No Spoilers of course!
I guess they wanted players to get all confused and start asking questions and it sort of worked but I still thought it could have been done better.
It does explain the past in flashbacks later on..
but it left me very confused at the beginning.
The new Combat style does take some getting used to, it's very different from past games.. Once you get used to it though, it does feel good. Combat in small places still feels pretty shitty though.
There are plenty of different weapons and the variations and effects makes each weapon unique. It's fun switching between the weapons and alternating combat styles.
Where you could shoot darts in previous games, now we have a Bow & Arrow for the long-range stealth approach.
Senu/Eagle Vision
In previous iterations, the Assassins could use Eagle Vision. It was great to spot enemies in the area, find objects of interest, almost anything that needed to be found.
However, in AC Origins, they have a introduced a new mechanic with Senu, your pet eagle. While you can still find objects of interest around you, using 'Animus Pulse', enemies aren't tagged anymore.
Instead, you have to call on Senu, which acts as a drone, flying above enemy territory. and you can tag your enemies. There is no cool-down or limitation to using Senu, so you can call on him (or her?) anytime to give you a better view of the guards around you.
When travelling on your mount, you can set a destination and your mount will take you there. This will be a good time to use Senu to scout ahead for any dynamic events like convoys, revenge missions etc.
I actually do enjoy using Senu even though it would have been 'easier' to still have Eagle Vision. Definitely one of the highlight features in this game for me.. though sometimes it does feel forced when you have to ride up to a mission way-point and then, use Senu to scout the exact location of the destination/target.
Speaking of Mounts..
... the game map is huge, and it's definitely a pleasure to travel by horse-back (or camel-back).
There's a wide range of skins that these horses and camels come in, and you can buy one of your liking from the merchants in-games.
Here's mine from the Deluxe Edition's Desert Cobra Pack..
which also comes with an outfit for Bayek.
Definitely do sign up for Ubisoft Club if you haven't already.. plenty of bonus items that you can unlock like these 2 Outfits..
Of course, there is plenty more outfits that you can purchase from the merchants in-game.
It's not only cosmetics but you can also unlock some decent weapons from Ubisoft Club.
These items may not serve much purpose later on in the game but they do help you with a good head-start early in the game.
Egypt is beautiful and is a great place to just lose yourself. Great choice of setting and when you include Photo Mode into the game... I can just spend long periods of time just playing with this..
Ubisoft have re-created Ancient Egypt in such a way that it does feel like I have travelled back in time. The cities and their people, the wild and dangerous animals and of course the beautiful landscape that are just breathtaking.. It's just so amazing and I haven't even seen the pyramids yet!
Almost all of the images on this blog post were taken by Photo Mode. I'm no expert but I have been having lots of fun.. Here's some pics!
Again, these are just some early thoughts.. Will do another post about my thoughts once I have completed it. With new content coming out post-release, I should have plenty to talk about including the plot, the new RPG-style progression system & more.
Hope you are having fun with AC Origins too, do tell me if you are... and if you haven't gotten the game, I hope I just convinced you to!
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