Reading Time: 5 minutesStats so far… After defeating the Cyclops, I rescued Barnabas and escorted him safely through Kleptous Bay to his ship.  He reveals that he had been praying to the Gods when he was being tortured by The Cyclops, and I appeared. Side tracked by side quests… The main focus now is to travel to Sami Harbour to meet Barnabas and get his ship.  Instead of heading straight there, I spent some time completing some side missions.  The highlight of which was being attacked by a shark whilst diving for a necklace! Before moving on, I visited a blacksmith to get my weapon engraved.  This is a new feature in Assassin’s Creed Odyssey that allows you to upgrade your weapons and armour. It was then time for another side quest in which I had to invade a Bandit Camp in search of some stolen wood.  I was able to hide in the bushes, and whistle to distract some soldiers, luring them towards me and then assassinating them. Sami Harbour I eventually arrive in Sami Harbour and boarded my ship, the ship that I’ve been given for saving Barnabas’s life, to sweeten the bargain, it has a small crew as well. I’m not going to give any spoilers, but a  fascinating cutscene then plays, revealing more about the past and Kassandra’s link to Nikolaos, The Wolf of Sparta. Before leaving, Phoibe and Markos come to say their goodbyes.  This is where the quest ends and the game’s opening titles are shown.  After a couple of hours, the game really begins.  We’re off to Megaris! Sealegs A lot of the game takes place at sea, therefore, getting used to the ship’s controls is very important.  Once aboard, you have to complete a basic mission to find some cargo.  This is done to introduce you to the new controls and features of the ship. Battleships During this mission, you are attacked by an enemy ship.  You are then taught how to battle using your ship.  Most of the controls and abilities are similar to the limited number of sea battles from Origins.  However, this feels a lot more refined and more rewarding. You can throw javelins, ram, fire arrows and more.  A new feature, which I loved, was the ability to board an enemy’s ship and attack everyone on board! The ship also has a Naval Message Board, showing you different side quests you can complete. Ship customisation Another new feature of the game is the ability to customise the ship’s crew and appearance.  As you can see, there is a slot for a Special Lieutenant.  These are people that you can “convince” to join your crew as you travel the world.  Each Special Lieutenant has certain skills which might come in useful.  The first Lieutenant I recruited was a particularly good archer. New Region Discovered  – Megaris After destroying a trio of enemy ships, we arrived at our destination, Megaris.  There’s an epic battle taking place, and we learn that it’s between the Spartans and the Athenians.  Again, I don’t want to spoil this part, but let’s just say that there’s quite a big reveal here. Stentor likes our style and asks for our help in getting rid of the Athenians.  I agree for a price!  He gives me his seal to prove that he trusts me. Conquering Nations This is another new and exciting feature in Assassin’s Creed Odyssey.  To conquer a world, you have to reduce the Nation Power.  This can be achieved in a variety of different ways.  The fastest way is to kill the Nation Leader.  However, this will be quite tricky as their defences will be strong.  To weaken his defences, you can kill his soldiers, burn war supplies and pillage treasure. The first side quest in Megaris is to investigate dead soldiers and a destroyed cart that was carrying supplies. During the investigation, you are presented with a big decision.  This is an example of the new dialogue and actions choices in the game. Hyrkanos the Cunning Thanks for reading Part 2 of my journey through Assassin’s Creed Odyssey.  I’m off to hunt down Hyrkanos.