Assassin’s Creed 2 EP7: World 1-1

By Shamus Posted Thursday Sep 29, 2011

Filed under: Spoiler Warning 119 comments


Link (YouTube)

In this episode we talk about how tutorials seem to be “eating” games, becoming a larger and larger part of the experience. I think this is a natural result of a few factors:

  1. Games being more thorough about teaching mechanics. (Very good change.)
  2. Action games becoming more complicated. (A neutral change, depending on who you ask.)
  3. Games getting shorter. (Very bad change).

To be fair, I don’t know how I’d improve Assassin’s Creed 2 with regards to tutorials. It does feel like they go on for a long time, but it’s introducing skills as you need them, as opposed to front-loading them in the opening chapter. It integrates them with the story, showing Ezio transforming from a slightly spoiled, unfocused young man into a grim killing machine. It would be terrible if this happened in a single cutscene, or if he magically began kicking ass without anyone teaching him anything.

I can’t think of how you could cut down on tutorials without sacrificing story coherency, removing gameplay, overloading new players, or leaving newcomers to learn under duress.

 


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119 thoughts on “Assassin’s Creed 2 EP7: World 1-1

  1. Xanyr says:

    I think Rutskarn finally went insane…

    1. Hitch says:

      Was it just me, or was it extremely satisfying listening to Rutskarn take damage from Mario — and the subsequent puns from Shamus and Josh.

      1. Destrustor says:

        It was the mirror universe invading us; Josh and Shamus punning Rutskarn into submission.

        I was scared.

      2. Milos says:

        Hearing Rutskarn having brain stroke from badness of the dialogue on it’s own makes this whole season worth it.

        As for the whole money thing, I think the most probable outcome would be: you throw coins in guards’ faces then the ten of them come beat you up and leave you lying unconscious in the dirt.

    2. Winter says:

      The sweet, sweet sound of all of Rutskarn’s trolling imploding back into his body, violently.

  2. Robyrt says:

    There’s nothing inherently wrong with tutorials being sprinkled throughout the game. Half-Life 2 and Sands of Time both introduce new mechanics over halfway into the game. The awkwardness of AC2 is that it does one tutorial after another, with only occasional breaks to do “real” missions to advance the story.

    1. Shamus says:

      Hm. That’s an interesting point. Yeah. That makes sense. Players want:

      Story » Tutorial » Gameplay » Story » Tutorial » Gameplay »

      But AC2 gives us:

      Story » Tutorial » Story » Tutorial » Story » Tutorial » Gameplay » Gameplay » Gameplay »

      1. X2-Eliah says:

        Mno, players, imo, don’t want stuff A > stuff B > stuff A > stuff B, they want the tutorial, gameplay and story to be merged in a single, continuous entity. If you can, when playing, pause and definitely say ‘yes, this is the tutorial right now, and not actual gameplay’, then that’s an utter failure.

        1. zob says:

          Actually this game does that. Problem is large number of the player doesn’t care. Almost every single tutorial part so far included some kind of back story in their dialogues. It was either character interaction or background info. That whole fighting part was also a dialogue between Mario and Ezio about who his father was and what is his legacy.

          1. Cookie Of Nine says:

            This game has both good and bad examples, of mixing tutorial in with gameplay and story. Although it often tries to mix in exposition in with the tutorial to give it context and flavor, It does it well when there is minimal ammount of actual overlap. The stealth/blend tutorial is well done, as there is very little dialog inside the tutorial, but during the fighting tutorial, I completely missed the dialogue because I was far too busy figuring out what the instructions were telling me to do, which buttons it was referring to, and avoiding being attacked, to even notice that Ezio and Mario were have a conversation, that I was interested in. I actually hit alt-f4 to exit out of the game without saving to redo that section.

            A similar thing happened in the video, but in reverse where despite there being a static message onscreen taking up the left third of the screen, Josh still tried to use the money to escape the town at the end, when the game was giving clear instructions to HIRE a group of courtesans to distract the guards. Either Josh was too busy with the gameplay and dialogue to notice, or he was trolling us.

            BTW: There was a short movie put out by Ubisoft prior to the game’s release: http://youtu.be/vcE8xJkK6t4 and shows the places where they did a good job re-creating the actors in the game.

            1. Klay F. says:

              It also stands to reason that if Josh actually cared about the fastest ways to get around, or if he wasn’t completely fucking awful climbing and running on the rooftops, he most likely would have spent at the very least one less episode in Florence.

        2. Zak McKracken says:

          I think they tried just that here, but all those “follow me around while I do some plot exposition” missions as well as the tutorial scenes are a bit too obvious.

          I guess at least the fighting training could have been included as an optional thing. He tells you you can use the training facilities, and the player then chooses to either do that (only if actually needed) or skip it. You could even have the training grounds open for a certain amount of time during the game so anyone not comfortable with their gameplay can simply revisit and train a bit more.

          1. Alexander The 1st says:

            I guess at least the fighting training could have been included as an optional thing. He tells you you can use the training facilities, and the player then chooses to either do that (only if actually needed) or skip it. You could even have the training grounds open for a certain amount of time during the game so anyone not comfortable with their gameplay can simply revisit and train a bit more.

            But…

            But…

            IT IS optional!

            Or rather, after that point, you can come back to them.

            They don’t really mention it, but you can go back and get some special moves from the fighting training, namely sand throwing/harsh attack (Basically guard break attack)/sweep attack/non-lethal gun-pointing action. – That last one, no matter how much money you get, can’t be taken until after you get the corresponding upgrade.

            Would’ve been nice if they had made the training itself entirely optional, and put the text in there while you’re learning the move. Just don’t let it repeat the story if you do it a second time.

        3. acronix says:

          But you can`t you take that continous entity, reduce it to its raw materials and get essentially a secuence of Stuff A > Stuff B ?

      2. Stefano Marone says:

        no way. players want the three “A”
        Action
        Adventure
        A-tits
        (credits due to rat-man, an italian comic)

    2. karln says:

      Also: Portal.
      It stopped introducing new ‘powers’ relatively early, I guess, but spent at least half the game teaching you new tricks you could do with your existing abilities.

      1. Abnaxis says:

        And dear lord, Portal 2.

        I swear I have to be getting close to the end of the game, and it’s still teaching me how to do new stuff.

        1. Someone says:

          Portal 2 just keeps giving you new tools and toys and then taking them away and replacing them with newer still. It would spend 2 rooms teaching you how to use something new, then 2 moderately complex rooms letting you play with it, and then take it all away to make room for the next stuff.

          It always felt like it should be introducing new elements and then, once you’re familiar with them, combining them with all the previous ones to make increasingly more complex puzzles. Like it should go: “Jumpplates->Lasers->Jumpplates&Lasers->Beam platforms->Jumpplates&Lasers&Beam platforms…” and so forth, but instead it goes “Jumpplates->Lasers->Platforms->Turrets->Gels…”, very rarely combining more than 2-3 latest elements in one puzzle.

          1. noahpocalypse says:

            Because that would be super-complicated, and then many would have trouble finishing the game. It needs to be challenging, but you don’t want to give players an aneurism.

            1. Aldowyn says:

              Zelda is guilty of this as well, and I’m surprised it hasn’t been mentioned. Most platformers… metroidvanias…

              Pretty much anything, actually. A game that gives you all the features in the first hour or so is a sad, sad game. Skills in RPGs count :D

            2. Pete says:

              There are certain custom maps that illustrate this point VERY nicely.

              Yes, I know that lasers, redirection cubes and funnels are a thing. Can I please have a puzzle that doesnt require an advanced degree in mathematics now?

              1. Sumanai says:

                Never.

            3. Someone says:

              And that’s why they shouldn’t have added quite so many new elements. What’s the point of having lots of stuff, if it never reaches full potential? Cut half of it and use the freed up space to better realize the other half.

    3. Peter H. Coffin says:

      Catherine has an interesting tutorial means. While the first (simple) level plays more or less right off the bat, beyond this, there is practice space that’s untimed and close enough to the level-progression game that it’s useful to build thinking skills to solve the puzzles. Being untimed, though means that the level game retains just enough of a new and different challenge to keep the thing fresh.

      The metaphor for the practice area? It’s a coin-op video game with vintage 1982 graphics in the bar where the player does probably half of the role-playing side of the game. Annoyingly, the other characters also play the game and knock down your high scores.

  3. Danel says:

    This is an interesting point, since it’s one of the major changes in City of Heroes now that it’s gone free-to-play – the new starting experience is a very brief tutorial that teaches the absolute basics, and then other stuff is introduced in a series of missions all the way up to level 20.

  4. zob says:

    you can throw money to get rid of minstrels, i wish they had something like that to stop lunatics in the first assassins creed game.

    1. Nyctef says:

      Or if you’re feeling mean, you can pickpocket minstrels — it’s actually really easy and effective. Just hold space!

      Edit: BTW you’re meant to use the courtesans at the gate to get past that row of guards. Throwing the cash at them shouldn’t really work, which is why you had to use loads of it.

      1. Nyctef says:

        Also, I’m pretty sure you can let go of the controls while blending and you’ll follow the crowd naturally. Of course, Josh would never do something like that :P

        1. Daemian Lucifer says:

          That works only with crowds that move independently of you.The ones you hire follow you instead.

          1. Nyctef says:

            Yep, I was referring particularly to Rutskarn’s complaints around 10:40. Trust Josh to make walking look hard :)

    2. Entropy says:

      It’s called your fist. Apply directly to the forehead.

    3. Fede says:

      I found that the quickest way to deal with minstrels is to tap the run button and bump into them, making them drop their lute.

  5. Gruegar says:

    Agent 47 is Ezio’s ancestor? Does the chicken suit give you time travel powers?

    1. Hitch says:

      Ancestor, decedent, toMAYto, toMAHto…

      1. Sumanai says:

        de·ce·dent
        noun Law.
        a deceased person.

        (I do an online dictionary search for words I think are misspelled occasionally. I thought this was rather interesting.)

    2. Simulated Knave says:

      It wouldn’t bug me…if it were the first time they’d one it. Or if anyone was mocking them for doing it.

      Other than us, of course.

  6. X2-Eliah says:

    Another point, nobody reads the goddamn manuals anymore. Got one listing all special modes, movement, crouches, actions and so on at the 3rd, 4th pages already, and still most players will go in the game and whine about not knowing any controls. Everything’s listed, everything’s available, not more thna 10-15 minutes to read through the important bits – heck, do it while the game is installing – but no, people completely ignore them and expect the game to go out of its way to feed them everything like porridge to babies. Heck, nobody makes proper manuals anymore – now it’s just skimpy 20-page paper-thingies not containing anything beyond bare base-bone mechanics.

    Because of that, each game is expected to have full length tutorials explaining every single thing all the time… Which ofc cuts into dev time, and shortens the game’s non-tutorial length in proportion.

    1. Jakale says:

      Well that’s not a completely terrible thing. Manuals get lost or don’t come in certain forms of game buying so it helps to have at least something to give you an inkling of how to proceed that isn’t “press button, check screen.”
      I bought the Xcom pack on one of the Steam sales and UFO Defense gives you next to nothing on how anything works, which has kind of turned me off trying the rest. I’ll probably get around to it eventually, but bad experiences from not understanding how to play do this kind of thing.

      1. 4th Dimension says:

        Manual should allways come with the game in PDF form too.

        1. Aldowyn says:

          Didn’t EA and/or Ubisoft start doing that? Manuals come in PDF form on the CDs?

          What I wanna know is how that works with console games…

          1. 4th Dimension says:

            I don’t own a console, nor do I intend ever owning one, but I suspect that most consoles by now have in some form or another integrated web browsers, so than simply code the manual as simple HTML pages.

      2. X2-Eliah says:

        How long go you imagine the tutorial for that game should be, to cover all functionality? 3 hours? 4?

        Off-note – the pdf manual for that game, on steam, is right on that site.

        http://cdn.steampowered.com/Manuals/7760/x-com%20ufo%20defense%20manual.pdf?t=1302140381

        It’s accessible through steam client, or through steam website even, by just going to the game’s store page and clicking on “View the Manual”. There’s also a few other places, not on steam, where this manual is available (google search helps).

        This is largely what I was talking about – apparently no attempt to look for the manual, just the assumption that it doesn’t exist. It’s always ‘in-game’ that all should be said. So, in your opinion, how many hours should a 120+ page manual take to explain in-game, and who wouldn’t be bored to death going through a mandatory part of the game that has no actual consequence?

        1. Jakale says:

          Why does it need to be a mandatory part with no consequence? There’s plenty of games that dole out new units and skills over time with missions tailored a bit to get you used to using them. Examples I’m thinking of currently are most RTS games and the Sly Cooper series.

          1. JPH says:

            Yeah, the Starcraft 2 campaign is a great example of that. Each mission teaches you how to use a different unit, and in the finale you have to put all your skills with all your units to the test. Most of the game could arguably be classified as “tutorials,” but they are not without consequence and they are not unfun.

            1. Avpix says:

              I think that Blizzard could have done a better job at balencing tutorial with gameplay. It seems that too many of the missions boil down to massing the new unit and one or two others and winning. This solution seemed to get less effective as the game progressed, so maybe it’s just for first-time rts players to get comfortable playing. The final missions were very well done, though.

              1. Klay F. says:

                Protip:Playing against AI in Starcraft (1 or 2(or any RTS for that matter(except for Total War: Shogun 2)))will ALWAYS be as simple as amassing the most units.

                You want strategy? Play against other people. Though you better be prepared to learn build orders by heart.

      3. Wtrmute says:

        Usually, I look at the control map in the Options menu to figure out how to do something in a game… and often remap it to be something more sensible to me.

    2. Abnaxis says:

      Hey, I read the manuals. There’s almost always a few hours between when I receive a game and when I start playing. Also, I am an endemic min-maxer, and I thoroughly enjoy gaming any system handed to me.

      Not that it ever does any good. Even if the game manual isn’t a copy-paste copy of the tutorial, you never get more information than “strength makes you hit stuff harder.”

      Response: No shit, but how much harder?

      Result: frustration. With a resigned sigh.

      Seriously, everything on the computer is run by equations. Why can’t the equations be exposed somewhere?

      1. Aratrok says:

        This. Even if it’s just something basic like “Strength increases damage by 2% of your weapon damage per point.” or “Agility increases your attack speed by 1% and armor by 3 per point.”

        1. Destrustor says:

          Yes. exactly this. You hear that, game industry? GIVE US THEM DELICIOUS NUMBERS!!!

        2. Peter H. Coffin says:

          Bethesda will be releasing a first-person spreadsheet any month now…

          1. Sumanai says:

            Spreadsheets tend to be logical or following a certain logic. What Bethesda does with the leveling system is insanity. I can’t imagine what sort of a brain fart would create the Attribute Multiplication -thing in Morrowind (at the latest) and hold on to it till Oblivion (at the least. Don’t know about Skyrim).

            And if Skyrim has stomped on Efficient Leveling I’m not certain it would be fair to say it’s going to be FPSpreadsheet since you should be able to ignore all the number crunching.

    3. JPH says:

      If the game does need a manual, that manual should be accessible in-game. The Civilopedia from the Civilization series is a good example.

      Personally, I’m really glad games don’t need manuals anymore.

      1. X2-Eliah says:

        Yes. I am also glad games are so simple that it takes only 6 buttons to control and has only a small set of available options that are immediately obvious. Indeed. Screw depth, complexity, or rich features and depth. Games are simple and i’m happy for it. I’m even more happy that on the rare case that a game does have something complex, it’s not even in the 10-page manual where I could, you know, read about it. Really happy, yes.

        /sarcasm

        1. Tobias says:

          Yes I also love those simple games. I recently even installed a chess and go set on my phone. Those are so simple they only need one button.

          I really can’t put up the cerebral effort to play a complex game like … can’t even think of one game which really needs a hundred indiscoverable buttons.

          I mean even nethack and angband have android versions now. Which can be played with less then 6 buttons.
          There are really no deep games left, good thing I only play those swallow and easy games.

          1. X2-Eliah says:

            X3: Terran Conflict would be an example.

            Or, hm, Freespace 1 and 2. Okay, those are quite old, with nifty manuals to boot. But I guess they are/were bad games, far too complex?

            1. Daemian Lucifer says:

              And those were complex and deep because they were using lots of buttons?You know what other games use lots of buttons:Fifa,nba,madden,etc.And you know what other games dont use lots of buttons:Civilization series.Are you saying that fifa is more deep and complex than civilization because it cant be played just with a mouse?

              1. X2-Eliah says:

                What I was trying to say is that, imo, the loss of game manuals – in part due to a lot of games being, frankly, simpler, is a bad trend that I dislike.

                But, of course, hey, internet – a point can never be discussed without deviating completely.

                P.S. Cause and effect. Maybe those games were complex, and therefore require more than 6 buttons? Or is that unpossible?

                1. JPH says:

                  It looks like you missed Daemian’s point entirely.

                2. Tobias says:

                  Yes it is unpossible. Every Turn based game can be modified to be played with only a mouse.

                  You must distinguish between a simple interface ( like colossal cave ) and a complex but discoverable interface (like the modern civ or paradox games ) and a complex and obtuse interface ( like the old general games ).
                  You wouldn’t say that a manual shouldn’t have an index because it is like a tutorial and makes the game swallower.

                  You shouldn’t confuse interface complexity with game complexity. Patrician is basically the same game as X-3, but with much better interface.
                  And Game complexity is different from game depth. Go is one of the simplest and deepest games in the world. Depth has absolutely nothing to do with interface.

                3. Daemian Lucifer says:

                  But why have a separate manual if you can have an in-game one like civilopedia?

                  Besides,lots of simple games had/have manuals,so the overall complexity of games has nothing to do with diminishing number of manuals.

                  Also,the only games that do need manuals are the ones with bad interfaces,like the original x-com.It was a great game,but it has a horrible interface.Compare it with one of its “sequels”,ufo:afterlight,which doesnt require a manual because its interface explains everything,and it has an extensive tutorial.

                  Furthermore,the majority of the manuals were dry and obtuse,and the loss of those is actually a good thing.

              2. Aldowyn says:

                Actually, Civilization CAN use lots of buttons. It just doesn’t usually. I’m pretty sure everything in the game is mapped to a hot key, much like an RTS. Wait, menu stuff isn’t, but actual actions with units are, and getting into and navigating menus.

                Just ignore me :/

                1. Daemian Lucifer says:

                  Sure,you CAN,but you dont HAVE to.But in the games Ive listed before,you MUST use those buttons,or you wont be able to do half the stuff.

                  1. Atarlost says:

                    Buttons are not just keys. I haven’t played civ V, but in civ IV there are something like a dozen unit commands accessed either by distinct keyboard shortcuts or by moving the mouse to a specific region of the screen and pressing LMB (in GUI design parlance, buttons). There are also numerous buttons in the city window and several in each of the half dozen-ish civilization status screens, each of which is also accessed by a button. Then there are the interface buttons for things like zooming, toggling things like grid lines, and marking up the map. Very complex with lots of buttons.

          2. Atarlost says:

            Angband, at least through the RR maintainership. It uses every letter except ‘x’, most twice, and some thrice, as well as the number pad, most of the punctuation, and most players also attach macros to all the function keys, sometimes twice, when not running fighters.

  7. JPH says:

    Rutskarn’s growling kind of sounds like a fast headcrab zombie.

    Also, Portal was pretty much 90% tutorial. Tutorials don’t have to be unfun.

  8. Airsoftslayer93 says:

    For a game from people other than valve the ‘tutorial’ system in this game is pretty good. It isnt even a tutorial, it’s just learning new skills regularly

  9. Museli says:

    The Animus really adds to the immersion. It almost feels like you’re really playing a video game!

    1. 4th Dimension says:

      So we are watching a Let’s play that’s basically playing a Let’s play Ecio Auditore?

      1. Daemian Lucifer says:

        Its a game within a game.Wait….Christopher nolan is a cheat,he was merely adapting asscreed for big screen!

    2. swimon1 says:

      yeah the animus is really obnoxious. I guess on some level it’s clever, like when you see a bug and it can be easily explained away with: “well it’s a bug in the animus *smug*”. Most of the time tho it just breaks the immersion. When the game start glitching out I don’t think “oh right I’m Desmond Miles I’m in the animus” I think “oh right I’m playing a video game about an asshole playing a video game”.

      1. Dovius says:

        Now that’s just completely inaccurate!
        You’re not playing a video game about an asshole playing a video game, you’re playing a video game about a BLAND asshole playing a video game!

        1. Shamus says:

          You’re reading a blog about a youtube video about a madman playing videogame about a bland asshole playing a videogame.

          1. Hitch says:

            “I’m The Dude Playing the Dude Disguised as Another Dude.”

          2. Gamer says:

            I do believe we have all gone insane.

            1. Sumanai says:

              I’ve got pills for my insanity. They don’t help.

  10. ooli says:

    It feel like all the history of this game so far had be made just to throw that Mario joke

    1. Daemian Lucifer says:

      I was about to say that.It seems like they chose italy as a setting merely for that one joke.

      And I still like it.Even more now that it broke Rutskarn.

      1. Aldowyn says:

        I physically flinched the first time I heard that. I like DOING it, but hearing it in a game like this one? No. Just… NO. In other words, it broke me too :P Luckily I couldn’t hear it because Josh was talking this time around!

        It was funny, though.

  11. Pete says:

    10:30: Oh you mean exactly like you can with the courtesans-

    Oh god Im a fanboy.

  12. Factoid says:

    I feel like the tutorial thing is more of a problem for Spoiler Warning as a show than for players actually playing the game. Tutorials suck to watch, but they’re fine when you’re the one in control.

    Assassin’s Creed 2’s entire plot is ultimately about Desmond “absorbing” skills from Ezio through the machine…hence him going from neophyte to master assassin.

    1. Daemian Lucifer says:

      Sooo….Basically all three games were just one huge extended tutorial which will ultimately end when we finally get to play the real game in asscreed 10784:Desmonds story?And I thought portal had an overextended tutorial.

    2. swimon1 says:

      I think the problem with ass creed 2 is how quarantined off the tutorials is compared to the rest of the game, they never feel seamless. Then again no quest in ass creed feel seamless as they all begin with a pause some animations and a screen telling you “This is a quest, want to do it?” because I would never have expected that to happen after I went and talked to the person in glowing white.

      The other really big problem with these tutorials is that they assume that you’re an idiot. I get a tutorial for fighting but is one for going to the doctor really necessary? There’s a big cross on the minimap I think we can hazard a guess as to what that means and actually buying things is completely self explanatory.

      But yeah a tutorial well made is no worse then the rest of the game. I personally find basic braining in Psychonauts to be one of the better parts of that game.

  13. Piflik says:

    The thing about them speaking Italian from time to time…I really hated it. I mean…they are clearly speaking Italian all the time and the English you hear is a translation. They should not have an accent or speak some words in Italian.

    It kinda reminds me of the one time I watched the English synchronization of a Russian movie, and every single character had a Russian accent…

    1. Daemian Lucifer says:

      Its because the animus is a glitchy device,plus its not a real animus,but something whipped up by the assassins on the run.

      1. Piflik says:

        I don’t buy that explanation. If it is random glitches, then why are always the most basic phrases left untranslated? Why is Requiescat in Pacem not once translated?

        1. Jock says:

          It’s actually the canonical in universe explanation. The next time you can talk to Rebecca she actually makes mention of the translation software being ‘Laggy’. I guess she can’t do EVERYTHING the templars can do but better :P

          1. Piflik says:

            I know it’s the canonical explanation, but it is still stupid…

    2. The Hokey Pokey says:

      It’s worse on the xbox. It’s been awhile since I’ve played AC2, but I don’t remember those Italian parts being translated at all.

      I don’t know what movie you’re talking about, but the English dubs for Russian movies are often done by Russians. At least they were in Nightwatch. Might explain the accents.

  14. Daemian Lucifer says:

    Ah yes,the awesome hammer that you will never use because by the time you get it,you already have a plethora of much better weapons.And once you get altairs sword,you wont use any other weapon anyways.

    Btw,isnt it strange how after 400 years of rusting away,these are still the best weapons and armour you can find?Man,those were some brilliant smiths back then.

    And yes,I get the whole thing about assassins not being really humans and all,but the only real artifacts should be the apple and the staff,not the sword,armour and hidden blades crafted by regular blacksmiths.

    1. Pete says:

      Well to be fair Altair did make his sword/armor using knowledge from the apple.

      1. noahpocalypse says:

        And it’s not like the underground vault was flooded. It was probably very dry.

    2. swenson says:

      Well, Damascus steel, which I’m just going to assume Altair’s sword was made of because it’s cool, was pretty sweet. We still aren’t entirely sure how they made it. (Well, we sort of know the secret. It probably had to do with a particular kind of steel from India with a certain carbide content, possibly using pattern welding to create the swords and knives. But modern versions are really only imitations, as we don’t know the exact method.)

      …although technically, Altair’s sword doesn’t look like Damascus steel. Oh well.

      1. Atarlost says:

        If I remember right Damascus steel isn’t any better than any other wootz steel, just prettier. Wootz is IIRC the best naturally occurring ore for steel and Damascus steel is the most recognizable version and the version to which Europeans were most exposed, but a good Indian sword is as good as one from Damascus.

  15. Tjtheman5 says:

    Towards the end, when they are talking about what Ezio’s mom gives him; That is “Hammer Time!”

  16. Tse says:

    I actually fought the guards at the city gate… Didn’t know you’re not supposed to.

    1. Aldowyn says:

      Despite the fact that it’s yelling COURTESAN at you in about 3 different places? INCLUDING the giant box that screams tutorial?

  17. James says:

    Ummmmm. i keep getting an error mesage when i try and watch the vid, and when i try to view it on youtube directly i get a 502 server error in the browser. any help?

    1. Zak McKracken says:

      Just had the same problem for a completely unrelated YT vid I found via Google.
      They seem to have hiccups today. I just retried and it worked.

  18. Lord Nyax says:

    Rutskarn, you play Bang! too? That game is fantastic! I’d win more often but sadly, I am an awful liar. Still, it’s lots of fun to play, and it’s cool to hear that you play it.

    1. Rutskarn says:

      When people miss me with things in my daily life, I may or may not yell, “Mancato, bitches!”

  19. Josh, unless I remember wrong, you can actually go into the center of a crowd (blend) and then let go of the key/stick and Ezio should automatically go with the flow. To exit just move out of the crowd again.

  20. Eärlindor says:

    9:00 – 9:30

    That goes straight to Spoiler Warning’s Top Moments.

    (Hehehe, I watched it 3 times.)

    1. Dovius says:

      *Rutskarn talking in a completely normal tone of voice*
      “It’s-a me, Mario!”
      *Snaps and gains about 2 octaves* WHAT?!?!?! COME ON!

      This is even better then the Mass Effect 2 final boss battle.

      1. Aldowyn says:

        You skipped the incomprehensible… moans? Groans? Whines? I don’t even know. Those took about 15 seconds, though. It took him a bit to recover his composure.

        1. Dovius says:

          Yeah, I didn’t think it was necesary to mention the complete meltdown of his psyche.

    2. Dante says:

      I have certain episodes saved just because of moments like that. For example, I have season 4 episode 20 saved, for no other reason than because at the beginning, we learned the nickname Ruts has for Mumbles.

  21. BeamSplashX says:

    Instead of a Let’s Play, Mumbles should do a Let’s Make a Hammer.

    1. noahpocalypse says:

      ‘Let’s Make Super Mutants!’

      “Okay, I hope you all brushed up on your biology and chemistry, because I am NOT teaching the result of sodium carbonate mixed with radium, ground into a paste, left to dry in the sun, carefully licked by rabid dogs (possibly not rabid yet; don’t worry, they soon will be), and then stuck in a blender with some troll juice (an already blended Josh) and liquefied. This is basic stuff, people. You should know this.”

      1. Mumbles says:

        And, now everyone knows why I’m not allowed to teach high school science anymore.

  22. Vect says:

    Spend money to make-Wait, is that a Dungeon Fighters Online reference?

    And Ezio can make a posse in Brotherhood in that he can have a private entourage of Assassins to sic on mooks if he doesn’t feel like personally getting involved.

    Also on Ezio’s sister… Claudia becomes an Assassin and pretty nifty with a knife in Brotherhood.

    1. Jarenth says:

      Well, she’s had plenty of face-on experience.

    2. Atarlost says:

      I’m sure it predates DFO. It’s basic economics. You can’t sell stuff unless you first buy it or make it. You can’t make stuff unless you first buy tools and materials. You can’t do freakin anything unless you buy food. Even the Dwarven rings need gold to breed gold.

  23. ClearWater says:

    I finally remembered who that dude who’s lying in the chair remembering Enzio (what’s his name, Desmond?) reminds me of: Zachary Quinto, the bad guy from Heroes (Season 1 at least; I don’t know if he’s still the bad guy in later seasons: I lost interest after they saved the cheerleader).

    1. Otters34 says:

      …Holy jacknapes, you’re right! He’s a dead-ringer for Mr. Quinto! Explains why I took such pains never to look at his face most of the time. And he was a bady guy for a few seasons, became a good guy, became a bad guy, switched back a few more times, and then the show got cancelled.

  24. Gamer says:

    I’m with on the feathers. They were annoying to collect and the rewards sucked, I skipped on the Flags in 1 and both the flags and feathers in Brotherhood. I don’t know why I collected the feathers in AC2.

    However, pretty much every other collectable was much more fun to find. That may be because I had way too much money for pretty much the entire game, so buying things was simple. Also, the seals were attached to some pretty fun platforming sections and the glyphs were interesting puzzles that expanded on the world.

  25. Johan says:

    It seems like an impossibility to make the character of a game start at “just the right” level. Someone was saying in this video that the character should start out competent (in something they’ve never done before, assassinating), but we also ask that the character feel like they’re making some actual progress in their abilities during the game, which requires them to be deficient in some areas. And if the story requires that the character start as an everyman, it makes no sense that they’d be trained in the fine arts of fighting from day one.

    I don’t know, I’ve just been watching the video, and it seems to make sense to me that Ezio needs to learn how to swordfight from his uncle.

    His uncle Mario.

  26. Double A says:

    So… it’s a video game… inside a video game.

    *inception noise*

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