Assassin’s Creed Odyssey delivers an epic journey

On the other hand, if the combat starts to get on your nerves, then the experience as a whole falls apart.

Like most features of modern Assassin’s Creed, the combat wasn’t designed from the ground up for this entry. Instead, it is the result of a step-by-step evolution over previous games in the series.

As such, Odyssey’s fighting never truly feels like it was created as a fulfilling activity in itself, but rather as an excuse to drive the levelling and loot mechanics, which are certainly satisfying.

If you can look past the slightly clunky base combat, then the addition of special moves like a ‘This is Sparta!’ kick and poison weapons enhance the overall fun, while the stealth aspects are better than ever.

Odyssey is still a long way from the old, cinematic assassination missions of the earliest Creed entries, but the challenge of infiltrating Spartan or Athenian camps and taking out enemies silently is mechanically better than ever.

There’s a reason combat is so important in Assassin’s Creed Odyssey — this is a game that lives up to its name.

The journey is simply huge, taking up to 60 hours to finish. In order to keep progressing, your character (Alexios or Kassandra, depending on your preference of gender) will need to be strong enough to cope with the enemies in each area.

Like almost every RPG ever made, you will need to complete enough side missions and gain enough experience, largely through combat, to pass through those gates. Your reward for doing so is a truly expansive, entertaining world in which you can horse-ride, climb and sail your way to adventures all over the Greek isles.

For the first time, decisions you make actually affect the story, meaning your relationship with the NPCs and the world itself carries far more weight, something Assassin’s Creed was always sorely lacking. In addition, the writing and main characters are excellent, a step above Origins and the best since Ezio and his Renaissance Italy. As games based in ‘realism’ go, this is one of the most vibrant and lush role-playing games ever made.

If you haven’t played an Assassin’s Creed game in a while, give Odyssey a chance. If the combat, ahem, strikes your fancy, then prepare for an incredible journey.

STRIKING GOLD

Combat is everything to Conor McGregor too — a man who came up short against his most recent opponent, but will no doubt return better than ever. For his next fight, the UFC may need to tone down the WWE antics, which may have crossed the line last time

out.

Meanwhile, for those who enjoy WWE theatrics, WWE 2K19 has hit the shelves and appears to be more of the same, with a few interesting additions.

The graphics have been tweaked and look a little better, the striking and creation suite have both been improved and there’s a fun-sounding Tower mode that pits you against successive superstars in Towers that have their own requirements.

WWE games have always been a strange niche — these games are more of a sport than the ‘sport’ they are based upon.

They have, essentially, made a gameplay system from acts of theatre. But they keep striking gold. WWE 2K19 is out now.

SHUTTING DOORS

After 14 years in existence, Telltale Games is unfortunately shutting its doors, just keeping on a skeleton staff to finish off their current projects.

Their biggest property, The Walking Dead, will see its final season completed nonetheless, with Skybound, under the supervision of Walking Dead creator Robert Kirk himself, stepping in to finish it.

“We’ve successfully negotiated with Telltale Games for our company Skybound to come in and see Season 4 of the Telltale game to completion,” Kirk said in a statement.

“The world can’t lose Andrew Lincoln and Clementine in the same year.”