Xbox 360 Do I need to play all the other games first?

[BraniacBrian]

I was thinking about buying Assassin's Creed 3 but I'm not familiar with the other AC games. Do I need to play all of the other games first, before I buy number 3? There's a game store in town that sells them pretty cheap if you buy them used.

 

[lindbergh]

Well, if you really want to know everything about the story, it would be better (and more enjoyable) if you play the first two games first. It would be like a movie marathon (except you're playing video games). But, it's not a must to play Part 1 and Part 2. You could play part 3 and enjoy every second of it without playing the last 2 games.

 

[TidalWave]

I think that you can play any game without playing it's predecessors first but you will understand more about the various characters if you play them all in order. I personally prefer to play all the games in a series just so you can see the story develop but it's all personal preference.

 

[crossunitedfate]

These days, I don't see it as mandatory to play prior games in a series. Especially when you take into effect that for many games, their previous iterations are on last generation systems. And for many, some systems that existed before they were even born.

So it's not THAT big a deal unless you truly want the whole story.

 

[scottie]

I agree with the others - you don't HAVE to play the first 4 games by any means. (I say 4 games because there's Assassin's Creed, Assassin's Creed 2, Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, and Assassin's Creed: Revelations.) However, all of the characters are related. The present day guy, Desmond, is the same in every game, and the guy from the past is always one of his ancestors, so if you want the full story, start with the first AC and work your way up from there.

 

[BraniacBrian]

Thanks for the input, everyone. I think I'm going to buy a few of the earlier games just because I've seen used copies of them for less than $20 each, but I'm actually thinking I might play them backwards, starting with #3 and working my way back.

 

[Jo86]

If you can get the older games super cheap, I'd go ahead and buy all of them and play them in order. You'll know more about the present day character (Desmond) and how it is that you're able to travel back in time and play as his ancestors. It's also nice to see how the franchise has developed over the years, or at least that's my opinion.

 

[Yoshimizu]

It's like a trilogy where each story relates to the others, but is a stand-alone story as well. Each one is a complete story, but part of a cohesive whole at the same time. But I agree with Jo - if you can get them that cheap, do!

 

[dre5546]

Not necessarily but it wont be a waste of time because in my opinion the whole series is great and plus you will learn the whole the story which each game gives their own chapter to the story.

 

[7R0114Li|=3]

Yep, the whole series is awesome and every one of the games is well worth playing! Each one has its own story and, while they are all related, they aren't necessarily linear, exactly.

 

[GamerKat]

Assassin's Creed is great no matter how you get started. There is no need to play them in order, but it certainly doesn't hurt to do it that way, either. The best way to play - is just to play and enjoy!

 

[sully3333]

If I were you, I would start at the beginning. I skipped the first one and began on Assassins Creed 2. While I didn't miss too much, there were a decent amount of details that I definitely would have liked to have known previously to playing the rest of the games in the franchise. I won't use any specific examples, though. Don't want to ruin your fun

 

[Lokitns]

I started on AC2, and immediately went back and had to play through AC1. I felt like it was so much more once I had met the characters that much more. And now I'm all caught up, I feel the story definitely draw you in a lot more if you play it from beginning to current. It's like you're keeping up with a movie and all its sequels over and over, much more value out of pieces you would of missed if you hadn't played them in order imo.

 

[Kjordo711]

Not required, but it provides a little backstory. If you want, you can beat AC3, then go on to try the ones before, just because of how fun they are. If you are planning on playing AC3 first, then you might want to look up the conclusion of AC2, just so that you can have some backstory. However, This WILL give away a rather important spoiler. Overall, it is not necessary, but it will enhance your gameplay a little.

 

[stiflex]

You don't, but you should honestly - you're missing out on a lot of references and maybe easter eggs. Which are quite common within the game.

 

[Murray]

The story that's taking place in the background of AC 3 is important to AC 3, but its lost a lot of its steam at this point. I think that you'll find that AC 2 is going to be the best and most awesome experience in the genre as far as full releases go. As far as I know, AC 3 doesn't even have hidden puzzles or anything in the background like that, which is a super turn off for me as a completionist and fan of the genre.

 

[GetFresh]

If you want to truly understand the story you should play the previous games. However, you could always Google a synopsis of the previous games to get some forehand knowledge in. I personally feel that I should start a game from the very beginning in order to fully enjoy the game experience. Maybe that's just me.

 

[ThunderSteel]

As 'Fresh said, you could just Google the game or checkout gameplay videos. To experience it and draw your own conclusion on the game itself you should definitely play it from the start.