"Nothing is true, everything can do""We act in darkness and serve light"

As long as you are a little gamer today, you must know that these two sentences are from "Assassin's Creed", one of the most representative quotes in the entire series...

But it is strange that the current Assassin's Creed... hardly says these two sentences?

This strange situation also symbolizes that "Assassin's Creed" is in a strange situation, a soulless and basically not an empty shell of the same thing. Today, as a "former Assassin's Creed fan", I want to review this series of history that is not long or short.

Assassin's Creed 1《The Origin of Everything

New players of this generation may not know much, but the Assassin series was originally developed with the spirit of "Prince of Persia". From the earliest trailer, we can see the scenes of two assassins fighting together in the Middle East wind scene. However, later, this sequel gradually developed into an independent IP.

Then it came to 2006, and "Assassin's Creed 1" appeared on the stage of E3. The producers on the stage focused on the very revolutionary system developed by the team - "Free Parkour". Yes, this kind of 360-degree visible can be climbed, and the character will actively adapt to various terrain and make a series of smooth parkour movements. Not to mention that at that time, I think it is extremely new to this day.

What Drake, Aloy, Jingren, gets out of the gripping tool with paint, and becomes immediately disabled. It has been 14 years since 2006. There are still only one of the Assassin series that is serious about doing this.

The plot of the first generation tells the protagonist "Desmon Myers". He was kidnapped by the mysterious organization ABSTERGO because he happened to bring together the bloodlines of many legendary assassins, and then stuffed it into a machine called ANIMUS to read the memories in his genes, with the purpose of finding a powerful ancient artifact "Apple Eden".

The first thing they read was Desmon's ancestor in the medieval era, Altay, a talented but bastard assassin master. Of course, it's pretty cool to say, but after all, the experimental nature of the first generation is somewhat more important. The overall process of the game is relatively short, and there are very few things that can be done except for the main line.

However, this work is still a lot of classic elements that will run through the entire work in the future (although what should be lost now is gone): parkour, snare, eagle, leap of faith, freedom vs. order, and the most important thing isWhat we want is "very vague opposition between good and evil" lays a solid foundation for them all. Without Assassin's Creed 1, nothing will begin.

Assassin's Creed 2nd Generation Trilogy - Supreme Classic

Then the top rated 2nd generation trilogy - "Assassin's Doctrine 2", "Brotherhood", and "Revelation". The three parts tell the story of Ezio's youth, avenging his family for revenge; in his prime, he organized a fraternity to fight against the Temple Order; in his middle and late years, he came to Constantinople alone to make a pilgrimage to search for the footprints of the legendary assassin "Altaire" 300 years ago. I will briefly explain it here to those who don't know it.

You should have heard about the second generation that you can say several times, and most of these praises are concentrated on one thing... No, "Ezio Auditore" is a person, everyone really likes Uncle E too much, including myself.

But putting aside the protagonist's halo, the 2nd generation trilogy is objectively a richer and more interesting game than the 1st generation. In the scene alone, the cold Middle East holy city of the first generation has been changed to the trilogy and becomes the glorious Florence, the luxurious and magnificent Rome, and the intersection of the East and West Continents Türkiye.

The beauty of the Renaissance era is fully reflected. The game process that originally had nothing to do except assassination in the first generation, and from the second generation, there were also various interesting branches. Whether it was fighting, parkour, or exploration, or collecting, it was given new gameplay,

After the 3-piece game, Ezio can do so many things that it can't do. People can run and jump in ancient ruins. The best thing is that it is different from "Tomb Raider". No matter how many ancient monuments Uncle E is carrying, he will not collapse.

Organize a legion of assassins full of blonde beauty. By waving orders, you can clear out the enemies of the entire fortress, hold the glider wings created by Gianda Vinci for you, cut through the night sky of Venice, and break into the enemy's stronghold in a super high-profile manner.

Or use a flame gun to burn all the ships in the port in a disagreement, etc. Let me tell you that in 2010, they will definitely not regress to boring tasks such as "talking a long list of nonsense, giving you a few options to care, and end up asking you to kill bandits in the stronghold."

However, there has always been a point that is that most of the Templars in the second generation are bad guys who act for their own desires, and lack the moral ambiguity of the 1st and 3rd generations. I don’t want to justify this, but I think these conversations after death have achieved similar effects, that is, to promote the growth of the protagonist.

For example, in the early 2nd generation, Ezio angrily killed the Vi who lived next door to his house, who was also a minion in the temple.Eri, but his uncle told him that we must all respect the dead at the minimum level, no matter how big a bastard the other party is, so Ezio's most famous line, "Requiescat in pace, may you rest in peace" was born.

Show that compared to the argument of price view, the bigger focus of the trilogy is indeed on describing Uncle E's growth journey. From a carefree and romantic boy at the age of 17; to a mature and experienced assassin master in his early 40s; to a little physically and mentally exhausted in his 50s... but he is still a very good at girls.

The end of Ezio's journey, and also the end of Altaïr, is the end of "Revelation". The scene where Uncle E comes to the underground library of Masiaf. If I were to be ranked the most classic scene in the history of assassin, then this part would definitely be 10,000% first place, and that momentum was too strong.

Ezio entered the underground library and saw Altaïr's bones sitting there. Then he called out the name "Desmon" he heard at the time under the cathedral...

The ending of the 2nd generation, Ezio defeated the big boss and successfully spoke to the ancient pioneers. Only then did we realize: "This group of pioneers is not a god in the actual sense, but a group of higher races that came first for many years." And the coolest thing is that the pioneer said a long list of things Ezio couldn't understand at all, but that was because she was not talking to Ezio at all, but through him, Desmon who was reading his memory.

Now, more than 20 years have passed, and Ezio, who is preparing to retire, has realized that his life has not even fully understood the mission, which is to be a bridge for "the pioneer → himself → Desmon" to convey the message. Now that he has finished his work, it is time to prepare to change Desmon to the field.

This epic feeling created through the connection between time and space through ancient and modern times is touching, and I can guarantee that no game can be reproduced in such an elegant way.

Assassin's Creed 3&Assassin's Creed: The Mission of Freedom。。The most underrated generation

Then it came to 2012. The first major system renovation work in the history of the Assassin series, "Assassin's Doctrine 3" was released. The plot tells that Desmon obtained a prophecy from the forerunners through Ezio at the end of "Revelation", telling them that the end of the world is about to come in 2012... and 2020 is inexplicably coming again.

Therefore, the group went to America to read the memory of the last ancestor, the Indian Assassin "Connor", and followed Connor's adventure in the war of independence to protect the tribe, trying to find ways to stop the world's destruction.

The third generation hit a new high in sales volume in the Assassin series when it was first launched, but the actual evaluation of the player isVery polarized, the criticism mainly revolves around too many bugs, difficult-to-control parkour system, the American scene without Italian luxury, and Connor, the protagonist who is not as charming as Uncle E, but for me, "Assassin's Creed 3" is the "most underrated" work in the series.

Okay, let's not talk about the shortcomings of the third generation for now. Let's take a look at the two best points of this game, one is the plot and the other is its legendary combat system. Basically, whenever players discuss which generation of battle is the best, half of the answers are definitely taken by the third generation.

It's not that how much changes the 3rd generation has made compared to the 1st and 2nd generations, but to be honest, although it is the first major change, it is no surprise that the change is compared to "The Revolution" and "Origin". The battles of the 3rd generations are just blocking and counterattacking, but this time it has a new and exciting feature of "double counterattack". Faced with various types of military combinations, no matter what weapon Connor holds, he will definitely show off all kinds of handsome and gorgeous finishing skills.

At the beginning of assassination 3, the characters do not need to use a sleeve sword, but can be assassinated with an axe, a flintlock, or bare hands. Moreover, the third generation is the first time that the series has added the new trick of running and killing. If you stand up and press the R2 key, you can also make more exaggerated and violent killing methods, especially when standing at a specific hiding point, it is even more curious. This also led to the third generation protagonist Connor's title of "God of War". However, if we really count, the combat power of Connor and Uncle E is actually similar.

When talking about Connor, it is time to talk about the plot of 3, but the person we are going to watch at the beginning is not him, but his father "Helson". Yes, when the 3 promotion was promoted, Helson, the second protagonist, was completely hidden, which made the players who opened the game for the first time fall into their glasses: "Ah strange! Where is my Indian Assassin?"

But we can still only follow Helson's perspective to see how he traveled across the ocean to the New Continent of America, established his "Protestant Party", and formed a deep relationship with an Indian woman on the way (I think everyone should understand the routine). However, in the last scene of the Heelsen line ending, we were caught off guard.

Well, I think most of the players at that time's reaction should be the same as Desmon. That's right, in fact, you control a Templar from beginning to end. This point is cleverly hidden in the front of the game. This reversal also brings out a major purpose of the 3 generations: "Return to that Assassin VS Temple, I don't know who is right and who is wrong."

It is no exaggeration to say that the third generation of the Templars speaks so convincingly. I almost forgot to control the good guys I control several times, but it is not that Connor hates it. I know that it is for some people, but at least I am not. To me, Connor's this is called naive idealization, rather than the stubbornness and ignorance in the mouths of the third generation of the black fans.

Connor had anger in his life to get revenge and the urge to achieve his goal, but he also had confusion in doubting himself and the surprise of being betrayed by someone he originally trusted. However, despite the complexity of the situation in front of him, Connor finally accomplished the initial goal he should have accomplished.

But even though the US military finally won the victory, his hometown was still confiscated by the government. The most miserable thing is that his tribe members abandoned him as an outsider. All struggles are meaningless after all, but do you think Connor will be disillusioned? No, looking at the black slaves sold at the port, Connor realized that his struggle was not over yet.

Then is followed by Assassin's Creed: Mission of Freedom. Speaking of "Freedom Mission", it is a rather strange topic, because I believe that most players don't even know the existence of this generation. In simple terms, this game is a large expansion pack of the third generation, and it was released at the same time as the third generation (2012). Connor will make a guest appearance in one of the levels.

The story stage is set in New Orleans in the 18th century, telling the story of the heroine "Evelyn" tracing the disappearance of the mysterious black slave. To be honest, there is really nothing to say about this game. It is obvious that Ubisoft made it to escort PS Vita at that time, and the gameplay of this game is also largely limited by the performance of the small V. Any new feature dress-up gives people the feeling that it is just that.

But for super core fans like me, the most interesting point of this game is that it is nominally the first product launched by "ABSTERGO Entertainment Company" (and the Templar). You will see a lot of posters of "Freedom Mission" in the modern line of the 4th generation. Since it is the assassin game launched by Templar, it will definitely have many "corrected" parts, so assassination of a certain NPC and restoring the true appearance of history has also become an interesting feature of this game.

Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag" & "Assassin's Creed 4: Scream of Freedom" 〼My personal love

Ah, finally, we entered "Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag", my favorite generation. You can say that the 4th generation is a sequel to the 3rd generation... or it can be said that the 3rd generation is a prequel to the 3rd generation. It depends on whether you look at it from the modern and ancient lines.

The 3rd generation finale, after Desmon died heroically to stop the end of the world, his body was recycled by ABSTERGO, and the player will play himself, a new employee of ABSTERGO, preparing to use Desmon's DNA to develop a brand new VR game - "The Age of Pirates". The owner of this memory, needless to say, is Connor's grandfather and Helson's father - "Edward Kenway".

Edward is a protagonist with a huge difference from the great fighters above. His family was not executed publicly, nor was he born in an assassin family. Edward is just an unknown little farmer, although he was lucky enough to marry him.Qian’s daughter, but he was unwilling to let the daughter live such a poor life. Therefore, Edward chose to board the ship and be a war privateer, and then gradually transformed into a pirate. Once Edward killed an assassin who was about to jump from the brotherhood to the temple, and thus learned about the existence of a big secret treasure, and then embarked on his treasure hunt.

Putting aside the screen upgrades of the PS4, the system of the 4th generation is basically the same as that of the 3rd generation, but the naval battle links that only account for a small part of the 3rd, will be upgraded directly to the biggest focus of the game when it comes to this game. Find an enemy ship that feels good to grab, and hit it without saying a word, jump up and rob it wildly. You can also pick up the javelin and hunt the huge creatures in the sea; find the wreckage of the wreck, and dive to the bottom of the sea and search for all the gold, silver and treasures under it.

But these are not the best, because "Black Flag" also has "Fortress Siege", which is a bit similar to ship battles. However, we have to completely smash the enemy's defenses in the siege, and then rush in and burn and kill and loot. I dare to guarantee you that the pleasure is definitely better than someone who blows a horn, and a group of people rushed into the village, but for some reason it is not possible... "I can't remember the name of Viking Game".

In the 4th generation, players will witness how Edward and his pirate companions avoid the government's pursuit while looking for a paradise where pirates can live. But of course, according to the development of history, this is really unlikely. Therefore, the story of "Black Flag" tells the last struggle of a group of desperate people who tried their best to make in the face of the era gradually leaving them.

As the story progresses, Edward will transform from a bastard who only cares about fame and fortune into a more responsible and mature man and an assassin. It's about whether Edward became an assassin in the end. Yes, there must be some physically, but there is a very obscure hint in the game, which seems to tell us that things are not as simple as we think.

The ship that the protagonist drove was called "Jackdaw". Edward gave the ship this name because Jackdaw was a national bird in his hometown "Willes" (at that time, it had not merged with England). However, Jackdaw symbolized far more than that. Have you heard the story of Aesop's fable "Jackdaw and the Eagle"?

A long time ago, a jackdaw saw an eagle flying down to hunt sheep, thinking that he could do it, so he swooped down from a high altitude and grabbed the sheep with one claw. Unexpectedly, his claws were entangled with wool and could not move. As a result, the jackdaw was caught by the shepherd and gave it to his daughter as a gift.

When the daughter asked the shepherd, "What kind of bird is this?" the shepherd replied, "If you ask it, it will tell you that it is an eagle, but in fact, it is a jackdaw." What exactly is this fable hinting at? If Edward is a jackdaw, an assassin is an eagle, and a temple is a sheep, then is the shepherd and his daughter again?

Here I want to leave the remaining small amount of space for the 4th generation DLC。"Scream of Freedom" is set 15 years after the ending of "Black Flag". Edward's former black lieutenant, Advale, has now become a full-time assassin, embarking on his struggle to liberate black slaves.

This DLC is not as big as Washington, the tyrant of the third generation, but the comments are surprisingly much better than the former. It is extremely refreshing to chop people with a slash. In addition, Ade is also a very likable character in "Black Flag", and Ade will be released again in another assassin game, but that is already the next article. Then we talk about the next film, "Assassin's Creed: The Great Revolution" that changed everything in 2014.

Assassin's Creed: The Revolution if it succeeded in that year...

I sincerely believe that if "Assassin's Creed: The Revolution" was successful, then the Assassin series would never have gone on the path now, but unfortunately, this is not the world line we are in, because...

Yes, preview fraud, bug life, this game has not even been released, and it has already raised itself to a level that even the GTA looks like feces. However, the actual finished product is a semi-finished product with a single gameplay, premature ejaculation, and an average frame rate of only 20.

The time and space background of "The Great Revolution" came to the French Revolution. The story revolves around the little assassin "Ano" who was killed by a "god, secret man." and was adopted by the Templar. It tells the story of a journey of seeking evil after he accidentally killed his adoptive father because he was rushing to be intimate with his adopted father's daughter one day. You ask me why Yano didn’t go to find his biological father’s enemy to kill his father?

Compared with the script of "The Revolution", 1, 2, 3, and 4, it is definitely... bad. Although he has the first generation of assassin senior executives who are not good at being a boss, the second generation of the handsome guy protagonist, the third generation of the Assassin Temple, and the cooperation plot of the 3rd generation of the Assassin Temple has grown up with the four generations of ups and downs, after all, it becomes a four-dimensional character. However, no matter how many of the four-dimensional character is, it is much better than "Odyssey" and "The Palace of Valhalla".

However, "The Revolution" is unexpectedly one of the few works that I can appreciate more as the series is innovating, because although the game is not OK overall, it still has many great ideas, such as the four-person CO-OP online mission. "The Revolution" is not doing well enough, but it does not mean that this system has no potential. Although the parkour system has inexplicable light skills, there are still many Dongkashika, but do you really need to remove all these handsome moves?

The character customization system, just for this game, Ubisoft burst out a whole cabinet with some gorgeous and domineering assassin outfits. However, Ayu, who had no thrift and thrift, made all these clothes disappear after the end of the "The Revolution".

Of course, we cannot ignore the beautiful street scene of Paris, the best in the history of AssassinThere is no map of a single, the extremely luxurious "Louvre" that helped the French government rebuilt 1:1 to restore the "Notre Dame de Paris", the "Eiffel Tower" that scattered through the cracks of time and space, and the "Theater Cafe" that Arno can chuck.

If "The Revolution" had really succeeded for him, the future of the assassin would definitely be very different. I believe that the assassin with a world line really looks like this, but unfortunately it does not belong to us. Although the giant wheel is broken, it has still begun to rotate, bringing us to a new direction that is unknown (well, there is no unknown now).

The Great Revolution's storm and "Watch Dogs", which failed to be released in June, became two hands that dragged Ubisoft into the abyss, and indirectly affected the pre-sale sales of "Dog 2", "The Entire Country Blockade" and "The Legend of the Heroes". This period is called Ubisoft's "darkest" history, and where will the Assassin series go? That's the story that we will tell in our next article.

Summary

Back to about 6, 7 years ago, I remembered why I fell in love with the Assassin series. To be honest, that reason is not very tall. It’s just that the historical themes are cool, the parkour is handsome, the assassins’ styles are very fashionable, and the plot is very epic and heavy.

After all, after all, I was just a stern second-hand man who fought with people every day. I had a strong idea of games, but I admit that I didn’t know much about works at that time and I couldn’t say much about gameplay. Look at me, I have praised a long list before. Could it be that UBISOFT was awesome and could it take at least 5 or 6 years to launch a masterpiece that would take R stars in a row? Of course not, Assassin 1234, they definitely have many shortcomings.

There are more than 2 generations to explode synchronization points, the bad habit of UBI NO.1 created by the Brotherhood "grabbing strongholds", the perfect synchronization conditions for the 3 generations to be annoying, and the super boring tracking tasks of the 4 generations, but the biggest difference between these games and the current assassins is: "Even with these difficult-to-ignore shortcomings, the impression left by the player after passing the level is always good."

No matter whether the reason is the exciting plot, the cool settings or the handsome battle, this series has a unique halo, which allows players to be particularly tolerant of them and hope that he can continue to work hard. However, this halo is also something I think the current Assassin and Ubisoft are about to lose.