You may think that because of the way I’ve haphazardly been playing this off and on over the last couple of months (or more) that I’ve not been enjoying it, but that’s actually not true. I have enjoyed it quite a lot, it’s just other games have been sidetracking me.
Over the last week I’ve made a conscious effort to “get it done”, in a straightforward way: just the story. I was finding it all too easy to be distracted by side missions and collectables and that in turn was having an effect on how I was following the story (and I do so like to follow stories), which coupled with intermittent play wasn’t conducive to getting through the game. The upshot is, that I barrelled through the last three or four sequences and finished the game.
In many ways, Assassin’s Creed Unity is a return to Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood, with almost all the action taking place in Paris, not unlike how Brotherhood was in Rome. There’s no III/IV/Rogue boating nonsense here – it’s proper back-to-basics assassining which is familiar and fun. A downside is the number of weapons at your disposal are a little reduced, but it doesn’t really suffer for it.
Concentrating on the story allowed me to ignore many of the many hundreds of icons on the map, which clutter the place and make the missions seem unwieldy. Just vantage point, targets and sometimes shops were generally enough, and now I’ve completed the game and acquired a fantastic new sword, I can merrily run around Paris with gay abandon mopping up all the chests, crests, cockades, side missions and other attractions.
So is it any good? A lot of people would tell you no, Unity is not. The story is not especially strong, and the plot muddies the water between assassins and Templars to the point where it doesn’t really matter which side you’re on – both have a stake in the French Revolution (but seemingly for the same reason), and there’s an uneasy truce between the two age-old adversaries for much of the game. In fact, the final boss (spoiler?) would appear to be a Templar working the Order for his own gain, dispatching more of his own “team” than those who would traditionally oppose him. It’s odd, but after previous games it’s something different, I suppose.
Gameplay is the same as before, albeit with the ability to create distraction or assistance opportunities when mounting an attack. Rescue some prisoners and they’ll occupy the guards, for example. There are more “predetermined” methods of offing your mark too, but that flies a bit against the free-form “do it however you want” way of earlier games. You can still do that, but you’re suggested ways of achieving your goal. Perhaps that’s for the casual players or something – I rarely stuck to them.
Graphically it’s a massive leap from Rogue, as you’d expect being on newer hardware, but aside from far more people roaming the streets and a longer draw distance when synchronising viewpoints, it’s not really that important.
I’m not sure where in the hierarchy of Assassin’s Creed games I’d put Unity, but it’s certainly better than III and the first game, of course, and it’s probably the best non-boating one since Brotherhood. In the middle, maybe? It’s certainly pretty good, and I expect many of the complaints at release (bugs and performance issues) simply aren’t there any more. I’ve certainly not seen many – fewer than most titles in the series at least. Assassin’s Creed Unity is definitely recommended, especially if you loved the earlier games.
Here’s my almost complete, spoiler filled playthrough. If you’re interested.
You know what would be a fun article? The differences between this and say, Sonic Boom.
That would be the longest rantiest article ever.
Yeah, but you could just summarize it. BTW have you tried Sonic Axiom (a fan-game)?
I have not. I’ll have a look.
I think a Let’s Play would be a much better summation.
BTW, another Sonic fan-game you might be into is Sonic World.
This week I played some things which people who know me might not expect me to play at all.
Play
Assassin’s Creed Unity (PS4)
I completed it this week, timing it so that I didn’t beat it just before bedtime then have to wait an hour while the credits scrolled, only to find that you can fast forward the credits. They still took ages, mind. After finishing the story I jumped straight back in and started mopping up icons on the map, which means the game must be doing something right or I wouldn’t bother.
Battlefield 4 (PS4)
Look, combined with Battlefield Hardline and some cheap PSN credit, this game set me back just £2.96. Why I actually started playing it though, I don’t know. It took a few hours to download and a few days to install (the wrong way round, surely), but I’m enjoying it enough to continue through it. Apparently the multiplayer mode is great. I don’t care: I won’t be playing it.
Table Top Racing: World Tour (PS4)
Meh. I’m playing through it but I don’t know why. It’s soulless, slow and not a patch on Micro Machines or Trackmania or Revolt.
HYRULE WARRIORS LEGENDS (3DS)
Still so good. I’ve a couple more characters to unlock on the first Adventure Mode map and then I can get back to the Wind Waker one to finish that off.
Kirby: Planet Robobot (3DS)
A surprise Father’s Day present. It’s a lot of fun – proper Dreamland level Kirbying, and the mech suit actually works well. It’s so colourful, and so Nintendo. It’s hard to stop playing but I had to before my battery died.
Doom Demo (PS4)
Fast! Fun! Good! Unexpected!
Lego Star Wars: The Force Awakens Demo (PS4)
It’s Lego and Star Wars. The new feature seems to be building more than one object from the same set of bricks, which is novel if a little confusing. The flying section wasn’t great, though. Still, Lego innit.
Want
Is No Man’s Sky (PS4) out yet? No? Boo. What about Lego Marvel Avengers (PS4)? It is? Should probably get round to buying that then.
Also, thanks to E3, I want The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. But do I want it for the Wii U, or should I wait for the NX? Hmm.
Bin
Still ill.
Expense
Battlefield 4 (PS4) £2.96Battlefield Hardline (PS4) £2.96Kirby: Planet Robobot (3DS) £free
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In 2016, I completed a whopping 110 games. My previous record, because of course I’ve been keeping count, was 84 in 2015. You’d think with a number like that, I’d finally be on top of my backlog, right? Ahahahahano.
I didn’t anticipate completing that many. Like in previous years, I did strive to finish the RetroCollect 52 Game Challenge (which I managed before the end of June) and then expanded that to 104 games just for a laugh (and I sorted that by mid-December), but of course I had to go and beat that too, didn’t I?
There may be some arguments over what constitutes a “game”, and what counts as “completed”. There’s no hard and fast rule, whatever feels right for a title, usually. However, normally a game is “something you play” and “completed” is “reached the final goal”, “got all the achievements” or “watched the end credits” as appropriate.
DLC and addons are usually classed as separate games even if technically they’re not – like Life is Strange episodes, or the Lego Dimensions level packs.
Anyway, here’s the full list of 110:
Fallout 4(PS4 15/01/2016)
Batman Returns(Lynx 24/01/2016)
Grim Fandango Remastered(PS4/Vita 30/01/2016)
Thomas Was Alone: Benjamin’s Flight(Vita 30/01/2016)
Hatoful Boyfriend(Vita 31/01/2016)
Nova-111(PS4 15/02/2016)
Bayonetta(Wii U 15/02/2016)
Sonic the Hedgehog(MS 28/02/2016)
Street Fighter Alpha(GBC 28/02/2016)
Kirby and the Rainbow Paintbrush(Wii U 05/03/2016)
Disney Infinity 3.0(PS4 06/03/2016)
ToeJam and Earl(MD 10/03/2016)
Midnight Resistance(MD 12/03/2016)
Mega-lo-Mania(MD 12/03/2016)
Castle of Illusion(MS 12/03/2016)
Midnight Resistance(Spec 15/03/2016)
Land of Illusion(MS 16/03/2016)
Midnight Resistance(C64 17/03/2016)
Strider(MD 17/03/2016)
Legend of Illusion(MS 19/03/2016)
Batman(MD 19/03/2016)
Castlevania: The New Generation(MD 20/03/2016)
Hyrule Warriors Legends(3DS 28/03/2016)
Puggsy(MCD 02/04/2016)
Time Gal(MCD 02/04/2016)
The Legend of Galahad(MD 03/04/2016)
Lego Lord of the Rings(360 04/04/2016)
Broforce(PS4 05/04/2016)
My Nintendo Picross – The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess(3DS 09/04/2016)
Psycho Fox(MS 10/04/2016)
The Witness(PS4 24/04/2016)
Firewatch(PS4 27/04/2016)
The Beginner’s Guide(Mac 01/05/2016)
Freedom Planet(Wii U 02/05/2016)
Affordable Space Adventures(Wii U 06/05/2016)
Hudson Hawk(GB 07/05/2016)
Streets of Rage 3(MD 07/05/2016)
Sonic 3 & Knuckles(MD 08/05/2016)
LocoRoco Cocoreccho(PS3 13/05/2016)
Magical Flying Hat Turbo Adventure(MD 14/05/2016)
Rainbow Islands(MS 14/05/2016)
Gauntlet 4(MD 18/05/2016)
Star Fox Guard(Wii U 22/05/2016)
Emily is Away(Mac 22/05/2016)
Quiet, Please!(Wii U 26/05/2016)
Quiet Christmas(Wii U 28/05/2016)
Vacation Vexation(Wii U 28/05/2016)
Candy, Please!(Wii U 29/05/2016)
Star Fox Zero(Wii U 03/06/2016)
Teddy Boy(MS 04/06/2016)
James Pond II: Codename Robocod(MD 04/06/2016)
Alex Kidd: The Lost Stars(MS 04/06/2016)
Asterix(MS 11/06/2016)
The Lucky Dime Caper(MS 12/06/2016)
Assassin’s Creed Unity(PS4 13/06/2016)
Kirby: Planet Robobot(3DS 21/06/2016)
The Temple of No(Mac 28/06/2016)
Battlefield 4(PS4 29/06/2016)
Shantae and the Pirate’s Curse(3DS 02/07/2016)
There’s Poop In My Soup(Mac 02/07/2016)
Gunpoint(Mac 29/07/2016)
Missing: An Interactive Thriller – Episode One(Mac 30/07/2016)
McPixel(Mac 03/08/2016)
Beware Planet Earth(PC 15/08/2016)
Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE(Wii U 16/08/2016)
Sakura Spirit(Mac 17/08/2016)
StreetPass Trader(3DS 15/09/2016)
StreetPass Slot Racer(3DS 16/09/2016)
Running Battle(MS 18/09/2016)
Ranma 1/2(SNES 18/09/2016)
StreetPass Explorers(3DS 19/09/2016)
StreetPass Ninja(3DS 21/09/2016)
No Man’s Sky(PS4 10/10/2016)
StreetPass Chef(3DS 11/10/2016)
Chase: Cold Case Investigations ~Distant Memories~(3DS 16/10/2016)
Catherine(PS3 17/10/2016)
Pokémon Y(3DS 25/10/2016)
Year Walk(Wii U 28/10/2016)
Gargoyle’s Quest(3DS 30/10/2016)
Actual Sunlight(Vita 02/11/2016)
3D Fantasy Zone(3DS 05/11/2016)
3D Puyo Puyo 2(3DS 06/11/2016)
3D Thunderblade(3DS 06/11/2016)
3D Altered Beast(3DS 06/11/2016)
One Night Stand(Mac 11/11/2016)
3D Power Drift(3DS 12/11/2016)
3D Fantasy Zone II: The Tears of Opa-Opa(3DS 12/11/2016)
3D Galaxy Force II(3DS 13/11/2016)
PaRappa the Rapper 2(PS4 13/11/2016)
Virginia(PS4 15/11/2016)
3D Maze Walker(3DS 17/11/2016)
3D Fantasy Zone II: The Tears of Opa-Opa (MS Ver.)(3DS 17/11/2016)
3D Sonic the Hedgehog(3DS 19/11/2016)
Lego Marvel Avengers(PS4 21/11/2016)
Retro City Rampage DX(3DS 21/11/2016)
Apartment 666(Mac 26/11/2016)
The Vanishing of Ethan Carter(PS4 26/11/2016)
Super Fantasy Zone(MD 26/11/2016)
Sonic the Hedgehog Pocket Adventure(NGPC 27/11/2016)
SNK vs Capcom: Match of the Millennium(NGPC 27/11/2016)
Sonic Triple Trouble(3DS 07/12/2016)
Letter Quest: Grimm’s Journey Remastered(PS4 10/12/2016)
Sonic Blast(3DS 11/12/2016)
Lego Dimensions(PS4 15/12/2016)
Box Box Boy!(3DS 23/12/2016)
Ultratron(Wii U 24/12/2016)
Lego Dimensions: Back to the Future(PS4 26/12/2016)
Lego Dimensions: Adventure Time(PS4 28/12/2016)
Lego Dimensions: The Simpsons(PS4 30/12/2016)
Lego Dimensions: Midway Arcade(PS4 31/12/2016)
Now, will I repeat that in 2017? I doubt it. I’m not even going to try.
Oh, and I’ll write some more about some of my favourites in another post another time!
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