I've played Altair's Chronicles to death as a kid. So much so that I started basically speedrunning and sequence breaking it. If there was a speedrunning community for that game in 2008, I almost certainly would be in the top 20 (sadly, the game is empty on speedrun.com so my time of 3:36 will never be appreciated). This is my first time playing Discovery though and I'm excited to play it.
If you want a short summary of the games, Altair's Chronicles is a pretty nice Prince of Persia Game with an AC Skin (which is pretty funny given that AC was originally intended as a POP spin-off). The game is at its best when you're Speedrunning and platforming through levels like a 2D Sonic game and not when you're doing Stealth and Combat. The Story is cool but is full of holes when you think of it. Discovery plays closer to a "2D Demake of AC2" with much better integration of stealth, combat and parkour but the story feels so needless and the Insane Speed of Ezio takes a lot to get used to. I'd personally rank ACAC as better than Discovery.
With that said, let's get into the games starting with Altair's Chronicles.
-Presentation
The graphics look like those of a PS1 Game (and I mean that as a compliment). Environments look nice. Altair's character model looks pretty detailed (he doesn't have a face here. Although that kinda makes it more charming in a way). I don't value graphics that much anyway so I'm not holding anything against the game here.
The game reuses a lot of the sound effects and music from AC1. So they're pretty well done. The issue is that the game only has 1 alert theme so it starts to get repetitive. Add in that many missions require you to be in combat or otherwise be spotted for minutes, the music gets really grating. I wish there were a couple more alert themes the game could have cycled through.
I love the UI (and how they change colour depending on your area). Instead of using an Animus Sci-fi aesthetic (except for the health bar and pause menu. The iOS version used more of AC1's aesthetic), the game uses this paper map aesthetic that's pretty cool.
-Gameplay
Since going for an open-world game would have been beyond the scope of the DS, the game opts for a linear platformer with an isometric perspective. So The player can move all directions but the camera is fixed.
The people who hate Oddyessy must really hate this game because this game shows Altair as being able to jump over buildings outside the simulation of the animus which should really conflict with the lore.
Jokes aside, the gameplay is pretty good. Altair can run, jump and triple jump like in Mario 64, stick to walls and quickly run up them, balance and swing on poles and beams (you need to hold R, the command for walking, when you're on beams to not fall off. I feel it could be cooler if the player could run on beams and risk falling off for some extra speed. But I guess you could jump while on beams instead), climb specific objects like ladders (you can't climb buildings normally like in the main games), shoot out a grappling hook to swing across gaps etc. All this gives the player a lot of tools during platforming. It may not play like AC1 but it feels more fun. Levels that let you run across rooftops and let you sequence break (which isn't too hard) sections and puzzles with platforming tend to be the best parts of the game. There's this "Sonic the Hedgehog meets Prince of Persia" feel to when this happens. Unfortunately, this starts to become rarer after the first half of the game. The game starts slowing down with combat and linear platforming sections that I feel are much less fun than the more open first half.
Combat has been surprisingly carried over from the main game, and it is even worse. For one, you don't need to time your counter attacks, you can just mash Y or X while holding R and Altair will counter most weaker enemies automatically. Enemies that can't be countered require you to constantly repeat spamming moves because they are damage sponges. Unlike say, Odyessy which also has enemies with large health pools, there are no abilities or special moves the player can use early on to cut through enemies. You're better off running past enemies, or knocking them off ledges. Sadly, these aren't always feasible so you'll be repeating YYX until you get the YXX and then the XXY combos to deal with enemies. Conversely, Bosses are a joke. They just require QTEs so they're faster to deal with than some regular soldiers. Basically combat slows the game down to a crawl. There is some hidden technique where if you can counter a grab by a guard, Altair will assassinate them instantly with the hidden blade. But it's both random if an enemy will do a grab and they're so fast you can't do them even when they happen so it's an unreliable strat. The combat only becomes bearable when you unlock the grappling hook pulling move that knocks enemies down leaving them vulnerable to an instakill. You can collect orbs by picking them up while platforming, opening chests by blowing in the microphone and killing enemies to upgrade your health and damage.
Stealth is present in the game. You can sneak up on sleeping guards (who are somehow sleeping while standing up) by walking (by holding R) and pressing A to stealth Kill them (Altair will even do a short prayer for them when he does this). However this is pretty rare. Other times, there are missions where Altair can't be seen either by sticking to rooftops or he's wearing a disguise. For the most part, stealth is a small part of the game.
The player has quite a few tools and gadgets they can select using the touch screen, they have a crossbow, explosive bombs, smoke bombs, throwing knives and a grappling hook. Some of these tools are used during platforming (throwing a knife to open a platform, using a bomb to clear debris) and many of these feel like gimmicks and are only used once in the entire game like the knives. Like I said earlier the grappling hook ends up being the best tool for both combat and platforming.
There are puzzles as you play through the game. Many are incredibly basic (push a block to get a door open), some straight-up tell you the answer. There are 2 pretty cool ones. One during the Temple of Sand (which really goes against AC1's realistic style but looks great so I'm not complaining) where the player must time their jumps to press floor tiles in the correct pattern. And one later on where you have to rearrange a floor puzzle by moving pieces but each tile moves 2 different pieces. I once ended up solving it accidentally in 2 moves by going left and middle but I still think it was neat.
Minigames-
There are 2 minigames the player will have to do as they play the game. A minigame for pickpocketing that has the player using the touch screen to move a key out of a target's pocket all while avoiding moving apples and coins like that board game Operation. And a minigame for interrogation where the player has to play a version of Elite Beat Agents where they touch specific spots and drag a spot. These are the game's way of paying lip service to interrogations and pickpockets from AC1. I'm glad some effort went here to make the activities more fun and distinct but its telling that said minigames are used semi-regularly in the first half of the game and completely dropped in the 2nd half.
Also, one issue is that there's a menu that shows the player what they've unlocked. Like once the player unlocks the triple jump, they can always triple jump and the menu shows that. But some skills are so situational and limited that I wonder why they're even listed here. There's a skill called "Disguise" that says "Take on anybody's appearance". Sounds cool right? Except Altair only uses it 3 times during the whole campaign during scripted sequences. He can't take just anybody's appearance. So why have it be a skill in the menu then and why have it appear unlocked (there are other skills like blending which are similarly too situational to be worth calling unlockable skills)? I feel it would be better that, if the player can get a stealth kill, they can take on anybody's appearance for a short time so they must balance having to move fast enough to get the most of the time limit but also not arouse suspicion by moving too fast.
-Story
I am not going to summarize the story here. That's what the Wiki is for:
I also recommend reading this:
It's not too long a read. But I am going to discuss the story so spoilers.
The first main issue I want to discuss is the ending. It is very unsatisfying given that nothing is resolved nor is it climactic. The story feels unfinished, like there would be a few more chapters of Altair looking for Adha one more time.
By the way, do you want to know what happens next with Altair and Adha and how that ties into AC1? Tough Luck. You gotta read the codex entries from AC2, the novel The Secret Crusade and play some of AC Memories (which is a card game!) to find out more (or just read the Wiki)
From the Wiki:
"I had thought Adha would be the one to lead me to rest, that I might lay down my blade and live as a normal man. But now I know such dreams are best left to sleep..."―Altaïr, in his Codex.[src]For many days and nights, Altaïr pursued the Templar ship across the Mediterranean Sea , but in the end to no avail. When he had at last nearly caught up with Adha, she was executed by the Templars, and he could do little but cradle her lifeless body in his arms once he found her.[3]Adha's death would go on to haunt Altaïr for the the next year or more as he embarked on a quest for revenge, hunting down each and every last man responsible for her demise. So thorough was he that not a single Crusader with any connection to her murder remained alive by the time he was finished. In spite of this, he was unable to derive any solace from their deaths, and he returned to the Assassins numbed and heartbroken from his tragedy.[3]...."Contrary to his expectations, the Assassins did not punish Altaïr for assassinating Harash, and he remained a respected member of the brotherhood until his transgressions compromised them the following year. While he was welcomed back with full arms, this did not allay the scorn he had begun to feel towards the Creed, fueled in part by his bitterness over his failure to live a normal life with Adha.[4]His defiance towards the brotherhood eventually manifested during the mission to Solomon's Temple for the Apple of Eden in 1191, where he violated all three tenets in rapid succession. Not until his subsequent mission to regain his lost esteem in the face of demotion was his respect for the Assassins revived, as the experience—and standing against his traitorous Mentor—reinvigorated his passion to resolve the conflicts of humanity.[4]"
So basically, we don't see Adha getting killed and how that affected Altair and how that leads into his personality for AC1 and that whole story. And here's the thing, if it was a time or development constraint, then I'd rather the devs cut a few dud chapters from early on in the game if it meant that the final chapter got a lot more closure even if it ended with Adha dying and Altair killing all Templars there and the story ending on a sad note because at least it would feel complete. The game already feels like it has segments padded out anyway. If the reason was that they intended for an "Atair's Chronicles 2" with Atair finding a dead Adha and setting out to kill all the Templars responsible and were never able to make it, then that's just sad. I suspect it was more the latter given that the ending still has a fully animated CGI cutscene suggesting that was intended as the ending.
Altair's character:
I'm a little mixed on Altair's character. On the one hand, it makes sense that he's so chill in this story and becomes a dick in AC1 given what happens to Adha. On the other hand, we don't really see that in-game since Adha's death isn't seen so it feels like Altair's character goes from chill in this game, to a dick in AC1 to back to being chill in Revelations in a more inconsistent function. I think it would have been better if Altair was written to be a bit more arrogant in this game. It would contrast well against Basilisk who's more of a gentlemen at first. And Altair being all respectful towards Adha would make their relationship feel more special to the player. At the very least, it would have made this story seem to tie into AC1 a lot better and give him a more clear arc.
Basilisk:
As an antagonist, Basilisk starts out interesting enough. He's presented as more of a gentlemen to Altair's laser-focused approach before turning out to be more of a coward and pushover. I feel the story doesn't lean into that enough and seems confused on whether Basilisk should be a serious threat or someone who's not but is able to use underhanded tactics to get the upper hand. I say this because as a serious threat, Basilisk loses his credibility when Altair beats on 2 separate occasions, the first of which makes him run away and the second has him begging for his life and some info to spare him, And then the final encounter plays it straight and serious with Basilisk as the final Big Bad that Altair must defeat without leaning much into their past encounters. There's something with how Altair is just angry but that's never taken advantage of. I think the story here would have been better if Basislisk was consistently set up as this big guy everyone's afraid off but isn't actually that hot and instead basically uses underhanded tactics to get ahead. Like a heel wrestler that talks up himself but in matches either uses DQs and the like to make it out and gets his comeuppance later when he's trapped with the Face that the whole audience has been waiting for because even though he's not a physical threat but still has some tricks up his sleeve, his actions still make him a credible antagonist using his unique approach. Bringing this back to AC, I think it would have been better if the final encounter was presented as Basilisk throwing everything he had at Altair and hopes that they softened him enough for him to finally win. That would have been in line with his presented character and would have been a lot more interesting. It also would have lined up with the gameplay as the player knows that Basilisk's boss fights are a joke but would be so annoyed by everything thus far so like Altair, they would be all for taking him down. It's not a matter of if but when and that can be played up to make it so much sweeter.
Adha:
Adha is handled oddly. In terms of the story and her relationship to Altair, she's one of the more important characters possibly in the franchise given the dominoes she ends up knocking down. Yet she's barely present in the story(ies). Even in this game, she has a unique model, icon and dialogue bar (Not even Altair has all 3 given his model is reskinned for the Assassins and some Templars), yet is in the story for like 1.3 chapters at most. She's presented as being someone Altair loves so much he's willing to leave the Assassins behind for her (something Revelations shows Altair wouldn't do given how "it's the only life he knows")
Quote
"It was then that the two, in love as they were, agreed to flee together to a faraway place, away from the conflict between the Templars and Assassins, so as to settle down and pursue lives of normalcy.[2][3] "
Yet in-game she shows up 3/4 through the story, Altair immediately recognizes her there even though it's the first the audience has ever seen her (I remember as a kid going on the wiki for this game wondering if I had skipped anything but no. That is her first appearance even though the story suggests they met before). We the audience have no connection to her. She's described as "the chalice" that can unite the Holy Land based on who controls the Chalice yet that's never shown how. It also makes the first half of the story a waste since Altair had to go around to different cities to find keys to go to the sand temple to open a chest to find the chalice only for it to be empty and for Basilisk to show up and say "No. The Chalice isn't an object, it's a woman" like the audience is supposed to figure it out (also, if Baslisk already knew that, why was he even at the Temple? Why were there keys in the first place? The whole thing feels like a waste).
Perhaps this was the best the story could be due to the nature of the game's development. I can't fault the devs here. But let's say I could improve it. How would I rewrite the story so it flows and works a lot better? I'll assume it's within reason and limits of the DS.
Firstly, I would have Altair written like how I said earlier. Make him more arrogant. The story has people like Basilisk and the Templar already hyping up Altair so it would be good characterization to have Altair as that arrogant yet loyal member. It would also make it all the more impactful when he changes his tune around Adha. It's a small touch so it shouldn't be too hard to implement.
For Adha, I'd change it so Altair meets her early on in the story. Drop the whole mystery. We learn that she has magical blood (i.e Isu DNA) and that when she holds a special chalice, she gets special powers that can help whoever controls her win in the Holy Land. Her powers can be basically anything but I'd pick something like she can see the future or can see through people's eyes like the Observatory from AC4 or she can see thoughts or whatever. Something that's useful enough for people to be fighting over her but not powerful enough that she can just fight out and would need to comply with her captors. Basilisk and the Templars and the Sacrsens are all looking for both Adha and the Chalice so Altair must set out to find the Chalice. I'd also have it that Adha has a way to communicate telepathically with Altair throughout the adventure. She can help Altair with figuring out where to go and things like that as well as having some fun banter between the 2. I'm imagining 2 particular sequences where in one, she tells Altair a password to get through an area unscathed and another where there's like 6 sleeping guards and she tells Altair which one has the key he needs to pickpocket. The idea is that since Adha is so useful to both Altair and the player, the player is likely to connect with Adha and thus feels more like how Altair feels when she gets kidnapped and later killed. Her also having a tangible power provides a reason for the player to care if she falls into the wrong hands (this is set up for something later as well) as well as leaning into AC1 and Rev as to show why Altair might be willing to take responsibility for Isu powers and artifacts to not fall into the wrong hands.
The story then mostly proceeds the same until you get to the end. Now Basilisk has both the Chalice and Adha and uses her power to help him leave traps and ambushes for Altair. Altair barely overcomes this and Baslisk is confident he can win this given how much he's tried to stack the deck. This should make it all the more satisfying to take him down given that he was working around his weakness in combat and it had an impact. Ideally, I'd have a chapter after this where Altair tries to rescue Adha, she gets killed in the chaos. Altair is devastated and kills all the Templars on the boat. The story fast forwards some time later when Altair kills all the Templars connected Adha's death, returns home to Masyaf to a hero's welcome for all his good work but he's become bitter as a result. Leading nicely into AC1.
I think my version of the story is an improvement while still being reasonable to pull off on the DS, at most requiring a few cuts to some lacklustre levels and maybe a few more months of development. Altair's characterization is more on display and he even has an arc somewhat reminiscent of a standard hero's journey. Adha is now as important as the story thinks she is and helps connect the player and Altair. Basilisk is made a lot more interesting. The story now also avoids the issues of its first half being a waste, the chalice and importance not going anywhere and the ending becomes somewhat satisfactory.
There are some issues with this. For one, I lean quite a fair bit into the powers whereas AC1 is quite grounded for 90% of its runtime. I think this is still a better approach because ACAC is already quite ungrounded at times (literally the whole Temple of Sand, Altair's gameplay, the premise of an artifact that can control the Holy Land) so why not take advantage of it? It's also the only way to make most of the gameplay the same while making Adha present and important without her having to tag along which would make the missions unwieldy.
The ending still has issues. Once Adha dies in this hypothetical version, Altair will quickly kill all the targets and then the game ends. It still feels rushed but that's probably pushing the DS and amount of data anyway.
So there you have it. Assassin's Creed Altair's Chronicles. An Ok game with some neat ideas but inconsistent all around. Had it spent more time in development and had a bit more focus, it could have been a lot more special. It feels unfinished in places but is still fun. I wouldn't recommend it unless you're curious and/or a huge fan of the series though.
Now, onto the next game I'm going to cover, Assassin's Creed 2 Discovery.
Discovery is a 2D Side-Scrolling Game that plays like a 2D demake of AC2 + Sonic the Hedgehog. I know that sounds weird but hear me out.
Unlike ACAC which was more POP than AC, Dis has levels where the player is expected to move through and use stealth, there are multiple ways to move through levels. You can climb buildings. Combat is counter based on timing. Stealth kills, hiding spots, throwing knives, the leap of faith are all useful and quick to activate. Completing Optional Objectives awards you bonus synch (oh, and it actually takes place in the animus). Again, most of AC2 is translated here instead of being more on the periphery like in ACAC.
And like Classic Sonic, you have insane speed that builds up as you run. You have momentum-based platforming that requires you to build up momentum before you make jumps (unlike AC2 where you could jump your max distance from a standstill), slopes you can run down to run even faster so you can jump even farther, a kind of homing attack when moving at high speeds to magnetize to an enemy to kill them. Multi-tiered level design with different vertical routes based on how you play that incentivize exploration to find collectibles and other items. There's a scoring system that tracks how you play. You're expected to play through levels multiple times to get the best run. There are even little white rings (these don't do anything except highlight a path you can take though). Basically, like Sonic, there's a mix of speed, platforming and exploration in one game only now Stealth is a thing.
That last one is what makes the game feel inhospitable at first. You're constantly forced to go from supersonic speeds to a crawl as there's an enemy ahead and you don't want to be spotted, often feeling like the worst 2D Sonic levels like Marble Zone. And unlike ACAC, the minimap is a joke. It's so zoomed in that it can be hard to quickly switch between looking at the top screen where the game is being played so fast to the bottom screen where you'll learn an enemy is ahead of you only when you're almost in their sightlines. The iOS version does display the arrow on the screen so that's something but I wish the game had an option to zoom out more when running for both screens and the map actually showed you the path ahead and enemy locations before you got to them. You might argue this might break the game but this is how AC2 worked and it at least made the experience more consistent and fun. Your minimap gave you a massive heads up and let you proceed accordingly. Discovery does have a "walk/sneak" command that slows Ezio down and zooms out the top screen by holding L but I wish I didn't have to rely on it as much as a crutch as opposed to a tool. You also can't assassinate from hiding spots (which was one of AC2's whole selling points) which further hurts the pacing especially early on when you must wait for enemies to turn around or say screw it and take the score penalty and run past or jump over them getting detected.
Eventually, you may get used to most of the quirks of the game. You can learn routes to minimize interaction with enemies or let you get the drop on them for those kill requirements. You can throw knives to instakill enemies who haven't seen you yet to keep the pace up. You can explore to find the collectibles and refills. It eventually gets quite fun. But there are things that keep me from fully getting sucked in like minimap, the stop and go nature and how the game will force you to get spotted sometimes so you get pelted with arrows and brutes and have few ways to respond. Had these issues been addressed, I can see this as being a better game to play than ACAC.
Now regarding the combat, you might think based on everything I've ever said about the franchise that I hate this combat system. After all, it's basically AC2's combat system. The surprising thing is no. This might be the best implementation of Assassin's Creed's traditional combat and I don't mean that in a backhanded way. I mean it actually accomplishes the point of the counter based system.
With most stealth-action games, the purpose of stealth is to be slower but safer while getting into combat is supposed to be faster but riskier. Look at say, Metal Gear Solid V. You can choose to slowly sneak your way through camps, taking care of enemies. You're at no risk of dying as long as you ain't spotted. In Combat, you can fight through enemies much faster, clearing them out sooner as well. But enemies are tough. They can use tactics like flanking, pincer movements etc to trap the player. The player also doesn't have a lot of health and enemies can call in reinforcements for backup. And if enemies are sufficiently geared up, they may even be more difficult to take down. It's often better to use stealth to clear out most enemies so if the player gets into combat it's more manageable.
AC hasn't ever gotten this right (until Origins onwards which simply made both stealth and combat RPG paths you must invest in separately). Because while stealth is the slow way to play, combat is both faster and less risky. The timings are very lenient, you 1 hit kill enemies, enemies are scripted to attack one after the other as to not overwhelm the player. Said attacks also do pitiful damage. The player also has a ton of health that can easily be restored by dirt-common potions. Add in Brotherhood's chain kills and there is no danger or challenge. The player can cleave through armies like a hot knife through butter. And since enemy AI tends to be very basic, the player is more likely to get spotted and thus enter fights which brings more enemies so killing them all is always the most easy and efficient way to progress.
In Discovery. When the player is fighting an enemy, they can either hold R and time Y with an enemy's attack to counter them. Counters aren't an instant kill on stronger enemies but they do the most damage. The player can time Y to do strikes that do some damage and can knock the enemy down but these take a longer time than doing counters. This also leaves you vulnerable to attack from archers and enemies surrounding you. Counters also require very precise timing and mistakes cost a lot of health. There's no potion or way to heal during fights. Some enemies like the ones with spears can't be jumped over. The end result is that the player can get through fights quickly but it's tough because it requires the player to stand in the middle of enemies timing perfect counters one after the other while mistakes can be fatal and the easier approaches may waste time. As a bonus, it makes all the cool combat finishers and animations all the sweeter because the player actually earned them and there was a huge risk of failure as opposed to the main games where they lack that impact. Anyway, Combat is actually challenging here (all it took was not making counters so OP, requiring players to have to actually time their moves, add a risk of failure and remove a whole dimension) which leads it to work well with stealth. Stealth is now the slow and safe way to progress while combat is fast and dangerous if you're not prepared. Hell, there's an actual benefit to running away from fights, something you only did in past AC games for the Hell of it rather than as a real decision. Of course, there are some issues here. Most standard mooks are easy to deal with. And combat can become frustrating if you avoid it for most of the game only to get forced into mandatory fights near the end that demand you instantly get good if you want to be fast or cheese a little to get through them. Still, like I said earlier this is the best implementation thus far. I wish there had been a training mode with the Animus sections so players could really test the combat system.
Some other gameplay stuff (normally, I wouldn't copy from the wiki directly but whatever I would have written would have basically repeated the same points):
Memories were played out in missions, similar to Assassin's Creed II, in that players were given synchronization points by clearing the mission, provided the required objectives were met in the mission's structure. These specific factors were the following: Time cleared, kills, damage taken, and notoriety. In order to achieve perfect synchronization with the requirements, the player had to complete the level as fast as possible, kill as many as they could, and take minimal damage respectively, though the required values varied from mission to mission.MissionTypesSeveral mission archetypes are present in gameThere were several mission types set in a specific memory, which defined how Ezio should have approached them, or the mission would be a failure. In all, there were three mission types in the game:Normal - Players could approach the mission however they liked and take their time to explore the environment for collectibles, however the basic mission factors were still present.Chase - Players had to run towards the objective whilst trying to avoid combat with any hostile enemies, determining the best route to reach the objective with speed. The player was followed by a rain of arrows that could only be avoided once Ezio was indoors or in a hiding spot.Stealth - Players were required to avoid open confrontation with hostile enemies at all costs, resorting only to using a stealth execution move. Enemies were indicated by arrows that appeared whenever Ezio was near to them, and the player was permitted to be spotted 3 times in total. Exceeding the given limit would result in the mission being a failure.[I'm glad there are no tailing or escort missions from the main game]There were also challenge rooms present in the game, which required Ezio to clear a specific objective. The challenge rooms were played through in the Animus corridor, similar to the tutorial levels in the game. Cheats, dubbed "Animus hacks", were present within the game, which could be unlocked by obtaining enough synchronization points. These cheats ranged from character skins to boosted gameplay movement and perks, which gave the player an advantage or allowed them to customize Ezio.However, only one hack could be used at a time, and once a level was finished with a hack activated, the level wouldn't continue automatically to the next, instead returning the player to the level menu.Collectibles were also present in game, with there being a total of 5 different variations: Memory paths, which could be used as a guide to show a player where to progress; Renaissance maps, which unlocked the aforementioned challenge rooms; Knives, which refilled Ezio's throwing knives supply; Wanted posters, which could be torn off to increase the health meter once the required amount was met, and finally art pieces, which could be collected by unlocking hidden rooms in missions.The iPhone and Nintendo DSi versions of the game allowed the player to integrate their facial likeness into the game through photos, replacing Ezio's placeholder image in the wanted posters with the player's own image. Also, the art pieces found in the iPhone version could be imported for use as wallpapers.
I'm kinda sad I never played this game as a kid. I know kid me would have absolutely loved this and almost certainly would have 100% this multiple times. I was always a fan of AC, Sonic and 2D Stealth games so this was a wild match for me.
-Presentation
The game looks quite nice. You have that nice Renaissance look with Animus UI. Buildings, models, animations etc all look detailed and nice. The music seems to pull from AC1, even reusing that same alter them from ACAC that I'm quite sick off now. Still, I'd call it a step above ACAC.
I do feel the game starts to look visually repetitive at times. Much of the Italy and Spain we see looks very similar with only the countryside and night areas providing more variation at the expense of more interesting level design (a flat countryside doesn't have as many buildings to climb on.
The Story,
Here's the summary of the story if you're interested. I find it surprising both Wikipedia and the Wiki have a surprisingly detailed summary of the plot.
My issues with the story are that it feels so....there. There's no real arc or progression. Stuff just happens with no real connection. And the ending is so underwhelming.
As an aside, it also started a whole issue on the wiki on whether or not it was canon given the events of the 2016 movie and mobile game Rebellion. Some official folk at Ubi declared the game to be non-canon which also added to this. The current consensus is the game is canon if a little messy at times.
Anyway, back to the game itself, Let's start with the ending, Torquemada is the closest this story has to the main antagonist. He's the one that's caused most of the issues Ezio is facing in the story (like capturing Assassins). But the game ends with Ezio failing to Assassinate him and going "Eh, it doesn't matter and probably is for the better we didn't get him guys". Which feels so unsatisfying. Ezio doesn't grow or learn something. His character doesn't evolve nor does the situation change much. In addition, Ezio declares that Torquemada isn't a Templar (which conflicts with the movie). Torquemada is shown getting killed by Assassins in Rebellion.
The only other antagonistic force is Helene Dufraic. A French Assassin who defects from the order and has a bit of a rivalry with Ezio. The kicker: She's only in the iOS version and is barely even there even when she's supposed to be everywhere.
There's a small plot idea in Discovery that the order may have a mole but that's never followed upon.
The events of the story also seem unconnected. Ezio goes from meeting Columbus, to saving king Muhammad XII and making him abdicate, to convincing Queen Isabella to fund Columbus' expedition to the new world. All these feel so odd. You know those (false) criticisms directed at AC3 that Connor is involved in so many historical events he has no reason to? I'd argue those aren't flaws of AC3 because these sections are written as to actually work with the story and characters. Connor has a good reason to be involved in these sections. They either help him get closer to his targets, help him seemingly protect his people or test and push his character forward. None of these apply to Discovery's historical moments (or at the very least not as well) which seem superfluous and contrived like those criticisms talk about. Discovery even has Ezio basically going "I am pausing my extremely important search for artifacts in Italy because I feel compelled to help my fellow Assassins in Spain in what is something unconnected to me and what just feels like a side quest".
(Also, given Columbus' later enslavement and mistreatment of Native people, it's odd that AC would treat him in such a positive light, even having Columbus declare himself a "friend of the Creed").
I understand that Discovery is a DS Spinoff game that takes place between Sequence 13 and 14 of AC2 so there's not a lot of wiggle room but I feel a bit more that could be done to really make the experience feel a lot more interesting.
The main issue with any rewrite is the movie. Aquilar and Co are also involved with Grenada, Columbus, Muhammad and Torquemada yet never crossover with Ezio. So any rewrite would have to be conscious of them.
Eh, if anything, at least the mission-based nature of the game means the story doesn't interrupt your play in a bad way.
Regardless, Here's my attempt at a rewrite:
Firstly, make Helene the traitor and primary antagonist throughout the game. She's the reason why the Assassins get comprised by the inquisition and she's been feeding the Inquisition info about the Assassins' plans even after getting ousted. Her training and skills mean she's can't be easily taken out by Ezio. There can be a whole Batman/Catwoman dynamic where she makes points against the Assassins and Ezio has to keep defending them while pursuing her. Maybe there can be sections where Ezio starts to doubt himself and start to consider if Helene is right. How this story ends is kinda irrelevant. Ezio can end up killing her but feels torn up about it. Or she ends up helping the Assassins in the end, Ezio tells her this won't redeem her in the eyes of the Brotherhood, she says she knows that and leaves and Ezio lets her go. Or she sacrifices herself or whatever. As long as it spurs some character introspection, development or emotion, it works. It's not like this story will ever be followed up upon.
Secondly, I'd have it so Ezio, Raph and Antonio know early on the significance of Columbus' journey and want to get it going before the Templars stop it so they can get their "foot in the door" in the New World. Ezio decides to go to Spain to help mitigate the issues there so Isabella might be more willing to fund the journey. He also uses the opportunity to protect Columbus while he's there. Maybe there's also a lead on a POE there that's also related to Columbus. Now Ezio has a much stronger reason for getting involved in Spain's affairs and helping Columbus out besides he just randomly felt like it.
Everything else could basically remain the same. It's fine. It provides a nice reason for Ezio to do things, provides some context for the movie to later use and should tie back nicely to the rewrite.
So there you have it. That's my look at AC and Discovery. Overall, I like these games. I'd recommend checking them out.
Thank you for reading this article. I consider this my best work thus far. I'd like to hear your thoughts on it.
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