Should You Play Assassin's Creed 1 in 2022?
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- čas přidán 16. 07. 2024
- So I just finished my first ever playthrough of the original Assassin’s Creed and in this video I’ll be breaking down my thoughts and experiences with the game. This video will be spoiler free aside from some basic story setup. If you’re considering playing or replaying this game yourself, at the end I’ll be giving my recommendation to buy or pass on AC1.
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0:00 Introduction
0:44 Simulating an Assassin
2:07 Assassin's Creed is a Game Where You Assassinate People
4:38 Parkour and Social Stealth
6:09 Combat
7:12 Nitpicking the Terrible UI
9:08 Is AC1 Still Worth Playing?
2007 was a big year for gaming. A boatload of pivotal titles were released that year including Halo 3, Mass Effect, The Witcher, and of course - Assassin’s Creed. Unfortunately, I missed the boat on a lot of these games back in ‘07. But after recently getting into the AC franchise with Valhalla and Odyssey, I decided it was high time I checked out the games which started it all.
So buckle up and get ready for a journey into Assassin’s Creed 1.
Ultimately, Assassin’s Creed was an experience unlike any other I’ve played recently. It was fascinating and somewhat magical exploring Altair’s memories and uncovering the storyline in this game. But the most important question of all is this - is AC1 actually fun to play?
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It's funny to think that how close AC1 was to become a Prince of Persia game but instead started one of the most well-known gaming franchises.
I love this game since day one back in '07 still play it to this day although I'm still playing AC Odyssey at the moment, can't wait for you to check out the Ezio trilogy. AC Brotherhood is a personal Fav, great video as always Big Dan!
This franchise is my favorite in all of gaming. Ever since AC1 released. I always bought and played all of them. Even the no longer available mobile, ds and psp games. I got the logo tattooed on ring finger. Love history, mythology, fun conspiracies, assassin's, video games, science and its all wrapped up in Assassin's Creed. I from time to time replay them. Currently going through the ezio games, 3 and liberations before their dlc is taken down
Imagine you've never played an AC game before. It was incredible. The environments were so immersive, and the horse riding was thrilling. Also the storytelling was just incredible. AC was a no-questions asked day-1 purchase until they dropped the ball narratively with Desmond. Now I just get the GOTY- All DLC Included version on sale for 20-30 bucks a year later IF I get it at all.
AC1 will always be special to me in that it was the game which brought me back into gaming after a several year hiatus from it. Set the stage for my favorite game franchise. But, yeah, it's rough as hell. Everything said in the video was spot on. Tried going back and playing it a couple times, but I had to stop. Maddening.
6:30 Counter kills only work the easy enemies (typically the ones that aren't wearing armor.) Any enemy with armor Altair will either punch and will only kill if the enemy is low enough. Also, highly recommend the Ezio trilogy, this is probably where the franchise hit its peak.
Ah that makes sense. I was wondering why he just punched them sometimes 😂
Just for clarification: Enemies who are better equipped with Armour and helmet are harder to defeat in AC 1. When Altair counterattacks such an enemy the first time he boxes him and when he counterattacks the same enemy again he finally kills him.
Also even if its tricky there are combos in AC1. When pressing the attack button enemies usually parry the attack. But when pressing the attack button again at the exact time the sword touch each other there will be a special kill animation.
The hidden blade cannot be directly used as a primary weapon but when countering an attack with the hidden blade Altair performs always an instant kill no matter the kind of enemy.
The gameplay system works the same in AC 2 with some small adjustments.
In AC Brotherhood and Revelations the gameplay is also the same but when you kill an enemy you can combo kill every other ememy until you get hit by one.
From AC 3 to AC Rogue the gameplay is then redesigned.
IF you haven't played them yet I would recommend the Darksiders series, first two are Action adventure style games similar to the Legend of Zelda with the Third being more action focused.
Third was trying to be darksouls but I'm pretty sure they patched in a classic style action because so many were frustrated by it
The first one was really good but I felt like the second one dragged on for way too long. not a bad game but would have benefited from being a bit smaller and shorter. The third one is still on my "to play" list
This was the first AC i played but unfortunately it didn't age well, i remember finding the beggers to be extremely annoying, and the game just got very repetitive since the missions basically flow the same way. It wasn't until AC2 did my love for the series start and end with the Ezio trilogy.
I completely agree. I always thought it was hilarious Altair had no idea how to swim. You call yourself an Assassin when you just drowned. Really? Give me Ezio all day every day over Altair 🎮👍🏊
@@sayedistrending Its a glitch i the animus lol. Not that altair cant swim
@@fekry4647 Altair swims like me. Ezio swims like Michael Phelps 🤣
I remember hearing watching the first trailer with the crossbow, and Ubisoft then saying they were removing it due to historical inaccuracy.
Oh how far they fell
Tip.
Since this is an older game and one of the first to do it this way it doesn't hand hold much in terms of assassinations. For instance I recommend collecting as much Intel on your targets as possible. You get info about ways to approach your target and even exit strategies. The game however doesn't remind you of these after you obtain them. You have to remember them.
Spoiler for the hospital assassination. If you circle the east side of the building you'll find a broken out window to exit and or enter the hospital from. You also can get Intel to use scholars to get you go your target while he's tending to patients. Lastly use the blend button when not around scholars. Masks you as one of them still and can move around without setting off the alarm unlike this guy did lol. This way you can actually assassinate your targets and then make a run for the exit quickly
Love the live audio during gameplay
At least the story is somewhat interesting. I love the concept of genetically inherited memories. I like the setting and the atmosphere as well When it comes to combat u only need the hiddenblade counterkills, just hilariously op, the parkour is really frustrating like "Not there! I've never pushed that button! WTF R U DOING ÁLTAIR?!" level of frustrating ...if you had enough you don't have to go through the 4step shutdown procedures just press alt+f4. U Kinda have to go around the problems of the game in a creative way otherwise it can get boring quickly.
I had that experience with ac pretty much up until the soft reboot in origin
Unity was the last one I played with. Gotta love Sade Marquis xdd. My personal fav is the black flag tho... that game had characters
Do the rest of the main AC games. It just makes me laugh listening to your deadpan observations of my exact memory of the game. I remember my dad almost breaking the game because he wanted to watch TV but I needed to quit and I told him to wait. Took like 8 minutes and he was going nuts hahaha.
It's been over ten years since I played Assassin's Creed, but I seem to remember the controls linked pretty intuitively with the 360 controller. But parkour wasn't 100% there yet. Altair seemed to bounce off a lot of walls or jump where I didn't want him to go all the time
JUST SUBBED BIG DAN I LOVE THE ENERGY
Oh the memories.. both in-game and my own! I loved this game when i came out but I feel the frustration regarding the unwanted jump of the walls, fights after assassinations, general combat... and that god damn courtyard in the beginning of the video where he hid with the monks. The game is suppose to endorse stealth but almost every encounter ends in brawling bloodshed.
5:22 that reaction was hilarious
The counter only kills if the enemy’s hidden health stat is low enough. Otherwise it’ll just be a counter attack that damages them little (the punch to the gut) later installments of the original trilogy refined these health mechanics, so you’d get a better idea of what could be a finisher or just a regular counter attack on each enemy.
Although I’m not sure if enemy health wasn’t introduced in much later titles. It’s been ages since I’ve played the original trilogy.
I actually started the franchise with Revelations and Black flag and I was thinking of doing it from the beginning. So, thanks for the review.
Tip. Combat us based off enemy armor. Less armor more likely the counter kill will work the first time. If Altair punches them then they need to be dealt damage first.
Another combat tip is hit an enemy about 3-5 times. You'll weaken them. Around the third hit you'll see another enemy take a shot at you. At the point is a good time to counter or just block and continue.
Now in 2022 it's hard to have fun with old games as i had same feeling you had with ac1, about playing mass effect 1 which i played when legendary edition released..but in their time they had their nobelties and enjoyable moment that looks boring now i finished ac 1 about 10 times in past years and still i love that ✌🏻😁
Excellent review! Hopefully you get time to check out the other games post Ezio trilogy
I too missed out on these games back then, I do wish the first Witcher game would be re-released or remastered for modern consoles
I've just started playing this! I don't know why I've never been able to finish an AC game... but I'm determined to start from the beginning now and finish them all :D
So I was the opposite of you. I played Assassin's Creed and skipped Mass Effect till much later. I *loved* AC1 at the time. The story was engaging, the parkour was mostly fun, and climbing the towers was thrilling as this, I believe, was the first time Ubisoft used that mechanic (totally played out now). I get what you're saying about completing the assassination during chaos not being great, but when you *did* get one pure stealth, *whew*, so satisfying.
That being said, as a retrospective, I agree with many other AC series fans: skip AC1. It's not a great playing game. It was a terrific 'proof of concept' and set up a decent story world. However, the Ezio trilogy does a great job fleshing out the world so I think a newcomer wouldn't feel lost. The gameplay is *much* improved and there are actual side missions. Brotherhood, I thought was going to be a quick cash-in, but NO! It is a full-on upgrade to AC2 and, IMO, the best of the Desmond games. Revelations satisfactorily wraps up Ezio's story and is a fitting final chapter to a great character. AC3, I think, suffers from not having as interesting a setting; Revolutionary America pales in comparison to Renaissance Europe.
Capping your framerate to 60FPS would have fixed a lot of the issues with the parkour. The higher the framerate the shorter Altair will be able to leap and in some instances even cause you to die when doing a leap of faith.
The reason why some enemies doesn't die with one counter is because the are more skilled and armored(some of Al Mualim's dialogue hints to it). Countering them with the hidden blade will always one shot anyone but the counter window is much more narrow.
If anyone wants to replay it I highly recommend turning the HUD off. If I remembered correctly the game was at first designed to be played without it since almost all missions are located in small sections of a city with each assassination and most of them have landmarks to help you find your way. Audio is also very consistent where you can use it to know when guards are at high alert and will detect you if you do not blend and it also helps identifying informants/interrogations.
Disabling the HUD also removes the annoying beeping sound when you are in a "out of line of sight" or alerted/suspicious guards are nearby.
This review showed me why there is an obsession with the Ezio trilogy if it is way smoother than the flagship game
This was one of the first games I played on my PS3 that Christmas. It's still my favourite of the franchise. Man, 07 was an incredible time for video games. Call Of Duty 4 dropped that year too.
The counter kill is based on the health of the enemies. If they have plenty of health Altair punches them until their health drops to a certain amount. In AC2 is more clear since they have a healthbar.
Patience Big Dan, that is the key to the perfect assassination. Observe your surroundings and always eliminate any rooftop guards and then you wait for the perfect moment. Going in for the kill 2 seconds after the cutscenes will always end in disaster.
I played it when it came out and have fond memories of it but I tryed to play it again in 2015 or so and it really didnt held up well.
It's an important game but should really only be played nowadays as a curiosity
2007 was a great year. This game - and many of its contemporaries on the 360 - blew my mind.
I loved this game when it first came out. It definitely shows it’s age, but the core of the series is here. Going back is rough tough. If you’ve only played Odyssey and Valhalla you are missing out on some great games. Valhalla was good, but far different than most of the others. Brotherhood, Black Flag, Unity, Syndicate and Origins are the best before they shifted to a more hard RPG.
It’s a bit ironic because back in 2007, I missed the mass effect bandwagon and jumped onto AC1 instead. Now I just got into the mass effect universe and discovered your CZcams channel recently lol.
Can't wait for a review on the Ezio trilogy 🙏🙏
AC 1 is so beautiful. Yeah sure it has its problems but it's was 2007 and still it's a fun game. Also the assassination missions I actually got on my first playthrough so it sounds like more of a you problem.
I have such fond memories of AC1, even if they don't hold up to scrutiny or replay years later - this game demands an HD remake.
I have Assassin's Creed 1 on disc xbox360 version on my Xbox Series X also have the digital version on both disc and digital they sometimes freeze and crash but apart from that yeah brilliant might play through the 1st one and 100% it 😀
I agree with everything you said in this video. Another CZcamsr I follow is currently playing Odyssey (his first AC game) and he says he wants to play other AC games on his channel. We all said don't play AC1.
The first AC game was unique. I suspect it was intended just to try out several systems. The change between the original and AC2 was huge, showing (at least back then) that Ubisoft could learn from it's mistakes. I got turned onto the series, on 360, about 6 month's after it's release when I dug it out of a bargain bin, for twelve dollars. The salesman tried to talk me out of buying it, saying it was slow (untrue) and the controls were a disaster (correct). When I played it I was instantly hooked and have bought and played every one since at release. Despite many control issue's ( that continued through Syndicate) I thoroughly enjoyed each game. I would recommend playing the original even though it hasn't aged well if you intend to play the rest of the series franchise as it will give context to much of the later content. I look forward to seeing your thoughts on the rest of the series (hopefully). Good vid
Pro tipp : you can look at the information you got at the pause menu and make a plan and an escape plan but it needs time thinking. That's how you play steahlty
Parkour isn't janky at all, infact it's better than the recent AC games. Parkour in this game requires a very strict button discipline. 5:19 Here you actually executed back eject by pressing the wrong button at the wrong time.
Imo I don't think the combat system is janky at all. The reason why he hits them on a counter is because theirs different tiers of enemies. Some you can't kill immediately. Gotta work them down. You can counter with all 3 blades. They just have different counter window timings. Sword has the longest. Knife is medium length. Hidden blade is the smallest window. There's multiple ways to open your open up so they drop their defenses. Also if you attack there's 2 enemy block types.
1. The blades glide along one another which means they basically negated your attack no problem.
2. The short and sweet "cling" sound means you can do an immediate follow up attack. Basic enemy takes 3 consistent hits. Tier 2 enemy takes 4. Tier 3 takes 5.
Fighting the highest level enemies like templars take a lot to take down. Unless you use the hidden blade to counter their attack. It's a one hitter quitter.
I can't really disagree with anything pointed out here, except to say that none of that was a deal-breaker for me. I do have two things to add:
You don't have to wait for Desmond getting out of the Animus, you can get into the next menu immediately after pressing the "Exit Animus" button.
And I encourage anyone who hasn't played this game and doesn't intend to, to look up the soundtrack.
This game on xbox was amazing back in the day but crap to replay ac2 however fixed all the problems from the frist one but made you have to learn all the controls again
Tip. While this AC game has no saves you can reload if you mess up. Best way around this is if you botch an assassination then just die. The game will load right at the point at the beginning of the assassination. No cutscene or anything. It's the best option
I was really hyped for this game, but it just didn't live up to the hype or the promises Ubisoft made (what a surprise...). It was still fun, just incredibly repetitive. There was enough there that made me want more games in the future though, and I have played and beat every mainline Assassin's Creed game except for Rogue and Valhalla. I still remember seeing ACII at E3 in 2009. It was the game that Ubisoft had promised in 2007: Engaging storyline, a cool main character, a much more unique "open" world setting, and even the modern day stuff was getting better, too. There was something charming about that first game though, and while I haven't hated the new games (I actually loved Origins), I'm replaying IV right now and really miss the old Assassin's Creed style. They are never going back to it, but I hope someone out there someday gives us a spiritual successor. Maybe Patrice Desilets (the creator of the series) could do it himself.
i just started replaying today. and i gotta say for a game that came out in 2007. the graphics have held up pretty good.
my brother walked by and asked if it was a remaster.
A way you can replay assassinations if you get discovered is letting the guards kill you. It respawns you at the assassination and lets you try again
Ezio trilogy really impoved on all aspects of this game, and is well worth playing. Hope you'll try them.
some details/corrections:
1. you can use your hidden blade during combat (with defensive counter attacks, r1+square on ps3)
2. Sometimes Altair does the "punch" thing because the enemies are on a higher level therefore harder to kill (the hidden blade ignores that though)
3. I played this game on ps3, the ui was perfectly designed for ps3 and I had no problems at all
4. AC1 is the start of the lore, if you pay attention to the environment, all your targets and what they say it gets much deeper...
5. It's the only AC game that has a dark, intriguing, mysterious and unsettling atmosphere which can be repelling for some people
Well, let's wait for the remake)
Yes. ACI sometimes - is still a bit Crude. ACII is the better & smother AC game. Allthough ACI is still Special for the unic Story Concept, the Ingame Story has a Dark & Captivating plot and Atmosphere of the 3 Medieval Towns, Riding between then . Because the Story of Desmond Miles expand over the following game. I would revommend : everyone schuold play the AC1 , AC2 -Triologie and AC3 at least ones.
I literally just bought this game for a few bucks at a pawn shop recently, I'm going to check it out for the first time as well very soon
6:36 that depends on a durability of the guy - how many normal hits would he take, before falling down :D Overall I am quite fond of this game and accepting it as "the door" to the other AC games which of course are much more fun.
Could you do an Ezio triology honest review, stripped of mythologies of its greatness?
I played through it but it was incredibly boring to do the investigations and the parkour not working half the time combined with no way to prevent getting caught unless you blend through the entire game
Yeah, I can't say this one was my favorite either but I always thought the Ezio trilogy was fun though.
brotherhood has the smoothest combat, best story, and the best parkour
I need to finish this game myself, haha...
Been a LOONG while since I've even seen or touched AC 1. All I remembered was the combat.. Oh Lord the combat...
It's pretty rough...
The original game blew me away....I fell in love with series after I played it. Loved every game up to Unity. The others are OK...the last 3 are totally different. Egypt game is really awesome though. Rome and Viking one are OK..
You should play the rest of the games and make videos on them
I never finished this game just quit thought it sucked......Was to busy playing WoW, Great review exactly how i remembered it HAHA!!!!!!
I didn't finish it either but I really enjoyed just running around looking at the city. I didn't have an HD TV at the time so I hooked up my Xbox to a monitor through a vga cable and it looked substantially better than anything my pc at the time could run. Just wish it had been attached to a better game.
Make more videos on dragon age origins
Personally I skipped AC1 and only looked up spoilers of it, and I played every game except the 3 most recent ones, (Valhalla, origins and odyssey) and I'm currently playing Rogue (this one is a bit iffy for me because we are playing as a Templar rather than an Assassin)
I can’t wait for you to play AC2, its probably my favorite in the franchise
I literally just finished AC2 and I’m starting brotherhood now. Probably the sixth time I’ve played this franchise. One through four that is
I feel ac 1 needs a remaster with quality of life changes from something like the Ezio collection
Bring back the Altair voice actor from revelations or bloodlines
Make the climbing faster
The combat I think could stay but if you had to improve it make it similar to brotherhoods (honestly AC1’s combat is pretty fun and more intuitive than the combat of the Ezio collection if you know what you’re doing)
A proper weapon wheel with more than just the hidden blade, sword, dagger/throwing knives, and fists
Add in a bow or crossbow like we see in the trailer
Blocking with the hidden blade
Ledge, air, and cover assassinations
SWIMMING!!!
Better unarmed combat
Upgrades perhaps and new game plus unlockables and legacy outfits and other such things
Fix up the mission structure a little better and I feel it could be a fun ass game
It was awesome when it first came out 😎
AC demonstrated an interesting lore and gameplay that had a lot of potential. I'll say this straight up. That potential that was realized in its sequels. Gameplaywise, AC2 is a huge upgrade over AC1. Brotherhood was a gameplay upgrade too. Highly recommend moving on to the ezio trilogy.
AC2 3 and 4 is by FAR the Best of the series. IMO Ezio Trilogy is one of the in all of Gaming.
This is a title that deserves a remake.
That game is meant to be played without UI, which can be switched off in menu.
The ezzo series is a modern work of gaming art and story telling I feel it’s lost something in later series
Little do people know the game was originally marketed as just a period piece. They mentioned nothing of the present day storyline or the fact that you’re in a machine.
I remember getting it and mean confused with all the digital glitching that would happen but then I wake up and I’m in a hoodie😬🤯
Assassin’s Creed before odyssey and Mass Effect are my two favorite franchise of all time!
Ive hated the present day stuff from the start. The thing is, the biggest show on TV at the time was Lost so big "puzzle box" style stories were the thing. I'm glad it's become less of the focus over the years.
@@ataridc oh no another person that doesn’t like the part of the game where you can’t kill people😭 That part of the game is what makes this franchise great. It makes the story so much bigger because it strings five games together.
Anyways not the point. I was commenting about marketing tactics working in a positive way enhancing my experience
@@logicrules5793 im happy for you sugar
You can counter kill anyone with hidden blade, without the "counter punch" with a sword or knife. But you can't parry, but hidden blade is still op
The only thing I don't like is that it can be repititive like eavesdropping,pickpocketing etc but aside from that I liked it😍😍.
The craziest thing is you can't run without being detected
Yeah, I played AC1 back in 2007 and found the controls very off putting. Almost didn’t check out AC2 because of it, but AC2 was definitely an improvement gameplay wise.
İ wish Ubisoft makes remake to AC 1
AC1 can be argued for being one of the worst gameplay wise, but it's one of the most memorable games I ever played.
AC 1 is an absolute gem of a game
This game really needs a remake or remaster. Even if they just made it a bit less janky then it would be fine.
AC1 is great. The Ezio games are much closer to my heart though.
I love the investigation missions because you are finding out more about your target rather than in Hitman you are given info right about of the gate and being told "hey go kill them". yes, you have the option on how to take out those targets but..at the same time...AC 1 is worth playing through because it is the Beginning of everything. so it is worth playing through at least once. at least for me.
“You can’t even bang anybody in the game” assassins creed review
I've never played any assassin's creed games, just that some die hard fans don't like the newer ones
I genuinely dont get why put the year in the question
Just because a game is old that doesnt bring any relevance into if you should play it or not
It's like asking if you should read a book that was written in 1473. If it's a good book read it, the age doesnt change shit about the contents inside
I used to consider ac1 the best batman game that wasn't batman then 2 years later arkham asylum came out
I liked combat in ac1 best.
Couldn't agree more, Dan.
When you said "rough draft" I think you nailed it.
The world, game design, overarching story, all of that was a good start. And they do get better.
I will always appreciate where it all began because I am a fan of the entire series. But as far as gameplay and enjoyment, this one is close to the bottom of the list for me.
Nice foundation.
Unfortunately the combat will not get significantly better for a long time if you are playing in order.
I wish they would remake the game....
If not for nostalgia the only reason to pick this game up today is to add context for the Ezio trilogy. I’d say just move on to some great games.
Psst. I've never played an assassins creed game either. And Ive only recently bought the witcher 3 without ever playing a witcher game. Before this year, ive never watched a witcher CZcams vid.
I love this game. It must be one of my favourite titles in the franchise, next to Unity and Origins. But I can’t deny that the game is outdated. Hell, the Ezio trilogy is outdated. Still it’s a lot of fun to play. I know the biggest beef fans have with this one is the repetitiveness of investigating your target. I just think Altaïr is the best AC character, but that’s also nostalgia talking.
It the greatest game of all time of course it is
Get ready for more of the same because Ubisoft have pretty much stuck to their formula. However AC2 I think still has the best story of all the games plus its historical accuracy is nice.
Ah yes. Control scemes are pretty horrendous regardless of input devices, quitting is best achieved by Alt+F4, glitchy parkour.. happens. But one thing that improves the playing experience by a lot: use hidden blade exclusively in combats, and that is a guaranteed counter kill every time.
You're not supposed to hold the legs button when climbing.
The game doesn't hold your hand as much when doing parkour. It does what you tell it to do 9 times out of 10.
Combat is much better when being aggressive and using all the moves. You chose the easy and boring route.
AC1 in my experience is the most relistic and challenging of the whole saga