Assassin's Creed: Codename Red (AC Japan)

[ps3bd_owner]

I was excited for this one as it's set in Japan, but the always online is disappointing as that means when Ubisoft shuts down the servers, the game becomes unplayable.

Do you play Gran Turismo 7? That's also the same nonsense and if you play offline you know what you get? A demo.

[NARMAK]

Originally Posted by ps3bd_owner

I was excited for this one as it's set in Japan, but the always online is disappointing as that means when Ubisoft shuts down the servers, the game becomes unplayable.

Do you play Gran Turismo 7? That's also the same nonsense and if you play offline you know what you get? A demo.

I said it before but there's no excuse to force online only requirements on games that are clearly and fully playable online outside of this nonsense implementation. The EU should have legislated and forced the change which would have made it drop for everybody.

[VictoryAtNight]

Ubisoft formally revealed Assassin’s Creed Shadows on May 15, and like 2015’s Assassin’s Creed Syndicate before it, it will feature not one but two playable characters. One is an original character named Naoe, a ninja who bears the Hidden Blade weapon synonymous with the Assassin’s Creed series. The other is Yasuke, a Samurai who is based on the historical figure of the same name. Assassin’s Creed tends to play with historical events and fit its own version of them into the series’ overarching lore, so Yasuke’s story will likely play out differently when Shadows launches on November 15. But you may be wondering who this guy is, and just how Assassin’s Creed might fit him into its alternate history. Let’s run through what we know.

Yasuke lived in Japan during the 16th century and is believed to be the first African to appear in Japan’s historical records. His story has been adapted into books, manga, and even an alternate-history Netflix anime starring Sorry To Bother You and Knives Out actor LaKeith Stanfield.

https://kotaku.com/assassins-creed-s...rai-1851482754

Background on one of the characters. Interesting.............

[ps3bd_owner]

Originally Posted by VictoryAtNight

https://kotaku.com/assassins-creed-s...rai-1851482754

Background on one of the characters. Interesting.............

If people want to read about him, surely it's not that hateful and defamatory website.

Smithsonian Magazine: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/histo...rai-180981416/

Or

Britannica: https://www.britannica.com/biography/Yasuke

The reason people are upset is because the game is set in Japan and the male character isn't Japanese. I'd honestly have preferred to play as a Japanese male samurai, because, it's in Japan.

Afterwards, yeah sure I'd not mind to play as Yasuke.

[NARMAK]

Originally Posted by ps3bd_owner

If people want to read about him, surely it's not that hateful and defamatory website.

Smithsonian Magazine: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/histo...rai-180981416/

Or

Britannica: https://www.britannica.com/biography/Yasuke

The reason people are upset is because the game is set in Japan and the male character isn't Japanese. I'd honestly have preferred to play as a Japanese male samurai, because, it's in Japan.

Afterwards, yeah sure I'd not mind to play as Yasuke.

On one hand it would have been interesting to see him play a key role in the story as those supporting NPCs do in AC games a la Basim in Valhalla and so on, but Yasuke as a person of colour, accepted by Nobunaga is a pretty rich story to tell and one that hasn't been done in the gaming medium with a Japan setting.

Playing as a generic male Japanese Samurai made by Ubisoft wouldn't have felt any different than the other examples we already have across a lot of media but done worse. That's why having a Japanese woman play a Ninja fits so damn well for the time period too alongside Yasuke. He had to overcome a helluva lot to prove himself and likely so will she in a very racist and bigoted world at that point in time.

My personal gripe is the very likely method of needing to be connected to install the game even if you planned to play completely offline to the point i would rather boycott until its in the £5 range of bargain bin buy.

[DragonOfTheBlackPool]

Originally Posted by NARMAK

My personal gripe is the very likely method of needing to be connected to install the game even if you planned to play completely offline to the point i would rather boycott until its in the £5 range of bargain bin buy.

You’re still going to have to connect online to play the game regardless if it’s full price or discounted. You’re still going to be a statistic, one of x amount of people who bought the game regardless if it’s full price or discounted. I don’t understand the logic.

If you really want to boycott the game, don’t buy it. Practice what you preach (although it won’t matter, this game will sell well anyway).

[NARMAK]

Originally Posted by DragonOfTheBlackPool

You’re still going to have to connect online to play the game regardless if it’s full price or discounted. You’re still going to be a statistic, one of x amount of people who bought the game regardless if it’s full price or discounted. I don’t understand the logic.

If you really want to boycott the game, don’t buy it. Practice what you preach (although it won’t matter, this game will sell well anyway).

Yeah, no, i get what you mean, but technically i want to put the absolute bare minimum in their pocket. Think of it like paying for a cinema ticket, but you get many more hours of play. I guess boycott might have been the wrong word per se, but if you buy used they don't get a cent either. It can be a statistic of how many played all they like. I could even borrow it to play from a friend so didn't pay per se.

I just don't want to give them full price and i hope by and large their sales tank to show them people don't want that crap either but this views the minority these days. Didn't stop Sony forcing online connections for the single player of GT7.

[RocShemp]

Originally Posted by ps3bd_owner

The reason people are upset is because the game is set in Japan and the male character isn't Japanese. I'd honestly have preferred to play as a Japanese male samurai, because, it's in Japan.

It isn't just that. The main issue you'll hear most folk in Japan complain about is that, despite how the West likes to agrandize his story, Yasuke was no Samurai. He was simply a retainer in Nobunaga's employ, because the latter found the former's dark skin intriguing. There is artwork that Western scholars like to claim are depictions of Yasuke, but there is no proof they are correct.

There were other points of contention levied at the trailer (incorrect weapon placement, Chinese architecture in place of Japanese, etc) by Japanese gamers.

To be fair, I don't mind Yasuke being heavily fictionalized since the very first AC game established the franchise was playing fast and loose with history facts in order to create their own version of history. AC has always been historical fantasy rather than historical fiction.

[DragonOfTheBlackPool]

Originally Posted by RocShemp

It isn't just that. The main issue you'll hear most folk in Japan complain about is that, despite how the West likes to agrandize his story, Yasuke was no Samurai. He was simply a retainer in Nobunaga's employ, because the latter found the former's dark skin intriguing. There is artwork that Western scholars like to claim are depictions of Yasuke, but there is no proof they are correct.

There were other points of contention levied at the trailer (incorrect weapon placement, Chinese architecture in place of Japanese, etc) by Japanese gamers.

To be fair, I don't mind Yasuke being heavily fictionalized since the very first AC game established the franchise was playing fast and loose with history facts in order to create their own version of history. AC has always been historical fantasy rather than historical fiction.

All of these are really stupid reasons to get upset over. It’s a video game, not a biography.

[RocShemp]

Originally Posted by DragonOfTheBlackPool

All of these are really stupid reasons to get upset over. It’s a video game, not a biography.

Agreed. And, as I mentioned, AC is a game franchise that has always gone out of its way to be historically inaccurate. So there's even less reasons for one to put them to task over "mistakes".

[Zivouhr]

Originally Posted by DragonOfTheBlackPool

Pre-ordered the gold version.



Do you really need to see actual gameplay? 24 yrs and 13 main entries (14 with Shadows), you know what you’re getting at this point…….you’re either in or out on any new AC game.

In general though, I'm burnt out with CGI trailers that look nothing like the in-game graphics as the first presentation of games. It's a deceptive marketing practice IMO, as that is not what the video game actually looks like.

Imagine seeing a fancy trailer for a movie, but when you went to see the movie in theaters, it looked nothing like the trailer and was much more downgraded visually?

Imagine going to a restaurant and seeing giant sandwiches in the pictures filled with tons of toppings and ingredients, but when you get the actual sandwich, it's just a thin slab on cheap bread?

Or seeing a car commercial with a really fancy, top of the line automobile, but when you get there to buy it, the car looks like Clark Griswold's family truckster car from Vacation?


It's an old practice of using CGI trailers 1st, but it's not a good one IMO. A good compromise would be show CGI 1st, but then in the same trailer, show actual gameplay. Or don't show anything IMO other than the title if it's a long way off.

On topic though, Ubisoft usually does a good job with the graphics. They have very good artists.

Originally Posted by NARMAK

I think it's nice to see the flavour of AC gameplay with each entry tbh. Like with the very first AC it became very repetitive very quickly with the cookie cutter missions but AC2 really changed up the game. By the time AC4 rolled around, we got ships. Then there wasn't really as much gameplay innovations really in the AC set in Paris or London, but refinement and story was told well enough.

Here, i think it looks like there's going to be more unique variations that could have been used for traversal and even combat between the two.

That said, i do not jump in at launch on any Ubishaft titles these days and any online only titles i avoid like the plague.

Originally Posted by ps3bd_owner

I was excited for this one as it's set in Japan, but the always online is disappointing as that means when Ubisoft shuts down the servers, the game becomes unplayable.

Do you play Gran Turismo 7? That's also the same nonsense and if you play offline you know what you get? A demo.

I still refuse to play GT7 online. Thankfully there are other quality offline car games to play on PS5. Project Cars 2 offline deluxe is better than any GT game I've played IMO as it gives you a ton of options and you don't have to waste hours grinding to save up for a new car or unfair timed license tests. Free mode gives you access to everything right away, which is awesome.

If AC Japan is online only, Ubisoft would be absolute fools in my opinion to cut off that big of a single player offline market. There are millions of offline gamers. If this was online only, then they must have a multiplayer focus.

From what I heard, that other game will be online only for AC, but this one should be offline hopefully, when it's 19.99.