critics and players were becoming more and more vocal of how the standard of the series was slipping, it became harder for me to deny/ignore that their words rang true despite the phenomenal trailers preceding each release.

Shortly after the latest release of the series, AC Syndicate, developer Ubisoft announced there would be no new Assassin’s Creed game in 2016. It seemed like the entire gaming community breathed a collective sigh of relief.

Since the release of Brotherhood, the AC series had released at least one new game in the series each year until now (in 2013 they released two!). It wasn’t difficult for anyone to see the direct correlation between the yearly release schedule and the audience’s waning interest in the games. Unfortunately quality was being sacrificed for quantity and as the teams behind the games struggled to meet deadlines, more and more bugs slipped through the cracks. 2014’s Unity was infamously released with so many bugs and glitches it required a huge patch to come anywhere close to fixing them.

As per Ubisoft’s statement from February:

“This year, we also are stepping back and re-examining the Assassin’s Creed franchise. As a result, we’ve decided that there will not be a new Assassin’s Creed game in 2016”

They have not confirmed when we will see the next AC title being released. The general consensus is that it will be around November 2017, but despite my unwavering love for the series, I’m hoping that it is even longer.

The yearly release schedule has undeniably tarnished the game’s reputation and now it seems there is little love left for the gaming community to give. However, as the well-known saying goes: absence makes the heart grow fonder. As we find ourselves a year removed from the last release in the series with at least another year to go, I honestly believe the series would benefit from taking another year off.

One of the main gripes about the series was that we were being offered essentially the same game year after year. The mechanics barely changed with each release. Little tweaks here and there, a new story with new characters in a new setting and that’s about it. It’s not that the games have been specifically bad (Unity’s launch bugs aside), it’s just that they’ve grown stale. That kind of quick repackaging is forgiven in yearly updates from sports-sims (even though paying full price for updated teams is ridiculous) because what else can you do with a game replicating a real-life sport?

Call of Duty has been a yearly offender for even longer than AC, yet its sales consistently place it at the top of the charts upon release right through the festive period. The difference here is that no one really plays CoD for its single-player campaign. It’s the online multiplayer that has been the series’ crowning glory year after year; a feature AC introduced to little popularity and promptly removed a few instalments later. The mainstream audience are here for online shooting and are more than happy to pay full price for essentially updated map packs and weaponry. With AC surviving solely on its single player narrative experience it needs to offer more than a slightly re-worked fighting system and new setting.

Let’s look at the other end of the spectrum: Grand Theft Auto. The time between each release is ever expanding yet the popularity of the series could not be higher. GTA V almost redefined video gaming and Rockstar’s model of free updates for its online mode is a shining beacon of hope amidst a myriad of micro-transactions. How can they get away with this? It’s all about trust.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rVeVL5X9Feg

Rockstar have built up such a loyal following for the GTA series as they have consistently delivered with each release, taking their time to ensure the quality of their product couldn’t be higher, they have no fear of their audience losing interest. The period between releases allows players to take their time and get the most out of the game without fear of rushing to complete it before the next title is upon them. Rockstar could easily turn around and decide to churn out a new game year after year for a guaranteed quick and easy buck yet they don’t. It’s such a refreshing attitude for a company to take.

Although this year isn’t entirely Assassin-free (the franchise makes its big-screen debut this month and we recently received a questionable HD remake of AC2, Brotherhood and Revelations) I hope Ubisoft use this resting period to take a step back and reassess the franchise from the ground up. Their PR regarding the break suggests they are listening to the feedback of the fans and I truly hope these aren’t just media friendly, empty words.

Here’s to a newly reinvigorated Assassin’s Creed, but please Ubisoft, there’s no rush.

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