Assassins Creed Origins is a Boon for Education
As a teacher and an avid gamer I like to have my PUPILS be excited and in awe when teaching. This is not always possible but there are many tools out there to engage pupils in a variety of lessons, however video games are a great way to immerse children. Assassin's Creed is a game series that takes place in various historical periods, including the Renaissance, Victorian England and the time of the French Revolution. As someone with a strong history background, these games are wonderful in portraying the settings but the games are rated 18 (or M for Mature) and so using them in class has not been possible. However Ubisoft, the creators of Assassin's Creed, have released a Tour Mode for their latest game, Assassin's Creed Origins, which takes place in Ancient Egypt and as a result you can go on 75 'tours,' which show all the key sites but doesn't't involve any video-gamey narrative, killing or missions.
The possibilities of this kind of mode, either as part of future Assassin's Creed games or even as its own entity, could be great a educational tool AND fun. If Ubisoft apply it to future games that would be great but also if they could go back to previous locations from past Assassin's Creed games, remaster them and give them this treatment in a new Discovery Tour package then that would be wonderful. Imagine getting to explore the original Assassin's Creed's Crusade era Jerusalem, the Age of Piracy from Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag or the sprawling worlds of Unity's French Revolution and Syndicate's Victorian London.
The game is rated a T for Teen and so couldn't be used in primary schools but might be useful to engage and excite pupils in secondary school. I haven't purchased the game yet but hope to very soon, once I've worked through my gaming 'pile of shame.'
The Tour Mode is available as a free download for people who have the game or as a stand alone package for PCs at the price of £20.