With the third entry of the prestigious parkour franchise sneakily approaching from behind to lovingly stab us in the heart before diving into a bale full of money, perhaps its time we do what the series is most famous for, and cast our eyes to the exotic historical setting of 2009, when its predecessor rocked gamings collective world. Heres my take on what made our jaunt back to the 15th century so wildly successful and memorable. Enjoy.
5. Immersion
Ill confess: when I first discovered that Altairs saga in the Holy Land was nothing more than a computer simulation, I called bullshit, and I called it to the high heavens. Whatever was wrong with just having a legitimate period piece exploring the issues of the time through a contemporary lens? Back then, seeing Altair walk through a glorified loading screen to reach his era whilst his distant descendent was trapped by seedy scientists shattered the illusion of reality and suspension of disbelief like a cannonball through a window. Eventually though, I and many others simply became used to it: like Desmond himself, when we explored these lovingly rendered environs, we forget that we are in fact in a simulation (except for the eagle-eyed among us who can spot anachronisms). Unlike Desmond, we cannot magically acquire the skills to become physics-defying supermen and knowing what certain media outlets would think if we could, its probably for the best. Like its predecessor, ACII throws the player headlong into a wonderfully vivid and unique world: an almost perfect representation of a bygone era well never truly understand, and so romanticized and stylised its easy to forget that we should count ourselves lucky to be in our own time, which its advanced medicine and high life expectancy and democratic egalitarianism. Theres so much to see in the streets and alleys of the cities we are given that it is perfectly possible and acceptable to do the very antithesis of what this game encourages and simply have a pleasant stroll around town to see what all the denizens are up to. Its no less rewarding. That doesnt mean you can satisfy your urge to stab a minstrel or two, Ezios historical accuracy be damned.