My game rating: 9 . 3 / 10
NOTE: Storyline spoilers are not included in this review.
UBISOFT'S latest release promised elements of previous Assassin's Creed characteristics to be emerged into a familiar yet different environment. The French Revolution was an extraordinary time in history, a period where the nobility and royalty were forced to acknowledge that their corruptions were answerable to the people. Thus rose, the first stages of democracy. Despite this being such a pivotal moment for the common people, the texts books reveal much horror during the revolution days - murder, mass political quarrels, friends and family turned on one another etc. In many ways, the French Revolution was the perfect time period to host and explore and more importantly, to allow
the players to immerse themselves in.
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Black Flag showed elements of this atmosphere during naval gameplay but lacked this component on land. Whereas Unity offers this wary, corrupted and rather dark undertone through-out. Atmosphere is a powerful ingredient to any game - if your players don't feel connected to the game's characters or environments then it's not likely they will connect with your concept altogether and won't replay/continue the game.
And let's not forget the platforms we were able to play on: next generation. I understand completely why next generation was the main priority for released formats; stunning graphics, smoother lip sinc and animations etc. However, I can't help but feel disappointed that the older consoles wouldn't feature unity. Yet at the same time, it depends on the personal gaming preferences of the player's themselves.
The graphics were flawless despite my reservations! Surprisingly I spent a considerable amount of time staring at the stained glass in Notre Dame's interior (my god were the interiors through the game beautiful) and the wet cobbled roads in the streets. It sounds odd but is it not worthwhile to admire beauty? My frame of mind has always believed that if a company has made something that makes me stop and admire it for long periods of time, does this not reflect their level of eye and dedication? For Unity; I'd say that the company's passion and their direction has returned. This was indeed a project that they enjoyed participating in - the proof is in the product! But... despite the potential in the next generation platforms, there were occasions were NPC's were floating around Arno, paper and horse carts glitching through the floor. I was surprised by this - until a game is ready, it should not be released! It doesn't matter if your competition is releasing their game on a specific day, if your game doesn't work then, you will lose profit and customers will turn their backs on you. Therefore game testing should occur earlier before release.
let's briefly look at my two leading favourite characters - Arno and Elise du la Sairre. As a duet, they are comical and very cunning despite their obvious differences (she's a templar you see) and yet they show their common goals and meet them in their own unique styles and techniques while sharing mutual respect towards one another. Apart, they are just as deadly and resourceful. You could say that that they both show many qualities that modern young men and women have to this day - a rare factor. Modern minds in a still medieval like world. Their costumes show beautiful uniquenesses and contrasts while keeping to historical accuracy and practicalities.
Combat was a welcomed factor - satisfying yet keeping the player on their toes compared to older titles where you had to wait for the enemy to attack you which could be easily countered, disabled and quickly killed. Whereas, for Unity it breaks the repeatitveness altogether. The side missions were a joy to play, solving murders, killings thugs while offering a varied narrative structures. Scaling buildings was also fun yet there was an occasional glitch annoyance when jumping to get to a certain part of a building and scaling through a window.
The Cafe theatre player home was a stunning building with beautiful rustic touches and earthly environments. Beautifully decorated rooms, wonderful architecture, homely items, music and delicate, intricate paintings situated through-out the building. My only complaint relates to the armoury room situated in the attic - it's disappointing that you can access most of the armours online only. This issue is a concern for the gaming industry as a whole. Discussions and ideas have been raised as to having a way in which the player can access online content offline. How far this process is coming along, I'm not sure. Nevertheless, this issue needs to be addressed. In-depth customisations were a welcomed feature that added more depth and new layers of practicalities when it came to playing missions and sharing your experiences with friends/other players. Each option is specifically designed to get the players to think about what kind of Assassin do they want to be - stealth orientated or showy and aggressive?
Overal, Unity has come along way!
If there are things I have missed out during the review, please feel free to get in touch and I shall update the review.
All the best!
