Time sure does fly. Just as the gaming industry is ushering in a new era of consoles, it has already been 15 years since the PS3 and Xbox 360 launched, two generations ago. The PS3/360 era made huge leaps in high definition gaming, with graphics being pushed farther than ever before, with a laundry list of titles showcasing what was possible. No more than a year into this generation, the originalAssassin’s Creedwas released in 2007, launching a mega-hit franchise with regularreleases from Ubisoftto this day.
Although praised at the time for its unique premise and visuals, the originalAssassin’s Creedhas unfortunately begun to show its age, especially compared to subsequent entries. The combat was functional but shallow, and in-game objectives became very repetitive, especially with a lack of decent side quests. Thankfully, gaming seems to have entered an era of giving older games a fresh coat of paint, with high quality remakes likeResident Evil 2andFinal Fantasy 7: Intergradebreathing new life into aging titles. Considering it began one of the most iconic series in games, the firstAssassin’s Creedhas a solid foundation that is worthy of a similar remake treatment.
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Old Assassin’s Creed, New Look
While a technical marvel back in 2007,the originalAssassin’s Creedis beginning to look rough around the edges by today’s standards. This is expected, considering the constant improvements made to gaming hardware as years go by, but still a valid point nonetheless. Character animations that were once smooth as silk are now clunky, while previously gorgeous locations look drab and dull. This can be remedied with the polish treatment, updating and/or overhauling old assets. Recent demos for the Unreal Engine have teased what this generation of gaming is capable, so even a fraction of that power being put into this remake would surely yield great results.
Ubisoft is already developing aremake forPrince of Persia: The Sands of Time, indicating that the company does indeed have an interest in revisiting older games. This is not even mentioning the countless timesRayman 2: The Great Escapehas been updated over the years, so surely there is enough time and resources to make Altair’s premier in the gaming world much better. The general layout of the game map and character designs don’t need to be outright changed, just updated. Improvements to lightning effects, draw distance and textures could go a long way in improving the visual fidelity, due to its grand scale and unique premise.
Stick To The Original Assassin’s Creed Style
After the mixed reception toAssassin’s Creed Syndicatein 2015, Ubisoft went back to the drawing board to come up with some new ideas for the next mainline entry. Returning in 2017 withAssassin’s CreedOrigins, the series was praised for taking a fresh approach, one that clearly drew inspiration from theRPG mechanics inThe Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. This new gameplay style has continued in the following entriesOdysseyandValhalla, adding extra tweaks and mechanics to the general formula.
While this is a welcome change for the franchise right now, a remake of the originalAssassin’s Creeddoesn’t necessarily need to adopt this new gameplay style to make it similar to what’s available now. If anything, it should stick to its roots and be a representative for what the franchise was like at the time, albeit fine tuning everything to make it that much more snappy and satisfying. The combat in the original essentially amounted to the same hit and counter combo over and over. So, either bringing in thesword play fromAssassin’s Creed 4: Black Flaginto this version, or even something like what was seen inAssassin’s Creed Unitywould more than suffice.
Generally speaking,theAssassin’s Creedfranchisecan be divided into three different eras in terms of gameplay, progression and overall style. The Altair and Ezio games felt similar, then fromAssassin’s Creed 3toAssassin’s Creed Unity, incremental additions were made to the gameplay. Then finally, as mentioned before,Assassin’s Creed Originsmarked the beginning of the action RPG version of the franchise. It is important for Ubisoft to keep each general style in its own time, to help preserve that legacy and make each iteration stand out on its own.
Ubisoft has stated in the past that it already knows howthe overall storylineAssassin’s Creedwill eventually end. Considering the immense success the series continues to have, this is unlikely to be anytime soon. However, before everything wraps up, it would be a fun bonus for the company to revisit the first installment in a brand new light as a sort of celebration for how far the franchise has come as a whole.
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