This week we’ve seen two announcements of new Assassin’s Creed content. Not games – announcing two games in two days would seem slightly odd – but a game and a comic. Putting aside the fact that announcing them in such quick succession did make me feel slightly overwhelmed, do we really need all of these spin-offs?
It’s certainly not the case that every franchise is doing this, there’s plenty out there that are perfectly happy to exist just as games. However, with the real blockbuster franchises, seeing some sort of spin off is becoming more and more common. Halo has managed, bizarrely, to almost perpetually have a comic mini-series going; they seem to launch a new one as soon as the previous mini-series finishes. Then of course there’s the books and Halo: Legends animated DVD that have vastly expanded the the Halo universe, eventually coming full circle with Halo: Reach spinning out of the Fall of Reach book.
It’s certainly not just Halo that’s spun off into other forms of media, although it does seem that Microsoft and Bungie have been the most prolific with the sheer volume of content they’ve put out surrounding Halo. However, what they’ve done right is having it as a constant driving force, a continuous part of the overall Halo brand and fictional universe. By using it to genuinely expand the universe, for example the books rarely touch on anything that happens in the games, it makes it seem somehow better than just having something to show when a new game’s on its way out.
Of course, those may sound like the words of a self-confessed Halo fanboy, so let’s take a look at the way that other games are using it.
[drop2]For example there’s a pretty good Batman: Arkham City prequel comic that’s running right now. It’s supposed to act as a bridge between the first and second game, and it’s working well so far. I don’t want to spoil too much but so far they’ve managed to show the conception of Arkham City, the Joker’s escape from the asylum and put a few of the story’s players into motion. DC Comics have pitched it just right so that we can see a vague hint of what might be coming in the game without revealing everything.The thing is, does it really need to be a tie-in to the new game’s launch for it to exist? I’d be perfectly happy if there was an on-going Batman title set in the game’s universe. We don’t know how much it differs from the mainstream DC continuity, with the obvious exception of the setting up of Arkham City, so why not show us? With the exclusive extra stories that are launching in the digital version of the Arkham City comic we’re seeing how this version of Robin is different to the one we’re used to, why not take this further?
To me this seems a better solution for both fans, and developers and publishers. For fans we get a more expansive look at stories we know and love from games, and on the developer and publisher’s side they get a new stream of income in between games, arguably where it’s most needed.
Yes there’s something to be said for creating new content just before a game launches, you can set up bits of the story you just won’t have time to cover in your game or expand on plot points that perhaps wouldn’t be so obvious when told solely via the game. However, it’d just be nice to see more franchises getting more permanent and expansive tie-ins that really show you something you’d never even thought about before.
Tuffcub
I agree there should be more ‘expanded world’ tie ins, such as the Red Faction TV series.. er.. oh.
gideon1451
& a Doom film.
Forrest_01
Nevermind Doom, what about that god-awful Streetfighter film??
Plus manyu others that i could mention – Mainly Uwe Boll projects! :D
rht992
don’t diss the street fighter
blackredyellow
The Mortal Kombat films were hilari… I mean really good!
KeRaSh
Jean-Claude van Damme made Street Fighter awesome! :D Loved that movie as a kid.
3shirts
Kylie was smoking hot in the Street Fighter film.
Forrest_01
Unfortunately, Kylies arse can’t save everything.
R4U Eldave0
I’m all for these little extras. Short films, comics, novels, they all help to pad out a game’s narrative, which is the main reason I play games so… :)
spikenik90
I honestly preferred AC when it was just…AC1. Since then its just been game after game after cliffhanger after DLC after spinoff after comic after movie after book – it’s all just getting a bit too much for me, and I’m not even that big a fan of Ezio either (who by this stage seems to be more into city renovation than stabbing people in the neck).
But then there’s always that niggling feeling in the back of my mind about how I may be missing important plot details, simply because Ubisoft keep on shoving new content onto different consoles and other mediums I’m either not interested in, or don’t have the money to purchase.
Still, that’s just my opinion – I imagine there are plenty of people who lap up all of the AC related stuff, otherwise Ubisoft wouldn’t keep on making so much of it.
bacon_nuts
I was hoping that after playing AC1 and liking it, then shifting to Italy, playing AC2 and liking it, they would shift the time and place again, somewhere else interesting, but they didn’t and I got bored with it, didn’t bother with Brotherhood, probably wont with the whatever the next one is called. Was hoping for Viking/ Egypt/ Asia assassin games…
rht992
i was pretty annoyed with brotherhood. the ending is a pretty massive plot twist so in a way the game is essential. you shouldn’t have something like that in a simple add on
bacon_nuts
I really enjoyed the small portal bridge comic that was on the internet. That was great. But I’ve never really been interested in a book of a video game, I suppose I’ve always just felt I’d rather play the game, although it could just be that I don’t really play halo or Assassins Creed, so why would I read the books..?
hazelam
if they’ve created an interesting universe for the game, then people will want to see more of it.
that’s why i think what they’re doing these days is better than what we used to get.
it used to be that they’d bring out a novel that was just a retelling of the game story, but now, they’re telling whole new stories to expend that universe.
it’s not just a money making exercise any more, though they do make money, they’re doing it by giving the fans what they want.
i’ve read some great tie ins, the mass effect book i read was really good, and the halo books were fantastic.
and i just love the warcraft books, the war of the ancients trilogy especially was outstanding.
the reason i like those series tie ins is that they expand the universe of the game, taking you places you don’t get to go and exploring important events that we never get to see.
in many ways it’s comparable to the star wars expanded universe.
they fill out the rest of the star wars galaxy, there are thousands of planets in the galaxy, not just tattoine, coruscant, yavin 4 and aldaran.
one even came up with an explanation of han’s statement about the falcon making the kessel run in less than 12 parsecs as proof of its speed when a parsec is a measurement of distance not time.
it’s to do with a cluster of black holes called the maw with a secret installation hidden at the center, and the run through the cluster is called the kessel run, because it’s on the route to kessel or something, it’s been a while i can’t remember that part.
anyway, the faster a ship is the more direct a route it can take through the more densely packed core of the cluster, slower ships have to take the longer route.
so that’s their idea what the explanation is.
you know i think the matrix might have been the one that started this currant trend, it was the matrix that really pushed the whole multimedia aspect of a property.
before the novelisation of the game would have been handed off to somebody without having much to do with each other.
with the matrix though there were all these other projects all linked and considered canon to the movies, and were created with the involvement of the original creators.
sesameseed
Avoid the Killzone novel then, I’ve got a feeling the author just sat down with a copy of the game and rattled the story off onto his laptop whilst playing through the game. Extremely lazy.
rht992
depends on the game and how its expanded. it makes total sense to have a comic along side batman but its when you have one add on on top of another that things start to feel like cashing in.
blackredyellow
The problem with books and comics is that they don’t have trophies ;)
Smallville2106
Tickled me :)
fattyuk
O_o no trophy support!
Staying well clear of anything in life that doesnt come with a trophy!
fattyuk
In all fairness,,,,, it’s only a cash cow if people buy it! And people will only buy it if they want it. I love AC but not really interested in books and comics so won’t be spending my cash,… But I’m sure they’ll be plenty of people who this will be interestedd in this