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Assassin's Creed: Odyssey debuts Oct. 5 on PC, Xbox One and PlayStation 4. I've had the chance to play the first four hours – the first full chapter of a very long match – at a Ubisoft event last week. in San Francisco. During this period, I only reached three relatively minor islands of the Greek islands. This has given me insight into the size of the Odyssey world.
Prelude to Assassin's Creed: Odyssey, the latest title in Ubisoft's Assassin's Creed series, begins on October 5, begins at the Battle of Thermopylae, where 300 Spartans led by King Leonidas attempted to contain in the movie 300, takes place 49 years before the events of Odyssey.
It's a good start that shows the great clashes that will take place in the landscape of the Odyssey, which covers Greece at the time of the Peloponnesian War, when Athens and Sparta clashed in a fierce civil war both land and sea . And it's a treat for 300 fans, putting you in the middle of a famous battle 2500 years ago.
But when the game resumes 49 years later, you will feel like a whole new world and an original story. The odyssey begins in 431 BC. AD, on the island of Kephallonia (spelled Kefalonia), just in front of a narrow strait of Ithaka, the island of Odyssey. (If you do not understand the title, this story runs well after Homer's Trojan War and The Odyssey). The name Odyssey refers to the island trip that you will pursue during the game as a different Greek hero, a fictional person that you will turn into a new legend, said Scott Phillips, director of the game at Ubisoft, in an interview. with GamesBeat.
"At first, we decided that the choice would be essential to the game," said Phillips. "Choice in a role play environment. Greece has become a beautiful place. Then we thought about the great battles and emblematic moments of Greece and the battle of the 300 and the Thermopylae. It's a persistent thing in movies and stories. This is something we wanted to tackle very early, to start with beauty. We wanted a very personal story. It's also a little story about reuniting your family. But this small scale explodes and amplifies these events that change the world. Basically, your goal is to reunite the family you have been torn apart.
The prelude
Above: The king brandishes his spear.
Image credit: Ubisoft
In the brief prelude to the game, you will witness the last heroic stance of King Leonidas against the attack of the Persian army in the narrow passage of Thermopylae. He cuts an impressive figure and says bravely or foolishly: "Let's go meet our destiny, are we going?" The cutscene shows the 300 preparations to defend against the Persian charge, then the game resumes with you. Leonidas, brandishing a powerful spear.
You fight the Persians in a man-to-man combat, eliminating one or two at a time. The fight feels good. You can dodge and then attack quickly, dislodge a shield or shoot weapons from a distance. It is enough to pay attention to the Persians coming from all the directions during the fray. The battle of the first day ends in victory and Leonidas boasts that the Persians will never forget that day and that the world will never forget what the Spartans will do the next day. But, as the legend says, the Spartans are betrayed by a local citizen, who shows the Persians a route around the pass so that the Spartans are surrounded. The last scene of the prelude focuses on Leonidas spear, then vanishes in black and shows us a modern scene.
Layla Hassan and Victoria Bibeau hold the spear of Leonidas and discuss its authenticity. Hassan says, "If this book is right, this spear, this story … will change everything." The spear has DNA, and you must choose the strain you want. I chose Kassandra, the warrior. The story unfolds the same way, whether you choose the woman or the man.
After that, Hassan enters the Animus (a machine that allows you to relive the memories of an ancestor connected to your DNA) and returns to Greece. She hopes to recover an artifact that could help the Assassins, who promote peace and free will, against the Templars, who control the Abstergo society (creator of the Animus) and believe that peace goes through the control of the 39; humanity.
The living island of Kephallonia
Above: Ikaros flies over Kephallonia.
Image credit: Ubisoft
The scene opens with a view of the eagle on the island. It flies through the beautiful land rich in wildlife, trees, wolves and trees. The eagle passes Kassandra, sitting on the roof and holding a spearhead in his hands. This is from Leonidas spear, in the hands of an ordinary mercenary. But she links her lineage to the Spartan king. It is also an artifact of the first Assassin civilization, and it is the link with Layla Hassan, the modern day descendant.
Kassandra does not know anything about it. She is stuck on an island of lost hope. She is alerted of danger by the eagle, Ikaros. Two thugs came to get money from his supplier, Markos. Someone who calls himself Cyclops wants to recover a debt and Kassandra stands in the way. She does a little work on the thugs and the scene serves as a tutorial to fight. You can dodge, dodge or launch your own attacks quickly. You must first disarm a soldier with a shield, which is a bit difficult. Then you press your advantage and go to kill. It's a simple combat system, but from the start you have to make sure you have the controls down.
Phoebe, a girl watching Kassandra. come to talk to him. Then you go to Markos, a businessman who speaks fast and has close ties with Kassandra because he saved her when she was a child. Now, as an adult, Kassandra is his protector and performer. She takes various jobs to earn money. The first missions have a lot to do with Markos' protection against Cyclops' debt collectors and the continuation of one of Markos' projects. In most early dialogues, you have the choice between being cruel or nice. Later, you will face choices such as killing innocent people or letting them go.
Above: Kassandra speaks with Markos.
Image credit: Ubisoft
I could even choose which horse would wear me. During missions, I made my way, killing a group of bandits who were hijacking wood, recovering treasure from an underwater cave, saving Phoebe from Cyclops soldiers and stealing a heavily guarded artifact. The first missions were not difficult and they served as good practice. I used stealth as much as possible, but Kassandra was so strong as a fighter that I could usually survive if several soldiers discovered me and came down on me.
Perhaps the most difficult task was to stay healthy as I crossed the countryside and met several wolves. It's as if Kephallonia was a place of life. If you behave badly towards the people, you can get a price on your head. And if you arrive in range of other mercenaries, they can sue you to get the reward. If the reward on your head becomes huge, they will hunt you down, adding complexity to the ordinary task of completing missions.
During the game, Kassandra has flashbacks in her youth, where you meet a family and learn how she separated from her. It gives you insight into the character of a woman who has become a fierce warrior and a loyal friend. I loved these flashbacks and I felt the imminent disaster that was going to tear the family apart.
Above: Kassandra or Alexios
Image credit: Ubisoft
Returning to Kassandra as an adult, the missions put you face to face with the Cyclops, who is not really a legendary beast. Rather, he's a beefy guy with one eye. You upset him further by stealing his obsidian eye, then you get ready for the confrontation. I started this battle in all discretion, I removed some guards, but it was very hot. The men of the Cyclops pursued me and ran to a tower. At the top of the tower, I was safe. I could use my special ability, a Spartan kick, against anyone who is on the ladder. It worked for the most part, and I stabbed anyone who had not fallen. He even worked on the Cyclops himself, which proved easy to beat this way.
It was not particularly heroic to stay at the top of the tower, but it worked. I used this tour again, on the island of Itaka across the Strait, where I was sent by a stranger named Elpenon on a mission to retrieve the Penelope Shroud, which belonged to the wife of Ulysses.
During this mission, I helped a woman who had come down from Ulysses to find his way to the resting place of Ulysses. He was guarded by thugs, so we took them. They were numerous, so we had to retreat to heights, where we were able to repel the enemies of the cornices and stay alive.
The trip to Megaris
Above: the naval battle at Megaris.
Image credit: Ubisoft
Once I completed the mission of recovering Penelope shroud, I returned to Elpenon to recover my reward. He then hired me (I am, after all, a mercenary) to go to a distant island, Megaris, and murder a spartan general. I agreed, without knowing who it was. The target was identified only as the Spartan Wolf. The name meant nothing to Kassandra. His job was to requisition a ship and cross the Aegean Sea to the island where the Athenians are fighting against the Spartans.
I had to perform some missions to free a ship captain and then pick up a ship for him. The captain, nonchalantly, pronounced the name of the wolf, and Kassandra recognized the name. After that, she wanted to do the mission even more. Then we took off. The captain persuaded me to take back a small mass of land occupied by pirates. And in doing so, I recruited a new archer to be part of my permanent team for the ship. The skilled archer will be profitable over time as we compete against other vessels.
Then we sailed to the target island. Three Athenian ships were blocking the port, so I decided to attack them. I launched the attack by speeding up and pulling on the side of a ship. Then I used my archers to shoot the ship and sink it. I pursued the other two ships one at a time and also took them down, after desynchronizing (dying) once. Upon landing at the port, I wanted to surrender to the Spartan wolf. But one of his lieutenants refused me this privilege and told me that I had to earn the right to meet the leader, only after taking out a group of Athenian soldiers.
Only by returning the war on the island to Sparta I could win the right to see the Wolf. This does not mean that I will only fight on the side of the Spartans. After all, Kassandra is a mercenary.
I started this trip, but I saw that it would take several hours and my time was up.
Conclusion
Above: Assassin's Creed: Odyssey is a big world.
Image credit: Ubisoft
Ubisoft has unquestionably provided a big world in Assassin's Creed: Odyssey. It is filled with exciting environments, great land and sea battles, captivating missions, great moments in history and myths, and great graphics. I enjoyed what I have seen so far. But developers have to cross a fine line. They must provide a hundred hours of content for the most demanding fans who want to explore every corner of the world.
But I want to follow the main story, the real odyssey of the game, which is related to the past of Kassandra and is very convincing. It's a moving journey and such a compelling experience that you'll want to speed up the story as fast as you can.
But Phillips recognizes that you will be stuck. You want to meet the Sparta Wolf, but first you have to help the Spartans beat the Athenians. And to do this, you must take one mission after the other to weaken the Athenian army, eliminate its leaders and eventually return to the main mission.
It will take a lot of time and a lot of patience to follow the story across the open world. I hope it will be worth it.
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