There and Back Again...
It's been quite awhile, but this site crossed my mind a couple days ago. A few years ago a gaming became something that I didn't have much time for in my life, and I unplugged my PS3 for the final time. The only things I've palyed since have all been Wii games with my kids.
Two weeks ago ESPN committed an atrocity and killed off their Grantland site, and it put me in a nostalgic mood. I started revisiting some of the things that made the Internet great in my mind, and you guys jumped to the forefront.
I realized that I really missed the days I spent here chatting about a million different things. Tonight I tore my house apart and finally found the PS3 and all my AC games. The one thing I didn't find was a single controller. I've been over every inch of this place twice, and nothing. I guess I'll be hitting GameStop tomorrow to pick up a couple.
That said, what's going on? I hope you're all doing well. It's good to see familiar names and catch up on some of the things I've missed. It's good to be back.
It's good to have you back, Gopher. It HAS been a while, indeed.
I remember you being here around AC1, 2 and Brotherhood the most, if I remember correctly. The other main person that comes to my mind from back then that hasn't been super active for a while is Vanitas.
Anyway, we've been pretty good. The AC games haven't always went in the direction we wanted them to, and some of us still look back fondly on THB's early years as a kind of Golden Age, purely because of how strong the actual Assassin's Creed titles were back then compared to now. They're still pretty good games, though! They could just be doing a lot more than they are.
I guess the biggest highlights regarding Assassin's Creed in general are that AC Unity, the first-ever next-gen AC came out and was almost universally treated as a flop. Very few people liked it, and even fewer liked it on release - which was when it was the absolute buggiest and most technically poor. (Low framerates, stuttering, all kinds of crazy stuff.) AC Syndicate came out recently, running on Unity's engine - and is quite a bit better technically, but is still not terribly refreshing when it comes to its design. Most everyone DOES agree that Syndicate is a way better game than Unity overall, and is perfectly okay, but many are still waiting for AC to do something really grand and excellent again for the next one. I feel like this applies both to TheHiddenBlade and to the wider player-base as a whole. All in all, I think we mostly just miss all the creative stuff we could do in these games back when they actually put more Control in the hands of the player. People can speak for themselves though.
In terms of how things have been around here, most of the discussion has shifted to looking at the design of the AC games and how we'd like it to evolve or move forward, when it's been mostly staying the exact same. It's way harder to make interesting videos for the newer games than it was for the older ones. Fewer and fewer videos are being created, and most of the engagement here has become textual as a result of that.
But yeah!
It's really cool to have you back. I'm not even sure if you personally remember me. 
DAZ, I definitely remember you. You're one of the people that makes this site great.
My fears have definitely been realized with the ending of the Desmod story. That was my favorite part of the series for a long time, the anticipation and suspense that revolved around will he or won't he prevent Abstergo from ruling the world unopposed. I knew they were going to royally screw it up after completing AC:R. I felt so strongly about it that I completely lost interest in ACIII. I stil. Have that game in the wrapper, and couldn't bring myself to open it. From everything I've read, the ending of that saga was a disappointment. I really want to go back and replay the first 3.
I'm glad that this place still exists, and it deserves to live on.
My fears have definitely been realized with the ending of the Desmod story. That was my favorite part of the series for a long time, the anticipation and suspense that revolved around will he or won't he prevent Abstergo from ruling the world
Never mind that! What kept my interest was will he or won't he get it on with Lucy. 
@Present Day cyberpunk story, I wouldn't write it all off completely just yet, Gopher! That part of the story was my biggest reason for playing the games too, and I've been hard at work as always analyzing it and speculating on what might come next using the information we know from the media that's been released.
I strongly believe that after Syndicate, really cool stuff is going to happen, for reasons.
Never mind that! What kept my interest was will he or won't he get it on with Lucy.
Now you're speaking my language. Oh, what might've been...
GopherBlaine wrote:
My fears have definitely been realized with the ending of the Desmod story. That was my favorite part of the series for a long time, the anticipation and suspense that revolved around will he or won't he prevent Abstergo from ruling the worldNever mind that! What kept my interest was will he or won't he get it on with Lucy.
Go figure Stabby! Lol! Welcome back Gopher. Quite a few have returned. Seems it coincides with a new game release which makes us nostalgic for old friends.