The Assassins Creed franchise receives its 10th instalment with the release of Origins. Publisher Ubisoft is taking the series in a completely new direction with this latest edition and with the incredible performance power of the Sonys PlayStation 4, it promises to be another blast.

Being set in Ancient Egypt for the first time, Assassins Creed Origins takes place in the Ptolemaic period. The plot explores the beginnings of the long conflict between the Brotherhood of Assassins, who exist to bring peace by the promotion of liberty, and a cabal who quest for peace through the imposition of order.

Taking the same third-person perspective as previous games in the series, players complete a series of quests in an open-world Egyptian environment. A new feature this time around does away with the traditional eagle vision mode, replacing it with an eagle companion named Senu. Players will then be able to take control of Senu and scout a specific location prior to arriving there.

Gamers can also tame a selection of wild animals to use as companions, similar to that of Senu, creating a multi-layered approach. Origins will see a return of naval combat, tomb raiding and underwater modes to the series. However, the game will limit the number of taller buildings available to climb in a departure for the franchise.

As well as new locations to explore, Origins also brings with it a new combat system. The hit-box system will see players strike at whatever enemies are in range, giving a more realistic fighting style. Gamers will be able to target specific body parts or even miss entirely should they be too far away.

Elsewhere, a new arena-based combat system has been introduced. Players will have to undertake fights involving waves of enemies in increasingly difficult combinations. The final aspect of this feature is a boss fight.
Post-launch, players will have the ability to explore the world with no objectives whatsoever, giving a completely sandbox mode to the game. In addition to this, gamers can take guided tours that reflect on significant aspects of Egyptian history.