I received my copy of Assassin’s Creed Unity later than the rest of the reviewing world, it seems. I was actually happy about this – it meant that I played the entirety of the game after the Day One patch was released. So, is Ubisoft’s most ambitious Assassin’s Creed game worthwhile, or does it still smell like a French cliché?
Assassin’s Creed Unity takes place during the French revolution and follows Arno, a descendent of an assassin who is actually taken in by a Templar upon his father’s death. When his adoptive father is also killed, Arno seeks redemption and revenge while teaming up with his adoptive sister/lover to do so. It’s an extremely basic and mundane story with the lead character having the now typical level of Ubisoft-created personality, which is to say none. There are brief moments of charm between him and Elise, but the facial motion capture and voice performance of Elise leaves much wanting, making the flirtation feel even more awkward than the fact that they are adoptive siblings.
While Arno’s personality may be wanting, at least you can customize him to become your perfect assassin. I generally tend towards stealth approaches, preferring to sneak and stab everyone rather than melee or shoot my opponents. As a result, I opted for a hood, pants and bracers to promote this approach, boosting my health and stealth. However, getting these various customizable pieces can be tricky; there are four types of currency in the game leading to some initial confusion. While some equipment can be purchased with the equivalent of money, it can also be “hacked” with Helix points that are purchased with real world money, or earned with random uPlay achievements. Once purchased, these items can be upgraded using what is essentially experience – points that you accumulate through performing cool assassin things such as air assassinations or perfect parries in combat.
Beyond customizing his gear, you can also customize Arno’s skills using the fourth currency. These are only earned from completely plot missions, whether single player or co-op. While some skills only unlock as you progress through the plot, most you simply need to purchase with your points. Of course, this also amplifies your customization as not all assassins will be able to double assassinate, or throw money on the ground as a distraction. This means that players will need to prioritize their skills and even save up points for qualities that they really want for their version of Arno.
Unity boasts a whole bunch of new content for the Assassin’s Creed brand, particularly its co-op gameplay. For the first time, you can team up with other assassins and take on a larger mission. Unfortunately, when I played, co-op was mostly broken. Matchmaking took so long that eventually the game told me to just try it by myself, or when it did work the various mission objectives were broken or didn’t track properly. While it was fun to run around with other people, unfortunately every time it ended up being a broken experience. As a result, I generally played the co-op missions on my own. While this made them more difficult, at least I was able to complete them. However, you only get a portion of the rewards each time you complete the co-op missions, forcing you to replay them if you want all the gear or points.
Despite the co-op being promised as a seamless experience, it really isn’t. The missions jump around throughout time, sometimes taking place before or after the revolution was already underway. This can make following the central storyline rather confusing, and also obviously changes the flow of the game as co-op missions seem to exist in their own version of Paris. Add to this the ridiculously long load times for co-op, and it begins to feel like a chore.
In actual fact, the load times in general are absurdly long. I actually timed the loading period to fast travel, and it took between 30-40 seconds. Depending on how far I was going across the map, I actually found it faster to just run across the city. Mission loading times were similarly long – I often couldn’t even tell if the mission had registered as accepted because I would continue to run around the city for about a minute before being magically transported into the task at hand.
When the loaded, the missions were truly wonderful, though. Without automatic desychronization, players really can take their own approach for each activity. There are tons of alternatives – you can free prisoners to cause distractions, use poison instead of traditional assassination, or just tank your way through and kill all the guards with brute force. It is simply a delight to play however you might like, sneaking and climbing, using lock picking if you have it.
Other new mission types are surprisingly fantastic, too. I thoroughly enjoyed the murder mysteries, using eagle vision much like Batman-sense to find clues and piece together who the culprit was. It’s a nice change from the stabbing of Assassin’s Creed and forces some logical thought and reasoning skills instead of just the ability to kill all the things.
Unfortunately, while exploring Paris and engaging with these various missions, I still found far too many bugs. I was happily run across a rooftop, preparing to kill a sniper when the next thing I knew I’d fallen through the building and out of the world. The parkour would often glitch out, leading to bizarre animations. Additionally, when climbing the major landmarks in order to synchronize the map, I more often than not had horrific frame rate issues to the point where Arno appeared to be teleporting up the Notre Dam.
Despite promises that combat would be improved, I still found it to be rather flat. Slash at your enemies unless they flash, then counter and continue slashing. If the battle becomes too populated or difficult, use a smoke bomb to thin their ranks. Rinse and repeat. While there are new animations, it’s still far more satisfying to just sneak around and kill everyone rather than engage in open combat. However, a nice added touch is environmental blood splatter which was added in Unity – after assassinating a guard, not only do they end up bloody, but their surrounding areas also get some tell tale blood splatter.
The game feels desperate to tie you into the uPlay experience, locking some treasure behind extra gateways that can only be accessed if you make use of the companion app or Initiates experience. However, both of these are extremely buggy and rather unfulfilling. I played with the companion app while waiting for loading screens, which I suppose helped to fill the time but it was in no way entertaining or fun.
The time anomalies are interesting, although the best one was shown off in the trailer and including shooting down Nazi war planes. However, in the game, it ends up feeling like a waste of an experience – these are entirely linear missions that are purely a matter of running for your life in most instances.
At least the game is stunningly beautiful. From fantastic textures to breathtaking recreations of landmarks, Paris is absolutely gorgeous in the game. There are a ton of crowd models and personalities, adding character and flair to the experience and making the city feel alive. If nothing else, at least the game is a joy to behold.
Assuming Ubisoft can fix the numerous bugs, Assassin’s Creed Unity might become a much better, more entertaining game. Unfortunately, some issues are part of the core experience, including a lackluster storyline and an ending that feels like a let down. When it works, Unity shows glimmers of pure brilliance. Unfortunately, there is currently just too much wrong with the game, even after initial patches.
Last Updated: November 21, 2014
| Assassin's Creed: Unity | |
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If all the bugs were removed, this game would probably score about an 8 - featuring excellent innovations and beautiful graphics. Unfortunately, the game is simply too broken in its current form.
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| Assassin's Creed: Unity was reviewed on PlayStation 4 | |
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70 /
100
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Admiral Chief Wang
November 21, 2014 at 15:33
7/10?
Hehehehe
ToshZA
November 21, 2014 at 15:57
Still better than 9/11.
Hehehehe
oVg Puer aeternus
November 21, 2014 at 16:02
OH DEAR… must be Friday drinks at the office 😛
ToshZA
November 21, 2014 at 16:02
Sadly, yes. >_>
Cadis Etrama Di Umar
November 21, 2014 at 15:35
Still a fairly good score though. I don’t like the UPlay tie-in though, even if the game is going for that whole breaking the 4th-wall
oVg Puer aeternus
November 21, 2014 at 15:58
My OCD was destroyed in Black Flag when I could not fully upgrade the JACKDAW because I did not have the internet to play the mini game that unlocks the rest of the upgrades.
Bastards.
ToshZA
November 21, 2014 at 15:59
I didn’t know about that one. Holy shit, that sucks.
oVg Puer aeternus
November 21, 2014 at 16:00
As for not having an iPhone to unlock CHOP in GTAV. WTF has gaming become?
Cadis Etrama Di Umar
November 21, 2014 at 16:27
Oh really? F that…honestly gave up on upgrades in that game, too many collectables…but it sux when they tie sp stuff into online features
oVg Puer aeternus
November 21, 2014 at 16:28
I found almost, almost 100% of the chests, but alas, a couple can only be opened via on-line
CaptainNemo42
November 21, 2014 at 16:31
You sure about that? I found all the chests, but then again, I was playing on my PS3 and was online at the time.
oVg Puer aeternus
November 21, 2014 at 16:35
Ya I think its 5 chests that do not open unless you register the mini-game. They unlock 2 upgrades for the Jackdaw. I think it was an extra fire barrel, cant remember.
But ya, my single player experience was effected by not being on-line.
Alien Emperor Trevor
November 21, 2014 at 17:24
Pirate! 😛
Hammersteyn
November 21, 2014 at 15:41
When Zoe swears in Afrikaans then you know it’s on O_o
WitWolfy
November 24, 2014 at 08:40
I dunno its a bit out of place, I would’ve rather made it “Let them eat glitches” This game is far from being “kak”, thats for sure.
Hammersteyn
November 24, 2014 at 08:43
The problem is that it wasn’t ready for release but they released it anyway.
WitWolfy
November 24, 2014 at 08:49
Maybe server wise… But gameplay wise felt the same as every other AC game I ever played.
Trust me dude, buy the game or play it at a mates house if you ever get the chance in its current state and you’ll scratch your head going “so where are all these ALLEGED glitches?” cause thats what I’ve been trying to figure out ever since encountering my first and only one so far and thats like 7 chapters ago.
Hammersteyn
November 24, 2014 at 09:04
Are you playing in PC? I think PC came through rather unscathed. It’s when you see internet memes pop up for a new game when you know there’s a problem
Spaffy
November 24, 2014 at 09:07
Also on PC the load times aren’t that bad. About 10s is the longest I’ve seen
WitWolfy
November 24, 2014 at 10:37
Nah playing it on PS4.
Spaffy
November 24, 2014 at 09:06
I have had a glitch on pc, where Arno fell through the map. Nothing game breaking though.
The requirements were hectic though. I bought a GTX 780 just to play along.
WitWolfy
November 24, 2014 at 10:40
I just got stuck in a haystack once. A quick reload chapter and BOOM back where I was. My only gripe which I agree with the review is the loading times though… TAKES FOREVER!!! I so need a SSD
Spaffy
November 24, 2014 at 10:56
Yea, these days SSD should be a minimum requirement.
Ryanza
November 21, 2014 at 15:42
Better late than never but in Ass Unity’s case with all the bugs, never would have been better.
Mongoose
November 21, 2014 at 15:44
Sjoe! Laat die cake spat!
oVg Puer aeternus
November 21, 2014 at 15:54
Will your score go up according to the other 67 annual patches or does it stay at 7 forever?.
Review sites will have to rethink the current reviewing model, or the producers only release FIXED review copies after release.
Uberutang
November 21, 2014 at 15:57
OR, shock horror, release games mostly working on release? having to wait a few weeks to play a game due to ‘bugs’ is ridiculous to say the least.
oVg Puer aeternus
November 21, 2014 at 15:58
DEALWITHIT
RUNS… 😛
WitWolfy
November 24, 2014 at 08:42
I dunno, the bugs arent game breaking, and they arent as recurring as most sites say they are. As for the framerate, never noticed it taking too much of a beating to rant about anyway.
Tbone187
November 21, 2014 at 16:13
I reckon the whole point of a review is to portray the end user experience and sadly, that includes frustrations of patches, bugs and the works. If a game is released broken, it should be rated accordingly.Too many broken releases this gen makes me think developers think it’s fine. Bad review scores might change that perception.
CaptainNemo42
November 21, 2014 at 16:30
Especially if Bonuses is tied into the overall Metacritic score, as we have heard of before.
ReaperOfSquirrels
November 21, 2014 at 16:20
It could possibly drop too…
nick
November 21, 2014 at 16:19
i really enjoyed assassins creed up until the point that they went to the usa. haven’t played again since.
Peet Luckhoff
November 24, 2014 at 10:40
AC3 has a bad rep due to the bland main character and the couch building. But the rest of the game is really enjoyable and took up hours and hours of my time. Actually want to restart it again, while we wait for Unity to patch out their issues.
WitWolfy
November 25, 2014 at 07:27
Trust me running around in 17th century Paris takes me back to games like ACII and Brotherhood. No open plains like Liberation. Damn that game sucked.
SargonTheGreatPandaOfAkkad
November 21, 2014 at 16:19
Ah smoke bombs. The stealth boys of the past. Stabby stab stab!
oVg Puer aeternus
November 21, 2014 at 16:46
I dont know what it is either. Like Watchdogs, nothing was memorable at all.
The characters have 0 development. The sequel bait endings have 0 closure.
One had to read a CODEX to get any idea who these Pirates were.
Still better than Destiny At least the Codex was in-game.
Anon A Mouse
November 21, 2014 at 16:23
You must wear jean pant if you really want to klap it wiff the frenchies.
Bad4Good
November 21, 2014 at 16:34
Should have reviewed it on PC, Its much better.
MakeItLegal
November 21, 2014 at 18:32
Ha ha tell them boi
Alien Emperor Trevor
November 21, 2014 at 17:19
uPlay on PS4?
MakeItLegal
November 21, 2014 at 18:26
Glad I don’t own a ps4 , choppy frame rates and dropped frames ?niggas pls , on my pc I am on 55 fps to 60 fps
Again kings should not entertain peasents and their closed box Eco systems , people should of built a pc instead ! Ha ha ha ha
Maybe it’s just me , but I am fracking glad I don’t do ps4 or Xbox , I want my 60 fps
Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha
Ps4 = 20 fps ha ha ha ha ha ha
Gol D Bogart
November 22, 2014 at 06:26
ok keyboard warrior
MakeItLegal
November 22, 2014 at 14:34
The key word , being keyboard , it’s ok dude I also made a bad choice before u learn to live with it , but livin with sub 30 fps , that’s insane, we are in 2014 not 2007
Gol D Bogart
November 24, 2014 at 02:48
ok don’t cry
Cry if want to.
November 24, 2014 at 07:10
It’s his comment and he’ll cry if he wants to.
Rags
November 24, 2014 at 15:00
looool
WitWolfy
November 24, 2014 at 08:44
SMH, the PC version also suffered from the constant frame rate drops so the joke’s on you. Even on the UBI forums it seems like its the PC gamers’ moaning of optimization then the console owners. So joke’s on you.
MakeItLegal
November 24, 2014 at 09:37
Some people are having issues , I have had a constant 55 to 60 fps , only time it drops is during cut scenes , tell me again peasent ?
WitWolfy
November 24, 2014 at 10:36
LOL peasant… n Regte troll jy.
Gol D Bogart
November 24, 2014 at 13:21
don’t meddle with a keyboard warrior sir haha
MakeItLegal
November 21, 2014 at 18:29
I would just like to add on a serious note , the companion app and locked content that i paid full price for , should be an auto minus of 2 points honestly ubi , just fucking poor
Guess they'll never learn.
November 22, 2014 at 03:07
http://img1.lesnumeriques.com/test/68/6800/The-Witcher-2_05.jpg
Sado Tulio
November 22, 2014 at 06:21
2 of the most anticipated games on the next gen both fails, AC Unity so much bugs, Shadow of Mordor on PS3 sucks that even justin beiber suddenly became good
WitWolfy
November 24, 2014 at 08:52
Wow you got Shadow of Mordor on PS3??? What glitches did you experience, I never had ANY glitches on the PS4 version.
Gol D Bogart
November 24, 2014 at 13:21
It’s not even a glitch, it’s like they degraded the game so much it became a PS2 game
WitWolfy
November 25, 2014 at 07:27
Will quickly go check some comparisons.
silverscorpio
November 23, 2014 at 21:07
I love the headline.
WitWolfy
November 24, 2014 at 08:09
Nah this game def deserves a 8.5/10 just the amount of content you get from this baby. Is well worth admission. At the last stage, finishing it tonight!