Monday, December 15, 2014

Assassins Creed Unity review: Starting all over agian

Assassins Creed has seen many characters and settings from Ezio Auditore during the Renaissance to pirate, not really assassin, Edward Kenway. Each installment would build on the last by adding new features but not really changing the core gameplay. Assassins Creed Unity is the complete opposite and reinvents the whole Assassins Creed formula. This reinvention is very welcome but sadly it is overwhelmed by a plethora of game breaking bugs.

Story

You are recruited by the present day Assassins to relive the life of Arno Dorian during the French Revolution. This time around the present day stuff takes a step back to focus on Arno's story. Most people like this but I'm one of the few that enjoyed the convoluted sci-fi story. I am very happy that they finally created a semi-likable person. Arno is confident, but is always ready to make a humorous smart ass remark. He is indeed the best character since Ezio. Arno simply wanted to get revenge for the death of someone close to him but gets thrown into a whole Templar plot. The story also follows the love life of Arno and Elise who is a Templar. This story element is fine because both characters have a good script and are acted out pretty well. Elise is a very strong and likable character. The only problem is that when Elise is on screen  during gameplay she can be annoying. When you don't do what she wants she will constantly repeat it until you do. Kind of like the Call of Duty AI. She also runs head first into problems and I felt like I had to chase her around for half of the game! These are  the only two developed characters in the whole game. There's Bellec, your Assassin trainer, who seemed like an interesting character at the beginning but was then forgotten until his climax. The other characters don't really get a lot of attention. Even the main bad guy is just a generic Templar. The plot has its ups and downs but it isn't cringe worthy. It's just the average story that you would come to expect from Assassins Creed.

Free Roam

The game lets you run around Paris and it's the best free roam that an Assassins Creed game has offered. The city is very alive and there can be thousands of people on screen at once. This is a good and bad thing. It gets tiresome to run through these people especially since you can't shove them out of the way anymore. You can't do anything with the civilians besides the side activities. One of the best parts about free roam games is messing with the stupid AI. I miss being able to shove and punch them. I guess that's not really the point of the game but its still fun definitely when they get annoying, like when they get in your way!!!!! The map of Paris is amazing and a perfect representation of the real place. The beautiful graphics also supplement the setting. This truly is the biggest and most filled Assassins Creed playground in history. Outside of the campaign you get to collect a bunch of stuff. This includes cockades, chests, and artifacts. If you get tired of collecting things you can solve the nostradame riddles. These are a welcome break from the constant stabbing and will give you a new outfit after completing all of them. If you want to get into action do the Paris stories side missions. These are very plentiful and offer a new mission type every time. They are not like the Assassin contracts from past games. You also get a change to solve LA Noire style murder mysterious. You have to gather evidence and accuse the right person. Lastly you get to manage your cafĂ© which includes exclusive missions, renovation, and buying shops around the map. Once you finished all of these the most amount of income will available to pick up every few hours. This is the type of free roam I have been looking for in an Assassins Creed game.

Gameplay

Now lets talk about the actual gameplay. This is where everything has been redesigned. The climbing is a lot easier and more fluid but still faces some of the same old problems. The most noticeable addition is descending which makes going down buildings as easy as going up. This is rarely as cool as they advertised it to be but it works well... most of the time. Most of the time is the key with Assassins Creed gameplay.  Most of the time Arno will jump where you want him to jump. Most of the time Arno will kill who you want to kill. Most of the time isn't really a good representation. Most of  the time means about 50 % of the time. You will find yourself saying: " I didn't tell you to do that!" I have said that many times throughout my gameplay. The next component of Assassins Creed is stealth and it has been improved immensely. Now there is a cover system which is something I have been asking for. This is very welcome but overall feels clunky. This installment is more stealth centered and there are many options of how you want to go about doing something. Now stealth doesn't mean hide in tall grass; it has grown into something much more which is a very welcome sight.  Lastly is the combat which has seen many different forms across every installment but this is the most drastic change. I really enjoy this new combat system because it brings back skill and timing. Arno's fighting style is very graceful and fluent Unlike someone like Conner who is very brutal. This also brings many new kill animations which are satisfying to watch. Arno also brings new tools to the arsenal like the phantom blade which basically shoots hidden blades. This is pretty cool but not much different from other projectiles from past games. Its helpful in tough situations if you have the ammo! Missions are now more open and lets you pick your path. Now you can complete optional objectives to open up different assassins opportunities.

Customization

Unity adds an RPG style customization system which lets you add new hoods, chest pieces, pants, and gauntlets. You also get to choose from a vast array of color choices. There are 4 weapon types: one handed, long, heavy, and rifles. Each offers a new play style in combat and each weapon has their own stats that greatly effect its usage. For the first time you get to upgrade your character. This ranges from more lock picks, health, melee, items(poison bombs), and agility. It works like any other upgrade system but is easy to use and not overwhelming.

Co-op

The biggest thing for Unity was the new co-op mode but this is a big let down. If you can find a match you will see the most un- assassin like gameplay ever. People run around like crazy people and it's not at all as organized as the demos. This can be fixed by working with a friend but co-op still encountered an overwhelming amount of glitches and lagging. Sometimes to the point of unplay ability. ( Random story: Me and 3 other people swim out to a distant boat to find it filled with cats! It was kind of freaky. To bad I was stupid enough not to take a screenshot of it.) Co-op is only available through certain missions and includes heist which lets you try to still treasure. The more silent you are the more money you get but this incentive doesn't really work for most people.  I have talked bad about co-op but I have to be honest: it is really fun. Just watching the stupidity is a blast. When you get a good partner and actually play like an assassin its still a blast. So Co-op is not that good but that's what makes it fun LOL

The Big Problems

1. The frame rate is bad

2. The glitches: This is just unacceptable. The game should not have been released in this type of state. You have the same old AC problems which should have been fixed after six installments on top of new problems. Problems like falling through the ground, civilians walking in air, and not being able to kill people. It's just ridiculous and I bet Alberto could write a long essay about what his thoughts are on this issue. Ubisoft has fixed many things through numerous patches but its the idea of releasing the game in the first place that bothers me. I understand minor improvement patches but the future of gaming looks bleak if we have to rely on patches to fix broken games. Ubisoft has offered a free DLC for those without the season pass and a free game for those with the season pass.

Rating

Underneath all the problems I really believe Unity is a gem. It could have been game of the year worthy because there hasn't been this much improvement to the franchise since AC 2. Sadly it is bugged down by game breaking bugs. So I'm going to give this game two ratings: one if it didn't have these bugs( to show that underneath everything it is a pretty good game) and one with the bugs

Without game breaking bugs: 9.0 out of 10

With game breaking bugs: 4.0 out of 10- The game is still good; its just the idea of releasing a game with so many bugs that bothers me. Some bugs are ok but this many is unacceptable

What a disappointment. It really bothers me because I love this game but Ubisoft had to go on their yearly schedule to release Unity. I really don't understand, because the testers should have recognized this therefore making the game be pushed back. I'm ready for Ubisoft to spend a long time (atleast 2 years) and blow us away with an Assassins Creed game. It works, just look at the many other developers out there. But this probably won't happen since the next AC has already been leaked.

Entering the Assassins headquarters for the first time

Entering another time period



A cover kill

                                  
                                         You can see the number of people on screen at once


                                                       


                                                             These guards are so stupid


                                                   I enjoy the new combat system


                             An example of a glitch: this guard saw me then just froze in that spot


3 comments:

  1. I agree with my helper's review of this game since he play it lots more than me!
    I dislike this releasing a broken game and for some reason Ubisoft has decide not to fix their main game,come on people this game has being made a release for years now.They should had fix the The glitches by now come on many game out there that has been release for years have try to get rid of the main the glitches like Halo,Battlefield, and few other have been better and no major glitches. Came on Ubisoft spend some cash on some tester and than fix the stuff,don't ignore them and fix the dam bugs in yours game and if it take a few years to get the game right so be it.I think they just release a broken game because they can just do it and get away with it. If this was any other consumer product they would be hit with lawsuit and recalled and they would be force to fix it and than release a working product and give people a major refund. There is no reason why any game maker should be allow to release a major broken game in today gaming market. Now this whole "well we can fix the error with a update" is just I wonder what if a person without main high speed network what about them and yes their are lots of gamer that live in areas with highspeed network,these people should be worry. I just think its wrong if you pay full price for a game it shouldn't be a broken game.AC should be half price since you are getting half working game. I think gamer shouldn't buy the game until Ubisoft does the right thing and release a working game.This whole fix it later is just wrong and we shouldn't take this BS.Why does the other game maker does this while Ubisoft can't or wouldn't! Here I think since they made a broken game all the 3 DLC maps should be free or give every one that buy yours game a $30 refund. Now since they already have the next game plan I expect this game tobe a broken game as well.I think we shouldn't buy that game. Come Ubisoft stop this BS and spend time and make a almost bug free game
    Ok a few glitches is ok and fix them with a update but not like in this game. But at time the glitches are funny to see!!! If they spend the time to do it right the 1st time they could save cash and not hire lot more people to fix the bug that they should had done away with anyway plus people this is a old series now so it should be a 100% working game!!
    Now I like the old AC control in Assassin's Creed III but I would love to be giving freedom to pick what control I wanted to use!

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  2. I want a game to go back to the first civilization~

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