There's a funny little quirk about the upcoming Assassin's Creed Odyssey: it doesn't actually have... well, an assassin's creed in it. Where previous games in the series would trigger a fail state if you killed civilians - what with random murder being against the titular creed and all - Odyssey lets you wreak havoc and sew chaos wherever you choose. This means that in a series first, you'll be able to fight who you want, when you want.
However, don't go thinking this means you'll get away scot-free should you choose to accost that poor old grain farmer. Instead of a modern-day equivalent to "you lose," Assassin's Creed Odyssey has a more clever way to keep you in line (or at least making things entertaining when you're not): a Grand Theft Auto-style wanted system.
Since Assassin's Creed Odyssey is set during the Peloponnesian War between Athens and Sparta, your actions can garner unwanted attention. Start killing Athenian citizens and the powerful city-state will hire mercenaries to hunt you down wherever you roam, and likewise for any other faction you choose to wage war with. And of course, the more trouble you cause, the harder the world pushes back.
Raid a few Spartan camps, and don't be surprised if a small patrol interrupts your tour of Grecian architecture to try and turn you into a kebab. Keep up your mischief and mounted cavalry will attempt to run you down while ships harass you out among the waves of the ocean. So, yeah. Replace cop cars with horses and pistols with javelins and you've basically got Assassin's Theft Auto (Grand Theft Creed?). I don't think there were any tanks or helicopters back in 431 BC, but I suppose it depends on how close of a comparison with Rockstar's open-world crime simulator series Ubisoft is comfortable with.
Thankfully, any marks against you can be easily tracked and dealt with. Much like GTA, Odyssey tracks your chaos and assigns a wanted level accordingly, so you'll always know how far you've got to go before you're in the clear. And if it's all a bit too much to handle you can pay off your bounty with gold, lie low, or start doing some mercenary work of your own to make up for the headaches you've caused.
Assassin's Creed Odyssey comes to PS4, Xbox One, and PC on October 5. For more information, read our Assassin's Creed Odyssey preview and X ways Assassin's Creed Odyssey is different from Origins. And don't forget to check out all the other E3 2018 games too!
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