I played Assassin's Creed: Unity when it first released; I was put off by the glitches and overwhelming number of Ubisoft trademarked open-world filler, and pretty quickly shelved it. I've been a fan of the series since waiting for the first game to come out, but since my initial experience with this game I've not given it much attention.
Anyway, I just returned home from a couple of months of travel, and spent about half that time in and around Paris. Seeing France, learning its history and language, it inspired me to give this another shot. And I'm loving it.
The glitches seem for the most part fixed, the framerate is reasonably steady, and I'm playing with the light HUD, meaning I've stripped away the mini-map and its constant nudges towards mindless filler content, so all I'm left with is a beautiful full screen of 18th century Paris. And it really is beautiful; after having spent so long in the city today, it's really added to my appreciation of what Ubisoft have realised here. From the stained glass of Notre-Dame to the weathered sign of a Boulangerie, every minute detail of the city is realised with so much care and attention. I think I'd enjoy myself even if all I had to do was roam the streets of Paris.
But I'm enjoying the game itself, too. I'm pretty much just ploughing through the main story, not letting myself get bogged down by character customisation or side-missions, and it's fantastic. It's a game about assassination, and for someone who was put off by AC4's meandering into pirate simulator territory, it's nice to finally have an iteration of the series focused around scaling beautiful buildings and jumping off them onto unsuspecting targets. I don't think I've enjoyed an Assassin's Creed game this much since AC2.
The setting of the French Revolution is great (although it could be better tied into the plot, right now I think I'm halfway through and it seems very periphery for such a world changing event) and I'm enjoying the story and characters; playing with the French dub and English subtitles is really adding to the immersion for me.
I'm just left wondering what the opinion of others towards the game is now, almost two years after release? It's rare that I see much aside from scorn for the game, so I'm glad that despite that I decided to give the game a chance again and appreciate it for the things it gets so, so right.
Anyway, I just returned home from a couple of months of travel, and spent about half that time in and around Paris. Seeing France, learning its history and language, it inspired me to give this another shot. And I'm loving it.
The glitches seem for the most part fixed, the framerate is reasonably steady, and I'm playing with the light HUD, meaning I've stripped away the mini-map and its constant nudges towards mindless filler content, so all I'm left with is a beautiful full screen of 18th century Paris. And it really is beautiful; after having spent so long in the city today, it's really added to my appreciation of what Ubisoft have realised here. From the stained glass of Notre-Dame to the weathered sign of a Boulangerie, every minute detail of the city is realised with so much care and attention. I think I'd enjoy myself even if all I had to do was roam the streets of Paris.
But I'm enjoying the game itself, too. I'm pretty much just ploughing through the main story, not letting myself get bogged down by character customisation or side-missions, and it's fantastic. It's a game about assassination, and for someone who was put off by AC4's meandering into pirate simulator territory, it's nice to finally have an iteration of the series focused around scaling beautiful buildings and jumping off them onto unsuspecting targets. I don't think I've enjoyed an Assassin's Creed game this much since AC2.
The setting of the French Revolution is great (although it could be better tied into the plot, right now I think I'm halfway through and it seems very periphery for such a world changing event) and I'm enjoying the story and characters; playing with the French dub and English subtitles is really adding to the immersion for me.
I'm just left wondering what the opinion of others towards the game is now, almost two years after release? It's rare that I see much aside from scorn for the game, so I'm glad that despite that I decided to give the game a chance again and appreciate it for the things it gets so, so right.