After Templars assassinate his father and his adoptive father (yes, both of them), Arno dedicates his life to finding and killing the man responsible for it all. Unfortunately, this quest might pit him against both the Assassins and his one true love.
1. Gameplay
Assassin’s Creed: Unity is a beautifully ambitious game that, in its (successful) attempt to deliver a monsoon of content, ends up severely undelivering on substance. It’s unfortunate really, because this game is amazing in certain areas. The landscape is huge, but not in the same way that AC: Revelations felt. Each district, while clearly similar in design, has unique features and styles to make them easily distinguishable. I might not remember all of their names, but I know which sections of the city are reserved for military, revolutionaries, national monuments, the rich, and the poor. This game is worth playing for the visual elements alone. The whole city looks and feels like France, and the power behind the new consoles allows for an insane number of characters on the screen at once. That is a pivotal factor in creating the necessary feel for revolutionary France. There’s nothing quite like looking out at a sea of angry civilians as they gather in front of Notre Dame. While the campaign was disappointing (more on that in a moment), the interactions between Arno (the main character) and Elise (his love interest) are amazing. They did an excellent job giving these two characters distinct personalities and having their interactions feel both genuine and interesting. Any time they’re on the screen together is a memorable and enjoyable moment. And, for the first time, the game throws in murder mysteries. This was, by far, the highlight of the game for me. I loved solving the crimes and accusing perpetrators. The game includes eleven or twelve different murder mysteries of varying difficulty levels, but I could have easily played another two or three dozen before getting tired of it. Unfortunately, so much of the rest of the game lacks any real substance. The main campaign is simultaneously dull and confusing. I never figured out if the Assassins are pro-revolutionary or pro-royalty (you end up helping both, which makes you feel more like a mercenary than a hero). The continuing war between the Templars and Assassins continues to feel forced and the fourth-wall breaking moments are comical. One side note on those fourth-wall breaking moments. There are times when they will take you into Paris during different time periods. These were amazing visually and something I would love to have seen explored more. Assassin’s Creed in occupied Paris during World War 2? Yes please! And yet, that was the common feeling I had throughout the game. I wanted more murder mysteries, more Arno and Elise, more time spent in alternate-time Paris. But instead I was given just a tiny taste of all of them, and an unnecessarily long and drawn out taste of Nostradamus “riddles” and repetitive sidequests. If I have to pick someones pocket or sabotage random doodad one more time I can’t be held responsible for what I’ll do. Every freakin sidequest was either “get items from this chest”, “grab this guy’s butt”, “escort this random person”, or “kill this person”. Eventually I stopped reading the backstories because they were all irrelevant. And this was a serious problem for me, because there were some notable people of history included in this game. Dr. Guillotine was a real person (something I hadn’t known before), but instead of helping him create and/or implement his machine (he wanted to come up with a more humane way to execute people instead of drawing and quartering), you have to help him solve a disinformation campaign. So instead of helping him figure out the correct blades or weight or something vital like that (like they had players helping Da Vinci in previous games), you’re tasked with going around and grabbing people’s butts until they start talking positively about Dr. Guillotine. If you go into this game expecting Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood or Revelations (NOT Black Flag), you won’t be disappointed. This game delivers in enough areas that it is worth playing (otherwise, I wouldn’t have 100%’d the game), but I wish the devs had reeled in their ambitions just enough to focus on what they were doing well instead of trying to throw everything and the kitchen sink into a single project.
In terms of substantial content in this game, this is by far the shortest Assassin’s Creed game to date. The lack of significant campaign missions means that players who only want the real meat of the game are going to finish this game quickly. Those who are completionists, however, are going to have an uphill battle getting everything. There are hundreds of chests, dozens of sidequests, and a ton of other collectibles of all sorts. And that’s really what the game boils down to. If you only want the story and the fun / important quests, there’s probably a good 15 to 20 hours of gameplay here (which could be considerably condensed in a speedrun). If you like getting the collectibles and going for that 100%, expect at least 50 hours to do everything.
A lot of the old bugs that have plagued Assassin’s Creed since its inception are back, but with a few minor changes. The climbing system, while great (don’t let anyone tell you otherwise), does have significant issues. These issues are annoying when you’re just running around but absolutely infuriating if you’re trying to run away or get anywhere quickly. They’re not nearly as horrible as in previous games (the ability to quickly descend is a huge help), but there were plenty of occasions where my character simply refused to jump up to a very close ledge or do whatever I needed him to do. The only time when movement was consistently frustrating was trying to move indoors from an exterior wall. The game tells the player that pressing one of the triggers will get him into the window, but I found this was very inconsistent. I would usually spend ten to fifteen seconds (a lifetime when you’re trying to run from enemies) furiously going up and down, trying to enter the same doorway or window over and over again. Eventually I got the hang of the whole process, but it was definitely a frustrating experience. Combat in this game is much closer to what it originally was in the first and second Assassin’s Creed games. Instead of just pressing a button at the right moment to counter an enemy and instantly kill him (starting a chain reaction of instant kills), the player can only parry enemy attacks. This makes combat a much more difficult and frustrating experience. Enemies do a significant amount of damage, which is magnified exponentially in earlier sections of the game. Until you get a number of skill points into increased health and have weapons and armor that are at least 4 or 5 diamonds, combat will be a mind-numbingly infuriating exercise. As it is, I don’t like reverting to this system. In the original games, there were only 4 or 5 enemies that could attack you at any time (memory limitations and the like). But this game doesn’t have that limitation. There were numerous occasions where I was surrounded by over a dozen enemies. And if an enemy can’t directly attack you, he takes out his gun and shoots you. Three or four shots from an enemy will kill you instantly. 2. Parental Notices
Violence plays a major factor in this game. The player will engage in combat with a small variety of weapons, most of which have relatively similar effects. Hits from melee weapons will result in blood but there is never any gore. However, there is a slight caveat to this. The player can execute some fairly brutal finishing moves on enemies, many of which include actions that should result in a significant amount of gore. For example, the player can use certain polearms to impale an enemy, driving the point of the polearm straight through the enemy’s abdomen. The player then walks past the enemy, grabs the end of the polearm, and pulls the rest of it through the enemy. As I said before, there is no gore at all in this animation, but it is clearly designed to provide that same level of impact without the bits that should be included. That isn’t to say that gore is absent from the entire game. On the contrary, a number of the pre-mission cutscenes will include decapitations performed by hand or via guillotine. The player can even see executions happen in realtime in certain areas of the game. A number of the civilians in the crowd will hold decapitated heads on spikes into the air. There was also a scene where Robespierre through the mouth. The gore is brief, but clearly visible.
Prostitutes and adultery are the only two elements of sexuality in this game, and their inclusion is extremely minor. There are prostitutes in certain districts of the city, and some of the side missions are related to them and their work, but you’re never able to hire their services. In very rare cases they vaguely discuss their services, but these are always in the context of a more important mission (i.e. a murder mystery). There is a scene where the player talks with Marquis de Sade in de Sade’s house party place. While de Sade is talking with Arno, he playfully (read: creepily) kisses a woman in her underwear. It is very likely that the woman is drugged in some way (she is not acting normal at all), but Arno never acknowledges her presence and de Sade never brings it up. This is the only time something like this is present in a cutscene. Adultery is the only other sexual element in this game. In a number of the missions (most notably in the “murder mystery” missions, since this often indicates potential motive), wives are mentioned to have lovers in addition to being married. The specific acts are never mentioned, but anyone with even a rudimentary knowledge of what a “lover” is will understand the implications.
Substances are a very minor factor in this game. The player will frequently buy and use “health potions” that will instantly heal the player. The player can also use “berserk darts” that cause the targeted enemy to go into a blind rage and attack anyone near him. The chemical composition of these substances is never discussed. There is a scene where Arno has to drink something from a chalice as part of his initiation into the Assassin brotherhood. This substance causes him to have vivid hallucinations. The nature of this substance is never discussed. The only other somewhat common substance-related element in this game are “elixers” and other potions that some characters will purchase from apothecaries. These are most obvious in the “murder mystery” missions, since a number of these potions will appear (especially in murders that are committed via poison).
On at least one occasion the player must go to a gambling den in order to complete a mission. These areas are almost completely devoid of anything gambling related and would be difficult to distinguish from a normal room if it weren’t for the nature of the mission. Card games and other gambling-related activites may go on in the “social clubs” that the player can renovate, but the player cannot join in on these games. 3. Other Factors
There are no modding tools available for this game.
While religion used to play a pivotal role in the story of the Assassin’s Creed games, it has taken a much less important role in Unity. The game still includes the same Assassins and Templars of history, and many of the missions will take place in or around churches like Notre Dame (often involving clergy members of one sort or another), but these elements are almost irrelevant compared to the rest of the story. In fact, they are often very easy to ignore. Religious symbols are included in the environment but are almost never discussed in any significant way. In fact, the only even vaguely religious figure that is featured in any real prominence in this game is Nostradamus (who I hesitate to even associate with religion, if not for his allegedly “prophetic” indecipherable poetry). Yet even his religious connections have been scrubbed clean for this game, instead replaced with riddles intended for the assassins.
The assassins, especially Arno, play by their own set of rules and laws. They are a chaotic good set loose within the city. Arno murders, steals, poisons, sabotages, and destroys pretty much whatever he wants on his way to complete his missions. If anyone gets in his way, they usually end up dead. This includes the city guards. The player will kill dozens if not hundreds of guards over the course of the campaign. And don’t forget that his entire event takes place during the French Revolution, so many of the citizenry will be willing to fight against the guards as well. The French royalty will be deposed and executed over the course of the game and many politicians will be killed or exiled. It’s a tumultuous time, and as a result the rule of law has very little bearing.
For the most part, my experience with the online community of this game was civil. There were a number of times when other players were both fun to play with and very helpful for completing missions. Even without microphones, players seemed to be able to help each other and accomplish tasks without getting into each other’s way. It was exactly what I could ask for in an online community. There was one example when my experiences were less than desirable, but this wasn’t enough to completely break my spirit. The designers did an excellent job of incentivizing gamers to help each other out in the completion of missions, and the result is a set of coop missions that are fun even if you’re not playing with people you know.
Extreme sports is another major factor in this game. The game’s mechanics require the player to climb up and down huge structures of immense height. Everything from the Pantheon’s columns to Notre Dame’s towers is completely climbable without any sort of safety equipment. This is the kind of thing that would be essentially impossible without extensive training and safety equipment, but the assassins make it look very easy. Descending from these heights is easier than ascension. The player basically flings himself down the structure, pausing momentarily only to grab onto a handhold every dozen feet or so. These types of drops at these speeds would be seriously deadly to a real person. But, as with ascension, the assassins make it look easy. It would be bad form if I failed to mention the “leaps of faith” that can occur all over the city. The player can jump from any height into a bale of hay without taking any damage. It doesn’t matter if it’s one story off the ground or hundreds of feet in the air, Arno will always hit the hay and will always come out unscathed. There are a few other examples of extreme sports, but these only occur in a few specific missions. The one memorable example is a mission where the player must save Elise, who has managed to get herself trapped in an untethered hot air balloon during high winds. The subsequent rooftop chase only ends when the player jumps to the balloon and grabs onto the tethers.
The only time when magic becomes any sort of factor involves this electricity sword. Those familiar with the other games in the franchise will recognize the item as that created by the forerunner species. This game, however, doesn’t mention anything about the origin or makeup of the sword, and therefore can be considered magical in nature.
Assassination The title of this game and its premise should be more than sufficient indication that “assassinations” would occur in this game. But, in case there was any doubt, assassinations do take place in this game. The player will be tasked with assassinating a number of important historic Templars and other figures. Some of these assassinations will involve specially designed scenarios (such as pretending to be a prisoner set for execution or poisoning wine in order to get close to a target), but they almost all end with the player stabbing the target with the hidden blade. Executions Executions are extremely common in the city. There are a number of places where guillotines are set up and work nonstop. These public executions are surrounded by mobs of angry civilians and the entire scene plays out repeatedly in surprising detail. The player can watch as the condemned is brought forward, his head is placed in the stockade, the blade comes down, the head comes off and is placed into a basket, the body is removed, and the next victim is brought forward. Prostitution
As I mentioned before, prostitution is included in this game in a very minor role. Women in somewhat revealing dresses stand on the street in certain districts. The contrast of their clothing to the rest of the female NPCs makes it fairly clear exactly what their occupation is. However, the player cannot hire them nor will he see anyone else hire them.
6 Comments
Evan
12/19/2014 09:02:56 am
Hey man, saw the review, and it was very helpful. Just wondering, is it possible to disable blood? My brother is getting this, and he is 11. Just asking. Thanks
Reply
I believe there is an option to disable blood. However, it won't disable the content in the cutscenes. The combat blood would disappear, but the decapitations and stuff will still be there.
Reply
Alex
1/17/2015 12:53:32 am
Read the review, and thought it looked really good! I was curious though, how much language is there in the game? Some sites say it's "dripping" with it, and others say there's only a couple of instances. I hear profanity a lot, but with little ones running around the house, I'd like to try to minimize the profanity they hear in the house. Can you remember, or am I out of luck?
Reply
Carmine
1/17/2015 04:34:18 am
I highly recommend making the spoken language French with english subtitles. Not only does that remove any chance of language (I didn't notice anything at all when I played), but it creates a much more immersive experience.
Reply
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