Assassin’s Creed Unity was riddled with bugs and glitches that made it a pain to play, and a laughingstock of the game industry. With so many problems, I can’t blame fans for being nervous and skeptical about the new installment, Assassin’s Creed Syndicate.
However, despite the series’ rough patches in the past, Assassin’s Creed Syndicate may be the Assassin’s Creed game to play. Here’s why:
It has a different developer
Contrary to the other Assassin’s Creed games, Syndicate is in development by Ubisoft Quebec, not Ubisoft. The company has blatantly stated that they know what is wrong with the series and intend to do their best to fix it.
In an interview with Game Informer, creative director Marc-Alexis Côté stated:
“We’re doing playtests earlier than we’ve ever done them and integrating the feedback into the experience. Not to say we weren’t doing playtests in the past, but we’re doing them much earlier and play-testing the entire experience. This is all stuff we’re doing to ensure that players can be happy on day one, and say how great a game this is.”
With a fresh set of eyes working on the series, the game will have a uniqueness never seen in the franchise, one that should make this installment stand out from the others.
The characters have been improved
Evie Frye
Assassin’s Creed fans were very disappointed, and a bit baffled, when Ubisoft stated Assassin’s Creed Unity wouldn’t have a female base for multiplayer. Assassin’s Creed Syndicate decided to take that into account. Not only can you play as Jacob Frye, you can play as his twin sister, Evie Frye.
To put it simply, Evie looks amazing. She knows how to kick some butt and doesn’t seem to be sexualized or undermined in any way. Honestly, I can’t wait to play as her, and I’m happy the developer is taking fans wishes into account and diversifying the protagonists of their games.
Both characters are playable
According to the Assassin’s Creed website, the game will have missions specific for each character – Evie being more stealth based than her brother, who focuses on brute strength. As Jeff Skalski, the senior producer of Ubisoft put it, Jacob is the rebel and Evie is more reserved.
In free-roam, the player is allowed to choose either character to explore and get collectibles with. Being able to play as both characters allows for more diverse gameplay, and more interesting gameplay. Players won’t be stuck with one boring character throughout the events of the game, they’ll be able to choose their favorite and use them to make things more interesting.
Inclusion of a transgender character
In a recent press release by Ubisoft, it was announced that there would be a transgender character by the name of Ned Wynert. He is a trans man who will act as a supporting character and a quest giver. His connection to Jacob and Evie and how extensive his role actually is remains unclear.
While other AAA games have included LGBT characters in the past (The Last of Us, Mortal Kombat X, Dragon Age: Inquisition), this is a huge step forward for diversity within the Assassin’s Creed series. They have included a female character, a playable female character, and now a transgender character.
It speaks volumes to me and makes me want to play the game even more.
The story is getting revamped
It’s not centered on revenge
In an IGN exclusive video featuring Assassin’s Creed Syndicate, the developer stated that the game will not be another revenge story; it will be a tale of siblings (Evie and Jacob).
According to the video, the two characters will be vastly different, which will make the game, and playing as both characters, very interesting.
Previous revenge stories in the series have flopped (AC3, AC Unity). Since Syndicate will differ from them, hopefully it won’t be as bad.
Not to mention, brother/sister stories can go many different ways. IGN’s video states that the two will have an almost sibling rivalry, continuously pushing each other to be better. Because of the banter and interactions between the siblings, the game should also be less cryptic than Assassin’s Creed games in the past.
Stopping a rogue Templar gang
In the new trailer for the story, fans got a feel for the countless villains they will be fighting and stopping throughout the story. In between Jacob’s quips, the trailer shows that players will be stopping a treacherous Templar gang from ruling the streets of London in future generations.
This outlook has not been seen in many of the earlier AC games, where events took place over multiple years during the course of a revolution. Syndicate will be a new type of story and, hopefully, a more interesting one. Either way, it will bring something fresh to a series that has spent a little too much time focusing on revolutions in the previous iterations.
A fresh time period and setting
Assassin’s Creed Syndicate takes place in London during the Industrial Revolution. While a lot of the newest Assassin’s Creed games have taken place during revolutions of some sort (the American Revolution and the French Revolution), the Industrial Revolution will be completely different. Syndicate will not take place during a war, so the game won’t be strings of battle after battle.
You are the leader of a gang
Evie and Jacob will be leading their gang, the Rooks. Not only is this just a cool idea in general, but it allows a player to have a lot of extra help on hand.
In the aforementioned Game Informer interview, Côté stated that the gang would move with you, even within main missions. And they won’t just be another set of stupid AI bots:
“One of the things that’s cool with that is that they are aware. Say you’ve got five Rooks with you, and you move onto a growler. A growler has four seats, including the driver’s seat – so there’s only space for three Rooks. One goes into the passenger seat, two come into the carriage, and the other two will actually steal another cart and join you. So you really have the impression that you are moving with your gang and that you can use them to attack your target, invade another borough, even in the main missions.”
London is awesome
Who isn’t looking forward to hearing assassins (and all the other characters for that matter) with British accents? I’m looking forward to it, and I’ve never met anyone with an affinity for such accents.
Not to mention London is beautiful. The scenery is absolutely amazing and, without a doubt, gorgeous. It should be a great time, being able to explore such a wonderful setting.
There’s no multiplayer
By not putting so much focus on the multiplayer aspect of the game, the single player experience should be so much better. This means no glitches, no bugs…none of the nonsense that occurred in AC Unity.
Hopefully, this will also mean a more well-rounded game with no crappy, pointless missions (like chasing down a hot air balloon), and intuitive gameplay.
Marc-Alexis Côté explained this choice in his interview as well:
“It’s really about returning to our roots. Returning to what made this series such a success. For us, it’s truly the single-player experience, and investing in that that’s going to make Assassin’s Creed feel more modern and fresh for our players.”
Final Notes
There is no guarantee Assassin’s Creed Syndicate will be that great. It could be a flop. However, with Ubisoft Quebec taking the reigns on this project and the good direction they seem to be moving in, the game could actually live up to its hype.
Assassin’s Creed Syndicate releases October 23 for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC.
Be sure to let us know whether you agree or disagree in the comments below!
Published: Sep 25, 2015 04:21 pm