The most recent entry to the franchise, Assassin's Creed Origins, rewinds things back to Egypt during the time of Cleopatra and Julius Caesar, and shows us how the Brotherhood of Assassins was born. It incorporated a lot more RPG-style elements and was more open-world, almost Skyrim-esque in how you could explore the map to find more locations across Egypt.
But where does the Creed go from here?
Where It Has Been
The first AC game was set in the Crusades, as an Assassin named Altair hunted down members of the Knights Templar. Next, AC2, Brotherhood, and Revelations followed the life of Ezio Auditore in the Italian Renaissance as he combated the Templar Order under the control of the Borgias. Then we met the Kenway Family, from Edward Kenway who sailed the Golden Age of Piracy in Black Flag, to his son Haytham and grandson Connor who were factors of influence in the American Revolution in ACIII. Unity brought us to Paris in the midst of the French Revolution, and Syndicate took us to London during the Industrial Revolution during the time of Queen Victoria.
Throughout the franchise, it has touched on the existence of Those Who Came Before, a precursor 'First Civilization,' who were beings of great power, worshiped as gods by mankind, whom they created. The First Civ were wiped out in a great cataclysm, leaving behind relics of their civilization, known as 'Pieces of Eden.' These artifacts are capable of many things, including influencing the minds of humans.
The Chronicles games touched on 16th Century China, latter day Sikh Empire India, and the Russian Revolution. The movie took us back to the Spanish Inquisition. A set of side missions in Syndicate took us to WW1 London as we hunted down saboteurs and spies, but we haven't gone any further forward in the timeline than this. And I think I understand why.
Why More Modern Periods Won't Work
At its heart, AC is built around stealth and its combat system around hand-to-hand combat. In the latter stages of the 19th Century and then going forward, guns and rifles supplant swords and polearms as the weapons of choice. Furthermore, AC is heavily built toward infiltrating an enemy stronghold and stabbing the target with the iconic "hidden blade." The one time in the series that a protagonist gets his hands on a handgun that can fire multiple shots rapidly, it feels OP as hell. While firearms are present in the games, the fact that they are frequently one-shots that then have a pronounced reload period balances them. By the time WW1 comes along, firearms that can shoot more rounds more rapidly, and be reloaded in a much shorter timeframe, have become the standard. And an Assassin that uses guns just feels... wrong, somehow.
Furthermore, the more modern conflicts of the 20th Century have been plumbed quite extensively by the FPS genre, especially the annual Call of Duty entry. Assassin's Creed is more about intrigue and stealth than running and gunning. While World War II gave us plenty of intrigue with groups like the French Resistance and the SOE (aka the Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare) and so on, given the theaters of the war, the only locales suitable would be London (already done with Syndicate), Paris (Unity), and Berlin. But the casual gamer might then be wondering why we're not trying to assassinate Hitler or other high-ranking members of the Nazi Party, when history has shown not many of them were assassinated.
There is some possibility for a 20th Century-set story, but I'll touch on that later.
One of the other problems with going further toward "modern" settings is the fact that Assassin's Creed tends to take the "warts and all" approach to historical figures. You're not going to see these people in the idealized manner that we might be used to. You're going to see them with all of their flaws. ACIII notably depicted George Washington as flawed, hardly ideal, and let's not touch on the non-canon DLC content, which went alternate history where he went insane with power.
Ubisoft already established that many leading figures-- political and otherwise-- in the Creed-verse were members of either the Templars or the Assassins, although gamers might be excused for not knowing this. It was somewhat glossed over with hidden "glyph" missions in ACII and Brotherhood, and little mention was made of it since then. If it were suddenly brought to the fore in a game set during their lifespan, living relatives of those figures or other people might leap to their defense and start raising objections.
Now, let's talk about where I think the Creed could go.
What An Assassin's Creed Game Must Have
- A time period of conflict or tension
- An emphasis on hand-to-hand/melee combat vs shooting
- A unique location with historical and cultural significance
- First Civilization references/influence
Option 1: Meiji Japan
I'm personally of the opinion that the AC games focus too much on Western history. This is somewhat understandable, as I imagine most of the player-base is in North America and Europe. And while the expanded universe of AC-- in comic books, online content, etc.-- has explored some other parts of the world, the games still primarily focus on Europe and America.
Let's take the series to Japan, then. Specifically, the time of the Meiji Restoration, or the period following it. While I admit, my knowledge of the time period is limited and largely gleaned from stuff I picked up when I read/watched Rurouni Kenshin (one of my all-time favorite manga/anime). But it ticks the first box in being in a turbulent time period for Japan. The country was striving to modernize after becoming open to trade with the West, and not everyone was pleased about it. Which side our Japanese Assassin supports would be to-be-determined, based on which side is Templar and which side is Brotherhood.
Depending on when exactly it is set, samurai swords may be banned in public, but firearms are still more of a novelty than a standard-issue weapon. Thus, most guards or enemies will be armed with melee weapons, thus ticking the second box. I imagine our Japanese Assassin could even be armed with various swords or bladed weapons, but perhaps not going full ninja with it. (Although having throwing stars would be a must.)
Naturally, a Creed story set in Meiji Japan would have to be set in Tokyo. It would be central to the "tradition vs modernity" conflict that would be a key factor in the story. Missions might allow our Japanese Assassin to infiltrate specific places outside of the city, as befits the story, but largely setting it in Tokyo provides a lot of cultural and historical locations to come to the fore. Plus, it would allow them to explore the history of a part of the world that most Westerners don't learn much about.
And, with Japan thus far un-plundered in the franchise for First Civ artifacts, there could be anything that points to precursor influence. An easy one would be the Three Sacred Treasures of Japan-- the sword Kusanagi, the mirror Yata no Kagami, and the jewel Yasakani no Magatama. These are artifacts of legend in Japan already, and the presentation of these to the Emperor is part of the enthronement ceremony. Any of these could be a Piece of Eden, with any kind of ability, though I'd argue for Yata no Kagami, possibly being a device that can show prophecies or something similar.
Option 2: Cold War Berlin
Now, I know I said a more modern setting wouldn't really work for a variety of reasons. And those reasons all still stand, but I think the only "modern" setting where Assassin's Creed could work would be in Cold War Berlin.
Obviously, that's a major time of conflict, as America and its allies were squaring off with the Soviets and their allies, with Berlin caught in the middle of it. There's a lot of spying and intrigue going on, and while there could be historical figures depicted in the setting, most of them are going to be "safe" from being assassinated, but the protagonists and antagonists can be among the multitude of spies and saboteurs that played their game of shadows in the divided city. And our German Assassin (for the purposes of this, we'd have to assume they'd be German, recruited by one or both sides in the spy game) is right smack dab in the middle.
While guns were employed by guards-- and they still would be in the game-- there's nothing to say that individual gangs or cells that our German Assassin tangles with might not have access to them, or can't use them without bringing the attention of the authorities (on either side of the Wall) down on their heads. Obviously, being set when it is, the variety of melee weapons is greatly reduced, and there wouldn't be many swords being employed.
I don't think anyone can deny that Berlin would be a unique place for the franchise to visit. While it would be post-WW2, there would be plenty of historical significance to be found around the city. Culture-wise, it depends on when in the Cold War the story takes place, but the dichotomy between West Berlin and East Berlin and how each side differs from the other could be a big theme.
I can't speak for how much "ancient times" architecture and whatnot may have been around in Cold War Berlin-- compared to Paris with its catacombs and London with its history-- for there to have been some untapped First Civ artifact on hand. But that's not to say there can't be one at play in the city anyway. Besides the East/West conflict in the city, there is also the Templar/Assassin conflict, and I could see the Templars bringing some Piece of Eden to the city for study, or possibly one Templar group meeting with the other Templar group to pass it from one set of hands to another, to get it out of the hands of some non-Templar officer or similar, and the Assassins making a play to steal it for themselves.
Option 3: More Chronicles
I mentioned the Chronicles games above, which were episodic games that were more linear and more akin to stealth platformers. These all explored different parts of the world that ordinarily aren't touched by the main franchise, and featured characters from the expanded universe. I am all for expanding on the setting and showing other aspects of the Assassin/Templar conflict.
While some settings wouldn't make for a good full game, they might work out well for a Chronicles-style game. Maybe a game set in Mexico or the West Indies, to explore the Assassin Brotherhood there that produced Ah Tabai from Black Flag. Take us back to the Inquisition and show us more of the Spanish Brotherhood. Here is where a brief game set in WW2 times would work, as well, as we wouldn't have to concoct a full city map or anything, but instead a series of 2.5D maps to traverse through to evade patrols and find targets.
Wrapping Up
Regardless of where Assassin's Creed goes next, one thing is certain-- it is still a successful franchise and will continue to sell well. At some point, we'll explore events in the present day again, and see what machinations the precursor entity Juno is up to, and what she plans for humanity.
Nevertheless, with all the revelations of the secret history of the world, and the manipulations of shadowy groups trying to subvert our will and restrict our freedoms, remember the Creed--
Nothing is true. Everything is permitted.
No comments:
Post a Comment