AC Revisited: Assassin's Creed (2007)

Well fellow Assassins, here we are! Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag Resynced has been out for just over a month and every day new photos, articles, and silly little videos get posted showing not only how well this remake was made but how much love the fans have for the franchise. As I sailed (pun) through Resynced clearing the map, I couldn’t help but think about what comes next when it comes to remakes. IF Ubisoft makes more remakes, some people think they should do Rogue and III next to finish out that story, others think they should remake the Ezio games as for many his trilogy was the highlight of the series, and then there’s a mixed bag of opinions when it comes to a remake of the original Assassin’s Creed.

    Luckily there’s plenty of sailing to do in Resynced that affords my brain to go down these rabbit holes, inevitably leading me to ask myself: Why do I want an Assassin’s Creed remake so badly? Do I want it purely for nostalgia or because I think it’d actually succeed in today’s very competitive standard of gaming? Would Ubisoft have to change how the entire game's story plays out or could they keep it the same? Asking myself all these questions made me realize: I have no idea. I have no idea because I haven’t properly PLAYED Assassin’s Creed (2007) since MAYBE 2013. So after finally clearing the map, story, and side quests of Resynced I decided to sit down and give the original game another go to see what I do and don’t like about it and see if I truly feel it would be worth Ubisoft’s time to remake it. 

    Starting out, I’d like to turn the dial back to 2007 when Assassin’s Creed first came out (almost 20 years ago, dry your eyes and continue reading when you’re emotionally ready) what started as the next entry in the Prince of Persia series, aiming for a linear PS2 adventure similar to Prince of Persia: The Sands of time, transformed into a project with its own identity, utilizing Prince of Persia’s acrobatic gameplay but applying it to an open world that the newest gaming systems could provide. Inspired by the real Order of Assassins that were active from 1090 CE to to 1256 CE, along with a list of real people from the Third Crusade, Ubisoft's newest title promised to be something new and spectacular. Despite all that, I somehow missed every bit of advertisement for it. It wasn’t until a friend of mine suggested I “check out this new game I’m renting” (a now old fashioned suggestion) he booted it up and the cinematic trailer started. 

I thought the game looked awesome based only on the opening video, “the main character can teleport and turn invisible” I thought to myself, “he has a blade that comes out of his hand like ‘Wolverine’” I said excitedly. I was excited for what I thought was a new fantasy title, my mind spinning with what other powers I thought he might get. Little did I know, the main character, Altaïr Ibn-La’Ahad, didn’t have super powers. The game was almost entirely grounded in reality, at least compared to what I had played before that. Teleportation? Parkour, something I’d never heard of and would become an obsession of mine for the next several years. Invisibility? Nope, social and environmental blending that I had never seen before. That ‘Wolverine’ blade? An actual contraption that was part of his armor. Now these facts solidified Assassin’s Creed as my favorite game at the time but before I even figured all that out, the game itself had already had me hooked. Specifically, the leap of faith. Shortly after the tutorial of the game you are instructed by your mentor, Al Mualim, to “Go to God!” To show your enemies you do not fear death but instead welcome it. The synchronized leap of Altaïr and supporting Assassin 1 & 2 exuded aura long before the word was even being used for moments like this. Not five minutes later, after sneaking behind the enemies and triggering a trap, causing them to flee and solidifying Altaïr as the coolest guy in school, you are punished for breaking all three of the rules the Assassin’s have and demoted to a novice. From there, the game's true narrative begins and you as the player get to grow alongside Altaïr. 

    Now by this point Ubisoft has already shown the player they have crafted what promises to be a very fun historical playground to run around in but let’s not forget the OTHER part of the story. Regardless of your feelings about it today, it cannot be denied that the science fiction themed modern day story of Assassin’s Creed added something unique, mysterious, and interesting to the game. By the time the player witnesses Altaïr get demoted, they have already been introduced to Desmond Miles, a descendant of Altaïr and the player controlled character for the modern day segments. As explained to Desmond by the evil scientist and secret Templar/Assassin arch nemesis Dr. Warren Vidic, the player, through Desmond, would be using a device called an Animus to view the memories of Altaïr, as Desmond’s DNA could be used to find them. Not only was this a very original and interesting concept to introduce in the game for world building but also implies (and lead directly to) the ability to view OTHER ancestors' memories, hinting that our adventures would be far from over after finding what we were looking for with Altaïr. 

    Inevitably I got the game for myself and committed every waking hour to it (as I have done with every release since then. I don’t have a problem, YOU have a problem) according to sources online, the game takes anywhere between 15 hours and 35 hours to beat depending on how much of a completionist you are. I won’t lie, I probably spent a solid 8 hours in Masayaf, the Assassin’s home base. Partially because I was trying to find all the flags (my friend told me if I found all the flags I’d get the crossbow from the trailer and a black version of Altaïrs outfit…imagine the utter betrayal I felt when I found out the truth. Probably enough of a betrayal to make me hold a grudge about it for almost 20 years but who knows) however the main reason I spent so much time in the starting village was because I was so in love with jumping around and climbing, making the guards mad and hiding, basically doing everything I had been excited about from the trailer. My brain assumed every mission outside Masayaf would be a small, scripted, area like the very start of the game. I knew I’d likely have fun but I was in love with the openness of Masayaf. Little did I know, Masayaf was the smallest open world segment of the whole game. 

    Ignoring the then-horrifying area of the game known as “Kingdom”, the road you’d use to travel between cities, I found every new city I entered was beautifully made and unique. You go to Damascus? It presents as a city in an unforgiving desert, the music changes drastically to match the tone of the city as you approach its gates and begin to hear merchants offering their goods. Acre, especially in comparison to Damascus, was drab and depressing. Instead of a bright oasis, it was dark, rainy, and depressing. Considering the Templars seemed to have the strongest presence there, it made sense that it was the most depressing city in the game and added to the atmosphere. The third and final city, Jeruselam, was a green paradise. Not as dark and depressing as Acre, while not the same time or atmosphere as Damascus, Ubisoft did a wonderful job giving each of these cities their own individuality. Ubisoft’s craftsmanship doesn’t end with the city's atmosphere, however, the architecture is beautifully detailed, Ubisoft very clearly made use of whatever information from the 1190’s they could get their hands on to create these cities and make them as identical to the real world as they could. I could talk about the architecture all day but we’ll move on to a different kind of design: the NPCs. Apart from maybe a Grand Theft Auto title, I had never encountered such LIVING NPCs before, nothing I could compare to anyway. If you push a citizen out of the way without using the dedicated ‘Gentle Push’ button (RIP baby, we miss you) you can bet they’ll have something to say, you ignore a beggar and that beggar will make it their LIFE MISSION to get in your way as much as they can and if you dare to try and climb a building to get away from them you hear “TAKE THAT!” as a rock pelts Altaïr, sending the disgraced Master Assassin tumbling down the building he just effortlessly climbed. 

    The story and gameplay needed to continue the story was also unique at the time, at least to me. At first they give you map markers to teach you about collecting information to find and assassinate your target, teaching you to use the viewpoints in each city to discover opportunities, but after the first couple assassinations you’re left with minimal guidance. It’s almost a perfect mix of Ubisoft’s guided mode and exploration mode that you find in their modern titles. Very confusing for my brain at the time but I’ve come to appreciate it as I’ve gotten older. That praise being said, this is about the time in the game where some fans get worried about the game being remade for modern consoles, the “repetitive” nature of information gathering to unlock an assassination mission. With the exception of maybe two of your nine targets, the same activities of interrogation, pickpocketing, and eavesdropping around each city to unlock a unique mission feels like too much of the same thing for some players. At the time it was worth it, each actual assassination was full of interesting dialogue, beautiful set pieces, big fights, or fun chases, culminating in an ending that makes the player think to themself “Uhhh..huh?” Or, as Desmond so elegantly puts it “What the hell was that!?” 

    It’s best to look at a remake from the two most likely possibilities, and possibly a secret third one.  We’ll start with the one that’d be easiest for Ubisoft to do, a scene for scene remake like they did with Black Flag Resynced. As stated earlier, some players may worry about repetitive game elements but I’d like to counter that argument by asking: aren’t most games repetitive in some way? Whether it’s grinding to get materials to craft something, doing side activities to make more money to upgrade something, or fighting drones of enemies to level up and be able to fight the next boss, we as players are constantly completing “repetitive” tasks and rarely do we complain about it unless it’s a situation that results in a lot of work with little reward. The way Ubisoft reworked Black Flag’s tailing missions, they could slightly tweak the information gathering of the original game, making it a tad more dynamic and reducing the possibility of anything feeling repetitive. 

    Conversely, Ubisoft could decide to take on a much larger task and completely remake the original game, making it a remake in name and core story only. Personally, the idea of them going with this option is equally as exciting as a scene for scene remake but I’m biased and want more Altaïr. Completely rebuilding the original game could very well turn it into a modern classic or it could be disastrous. While most players seemed to enjoy the added missions in Black Flag Resynced, it’s not a secret that a fair few were very vocal that they were noticeably different in both cutscene appearance and writing. Personally, I liked the added content but also recognized why others may not have, luckily it seems to have not affected the remake as a whole but it does pose the question: would it be worth it for Ubisoft to try and rebuild the entirety of the original game like this? If the entire game was perceived to have the same issues as the added missions in Resynced it could potentially ruin all the forward momentum Ubisoft gained from the rest of Resynced. 

    The secret third option is a mix of the previous two. If given the proper amount of time and resources, I truly believe Ubisoft's devs could give us a modernized experience of the game that started it all, they just have to be willing to take a leap of faith and let their devs do what they do best. At the end of the day, no matter what Ubisoft decides to do or not do with their old games, we will still always have those games. If we never get a remake, maybe that means it’s not needed, maybe some things are best left untouched. We will just have to wait and see, in the meantime we can eagerly look forward to getting more information on Assassin’s Creed Hexe and keep rediscovering the West Indies in Resynced.

    What do you guys think? Does the original game need a remake? If so, what do you want out of it? I look forward to reading what you all have to say! In the meantime remember: Nothing is true, everything is permitted.