Ubisoft games have become synonymous with open-world sandbox experiences. While it’s a popular genre that does well for them, it’s become something of a cliché. Often, the sandbox activities have nothing to do with the rest of the game, but this Assassin’s Creed might change this.
Ubisoft revealed a new video that basically repeats all the information that we already knew: there will be two playable assassins who are twins and were raised as assassins from birth. Their mission takes them to Victorian era London, right in the midst of the Industrial Revolution. Players will need to gain control of the city one borough (district) at a time and to that end they will unify the gangs by creating their own dominant gang, the Rooks. However, it’s a comment dropped by Senior Producer Francois Pelland that makes me happy. Here’s the video.
And here’s the comment that could make me happy.
We like to say that the tie between the main narrative which is an assassin/Templar story, obviously, but what we would call the side quests or activities of the game is completely linked. The fantasy of the game or the criminal organisation so forming, developing, building the Rooks or the street gang of his own to defeat the Templars.
It’s great to create a gang, but it’s even better if you can customise your gang – change outfits, expand abilities and other options depending on your investment in side activities. It seems like this is something that Pelland could be hinting at, and it would certainly make the game better. Who cares about stealing random vehicles, or gambling or fighting unless it actually does something? Sure, completionists will happily do all the side activities just because they can, but I’m hoping that AC: Syndicate integrates in some reputation gauge like Watch Dogs and Sleeping Dogs. The more you beat up people, or win at various mini games or engage with the side activities in general, the more street cred you get, making your gang more powerful. Now that would certainly make the game much more worthwhile in my eyes.
Last Updated: May 21, 2015
HairyEwok
May 21, 2015 at 12:32
London in 1868….. Could they merge the game with 1886 to make the game a few hours longer.
Admiral Chief's Adventure
May 21, 2015 at 12:36
Perhaps as a side quest (side quest will prolly be longer)
HairyEwok
May 21, 2015 at 12:39
Also they’re at 1868…. Not many years left till they are with the times…. Whats next then Assassins Creed: Cold War, Assassins Creed: El Presidente, Assassins Creed: ISIS
Sageville
May 21, 2015 at 13:16
What? no epic “Slay Osama” side quest from the “What WMDs?” expansion?
Blood Emperor Trevor
May 21, 2015 at 12:53
Meaningful side quests? If only we had a game that had those.
FoxOneZA
May 21, 2015 at 13:02
Cricket and football DLC incoming!
Matthew Holliday
May 21, 2015 at 13:03
so like, your gang in Saints Row 4, mixed in with war board points from Mass Effect 3? sounds good in theory, but its by no means a new thing.
similar to Shadow of Mordor aswell.
if you can send you gangs on missions, its basically AC:revelations, all over again.
to bring up what was wrong with ME3, is not a great idea.
Reducing all your decisions, the relationships youve built, the consequences of all your actions, to a number…
the only plus side is that it makes clearing the map justifiable.
in the past, id visit every island, clear every view point and collect every chest, befor touching the main storyline, now it atleast makes sense
Nikola
May 21, 2015 at 14:10
Best side quests in a game that I have played in a long time was Dying Light each had a little story behind it and they took time to finish!
WitWolfy
May 21, 2015 at 14:28
Fetch quests??? Nah, I’ll pass…
Either that or your sarcasm meter is in the red.
WitWolfy
May 21, 2015 at 14:27
The only question is.. Where can they go after this? 1900??? 1941??? AC is seriously starting to run out of awesome time zones to go to.. It’s not as if we wanna play a Assassin in the 1970’s dressed as a hippie going to Woodstock now, do we?
benyth
May 22, 2015 at 19:05
That would be so groovy, man, but Woodstock was in the ’60s. Can’t wait to sync from the top of the speaker towers and air assassinate “The Man”. But watch out for the brown acid, man.
Kronos0999
May 21, 2015 at 14:45
So what now??Release the game in your own time Ubisoft,just don’t ‘unite’ it with Unity.
Bird on a Watermelon
May 22, 2015 at 00:54
After Syndicate comes out, 1 month later.
Assassins Creed IN SPACE!
6 months later
Assassins Creed UNDER THE OCEAN
6 months later
Assassins Creed on top of a mountain
6 months later
Assassins Creed Under a Rock!!
6 months later
Assassins Creed in Hollywood
6 montus later
Assassins Creed Desert Storm
Not surprised if Ubisoft writing these ideas down as we speak.
All with new broken content, we took all those bugs that you loved & amped them up by x 20!
Bird on a Watermelon
May 22, 2015 at 01:38
Satire aside.
On paper Syndicate looks good, as if Ubisoft has taken inspiration (learnt it’s lesson) from other games, it has a mix of
Red Dead Redemption
– Horse carriage chase, multiple characters in carriage
Shadows of mordor
– Faster climbing
– Attracting attention
– Use of environment (such as barrel drop like the bees in SoM)
– Certain animations
Dying Light
– Grapple hook.
To be honest this game looks good.. On paper. If they pull it off (no bugs like unity) than this Assassins Creed may re energies the AC name if not then people will see Ubisoft as EA 2.0 orstrongly going down the path of it.
Hope for the best, prepare for the worst. Such is the gaming industry these days.