Few franchises have added to the historical fiction genre as much as Assassin’s Creed, and many avid fans were excited to see that the 2014 E3 would happen to bring another title to this world-renowned series of games. While the most recent releases have had players fighting in the American Revolution and sailing off into the Caribbean aboard their own pirate ship, Assassin’s Creed: Unity will transport fans to one of the bloodiest clashes in modern history, the French Revolution. Here is a closer look at the first few glimpses of Assassin’s Creed as it is headed to the Playstation 4, Xbox One, and the PC.
The Story of the French Revolution
In this installment, players are going to find themselves surfing through the memory of the gritty hero Arno Dorian as he carefully picks his way through the beginnings of the French Revolution. Ubisoft has released this title with the statement that they would like to “tell the thousands of stories of Paris” through this game, and it shows as there are now countless organizations, aggressors, and factions that Arno will encounter throughout his travels. In the end, the game revolves around the idea that it is up to Arno Dorian to not only uncover the mysteries of the French Revolution, but potentially affect the outcome.
The Game World Comes Alive
The previous two installments of Assassin’s Creed did help to prove how massive of a game world Ubisoft is capable of making, but the landscapes tend to open up into large forests and vast seas. Unity, on the other hand, revolves around the gritty streets of Paris, the catacombs, and the outlying areas. The population is tightly packed and gameplay has shown just how bloody the French Revolution truly was. The stark contrast between Paris’s iconic architecture and the haggard civilians stumbling around the city is apparent right from the start of the game, and players will be astounded to see just how much of this world they are able to explore. Ubisoft stated that the explorable city of Paris is larger than all the landmasses from Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag combined.
Gameplay and Controls
For those that have played any previous installments in the Assassin’s Creed series, the gameplay and controls will be second nature. Players can choose between running along the rooftops of the town or blending into the crowd down below. They have options to carry out some of their quests in the darkest shadows or spill blood on the streets and use their weaponry to keep enemies at bay. Outside of minor changes to the HUD and mini map, very little has seemed to change in this regard, except one major feature that fans of the series have asked for: the ability to quickly and easily climb down buildings. Previously, players were forced to find a haystack or pile of leaves in which to jump in order to get down from high buildings. Now, Ubisoft will allow players to press a button to climb down a building, causing Arno to find the quickest and easiest path down, automatically.
New Features in Assassin’s Creed: Unity
Multiplayer is now fully integrated into the game with a variety of primary campaign missions and side quests. This is the single biggest change to the franchise and one that has required quite a few advancements only available to the next-gen consoles. Players can simply scale the tallest buildings, at which point they will be able to “see” missions and available players off in the distance as beacons of light. This allows them to quickly bring in backup and create an entire new dynamic to AC: Unity.
Image credit: Gamepur.com
