Assassin's creed

For this post I'm going to be taking a closer look into a combat system. Specificity the sword fighting system in Assassins Creed 2. Before I start it's important to note that within the game the player has the ability to equip many different swords, these have different statistical modifiers but the same animations.

In reality a lot of these swords would have completely different systems, from arming sword to cutlass and sabre. Meaning to break down the combat, we have to assume the designer took inspiration from all of these systems, regardless of what the player may be wielding at the given time.

For this I will reference a video containing a large amount of the games combat. This video was not created by me, but can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CWFNiYyHrl4

I choose this video as it shows a large uninterrupted section of combat showcasing various techniques and animations within the game.

Lets start by by going through out basics and seeing if they apply:

Binding:
This is a tough one, at any point an attack is blocked by an opponent, we clearly see the blade bounce off it. Even when the blades make contact edge to edge. However sometimes a grinding sound is played, along with the production of sparks, which could be considered a representation of the blades binding.

Blades never become interlocked for an extended duration, except during certain finishers and counters, where binding is used to manoeuvre the opponents weapon, to open them up for an attack. This is a very good example of how binding is often used within HEMA.

Multiple Opponents:
The games combat system clearly doesn't even attempt this one, throughout each clip you can clearly see the player surrounded by multiple opponents, who then wait to attack one at a time. In later games two will occasionally attack at the same time, yet slightly staggered so the player can counter both. In reality, all opponents would simply descend upon a surrounded opponent. Even if they had eyes in the back of their head.

Footwork:
The character stands in a strong stance with their knees bent and about a shoulders width apart. Retreating and advancing with passing steps and gather steps as a real fighter might. The problem comes during attacks and counters, where the character spins constantly turning their back on the opponent they are engaged in for no reason. Exaggerated attacks also mean the character leaves them selves unnecessary exposed, normally with his sword behind him and his head leaning forward. Retreating or dodging an attack is done with a simple rapid gather step or passing step as a real fighter might. The character also changes their height in accordance to where they intend to hit, ducking low to take advantage of low openings while making themselves harder to hit.