9 Terrible Openings That Almost Killed Great Video Games

5. Assassin's Creed II

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.