Ubisoft Montreal has been making Assassin’s Creed games for the better part of a decade now, and it’s not unfair to say that they have been fairly hit-or-miss in terms of quality. However, after the incredible mess left by last year’s Assassin’s Creed: Unity, the developer has a lot to prove with Syndicate.
The introduction of a female protagonist and a Victorian London setting are a nice start, but I needed more convincing, personally. Thankfully I got to sit down for some hands on time with the game at this year’s Electronic Entertainment Expo.
Jumping right in, we’re treated to a brief story interlude wherein Evie and Jacob argue about the next course of action in expanding the influence of their gang, the Rooks. Seconds later we’re off to rescue a group of ten Rooks from an enemy gang stronghold. From there the mission began and I was reintroduced to some standard Assassin’s Creed fare. I was running across rooftops and through city streets on the way to my destination, but with the addition of the new grappling hook.
Deploying the line works the same as it does in any of the Batman games. Objects of interest are immediately given an appropriate visual indicator that they can be attached to, and a simple press of the left bumper rockets the line out to the anchor point, and Jacob was zipping across it in no time. It’s not as fast as a Batman zip line, but the added traversal mechanic makes getting across the vastness of London easier than it would otherwise be, which is nice, because the developers present said that they have crafted a London that was significantly larger than the Paris seen in Unity.
Once at the enemy stronghold, Jacob had to clear the place of enemies and free his comrades using only the tools at his disposal. In this case, that included throwing knives, a poison dart, and his brass knuckle/assassin’s blade combo.
As with previous games in the series, you could employ stealth or just go in head first and start knifing dudes. I chose to play it stealthy for the most part, and opted to creep along rooftops and ledges, dropping down on enemy gang members to finish them off with the hidden blade, as the developers present promised I would get a chance to get deeper into the standard combat later on.
After clearing out the stronghold and freeing your comrades, a Templar lieutenant from a rival gang shows up, and what ensues is a breakneck chase through the streets of london both on foot and on horse-drawn carriage. The vehicular combat feels almost identical to that seen in the series’ Renaissance-era installments. I would have liked to see some more innovation and new tricks there, as they have spent so much time talking about it, but it controls fine and is otherwise inoffensive, albeit completely unoriginal and old hat at this point.
The chase eventually culminates in a full-on Gangs of New York-style “Gang War” activity, wherein your gang and the rival faction are just beating the everliving crap out of each other in the London streets. It was a really great set piece to show, and the brawling combat felt solid, but my big gripe about it is that it was incredibly difficult to distinguish who was friendly and who I should to knock the hell out. Unlike previous games in the series where differing factions had very clear visual indicators and uniforms, a bunch of peasants fighting each other in straight-up peasant garb just looks like a jumbled mess.
I’m going to put this right out there and be upfront about it: I’m one of the biggest Assassin’s Creed apologists you’ll find. I have a cat named Ezio and a similar statue on my desk. That being said, I fully acknowledge that last year’s Assassin’s Creed Unity was a busted-ass game, especially on console. The folks from Ubisoft Montreal seemed to fully recognize this, and were quick to point out all of the various ways that this build of Syndicate improves on the prior installment.
One thing I couldn’t hold against Unity was the look of the game. It looked absolutely gorgeous, and had some of the nicest vistas and what were by far the largest functional crowds I’ve ever seen in a game up to that point, and from what I’ve seen, Syndicate builds on that to make an even better looking and tighter experience. Here’s hoping that the final build isn’t anywhere near as technically flawed as last year’s release was, but only time will tell.
Assassin’s Creed: Syndicate will be hitting Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC this Fall.
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