Ryguy4
2013
There's not much to say about this game that hasn't already been said. The story, though I don't find it as original as everyone else, is still immaculately told. The dynamic between Joel and Ellie is perfectly developed and both parts are portrayed wonderfully by Troy and Ashley. I go back and forth between if I like this one or 2 more, but I think this one has the better character work, though I may enjoy more aspects of 2 as a whole. Yes, it can get annoying to see on Twitter the way people have overhyped the story in light of the show coming out (just play the game it's better), but it is still a story worth experiencing imo.
In terms of the gameplay, I have never really gotten why people dislike it so much. After playing 2, certain aspects do feel dated (not being able to prone), but I still think there is quite a bit of variety in the gunplay and crafting that makes up for whatever clunkiness you may encounter.
All in all, this game isn't on so many "best games ever" lists for no reason. If you still somehow haven't played it, you owe it to yourself.
In terms of the gameplay, I have never really gotten why people dislike it so much. After playing 2, certain aspects do feel dated (not being able to prone), but I still think there is quite a bit of variety in the gunplay and crafting that makes up for whatever clunkiness you may encounter.
All in all, this game isn't on so many "best games ever" lists for no reason. If you still somehow haven't played it, you owe it to yourself.
2015
Probably one of the most fun experiences I've had playing a video game. This is not a landmark game by any means but it really understands that sometimes gamers just want to put on a wingsuit (or jetpack with the DLC), grab a 4-barrel rocket launcher, and blow everything up.
This review contains spoilers
This game was a doozy, and not in a good way. As someone who actually enjoyed Origins, this game was a complete step down for the franchise in almost every conceivable way. The mechanics were a shotty attempt to recreate the magic of the Witcher 3, with RPG aspects that matched that game, but done in a less satisfying way. The dialogue options exist solely to expand your character's made up personality despite the notion that you're supposed to be playing as an established character in the world. This works well in a game like Witcher or Mass Effect, where either dialogue option fits the relevant personality of that character. In Mass Effect, choosing either the Paragon or Renegade option in an encounter can make sense, whereas here, the choices are so varying that you can choose one thing, and then 10 mins later choose something that completely contradicts what your character did in the first encounter.
This world is also one of Ubisoft's most bloated and boring. The game looks pretty but lacks real defining features that immerse you into this world and makes your journey in the story feel tangible. Arriving in Venice in Assassin's Creed 2 is such a great feeling that it absent here.
Obviously the main critique here is that there are no assassins in this game and, yeah... that's hard to overlook. It's very strange that Ubisoft seemed to set up some sort of saga with Bayek and Aya in Origins only to completely abandon it for this Witcher 3 ripoff that fails to understand what made the previous games so great. If you are in the mood to play assassin's creed, definitely think about skipping this one, or just get the Witcher 3, which does everything this game tries to do better.
This world is also one of Ubisoft's most bloated and boring. The game looks pretty but lacks real defining features that immerse you into this world and makes your journey in the story feel tangible. Arriving in Venice in Assassin's Creed 2 is such a great feeling that it absent here.
Obviously the main critique here is that there are no assassins in this game and, yeah... that's hard to overlook. It's very strange that Ubisoft seemed to set up some sort of saga with Bayek and Aya in Origins only to completely abandon it for this Witcher 3 ripoff that fails to understand what made the previous games so great. If you are in the mood to play assassin's creed, definitely think about skipping this one, or just get the Witcher 3, which does everything this game tries to do better.
Don't get me wrong, this game suffers greatly from the Ubisoft generic open world effect, but wow this game was really fun to goof around in with my friends. In terms of narrative this game is very bare bones, but the cartel "target chart" provided a pretty cool system that at the very least established in context the reason why you should want to explore the world. Definitely would recommend this game be played with friends, otherwise you might not have a very good time.