Welcome Iconists!
I've went 100% through the game with all the collectibles and stuff, enjoyed the game fully, but I think the Meta score is pretty fair.
Story:
In its core is extremely good, but the execution/storytelling is really mediocre in most parts. It's like your little brother telling you the story of The Titanic movie vs the actual movie, or this:
As we all know, there is no problem with the core/script of the music, but the execution is laughable. Most of the conversation made were pretty solid, but very bland and outdated and can't match the impact of the cutscenes of MGS1 on PS1 decades back. This really saddens me a lot. For a comparison, Sony made simple stories of GOW, GoT shine insanely because of how polished the storytelling and acting is.
To put it simply, the story is 10/10 while the execution is 5/10, so it's 7.5/10 in total.
Gameplay:
I would say I liked gameplay more than previous ones, but it's extremely basic vs GoT that made simple encounters so satisfying. Overall I enjoyed it and would give it 8/10.
Graphics:
As a photographer/filmmaker, I really loved the added "softness" with the chromatic aberration as it took away most of the "digital" flaws of games in general and softens things up. Most gamers bitch about it but I really prefer it and would keep it on like on Spider-man games. To me jaggies, extremely sharp edges are immersion breakers to me. Those effects made it have more filmic qualities with pleasantly softer image. Would say overall, despite the outdated graphics, it should be around 8/10.
Voice acting:
To my surprise, the "Arabic" voice acting is pretty solid, very accurate like 99% (I'm an Arabic teacher). Basim has a much better voice vs English version, and most voice actors had impressive performances that I didn't expect from non-leading language of the game (or is it?).
Overall, I would give this a solid 10/10.
Historical integration:
The biggest part of AC games in general, and this one was extremely accurate to the point I was shocked. Tried to find flaws as I've studied the Abbasid and other Muslim empires through the years but I can only appreciate what they've done with this game. Impressive to say the least and if you love history and you're not Arab it's an exotic experience to many. Easy 10/10 where AC always has insane competent historians.
Verdict?
Well, I think people weren't wrong when called it the "Fast Food of Gaming". It could've been one of the most iconic games ever, but they went back to roots totally and never added much more vs older games. It's not bad by any means, but it's not great. I would say 8/10 or even 7.5/10 is pretty fair.
I would recommend it to people that like AC games in general and open world, and love to venture into tricky ways to get to treasures despite most of them are very meaningless when rewarded. Also buy the $50 version, that $60 version is a scam with 1 outfit/sword/dagger that slows time and makes the game easier than it is already.
I've went 100% through the game with all the collectibles and stuff, enjoyed the game fully, but I think the Meta score is pretty fair.
Story:
In its core is extremely good, but the execution/storytelling is really mediocre in most parts. It's like your little brother telling you the story of The Titanic movie vs the actual movie, or this:
As we all know, there is no problem with the core/script of the music, but the execution is laughable. Most of the conversation made were pretty solid, but very bland and outdated and can't match the impact of the cutscenes of MGS1 on PS1 decades back. This really saddens me a lot. For a comparison, Sony made simple stories of GOW, GoT shine insanely because of how polished the storytelling and acting is.
To put it simply, the story is 10/10 while the execution is 5/10, so it's 7.5/10 in total.
Gameplay:
I would say I liked gameplay more than previous ones, but it's extremely basic vs GoT that made simple encounters so satisfying. Overall I enjoyed it and would give it 8/10.
Graphics:
As a photographer/filmmaker, I really loved the added "softness" with the chromatic aberration as it took away most of the "digital" flaws of games in general and softens things up. Most gamers bitch about it but I really prefer it and would keep it on like on Spider-man games. To me jaggies, extremely sharp edges are immersion breakers to me. Those effects made it have more filmic qualities with pleasantly softer image. Would say overall, despite the outdated graphics, it should be around 8/10.
Voice acting:
To my surprise, the "Arabic" voice acting is pretty solid, very accurate like 99% (I'm an Arabic teacher). Basim has a much better voice vs English version, and most voice actors had impressive performances that I didn't expect from non-leading language of the game (or is it?).
Overall, I would give this a solid 10/10.
Historical integration:
The biggest part of AC games in general, and this one was extremely accurate to the point I was shocked. Tried to find flaws as I've studied the Abbasid and other Muslim empires through the years but I can only appreciate what they've done with this game. Impressive to say the least and if you love history and you're not Arab it's an exotic experience to many. Easy 10/10 where AC always has insane competent historians.
Verdict?
Well, I think people weren't wrong when called it the "Fast Food of Gaming". It could've been one of the most iconic games ever, but they went back to roots totally and never added much more vs older games. It's not bad by any means, but it's not great. I would say 8/10 or even 7.5/10 is pretty fair.
I would recommend it to people that like AC games in general and open world, and love to venture into tricky ways to get to treasures despite most of them are very meaningless when rewarded. Also buy the $50 version, that $60 version is a scam with 1 outfit/sword/dagger that slows time and makes the game easier than it is already.
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