Am I the only one who sees the Assassin's Creed games as becoming creepier and creepier? In the earlier games there was some nod to the idea that you weren't necessarily a perfect "good guy," and the generic enemies running around were clearly alligned with the villians. In all of the AC games with Ezio, you were mainly killing mercenaries of sorts. Then AC III came and you started frolicking about murdering English conscripts. Men who, rather than killing because they were paid to, were only there because they were forced to be, and had no idea they were working for the bad guys. Still, you're the hero! Fuck them for not knowing things they had no possible way of knowing.
And then there's Black Flag. Now, if it were clearly supposed to be "Assassin's Theft Auto: Carribean," I'd get that. Asshole protagonists aren't a new thing. I'm fine playing a character who's morally bankrupt, as long as the game in some way acknowledges that that is the case. Instead, we get to listen to Edward and his comrades monologue about freedom and justice and the American way. Edward himself at least has the decency to be greedy about things, but that doesn't stop the game from trying to make him as charming and likeable as possible at every other turn.
"Oh, you saw a shot of his wife! That means he's the good guy! What? The people he pointlessly slaughters? Oh, no. People who wear uniforms don't have families, silly!"
Let's look at some of the things he does in the game, just as gameplay mechanics. I haven't progressed far in the plot yet, but these are every day in the life of Edward Kenway.
To recruit new pirates, Conner must free men who have been taken prisoner or are being attacked by the authorities. Now, he doesn't ask /why/ this is happening to any of them. In one case there's even an explicit mention that a pirate has killed innocent people, but since it's said by a person in a uniform (clearly satanspawn), we get to ignore it. Now, you generally find these people either about to be hanged, at gunpoint, or fighting with soldiers. To get that kind of attention they probably committed a pretty serious offense. Granted, you are a pirate, so you have to recruit people who are pirates, but you're not exactly screening them. Maybe that one was there because he raped a 10 year old. Maybe he shot his mother. Who knows? Who cares? He's a roguish, lovable freedom fighter now!
And then, of course, there's the piracy. It's cute, really, how they think that putting a uniform on all of the character models will make it O.K, but you're still attacking merchant vessels, and not just by going "hey surrender and we won't hurt you!" like actual pirates did, but by dropping a fucking mortar shell on them before they even know you're hostile. Ships that carry rum and spice aren't manned by a crew consisting entirely of hardened soldiers in fancy, soul-nullifying uniforms. They're civilian. Maybe there's guards if it's an important ship, but often the people manning the cannons would just be ordinary shmos who wanted to live to see their families again.
But fuck em for that. Clearly evil, shell those fuckers to the bottom of the seas. Oh, and also some of them might be slaves/conscripts/shanghied/etc, so you're killing people who were literally forced to be there. But it's ok, it's for FREEDOM! If we brutally kill enough poor people and slaves, we'll really show those kings who's boss!
*single bald eagle tear*
Of course, never mind that Edward's main objective at this point is to sell the world into slavery to the highest bitter. That's just kind of a "quirk" of his, and we love him for it.
Once again, if Edward was clearly supposed to be an asshole, I wouldn't have a problem with it. If the game was meant to be amoral, that'd be fine. I don't have problems with running down hookers as Niko Bellic, because Niko is an asshole in a world where pretty much everyone else is also an asshole. He has a shitty life, befitting his status as an asshole. Black Flag though doesn't seem to be capable of shutting up about how noble and liberated the pirates are. And of course, there's still the thing if you attack domestic animals or "civilians," it's bad. Apparently Edward didn't kill civilians, except for the thousands of times he did.
Remember:
Firebombing 100 civilians and leaving them for dead in the ocean: Good, honest work for FREEDOM!
Shooting a cat: OH MY GOD HOW COULD YOU YOU HORRIBLE FUCKING PERSON!?!??!?!?!?!?
TL;DR: It's annoying when games have you play as the villain, but have absolutely no understanding that that's what they're doing.
And then there's Black Flag. Now, if it were clearly supposed to be "Assassin's Theft Auto: Carribean," I'd get that. Asshole protagonists aren't a new thing. I'm fine playing a character who's morally bankrupt, as long as the game in some way acknowledges that that is the case. Instead, we get to listen to Edward and his comrades monologue about freedom and justice and the American way. Edward himself at least has the decency to be greedy about things, but that doesn't stop the game from trying to make him as charming and likeable as possible at every other turn.
"Oh, you saw a shot of his wife! That means he's the good guy! What? The people he pointlessly slaughters? Oh, no. People who wear uniforms don't have families, silly!"
Let's look at some of the things he does in the game, just as gameplay mechanics. I haven't progressed far in the plot yet, but these are every day in the life of Edward Kenway.
To recruit new pirates, Conner must free men who have been taken prisoner or are being attacked by the authorities. Now, he doesn't ask /why/ this is happening to any of them. In one case there's even an explicit mention that a pirate has killed innocent people, but since it's said by a person in a uniform (clearly satanspawn), we get to ignore it. Now, you generally find these people either about to be hanged, at gunpoint, or fighting with soldiers. To get that kind of attention they probably committed a pretty serious offense. Granted, you are a pirate, so you have to recruit people who are pirates, but you're not exactly screening them. Maybe that one was there because he raped a 10 year old. Maybe he shot his mother. Who knows? Who cares? He's a roguish, lovable freedom fighter now!
And then, of course, there's the piracy. It's cute, really, how they think that putting a uniform on all of the character models will make it O.K, but you're still attacking merchant vessels, and not just by going "hey surrender and we won't hurt you!" like actual pirates did, but by dropping a fucking mortar shell on them before they even know you're hostile. Ships that carry rum and spice aren't manned by a crew consisting entirely of hardened soldiers in fancy, soul-nullifying uniforms. They're civilian. Maybe there's guards if it's an important ship, but often the people manning the cannons would just be ordinary shmos who wanted to live to see their families again.
But fuck em for that. Clearly evil, shell those fuckers to the bottom of the seas. Oh, and also some of them might be slaves/conscripts/shanghied/etc, so you're killing people who were literally forced to be there. But it's ok, it's for FREEDOM! If we brutally kill enough poor people and slaves, we'll really show those kings who's boss!
*single bald eagle tear*
Of course, never mind that Edward's main objective at this point is to sell the world into slavery to the highest bitter. That's just kind of a "quirk" of his, and we love him for it.
Once again, if Edward was clearly supposed to be an asshole, I wouldn't have a problem with it. If the game was meant to be amoral, that'd be fine. I don't have problems with running down hookers as Niko Bellic, because Niko is an asshole in a world where pretty much everyone else is also an asshole. He has a shitty life, befitting his status as an asshole. Black Flag though doesn't seem to be capable of shutting up about how noble and liberated the pirates are. And of course, there's still the thing if you attack domestic animals or "civilians," it's bad. Apparently Edward didn't kill civilians, except for the thousands of times he did.
Remember:
Firebombing 100 civilians and leaving them for dead in the ocean: Good, honest work for FREEDOM!
Shooting a cat: OH MY GOD HOW COULD YOU YOU HORRIBLE FUCKING PERSON!?!??!?!?!?!?
TL;DR: It's annoying when games have you play as the villain, but have absolutely no understanding that that's what they're doing.
