By Reece Merryweather-Brown
Well, it's been a while since the next gen's been out now. Christmas has passed and in its wake, many a happy child/adolescent/man has clutched a videogame to their chest in glee. So before you go out and buy one of those new-fangled pieces of tech, I think it'd be a good idea to take a little look at a game that you should definitely play before you leave it all behind.
Well, it's been a while since the next gen's been out now. Christmas has passed and in its wake, many a happy child/adolescent/man has clutched a videogame to their chest in glee. So before you go out and buy one of those new-fangled pieces of tech, I think it'd be a good idea to take a little look at a game that you should definitely play before you leave it all behind.
The Assassin’s Creed franchise has been around for quite some time, starting in the early days of the current gen (you feel old? Me neither.) We’ve been in the shoes of quite a few stabby-murdery heroes, starting with Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad. Then we moved onto the flamboyant nobleman, Ezio Auditore da Firenze, who we stayed with for three decent, to great, to forgettable entries into the franchise. At which point a team at Ubi began working on another game, different to the others. We were presented with ACIII. Playing as Connor Kenway, or Ratohnhake:ton we were granted with an enjoyable yet very buggy game. ACIV: Black Flag is the cumulative knowledge that all these games have brought us. And it is magnificent.
Set in the glory days of pirates, buccaneers and privateers, you, Edward Kenway (Connor’s Grampy) after learning of a mysterious place, must risk life and limb in the pursuit of it, all in the name of personal glory and riches. You’ll meet Templars, Assassin’s, famous pirates (freakin’ Blackbeard) and of course, you’ll be fighting British people. Oh and Spanish people are the bad guys too. Share the hate.
Surprisingly though, you’re not an Assassin. Honestly. Yes, I did read the game case. Which is what makes the game so much better. You’re free from the Creed, and while it’s still frowned upon going around mercilessly ending the lives of innocents it’s not about fighting for a higher purpose. You are your own man, and you get so much more freedom this way. And with a map as big as this it’s utterly brilliant.
Combat’s much the same as its predecessor, although much harder. You have to be a lot better at timing your counters and you don’t have all eternity to decide what to do with them afterwards. There are also fewer enemy types but no loss of the old ones special abilities. So now, while you have less to remember, what you do have to remember is much harder. Officers are much more like the Jaeger’s from the previous game and the Heavy Axe-men have merged with the Officer class, for a much tougher enemy. There are some problems, such as the lack of weaponry. There’s no knives save the singular knife you can steal off the corpse of an agile to throw and no tomahawks. You can forget about having an axe on your belt, as the only weapons you can actually use to hit people with are your swords, fists and blades. And while this does seem disappointing at first, it allowed the creators to do a lot more, while having a lot less. What I’m saying is quality over quantity people, and the different types of weaponry have allowed them to almost completely change the ancestor’s moves.
The main thing about this game is not the combat though, nor is it the ridiculous joy you get while simply running through forests, cities and even ships. It is your boat, the Jackdaw. You’ll most likely be spending more time on this ship than on dry land, (well, I did at least) as it’s practically your only means of transport other than your own two feet (bye-bye horsey.) Now, instead of having to launch a mission to steer your ship through the restricted high-seas, you can simply hop onto your ship to explore the vast ocean. From small islands to sprawling cities, the game world has never felt so alive in any previous Assassin’s Creed instalment. I honestly do not believe that there’s a better game, or will be a better game for quite some time where you feel like an actual goddamn pirate. I mean who doesn’t want to be a pirate? Hey, you wanna go plunder that ship? Sure, the game’s not gonna stop you. Wanna go treasure hunting? Go right ahead, we’ll tell you everything you need to know in the first four sequences or so.
This game is what happens when someone at Ubisoft goes ‘Hey, y’know that game that everyone loved that we made? Far Cry 3. Yeah, let’s mash that with ACIII, give the player more freedom and see what we get.’ To you sir I say bravo. The setting and crafting of things brings back so many fond memories and it just reinforces the game for you, being able to almost guess and recall how certain things work and will work without having to get to grips with completely knew gameplay mechanics.
The bottom line is if you even slightly enjoyed the Assassin’s Creed games and/or Far Cry 3, then you are going to absolutely adore this one. With crisp visuals (and I’m talking about the PS3 version), fluent combat system, intriguing and well-developed characters and a world so full of stuff to do it’s as plentiful as, well GTA V, you’ll never truly feel like you’ve ‘done it all.’
Set in the glory days of pirates, buccaneers and privateers, you, Edward Kenway (Connor’s Grampy) after learning of a mysterious place, must risk life and limb in the pursuit of it, all in the name of personal glory and riches. You’ll meet Templars, Assassin’s, famous pirates (freakin’ Blackbeard) and of course, you’ll be fighting British people. Oh and Spanish people are the bad guys too. Share the hate.
Surprisingly though, you’re not an Assassin. Honestly. Yes, I did read the game case. Which is what makes the game so much better. You’re free from the Creed, and while it’s still frowned upon going around mercilessly ending the lives of innocents it’s not about fighting for a higher purpose. You are your own man, and you get so much more freedom this way. And with a map as big as this it’s utterly brilliant.
Combat’s much the same as its predecessor, although much harder. You have to be a lot better at timing your counters and you don’t have all eternity to decide what to do with them afterwards. There are also fewer enemy types but no loss of the old ones special abilities. So now, while you have less to remember, what you do have to remember is much harder. Officers are much more like the Jaeger’s from the previous game and the Heavy Axe-men have merged with the Officer class, for a much tougher enemy. There are some problems, such as the lack of weaponry. There’s no knives save the singular knife you can steal off the corpse of an agile to throw and no tomahawks. You can forget about having an axe on your belt, as the only weapons you can actually use to hit people with are your swords, fists and blades. And while this does seem disappointing at first, it allowed the creators to do a lot more, while having a lot less. What I’m saying is quality over quantity people, and the different types of weaponry have allowed them to almost completely change the ancestor’s moves.
The main thing about this game is not the combat though, nor is it the ridiculous joy you get while simply running through forests, cities and even ships. It is your boat, the Jackdaw. You’ll most likely be spending more time on this ship than on dry land, (well, I did at least) as it’s practically your only means of transport other than your own two feet (bye-bye horsey.) Now, instead of having to launch a mission to steer your ship through the restricted high-seas, you can simply hop onto your ship to explore the vast ocean. From small islands to sprawling cities, the game world has never felt so alive in any previous Assassin’s Creed instalment. I honestly do not believe that there’s a better game, or will be a better game for quite some time where you feel like an actual goddamn pirate. I mean who doesn’t want to be a pirate? Hey, you wanna go plunder that ship? Sure, the game’s not gonna stop you. Wanna go treasure hunting? Go right ahead, we’ll tell you everything you need to know in the first four sequences or so.
This game is what happens when someone at Ubisoft goes ‘Hey, y’know that game that everyone loved that we made? Far Cry 3. Yeah, let’s mash that with ACIII, give the player more freedom and see what we get.’ To you sir I say bravo. The setting and crafting of things brings back so many fond memories and it just reinforces the game for you, being able to almost guess and recall how certain things work and will work without having to get to grips with completely knew gameplay mechanics.
The bottom line is if you even slightly enjoyed the Assassin’s Creed games and/or Far Cry 3, then you are going to absolutely adore this one. With crisp visuals (and I’m talking about the PS3 version), fluent combat system, intriguing and well-developed characters and a world so full of stuff to do it’s as plentiful as, well GTA V, you’ll never truly feel like you’ve ‘done it all.’
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