Nearly a year ago, I played and reviewed Assassin’s Creed Unity, scoring it a 7 out of 10 due to all the bugs, long load times and technical issues in the game. I assumed that if everything were fixed, I would probably rate higher. With all the patches done and dusted for the game and the newest installment of the franchise launching this week, it seemed like a good opportunity to jump back into Paris and see if it’s better or worse than I remember.
Certain things were certain to stay the same – Arno as a character is still less than memorable and the story in general leaves quite a bit to be desired. What I found rather strange was just how much of the map I had yet to explore from my original play through. Sure, the Paris that Ubisoft created was stunning with detail and I loved the crowds of people, but when I played the game last year, I managed to complete the entire story without setting foot in a bunch of the areas on the map. While I’m always happy to hear about games with massive maps and tons to do, it ended up feeling like padding rather than expansive gameplay to have so many areas in the game that were hardly differentiated from each other.
The gameplay is still much of the same although I found myself doing less assassinating than I would have wanted considering the game is called Assassin’s Creed. My favourite aspect of the game is still the emergent gameplay thanks to crowd events. Sure, there are the typical “catch that thief” chase and tackle moments, but I adore stopping the random criminals from bullying innocent people on the street by casually walking past and killing them. Peace is found at the end of a hidden blade, it seems.
Most notable for me was the fact that the bugs all seem to be gone. Obviously, I didn’t play through the entire game again, and there might still be areas where the game is glitchy and frame rates slow to a crawl, but in running around the city and getting up to sandbox shenanigans, I didn’t experience any of the issues that I did last year.
So, while the bugs seem to be gone, the weird animations during parkour and the clunky combat still feel alien. Added to that is the fact that most of the sandbox activities simply aren’t interesting enough to make me want to explore every nook and cranny of the city to see what I might find. Instead, I found myself mopping up a few smaller missions, opening the odd chest, encountering a bunch that couldn’t be opened without doing something on the companion app or via the Initiates system (despite the need for that actually being patched out in February,) and losing interest.
Even taking over the various regions simply didn’t hold my attention, mostly because I’d forgotten it essentially meant renovating a building and then doing a less-than-inspired mission.
So, with Assassin’s Creed Syndicate almost upon us, Assassin’s Creed Unity should see a major price drop. You’ll probably be able to pick it up for a bargain, and it will certainly offer you plenty of hours of gameplay, some of which is still truly fun – the fact that you can’t desynchronize in the same way during missions really does make it feel like players have free reign to play their own way.
However, this wasn’t the glorious Assassin’s Creed experience that we were all promised, and with most people moving on to bigger and better titles, I’ll wager that you’ll struggle to find any co-op partners to play with. Still, if you can pick the game up for cheap and go in with relatively low expectations, you might find a rather fun game. That said, of the two Assassin’s Creed games released last year, I still think you’ll have a better time just playing Assassin’s Creed Rogue instead.
Last Updated: October 21, 2015
HairyEwok
October 21, 2015 at 12:10
So, the previous game is finally ready to play just as the next one is getting ready to be released?
Hammersteyn
October 21, 2015 at 12:21
R5, no more
Grand Admiral Chief
October 21, 2015 at 12:21
I’d go as high as R10, BUT NO MORE
Hammersteyn
October 21, 2015 at 12:24
The game and series as a whole left one with a feeling of having a big bowl of coco pops and pouring sour milk over it.
Grand Admiral Chief
October 21, 2015 at 12:36
Interesting analogy, I fear you are correct
Rock789
October 21, 2015 at 13:45
You take that back! How dare you soil the memory of coco-pops like that! 😉 :p
Hammersteyn
October 21, 2015 at 14:08
hahahaha
Hammersteyn
October 21, 2015 at 12:21
The game might get a price drop, but I bet all the DLC and MT will still cost the same
WitWolfy
October 21, 2015 at 12:29
At least the story DLC is free… FOREVER!
Hammersteyn
October 21, 2015 at 12:30
that’s cool
Rock789
October 21, 2015 at 13:57
I reinstalled ACIV recently – feel like playing it again (was a great game!). That is a 2 year old game… And I can see the DLC is still priced close to the original (R199 to ‘unlock’ all blueprints?! What the actual?!)… I mean, the game itself is still R499 on PSN (compare that to XBL where it was R149 a month ago)…
And AC:Unity’s price on PSN? R399… Lol. Guess that says it all – already cheaper than its predecessor.
Nikola
October 21, 2015 at 14:37
Man Black Flag is awesome what a GAME!!! You play Unity? I am probably still going to pick it up since I want to play the new one!
Rock789
October 21, 2015 at 14:47
It was, wasn’t it? SO looking forward to getting stuck in again. May even dust off the ol’ PS3 and pick up AC:Rogue, seeing as it’s so similar to ACIV.
I did get to try AC:Unity… Only tried it out – never actually spent more than an hour with it. And, gotta be honest, it seemed fine. It didn’t grab me like ACIV, but I don’t think I played it for long enough to get an overall impression. May pick it up after I’m done with ACIV again. But I must be honest – AC:Syndicate intrigues me more than AC:Unity… I’d quite like to get that.
WitWolfy
October 21, 2015 at 12:27
The game was never THAT broken… I only had a 2 or 3 game breaking glitches in my +/-20 hours forcing me to redo a section… Nothing that me flip a table.
Nikola
October 21, 2015 at 14:37
How did you rate the game? I want to pick it up is it worth a playthrough?
keironsmith123
October 21, 2015 at 21:43
I would give it a 9/10, i’m just finishing it up now and i’ve had a fantastic time with it.
WitWolfy
October 22, 2015 at 07:45
I give it a solid 8 to be honest. The MP story mode is awesome, pacing is great and the chemestry between Arno and Kate dont feel forced. I recommend picking it up if you see it in the bargain bin. If you do indeed get it then let me know, I still have a few MP stories I’d like to tackle again.
It’s really not such a bad game, and graphics really are AMAZING.
Nikola
October 22, 2015 at 10:03
Brilliant thanks so much for this! Yeah I am definitely be getting it just waiting on AC syndicate to drops so the price drops on Unity then will pick it up for sure!
I will let you know for sure when I get it want to do those as well, you on PS4?
WitWolfy
October 22, 2015 at 10:29
Yea PS4! My Xbox One is for exclusives only.
Nikola
October 22, 2015 at 10:31
Add me on PSN Nikola_Domazet
oVg
October 21, 2015 at 12:40
They need to fix the collision detection of combat to Shadow of Mordor level otherwise the combat is dated.
Milesh Bhana
October 21, 2015 at 13:18
i recently started playing Unity, and so far, i’m really enjoying it.
But it comes nowhere close to Black Flag.
Nikola
October 21, 2015 at 14:35
I am definelty going to pick it up just waiting on the price drop even more now when new one comes out, I feel bad skipping the game in the franchise even though story is separate! Very glad to hear all the bugs are gone that was still worrying me quite a bit!
Fox1 - Retro
October 21, 2015 at 15:38
There’s more bad than good in your re-review.
keironsmith123
October 21, 2015 at 21:42
I’m actaully playing it right now, i’m on the last mission. I would actaully say its my 2nd favorite AC game (Black Flag being top), i love the city and visuals, the free running is much better and the missions are great. Such a shame they screwed it up upon release because now that the bugs are gone its actaully a pretty great game.