I can’t say I was exactly surprised to see the announcement that Assassin’s Creed III would hit shelves this year. Ubisoft has clearly decided that a yearly release schedule suits the franchise best, and it’s running with that.
I can’t say I was surprised, but boy was I disappointed in the news. This series really does worry me now.
Having played (and intensely disliked) Revelations, I really do wish I could walk into an Ubisoft board meeting and point out to these guys that massive open world games don’t just happen (and play well) overnight. The strain on putting together a game of the kind of scope that Ubisoft expects from the series showed in Revelations when no less than six studios (from all over the world, no less) were pulled into the project to get it out on time.
Things go wrong when you try and rush a big project, and rely on multiple big teams literally a world apart to put the jigsaw puzzle together. What you get is each team working on a small space in the overall jigsaw, and you run the risk of having the teams accidentally pick up the wrong set of puzzle pieces. Then when it comes time to put the last pieces of the jigsaw together, everyone realises that they’ve stuffed up badly.
This happened with Revelations. There were points in the game where what was going on felt so disjointed that it was hard to tell you were playing the same game that you were a few minutes before. There were so many ideas being thrown at the dart board that some missed their marks, and badly, and the scattershot yielded few bullseyes.
But more critically, when you’ve got so many different, disparate groups working on a project, it’s almost impossible to have a single cohesive vision for what the end product should look like. There’s a reason a film has a single director, or a book has a single author. Having six creative teams working on one game is the very philosophy of too many cooks spoiling the broth put into practice.
What does all this talk about Revelations have to do with Assassin’s Creed III? Ubisoft has given the project one year, which means it’s entirely possible the game will run into the same problems as the previous game.
No doubt it’s going to be a big, ambitious game, and as a “proper” sequel, with a whole extra Roman numeral attached to it, the pressure will be on to come up with a wholly new story and wholly new lead characters. That all takes time and creative energy above and beyond what Ubisoft would have seen with Revelations. So, as the fifth game on the HD consoles, the Assassin’s Creed formula is in danger of becoming tired. At a time where the developers need time to set back and decide on a path to the future for this series, now was not a time for Ubisoft to commit to a release schedule that is, if anything, more demanding.
Rockstar takes its time between GTA games. Bethesda has years between Elder Scrolls games. There’s a reason for that – the only way to prevent these large, open games from becoming tired is to have that development time to work on different ideas. And where those games have managed to bring something new to the table each time, the Assassin’s Creed formula changes about as much as a roster refresh sports game. For anyone but the fanatical, that’s just not going to justify another purchase.
What are your thoughts? Do you think Ubisoft is being too aggressive with release schedules for this series? Let us know in the comments!
Not even Call of Duty is pushed out this fast. Every Call of Duty is developed in a 2 year time-span by two separate developers. Say what you want, but in those two years every entry in the franchise has some pretty awesome ideas executed flawlessly almost every time.
Not even Call of Duty is pushed out this fast. Every Call of Duty is developed in a 2 year time-span by two separate developers. Say what you want, but in those two years every entry in the franchise has some pretty awesome ideas executed flawlessly almost every time.
Exactly! It's a monumental task to hope any development team (or teams) can churn out AAA-grade games on a yearly release cycle.
Exactly! It's a monumental task to hope any development team (or teams) can churn out AAA-grade games on a yearly release cycle.
Ubisoft has stated that this particular game has been in development for 3 years now. They have also said that after this release they will be slowing down production on the series, the main reason why they've put the rush on lately (small spoiler alert) is because they wrapped Desmond's story around the 2012 conspiracy.
Ubisoft has stated that this particular game has been in development for 3 years now. They have also said that after this release they will be slowing down production on the series, the main reason why they've put the rush on lately (small spoiler alert) is because they wrapped Desmond's story around the 2012 conspiracy.
Why is it so hard for people to understand that AC is a planned story that all leads up to Dec 2012?
You can argue that AC:Revelations was milking it, but AC III was planned from the beginning and finishes the story.
It's like saying "Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" was milking the franchise.
Why is it so hard for people to understand that AC is a planned story that all leads up to Dec 2012?
You can argue that AC:Revelations was milking it, but AC III was planned from the beginning and finishes the story.
It's like saying "Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" was milking the franchise.
Call of duty is the same new maps and guns same gameplay. Assassins creed has actually added things like flight. New moves new blades. A freaken team that kills for you. Lets see here bombs. Water combat shal i continue? What has cod added over the years? Custom banners a new killstreak and a nuke? O yea almost nothing! You should cry about cod not assasins.
Call of duty is the same new maps and guns same gameplay. Assassins creed has actually added things like flight. New moves new blades. A freaken team that kills for you. Lets see here bombs. Water combat shal i continue? What has cod added over the years? Custom banners a new killstreak and a nuke? O yea almost nothing! You should cry about cod not assasins.
Jesus your fucking retarded. this game has been in development for 3 years.
Jesus your fucking retarded. this game has been in development for 3 years.
AC3 has been in development for 3 years, that has been clear since the announcement the other day.
AC3 has been in development for 3 years, that has been clear since the announcement the other day.
Wow, a lot of fanbois here.
I agree. And even if AC3 been in development for 3 years it doesn't change that the series is getting boring with yearly releases.
The first 2 I bought at release. Brotherhood after 6 months and revelations? Haven't bought it yet. Why? I'm bored of the concept. Unless AC3 changes things in a big way, I won't buy it.
Wow, a lot of fanbois here.
I agree. And even if AC3 been in development for 3 years it doesn't change that the series is getting boring with yearly releases.
The first 2 I bought at release. Brotherhood after 6 months and revelations? Haven't bought it yet. Why? I'm bored of the concept. Unless AC3 changes things in a big way, I won't buy it.
Hated the first one, read the review of the second one, bought it and totally loved it. Liked the third one but was getting a bit bored and haven't bothered with the fourth one.
The other thing to factor into this debate is that with so many great games coming out ubisoft are not giving their fans chance to pick the last one up before another's ones out of the door. Once you are out of the continued story line that customer is lost forever.
Hated the first one, read the review of the second one, bought it and totally loved it. Liked the third one but was getting a bit bored and haven't bothered with the fourth one.
The other thing to factor into this debate is that with so many great games coming out ubisoft are not giving their fans chance to pick the last one up before another's ones out of the door. Once you are out of the continued story line that customer is lost forever.
waay too aggressive, after a pretty boring assassins creed 2 I got bored at the beginning of brotherhood and never continued on. To me it's just a lot of dropping the player in front of cutscreens or to go kill characters in different parts of the city. about revelations, come now, Assassin ZIPLINES in Istambul? How can a well-made sequel possibly be produced in a year's time? I remain faithful to assassins creed 1 before ubisoft went greedy, when assassins creed supported directx 10.1 antialiasing. pfft
waay too aggressive, after a pretty boring assassins creed 2 I got bored at the beginning of brotherhood and never continued on. To me it's just a lot of dropping the player in front of cutscreens or to go kill characters in different parts of the city. about revelations, come now, Assassin ZIPLINES in Istambul? How can a well-made sequel possibly be produced in a year's time? I remain faithful to assassins creed 1 before ubisoft went greedy, when assassins creed supported directx 10.1 antialiasing. pfft
Hi there,
Thanks for dropping by & your comment!
While I can understand why Ubisoft is going that, I still don't agree that pushing these games out so quickly is a good thing for the franchise.
None of the many development teams (more than one is a bad thing, I believe, in the first place) have been focused on AC3 for three years. The real development, where they're dedicating the majority of their resources to the project, is happening in the span of a year.
Hi there,
Thanks for dropping by & your comment!
While I can understand why Ubisoft is going that, I still don't agree that pushing these games out so quickly is a good thing for the franchise.
None of the many development teams (more than one is a bad thing, I believe, in the first place) have been focused on AC3 for three years. The real development, where they're dedicating the majority of their resources to the project, is happening in the span of a year.
Hi Giovanni,
Thanks for the comment! AC1 is probably the most enjoyable of the series for me as well. It had its flaws, but it was also a new, fresh game with a lot of personality. I don't like the directions that Ubisoft have taken the franchise since.
Perhaps AC3 will surprise me. Hope so!
Hi Giovanni,
Thanks for the comment! AC1 is probably the most enjoyable of the series for me as well. It had its flaws, but it was also a new, fresh game with a lot of personality. I don't like the directions that Ubisoft have taken the franchise since.
Perhaps AC3 will surprise me. Hope so!