The result was a fun but flawed outing, as it tried to adapt to new hardware and attempt new levels of scale.
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There is a counter on the lower right-hand part of the screen and it intrinsically makes combat more addicting.
Anita Sarkeesian, creator of the Tropes vs Women in Video Games series, has posted a full video review of Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed Syndicate.
Beyond the non-interactive present-day flash-forwards, there is a reasonably large section of Syndicate that is hidden on the map and takes place during an entirely different timeline. It’s brilliant fun a lot of the time, and when it isn’t is because you found yourself stuck in a corner because of the series’ infamous control issues, which return once again to ruin your innovative assassination plans. They have a habit of taking a sample of the victim’s blood (ala Dexter), but this is never explained. Carriage rides help to speed up your movement but the best addition has to be the rope launcher. The siblings even go through a “rivalry” stage, but it comes and goes so quick that it feels pointless and underdeveloped. We also encountered invisible NPC glitches at times. His name is on signs all over the city, as he and his Templars dominate the more pervasive businesses, effectively controlling everything from buses to the Bank of England.
While the big picture focus for stars Jacob and Evie Frye is “murder all Templars and their allies”, there’s a lot of nuance and room for improvisation within that edict. Getting around the cities of Assassin’s Creed has always been one of the series’ biggest gameplay systems and it’s mostly been on foot or by horse and this has been a core pillar for the gameplay. Plus, players can eliminate innocent policemen and Royal Guards that stand in their way without punishment. Although not many details have been released, this feature is looking to be a good one. Last year’s AC Unity introduced the concept of players being home users of the new Abstergo Entertainment system, drawn nearly involuntarily into the modern day conspiracy. Both of these young Assassin’s have character, they’re defiant to an order that is all but eradicated at this point in the storyline, and have a personal vendetta to free London from the grips of Crawford Starrick.
This is partially down to the fantastic set of characters you meet during your adventure. Many, myself included, were anxious that Unity was an indication of the end for Ubisoft’s storied franchise, particularly considering it starred an unimpressive protagonist with a exhausted story. This aspect of the franchise has been begging to be put out of its misery, and Syndicate only makes that case stronger. During the story missions you’ll spend more time as Jacob but between these missions you can switch characters in the main menu with a click of the right thumbstick.
For the first time in the Assassin’s Creed series there’s not only two protagonists, but there’s also a playable female lead. In order to get control of a territory you must complete all of the conquests. There won’t be random enemies in the streets, but otherwise the game world remains unchanged. The missions that come of it are still just that bit familiar. You can run and quickly climb up areas or jump down. The frame rate on Xbox One is fairly smooth, keeping to the high 20s though there’s a few serious stuttering as you take in those sumptuous sync points. Each major borough is controlled by a gang leader and the pair have to assert their dominance in a series of varied side missions, gradually freeing each area from the Blighters’ clutches. Once you complete them you can fight the Templar boss and they are very challenging. You can easily fire off a pistol in between punches, as key items are mapped to a single-press button that can be toggled without bringing you to a standstill. The latter activities are uniquely enjoyable due to their mobile nature. You can craft or purchase new equipment, upgrade your pouches, weapons, and so on. There is a skill tree, however all except for the last few skills are the same between the two characters. You can use the skill points to increase your abilities and skills such as lock picking, and stealth. It’s likely this balancing was done to ensure you didn’t feel underpowered when you get caught in a fight but it would have been nice to have a little more divergence.
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It’s not OK when you have an entry in the game called eStore to buy things with real life money. It helps that an early skill lets you auto-loot any foes you eliminate silently, and that all chests can be opened without any online nonsense. “The team in our Quebec studio has been hard at work on the particular game in question for the past few years, and we’re excited to officially unveil what the studio has been working on at a later date”.
