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I want to talk a little bit about why I love the combat in Assassin's Creed 2. In AC2, and to a lesser extent AC1, combat is almost entirely about expression. First and foremost, this is evident in the fact that combat is easy. It's very hard, though not impossible, to die in combat in AC2. So the combat system isn't about survival at all. The fact that the combat system is easy also gives me time to decide how I'm going to resolve combat. I can hold down the block button and automatically block almost any attack, and often I find myself doing auto-blocking while thinking, "Given the number of enemies I'm up against and the environment I'm in, how would I like to resolve this combat situation?" The best thing about the AC2 combat system is the number of ways I'm allowed to fight an enemy. Here are some options: - Use any of the many weapons provided to me in game, the basic types being the sword, the dagger, throwing knives, my fists
- Block, counterattack, block (most common)
- Put away my weapon and attempt to disarm my opponent
- If I've disarmed my opponent I can use their weapon, and often this gives me access to very unusual weapon types (the spear and the ax, for instance)
- Dodge and attack
- Attack one enemy, then turn away and sneak attack an enemy who is not paying attention
- Grab an enemy
- Throw the enemy into a wall
- Throw the enemy off a ledge
- Throw the enemy into another enemy
- Headbutt or knee the enemy
- Switch weapons mid-battle as I see fit
- Run away
- Deploy a smoke bomb and run away
This is an incomplete list of the available actions in combat.
By giving me all these tools at my disposal, along with laughably simple artificial intelligence for the enemies, Ubisoft has done a brilliant job of simulating swashbuckling sword fights. I'm talking Errol Flynn style cheesy old movies where the hero is beset by dozens of goons but bests them all with his sword as they rush the hero one by one. The combat system in AC2 allows me to choreograph my own sword fight, which would be almost impossible if it weren't for the "dumb AI" that I've seen some people complain about. The best part is that feeling like I'm in control of combat at all times very much evokes the aesthetic of being a capital-A Assassin and all that entails. Of course I'm invincible. Of course my opponents are stupid (relative to me). Of course I get to take my time and choose how everyone is going to fall to my blade. That's exactly the kind of character I am playing! I suppose the combat in AC2 faces one of the same issues as the overall gameplay does in The Sims. For some people, it's a dreadfully boring casual game. For others, it's a creative outlet. Fortunately, in the case of AC2, I sit firmly in the latter camp.
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1) Switch to Hidden Blades then Smoke Bomb the ground when they're all surrounding you. You can usually take out 4-8 guys before the smoke clears, depending upon how good you are at double assassinations.
2) Start the fight empty handed then disarm an opponent then stab them with their own weapon. Since they don't have a weapon to parry with, they are instantly ran through and die. Drop the weapon and repeat on every other enemy until there are none left standing.
3) Equip your sword and mash the hell out of the attack button.
It's sad that 3 works as well as it does, it doesn't require much finesse, isn't very impressive or skillful, but I think the combat overall would be worse if it didn't work.
Usually I'll do the first or second method, depending upon how much of a hurry I'm in or how flashy I want to be. Fights are more interesting when you enter the fight empty handed and then kill everybody with their own weapons, really drives home that master assassin feel.
1) Use the environment
2) Use Elika
3) Block and counter
4) Use a combo of the above
The question I have is, how do developers set player expectations so that they know the game is about self-expression rather than testing skills against increasingly tougher challenges. That's a key hurdle to overcome because if the game is designed for self-expression but reviewers think it's supposed to be about skill/challenge progression then the reviews will unfairly knock it for not being what they thought it was trying to be.
Simply because the penalty for failure (or in this instance the chance of) is so low that the player doesn't feel constrained to find some "optimal" set of actions to win their combat. Instead they can experiment, or they can fight however they choose.
@Reid
I think that's one of those things that's different case by case, and I think it's less about "letting players know the game is about expression" and more about letting players know that this game won't smash them in the face with it's difficulty, beyond that experimentation is human nature. For instance the very first time you fail a challenge in PoP and realise you can't die it becomes pretty obvious the game isn't about challenge. In AC2 I think it's dealt with through characterisation. For instance Ezio is supposed to be simply "better" than his opponents, this is shown through his cocky attitude, and is dealt with early with his swift defeat of his childhood(well late teens) rival. Another key indicator is simply that neither game HAS a difficulty setting. Most games that deal with challenge quite obviously call to the player with their "hardcore" or "legendary" setting.
There is a very low limit to how far AC2 combat can push the player. Since it's so easy to win, it's more of a toy than a game. Poking defenseless enemies with various heavily flourished attack moves makes for great marketing videos, but it's really pretty degenerate. Once you've done all the moves, there's really not much left.
I spent a long time on Batman's combat challenges, trying to improve my abilities and discover new tactics. This wouldn't work in AC2, I quickly discovered every strategy. AC2 has lots of game verbs and content, but they don't multiply together into meaningful combinations, sequences, and so on.