9 Terrible Openings That Almost Killed Great Video Games

5. Assassin's Creed II

Assassin's Creed II 2
Ubisoft

Unlike the original game in the series which threw you straight into the action before stripping you of your weapons and abilities, Assassin's Creed 2 takes a decidedly more mellow approach in its initial hours.

Attempting to give players a deeper connection to the game's protagonist, the sequel lets you control Ezio as a young man before he takes up his role in the Assassin's Brotherhood.

While this section is admittedly a bit too long, it's not the fact that Assassin's Creed 2 doesn't give you a hidden blade in the first five minutes that's the problem, it's just that the opening story beats aren't as strong as they should be.

It's all well and good to focus on the early life of a protagonist in a game's opening, but to not put players off you have to at least make that early life interesting.

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Josh has over 11 years of experience as a published writer, having worked nine of those years as a full-time content producer at WhatCulture. In that period he has created hundreds of articles, videos and podcast episodes for multiple WhatCulture channels, specialising in gaming, horror and film & TV. He now primarily works as a senior content producer and presenter on WhatCulture Gaming where he co-hosts the WhatCulture Gaming Podcast, a top 3 UK most listened to gaming podcast that he co-created in 2018. Over the years he has reviewed several high-profile gaming releases, covered industry events with on-site reporting, opined on breaking news, and even kicked off his interviewing career by chatting to childhood hero, Tommy Wiseau.