Now Playing: Assassins Creed Syndicate

This Jacob is a lie, but we'll get to that later...

I know its been a while since I did one of these, but every time I start typing one up, it gets side-tracked by a bigger issue until I'm just not playing X game anymore, or I'm not in the mood to blog. However this time, I've got one I'd love to discuss about getting into: AC Syndicate. I left the AC series after Black Flag. Really AC is the fastest I've ever had a series go downhill in my book though. AC Brotherhood was my introduction, and an incredible game that had me hooked and thrilled constantly. I ignored much of the side stuff, but I still loved the way everything worked so much that the hours and fun rolled on by. Revelations? Fun at first, but damn did something just get dull and dry about it. I can't tell you why aside from the aesthetic, but it just fell way out of interest. AC3? Holy shit dude, longest tutorial ever and gameplay that removed just as much as it added. AC4? Lets take the most overrated element of AC3 and theme the game around it, force on ship stealth that makes no sense, and then go all generic on land because we don't know what kind of game we want to make. That's what their thought process looked to be in my eyes, and the people demanding the naval combat be its own game are probably on the right path (not that I'd play it, but keep it out of AC and focus on making that better). Considering I only ever finished AC brotherhood, and saw Unity coming around the corner stripping away even more features (not mad about the ship though, thanks for throwing that out), I found it time to pack up and move away from the series. I'm late into buying Syndicate though, because between the lack of "8GB patch" news, some actually positive reviews, and a theme I'm most curious about (as well as the continued lack of naval combat. I can't believe people actually like real-time trajectory combat with awful steering). I was getting into an AC mood again, and things just pointed me in that direction. So on a $20 off sale, I got on it.

What do I think so far? Its good. I wont pretend its anything more or less, but I'm having a good time with it. It meets a weird middle ground that feels very familiar out of Ubisoft. Its not quite as strong as Witcher 3's open world (almost nothing really is), but definitely far more engaging and interesting unlike Just Cause 3. Its pretty much a tiny step up from most AC's past in that regard, not exactly connecting you to "find mystical armor piece number 5/8" but rather asking that you bump into Charles Dickens for another Ghost Club hunt and along the way helping him will give you a rare item. The combination of map clutter, but useful story interactions within a believable, suiting, and dynamic world all make for a game that is just half-addictive to play regardless of the quality in any given moment. One moment you'll be heading towards your next mission, then you suddenly see a cart to hijack that pays in that resource you want. Then you find yourself on the other side of the map, but oh hey there's a fast travel point I can go unlock. Now back onto the story, right? Oh, no there's a crate over there that may or may not contain a rare item. Darn, now the train vault is full and I have to go empty it... oh, but I'm rich enough to buy that cape I want with money to spare. 10 minutes later in menu management and planning with your character customization, then you'll be asking yourself about if that mission is worth chasing after again, or if you'll just go save some children or talk with Charles Dickens again. That's how so much of my time so far is going, and I really don't think I've gotten nearly as far as I should have in the main story. Oh and the intrusive meta plot has stuck to quick cut-scenes so far, so that's nice.

So much to see in London

So what about the core gameplay? Yeah its alright. I know the grappling feature has been a love it or hate it kind of thing, but I'm on the love side of it. There's still plenty of climbing around, and its effective enough, but if you just want a quick and stylish exit or roof crossing its there. I welcome the feature, and I'm really not too certain about why climbing buildings is such a romanticized feature anyway (3D platformer fan here, jumping on things has had more interesting gameplay before). There's also the new sneak function, which is okay. Its pretty much a crouch button with an extra stealth indicator. My only issue with this is that not using it removes the classic AC hooded look, which is a shame. I also love that jumping has an up and down function, even if it doesn't always make a lot of sense, it does in fact work well more so than what I remember of AC3 & 4. I have some mixed feelings about some of the extra stuff in the interface and meta-gaming though. The best part is that financing things is sort of back, with a time themed vault and some gang upgrades to improve it. You now have a leveling system in place for both enemies and characters, artificially gating off areas and items. The list of unlocks is interesting, but as always I'm asking myself if the game would have been just better if you just give me the stuff. Funnily enough though, AC may prove that wrong, as one of the easier unlocks is automatic looting. Looting has been a mild chore for the entire series up until this point, so... yeah, guess its hard to argue that this system is making it harder on us. Still that kind of thing bugs me a bit and I still can't help but wonder why something like the kidnap function had to be invented with an annoyance, only so you can get rid of that annoyance by upgrading it away 3 hours into the game. Furthermore they dragged the process out in one of the weirdest ways possible. Traditionally you get a skillpoint when you level up, but now you get XP, and then that XP gets you skill points, and then you need to spend skill points up to a certain point to level up. So the entire leveling, gating, and enemy combat system is all based on whether or not you spend the last two points required on something like taking less fall damage. Seriously guys!? I love that I'm working on upgrading these assassins now, but this system could still use some serious polish before I see it as a true upgrade for the franchise.

Meanwhile combat is another weird change, but not so bad. Combat was at its best in the AC2 arc and its probably going to stay that way. You had a real health system to keep up with as well as armor, you had your tools and weapons that were numerous enough to form an actual wheel, and then you had a large variety of raw brawling capabilities ranging from the stunt and counters that carried over to the more interesting stuff like grabs, disarming, dust throwing, I think blocking, and grabs had their own separate action wheel. I think AC3 made tool use a bit better, but aside from that I can only remember them taking away various things that made combat feel so interesting. That certainly helped me dislike the last two games I had played. Here in Syndicate they at least owned up to the fact that their new streamlined combat sucked, and decided to rip off someone that did streamlined melee combat better; its the "batman" system now. I'm kind of alright with that, because while I don't like batman and think AC has had better ideas before, it at least actually makes sense in what they originally wanted to do with streamlining combat. You've still got a lot of complex things to worry about within combat, its kind of difficult when you lose focus (as it should be), and they polished it well enough that it looks and plays fine enough. Plus there's kidnapping now, and fists feel like a fair trade off with the new knock-out function that emphasizes stealth. Then its all neatly tidy in the interface, and easy for players of all kinds to grasp and learn while still keeping you on your toes in challenge.

Finally, lets talk polish, story, and other extras (I tried wrapping this up into one praragraph, but its just not going to work. Sorry). Story so far is interesting, but mostly just a set-up as far as I'm concerned with it as of now. You're given an intro with an Indian assassin Green (very nice detail, as the two nations were certainly connected in this time period, and I don't think it was for the better considering the imperialistic attitude of Britain at the time) who is calling out for desperate help... after being tired of the last calls being ignored. From then on and numerous times, London is built up to be an assassin's nightmare. Its a cruel world heavily fortified by the Templars, with an evil master-mind using London's high power and trade connections to aim for ruling the entire world. Your boss scoffs at the very idea of going there, but you soon find your two characters really don't care and gladly set off against orders. You meet with Green who believes you're there to answer for the letters, which I guess sets up potential for an interesting internal conflict within your own group later on. Its pretty cool. Aside from that, the story has mostly just been about clearing white chapel, and searching for either the mystical treasure or stopping some messed up syrup.

The character swapping is also handled well, with each getting their own story arc, and having different preferences and goals in mind. I definitely like Evie more, because between her more thoughtful attitude, and the fact that Jacob follows the Edward Kenway mentality of looking like more of a street bum with an expensive jacket rather than an assassin, I definitely find myself playing Evie more. She's got the more classic looking robe, the customizable cape, the color variants suit her more, and she... just looks more like assassin material. Don't believe the marketing or stock picture look of Jacob sporting the hooded assassin style, he looks nothing like that in most of the game. Sure I suppose you can mock me and say I'd rather dress like the girl, but she's more like the personality and style of what you'd expect from a game called Assassins Creed.

Well, they're both fun characters in the end

As for polish and presentation, well its kind of mediocre for an AAA game, but its passable. The graphics aren't as wonderful as everyone hyped it up, it looks pretty much like a better textured version of AC4 with a dirtier environment. The glitches pop in mostly around character models, with AI bugging out and walking their patrols into a wall, and other character models just deciding to bug out or animate weirdly to begin with. On the very first mission I remember seeing a floating hammer going to work in a factory. The worst part though is just the load times. Holy crap, the load times are quite the thing I didn't expect. I think it beats out Witcher 3 by a few minutes, and I sadly find myself using load times more. I've found myself at least twice actually walking away to browse the web or get something, and by the time it loads I actually forgot I was waiting on it rather than merely pausing the game for a while. But hey, at least the presentation is excellent. I do really mean excellent, at least until we get to the enemies. Kids walk the street alongside adults, people talk with each other and ask "excuse me young man, where's the nearest haberdashery". There are thieves and dynamic events unfolding. Carriages fill the streets in various shapes, sizes, and passengers. Your own gang walks around (more if you own more territory) and join in on the fights you may start. You have cops patrolling, and usually some questionable ones guarding gang territories. Sometimes they choose to fight you, other times they'll be a total 3rd party and jump in on bashing bad guys. Oh, and the music! Its one of the best scores I think I've heard in a game since... well, Witcher 3 (I don't know why I keep bringing that up, but its fitting). Its not the kind of stuff I'd listen to on its own, but still its phenominal as a game piece. Violin-centric, and constantly moving in a steady or suspenseful rythem that suits the moment. The music works almost like its attached to the world, sweeping you into awe as you gaze from a building peak, strumming a dramatic melody as you rope around to your objective, or occasionally surprising you with an enchanting operatic piece in idle street travel time. The music is just excellent, and the best thing from AC's stuff alongside the unique Revelations theme, and the singing pirates of Black Flag. The only real flaw I have with the general presentation comes when you notice the enemy models. Its been so long since I think I was consciously away of repetitive faces. Its like a PS2 grade effect honestly. Every women watchguard looks the same, every brute is the same bald headed burly man, your targets are usually one of the same models simply dressed in stuff that honestly looks like SS Nazi uniforms, and the random grunts seem to be whoever is wearing a bowler cap in between. The riflemen and brutes especially carry the problem, being obvious standouts that seem to have a thousand identical clones.

At the end of the day, this is still what I said... a good game. Its not changing my mind on my GOTY ideas for last year, but its a fun game worth the money I paid for it. Its got some silly stuff about it, and some things I disagree with it on, but I find myself still well hooked into it. Honestly I'd rather be playing it, but I've been a write-o-holic lately and feel a "now playing" is owed. It has that fitting match of formula that is somehow a bit outdated, yet manages to suck me in and do its job anyway. I kind of like Ubisoft for being able to pull that off, but they felt to be pushing away from me with poor decisions in the franchise. After giving it a bit of time off though, I feel welcomed back in with a melting pot of changes and familiarity. I can get over the faults well enough to get to the enjoyment in the series. Its fun sneaking around, surprise jumping enemies from cable shots, hijacking carriages for loot, gaining territory and gang power, and being a part of a tale with so many fascinating characters in the unique historic fiction landscape that AC is good at. Oh and there's no awful naval combat in sight. Yeah I'm not going to let that slide, I don't get why everyone likes that mode, but I certainly don't. The best thing to come out of AC4 was a singing crew and tropical environment, the ship stuff itself just drove me to be annoyed. Syndicate is better off on land, with rich and interesting London streets, sporadic carriage chases, grappling around tall buildings, listening to awesome violin scores, and bladed canes slapping the bowler caps off of gangs.



Its good to be back with the creed