Played it all to 100%! This game is HUGE. Literally huge! Exploring it all will require more than 150h. It's a very good investment for any gamer that enjoy action-adventure games. The characters are amazing. I haven't played AC: Origin but I played most of the other before that and got bored of this franchise. I was really not sure then that I was doing a good purchase with this. But yes, I was. It's really reviving the AC franchise. Only thing I disliked about this game is the new loot system. They did the same in Ghost Recon Breakpoint and it feels wrong in both game. Those games are not meant to be looter games. That doesn't feel right. Thanks to Ubisoft, they heard the players and tried to make things different in Valhalla.Overall, a very long and very good ... MorePlayed it all to 100%! This game is HUGE. Literally huge! Exploring it all will require more than 150h. It's a very good investment for any gamer that enjoy action-adventure games. The characters are amazing. I haven't played AC: Origin but I played most of the other before that and got bored of this franchise. I was really not sure then that I was doing a good purchase with this. But yes, I was. It's really reviving the AC franchise. Only thing I disliked about this game is the new loot system. They did the same in Ghost Recon Breakpoint and it feels wrong in both game. Those games are not meant to be looter games. That doesn't feel right. Thanks to Ubisoft, they heard the players and tried to make things different in Valhalla.Overall, a very long and very good game with very good story and characters. DLCs have a decent length and worth the price! Again, a game you can get cheap often. At 35$CA, it's a real bargain!

Where should I start... At the beginning. When Assasin's Creed was released it was a new and fresh title full of story possibilities and a fresh gameplay mechanic. It was repatitive a bit and linear on a big map. The story was interesting. The recipe was kind of unchanged for several years. My favourite installment were the first AC and the second AC, Black Flag is a honorable mention. With Odyssey I have spent 134 hours to finish all storylines and all quests. It does not feel like an AC game, it is more like and RPG with an AC skin. The visuals are stunning. The story is OK, but nothing special. The DLC-s are more or less OK. I did not like the Legacy of the First Blade DLC, but the Fate of Atlantis was really fun. Even there is a New Game+ mode, I was glad to ... MoreWhere should I start... At the beginning. When Assasin's Creed was released it was a new and fresh title full of story possibilities and a fresh gameplay mechanic. It was repatitive a bit and linear on a big map. The story was interesting. The recipe was kind of unchanged for several years. My favourite installment were the first AC and the second AC, Black Flag is a honorable mention. With Odyssey I have spent 134 hours to finish all storylines and all quests. It does not feel like an AC game, it is more like and RPG with an AC skin. The visuals are stunning. The story is OK, but nothing special. The DLC-s are more or less OK. I did not like the Legacy of the First Blade DLC, but the Fate of Atlantis was really fun. Even there is a New Game+ mode, I was glad to finish and delete the game after finishing it in normal mode.

AC: Odyssey has a good premise but I was sorely saddened by the exponentially rushed feeling of the game as I continued to play it. It begins to show early on as facial animations aren't good at displaying emotions and towards the end don't display any at all. It took me out of the story quite a lot, but then again this is a Ubisoft title. I should have expected the wonky character animations. You will see the same beat driven as you play. The fighting, story, and side quests start to roll together and you can forget where you're going or why you're completing a task as it gets rather banal.The game is lacking and feels empty. Sadly it is a trap open-world games fall into. More content doesn't equal engaging content. It's an okay game but it could have been more. ... MoreAC: Odyssey has a good premise but I was sorely saddened by the exponentially rushed feeling of the game as I continued to play it. It begins to show early on as facial animations aren't good at displaying emotions and towards the end don't display any at all. It took me out of the story quite a lot, but then again this is a Ubisoft title. I should have expected the wonky character animations. You will see the same beat driven as you play. The fighting, story, and side quests start to roll together and you can forget where you're going or why you're completing a task as it gets rather banal.The game is lacking and feels empty. Sadly it is a trap open-world games fall into. More content doesn't equal engaging content. It's an okay game but it could have been more. Is there an audience for this game? Certainly. Would I recommend this? No. There are better open-world games and there are better story driven games to play.

Biggest & best AC game yet, if not for the bugs.

I've played all the AC games now, and this is probably my favorite. It plays about like Origins, only, considerably bigger, integrating the best parts of Black Flag's seagoing experience yet with an even larger, meticulously detailed land maps. Unlike Black Flag, there's virtually no island you can't thoroughly explore, no mountain you can't climb. They've made a few relatively minor changes since Origins, some for the better, some for the worse. And there's a fair bit of redundancy in character features, as if they used the same actors to play numerous different roles, but the maps are truly massive and so fun to explore, especially if you can delude yourself into thinking this is actually what ancient Greece was like, which I honestly have no idea how accurate it ... MoreI've played all the AC games now, and this is probably my favorite. It plays about like Origins, only, considerably bigger, integrating the best parts of Black Flag's seagoing experience yet with an even larger, meticulously detailed land maps. Unlike Black Flag, there's virtually no island you can't thoroughly explore, no mountain you can't climb. They've made a few relatively minor changes since Origins, some for the better, some for the worse. And there's a fair bit of redundancy in character features, as if they used the same actors to play numerous different roles, but the maps are truly massive and so fun to explore, especially if you can delude yourself into thinking this is actually what ancient Greece was like, which I honestly have no idea how accurate it might be. But, it's awesome to adventure thru nonetheless.Odyssey brings an enticing supernatural element to the AC franchise, featuring Greek legends of Atlantis, Medusa, the Minotaur, Cyclops... It's still got the usual Sci-fi sideline, but only infrequently ventures into the modern world - more like Origins; far less than early games in the franchise. I spent 2-4 hours every evening for about four months playing this game to platinum and there is still more I can do and may return for, both in add-on Atlantis quests, as well as a few sidemissions that come with the game, but just aren't trophy related.Sadly, I can't quite recommend the game without some reservations. Our PS4 Pro encountered numerous game freezing bugs, the likes I haven't seen since playing Skyrim last generation. Nothing game ending, nor did it ever result in the game or system actually needing to restart, so no progress was ever lost. But every now and again the game would just bog down to a crawl, nearly freezing your character in slow motion for a minute or three, until things would speed up again. It didn't appear to be a loading error related to venturing into new territory. It was more like the sophisticated enemy tracking was glitching or something. It could be extremely annoying when it happened, but fortunately, always corrected itself eventually and rarely happened more than once in the same session. I should also caution that the developers chose to include rather unnecessary romantic story options in this game, and quite a few of them, as if they thing gamers are so sheltered they actually want that kind of virtual experience in their gaming these days. With the ability to play as either a male or female character, it can lead to some rather complicated, if not annoying character interactions, especially with one of the main characters being stereotypically flamboyant.All said and done, I can't wait for AC's next game. The convoluted, rather disingenuous storylines still aren't worth following, but what the writing lacks, the game makes up for in it's massive, virtually unlimited exploration in such an intricately, beautifully rendered open world.

Complete Freedom

This game takes an interesting divergence from its predecessors. While you do play a simulation set in the past, you have the power of choice through conversations with key figures. You are no longer set on a specific path dictated by the memories of the assassin. For better or worse, the choices you make in and out of combat will impact the world around you and how the story ultimately ends.In addition, the game builds further upon the skill tree system introduced in Unity and gear upgrade system of Origins, allowing you to customize the assassin to fit your playstyle, whether you prefer stealth, open combat, ranged combat or a mix of the three. The world is also vast, more so than Origins, making it to where there is always something to do whether or not you ... MoreThis game takes an interesting divergence from its predecessors. While you do play a simulation set in the past, you have the power of choice through conversations with key figures. You are no longer set on a specific path dictated by the memories of the assassin. For better or worse, the choices you make in and out of combat will impact the world around you and how the story ultimately ends.In addition, the game builds further upon the skill tree system introduced in Unity and gear upgrade system of Origins, allowing you to customize the assassin to fit your playstyle, whether you prefer stealth, open combat, ranged combat or a mix of the three. The world is also vast, more so than Origins, making it to where there is always something to do whether or not you wish to pursue the story.There are still some glitches with the game and the activities can become somewhat repetitive. However, it is on par with Fallout 4 or the Witcher 3 in terms of how flexible it is. New Game Plus also allows for players to pursue new paths and redo quests in a different way with the gear and skills the've acquired should they wish.Combat is also something that is challenging but rewarding. The good news is that it is very similar to Origins, making it easy to transition between the two games. The bad news is it may be slightly jarring if a player starts this after one of the earlier editions in the series.In general, it is a truly massive game packed with stuff to do with only the occasional glitch, repetitive quests and perhaps the learning curve of combat to hold it back.

Epic Game!

The Assassin’s Creed series has outdone themselves yet again with Assassin’s Creed Odyssey! Set during the Peloponnesian War between Sparta and Athens, players not only get to choose the gender of their character (either Alexios or Kassandra), but also what city they support! By destroying enemy supplies, pillaging, and deposing national leaders, players can turn the tide of war for either city. Moreover, performing these actions will trigger a conquest battle with hundreds of Greek soldiers, captains, and mercenaries. Conquer an area for the city-state of your choosing and reap the fruit of enemy territory!Odyssey also introduces a notoriety system, similar to that in other open-world games like GTA V. Essentially, you have the freedom to choose who you want to ... MoreThe Assassin’s Creed series has outdone themselves yet again with Assassin’s Creed Odyssey! Set during the Peloponnesian War between Sparta and Athens, players not only get to choose the gender of their character (either Alexios or Kassandra), but also what city they support! By destroying enemy supplies, pillaging, and deposing national leaders, players can turn the tide of war for either city. Moreover, performing these actions will trigger a conquest battle with hundreds of Greek soldiers, captains, and mercenaries. Conquer an area for the city-state of your choosing and reap the fruit of enemy territory!Odyssey also introduces a notoriety system, similar to that in other open-world games like GTA V. Essentially, you have the freedom to choose who you want to be: from a mercenary with a conflicted conscious to a ruthless psychopath, to everything in-between. However, should you choose to kill innocents, your reputation will degrade over time and you’ll be chased by increasingly difficult bounty hunters who seek a price on your head. Odyssey also employs an open dialogue system, whereby players influence in-game outcomes, such as in-game side missions, through dialogue options.Players experience their freedom in arguably the Assassins’ Creed series’ most realistic open world. With your eagle you can explore ancient Greece’s colorful, picturesque, island landscape; it’s white-stone isles, autumnal forests, and arid deserts. Similar to Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag, players can once again recruit a crew, board, ram, and sink other ships! After conquering the Mediterranean, players can also conquer and tame wildlife for their bidding, such as attacking or causing a diversion in an enemy camp.Fighting dynamics have also never been so seamless in the series. Players have access to a broad assortment of ancient Greek weapons, with a different combo attack against enemies. Lighter weapons will stun an enemy on the first blow, while heavier ones will knock them down. Weapons also have a ranking system, which means players can upgrade their simple blade into a legendary flaming sword! Newly introduced are hotkey buttons (e.g. Xbox D-pad) which host customizable weapons, inventory items, and attacks. Odyssey also integrates an ability hierarchy system similar to that of Assassin’s Creeds Origins. As you rank up, you will unlock outstanding abilities such as directing the flow of your arrow after it’s been shot.Overall Assassin’s Creed Odyssey is an epic must-play. It expands upon the open-world of Origins, while offering an incredible unparalleled story of Ancient Greece! I am writing this review as part of a contest.

Homer would be Proud!

It has taken years and years of "almost-there" iterations, but they finally did it--this Assassin's Creed game takes the cake, as it so rightfully deserves. Assassin's Creed Odyssey is exactly what you would expect from the title--an adventure through ancient Greece of Epic proportion that Homer himself would be proud of. In fact, ACO borrows more than just the setting of Homer's Odyssey, but also touches on similar mythical legends, characters, places, and more.Set along a fictional Mediterranean Coast, ACO makes use of previous game mechanics that made it so revolutionary while adding an entirely new level of complexity and customization. As with every iteration of the game, the running, jumping, and climbing mechanics are smoother than the last and in this ... MoreIt has taken years and years of "almost-there" iterations, but they finally did it--this Assassin's Creed game takes the cake, as it so rightfully deserves. Assassin's Creed Odyssey is exactly what you would expect from the title--an adventure through ancient Greece of Epic proportion that Homer himself would be proud of. In fact, ACO borrows more than just the setting of Homer's Odyssey, but also touches on similar mythical legends, characters, places, and more.Set along a fictional Mediterranean Coast, ACO makes use of previous game mechanics that made it so revolutionary while adding an entirely new level of complexity and customization. As with every iteration of the game, the running, jumping, and climbing mechanics are smoother than the last and in this case, are finally entirely seamless. The same can be said about the fighting mechanics, but these have also drastically changed since Origins. ACO now boasts an extensive inventory and upgrades menu that allow the player to customize weapons and wardrobe, as well as upgrade attacks and abilities. This allows players to have personalized hotkey buttons for different attacks and inventory items--something that has not been seen before in Assassin's Creed games.Speaking of never-before-seen game mechanics, Assassin's Creed Odyssey has a lot of them, as it emerges as a full-fledged RPG. Being such, ACO now boasts dialog choices that effect the outcome of the game, dynamic weather and Biome patterns that break up the monotony of landscapes, and notoriety levels, such as in the GTA franchise. While all of these components are drastically different than former AC games, there is still plenty that keeps Assassins Creed grounded.As with all Assassins Creed games, Odyssey takes place in a nonfictional time with historical characters and events. Since this game is set in ancient Greece, the battle between Sparta and Athens is raging on, and the player is encouraged to fight along one side or the other, or both!Another key aspect derived from past games is that of the sailing system. Since ancient Greece is comprised of hundreds of small islands, your ship is the main mode of transit, while it also acts as your home base. As in previous games, the player is able to recruit crew for their home base, or ship, and must do so if they expect to survive the high seas. Fun (I mean really fun) Fact: ships now have the ability to smash other ships in half and sink them!!!Over all, this is an absolutely phenomenal game which takes every groundbreaking Assassin's Creed component and dumps them into an unbelievably vivid open world--think Skyrim on steroids. With stunning graphics, seamless game play, 30+ hours of cut scenes, and a setting and story to match, this is undoubtedly the best Assassin's Creed game by far, and quite possibly one of the best RPGs to date. Good work Ubisoft, keep it up!This review was written as part of a contest.

Long, long game

The games is pretty great. Great combat mechanics, sidequests and exploration. In my case, however, I like to wrap up main storylines within a reasonable time and leave further exploration for later. The problem with this game (for me) is that the main storyline is tied to a lot of exploration and grinding. You have to be a pretty high level to face off the last few opponents. Another great thing about it is the accurate portrayal of Greek culture. Graphics are amazing as well.

Maybe my favorite game of all time

I bought this game a few months ago for $20.00 on sale and it is the best 20 bucks I have spent in some time.I will not be able to leave a review as long and detailed as I want so not to contain any spoilers, but this game is AWESOME.Warning, if you are a huge fan of the early Assassin's Creed games and that is your ideal play style this game might not be exactly what you are looking for. However, if you are a fan of open world RPG's that require some grinding but don't get too repetitive or boring, then you will love this game.This game has an open world that is one of, if not the most beautiful world I have ever explored in a console game. It is not just huge for the sake of being huge, there are tons of things to do within the world. You can climb the peaks ... MoreI bought this game a few months ago for $20.00 on sale and it is the best 20 bucks I have spent in some time.I will not be able to leave a review as long and detailed as I want so not to contain any spoilers, but this game is AWESOME.Warning, if you are a huge fan of the early Assassin's Creed games and that is your ideal play style this game might not be exactly what you are looking for. However, if you are a fan of open world RPG's that require some grinding but don't get too repetitive or boring, then you will love this game.This game has an open world that is one of, if not the most beautiful world I have ever explored in a console game. It is not just huge for the sake of being huge, there are tons of things to do within the world. You can climb the peaks of just about any structure in the game (for some reason you can't climb trees) and you can swim to the bottom of the sea and navigate your way through different caves, shipwrecks etc.The combat is addictive and fun. As you progress (level up) you will gain experience points that you can spend on different traits, styles of battle (ranged, stealth, warrior) so there are tons of different moves, skills that you can learn. Therefore you can customize your player to fight to whatever style is best for you. There are also numerous different types of weapons with different strengths/weaknesses and awesome animations that also play a part in your style of battle.There are infinite mercenaries (much stronger enemies than most) that will chase you throughout the game if you have a bounty on you or that you can chase down throughout the game to collect one on them. They all drop special gear that you can equip or break down for materials to upgrade weapons that you prefer to use.There are around 20 or so legendary armor sets in the game that you get from completing objectives or finding in the game world. There are dozens of legendary weapons as well. You can earn special stat bonus' from completing tasks (slayer deed, kill 100 of this or that etc.) or from actually obtaining a weapon i.e. when you collect Poseidon's Trident you can engrave (add) the ability to breathe under water to the weapon you prefer to use if you want.Without going into too much detail. you will go on a long, eventful, non-linear open world journey in which your choices throughout the game will determine the outcome of the story.There are hundreds of locations with unique objectives to fulfill all of which reap rewards of some sort. You will find yourself hunting legendary animals, mythological creatures, cult members, etc. You also get a ship that doubles as a home (fast travel and storage) for naval battles that you can upgrade and recruit enemies or friends throughout the game world to join as lieutenants (all of which have unique naval battle upgrades).I played this game for over 220 hours, I am still not completely done with everything, there are still daily and weekly quests to do as even after all of the main content and DLC is done, there are randomly generated bounties and other objectives that I believe is infinite. There are so many stats, deeds, quests, skills, weapons, armor sets which enable you to fine tune the game that this is heaven on earth for an open world RPG fan.There is an arena you can fast travel to after you discover it to partake in hand to hand combat against some of the stronger enemies in the game for special rewards. There are around 100 fast track landmarks that you can discover. Many of them are very realistic reproductions of real landmarks in Ancient Greece. Many of them lead you to being perched atop some of the highest natural points in the game with some breathtaking views.You will move across the map as the story progresses and weaken different regions within the game world until you trigger a conquest battle (battle of 300) or you will trigger a naval battle. You will be helping either the Spartans or Athenians gain control of certain regions in another seemingly endless objective that will continue to advance with or without you. I NEVER ONCE GOT BORED playing this game!Obviously, I would recommend this game to others. :) Pick it up on Black Friday or on sale for 20-25 dollars (there is also some awesome DLC that goes on sale quite often that would require another couple paragraphs by me to do justice to.)

Sometimes unfair but good Gear mechanic.

Firstly, I've completed every Mega Man games and I think the series has definitely has never gotten stale in my opinion.The Mega Man series has always been known for its difficulty, but one of the things I always loved about the series is most of the games was its fairness when it came to being difficult. This meant either more checkpoints as the series evolved, or short levels like the older titles. This gave the player the opportunity to learn the levels without punishing them and the bosses waiting at the end were usually pretty quick and easy to beat provided you had the right weapon to exploit their weakness.Now we come to 11 where the series has had its first major overhaul with the addition of the gear mechanics. This takes some adjusting too as you'll ... MoreFirstly, I've completed every Mega Man games and I think the series has definitely has never gotten stale in my opinion.The Mega Man series has always been known for its difficulty, but one of the things I always loved about the series is most of the games was its fairness when it came to being difficult. This meant either more checkpoints as the series evolved, or short levels like the older titles. This gave the player the opportunity to learn the levels without punishing them and the bosses waiting at the end were usually pretty quick and easy to beat provided you had the right weapon to exploit their weakness.Now we come to 11 where the series has had its first major overhaul with the addition of the gear mechanics. This takes some adjusting too as you'll quickly find you NEED to use the speed gear to get past many obstacles. However, this leads to one problem I have with the game which is that at times, it feels more akin to a sometimes punishing puzzle platformer than a standard run and gun Mega Man game.Rather than just continuing to run, jump, shoot , and find the right weapon or sub-weapon (Rush Adaptors...etc.) to quickly pass a certain enemy or sub-boss, I sometimes found myself having to stop and figure out how to proceed forward, and other times being forced to move forward without having this chance and just dying over and over while I figure it out. The reason for this is my next problem which is the LENGTH of levels. They just feel too long under the standard Mega Man rules. A single checkpoint in the middle is not enough when the levels are this long and complex. Thankfully, casual mode gives you more lives and checkpoints, but you do miss a few trophies if you ever have to continue and since you didn't complete the game on normal.I really like the art style of this game which feels like a cartoon come to life, not so much as 8, which I hope Capcom explores the art style and music again in a future MM title. The design of everything is just spot on and I really love the creativity on display as well as the fact that this feels like it has an actual story. The music however is not as creative as in past MM titles. No tunes in 11 stand out as in 2, 3 and especially 8. The controls are smooth and responsive as they should be in any good Mega Man game and this helps to offset the difficulty of some levels (as does the store which has a lot of helpful items to allow the game to be as hard or easy as you choose to make it).All in all, I really like this game, but its not perfect. For some odd reason the first level seems to be one of the hardest in the game and the lack of checkpoints on normal considering the length of the levels feels like an oversight (if you want less checkpoints, that should be what Hard difficulty is for). I'd say if Casual was actually the Normal setting, a lot of my issues would be invalid, however perhaps they're invalid anyway since you can choose how hard you want to make this game. If I'm just ignoring the difficulty settings though and focusing on what's there, this is definitely one of the better Mega Man games, possibly just below 2, 3, 4 and 8 in my opinion.