Assassin’s Creed Odyssey Review

THIS IS SPARTA! That’s right, the newest edition of Assassin’s Creed has been out for a while and people have been kick-flailing all about it and for good reason (you know… besides working out those thy muscles). I couldn’t help but find myself contractually obligated to produce a magnificent review of Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, or what I like to call, the “Revenge of Leonidas’ Kick.”

AAAahhhhhhhhhh!
Now some of you may be asking, “what’s with all of the 300 movie references Adonis?… You beautiful man you…” To that I say: First, the commonalities are many, and second… it’s nice to be called beautiful every once in a while (men need to feel pretty too).

Both 300 and Assassin’s Creed Odyssey take place in Ancient Greece. You play as a Spartan who loses their way after tragedy strikes early on in their life that leads you on an epic journey to find your mother. It’s basically the movies Home Alone meets 300. Speaking of mothers…

Battle of the Sexes
For the first time in Assassin’s Creed history, you are able to select what gender you will be (there’s another AC game where you got to play as both genders, but didn’t get to chose which for an entirety of the game.)

For the first time in a long while, I contemplated what gender to play as since I always play as male. I ended up choosing male anyway, but the fact that it arose in me that much deep/intellectual thought, still intrigues me.

So Many Cliffs… Too Little Time…
Now ask yourself, how does it feel to be on the wrong side of a flat-heeled sandal (being kicked off of a cliff)? If you are the remorse-kind, you just might save your arch supports for another day. One of the many new aspects introduced into the AC mix is the option of choice.

Though the easiest option might be to kick a higher-leveled foe off of the nearest cliff, AC Odyssey introduces dialog options where diplomacy and choice comes into play. Some of these options can get pretty complex and effect future game results.

For instance, one of the hardest choices I had was to either catch a baby murder who was going to escape or save a baby from a burning building… (Look below to see the end result).

Ladies, I’m Single…

Would you look who it is… My Old Nemesis…
AC Odyssey introduces the Nemesis system. Originally created by the developers of the “Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor” the nemesis system creates enemies at random who each have their own personalities, weapon types, strengths, and weaknesses. It

humanizes and brings importance to, what could’ve been, mundane enemies. It’s nice to know that the people you are kicking off cliffs will have a digital family that will never skip leg day again.

Kicking Solves Most of Your Problems… Almost…
Though my favorite move in the game might not work on everyone, it certainly is useful so when in doubt… kick it out! I give Assassin’s Creed Odyssey 8/10 Spartan Kicks. What did you think of the game?

Did you find yourself Spartan-Kicking your way out of a tough situation? Let us know below, and for all of your future reviews, keep it locked to KSSU.

Assassin’s Creed Unity: A French Kiss (Review)

November 11, 2014 sees the release of Assassin’s Creed Unity, the seventh title in the Assassin’s Creed saga. Like the previous games before it, this one takes place in a famous location at a famous time; Paris during the French Revolution. You’ll continue the saga playing as Arno Dorian, a French orphan who builds his way up the ranks of the Assassin’s Brotherhood.

You’ll continue the always unique parkour action that every previous game had, which is somewhat frightening to me. With the introduction of the first game, I immediately fell in love with the franchise but how many real dynamic changes can you make to a game. The last few games fell short, in my opinion, though I did buy and play through them all. The only thing that kept me around is the basic concept of the game; allow the player to seamlessly and effortlessly travel and explore through massive historical locations. The true beauty of these games, to me, is that ability, and that’s why I’m quite excited to play this game. This will be the first true next-gen developed Assassin’s Creed. Developers didn’t have to worry about down-scaling for the older consoles. In essence, this allowed for a much more massive, immersive and detailed world than ever before. Unity will allow the player to explore not only the exterior locations of Paris, but also the interior of many buildings as well! For all the things that I love about Assassin’s Creed, there is one thing I hate. In the beginning of the franchise it was an interesting concept, but every sense it’s been to heavily introduced in the subsequent games. Throughout the game, the story constantly pulls me back into present time, the time of Abstergo Industries and the modern-day templar. If the series could all together leave that alone and stick to the historical exploration, I’d love it even more. By forcing me to walk through the some office building at the beginning of chapters just pulls me out of the place I want to explore most, and it pulls my attention away from the game as a whole.

Let’s hope Unity stays true to the immersion this series can offer. With an even more massive map, Unit will allow you to explore (and get lost) more than ever before. Working on the next-gen platforms, Assassin’s Creed Unity will hopefully be a step in the righ directions for next-gen AC games to come.

NOTE: If the game stays in the Paris during the 18^th century, don’t expect to be parkouring up the Eiffel Tower; it wasn’t built for another hundred years. But don’t be too sad, an almost 1:1 scale Notre Dame will be in the game and there are guillotines!

But will it be good enough to pull me away from playing hours of Halo: The Master Chief Collection? We’ll have to wait and see.

Images Courtesy of Ubisoft

Assassin’s Creed Unit is released on Xbox One, PS4 and PC on November 11, 2014.

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