Annual releases and unfinished games are what's killing the industry. Both of which the AC series is guilty off. But its not open world games that are killing the industry. Open world games, if done correctly, allow a freedom to tackle missions in many different ways which is why I quite like the 'genre'.
Open world games are fine. But come on, this series has a reputation of being bland, hardly full of memorable locations and in fact pretty generic, despite the historical setting.
An AAA release? Well doesn't even look no where near as good as the open world in MGS V, that's for sure.
Open world games are fine. But come on, this series has a reputation of being bland, hardly full of memorable locations and in fact pretty generic, despite the historical setting.
An AAA release? Well doesn't even look no where near as good as the open world in MGS V, that's for sure.
I always have a lot of fun with AC games, even the worst in the series.
The annual releases and oversaturation of AC titles has made me less and less excited for each new release. I end up picking them up cheaper and cheaper each time because they are largely all the same in a different location and they have ran out of main story material. But I always end up having a great time playing through each and every one of them.
So IMHO AC is not bad, there are just too many AC games.
Really don't get the hate. In my opinion, Unity was the best in the series yet.
The lack of 'Whistle' really hurt Unity for me. It took stealth away and made most enemy encounters an open fight. As you could easily take on a group of 20 or more enemies in an open fight there was little point in trying to sneak an area. Having to jump in and out of hide spot to lure enemies was just stupid.
I am delighted they have dropped the desmond/modern world stuff. It was disruptive, annoying, boring and pointless. The dullness reached it's peak in revelations.
Less modern stuff the better. Whoever came up with the Desmond stuff deserves shot at dawn with paintballs. For eternity.
I agree - it always ruined the immersion for me - hated having to go on on terminals etc - just wanted the historical setting!
I am delighted they have dropped the desmond/modern world stuff. It was disruptive, annoying, boring and pointless. The dullness reached it's peak in revelations.
Less modern stuff the better. Whoever came up with the Desmond stuff deserves shot at dawn with paintballs. For eternity.
They've not really dropped the modern world side. Although you don't play as Desmond anymore it's been replaced with the first person "playing as yourself".
In the first AC when the modern part was introduced I was like WTF?!! but as the story developed I didn't mind it too much and it added to the game. Since the Desmond story ended though it just seems really random and has no direction.
Speak for yourself. Florence and Venice from ACII remain 2 of my favourite gaming locations to this day.
Yes, great memories of those locations.
Even the first AC had 3 great cities, my favourite was Acre. It's what started it off. The whole climbing and free running was made for city locations.
Rome was really great too in AC:B.
Constantinople in AC:R was impressive but I wasn't that interested in the location.
The places in AC3, AC4:BF and AC:Rogue were a little uninspiring so the return to a big city in Paris for AC:U was great. Having AC:S set in London will be great too.
I agree - it always ruined the immersion for me - hated having to go on on terminals etc - just wanted the historical setting!
I actually enjoyed the current setting as a backdrop to the historical action.
By having context of current day fight between the Assassins and the Templars, it gave reasons for having to keep going back to the animus in each and every game.
I think the real issue is how Ubisoft have handled the present day parts of the game.
If Ubisoft did more action type missions in the present day like they did in AC3 and / or used the bleeding effect to jump to different time zones like in Unity then a lot more people would enjoy the game (at least in my view)
The Black Flag / rogue mini puzzles were ok but just walking around in first person wasnt really the most satisfying experience.
The lack of 'Whistle' really hurt Unity for me. It took stealth away and made most enemy encounters an open fight. As you could easily take on a group of 20 or more enemies in an open fight there was little point in trying to sneak an area. Having to jump in and out of hide spot to lure enemies was just stupid.
That's what those cherry bomb lures were for, granted they were a bit hit and miss. Thankfully the whistle and the human shield is back for Syndicate, which is good because if there was a couple of rifle guards you'd forgotten to take out in Unity you were a sitting duck.
That's what those cherry bomb lures were for, granted they were a bit hit and miss. Thankfully the whistle and the human shield is back for Syndicate, which is good because if there was a couple of rifle guards you'd forgotten to take out in Unity you were a sitting duck.
What made it worse in Unity was that most of the standard soldiers appeared to have pistols too.
There were times where you could get hit by 3-4 different bullets within seconds and go from full health to death if you didn't manage to use the medicine in time!
I always have a lot of fun with AC games, even the worst in the series.
The annual releases and oversaturation of AC titles has made me less and less excited for each new release. I end up picking them up cheaper and cheaper each time because they are largely all the same in a different location and they have ran out of main story material. But I always end up having a great time playing through each and every one of them.
So IMHO AC is not bad, there are just too many AC games.
9 games in 9 years is a bit much.... and that's just the main games without all the smaller spinoffs on handhelds and games like AC3:Liberation and AC:Chronicles.
Thanks 👍🏻 These embargoes are a painin the arse. They must have confidence in this iteration as Unity's embargo wasn't up until after the game was released!
Whilst I'm looking forward to playing it over the weekend, it does need a break. Maybe every other year if they are going to continue with it, like Far Cry?
I swear off this franchise so often and yet once again the reviews have me fairly hyped. Anyone who gets it tomorrow has to let me know what it's like, don't quite feel I can trust IGN when it comes to games as big as this.
Yeah, Unity got 7's and up by the main sites last time around but ended up almost unplayable at launch and a lot of negative player comments afterward.
But a disappointing final fight and some control hitches can't diminish the charms of Assassin's Creed Syndicate. The game is a triumphant return to form for a franchise, and presents a beautifully structured tale with heart and soul to spare. Ziplining through London is thrilling, and the game allows you to organically discover missions and leaves you open-ended solutions lets you to create a meaningful, personal experience within its world. Coupled with strong, loveable leads and a seemingly endless procession of ways to leave your (fictional) mark on London's history, Assassin's Creed Syndicate is a shining example of gameplay and storytelling.
This year has seen several upgrades to the series' annual sandbox without any of Unity's deep technical issues. What a difference a year makes. Despite its advances, and because of Unity, it is easy to see Syndicate still getting a less than enthusiastic response than perhaps it should. If there was ever a good argument for the series to take a year off, to make sure that it never releases again before it is ready, that more time is better than the company's bottom line, then the last couple of Assassin's Creed titles are it. But hopefully Syndicate's legacy is its memorable cast of characters, its entertaining script and - most importantly - how it manages to recapture the series' sense of fun. Its success is a testament to the work of Ubisoft Quebec, which found itself in charge of its first Assassin's Creed game at a critical point for the series. Thankfully, in the game's leading duo, in its new London playground and in the greater sense of freedom that Syndicate brings, it delivers.
Gamesradar 4/5
IGN 8.2
Polygon 8.5
Game Informer "Positive"
Trusted Reviews 8/10
Digital Spy 8/10
God is a Geek 9/10
US Gamer 4/5
Arstechnica "Positive"
Stuff.TV 5/5
Xbox Achievements 80/100
The general consensus from most seems to be that it's fixes a lot of the problems that have plagued previous entries in the series, and that it's up there with ACII and Black Flag as a highlight of the franchise.
Black Flag remains my favourite, it was just tremendously fun, had decent characters, a beautiful setting and I wasn't offended by the slant towards pirates. It was only the modern segments that I didn't like.
Currently playing through Unity and it has to be on par with the original as my least favourite in the series. The controls are horrendous and cause me to die so frequently - eight games in and I'm not going to blame myself for just being bad at it. The story so far also leaves a lot to be desired - it's just so dreary so far, though wrapped in what is an admittedly beautiful game. Style over substance I think, and some horrendous controls and difficulty fluctuations. It's the first Assassin's Creed game I haven't felt compelled to play through... Had it for about six weeks now and have about 15% completion. I'd completed most of the others by now.
If Syndicate fixes these problems it could be a fantastic game. I'm waiting until Christmas to find out though.
Comments
Open world games are fine. But come on, this series has a reputation of being bland, hardly full of memorable locations and in fact pretty generic, despite the historical setting.
An AAA release? Well doesn't even look no where near as good as the open world in MGS V, that's for sure.
Can't wait for Syndicate to arrive.
I always have a lot of fun with AC games, even the worst in the series.
The annual releases and oversaturation of AC titles has made me less and less excited for each new release. I end up picking them up cheaper and cheaper each time because they are largely all the same in a different location and they have ran out of main story material. But I always end up having a great time playing through each and every one of them.
So IMHO AC is not bad, there are just too many AC games.
The lack of 'Whistle' really hurt Unity for me. It took stealth away and made most enemy encounters an open fight. As you could easily take on a group of 20 or more enemies in an open fight there was little point in trying to sneak an area. Having to jump in and out of hide spot to lure enemies was just stupid.
I agree - it always ruined the immersion for me - hated having to go on on terminals etc - just wanted the historical setting!
Speak for yourself. Florence and Venice from ACII remain 2 of my favourite gaming locations to this day.
They've not really dropped the modern world side. Although you don't play as Desmond anymore it's been replaced with the first person "playing as yourself".
In the first AC when the modern part was introduced I was like WTF?!! but as the story developed I didn't mind it too much and it added to the game. Since the Desmond story ended though it just seems really random and has no direction.
Yes, great memories of those locations.
Even the first AC had 3 great cities, my favourite was Acre. It's what started it off. The whole climbing and free running was made for city locations.
Rome was really great too in AC:B.
Constantinople in AC:R was impressive but I wasn't that interested in the location.
The places in AC3, AC4:BF and AC:Rogue were a little uninspiring so the return to a big city in Paris for AC:U was great. Having AC:S set in London will be great too.
I actually enjoyed the current setting as a backdrop to the historical action.
By having context of current day fight between the Assassins and the Templars, it gave reasons for having to keep going back to the animus in each and every game.
I think the real issue is how Ubisoft have handled the present day parts of the game.
If Ubisoft did more action type missions in the present day like they did in AC3 and / or used the bleeding effect to jump to different time zones like in Unity then a lot more people would enjoy the game (at least in my view)
The Black Flag / rogue mini puzzles were ok but just walking around in first person wasnt really the most satisfying experience.
That's what those cherry bomb lures were for, granted they were a bit hit and miss. Thankfully the whistle and the human shield is back for Syndicate, which is good because if there was a couple of rifle guards you'd forgotten to take out in Unity you were a sitting duck.
What made it worse in Unity was that most of the standard soldiers appeared to have pistols too.
There were times where you could get hit by 3-4 different bullets within seconds and go from full health to death if you didn't manage to use the medicine in time!
9 games in 9 years is a bit much.... and that's just the main games without all the smaller spinoffs on handhelds and games like AC3:Liberation and AC:Chronicles.
Embargo lifts tomorrow.
Thanks 👍🏻 These embargoes are a painin the arse. They must have confidence in this iteration as Unity's embargo wasn't up until after the game was released!
Been reading some early impressions and doesn't sound great
http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/assassins-creed-syndicate-review/1900-6416291/
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2015-10-21-assassins-creed-syndicate-review
Some positive reviews so far, I am almost tempted to get it....
Gamesradar 4/5
IGN 8.2
Polygon 8.5
Game Informer "Positive"
Trusted Reviews 8/10
Digital Spy 8/10
God is a Geek 9/10
US Gamer 4/5
Arstechnica "Positive"
Stuff.TV 5/5
Xbox Achievements 80/100
and a slightly less glowing reviews
Video Gamer 5/10 http://www.videogamer.com/reviews/assassins_creed_syndicate_review.html
Telegraph 2/5 http://www.telegraph.co.uk/gaming/what-to-play/assassins-creed-syndicate-review/
Push Square 6/10 http://www.pushsquare.com/reviews/ps4/assassins_creed_syndicate
Quite looking forward to playing it now.
Currently playing through Unity and it has to be on par with the original as my least favourite in the series. The controls are horrendous and cause me to die so frequently - eight games in and I'm not going to blame myself for just being bad at it. The story so far also leaves a lot to be desired - it's just so dreary so far, though wrapped in what is an admittedly beautiful game. Style over substance I think, and some horrendous controls and difficulty fluctuations. It's the first Assassin's Creed game I haven't felt compelled to play through... Had it for about six weeks now and have about 15% completion. I'd completed most of the others by now.
If Syndicate fixes these problems it could be a fantastic game. I'm waiting until Christmas to find out though.
My least favourite was Black Flag - a marmite game depending on whether you could be bothered with the sea battles. I couldn't.
AC3 and Unity are still about a third finished.
I must admit the London setting intrigues me but I'll wait until it goes on sale.