'Assassin's Creed: Origins' release date news: Ubisoft reveals combat mechanics
Ubisoft has revealed the combat system and gameplay of the new installment of the long-running franchise titled "Assassin's Creed: Origins."
Game director Ashraf Ismail recently hosted a Q&A session on Ubisoft's YouTube account. He answered some questions about the game's combat mechanics and presented some videos that displayed these in action.
Ubisoft has clearly strayed away from their previous "Assassin's Creed" formula, where prompted attacks auto-targeted opponents. This allowed the players to navigate through battle easily, making use of dodging tactics and a counter button that didn't rely on timing.
What the developers have implemented instead is akin to other hack and slash games mixed with role-playing game (RPG) elements that will force the players to consistently strategize their plan of attack.
"Assassin's Creed: Origins" will also provide a wide range of weapons for players to utilize from staves to lances and swords to maces. They integrated immediate switching between melee and ranged combat as well.
Players will have access a whole new set of combat preferences. They can choose to fight with heavy weapons that are slow but deadly, put emphasis on distance and positioning with spears, dual-wield with swords or daggers, or use shields.
These preferences will have to change constantly depending on what type of opponent players will encounter. Ismail also stated in the video that there will be different bows for all occasions, such as a sniper-like bow.
According to IGN, Ubisoft has dealt away with the previous questing system and has opted for an open world that players can stick to or not. This means that upon receiving quests from non-player characters (NPCs), gamers can choose to do them immediately or focus on something else. Main or side quests can be taken and done at any point in a playthrough.
"Assassin's Creed: Origins" will be released for the PlayStation 4, PC and Xbox One on Oct. 27.