Assassin's Creed series control problems

I'm playing Assassin's Creed II for the first time (currently about 26 hours in and I assume getting close to the end), working my way up to IV.  I had to skip the first because it was horribly tedious, and the control made me want to punch myself in the crotch.

Playing II, I'm having a blast.  Except... the control is improved, but not improved enough.  There is nothing like asking the player to do some precise, complicated platforming through a (ridiculously contrived) 3D space, then giving the player floppy, imprecise controls.  And then they add time limits as well!  There is nothing more frustrating than being almost there, after the 10th try, and instead of going jumping like you want him to, Ezio jumps the other direction, gets stuck on a wall, sits motionless, or does wall jump over and over.

Please tell me future games in the series improve upon this, or at least account for the crap controls and have less challenging platforming sequences.  (Chase sequences on the rooftops are bad enough; accidentally falling and losing half my health is bad enough (I don't even bother to heal anymore), but sequences designed around slippery platforming controls are just cruel.)

I can't even play this game when my wife is home because I'm embarrassed about all the swearing and yelling that I do.  My cat thinks I'm a lunatic.  It's amazing how this game can go from awesomely fun and captivating to absolutely mind-alteringly frustrating the next.

And before someone says "U just suck learn 2 play better," I don't really want to have to get a master's degree in crap control before I can enjoy the game.

There.  I feel better now.  Thanks.

Jesse_Dylan said:

I

And before someone says "U just suck learn 2 play better,"

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You took the words straight out of my mouth. I never had any of the problems your having, other than Ezio getting stuck on the wall, and going through the game, but those are game glitches. Maybe you might have a problem with your controller, which causing you to fail constantly.

To answer your question, the series whole series is center around platforming, especially Brotherhood. The only that doesn't have that much platforming is part 3.

I only played up through Brotherhood, but that's a problem I always had with the series as well.  I know plenty of others that have mentioned the same problem (most reviews I read mentioned this issue as well).  I think this is partially a result of the attempt to have a simplified "one button does everything" control scheme with automatic platforming.  It works well most of the time, but it has a tendency to do things you didn't intend for, especially when you trying to do some minor platforming outside of a freerun.

ihadFG said:

I only played up through Brotherhood, but that's a problem I always had with the series as well. I know plenty of others that have mentioned the same problem (most reviews I read mentioned this issue as well). I think this is partially a result of the attempt to have a simplified "one button does everything" control scheme with automatic platforming. It works well most of the time, but it has a tendency to do things you didn't intend for, especially when you trying to do some minor platforming outside of a freerun.

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Yeah, I think you're probably right about that. There are a few times I've noticed myself sitting there, holding right-trigger and A (or R2 and X on PS) for the longest time, and I laugh at myself and wonder why I thought it was hard. But I then somehow accidentally must let the stick drift slightly NE, Ezio makes a "leap of faith", I can't grab anything to save myself, and WHAM. Never die, but I lose half my health or all of it, and if I'm chasing someone, well, they're long gone, and my litany of swears and anguish ensues.

It's sad, because I love the feeling of exploring those tombs and lairs and such, but the platforming is contrived. Zelda's dungeons are pretty contrived, too, but they're never asking you to pick up a time using two crowbars either.

When things are going well, I forget all about my rage, but when they're not, I am no longer having fun. Wish it wasn't such a bi-polar experience for me.

I was watching a video review of III last night, and she said (about the platforming) that when it works, it looks amazing, but when it doesn't, you look a bit silly. If only looking silly were the extent of my issues.

You'll get better with experience. My girlfriend had the same complaint when she started with II. Eventually you learn the rules about what you can and can't do. You learn to read the environment.

Spokker said:

You'll get better with experience. My girlfriend had the same complaint when she started with II. Eventually you learn the rules about what you can and can't do. You learn to read the environment.

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I hope so. I think I'm about to the end! But if I'm better for the rest of the series, that would be nice. And if the controls get tuned up a bit as the series goes, that's even better.

I swear.  I'm on the last "Secret of WHATEVER" temple tomb church thing, the final of six, with four freaking platforming trials.  It's like asking someone to beat Super Mario Bros. with spoons.  The controls flop all over, the platforming path is confusing (I miss 2D games), and then they swing the camera around to "help" you and screw you up at the last minute.  

Don't get why I keep playing (or why I like this game so much) when I am so frequently frustrated.  These tombs would be so cool (gorgeous architecture) if they didn't piss me off so incredibly much.

And then I finally complete all four trials, and nothing happens.  Glitch.  There's supposed to be a hole in the floor that opens, apparently.  Now I have to abandon the mission and do it all over again!  Can't believe I wasted my entire night on this.  whyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy

I've always felt that the developers were trying to be meta by making it feel like you're controlling someone else controlling Altair/Ezio/Connor/Edward with the sloppy auto-parkour since that's what the story is about.

But seriously, playing through the platforming of Assassin's Creed is like trying to play Super Mario Bros by controlling a robot hand using the control pad.  Rayman Legends is by the same company and also only has an attack/jump/run control scheme and it has the tightest controls of any game I've ever played.  They went too far with the realistic animations since it absolutely destroys the platforming precision.  Could I learn to get used to it?  Of course.  Should I have to since other games have zero problems in this area (Rayman Legends)?  No.

MetalSlugger said:

I've always felt that the developers were trying to be meta by making it feel like you're controlling someone else controlling Altair/Ezio/Connor/Edward with the sloppy auto-parkour since that's what the story is about.

But seriously, playing through the platforming of Assassin's Creed is like trying to play Super Mario Bros by controlling a robot hand using the control pad. Rayman Legends is by the same company and also only has an attack/jump/run control scheme and it has the tightest controls of any game I've ever played. They went too far with the realistic animations since it absolutely destroys the platforming precision. Could I learn to get used to it? Of course. Should I have to since other games have zero problems in this area (Rayman Legends)? No.

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I can't wait to play Rayman Legends. I loved Origins. (Prince of Persia, 2008, also bears mention, because the platform controls there were much tighter, or maybe I just think that because the girl would always save me--and that was out the same year as the first AC, I believe.) To be fair, I think they are different development teams. And as much rage as I vent out into the world when I'm frustrated with a game, I actually love Ubisoft. I don't know of any other big publisher that does so much, takes risks, and generally aims to hit lower price points (I know it's a business strategy, but it's still nice since they're a giant company).

That said, there are segments in AC2 that don't even hinge upon the imprecise controls but are marred instead by absolutely horrible design. I am in segment 13 (which isn't even part of the original game--it's DLC, and I'm forced to complete it!), liberating Florence, and there's one section of a big mission. It's called Port Authority. Despite Assassin's Creed 2 pretending to be a stealth game, it's not. You can try to be stealthy, but it always descends into chaos. Well, Port Authority REQUIRES you to not get spotted. You automatically fail if you get spotted.

I've tried it 30 times, tried to cheat, punched my wall in frustration (thankfully not damaging my wall or my hand), thrown my controller. I've heard some people have no trouble with this mission, but I can't remember ever having anywhere near this amount of issues.

I sincerely hope Brotherhood and the rest of the series don't FORCE the player down an arbitrary path that is nearly impossible to do (unless you do it just right). I think Brotherhood et al would just make it a secondary objective to not get caught, but here, we're forced, and it's really really hard. I can't believe how much time I've spent on this game, nearly 50 hours (and this is skipping the side quests like assassination missions, skipping the last templar lair, not collecting feathers...), and while much of my time spent has been an absolute blast, a lot of it has been at the depths of absolute frustration. If I'd known that ahead of time, I would not have bothered playing. can't quit now, though...

targeting in this game is impossible, too...  Trying to use a strategy I saw on Youtube to beat Port Authority using the gun.  Why I can't choose my target, and target them before they get closer, I don't know

Edit:  Finally beat it "cheating" by using the gun to lure the guards off the boat; they then glitched and ran far away and got stuck on objects.  I should feel accomplishment at finally beating it, but nope, just deep relief that I'm finally past it and regret at wasting my entire evening.  I think I'm going to like Brotherhood a lot more.

Aaaand, unfortunately, I see the rest are also forced stealth missions where you have no ability for stealth.  Great.  At this point I just want to be done with this awful DLC so I can finish the actual game.  These are the worst bits of design I've encountered in recent memory.  At least Rockstar began implementing a "skip" option for their most frustrating bits.

Okay, beat the game.  Hopefully this means you guys won't have to listen to me whine any more.  Hated sequence 13 (the DLC--12 was fun tho).  Sequence 14, the ending of the actual game, was really cool.  More forced stealth crap, which I'm going to hate forever now, but it wasn't anywhere near as lame.

Neat game that's sheer desire to tackle new ground is marred only by floppy control and some frustrating design.  The fact I can forgive it despite the intense rage I felt is proof of how good it is, but I wouldn't let it off the hook.

The controls are more refined in Brotherhood which makes platforming a lot easier. It carries on in Revelations but the frame rate is slightly worse if playing on console. 

AC3 was a borefest and the character graphics looked terrible. I thought it was odd that the sprite for the hairless native Americans looked exactly like Desmond. Didn't like the naval battles, the outdoor wilderness, and the mountains you can't climb.

I gave up on the AC series after 3. If I had to get AC4, it would have to be $10.

Yeah, Brotherhood is definitely more refined.  It's not as drastic as the jump between 1 and 2, but it's there and very much appreciated.  There have already been a few frustrating points, but they're nothing compared to the frustration I felt with 2.  I'm a little overwhelmed, just having gotten to Rome, and everything coming at me at once.  Hope to get a few hours in tonight.