I am spinning with excitement at the pre-launch marketing for Xbox One and PS4. I am enthralled by the titbits of information that I find every day. I keep looking over the list of launch games to see what I can write about. I was a bit scared by The Elder Scrolls Online, as I had thought Skyrim would be so huge that Oblivion Online could give World Of Warcraft competition. In this context, I decided to reflect on different games set in medieval time.
Assassins Creed
The original takes place during the Dark Ages. We meet Altair, and we learn about Desmond’s lineage. You can travel to different cities in the original, including Jerusalem, Masyaf and Acre. All of these were created as accurately as possible. The original is a great game that many people have forgotten about because it was overshadowed and replaced by the sequels.
Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
Oblivion, and many other Elder Scrolls titles in the series, take place in a fantasy version of the Dark Ages as opposed to Assassin’s creed which is more historically based. It still makes the Dark Ages a fantastical landscape with unique cities, creatures, and people. Skyrim continues that theme, with the addition of dragons. We all wish they existed back in the Dark Ages.
Divinity II: The Dragon Knight Saga
Divinity II is a role-playing action game that follows the usual blueprint for a fantasy/Dark Ages video game. It’s a sequel to Divine Divinity, available for PC and Xbox 360. The Gamebryo Engine, used in Oblivion is also used here, so there will be visual similarities. There were many graphical bugs and other hello88 issues which prevented the game from becoming as popular as Oblivion.
Thief Series
The Dark Ages and Steampunk are combined in Thief. Steampunk usually has Victorian-era associations, but the games in this list do things a bit differently. This game was revolutionary at the time. It spawned all the stealth-style games that we love, and it had a morally ambiguous setting.
Dragon Age Series
Bioware’s Dark Ages is a sequel to Mass Effect, a sci-fi epic. It was a serious RPG set in Medieval fantasy. It contains all of the Mass Effect elements: dialogue trees, NPC interaction, and similar combat (but with swords and bows instead).