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[Blimblim]

Yes, I read that too. Amazing really, since ND have been discussing Uncharted's animation constantly over the last year, but then AC's animation comes out of the blue and gives Uncharted some serious competition.

It really doesn't come out of the blue at all. Autodesk is publishing some ads about their new animation package (motionbuilder / humanik) in gaming magazines (dev pages of Edge for example) using Altair as their model.
http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/item?siteID=123112&id=10316291&linkID=10225710

 

[Imperial Hot]

Is the game really that much more enjoyable, when going through without the HUD? I really enjoyed my first playthrough, and I have moved on to other new releases(I intend to go back to Assassin's Creed eventually), I am wondering should I try it without the HUD?

 

[dreammastah]

After reading conman's post at the end of page 101, it sounds like it'd be fun to go through with no HUD. I've only rented the game, so I'm going to run through it with the GPS so I can finish it in a few days, but if I owned the game I'd definitely take my time with it.

 

[orio7]

This game is getting me interested in the crusades timeline

Same here. Got some fact books from the library and even bought Kingdom of Heaven Director's Cut which was surprisingly decent.

Are there any good novels that takes place around this time?

 

[Kastro]

how are you supposed to know where to go without a HUD?

you have to stop and check the map every 10 seconds?

You can also add me to the list of people fascinated with the Crusade-era after playing AC. I wish we could have gotten more of the characters instead of that one scene before the assassination. I wanted to know more about them.. some of them seemed really cool. Robert de Sable was badass.

 

[Dr_Cogent]

Regarding the HUD discussion, I felt the game was just fine with having everything on. Sometimes I would turn the control HUD off, but the game didn't seem better or worse with the HUD on or off. I liked being able to know where the citizens who were in need of saving. I pretty much had a system when I got into town. Climb a tower to show the remaining towers, then from there, go to the next closest objective (be it a citizen, investigation, or another tower to climb). I probably missed flags doing it this way, but I have no qualms with that. I will be returning to this game to get my blade on from time to time. The combat and animations never get old. This game is a keeper for the life of my 360.

 

[Opus Angelorum]

how are you supposed to know where to go without a HUD?

I check the map maybe two or three times, if you pay enough attention to the surroundings there are enough visual and audio clues. Use the zoom on the map to plan a route.

 

[IzumiK]

When I bought Uncharted, I wasn't able to buy Assassin's Creed because the PS3 version had sold out while there was a lot of 360 versions.

It doesn't make sense!

 

[nelsonroyale]

Yes, I read that too. Amazing really, since ND have been discussing Uncharted's animation constantly over the last year, but then AC's animation comes out of the blue and gives Uncharted some serious competition.

Not sure what they are thinking, the scalability of the environment is very apparent, the fluidity of animation in the combat is very apparent, but the animation in the game wasnt very noticible to me, except how jerky the climbing is....when he reaching up etc, he jerks up he stops, he jerks up he stops...its not fluid at all

 

[Mr Vociferous]

I'm a little shocked about the negative flack this game is getting. It's truly one of the years best and an interesting evolution of the stealth genre. Yeah, it has some flaws, but where it excels it does so profoundly. Most of the complaints I see here have more to do with not playing the game well or right, rather than the game having poor design from top to bottom. I'm still playing through it, taking my time to enjoy every detail.

Just finished the assassination of the

Spoiler

Montferrat dude

and underwent a severe amount of stealth, scaling rooftop to rooftop and taking out each guard without notice. I even had to move precariously along the outside of the castle wall to take out some of the rampart guards before I could make my kill. When the kill finally came, it was that much more satisfying - particularly since I quietly and secretly eliminated most of his defenses.

My hat is off to Ubisoft on this gem. I've been wading back and forth between this and Mass Effect, and this is easily the most fun I've had in gaming since Halo: Combat Evolved.

 

[Dr_Cogent]

What really kills me is reading the latest issue of EGM where in the back they complain that the controls are difficult. EMG/1up has practically no credibility at this point with me.

 

[conman]

how are you supposed to know where to go without a HUD?

you have to stop and check the map every 10 seconds?

No map.
No HUD.

Learn to trust your senses. Let the Creed flow through you.
And read this.

 

[Mifune]

I tried playing without a GPS for about three investigations, and spent a good chunk of that time wandering around like a fool. Sorry, not fun to me at all. GPS is back.

I did leave off all the other HUD elements, though.

 

[reilo]

Altair's animations are top notch. They are fantastic.

Everybody else in the world of AC? They are on some FFXII shit. That's not a joke.

Uncharted's animation is consistently great for each and every character on the screen. They all feature the same great animation that Drake does.

 

[RSTEIN]

What really kills me is reading the latest issue of EGM where in the back they complain that the controls are difficult. EMG/1up has practically no credibility at this point with me.

LOL

how the hell are the controls difficult?? If anything they're almost too EASY!

 

[Mifune]

Altair's animations are top notch. They are fantastic.

Everybody else in the world of AC? They are on some FFXII shit. That's not a joke.

Uncharted's animation is consistently great for each and every character on the screen. They all feature the same great animation that Drake does.

Uh, the animation is pretty great when it comes to every character in AC. The character models, on the other hand...

As for Uncharted, Drake looks great when he's running and gunning, but more than a little awkward when climbing and hang-jumping from ledges. And the less said about the enemy animations when shot the better. The game has pretty great animation overall, but some people act like Walt fucking Disney himself came back to life to work for Naughty Dog and present to the world the ABSOLUTELY PERFECT SLICE OF ANIMATION HEAVEN that is Uncharted: Drake's Fortune.

I swore to myself that I wouldn't engage in these completely stupid comparisons, but I failed. And for that I apologize.

 

[PowerSmell]

LOL

how the hell are the controls difficult?? If anything they're almost too EASY!

Wow. I'd have to see that comment to believe it.

 

[RSTEIN]

Wow. I'd have to see that comment to believe it.

Wait... are you talkin about my comment or the 1up/EGM comment?

 

[stuminus3]

1) That this game was originally designed to be played without the use of map markers, GPS, or the select-screen map. Judging by what follows below, it seems that these things were added late in development as a way to "dumb down" the game.

QFT.

I'm sorry, but I really do think Assassin's Creed has been the unfortunate victim of publisher meddling.

Playing with everything (GPS etc) on it's default state of "on", it seems the game is crammed full of great concepts that are completely pointless, because there's no reason to do anything but go from point A to point B on your map. I mean, why have all these fantastic visual and audio clues about informants etc then make them redundant because they appear on your radar anyway? It's like the game once existed purely in the form that the player can make it (GPS off etc), the whole game seems to have been designed to be played that way, then someone has come along and said "no that's too much work, people like big green arrows pointing them to their next destination so let's shoe-horn in a GPS and not even talk about the gameplay elements that the game was originally designed around". This of course makes the majority of the game's content redundant, with the cities being useful for nothing more than flag hunts, as everything else can be accomplished simply by following the proverbal "big green arrow". It's a completely different experience if you turn that crap off.

It makes me wonder what the response to the game would have been like had the game shipped in the way the player can make it. Maybe it'd have been too "hardcore" and the game would flop. Thankfully, while the game is IMO "broken" in it's default state, it can be fixed by the player. It shouldn't have to be... it's almost insulting that I have to "fix" the game myself... but better a broken game that I can fix with a couple of menu option changes than one that's broken completely.

 

[conman]

Playing with everything (GPS etc) on it's default state of "on", it seems the game is crammed full of great concepts that are completely pointless, because there's no reason to do anything but go from point A to point B on your map. I mean, why have all these fantastic visual and audio clues about informants etc then make them redundant because they appear on your radar anyway? It's like the game once existed purely in the form that the player can make it (GPS off etc), the whole game seems to have been designed to be played that way, then someone has come along and said "no that's too much work, people like big green arrows pointing them to their next destination so let's shoe-horn in a GPS and not even talk about the gameplay elements that the game was originally designed around". This of course makes the majority of the game's content redundant, with the cities being useful for nothing more than flag hunts, as everything else can be accomplished simply by following the proverbal "big green arrow". It's a completely different experience if you turn that crap off.

It makes me wonder what the response to the game would have been like had the game shipped in the way the player can make it. Maybe it'd have been too "hardcore" and the game would flop. Thankfully, while the game is IMO "broken" in it's default state, it can be fixed by the player. It shouldn't have to be... it's almost insulting that I have to "fix" the game myself... but better a broken game that I can fix with a couple of menu option changes than one that's broken completely.

Yes.
Thank you. My point exactly.

So many of the awesome details in this game remain "invisible" until you ditch the gps and map. Once you get rid of those, you can't help but recognize that this is the way the game was originally designed.

Luckily, it's entirely fixable.

 

[PowerSmell]

Wait... are you talkin about my comment or the 1up/EGM comment?

:lol

The EGM comment.

 

[Bildi]

What really kills me is reading the latest issue of EGM where in the back they complain that the controls are difficult. EMG/1up has practically no credibility at this point with me.

:lol

My 70 year old mother isn't having any trouble with it and she never got into Prince of Persia because the jumping was too hard...

 

[RSTEIN]

:lol

My 70 year old mother isn't having any trouble with it and she never got into Prince of Persia because the jumping was too hard...

Pics or it never happened.

 

[AKingNamedPaul]

Even though the platforming is done for you i can see what they mean by the comment. It took me longer than most games to be completely comfortable with the controls as a whole especially since they keep adding moves ect as the game goes on.

 

[EnjoyIncubus]

What really kills me is reading the latest issue of EGM where in the back they complain that the controls are difficult. EMG/1up has practically no credibility at this point with me.

I found that quote a bit odd as well. Before I bought the game I played it at a friend's house and I picked up on the controls almost immediately.

 

[RSTEIN]

Even though the platforming is done for you i can see what they mean by the comment. It took me longer than most games to be completely comfortable with the controls as a whole especially since they keep adding moves ect as the game goes on.

The instruction manual paints the game as being more complicated than it really is. I'll admit that the manual was kind of intimidating at first - y = head, a = legs, x/b = arms. Not your typical set up. But once you play it becomes natural.

By the way, I read all my manuals on the crapper. I dunno, its developed into kind of a ritual. Buy game, get home, have dump, read manual, play.

 

[Dibbz]

Just got it over the weekend, and I was suprised to see how good it actually was. Played through the first task on the first mission, then straight away took off the GPS. So glad that I did since it's great to just get absorbed in this game and manually search for everything (like you should). GPS just seemed so tacked on and out of place.

I'll admit right now though that I use the map now and again, although I flick it on and off for a few seconds, just to give me an idea of where things are located, and which direction I should search in.

I'm going to give that up right now though, since I don't want to ruin my first play through of this.

Animation in this game is amazing, eveything Altair does feels like it has wieght, which makes the game a lot more enjoyable for me, since it so pleasing to look at.

Only fault with the game animation wise is the horse animations (and controls). SotC spoilt me I guess

 

[DrBo42]

The instruction manual paints the game as being more complicated than it really is. I'll admit that the manual was kind of intimidating at first - y = head, a = legs, x/b = arms. Not your typical set up. But once you play it becomes natural.

By the way, I read all my manuals on the crapper. I dunno, its developed into kind of a ritual. Buy game, get home, have dump, read manual, play.

:lol Thanks for that.

Only fault with the game animation wise is the horse animations (and controls). SotC spoilt me I guess

I thought the horse animation was pretty damn good. The only thing that bugged me was the static hair on the tail.

 

[Mifune]

Doesn't ignoring the GPS and map make the city viewpoints completely useless, though? When you synchronize, all the nearby objectives pop up on the map. With the GPS and map off, the only point of finding those high points is to watch the pretty spinning sweeping camera movement, as far as I can tell.

 

[Dibbz]

:lol Thanks for that.


I thought the horse animation was pretty damn good. The only thing that bugged me was the static hair on the tail.

I don't like the way it jumps, feels so fake and wieghtless, the landing doesn't seem like their is any shift in weight to the front legs, it just jumps, and keeps the momentum, but it looks so odd. Plus I don't like how easy it is to control the horse, it's like you are the horse. SotC had it done so well, but I'll not get into that.

Can someone just answer me one quiestion. When your going through the Kingdom on a horse, are you supposed to hide from all the guards, or just certain types? It's pretty confusing for me and the game does nothing ( at least I think it didnt) to explain who to hide from. Some guys seem ok with me riding at normal speed past them, whilst others I have to blend to get past, then there are gaurds which attack and throw stuff at me no matter what :/

 

[Deleted member 17706]

Doesn't ignoring the GPS and map make the city viewpoints completely useless, though? When you synchronize, all the nearby objectives pop up on the map. With the GPS and map off, the only point of finding those high points is to watch the pretty spinning sweeping camera movement, as far as I can tell.

According to conman's post (http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=8725331&postcount=5050), you can spot the easiest information targets from viewpoints.

I just got the game last night and have only just arrived at Damascus so I haven't had much experience with the game, but I had no problems going through the first little town without the GPS on. After reading conman's post before buying the game, I decided to turn the GPS off right from the start. I have a feeling I might be able to enjoy the game more by exploring the city on my own and looking for clues instead of just following a big green arrow.

 

[JdFoX187]

The instruction manual paints the game as being more complicated than it really is. I'll admit that the manual was kind of intimidating at first - y = head, a = legs, x/b = arms. Not your typical set up. But once you play it becomes natural.

By the way, I read all my manuals on the crapper. I dunno, its developed into kind of a ritual. Buy game, get home, have dump, read manual, play.

I used to read manuals all the time during the 90s when they were a little more fleshed out. I still read them on the shitter now and then though. They're pretty good reading if the developer put some effort into 'em.

 

[X26]

AC's booklet is nice, if only for vidic's comments

 

[kinn]

I loved the one cathedral which you had to climb and it was a puzzle just to figure out how to get to the top. I wish there was more of that in the game.

Agreed. Took me a while to get to the top but when I did...It had the best view of them all!

And for the HUDless users, how do you do the missions where you need to assassinate 2-3 guys within a time limit? Loved the game and will play through it again eventually. At the moment I'm just farting about in the game!

 

[stuminus3]

Doesn't ignoring the GPS and map make the city viewpoints completely useless, though? When you synchronize, all the nearby objectives pop up on the map. With the GPS and map off, the only point of finding those high points is to watch the pretty spinning sweeping camera movement, as far as I can tell.

Nope. Quite the opposite. As has been mentioned, the easiest targets can usually be spotted up on viewpoints (the best use of eagle vision!)... but that's not the best of it. Forget using the Back/Select button to access your map. Viewpoints become your 'map'.

 

[Bildi]

Pics or it never happened.

:lol Well, I don't have a pic but here's the link to her gamertag showing a couple of achievements on AC when she was in town on the weekend and had a go at it on my 360. She was a bit worried when it came to the combat but it went pretty good. She doesn't have a 360 yet but I've bought her one for Christmas along with AC and Oblivion.

 

[AKingNamedPaul]

Nope. Quite the opposite. As has been mentioned, the easiest targets can usually be spotted up on viewpoints (the best use of eagle vision!)... but that's not the best of it. Forget using the Back/Select button to access your map. Viewpoints become your 'map'.

I really want to try this hud-less thing but all the parts of the city's look the same to me ><
its not like a gta game where i can memorize the city because it has landmarks it all looks so similar to me

 

[nelsonroyale]

you can use stealth in this game...but it is easy to pass the game without stealth...I just killed the 6th assination in Jersulem, took him out with his twenty guards round him...wiped them all out.... The game is in no way a victim of poor reviews.... some of the poor reviews are too low...

Also, Im not sure were all this animation excellence is coming from, as a whole, considering range of movement its certainly impressive, but not individual animations really

 

[WrikaWrek]

It's unbelievable how good this game looks. Sometimes it's even weird, as if, what was on my T.V looked off, with my eyes fighting to understand if it was actually realtime or not.

Amazing, best looking game i've played. (Don't bring in Crysis please...that's PC, go back to your corner)

Edit:

Oh and i really really love the game, i can understand where reviewers are coming from but still i think this is one of the year's best. Can't wait for the sequel.

*Spoilers*

Spoiler

So you guys seen the writings on the floor and wall at the end of the game? Lot's of clues to who was there before and maybe where we are going next. There was a lot of Asian, japanese i guess, writing, and there were even drawings of two japanese looking towers, so maybe japan is next? That would rock, if they did it right, hopefully if they do it they don't go tenchu on our asses.

 

[KTallguy]

My 70 year old mother isn't having any trouble with it and she never got into Prince of Persia because the jumping was too hard...

Pics or it never happened.

No pics, please.

 

[f@luS]

I feel myself bored in the game. Ill try another hour ( i think ive played 3 or 4 already) and i am really not into it.
I think while not moving a lot it looks great, but big pop ups and bugs are ....eehhk! At least the framerate is quite OK (playing on 360) i couldnt bear all this + bad framerate (ps3)

 

[Mifune]

I really want to try this hud-less thing but all the parts of the city's look the same to me ><
its not like a gta game where i can memorize the city because it has landmarks it all looks so similar to me

Yeah, this is sort of the problem I had. The rich district of Damascus looks different than the poor district, but I still found myself outside of the rich district when looking for its informants, pickpocket victims, etc. I think my poor sense of direction has doomed me to lead a GPS-filled AC life.

 

[WrikaWrek]

I feel myself bored in the game. Ill try another hour ( i think ive played 3 or 4 already) and i am really not into it.
I think while not moving a lot it looks great, but big pop ups and bugs are ....eehhk! At least the framerate is quite OK (playing on 360) i couldnt bear all this + bad framerate (ps3)

I only notice pop up and stuff like that in the kingdom. In the City it's awe inspiring however. Walking through the market, with the lightning and the dust and the dozens of people walking, is just whoa.

The game can be really boring i guess if you don't dress the character. Fortunatelly i was really into it.

Edit: And whoever said the city's were all the same, wrong!!! They are very different. Hell even on a basic level they are different, ACRE has tons of archers on the roof of the buildings, Damascus has none(i think, never seen them), jerusalem is 50/50.

And ACRe looks amazing, the port is just tits, with all the birds flying around....i allways stop to stare at it.

 

[GauntletFan]

It's unbelievable how good this game looks. Sometimes it's even weird, as if, what was on my T.V looked off, with my eyes fighting to understand if it was actually realtime or not.

Amazing, best looking game i've played.

It really in a league of it's own when it comes to visuals.

Prettiest game in a long time..

 

[RSTEIN]

:lol Well, I don't have a pic but here's the link to her gamertag showing a couple of achievements on AC when she was in town on the weekend and had a go at it on my 360. She was a bit worried when it came to the combat but it went pretty good. She doesn't have a 360 yet but I've bought her one for Christmas along with AC and Oblivion.

:lol I'm nominating you for son of the year.

 

[chespace]

Uh, the animation is pretty great when it comes to every character in AC. The character models, on the other hand...

As for Uncharted, Drake looks great when he's running and gunning, but more than a little awkward when climbing and hang-jumping from ledges. And the less said about the enemy animations when shot the better. The game has pretty great animation overall, but some people act like Walt fucking Disney himself came back to life to work for Naughty Dog and present to the world the ABSOLUTELY PERFECT SLICE OF ANIMATION HEAVEN that is Uncharted: Drake's Fortune.

I swore to myself that I wouldn't engage in these completely stupid comparisons, but I failed. And for that I apologize.

For all the hype of the melee combat animation and/or fighting system that I seem to remember from Uncharted's early days, the game really let me down on that front. There were 2 brutal combos, basically, and if you didn't use them, you were an idiot. Actually, the game didn't really let you melee all that much to begin with, since sneaking around was a pointless endeavor. Ah, enough talk about Uncharted.

I have not actually played AC or any video games for the past couple days. Went out for drinks with the Stinkles last night and decided to read a Tezuka manga (M-W) later on when I got home. Feels kind of good to take a break from gaming after a pretty intense few straight weeks of vegetating.

But tonight, I start back on AC again... still on the 7th assassination. Considering turning on the GPS just because I want to actually finish the game before I get sick of it. But now that I've taken a 2 day break, I wonder if I'll still feel that way... we'll see.

 

[p3tran]

No map.
No HUD.
And read this.

very nice

 

[WrikaWrek]

The combat makes me feel like the Jason Bourne of medieval times. I'm a mean son of a bitch, using the knife in a fight is just amazing, and did my jaw fall off when i broke the son of a bitch leg and then his neck.

That's what i call a cool move. Hopefully they will build on what they have here, increase the A.I, and give a bit more depth to the attacking moves.

 

[Opus Angelorum]

...and did my jaw fall off when i broke the son of a bitch leg and then his neck.

My favourite combo move.

 

[TTG]

A question about the last assassination in Jerusalem.

Spoiler

were they suppose to spot me at the funeral? I'm guessing they were. I climbed around the gate and was making my way aroung the other side of the cemetery to get closer to the victim without getting spotted when the cutscene started playing. As a result I couldn't jump to the next ledge so I had to climb back down and join the crowd. At that point ofcourse there's a cutscene where the templar picks you out from the crowd and the fight begins. If you die during the fight it will restart you AFTER you've been exposed, it seems very scripted.