Weekend Confirmed 120 - Dawnguard, Day Z, Diablo 3

I mentioned this in the other AC thread, but I feel like it warrants it's own thread.

The problems Garnett and Jeff have with the free-running in Assassin's Creed seem to show a complete lack of understanding for how the system works and how they are supposed to be playing.

It seems you guys are stuck in the mind-set that there are only two kinds of platforming. One, where you have complete, precise control and the responsibility to line up every jump (2D platformers, the PoP games from last gen, etc), or one where the computer takes over everything.

I'm sorry, but the developers have not failed simply because the platforming system and philosophy they have innovated does not fit neatly within the platforming boxes you are comfortable with.

Assassin's Creed handles the little details so that you can handle the big picture.

There is simply too much going on the world - from geometry to navigate, from enemies pursuing, targets escaping, etc - for the game to ask you to line up, time and land every jump a la POP. However, if there is no tension of missing jumps, or keeping tabs on a target, or getting surrounded and taken out by guards, then these chases and pursuits lose tension.

So the game does something different. It tells you to stop looking 5 steps in front of your feet and worrying about micro-managing the details, and look up. Look 20, 30, 100 steps away, and plan your route. Look for the big gaps you need to cross and the best places to do it, look for the gaps in enemy patrols to make your life easier, keep a look out for your target and cut him off at the pass. We will handle the jumping, and the climbing, you handling the THINKING.

Holding one direction down and holding A is how you end up running into walls, missing jumps, and whatnot. You are being lazy. You don't need incredibly harsh, precise, jarring changes in direction like you would in POP, but you should be shifting his path to ensure the best route over the environment. Imagine using the stick to carve his way over the city the same way you would use it to carve the path of a snowboarder down a mountain.

The developers have not failed because their system does not fit into one of two boxes you are comfortable with. They have succeeded because they have created a system that works perfectly for the specific challenges and experiences they are trying to create.