5 Ways Origins Can Save Assassin's Creed

Originally released in 2007, it's easy to see how Assassin's Creed revolutionised the industry with an intriguing premise and story; as well as stunning visuals and gameplay.

Assassin's Creed 2 introduced the now-legendary character of Ezio as he cut a bloody path through his enemies, seeking revenge for the death of his family. This spawned two subsequent instalments with Ezio as Ubisoft were understandably unwilling to see such a well-received character go to waste.

Sadly, those halcyon days are long gone, as many longstanding issues finally came to a head in the form of Assassin's Creed Unity; a broken mess of a game that caused serious damage to the franchise.

To date, there have been nine main games released, with a tenth planned this Autumn. Including the mobile games and standalone DLC packages, and it goes up to nineteen (Origins included).

Assassin's Creed Origins was unveiled at E3 2017, and caused waves when the demo revealed just how different the game had become. With revamped gameplay and a new focus on the beginnings of the Templar-Assassin rivalry, Origins could be exactly what Ubisoft needs to get the series back on track, earning the trust of their player base along the way.

Although it has been a staple of the franchise, Eagle Vision has been overused from the start, and seriously detracts from the stealth aspect of the game.

Stealth games should be about tension, and when you can see where your enemies are standing at any point, all that tension is removed. Part of the issue is that Assassin's Creed is a third-person game - it therefore won't be quite as intense as something like Alien: Isolation, but that only means there needs to be fewer things to make it easier for players.

By actively showing where enemies are, Assassin's Creed is making its stealth element far easier than it needs to be. This reduces tension and immersion to a total crawl, and overall, effects the quality of the game.

Ubisoft has apparently realised this, as Eagle Vision has been replaced with... a literal eagle. However, unlike Eagle Vision this will have a cooldown period attached, ensuring players cannot overuse it. This will help to amp up tension in stealth sections if players use it at the wrong moment, and can't determine what's ahead of them. Enemies are tagged, showing outlines, allowing the player to follow their routes and determine exactly how they want to get to their targets.

The eagle is also used to point out areas of interest, replacing the need to climb towers with actual exploration of the surrounding area, which is another welcome change.