Thursday 02 / May / 2024
Have you been to ancient Egypt? No, obviously not, unless, of course, you’ve invented some sort of time machine. If you have, please let us know; we’re dying to try it out.
Until that does come to fruition, though, we’re happy to experience it through the brilliantly-designed, thoroughly engaging world of Assassin’s Creed: Origins.
Ubisoft’s latest addition to the Assassin’s Creed franchise, which catapulted the already well-known game designers from France to celebrity status in gaming circles, only highlights just how far cutting-edge graphics and immersive gameplay have come since Al Tair Ibn La Ahad went swinging around rooftops across Crusader Arabia during the Middle Ages.
Much has transpired since then, with Assassin’s Creed: Origins taking you back to the days of 50BC, when Julius Caesar was conspiring to bring his Roman legions across the Mediterranean, Cleopatra was on the verge of becoming Pharaoh, and the order of assassins was about to be born.
Assassin’s Creed: Origins is set in ancient Egypt, and Ubisoft’s latest version of their overwhelmingly successful video game franchise shows gamers how the order was born.
Previous characters Ubsioft have given us include Altair, Ezio Auditore, Connor Kenway, and some other blokes who go traipsing around the streets of London and Paris. This time around, you play as Bayek, a member of the Medjay, the Pharaoh’s personal paramilitary guard, a group of fierce warriors renowned throughout the land as skilled fighters and expert scouts.
Bayek is charged with guarding the areas around his home, Siwa Oasis, which as the name suggests, contains water, the lifeblood of humanity that is hard to find in the deserts of Egypt. One night, while maintaining his vigil, he is abducted by masked bandits along with his son Khemu, and is forced to open a secret vault inside the Temple of Amun inside the vast Karnak Temple Complex of the Valley of Luxor.
Although he’s able to give the men the slip, his son dies in the ensuing fracas, and a heartbroken Bayek returns inconsolably to his wife, Aya. After bidding her goodbye, he goes on a self-imposed exile, and swears to avenge the death of Khemu by tracking down and eliminating all of the masked men, who, it turns out, belong to the Order of the Ancients, a fanatical cult who want to control all of Egypt under a puppet leader, in this case, the wise Greek scholar, Ptolemy.
After eliminating two of his targets, Bayek pursues the rest of his adversaries, only to find that two of them have already been slain: Aya has been working with Queen Cleopatra and her allies to uncover the rest of this shady order – the five were only the head of this serpentine organisation, which intends to poison Egypt from within.
And externally as well: Roman legions continue to march on Egyptian soil, as they fuel Caesar’s lust for conquest. As they infiltrate both the Roman Senate and the military camps on both sides of the sea, Bayek, Aya and the rest of their allies realise they will need to act quickly to secure Egypt’s future, or risk losing all they hold dear to them once and for all.
While the task facing them is enormous, players also have plenty of resources to keep themselves alert. The eagle vision system, a favourite among gamers, has been replaced by Senu, an eagle that players can use to scout around the map. It is a similar mechanism that has been borrowed from another Ubisoft favourite, Far Cry Primal, in this case.
Players can also – for the first time in the series, wield a sword and shield simultaneously, allowing them to balance offensive abilities with defensive nous, much-needed skills against the iron-clad Roman legions and other enemies they will encounter.
With summer around the corner, it may not be the best time to visit Egypt. Until cooler weather approaches, though, you might want to turn up the air-con, sit back, relax, and play Assassin’s Creed Origins.
The Short and Skinny
Game: Assassin’s Creed Origins
Genre: RPG/Historical Fantasy
Produced by: Ubisoft
What it’s about: Go back in time to the birthplace of modern civilisation, and witness the foundation of an order of members that stand for what is right. They are the guardians of liberty and justice. They are the assassins.
Where to buy: G2A games, Ubi Store, Steam Store, Amazon, PlayStation Store, Xbox Marketplace, Best Buy, Humble Bundle
Platforms: Xbox One, PlayStation 4, PC
IGN Rating: 9/10
