Assassin’s Creed III
Despite these fond memories, there’s something missing in the Commonwealth: people. Boston is a city absolutely filled with them, something that Assassin’s Creed III captures beautifully. The streets are packed to the brim with people. In typical Boston fashion, a handful of them are pretty rude. Hey, we’re not called “Massholes” for nothing.
This reminds me of my first Cincinnati memories. I moved from a city where people would routinely walk out and about downtown to the exact opposite. While Cincinnati’s downtown scene is currently booming thanks to a SoDoSoPa like revitalization, it’s just not the same. There’s no public transportation, no noise, no personality. At least I have Ubisoft to deliver on some 1700-era vibe to rely on.
Yet this isn’t the game’s greatest aesthetic achievement. Assassin’s Creed III nails everything about colonial Boston. Even in the present day, the city is filled with history; its colonial roots are present around every corner. Those memories of the “feel” of what it’s like to be in the northeast I talked about in Fallout 4? That’s 100% present in the architecture of Assassin Creed III. Fallout is all about the suburbs, but Assassin’s Creed brings it home concerning downtown Boston.
Still, something is missing from both titles: the accent. Sure, it’s not expected that people in 1700 had a Boston accent yet (maybe?), but surely the nuclear blast didn’t bring back the letter “R” to the vocabulary of the people of the Commonwealth. I mean, these people are going to pahk their powah ahmah at their Hahvahd Yahd fast travel point, right?
Hello? Anyone?
Image source: Real Estate Brookline MA, Wikipedia
Fallout 4
Currently I reside in Cincinnati, Ohio, but I grew up in Medford, Massachusetts. For those unaware, that’s about fifteen or so minutes north of Boston. There’s a certain aesthetic in New England that just isn’t present here in Ohio. Sure, the leaves still change and all that, but it’s not the same. Fallout 4 finds a way to bring that aesthetic to life. As I wander the wastelands, I’m reminiscing of walking through the Middlesex Fells. I’m transported back home, walking my dog through the crisp autumn air.
Of course an attack from a pack of feral ghouls brings that memory to a screeching halt.
That’s okay, though, because there are plenty more memories to be had. Take, Diamond City for example. For unaware sports fans, it’s Fenway Park, a beloved city landmark and one of the most famous stadiums in all of sports. Considering its age (it was built in 1912, making it 175 years in Fallout 4), it’s pretty damn impressive that it’s still standing tall after nuclear fallout. While Bethesda didn’t add in World Series banners for my beloved Red Sox, it’s still a sight for sore eyes. Sore virtual eyes, anyway.
2015’s Fallout 4 is not the first time we’ve seen a virtual Boston. Back in 2012, Ubisoft’s Assassin Cred III also took place in Boston. Granted, both of these games didn’t take place in the present-day capital of Massachusetts; Fallout 4 is set in a post-apocalyptic 20897 while Assassin’s Creed III is in the 1700s during the American Revolution. Regardless, it’s fun to think about who did the city better.
