Assassins Creed - The Movie

[Sir Edward]

I actually don't much care for console controllers these days. I'll stick to keyboard/mouse, TYVM.

I played for about an hour last night... got up tot he point where you get demoted and lose all your stuff, and stopped there. It's definitely an interesting start, so I look forward to seeing where it goes.

[Sir James A]

When you get to the more complex button combos, a console controller really shines. Especially in the later games, when it's 2-3 buttons at a time for a single action. I played with a mouse and keyboard first, too (had it on my laptop) - I did fine until about halfway through the game. It's a lot more fluid with a controller in ways I can't explain. I can't play a FPS at a 4 year old's skill level with anything other than mouse and keyboard - and as you probably knew, I started back with Wolfenstein 3D and Doom, when there was no such thing as a mouse or strafing. So preferring a console controller is a big deal. But play a few hours with mouse and keyboard, then try a controller for a few, too.

And, the game only gets more interesting from there. Exponentially so.

[Lord Dane]

Michael Fassbender has signed on to play the lead...most likely Altair and/or Desmond.  I am officially excited- he'd be my first choice in the role.  He's got the presence, the athleticism and seems adept at Hollywood style swordsmanship (as seen in 300 and Centurion), the story itself is engaging and the setting is 1191AD, the Holy Land which should be a draw for those of us with the Crusading bent.

http://assassinscreed.wikia.com/wiki/Assassin's_Creed_(film)

Oh Sweet!!! I'll be waiting for that. They looking for casting extras? I'd audition for Crusader-era role. Good update, Sir William. 

[Sir William]

Dane, if they were, please believe I would've mentioned that- and gone to the casting call too!  I've got my Crusader kit pretty much done, except for the maille chausses...can't seem to find a decent pair, you know?

Sir James...we are of an accord.  I play FPS on the consoles these days...but I still remember my time with Q3:Arena, Unreal Tournament, Counterstrike...those were the days...but for games like AC, you really want a controller.

Sir Edward, no joke...you'll find movement a deal more intuitive on a controller- and I know it is against everything you hold dear, but trust us on this one. 

Edited to add:  apparently Fassbender's to play Desmond Miles...which means we may see more of the present-day stuff as opposed to the medieval aspect of Altair...unless he plays both roles (which I hope he does).

[Lord Dane]

Dane, if they were, please believe I would've mentioned that- and gone to the casting call too!  I've got my Crusader kit pretty much done, except for the maille chausses...can't seem to find a decent pair, you know?

Sir James...we are of an accord.  I play FPS on the consoles these days...but I still remember my time with Q3:Arena, Unreal Tournament, Counterstrike...those were the days...but for games like AC, you really want a controller.

Sir Edward, no joke...you'll find movement a deal more intuitive on a controller- and I know it is against everything you hold dear, but trust us on this one. 

Edited to add:  apparently Fassbender's to play Desmond Miles...which means we may see more of the present-day stuff as opposed to the medieval aspect of Altair...unless he plays both roles (which I hope he does).

Correct. I play the PC game versions of AC & I am struck on AC2 because of the fact I can't control my character in one scene to beat the computer controlled character. Grrrrrrr.  hindered me from finishing the game for many months.

[Sir William]

Dane, which scenario is that in AC2?  Just curious.

Another little tidbit about Fassbender...he formed a production company, in the future they plan on doing a movie about CUCHULAINN!!!!!!

Done right, that would rock on so many levels!

[Sir Edward]

OK, I'm going to try the console-style controller and see how it goes. It'll take some getting used to.

[Lord Dane]

Dane, which scenario is that in AC2?  Just curious.

Another little tidbit about Fassbender...he formed a production company, in the future they plan on doing a movie about CUCHULAINN!!!!!!

Done right, that would rock on so many levels!

"Race for the rooftop in the plaza to the top of the church" (just after Enunzio & his brother have the fight scene). I can't beat him using the keyboard controls to the top bc jumping & climbing controls suck on PC in AC2.

[Sir Edward]

I ended up picking up a Logitech F310 controller. The game recognizes it natively, so it was a snap to get started. It's taking some getting used to, but I'm not playing any worse than before.

[Sir William]

Sir Edward...trust me, that controller's going to make the latter stages and games a breeze.  The face buttons all correspond to head, arms and legs...the left and right ones naturally the offhand and main hand.  It'll seem like second nature after a while, even if you're used to kbd/ms set up.

Dane...get the controller.  It isn't impossible to beat him in that stage, but as you're finding out- damn hard to do.  This game's optimized for the controller, even the PC version.

[Sir Edward]

The problem I'm running into, is it'll say something like "Press button (6) to enter or exit combat".... but they're not numbered or labelled like that. So I have to press everything until I figure out which ones it's talking about. The easy ones are the weapon selector, and the head/feet/hands buttons. At least those are diamond-layouts that correspond to the HUD, and the latter are color coded.

[Sir James A]

The problem I'm running into, is it'll say something like "Press button (6) to enter or exit combat".... but they're not numbered or labelled like that. So I have to press everything until I figure out which ones it's talking about. The easy ones are the weapon selector, and the head/feet/hands buttons. At least those are diamond-layouts that correspond to the HUD, and the latter are color coded.

Yep, the head/hands/feet layout is very natural. This will probably help, if the controller you got is laid out like the XBox360 one:

http://assassinscreed.wikia.com/wiki/Controls

edit: google is my friend. that looks more PS3-ish, but you can map the buttons exactly the same in the options

[Sir Edward]

Yep, that looks like what it's doing. The right-side buttons are color-coded like the x-box controller, but have the PS3 symbols on them. It's just confusing when the tutorial pop-ups come up and it refers to "button 6" or "button 11".

[Sir James A]

If I remember right, the left trigger enters/exits combat, and the right trigger lets you sprint (and right trigger with A lets you tackle people while sprinting). I don't remember using them for anything else, since the face buttons are all context-sensitive for what action(s) they do.

[Sir William]

Sir Edward, once you get the hang of the controller, it will become very fluid.  Entering and exiting combat is the same as locking onto and releasing targets- alld handled by the left trigger.  It is possibly the best moveset I've ever played with...other games that try and use different setups for the same style of play are not as natural or intuitive.

That this guy has no super powers or god-like weapons, just an incredible grasp of parkour before there ever was such, and of course, being a deadly swordsman make him one of the best and most memorable characters in any game.  Once you learn counter-kills, you'll really start with the bloodletting.  At least, I sure did. 

I like it when guards get pushy, talk trash to ya...don't feel at all bad about shoving the hidden blade into his stomach (or back), or using the curved dagger to dispatch your foes, or the longsword- each weapon has different kill animations depending on how you've taken him down and in what respect you're facing when you do it.

Of them all, the curved dagger is probably the coolest but ymmv.  I'm glad I'm not a complete badass like him...I'd be insufferable!