The Hype: Assassin's Creed was unquestionably one of the most-hyped titles of the seventh generation of gaming, with Ubisoft playing up the incredible visuals, sense of freedom in a huge sandbox, and perhaps best of all, the sort of rich historical context you rarely see in gaming. What Happened?: The game certainly looked pretty and boasted an unexpected plot twist early on, but the gameplay itself quickly became thoroughly tedious, because the game essentially asks you to perform the same, repetitive tasks time and time again for almost every mission. Yes, the assassinations are intermittently entertaining, but the sheer amount of rote leg-work you have to trudge through first doesn't really make it feel worth it in the end. Even so, the game was a strong critical and commercial success, and thankfully the sequels did attempt to diversify the gameplay somewhat, even if the core template still feels very lazy and unimaginative.
Stay at home dad who spends as much time teaching his kids the merits of Martin Scorsese as possible (against the missus' wishes).
General video game, TV and film nut. Occasional sports fan. Full time loon.
