When is “too much” actually “not enough”? ~

Lloyd Sabin, 4 June 2018

I love me some AssCreed. I’ve been playing the series since the first game appeared on PC 10+ years ago. Through the years my love has waxed and waned – I loved the series installments set in Crusader-era Jerusalem, very much enjoyed the installments set in Renaissance Italy, never played AssCreed: Unity, and absolutely loved AssCreed: Black Flag and its arcade portrayal of 18th century naval warfare set in the New World (mostly the Hudson River Valley and the middle Atlantic). And I loved AssCreed: Syndicate, set in 19th century, industrial revolution era London. I’ve even bought a few of the platform spin-off games, AssCreed: Russia and AssCreed: China…but still haven’t fired them up yet. I will soon. Most of all I have always enjoyed conjugating the title to AssCreed…it is the gift that keeps on giving and always makes me giggle.

Most of all I have always enjoyed conjugating the title to AssCreed…it is the gift that keeps on giving and always makes me giggle.

It took me some time to pick up AssCreed: Origins, mostly because of the ancient Egyptian setting. That is, until I learned that it was set in roughly 50 BC, during the waning days of the Ptolemaic Dynasty in Hellenistic Egypt, with the Romans slowly encroaching, and not in the distant Old Kingdom era.

And so with my new found interest in Greek, Roman and ancient history, I lurked on Steam until Origins went on sale and got it at half price a few months ago, and just started playing literally yesterday in between bouts of Field of Glory 2 and a new campaign of Rome 2: Total War. I have about an hour and half invested so far.

The game, as all AssCreeds are, is exceedingly, heart-breakingly beautiful…the Egyptian desert and oases are amazingly rendered. Combat styles are well done, with melee and archery nicely modeled and, most-importantly, fun. There is crafting as well, and my current quest is to skin 5 suitable animals (hyenas) for skins to produce upgraded armor for myself to be better prepared to take on some formidable enemies. The story is simple but engaging , and the tomb-raiding element is very fun…it reminds me of a 21st century version of the catacomb spelunking in Pitfall 2 from all those years ago…one of my favorite games.

AssCreed games are always based on spectacle and amazement, try to wow the player at every turn, to the point where some installments got a bit bloated. Origins feels more streamlined, and players’ comments online reflect this…AssCreed has cut out some of the bloat in Origins and most gamers seem pretty satisfied with it from what I have read.

I have finished some AssCreed games in the past, but never finished later installments like Black Flag or Syndicate as they were just sprawling masses…that’s not to say I won’t in the future.

I really love the way Origins feels – even traveling on camel or horse is fun, just for the visual splendor and enjoyment of riding through the desert – so I may finish Origins more quickly than I originally thought I would.

If you don’t enjoy ‘parkour’ games or the general AssCreed game design in general, I doubt you’ll like Origins. But if you have an interest in ancient history, Origins will be hard to resist. Enjoy the images below and look for some more in the future…I expect to be playing Origins for a while!

Intro screen. It immediately sucks the player in. I can’t help but think I will probably get some of the DLC in the future.

The attention to detail, even in the cut scenes, is staggering and beautiful. It’s hard not to enjoy a game like this, especially if you’ve been a long time gamer…graphics tech has come an amazingly long way.

The scene being set in these cut scenes show off a lot of what will become important to the player as you progress.

It’s very difficult not to be drawn in and even though I am no Egyptologist, it feels authentic. Much like the other games in the series.

The first fight the player encounters is designed to be a tutorial and teach basic movement and fighting techniques. It also looks amazing.

Inventory…almost RPG like. No doubt I will be tricked-out in some phat l00t in no time.

Intro to tomb raiding, which I found very fun. There is some hand holding in on screen prompts, but not as much as I have seen in past games or other series. It’s noticeable that the developers are consciously trying to tone it down a bit.

Even this first tomb was pretty large.

Looks a little too cheerful as far as camels go, but riding one across Origins virtual Egyptian desert is a trip!

Intro to riding camels. The landscapes are incredible and draw the player in right away.

First in game area, Siwa, is introduced.

Map of your immediate surroundings in Siwa. There is no shortage of things to do.

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