Assassin's Creed Unity Reviews
For a series that's tackled colonial America, the high seas, and the Italian renaissance, Assassin's Creed Unity manages to keep it fresh. It has enough going for it to make it worth a purchase for the discerning gamer who may or may not still be suffering from the trauma of rote learning every detail of the French Revolution for academic purposes. Well worth the price of admission, and then some.
And not to say it's without its faults, as noted with some minor, yet impactful, movement snags and a dated combat system. Visually it sometimes seemed as though there were textures in lower resolution, more so in cut-scenes, and I also experienced significant load time a lot which broke the immersion element. The overall experience delivered significantly outweighs any of the negatives mentioned though.
Once I was done observing from afar and directly interacting with the world, the persistent problems reared their ugly heads. Assassin's Creed Unity's attractiveness is only skin deep.
Despite the "been there done that" feeling you'll get in the first few hours, it almost feels like a new starting point for the series, and I'm ok with that.
Although Assassin's Creed Unity doesn't reach the same heights of last year's Black Flag, it definitely screams next-gen, however it is plagued by some graphical bugs and occasional slowdowns. Thankfully this doesn't hamper the gameplay experience too much.
What could have been the definitive entry in the Assassin's Creed series is actually the definitive example as to why releasing an unfinished product is always a bad call. Assassin's Creed Unity has all the makings of an expansive, ambitious title that fully takes advantage of current generation technology, but it's marred with countless imperfections.
As of this writing, Ubisoft has created a live blog that promises to address all of the technical issues that is plaguing their high profile game. Considering their misplaced priorities, however, they hardly deserve a pass for releasing Assassin's Creed Unity in the miserable shape that it's in, which damages both this decent entry in the series as well as the very AC brand itself.
While I was not on board with Assassin's Creed Unity from the announcement to the moment I started playing, I have to say I was pleasantly surprised with the level of enjoyment I have consistently had with the title. It all feels like this is my assassin right from the very beginning of the game. While this was not something I have been asking for, I am most certainly excited to see where things progress with future installments. Who knows, maybe I will eventually be able to be the assassin in the game… told you I might need to get out more.
In doing this, Unity is not the huge leap forward that a next-gen Assassin's Creed promised it would be - rather it's a familiar adventure dressed in exceptional decoration. The artistry to be found in Paris far outweighs the by-the-numbers story. In essence it's more Assassin's Creed, then - that will tell you all you need to know if you're mulling over a purchase. Perhaps this is why this Assassin's Creed feels as though, like its time-spanning storyline, it has one foot in the future and one in the past.
Take to the streets of Paris and experience the Revolution, assassin style.
Wandering around Paris is a real treat, visually the game looks great and Ubisoft Montréal has done a solid job of the visual and audio design. The crowds chatter away in French, adding a backdrop to the scene, while events of significance are spoken in English, allowing you to quickly pick them out. In terms of content, the main game was really enjoyable, while the sheer breadth of side content borders on intimidating.
A reboot and evolution in one gorgeous package, that unfortunately didn't get a full pass through QA testing.
Assassin's Creed: Unity would already be a mediocre game, but the quality of this PC port brings the series to new lows.
Despite some good ideas and an entertaining tale, this isn't a revolution for the franchise. Considering the hype and the promises made compared to the final experience, it actually feels like a step backwards.
Assassin’s Creed: Unity is an evolution of the franchise’s core in every way, but its next step into the next generation is a problematic one. Whilst Unity offers an amazing environment, great gameplay and a great atmosphere, its technical issues hold this good game from being great. Unity may not be the most stable and technically-refined title on current generation hardware, but once you overlook technical difficulties and its lackluster narrative, you'll without a doubt have an amazing time with it.
Many have complained about the number of glitches within Assassin's Creed: Unity, and while I have experienced some myself, the game is still playable and fun at that. It's got a solid core and I've enjoyed the story, but I feel like Ubisoft completely dropped the ball with some aspects. The connectivity they've forced upon players is just a major drag on the game and I feel cheated that because of their broken systems, I am unable to participate in every piece of Unity. If you can get past that, however, you'll certainly enjoy the game.
Assassin's Creed Unity makes me sad. Boasting moments of excellence, it falls way short of being the new-gen Assassin's Creed game that I wanted. Regrettably, it's no French Revolution. It's still fun, but screw it. Off with its head!
It stumbles out of the gates, but underneath the issues lies a pretty good experience that I would hope will get better with patches.
Overall Assassin's Creed Unity is by far my favorite total experience in the series. While not without flaws, the story, acting, and content packed into the disc is pretty incredible, and will keep you busy for quite some time. While yes, it's a bit disappointing to see microtransactions show up, they're entirely optional, and the technical hiccups are there but easy to look past. Unity stands as move forward, and proves that even without awesome ship combat, we can get a great game about the order of Assassins.
Unity simply isn't ready for release. The majority of its new systems aren't refined enough, and its existing ones are showing their age. It's still intermittently enjoyable, but a serious step down from last year's Black Flag.