I'm a long time fan of the series as a whole. The original AC has a special place in my heart because of what was happening in my life when I played it. Because of this I thought I could never hate an AC game. I've pretty much liked all of them but Unity broke something in me. Do I absolutely hate the game? No... but I can't pretend it's a good game either... The best thing I can say about it is that the Assassinations are the best in the series because of the black box settings. The story is absolutely forgettable and the villain is probably the lamest in the series. Till this day I still don't understand why he did what he did... Anyway, I give AC Unity an okay. Not the worse game I ever played but definitely not good which sucks because I thought Black Flag was the best in the series.
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Is Assassin's Creed Unity worth playing?
- Thread starter Montresor
- Start date
Spacejaws
Member
I love the serious but can see the flaws in them. I hated ACIII even though it seemed like there was a good game underneath all the problems.
AC1 is a solid 8/10 for me. I love the setting and the story beats are some of the strongest in the series and the present day setting the most intriguing for me. One half action over half telltale/adventure/mystery game which at the time I was totally enamoured.
AC2 10/10 easily. Characters and setting and story it has it all.
ACB 8/10. Expands on AC2 but suffers a little from being a bit samey. Does a great job updating the mechanics and the multiplayer was fantastic but I honestly can't remember the story much except that the ending blows. Present day stuff was cool for adapting the action mechanics but I felt they lost a bit by being too similar to animus gameplay. Missed the two styles contrasting. Really enjoyed the extra weapon selection.
ACR 6/10. Remember nothing of story. Ezio scenario became really samey. City and architecture while nice is starting to feel stale being stuck in the same tome period for 3 games. Ezio style great character but damn did I want something new (i thought). Horrible defense game sections and tower burnings just made it boring.
ACIII 5/10. Hated the time period. Locations were boring as fuck. Missions were boring. Story itself way to contradictory
plus bugs and bugs and many quests/missions feel unfinished. Conor isn't that bad but he is definetly the weakest character (Including Aveline). Combat was also dumbed down to rock paper scissors. Worst present day content ever.
ACIV 9/10. Loved the characters, loved the story to a degree, liked the location but was a but dissapponted after the rather empty frontier we had a game in the largely empty bahamas. I wanted a new big city! Ship mechanics were great and I actually really liked the present day stuff for being a bit different. I think the pacing could have used some work, making Edward a super assassin from the get go is a confusing part of the design and really kills the story emersion for me. Would have loved to have had him start shit and gradually become an assassin but there ya go.
ACU 8/10 i don't quite understand the character arguments. Since Ezio I think Arno and Edward are tied with the best Assassin he actually has alot of development during the game. I loved the city and new mechanics. The combat felt ALOT more fun to me than the last two games. Felt less rock paper scissors and more threatening. The assassins feel much better implicated in this game aswell. The present day stuff though...is a total miss. It's pretty much not there and I miss it. The actual ending is a total cop out too which is a shame because the run up to the end is great. Oh and there are bugs. Plenty of bugs. Also the content that requires an app or website meta game stuff can go blow ass.
There ya go take from that what you will.
AC1 is a solid 8/10 for me. I love the setting and the story beats are some of the strongest in the series and the present day setting the most intriguing for me. One half action over half telltale/adventure/mystery game which at the time I was totally enamoured.
AC2 10/10 easily. Characters and setting and story it has it all.
ACB 8/10. Expands on AC2 but suffers a little from being a bit samey. Does a great job updating the mechanics and the multiplayer was fantastic but I honestly can't remember the story much except that the ending blows. Present day stuff was cool for adapting the action mechanics but I felt they lost a bit by being too similar to animus gameplay. Missed the two styles contrasting. Really enjoyed the extra weapon selection.
ACR 6/10. Remember nothing of story. Ezio scenario became really samey. City and architecture while nice is starting to feel stale being stuck in the same tome period for 3 games. Ezio style great character but damn did I want something new (i thought). Horrible defense game sections and tower burnings just made it boring.
ACIII 5/10. Hated the time period. Locations were boring as fuck. Missions were boring. Story itself way to contradictory
too much 'those bad guys who were commiting murdering/torturing are good guys' this is in most games where templars think they are justified for greater good but this just got silly.
ACIV 9/10. Loved the characters, loved the story to a degree, liked the location but was a but dissapponted after the rather empty frontier we had a game in the largely empty bahamas. I wanted a new big city! Ship mechanics were great and I actually really liked the present day stuff for being a bit different. I think the pacing could have used some work, making Edward a super assassin from the get go is a confusing part of the design and really kills the story emersion for me. Would have loved to have had him start shit and gradually become an assassin but there ya go.
ACU 8/10 i don't quite understand the character arguments. Since Ezio I think Arno and Edward are tied with the best Assassin he actually has alot of development during the game. I loved the city and new mechanics. The combat felt ALOT more fun to me than the last two games. Felt less rock paper scissors and more threatening. The assassins feel much better implicated in this game aswell. The present day stuff though...is a total miss. It's pretty much not there and I miss it. The actual ending is a total cop out too which is a shame because the run up to the end is great. Oh and there are bugs. Plenty of bugs. Also the content that requires an app or website meta game stuff can go blow ass.
There ya go take from that what you will.
Yes, seconded on all of this; especially the bit about the characters.
I never liked Ezio, and Arno is literally just a less obnoxious, better written and acted Ezio. He's got the same energy and the same mischievous cheekiness, but is a lot less of a twat.
People seemed to take out their issues with Unity's simulation and certain design elements largely on Arno, hating him just because they took issue with some of the game's design. Really pisses me off.
Edit: oh except I disagree that the game misses the modern-day stuff.
Imo the modern day stuff was a mistake in the first place and has been a ball and chain for the whole series' narrative, so I welcomed the removal/restriction of modern day stuff in Unity with open arms.
I thought I was the only one! I love the setting.
I'm still dipping in and out of ACU. It's not bad, although many of the missions that state they're "difficult" and suggest you buy equipment for it, really aren't too tough.
Stone Ocean
Member
The problem with the characters is that Arno and Bellec are basically the only characters that gets actually developed, everyone else is like those NPCs in JRPGs that only say one line through the entire game.
burritosenior
Member
How you didn't give ACII a 5/5 I'll never know.
But regardless!
Yes, it is worth a buy. People were initially upset about two things: All the bugs (and rightly so), and that ships weren't in the game and nothing replaced them. The bugs have been mostly fixed. Last time I played I fell through the world once still, but... well, 99% of it was playable, hah.
The modern day story is completely irrelevant to the other games, so there is no plot advancement there really. If you care about story, then the focus is on the story of the Assassin only.
The gameplay itself is fun. Climbing and dropping take a LOT of getting used to in this game, and it doesn't always work very well (hopping from one side of a window to another is very tedious when you just want to go inside!). But generally it does, and when it does it feels much more fluid than the other games.
Combat is different. Maybe I'm not very good, but if I get into combat with a group of enemies, I would generally lose. Not always, but often enough to make me avoid it. It's definitely harder than any of the other games. There is no 'press x to win' really.
The best part of the game by far would be the Assassinations. You are given a goal and there are multiple ways to achieve it. Those sections are so fun, and by far the most unique part of the campaign to me.
Finally, multiplayer. There is co-op and special co-op missions. They are all extremely fun. Heists (they still beat GTA5) are an absolute blast. That's all I have to say about that.
So yes. I'd recommend it.
But regardless!
Yes, it is worth a buy. People were initially upset about two things: All the bugs (and rightly so), and that ships weren't in the game and nothing replaced them. The bugs have been mostly fixed. Last time I played I fell through the world once still, but... well, 99% of it was playable, hah.
The modern day story is completely irrelevant to the other games, so there is no plot advancement there really. If you care about story, then the focus is on the story of the Assassin only.
The gameplay itself is fun. Climbing and dropping take a LOT of getting used to in this game, and it doesn't always work very well (hopping from one side of a window to another is very tedious when you just want to go inside!). But generally it does, and when it does it feels much more fluid than the other games.
Combat is different. Maybe I'm not very good, but if I get into combat with a group of enemies, I would generally lose. Not always, but often enough to make me avoid it. It's definitely harder than any of the other games. There is no 'press x to win' really.
The best part of the game by far would be the Assassinations. You are given a goal and there are multiple ways to achieve it. Those sections are so fun, and by far the most unique part of the campaign to me.
Finally, multiplayer. There is co-op and special co-op missions. They are all extremely fun. Heists (they still beat GTA5) are an absolute blast. That's all I have to say about that.
So yes. I'd recommend it.
Markitron
Is currently staging a hunger strike outside Gearbox HQ while trying to hate them to death
I didn't like the game, but I thought Elise was pretty like-able. She was the series' most interesting female character since Lucy. Arno just seemed like a pointless imitation of Ezio to me.
... Untrue, but moving on,
Elise is almost better developed than Arno until (big spoilers)
her death late in the game, another fucking 'no realistic long-term romance for you in your games' plot development
I thought Bellec was pretty poor. Arno and Elise are the stars of the show.
Crossing Eden
Hello, my name is Yves Guillemot, Vivendi S.A.'s Employee of the Month!
And I can't say i've experienced those bugs either in AC:Unity. Both are open world games, meaning glitches are bound to happen. I mean GTAV released with a bug that didn't save cars in your garage, invisible car glitches, a shit ton, no one mentions those and tries to do some revisionist history as if its some super polished product. It's not, it had to be patched multiple times.
You're definitely being too harsh on GTA V and too light on Unity here.
The standard of optimisation was what set them apart, and this is a stark difference that can't be understated. I adore Unity, and did from day one, but I can't deny it had incredible performance issues. To this day, NPCs pop in and change model blatantly and frequently. It occasionally loses frame-rate. There are lots of little bugs which happen often - tipping carts, disappearing models, NPCs appearing in cutscenes and sometimes actually make it hard to hear what's going on.
GTA V had a handful of fairly significant bugs, but when you put them in the context of everything else in the game, and how it performed, they were a tiny, tiny issue. The game worked well 99% of the time we played it, and it ran at a pretty stable 30FPS. That 1% was substantial, but still a tiny minority. The moment-to-moment experience was rarely hampered. Unlike Unity where, especially at release, you were reminded every single minute of play that things were going very wrong. You can't really defend this, Eden.
Spacejaws
Member
Wait, Grand Theft Auto is well optimized?
There's a 140 page steam discussion about err_gfx_d3d_init error which seems like it's tied to Vsync which was never even acknowledged by Rockstar, it was released with a huge memory leak which caused the game to crash after about an hour using close to 100% RAM and to this day I can't play longer than an hour without tge game flat out freezing on loading screens/transitions even though I can easily handle the game at 60fps on high settings. Granted it runs well but there are too many mysterious crashes, playing in Big Picture mode and pressing home on xbox controller to get the steam overlay disables all input in the main game and I have to force shutdown and tge solution is to run in full screen instead of bordeless window but Vsys causes crashing sonwith it turned off in full screen you have massive tearing! Can't win.
And the game is full of hackers that can make you dropped grenades at any time. Still love it though.
There's a 140 page steam discussion about err_gfx_d3d_init error which seems like it's tied to Vsync which was never even acknowledged by Rockstar, it was released with a huge memory leak which caused the game to crash after about an hour using close to 100% RAM and to this day I can't play longer than an hour without tge game flat out freezing on loading screens/transitions even though I can easily handle the game at 60fps on high settings. Granted it runs well but there are too many mysterious crashes, playing in Big Picture mode and pressing home on xbox controller to get the steam overlay disables all input in the main game and I have to force shutdown and tge solution is to run in full screen instead of bordeless window but Vsys causes crashing sonwith it turned off in full screen you have massive tearing! Can't win.
And the game is full of hackers that can make you dropped grenades at any time. Still love it though.
Except the story is so abysmal that if the story is important to you OP, you should definitely skip it.
Freedom = $1.05
Banned
There's no point in a five point scale if you're going to include half points. That's a ten point scale disguised as a five point scale.
Anywho, I've been wondering this too so this thread has been an interesting read.
Also, I had more fun with AC3 than AC4 even with the broken weapon wheel. You should play it someday.
Anywho, I've been wondering this too so this thread has been an interesting read.
Also, I had more fun with AC3 than AC4 even with the broken weapon wheel. You should play it someday.
Thanks for the nice review of ACU. As of patch 5, IIRC, there are no longer chests that need uPlay or the companion app to be unlocked. All of these chests were made freely accessible with patch 5.
JimmyRustler
Gold Member
Just started this game the other day and at least the graphical jump coming from AC4/Rouge is nothing short of mindblowing. I mean, holy shit! Unity is freaking beautiful.
If you plan to go through Unity I suggest playing through Rogue first.
Rogue ties right into Unity. It's a simple reference at the beginning, but for me it was pretty strong because I liked the story (characters) in Rogue. I just wished there was another reference later on
Plus, once you move onto Unity, you won't be able to go back to the old mechanics on the last-gen ACs. Unity has vastly improved traversal mechanics.
Say what you want about Unity, but it crafted great detail of history into the game; finding pieces of intel you get commentary from Bishop which makes the historical facts a lot less drab and actually interesting. Also, most all of the players in the game (De Sade, Mirabeau, etc) were actual historical figures during the French Revolution, and all the assassinations that take place within the game
The chemistry between Elise and Arno is palpable (especially since they met as children) and you rarely see relationship development like that very often, with the ups and downs.
Rogue ties right into Unity. It's a simple reference at the beginning, but for me it was pretty strong because I liked the story (characters) in Rogue. I just wished there was another reference later on
on what happened to Shay in Unity, perhaps Arno passes by him unsuspectingly, just like how Arno passes by Germain in the beginning in the carriage, along with all the other Templars at Elise's coronation party.
Plus, once you move onto Unity, you won't be able to go back to the old mechanics on the last-gen ACs. Unity has vastly improved traversal mechanics.
Say what you want about Unity, but it crafted great detail of history into the game; finding pieces of intel you get commentary from Bishop which makes the historical facts a lot less drab and actually interesting. Also, most all of the players in the game (De Sade, Mirabeau, etc) were actual historical figures during the French Revolution, and all the assassinations that take place within the game
are tied to real assassinations historically. It makes you care more about history because then you say, "yeah I remember killing Le Peletier in the Palais Royal", which is exactly where and how he died. You're not soon to forget that bit of history if you believe you had a hand in shaping it.
The chemistry between Elise and Arno is palpable (especially since they met as children) and you rarely see relationship development like that very often, with the ups and downs.
Given the PC port released in March, I'd say current-gen console ports would have been announced circa E3 if they were coming at all.
Nah, from what I have played of 3, the mission structure was just pure cumbersome. I liked the story and how its told, but man, playing it felt like a torture. Especially that mission where you had to blow up ships. Getting caught once meant game over and there were million soldiers every where.
Yes.
I didn't enjoy the gameplay initially but I love France and the French Revolution so I kept playing. After a few hours I started to use the tools the game provides, all the different bombs etc. From that point on I really enjoyed it, played through the story and the DLC. Worst thing about the game (if you can still bear with the core gameplay) is the meaningless map. It's filled with bad side mission you should avoid.
I didn't enjoy the gameplay initially but I love France and the French Revolution so I kept playing. After a few hours I started to use the tools the game provides, all the different bombs etc. From that point on I really enjoyed it, played through the story and the DLC. Worst thing about the game (if you can still bear with the core gameplay) is the meaningless map. It's filled with bad side mission you should avoid.
I'm really glad I started the game. The graphics are just mind-blowing. Performance is a littttle rough in some areas but most of the time the game is running fine and it always looks incredible. My gosh the level of detail in the indoor environments is what astounds me the most. The whole city feels alive and intricately designed. It feels really great just running around in Paris.
I'm still early, and I'm liking the game, but as usual there is the garbage that bloats AC. The icons themselves on the mini-map don't bother me. But I was playing around with the cafe and just shocked at how bloated the cafe itself was. There were so many of those glowing articles that you could go near for some pop-up menu. It was just overwhelming. And I hate how there are four different currencies, seems like one for purchasing weapons and clothes, one for upgrades, one for skills, etc...
And the combat is just horrid. They need to make an AC without any combat period.
Anyway, loving the game either way. It has a nice atmosphere, great graphics, and I love the open world in these games. I just wish Ubisoft improved their combat...
I'm still early, and I'm liking the game, but as usual there is the garbage that bloats AC. The icons themselves on the mini-map don't bother me. But I was playing around with the cafe and just shocked at how bloated the cafe itself was. There were so many of those glowing articles that you could go near for some pop-up menu. It was just overwhelming. And I hate how there are four different currencies, seems like one for purchasing weapons and clothes, one for upgrades, one for skills, etc...
And the combat is just horrid. They need to make an AC without any combat period.
Anyway, loving the game either way. It has a nice atmosphere, great graphics, and I love the open world in these games. I just wish Ubisoft improved their combat...
paragonpro
Banned
Propsosterously gorgeous game, still one of the prettiest of the generation, it feels way more like ac 1 or 2 than any of the other ones, I had a fun time with it, pick it up if you can find it cheap for sure.
Yes! Glad you're enjoying it.
FYI a few tips for enjoying it to the max:
- hold R3 to play without the HUD and play like this most of the time. Hold it again to turn the map on periodically to make sure you're on the right track/going the right way. But even with HUD off you can go on top of buildings and stand still - nearby points of interest will show up in the world.
- hold L2 to sneak rather than tapping it to toggle. They tried to work both into the same control scheme and imo it doesn't work. Tapping it makes swapping between really awkward and isn't responsive. Holding is responsive and more precise.
- I found a lot of the side content better than the main missions in Unity, contrary to what some others here are saying. Spend a while focusing on unlocking the Maison pubs/bars/outposts and doing their missions. Some are really great and most have very large areas with varied approach options. I also liked all the murder mysteries, but to each their own. It's a pity the random city events (eg thieves) are such a step down from the other games.
- make sure to hold Attack for finishing kills when someone's low on health. Will net you a lot of Creed points and help you upgrade your weapons.
I personally like the combat in Unity! It's more difficult and I like it that way. Feels closer to Prince of Persia's duelling style of gameplay.
Lol. Sarcasm I hope.
Thanks for the tips, I'll definitely focus big time on the side quests.
Ooh! One thing I forgot to mention is holding RT+B (R2+Circle on PS4) to free roam downward.... what a game changer. That along with the beautiful and fluid animations have me really impressed with traversal in this game.
I feel crazy but this seems like it will be my favourite Assassin's Creed so far. Four things are making me enjoy it a ton: Graphics, the city's design, traversal, and the enigma puzzles.
But being someone who hates the combat in this game, I could start hating this really quickly if I dont figure out a way to quickly and efficiently increase my "level" and get stronger. I'm still level 1 and it's absurd fighting against level 3 enemies currently.
1) I need livres/cash to buy weapons/gear. I think this should take care of itself through the cafe and social clubs, no? I'll keep renovating and doing cafe and social contracts.
2) I need creed points to purchase upgrades for weapons/gear. This is where things can get annoying. I know you get creed points for various activities (vanishing, holding attack at the end of a kill for 100 bonus, etc...). Is there any easier way to grind this?
3) I need skill points to max lockpick asap or I will go crazy. How do you get these darn skill points?
Also, is it feasible to get all the co-op missions achievements with random matchmaking?
But being someone who hates the combat in this game, I could start hating this really quickly if I dont figure out a way to quickly and efficiently increase my "level" and get stronger. I'm still level 1 and it's absurd fighting against level 3 enemies currently.
1) I need livres/cash to buy weapons/gear. I think this should take care of itself through the cafe and social clubs, no? I'll keep renovating and doing cafe and social contracts.
2) I need creed points to purchase upgrades for weapons/gear. This is where things can get annoying. I know you get creed points for various activities (vanishing, holding attack at the end of a kill for 100 bonus, etc...). Is there any easier way to grind this?
3) I need skill points to max lockpick asap or I will go crazy. How do you get these darn skill points?
Also, is it feasible to get all the co-op missions achievements with random matchmaking?
H3rTz DoNuT
Member
With high enough level you can just do them all alone. I did all the co-op myself cause I couldn't find any online games.
Is Unity worth playing?
- For the modern story: No. What modern story?
- For the main story? Maybe (disappointing conclusion)
- For the multiplayer? No (not enough people to play with and spotty mission structure)
- For the visuals? Glitches aside, yes.
- For environment variety? No... Only one city and no outskirts
- For gameplay? Maybe (good parkour, bad combat)
- Out of habit for a fan of the series? Why not?
- For England, James? No... For me
semiconscious
Member
Crossing Eden
Hello, my name is Yves Guillemot, Vivendi S.A.'s Employee of the Month!
1)There is a bank heist you can do, takes about five-ten minutes to complete, gives 60K+ if you aren't detected, (phantom blade is your friend). Other than that yes doing cafe missions, social contracts, and other heists gives you a ton of money.
2)Just generally playing the game gives you creed points
3)Playing main missions and co-op missions gives you skill points.
4)Randoms naturally, are the worst.
So far, I'd give AC Unity a 4.5/5, and I feel it's the best AC game I've played. I've played 20-30 hours and I've just finished the following section, which for its entirety kept making me think "This game... this effing game. WOW!":
. So awesome.
Positives:
+Incredible graphics, best I've seen so far this gen on XB1
+Great character models and facial animations.
+Impressive attention-to-detail with indoor environments. And there is a staggering number of indoor environments
+Arno's traversal animations are beautiful in this game. I like the new fluid animations for climbing down structures and for climbing up slopes
+Re: traveral, holding RT+B (or R2+Circle for Playstation) is a game-changer that needs to stay in every new AC game. It feels amazing to hold RT+B to quickly go down a structure
+The mission design just seems way better than any other AC. There are occasional tailing/eavesdrop missions but they aren't frustrating like in the past. There are no automatic desyncs occurring because you were discovered. And I like how some of the "boss battles" at the end of each sequence place the player at the top of some landmark and then present you with different paths/options to kill your target
+I enjoy the new RPG elements, re: selecting/upgrading Arno's weapons and clothing.
+Re: Arno's clothing, I love how you can tailor all the individual pieces of Arno's outfit: hood, chest, waist, etc.. and the designs for each clothing choice are so varied/beautiful
+Re: RPG elements, with the right amount of money/livres (which I have already earned), you can become nearly invincible, allowing you to enjoy the game and avoid combat as much as possible (to me, combat in this game is a big negative)
+Nostradamus riddles are a god-tier addition and need to stay in every AC from now on. You're forced to use your brain, the in-game database, and sometimes even google (to research historical events, not to look up the solution
).
+Murder mysteries... <3 <3 <3. Another wonderful addition. It feels like I'm playing some downloaded Phoenix Wright DLC in my Assassin's Creed. When I examine all the evidence in a murder mystery and then make the right conclusion, it feels amazing!
+The first Helix rift in each category are amazing set pieces, like something straight out of Tomb Raider Reboot or Uncharted (very important to stress that it's ONLY the first rift in each category that is any good - see the negatives section
Negatives:
-The graphics come at the cost of poor performance. There are plenty of dips below 30fps
-Indoor environments appear dark from afar, and only become illuminated when you're inside them. So when you're outside, an indoor environment always looks almost pitch black and only becomes properly illuminated when you're actually indoors
-Combat is awful, as usual in this series. My goal in these games is to exploit the game's features to limit combat time as much as possible, and with the right equipment combat can be quick/painless. But the point is that I don't ever want to participate in combat in these AC games.
-There are only three actual unique Helix rift missions. Then those three different Helix rift templates are copy/pasted for awful point collect-a-thons. Not fun, not when compared to the original Helix rift set pieces
-Although I love the traversal, sometimes Arno doesn't go where I want him to while climbing up. I'll try to do a climb leap and nothing will happen. If I travel down slightly then go back up, the climb leap will suddenly be successful
-Although the Nostradamus riddles were incredible, it was really annoying having to constantly go to the Menu, then scroll down and click Database, and search through the Database to pull up the riddle... That's a whole bunch of clicks/work to bring up the riddle. Sure you can go to the riddle's origin on the map and then have the riddle dialogue remain on your screen, but if you push B it then goes away... and B is a critical button in traversal, so as soon as you need B or RT+B for traversal, the riddle disappears from the screen. Really annoying
-It's really annoying when you're on an eagle/sync point, even after syncing, after a few seconds of inactivity, the "Push B to synchronize" dialogue always shows up. You need the B button or RT+B to traverse down. So if "Push B to synchronize" appears, you are FORCED to synchronize before you can traverse down.
the section I'm referring to is the end of Sequence 7, when you find out Belec is a traitor, and then you have an awesome "boss fight" with him on top of the tower, and right after killing him, you are transported to a dimensional rift that sends you to Nazi-occupied France during World War 2... and you have the climb to the top of the gigantic Eiffel Tower
Positives:
+Incredible graphics, best I've seen so far this gen on XB1
+Great character models and facial animations.
+Impressive attention-to-detail with indoor environments. And there is a staggering number of indoor environments
+Arno's traversal animations are beautiful in this game. I like the new fluid animations for climbing down structures and for climbing up slopes
+Re: traveral, holding RT+B (or R2+Circle for Playstation) is a game-changer that needs to stay in every new AC game. It feels amazing to hold RT+B to quickly go down a structure
+The mission design just seems way better than any other AC. There are occasional tailing/eavesdrop missions but they aren't frustrating like in the past. There are no automatic desyncs occurring because you were discovered. And I like how some of the "boss battles" at the end of each sequence place the player at the top of some landmark and then present you with different paths/options to kill your target
+I enjoy the new RPG elements, re: selecting/upgrading Arno's weapons and clothing.
+Re: Arno's clothing, I love how you can tailor all the individual pieces of Arno's outfit: hood, chest, waist, etc.. and the designs for each clothing choice are so varied/beautiful
+Re: RPG elements, with the right amount of money/livres (which I have already earned), you can become nearly invincible, allowing you to enjoy the game and avoid combat as much as possible (to me, combat in this game is a big negative)
+Nostradamus riddles are a god-tier addition and need to stay in every AC from now on. You're forced to use your brain, the in-game database, and sometimes even google (to research historical events, not to look up the solution
).+Murder mysteries... <3 <3 <3. Another wonderful addition. It feels like I'm playing some downloaded Phoenix Wright DLC in my Assassin's Creed. When I examine all the evidence in a murder mystery and then make the right conclusion, it feels amazing!
+The first Helix rift in each category are amazing set pieces, like something straight out of Tomb Raider Reboot or Uncharted (very important to stress that it's ONLY the first rift in each category that is any good - see the negatives section
Negatives:
-The graphics come at the cost of poor performance. There are plenty of dips below 30fps
-Indoor environments appear dark from afar, and only become illuminated when you're inside them. So when you're outside, an indoor environment always looks almost pitch black and only becomes properly illuminated when you're actually indoors
-Combat is awful, as usual in this series. My goal in these games is to exploit the game's features to limit combat time as much as possible, and with the right equipment combat can be quick/painless. But the point is that I don't ever want to participate in combat in these AC games.
-There are only three actual unique Helix rift missions. Then those three different Helix rift templates are copy/pasted for awful point collect-a-thons. Not fun, not when compared to the original Helix rift set pieces
-Although I love the traversal, sometimes Arno doesn't go where I want him to while climbing up. I'll try to do a climb leap and nothing will happen. If I travel down slightly then go back up, the climb leap will suddenly be successful
-Although the Nostradamus riddles were incredible, it was really annoying having to constantly go to the Menu, then scroll down and click Database, and search through the Database to pull up the riddle... That's a whole bunch of clicks/work to bring up the riddle. Sure you can go to the riddle's origin on the map and then have the riddle dialogue remain on your screen, but if you push B it then goes away... and B is a critical button in traversal, so as soon as you need B or RT+B for traversal, the riddle disappears from the screen. Really annoying
-It's really annoying when you're on an eagle/sync point, even after syncing, after a few seconds of inactivity, the "Push B to synchronize" dialogue always shows up. You need the B button or RT+B to traverse down. So if "Push B to synchronize" appears, you are FORCED to synchronize before you can traverse down.
VeryGooster
Banned
I've been bouncing between Unity and Rogue since I found them relatively cheap on Amazon. I'll just say I recommend Rogue a lot more.
I was actually considering an lttp thread for Unity in spite of only finishing up to Sequence 5.
There's a solid game in there somewhere but a lot of it frustrates me. It's a stalemate. I think the freerunning feels clunky. Not awful when exploring, just cumbersome. It's when you're being chased or in conflict that shit seems to hit the fan but maybe that's more on me. I can't imagine what this game was like when it launched.
Combat is like a step forward and then two back. It's like they wanted it to be more than the counter insta-kills of the past and now focuses on timed parry attacks, which is fine. My issue is the combat seems to go off without a hitch if you're taking on like 2-4 people with low-tier health, but once 6-10 show up and they have higher health it drags out and it's not fun and it's frustrating.
I also don't get why they removed certain mechanics from past games, like the 'human shield' one especially when enemies are pistol happy in the ensuing chaos. Or hidden stabbing in thick smoke, or tagging enemies in Eagle Vision when now it's this short thing with a cooldown period instead of a toggle, etc.
I do like that you now have a reason to upgrade weapons and equipment despite my frustrations with combat. I think Paris is a great looking world but also exemplifies how much this series needs a "less is more" approach, which is I suppose why Rogue is more appealing to me. Assassinations are also a step in the right direction, allowing you to sort of plan and find alternate ways to make the job easier.
Part of me actually really hopes Syndicate improves on the combat and the exploration but we're gonna be eight years into this franchise and it's seeming like this series will have piqued at AC II, or IV.
Barakov
Member
Pretty much agree. The games up to this point have had a balance where each part was a little wonky but somehow made up to a fun game most of the time. By making each part a little worse along with all the bugs this game has/had, they really made the game a slog to get through. It's a major let down after Black Flag in the gameplay department. Also the controls are straight up unresponsive at times which further causes problems in combat.
Also they should dial back the traditional stealth quite a bit, I think. It made some sections pretty bad. Of course, it wouldn't be so terrible if the AI wasn't able to see through walls. In general, the AI seems to see you no matter where to go. I'm definitely taking a wait and see approach with Syndicate.
So earlier in the thread, I posted glowing responses about AC Unity. And I think the positives that I mentioned in my earlier post still ring true. The following are still awesome: graphics, character models, clothing options, RPG elements, holding RT+B to free-run downwards, murder mysteries, enigma riddles, the non-mini-game Helix rifts (I.E. only the story-related rifts), etc... And the city in general is breathtaking in its attention to detail and myriad of indoor environments. But good god I cannot praise the murder mysteries and enigma riddles enough. It's like they took my Assassin's Creed and sprinkled it with a bit of the Adventure / Point-And-Click / Puzzle games genre.
I think I'd give the first 40 hours I invested into AC Unity a solid 4.5/5. Would've been my favourite ever AC.
But I put a little more time in, because I thought, hey, why not go for all the achievements in this game. And another 40 hours later, I'm absolutely fucking disgusted with this game. I'm knocking it down to a 2.5/5 and it's only so high because of how much I loved the initial 40 hours. But the collectathon grindfest involved with collecting all the chests, cockades, and co-op mission sync points just killed my enthusiasm for this game, and even for AC Syndicate.
Honestly, if I stopped at 40 hours after finishing the main story, and I left AC Unity at that, I would've been in the "I'm pre-ordering AC Syndicate" camp. Not anymore. I think I don't even want to play AC Rogue or AC Syndicate. I can't see myself wanting to play another Assassin's Creed game for a long time.
Like I mentioned before, I cannot stand the fighting in this game. It felt like 1 out of every 2 damn red lockpick chests was guarded by at least 4 guards. So the monotonous grind to collect red chests involved near endless pointless melee battles with guards...
Collecting the sync points in co-op missions also involved boring melee fights. Ugh... More pointless fighting against guards. Granted, some of the fighting is occurring because I screw up the stealth, but the melee combat has to be better than this. Something's gotta give.
The real kicker is when I was finishing off the original 1000 gamerscore and doing the heist missions. I wanted to strangle Bishop whenever she said "Think of this as a training run. I've needlessly added new chests to spice things up. You'll need to choose the right chest". And just my luck, in my first two or so similar heists, the LAST chest that I opened ended up being the right chest.
AC Liberation: 3.5 / 5
AC Black Flag: 4/5
AC Revelations: 4/5
AC Brotherhood: 3/5
Assassin's Creed 2: 4/5
Assassin's Creed 1: 2/5
AC Unity: 2.5 / 5
If someone took me aside and said: "Hey Montresor, do yourself a favour buddy, don't even bother going for the following achievements:
Collect every chest
Collect every cockade
Collect every sync point / upgrade every skill
Complete every co-op mission/heist"
Then I probably would've had a much much more positive outlook on AC Unity.
I think I'd give the first 40 hours I invested into AC Unity a solid 4.5/5. Would've been my favourite ever AC.
But I put a little more time in, because I thought, hey, why not go for all the achievements in this game. And another 40 hours later, I'm absolutely fucking disgusted with this game. I'm knocking it down to a 2.5/5 and it's only so high because of how much I loved the initial 40 hours. But the collectathon grindfest involved with collecting all the chests, cockades, and co-op mission sync points just killed my enthusiasm for this game, and even for AC Syndicate.
Honestly, if I stopped at 40 hours after finishing the main story, and I left AC Unity at that, I would've been in the "I'm pre-ordering AC Syndicate" camp. Not anymore. I think I don't even want to play AC Rogue or AC Syndicate. I can't see myself wanting to play another Assassin's Creed game for a long time.
Like I mentioned before, I cannot stand the fighting in this game. It felt like 1 out of every 2 damn red lockpick chests was guarded by at least 4 guards. So the monotonous grind to collect red chests involved near endless pointless melee battles with guards...
Collecting the sync points in co-op missions also involved boring melee fights. Ugh... More pointless fighting against guards. Granted, some of the fighting is occurring because I screw up the stealth, but the melee combat has to be better than this. Something's gotta give.
The real kicker is when I was finishing off the original 1000 gamerscore and doing the heist missions. I wanted to strangle Bishop whenever she said "Think of this as a training run. I've needlessly added new chests to spice things up. You'll need to choose the right chest". And just my luck, in my first two or so similar heists, the LAST chest that I opened ended up being the right chest.
AC Liberation: 3.5 / 5
AC Black Flag: 4/5
AC Revelations: 4/5
AC Brotherhood: 3/5
Assassin's Creed 2: 4/5
Assassin's Creed 1: 2/5
AC Unity: 2.5 / 5
If someone took me aside and said: "Hey Montresor, do yourself a favour buddy, don't even bother going for the following achievements:
Collect every chest
Collect every cockade
Collect every sync point / upgrade every skill
Complete every co-op mission/heist"
Then I probably would've had a much much more positive outlook on AC Unity.