Assassin's Creed 2 v's The Rest

As Christmas approaches the traditional wave of blood-drenched first-person ‘shooters’ and ‘slashers’ is cleaning up at the stores. This year’s crop includes Borderlands, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, Wolfenstein, Left 4 Dead 2 and Uncharted 2.

Most of these games are largely glorified Space Invaders dressed up for the 21st century.  Much of the appeal they offer is comparable to the fun in or appeal of driving games. In other words, we’re good at shooting people, we’re able to improve our ability to shoot people with practice, and we become emotionally engaged in successfully hitting targets.

In truth, these games are completely divorced from the actual experience of warfare or combat. The limited skill sets make it essential to up the ‘entertainment’ with sensational violence and tacked on reward systems borrowed from RPGs. Anyone wanting a real ‘taste’ of warfare would get a lot closer by trying out Laserquest or reading Remarque’s All Quiet on the Western Front.

Nevertheless, come Christmas morning millions of these titles will be handed out to kids, who’ll be encouraged to retire to their rooms and, in the case of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, take the role of terrorists shooting civilians in an airport.

So what makes ‘the Creed’ on PS3 and XBox any different. In so far as it’s an adult game, with violent content and a ‘hero’ intent on mass murder, not much. However, like a number of other games this year, including Batman: Arkham Asylum, the makers of Assassin’s Creed have moved on from simply relying on shiny graphics and explicit violence.

Assassin’s Creed 2 offers more varied gameplay and far richer entertainment than the immediate competition by requiring players to think before and as they act. Part of that is the result of embedding play within an authentic simulation of the internecine politics of the Italian Renaissance.

At the same time play within the four Italian cities depicted in the game requires players to use a far wider skill set than most other videogames. Clearly, part of that is the need for players to adapt to the circumstances and situations of the period while the plot develops but there’s a lot more to the game than that alone.

The Assassin’s mastery of acrobatic skills and the ability to adapt plans ‘on the fly’ is as important as actual killing. Indiscriminate violence is often not an option as it draws too much attention. And when our ‘hero’ does get all ‘up close and personal’ with an intended victim, the player is confronted with both the deed and a knowledge of the knock-on effects within and across the setting.

The effect is to enhance the fun/ entertainment and emotional engagement of players by asking them to apply a wide range of social and cognitive skills to solve systemic problems. As a result, ‘the Creed’ offers more variety of gameplay, a deeper awareness of the social reality of the times and more opportunities to use higher cognitive functions than standard ‘shoot ‘em ups’/ first or third person ‘slashers’.

Few players, and even fewer parents are likely to notice the wider options presented by Assassin’s Creed 2 from the blurb on the box. However, games companies are slowly making changes. Dragon Age: Origins doesn’t contain more choices and roleplaying than Neverwinter Nights 2 simply by chance. Batman: Arkham Asylum’s success is likely to lead to more companies offering more varied gameplay. And, in the case of Uncharted 2, the quality of the graphics and the plotting go some way towards lifting it above other ‘shoot em ups’.

The widespread introduction of parkour related gameplay across many major titles is a good example of how change is coming about. Movement is no longer a largely ignored and simplistic part of gameplay. Instead players have to think about how they interact with the environment and which moves offer the best options in any given circumstance. This alone is making games move away from ‘fight’ to ‘fight and flight’.

Assassin’s Creed 2 contains too much violence to recommend it for teenagers but it could be of interest and value to adult learners and older students. It’s also significant and, perhaps, ironic to see a major title about an assassin using gameplay that actually calls for some restraint. The Assassin needs to learn to be professional and cover his tracks or he risks being caught. So, try not to pick every pocket you come across and remember to tear down those wanted posters. It’s you they’re looking for and you need to stay alive for a minimum of twenty hours gameplay.