The Assassin's Creed Series

[EVA]

Oof.

I liked the fake startup menu with all the other games in the series as "locked" content, but damn, we are right back to that AC2/3 shit of having to play through an extended origin sequence for the main character instead of just, you know, getting to the good stuff we bought the game for. Ugh. That was one of the best features of AC4 - it jumped straight into the action.

[Kevin Wilson]

It is hovering around 80 at the moment on metacritic, which isn't bad.  Not unusual for the first game on a yearly series to not be great when it moves to next-gen, and I am not sure how they worked out the writing/development/etc. but making two games at the same time couldn't have helped.  I am sure it will be solid game, just not anything new or ground breaking.

[username]

It sounds like they designed the game around forcing people to sign into other Ubi platforms or grind/pay money to do stuff you used to be able to do without issue.  Fortunately you can but a lot of points for $99.99.

[Tabe]

It is hovering around 80 at the moment on metacritic, which isn't bad. Not unusual for the first game on a yearly series to not be great when it moves to next-gen, and I am not sure how they worked out the writing/development/etc. but making two games at the same time couldn't have helped. I am sure it will be solid game, just not anything new or ground breaking.

They've had two different AC teams for quite awhile now.

[EVA]

It sounds like they designed the game around forcing people to sign into other Ubi platforms or grind/pay money to do stuff you used to be able to do without issue.  Fortunately you can but a lot of points for $99.99.

The very FIRST fucking chest I came across in the game couldnt be opened without points from the companion app.

I used the app quite a lot with AC4, so that's not a huge deal to me, but I dread all the other stuff they're gonna cram down my throat.

[Raziel]

Wait wait wait, the companion app is *NECESSARY* to open shit?

[EVA]

There are standard chests and then there are chests tied to various connected products, like the app and something called "Initiates" that I've seen on the menu but have no idea what it is.

At least the app is FREE, so it's just annoying and not a total bilk-job.

[RIPPA]

Rogue is at 84 on metacritic but it doesn't have a ton of reviews yet

 

Basically the 4 "critic" reviews are all positive (Game Informer is the only "name" critic so far). And the 2 negative user reviews seem to be written by people who type with their feet

[Tabe]

It sounds like they designed the game around forcing people to sign into other Ubi platforms or grind/pay money to do stuff you used to be able to do without issue. Fortunately you can but a lot of points for $99.99.

The very FIRST fucking chest I came across in the game couldnt be opened without points from the companion app.

I used the app quite a lot with AC4, so that's not a huge deal to me, but I dread all the other stuff they're gonna cram down my throat.

Yeah, the companion app for AC4 was very useful. I don't like idea off forcing its use though...

[Joe Lucia]

There are standard chests and then there are chests tied to various connected products, like the app and something called "Initiates" that I've seen on the menu but have no idea what it is.

At least the app is FREE, so it's just annoying and not a total bilk-job.

 

Initiates is a thing you sign up for at Ubi's website that is also free and really just adds backstory.

[EVA]

Okay, this app shit is officially driving me up the wall. I can't sync the app to my PS4 because it's not accepting the same damn Uplay password I set up for AC4 - the same one that auto-logged me in on Unity without me even having to do anything. No problem, I'll just reset the password through my e-mail, right? That's what I was thinking 7 hours ago anyway. Still haven't received an e-mail from Uplay.

This is going splendidly.

[Cristobal]

I think I signed up for uplay before. Didn't bother to try and sign in with it. Rogue works great!

(eff you next-geners!)

[Raziel]

Man, Amazon reviewers are having a field day with Unity.  

[Tabe]

Ebay has put up a "$10 off $50" coupon code.  There's a (reputable) guy selling PS4 copies of Unity for $50.  With code - $40.  Shipped.  Just ordered one myself.

 

CODE: CPLAY10

[Tabe]

My game showed up today. Will be a couple more days before I get a chance to play it. By then, Ubisoft will have released 17 more patches.

Still, the "Limited Edition" of a brand-new game the week of release for forty bucks? Yeah, I'm pleased.

[AxB]

http://uk.ign.com/articles/2014/11/18/ex-french-presidential-candidate-slams-assassins-creed-unity

 

This game is on Politically dodgy ground - portraying the French Revolution, with the Aristocrats as the babyfaces and the revolutionaries as the heels, with Robespierre as a psychopathic villain? Not right, that.

 

For a cultural comparison, it'd be like making a game set in Virginia in the late 1850s, where you have to defend Slave holders and Slave Markets against armed groups of abolitionists, and the final boss is John Brown (you win by successfully capturing him alive and delivering him for execution).

[Cristobal]

I rather liked how AC:Rogue didn't really even try to portray either side as the white-hats. The Assassins believe one thing, the Templars believe another, there are good and bad people on both sides, and the protagonist does what he does for reasons that make sense in terms of the story.

[TheVileOne]

Bullshit.  One French politician complained about it, hardly the whole country.  Also the revolutionaries were hardly choir boys, why does history call it the Reign of Terror btw?

 

Isn't Robespierre a controversial figure for sentencing so many to the guillotine?

 

Why is it not right?  Robespierre was arguably a mass murderer.  There are no monuments or memorials for him in France.  He's hardly France's equivalent of George Washington or Thomas Jefferson.  

 

Also, it's a video game.  It's a fictional story.  It's a false take on history.  Seems Unity also does a pretty big job of showing the tyranny of the aristocracy as well, so the complaints are foolish.

[Andrew POE!]

I rather liked how AC:Rogue didn't really even try to portray either side as the white-hats. The Assassins believe one thing, the Templars believe another, there are good and bad people on both sides, and the protagonist does what he does for reasons that make sense in terms of the story.

 

Which is honestly not what the Assassin's Creed series is supposed to be about.

 

I guess I've been playing the "Desmond" portions a bit too much.

[AxB]

Robespierre is a controversial figure who ordered lots of deaths, but some French people see him as a hero. Kind of like John Brown in fact (although he does have monuments). But the reason people don't like historical inaccuracy in videogames is the same reason people don't like historical inaccuracy in films or TV shows or books... people are going to see the wrongs and think they're right.

 

Storm in a teacup, I know.

[TheVileOne]

It's a work of fiction.  And again, not like the Revolution was a group of righteous choir boys.  They betrayed their own cause.  One of their own seized power and declared himself Emperor.  Robespierre committed mass genocide of his own people with the guillotine.

[EVA]

Okay, so I beat UNITY last night. I have thoughts. Although I'll preface those thoughts by saying I almost exclusively stuck to the main storyline and did very few side missions (this is tied to one of my complaints about the game). I also haven't done any online co-op stuff, so I can't comment on that.

POSITIVES:

-I loved the renewed focus on ASSASSINATION as the focus of the main storyline. Most of the main missions are structured around presenting you with a target and letting you figure out your best way of approaching the kill. This game had the best assassination scenarios since the 1st or 2nd Ezio games.

-On a related noted, there were far fewer of the annoying other types of missions. No dumb eavesdropping. No tailing a target and having to duck behind cover as they randomly turn around. There are even precious few missions where you're having to protect an ally while they walk/run/ride along a seemingly endless path.

-As far as new controls go, the low-profile sneaking button and the cover mechanic are welcome additions, even though I'm baffled as to why there isn't away to go around a corner while you're covering. Also, the new "last known position" feature where you leave behind a silhouette of yourself where enemies last saw you is tremendously helpful.

NEGATIVES

-Look, I've said before that I don't play videogames for their stories, so this wasn't necessarily a dealbreaker for me, but I was astounded at how half-assed the story was. I was kinda okay with it being a pretty bland "assassinate one target, psychically discover your next target, rinse, repeat" plot, but then came the end and the, "Hey, turns out this wasn't as big a deal as we thought, so nevermind. Good job, though. PEACE." What the hell? Who thought that was a good idea?

-Paris is huge, but the world feels empty. I'd estimate that the main storyline only utilized 40% of the map. The rest just feels like filler for the zillion collectibles. Likewise, at times, there are an absurd amount of NPCs on screen, but they don't really affect gameplay much. There are a few missions where the Mob is useful for moving around undetected, but...I mean, they might as well be bushes or something. And the rest of the time they're just obstacles for you to constantly run into while you're running down the streets.

-One of the reasons I didn't do that many side missions or spend as much time hunting collectibles during my playthrough was because none of them feel connected to your character or what you're doing in the game. Every AC game at this point has some side stuff that feels kinda random or inessential, but everything here felt that way to me. So eventually I just decided to focus on the main story and take that as far as I could until I was too underpowered to continue and actually needed the extra skill points/bonus gear from the side stuff to beat the game. I never did. I beat the game at level 4 out of 5, and my title was "Enforcer," but I don't even know if that was a low or high level 4 title.

-It also hurt that so much of the side content was closed off to you at the start. Want this blue chest? Gotta unlock it on the companion app. How about this yellow chest? Gotta level up your Initiates profile. And that red chest you just fought your way through a gang hideout to get to? Turns out you need Lv. 3 lockpick skill to have any realistic chance of opening it, and you're only Lv. 2, so, sorry. And the white chests that are ready and available offer such a pittance as to not even be worth your time. Eventually, you just give up because your exploration isn't rewarded. It's like someone flunked Game Design 101.

-As successful as the new stealth controls are (mostly), the free running controls have been shot to hell. The new Up/Down controls make sense and have potential, but this might be the worst game in the series as far as your character just running up random shit that he bumps into. The final mission isn't very difficult, but I struggled more than I should have because Arno kept hopping up on shit or running up pillars when I really wanted him to HIDE OUT OF THE WAY OF THE DEATH RAY.

PUSH:

-I can't decide if I liked or hated the new combat. Its definitely a challenge and puts the emphasis back on stealthily avoiding open combat. But part of me can't help but think that might be the result of bad control as much as clever design.

-The new gear system is neat, but ultimately I don't think it made a marked difference in gameplay. For the most part, you're just deciding between slight incremental improvements in stats, and most of the best gear is given to you for completing main missions anway. The only pieces that really made much of a difference to me were holsters (which had different capacities for different items/weapons that I needed to mix up depending on the missions) and your hood, which is what increases your Eagle Vision range and duration (very useful since combat = death and you want to avoid/assassinate as many enemies as possible). I never noticed much benefit in the health or stealth ratings of the gear. Always seemed like when I added more health, the enemies just hit for more damage. (Only the thicker/thickest/iron skin skill upgrades made much difference to me on that front.)

Overall, I didn't dislike the game, but it just feels half-assed. I didn't care for AC3, but that game had the opposite problem: it felt overcooked. This feels like a super pretty next-gen port of a Vita game. I beat it, and I don't feel super compelled to go back and do any of the side missions or collectibles beyond a masochistic trophy hunting urge that I sometimes struggle with.

[Tabe]

I have just started playing Unity myself.  I'd say I'm maybe 90 minutes in, up to the point where you escape prison early on.  My thoughts so far:

 

- the game is gorgeous.  I mean, every AC game is incredible-looking and this one is no different.  Every view has amazing details and just flat looks incredible

- I'm not crazy about the new combat yet.  It's harder, which is fine, but a lot of that comes from "I hit the attack button and now there's a long animation that I can't stop even though I can see another attack coming that I'd like to parry"

- I generally like the new stealth stuff but, yeah, not being able to go around a corner while in cover is just dumb

- the reason I'm not further into the game than I am is that it crashed on me the last time I played it and I didn't bother to fire it up again

[Joe Lucia]

Anyone play Rogue yet? I got a ton of stuff over the last week and haven't even thought of diving in quite yet.

[EVA]

I got it on Black Friday, but haven't played yet. Friend of mine is playing it and is really enjoying it. Says its basically like an expansion pack for AC4, and he means it in the best possible way.

No companion app with the awesome ship minigame this time, though.