The Da Vinci Disappearance - Assassin's Creed Franchise Review- Updated 2/2/18

[Shankbot de Bodemloze]

This is the only AC I haven't got, but now I might have to splash out.

+rep

[eXistenZ]

Good review again. and i agree with the points: (more) interesting characters and settings, fun powers to play with, and an excellent soundtrack (and indeed suprisingly longer than the main game). I'd give a 8.5, cause 1) the rather steep price of €30, especially with the wait of a month between (not apllicable anymore offcours) and b) sometimes a bit glitchy, especially in the first episode.

+rep

EDIT: have to spread around some love first

[TheDarkKnight]

(MAJOR SPOILERS FOR ANYONE WHO HAS NOT BEATEN ASSASSIN'S CREED III.
You have been warned)


Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag (2013)

Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag

Nearly a year has gone by since the world almost ended. Desmond’s sacrifice saved humanity from another near-extinction level event. But Juno has been released on the world, and the war between the Assassins and Templars is far from over. Abstergo, using the DNA of Desmond’s body, has created a new Animus system that allows people to go into the genetic memories of others. An unnamed Abstergo Entertainment employee winds up being the lucky one to investigate a previously unexplored time period in Desmond’s family history: The Golden Age of Piracy. But as the employee learns more and more from the past and present, they begin to realize that they have stumbled into a war that has spanned thousands of years.

In the past, an obscure man and pirate named Edward Kenway washes ashore along the coast of Cuba. The only other survivor is an Assassin whose ship Kenway had just attacked, both wrecking in the storm. Kenway manages to kill the hostile assassin, and after finding a letter that mentions a meeting with a governor Laureno Torres. Oblivious to the implications of what the letter contained, Edward donned the robes and took a crystal prism that was to be delivered to Torres. Upon meeting the governor, Kenway learns of the existence of a structure that is related to the prism; a hidden location in the Caribbean known only as The Observatory. He also learns of a man called the Sage. Vowing to find the location and the sage on his own in order to sell them to the highest bidder, Edward sets out on a journey with his trusted quartermaster Adéwalé that will see him brought into a conflict that he could never have imagined. Edward Kenway, like the unnamed Abstergo employee, had no idea what he was walking into.

--



Wow. No seriously…Just WOW. After the relative disappointment that Assassin’s Creed III seemed to have been for many, Ubisoft has answered the wishes of many with a truly fun game.

Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag sees the return to the New World, albeit to the Caribbean. The world is vast, in theory the largest map in the entire franchise when water is considered. The world consists of three major settlements: Havana, Kingston, and Nassau. Each city is under control of one of three major factions: Spain, Britain, and pirates, respectively. Each city is quite lively and unique, with extraordinary attention and detail applied to creating an atmosphere that is quite breathtaking. In addition to each city, the Caribbean features numerous other locations, from uncharted islands and beaches to small settlements, shipwrecks, and plantations. There are literally dozens of locations to visit in the game, and while in terms of actual civilization the world is quite small compared to the preceding game, the astonishing beauty and diversity of the Caribbean world cannot be overstated.

First and foremost, this game is more pirate than assassin, and to reflect that Ubisoft indulges the player with a return to the naval combat that was both praised and criticized in Assassin’s Creed III. For those who played the Tyranny of King Washington DLC, you remember hearing Connor discuss how he inherited his sailing skills from his grandfather, Edward. Well, in this game, you get to exercise those abilities in improved and rather exciting ways. In this game, Edward plays the part of privateer turned pirate who gains the ship he calls the Jackdaw. The Jackdaw is sort of the second main character of the game, and its use throughout the game more than merits that title. Much of the game takes place at sea in a rather fresh amount of main missions and side activities. Like before, Edward is in full command, and can issue a variety of orders that will fire full broadside or the smaller swivel guns (though in this game, swivel guns can only be used when weak spots have been opened by broadsides, and are aimed automatically), orders to open full sails (faster speed) or fly half sails (better maneuverability), and even cover from incoming attacks. Adding to the speeds is a “travel speed” that greatly speeds up the traveling between islands and other locations. Edward can also cause the ship to ram others, leading to boarding, where Edward can execute his superior hand-to-hand fighting against the crew of the opposing ship. In addition, the game introduces a new fire barrel option that sees explosives thrown off the stern, new chase cannons to attack from the front, and long range mortars that can lead to devastating surprise attacks. Edward (and the player) also must adapt to different weather patterns from gale force winds to storms, which can affect steering and aiming drastically. Included in these environmental conditions are waterspouts and even rogue waves that can both hinder or help the player.

Along with the naval combat comes the taking of ships and its cargo. New to the franchise (and giving it its moniker of Black Flag), Assassin’s Creed IV introduces the ability to actually take the goods and even men from captured vessels. This is done by subduing the vessels through the naval combat, and boarding the ship and completing certain objectives to force the crew to surrender. When that is done, Edward has the option of sending the ship to his fleet (more on that later), repairing the Jackdaw by using what remains of the captured vessel, or letting the crew go to lower Edward’s wanted level on the sea (the wanted level is self-explanatory, with ships called Hunters coming after the Jackdaw with each level). Whichever option is chosen, the ship is looted and the goods taken to the Jackdaw (Sugar, Rum, Metal, Cloth, and Wood being the resources). All can be sold, though the latter three are used for the next improvement on naval combat: the ability to upgrade the Jackdaw. Though Connor’s ship could be upgraded to a limited degree, Black Flag introduces more options, and leads to a much more powerful ship. These upgrades are necessary for taking on some of the larger vessels in the game, as well as for surviving some of the tougher naval-based missions. These upgrades can range from gun amounts to more powerful ammunition to increases in the amount of cargo and crew the Jackdaw can carry. Resources and crew can also be obtained by other means, such as people and resources adrift at sea that can be picked up. The pirating part of the game is quite possibly the most amount of fun in the game, leading to hours of entertainment as you try to upgrade the Jackdaw and improve your own skills in naval combat. Rushing the deck of another ship with a dozen or so other pirates against several soldiers and fighting among dozens of people is incredibly fun. The only setback I feel is the ease in which to temporarily halt a battle by capturing a vessel and using it to repair your heavily damaged ship; all other ships back off when this happens, and can make it rather easy to survive otherwise difficult situations.

Combat has remained relatively the same between the two games. Instead of a tomahawk or other Native American weapons, however, Edward utilizes a pair of twin swords as well as up to four pistols in combat. Edward may also fight unarmed, with his hidden blades, and even with a single sword or axe if you pick one up, but for the most part combat remains the same, with fluid combos, counters, double kills, and the use of human shields for the ranged attacks. Edward can also make use of rope darts later in the game, leading to similar uses as seen in Assassin’s Creed III. New to the franchise (sort of) is the addition of the blow pipe, which was utilized by Aveline in Assassin’s Creed Liberation. The blow pipe allows for two different darts to be used, a sleeping one which neutralizes enemies for a short time, or berserk darts that can drive men to kill their own allies. The enemies remain mostly the same, with officer classes, heavy classes, scout classes, and regular classes strewn throughout the factions, and each with their own strengths and weaknesses. The only thing really missing is the elite class from the previous games, a welcome addition as those Jaegers were a pain to kill, but also making the game a bit too easy in the combat. Additionally, few enemies will actually use firearms, with only one type of soldier available to consistently use their muskets. The others will use pistols if Edward is out of range (say, climbing up something) and they are unable to follow. However, a couple of major things are noticeable in the mechanics of combat. For one, while Edward is quite deadly with his swords (in either using two or one) and his pistols, he is unable to acquire anything besides those double swords and their upgrades as his main weapon. So different weapon choices such as the tomahawk, sword, club, and so on from Assassin’s Creed III is noticeably absent from Black Flag. Additionally, the game will offer you few if any chances for any double kill events that, while rare in Assassin’s Creed III, did pop up occasionally. In fact, I only had ONE such event in my main play through, and I messed it up.

Unfortunately, the game falls flat in one of the core parts of the story: the actual Assassin storyline. The missions are rather boring and uninspiring, and Edward, while a rather enjoyable character, is simply not an Assassin. I cannot reveal much, but a quick couple hours of gameplay soon reveals that Edward is far more interested in his own wellbeing and wealth than he is in anything else. The missions, though definitely a bit different considering new stealth and naval options, are nonetheless the same as before: tail someone, eavesdrop, etc. These missions are rather boring, and have plagued the franchise since the beginning. And even worse, in some missions you must follow people…while sailing the Jackdaw! Yes, you must follow other ships whilst sailing, a mechanic that undoubtedly leads to assumptions on the intelligence of those that Edward is tailing. The game also suffers a bit from stagnation in the real world elements, with the game simply not offering much in the way of information or additions to the story until the very end in the real world, at least not in the main storyline. The game also suffers from having not only a silent protagonist in the real world, but one in which we know nothing about; it is entirely first person and nothing about the character is explained at all. The discovery of the Observatory, a First Civilization structure, is rather quickly dulled by the fact that it is not even really utilized much in game. The Templars are also rather boring, and seem to be treated more as an afterthought in the story. Fortunately, the pirate storyline saves the game by introducing a lighthearted element that is albeit dampened by the fact that the Golden Age of Piracy came to a rather abrupt end with the quick succession of deaths of many of the major figures, most of which are prominent in this game (Blackbeard, Vane, etc). I think, however, that the lighthearted element of the game IS somewhat of a good change of pace, and the rather quick end of the era introduces a rather tragic twist to the story.

The game DOES succeed, however in introducing side activities that are not only fun, but also practical. Whereas the side activities in Assassin’s Creed III did eventually reward the player with some useful things, Black Flag introduces multiple different types of activities that are either informative, useful, fun, or the amazing combination of all three. The Caribbean is vast, and there is tons of stuff to do. For one there are the Templar missions that involve the actual assassination of Templar figures. And these missions even eventually reward the player with keys that can be used to unlock special armor. There are also additional Assassination and naval contracts that can be used to gain money, which are both fun, a little bit challenging, and rewarding. Hunting returns to the game with numerous new creatures, including whaling activities that not only add a degree of challenge to the game by having Edward harpoon whales and sharks, but also managed to draw the ire of PETA, which can only be a plus in my book. The remains of said creatures can either be sold for profit, or used in the new crafting system to provide Edward with more powerful armor, additional holsters for pistols (up to three extra holsters for a total of four), or even new outfits and pouches for ammunition. Naval forts can be attacked and taken as well, making the world map more visible in regions and providing Edward with a valuable base to rest. Plantations and smugglers dens can also be raided, activities which reward Edward with money and resources. Shipwrecks can be dived and treasures can be dug up, yielding money as well as elite plans for upgrading the Jackdaw to make it ever more powerful. Edward can send captured vessels (his navy that was mentioned earlier) on trading or combat missions that can open trade routes or bring back money or objects that can be added to the Jackdaw. There are four legendary ship events that can also be encountered, allowing the player to test their mettle and Jackdaw against the most powerful vessels in the game. There are mysteries as well, from washed up bottles with messages to Mayan puzzles that yield a worthy reward once you solve them all. In the real world, the player is allowed to hack the computers and servers of Abstergo Entertainment. Hacking gives the player access to information Abstergo does not want released, including further information about Desmond to emails about the marketability of different eras (did I mention that part of the reason for Abstergo Entertainments’ existence is to create “games” using the memories of the past? A not so subtle nod to Ubisoft, and it is even revealed that Assassin’s Creed Liberation was a “product” of Abstergo”). Further information on Abstergo’s past and its use of the Animus in different ways can also be uncovered. There are tons of things to be done, and many secrets to be uncovered, but that is for you to do on your own. And of course, the biggest side activity, the piracy is hilariously fun.

One final thing I’d like to mention is the soundtrack. Featuring newcomer Brian Tyler, the game’s soundtrack is definitely one of the best of the whole franchise. The soundtrack is light and upbeat, featuring epic parts when it needs to and sad, serious thoughts when the scenes call for it. At an hour and forty minutes long, it is also one of the longest. But amidst this epic soundtrack comes a rather pleasant surprise: the sea shanties. These songs, sung by Edward’s crew during the calm parts of the game while sailing the Caribbean, are a welcome addition to the game that really add to the atmosphere. Most of these shanties, however, have to be collected by Edward at various locations (mostly the cities) in order for his crew to learn them and sing them. Many of them are rather beautiful to listen to, and are definitely a welcome addition to the game. Whether you are taking down a ship's crew or simply sailing around the sea, the soundtrack is an amazing aspect of this game

In conclusion, I must say that in many ways this game is a great improvement over its predecessor. It’s fun, enticing, and fresh. The Caribbean is a beautiful world to explore, and with many things to discover, do, and collect, will keep you occupied for hours on end in addition to the main story. Combat is slightly improved on, if remaining rather easy, and the naval combat and piracy aspects of the game is perhaps one of the most fun things to do in the entire franchise. The soundtrack, atmosphere, and setting is absolutely breathtaking, and a step in the right direction for Ubisoft, I feel. The graphics, even on now “last gen” technology, are quite superb, though still suffer from an annoying shadow glitch that has carried over from Assassin’s Creed III. The controls can also be a little clunky, as can Edward’s movement, but it is a minor issue that can hopefully be fixed at some point. Edward is a fun character, albeit a little too basic in his initial mindset (TREASURE!) and the supporting characters are wonderful. Where this game ultimately falls short is really its own title: it is not primarily an Assassin game. Instead of an Assassin with some pirating, Edward is more along the lines of a pirate with some assassinations along the way. The story is rather weak, and leaving me rather unfulfilled in the story of the quest for the Observatory and the real world issues. In addition, while the world is large, the amount of time on land and particularly in cities leaves a bit to be desired. However, this game have provided me with many hours of entertainment, and one in which I see myself playing more often than I probably should now that I have beaten it. And though I had some doubts after how they ended the previous game, I do believe that the story still has room to grow.

8.5/10

Hello everyone, and Merry Christmas! (Barely)

I have returned after several months to bring you another review from the Assassin's Creed franchise. I hope it's to your liking.

Thankfully, I have two more reviews to do in the coming weeks...The DLC for Black Flag, Freedom Cry, will be reviewed, as will the upcoming HD release of Assassin's Creed Liberation.

Enjoy the read, as this is now either my longest review on the site or a very close second to a previous one.

[Sir Adrian]

AC IV Added to the directory

[irontaino]

Good review, it kinda amazed me how good the Jackdaw's crew was at harmonizing

[TheDarkKnight]

Good review, it kinda amazed me how good the Jackdaw's crew was at harmonizing

I operate under the assumption that there's something on the ship from the First Civilization that magically makes everyone sing in tune.

[♔The Black Knight♔]

Good review, here are a couple nit picks i have that you didnt include.

Edward doesn't interact with his crew except when ordering them to sing, and bossing them to shoot cannons and row the harpoon boat.

You have no real connection to to any of your crew, and you could care less who died because they are easily expendable and have the same skill as everyone else.

You cant take down masts with chain shot, only "stun them".

Cannons shoot faster then modern art and the swivel gun can be upgraded to a semi auto 5 shot cannon.

Musket skirmishes almost never result in casualties.

Both crews have a very hard time killing each other or do any of the objectives, and requires edward to do most of the dirty work.

You cant go below deck in your own ship, only the captains quarters.

Man'o'wars should in no way be taken down by a brig no matter how upgraded as easy as they are. They should require planning or jumping on them when they were weak, or in port. Once fully upgraded ship with 40 men and 30 cannons on each side can out fight any manowar that isnt legendary. Hell i could sit and beat one in a broadside match. What seems sad is that in real life, black beard was taken down by one swoop and a brig.

Also your ship wiil never be boarded.

All the wind does is blow your ship a little in the direction its going. You can still hit 50 miles per hour going against wind.

Not to mention in most of the bugs like wrong eye colors, the ship going under water and sailing like a submaring, and spazing out of people when they died.

Now even though many of these reasons were due to the developers making the game like this for gameplay reasons, if i were to have my perfect pirate game, all these would be fixed. This game was still very enjoyable though and it would be unfair to ask for more, so im happy.

Chris you did a nice job on pointing out the good things in this game, if it had a better story that made you feel alittle more attached to the people in the game it would be and easy 9 or 9.5. I know i wont get my perfect dream pirate game but this game is the next best thing. It was worth the 30$ i paid for it and i would reccomend i to a friend.

Maybe in another review add the mutiplayer side of the asassin creed series too.

[TheDarkKnight]

I tried one round of multiplayer and it was thoroughly uninteresting. But then again I've not really a big fan of online stuff really at all.

I meant to mention the issues with naval combat but I forgot somehow. I did notice that the guns fire much faster than they should. But in my mind I like to think of it as Ubisoft condensing the game and world: in real life, it could take weeks to sail around Cuba. In game? A few minutes. Won't even notice the sun or moon moving through the sky. Same with only having forty men on the deck and being able to load four pistols in about 5 seconds tops.

[♔The Black Knight♔]

I would of thought you would have liked the mutiplayer campaign but hey, if that aint your thing thats fine.

Yea there would be few that would enjoy realistic timing for naval warfare and travelling which is why im not dissapointed in the more arcade gameplay. It could have been done differently but alwell, its still good in the end.

[TheDarkKnight]

I'm not even entirely sure what multiplayer is about...Lol.

[eXistenZ]

Yeah good review, i agree about most. Offcours stuff like fighting a man o war or so with only a brig like ship is unrealistic, same for reloading so fast, but it wouldnt be fun if you can only fight brigs and schoeners.... The legendary ships provide a real challenge

Its nice to have a change with a non-Assassin-devotee for once (unlike the previous 3 characters), but the limit in combat is a downer, especially combined with his sometimes clunky movement. Compared to how connor fought with his tomahawk, clubs and more, (and especially the double counters), its a step down.

The setting is excellent, and havana, nassau and kingston are so much more fun to be in that NY or boston, even though they are smaller, you dont notice it. There is indeed way more to do with side missions and contracts. It's rather stupid that the social events stuff is down though. I wouldnt say the soundtrack is the best, i still give that credit to ACR, but its good enough. And the shanties are a great touch. Its a really beatifull world it really exceeted my expectations

Althouh i liked the modern stuff in previous games, i really disliked it now. The hacking and the info you get (voiceclips from desmond and subject 0) are intresting, but the first person view is just so tedious and non fun. There is no freerunning at all, which were some great sequences in the past game (the freerunning in the colloseum, or the skyscraper in NY). Instead you're stuck with your pda wandering around. On the same note, they missed some oppurtunities to re-introduce the toumbs from the Ezio trilogy with the maya setting in tulum

As for MP, i cant say too much about it. I play it regulary (although its been a week now because of steam sales and no more batteries for my controller). The problm with pc is that the community is too small to experience good gamelab modes, and the ranking system is really bad, which makes you avoid teamgames. But all in all, it's still a fun experience, the maps are better than AC3 and it has some more atmosphere to it. You barely see smokebomb, which is good, but knifestun is noww way harder, which isnt that good, cause t means less ways to defend yourself

[Joseph Simonyi de Vitézvár]

+1, Good review as well friend !

[Axis Sunsoar]

Really liked this review, I thought it mentioned everything worth mentioning. A solid game, but it has some issues.

[TheDarkKnight]

Thanks for the kind support, everyone.

Some news:

I completed a review for Assassin's Creed IV: Freedom Cry some days ago. It will be part of the next issue of Gamer's Gazette.

In a week I will be playing Liberation HD, so I will probably have a review for that sometime soon after that. But who knows, I might save that for Gamer's Gazette as well .

Also, I'm in the process of reworking another franchise review I have written before, hoping to improve on it and make it SIGNIFICANTLY better. It won't go into this thread because it is not part of this franchise at all, but I will definitely post it in this section. I'm also in the pre-stages of another possible franchise review, though it will require a significantly different method of writing my reviews, which I'm trying to improve on. I hope that my style has improved since starting.

Also, I may tweak my second Assassin's Creed III review. The reason? I FINALLY did the Homestead missions, and I have a new found appreciation for them. I wish I had done them sooner.

[Himster]

I don't find it as repetitive as previous installments, the assassination missions offer a greater sense of variety and aren't as copy-pasted as previous ones, the narrative doesn't take itself as seriously as previous ones. The glitches are minor compared to III (which were abysmal). Although I still think III had the most fluid combat. The naval combat is amazing, not flawless, but it has such a spark of originality about it that it's imperfections are almost charming. There were way more indoors places in III, which I thought was good and III had the very cool marching patrol columns of line infantry. There are three things about assassin's creed III that I liked and none have been successfully translated which I find perplexing, despite this: IV is probably the best assassin's creed, or more specifically I found it the most enjoyable.

I concur heartily with Chris' 85%, I might even be tempted to bump it up some because I had such low expectations that were dashed magnificently on bloody frothing coral reefs.

[TheDarkKnight]

Oh yeah, this game was what I want games to be: fun, and exceedingly so. I was just disappointed by the relative lack of...well, assassinations and other things that I love about the series.

Anyhow, I'm playing Assassin's Creed Liberation HD as we speak. Already I like it, and it is actually quite a bit different than what I was expecting.

[TheDarkKnight]

Assassin's Creed IV: Freedom Cry (2013)

Assassin's Creed Freedom Cry

It has been over a decade since Edward Kenway returned to England, and Adéwalé has become a full member of the Assassin Order. On the pretext of eliminating a Templar member and retrieving a package he carried, Adéwalé succeeds in disabling the small fleet and killing the Templar but ends up shipwrecked near Port-au-Prince, a thriving French colony on the island of Saint-Domingue. Though needing to return to the Assassins, Adéwalé becomes embroiled in the politics of the island and an ever increasing problem: the slave trade. Adéwalé realizes that he cannot in good conscience allow such a practice to occur; it is against his own moral compass, and goes against everything he believes in the Creed.

--
Assassin’s Creed IV Freedom Cry sees the player return once again the West Indies, this time as the former quartermaster of the Jackdaw, Adéwalé. The game mostly takes place in the town of Port-au-Prince, though minor exploration of the surrounding islands and sea is possible later own. While the town and the surrounding area is a new location to explore in Black Flag, it and the map itself is rather small in comparison to the main game. Disregarding the town, there are a couple plantations and a handful of other locations to visit, all of them rather small and relatively uninspiring. However, I believe this was a conscious decision by Ubisoft to tighten the storyline. The world is still quite a beautiful construction of the Caribbean region during this time period, and still does have some to explore. It is just a shame that one of the great pluses of Black Flag, the possibility of a large amount of places to explore, has been stripped from this DLC.

Seeing a return to the game is the plantation raiding mechanic. Plantations were briefly covered in Black Flag, and have been expanded on greatly in this game. Whereas Edward would only raid plantations for material gain in the form of warehouses and their stores, Adéwalé raids the plantations in secret to eliminate the plantation overseers. He then frees the slaves, turning them lose and having them join the growing rebellion on the island, headed by the Maroons. There are about a half dozen of these plantations in the game, three of them on the outskirts of Port-au-Prince alone, and they are a rather fun activity. Another key difference is that while Edward could attack these plantations with brute force and guns blazing, Adéwalé must do so stealthily, or else the overseers will attack and kill the people Adéwalé intends on rescuing. In a similar vein, Adéwalé can also attack slave ship convoys and even help rescue escaped or imprisoned slaves in Port-au-Prince proper. The types of slaves liberated varies between “those who cannot fight” and “those who can”; about a tenth to a quarter of the slaves rescued in each activity are able to join the Maroons, a growing band of rebels that can aid in certain missions and activities as well as join Adéwalé on the sea. The liberation of these slaves also is a part of the upgrade component of the game, whereas with every level of maroons recruited or regular slaves liberated, Adéwalé can upgrade his pouches or acquire new tools. These are rather fun activities, and changes that represent a shift in the mechanics present in Black Flag. However, it can become rather dull after a while, and the activities are scripted to appear at virtually the same place every time. While this makes sense for the auctions and plantations, it cannot be said for escaping slaves or injured ones, who magically appear in the same place each and every time. This problem is further compounded by the small world, which makes it even more noticeable.

Combat remains virtually the same as the parent game. The key differences being that Adéwalé makes use of a rather large machete and later a blunderbuss instead of twin swords and pistols. These weapons can be upgraded through either the liberated slaves mechanic or by exploring the map and finding them. These weapons are rather brutal, with the machete and the man who wields it capable of exceptionally nasty combos, and the blunderbuss able to kill more than one man at once at close range. However, on the first play through I again found these weapon choices (along with the returning blowpipe) as rather dull, and Adéwalé’s move set seems rather limited in comparison to Edward’s. It should also be noted that Adéwalé does pirate and can upgrade his ship as well, but not as much as the Jackdaw could be upgraded, nor is there as many ships to pirate. The slave ships are really tempting targets, however they are a great challenge in comparison to the gameplay in Black Flag without even the highest of upgrades. This may be frustrating at first, but it is also a welcome challenge as the rewards are great.

Despite these flaws, there is one thing that Freedom Cry holds over Black Flag, and that is the story. The story is one of the most emotional of the entire franchise. You have Adéwalé, an ex-slave himself, putting his life on the line to save hundreds of slaves in the name of his own beliefs as well as his views of the Creed. His interactions with the people he rescues and the people he works with is more than evident can be rather heartbreaking at times. And though you really are not able to see the result of his hard work, we know that the people descendants of those he rescues eventually win their freedom from the French. The one thing that unfortunately taints this emotional story is that the missions are rather bland and uninteresting, again consisting of following people or eavesdropping on others. As I said in the Black Flag review, this style of mission is rather boring, and does not allow for Adéwalé to really do much in the way of variety. However, Ubisoft did manage to surprise me with a quick return of investigation missions from the very first Assassin's Creed. I did not really even realize what I was doing until it was over, but it was a nice little bit of gameplay that was actually a little bit of fun, despite the fact that it includes elements that I despise in missions. There is also very little actual assassinating in this game, really only coming near the end. The supporting characters also do very little, unfortunately, leading to Adéwalé to carry most of the weight in both the story and gameplay. But Adéwalé is, in my opinion, a better character than Edward because of the fact he holds strong convictions and does what he believes is right, rather than what he wants. Adéwalé’s conviction and desire for swift action also contrasts nicely with his peers who, while wishing for the same thing (freedom for all), advocate for different methods. It is his traits and the storyline that puts Freedom Cry above Black Flag.

This is a short review, and that is because this is a short game. Freedom Cry clocks in at about five hours total if you do EVERYTHING, which is good for some, bad for others. The game improves on some mechanics of Black Flag while unfortunately cutting out much of what made Black Flag fun: the exploration. I understand it is a DLC, and therefore requires a tighter story and game, but the exploration was sorely missed. But at the same time, a tighter story allows for the focus to remain squarely on Adéwalé as he struggles to come to grips with his duty as an Assassin and his beliefs. In fact, the shorter storyline means I am more likely to replay it in the future despite its limitations: like Tyranny of King Washington it is a nice, compact story that is a fun jaunt in the Assassin’s Creed universe. I actually sort of wish that Adéwalé could have been the subject of a full game rather than Edward, or at least be given a full game of his own, but unfortunately that is not the case for this game. In the end, the Freedom Cry shines in terms of storytelling, soundtrack (some new cultural music that is quite beautiful to listen to), and a couple other minor things but falls short in terms of actual gameplay and content, not improving much in the former and falling considerably in the latter with the lack of exploration. But, this game is a solid and worthy addition to the Assassin’s Creed franchise.

7.5/10

I decided to use something else for my Gamer's Gazette article(s), so here is my Freedom Cry review as it was written a couple months ago.

I'll go over my Liberation review and post it in a couple days.

Also, I wanted to thank you guys for the support over the last year. This is one of my most viewed threads, and I really appreciate the feedback you guys give. I hope to continue writing useful reviews for this franchise as long as it goes.

[Sir Adrian]

Added

[TheDarkKnight]

Assassin's Creed Liberation HD

"I stand with those who stand with me. I lure my prey through the guise of a lady. I escape unnoticed through the veil of a slave. And though I may conceal my identity, one thing is certain: commit injustice in this world, and I'll send you to the next. I am Aveline de Grandpré, I am an Assassin, and I fight for liberation."

Assassin's Creed Liberation HD

Aveline de Grandpré lives a dual lifestyle. In one world, she is the doting daughter of a wealthy trader and her stepmother, both of whom love her dearly. Despite her status as the daughter of a slave whom her father loved, Aveline’s beauty and status leaves her as desirable attraction for the men of the city of New Orleans. In the other world, Aveline is a deadly Assassin with a desire to free her people from the bonds of servitude. She must carefully balance these two worlds, but as her story progresses, the line between her lives begins to blur. Her hunt for her mother, the mysterious Templar agent known as the Company Man, and a mysterious artifact she discovers will have drastic consequences on her life.

In the present day, an excited person has just recently unboxed a brand new game to play on their favorite system. As they load up the game, they delve into an exciting world of eighteenth century New Orleans, opening up exciting possibilities as they play a character known as Aveline de Grandpre. As they play through Aveline’s life, they see a woman who is torn between two worlds as she tries to bring her ideals to fruition. But there is more to the story of Aveline than the game is showing, and only through further exploration does the player come to understand the true nature of the past.
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Assassin’s Creed Liberation takes place in Colonial America, at the end of the French and Indian War. Aveline’s world is small compared to the other games in the series, consisting primarily of the city of New Orleans, the swampy Louisiana Bayou, and the tropical Chichen Itza Mayan complex. New Orleans and the Bayou are by far the most utilized maps, and also the largest. Both New Orleans and the Bayou are fun to explore despite their small size compared to other games, and do have a fair amount of side activities to do. Chichen Itza is more mission-specific and smaller than the other two, so there is not much to do there unfortunately. However, the world despite the limitations imposed on it is still quite beautiful and unique in its own way.

A brand new mechanic to the game is the use of three “personas”, which are essentially different costumes for Aveline. Aveline can change these at various dressing chambers scattered throughout New Orleans and the Bayou, though they must be purchased in order to do so. However, the costumes are much more than simple aesthetic differences. The three personas allow for Aveline to maneuver through her world in a variety of ways, each with their own advantages and disadvantages. The first guise is the lady persona. Arguably the most underused one, the lady persona permits Aveline to act and appear as a proper lady, which bestows on her a variety of abilities. For one, she can charm and bribe guards to allow her to pass through restricted areas, as well as charm gentlemen to grant her a degree of social stealth. The second guise, the slave persona, grants Aveline the ability to blend in with the slaves of New Orleans, also allowing her access to otherwise restricted areas. The third is Aveline’s Assassin guise, which does not need much explanation other than this is where Aveline is her most deadly. Each persona has their own notoriety level, as well as their own methods for lowering it that adds a degree of variety to the game, and each persona obtains notoriety at different rates. But while each persona has their own advantages, they also have minor disadvantages. The lady persona may gain notoriety very slowly, but it cannot run very fast, cannot free run, and only has access to hidden blades, a parasol blow gun, and a small pistol (which Aveline must purchase). The Assassin persona has full access to all weapons and abilities, but is also permanently set to notoriety level one (out of four), which means that guards will always notice this persona, and it is much easier to gain notoriety in this persona. The slave persona is kind of a blend of the two, with access to more weapons than the lady persona and gains notoriety a bit faster than it as well. The slave and lady personas also have much less health than the Assassin persona as well. The persona system gives Liberation a surprising degree of uniqueness, and offers multiple ways to play some missions where only one persona is allowed. However, this feature falls short a bit due to the fact that most players, myself included, will not see much use in sneaking around as the slave or lady when it is much more fun to just charge in as the Assassin and lay waste to all in site. But for those that wish to be more stealthy and creative, the other two personas can be quite fun.

Combat is pretty simple, remaining rather similar to Assassin’s Creed III. The key difference is the different approaches and weaknesses inherent with the personas (you really do not want to be caught in a battle in the dress of the lady persona), as well as new weapons. While they were new for me in my review of Black Flag, this is the first game where you can use blow darts. These darts are useful for stealthy kills, and can be used by all three personas, albeit in different ways. The slave and Assassin persona utilize a regular blow gun, the use of which in the open will quickly catch the attention of guards if they spot you using it. The lady persona has access to a far stealthier parasol blow gun that can be used in sight of guards without arousing suspicion. Slightly different from Black Flag is the type of darts employed, consisting of a fast-killing dart that kills enemies within seconds, and a berserk dart (also used in Black Flag) that makes enemies go insane and start killing their allies. Either way the enemy goes down. Aveline also has access to a new weapon in the whip, acquired during a mission. Utilizing the whip, Aveline can strangle people from rooftops or other high surfaces, similar to the rope darts, but without the need for falling to the ground to string them up. The whip also allows Aveline to essentially grab onto someone from a distance and pull them to her, either to knock them out or pull them to the ground. It’s a useful tool for dealing with difficult enemies, and also allows Aveline to swing across gaps should the need arise if the environment is appropriate. Finally, the HD version retains the chain kill mechanic from Vita that is essentially a way to quickly kill several guards by essentially pausing the game and selecting them, then executing them in quick succession. Aveline’s style and mechanics of combat is unique, but does present some minor annoyances. For one, Aveline does have her own unique fighting animations within regards to her use of the sword and hidden blades, but she shares animations with Connor and his use of the tomahawk when she uses her machete. This is more distracting than anything, as that style seems quite out of place for her, and comes across as kind of lazy by Ubisoft. In addition, the AI is rather easy to beat (a problem with all games utilizing the AnvilNext engine, it seems), and the chain kill, despite needing to recharge after use, can make combat even easier. Thankfully, it is simple to avoid using it; in fact, I forgot about it entirely after the tutorial. But one big plus that I have to mention is that unlike Assassin’s Creed III and Black Flag, the use of double counters is quite often in this game, and while it makes dealing with enemies a bit easier, the animations are quite fun to watch, and nice to finally be able to use them after only doing it a handful of times with Connor and maybe twice with Edward.

The missions and story are kind of a mix for me. The missions are rather straightforward and easy, with some only needing a few minutes to complete. Many of them are quite fun, and suit the locations and story of Aveline quite nicely. The side missions are also quite a bit of fun, with each persona having their own set of side missions that involve a large degree of variety. The game does suffer a bit from the old formula of missions, but otherwise the missions are different enough to ensure that the experience is still fresh. Where the game falls a bit short in this regard is the story. The story is often a bit convoluted, and seems a bit rushed despite its relatively focused plot. The story of Aveline is quite frustrating in that you start the game playing Aveline as a child whose mother disappears suddenly, and then fast forwards you fifteen years or so to Aveline as an Assassin. There is little to no explanation as to how she got there, how she met her mentor Agate, or anything of the sort. After seeing the nice degree of development for Ezio, Connor, Edward, and even Adéwalé in their path into the Assassin order, Aveline’s rushed transition feels hollow and rather boring. The nature of the game, which is a product of Abstergo Entertainment in-universe, also adds to the frustrating nature of the game by having only part of the story told, the nature of the Templar-run business censoring the more controversial aspects of their predecessors who met their end at the hands of Aveline, as well as other scenes that are changed in order to make it seem like the Templars are at best ambiguous. The issue comes when a mysterious entity known as CitizenE hacks the game in order to show you, the player of the in-universe game, the “real” story by showing you uncut events that Aveline experiences that show the Templars for what they really are. It is a different mechanic for sure, and makes the game a unique experience, but the fact that you must search for some of these CitizenE triggers yourself or come across them by accident can often lead to you finding out the uncut scene a long time after you actually experience the memory. It is quite confusing, and does not do the story any favors. The game also jumps through the years rather whimsically that leaves frustrating gaps in the story. The search for Aveline’s mother is also kind of underwhelming, as is the story overall to some degree, but the game does have a rather interesting difference to the others. Throughout Aveline’s journey, she seems to grow somewhat disillusioned with her Creed, a first in the franchise. This does lead to some interesting developments, but like much of the game and its features, feels rather underused by the end. Additionally, the HD version offers fifteen new missions. These missions are not main missions, unfortunately, but persona specific side missions that were not present in the Vita version. The Connor mission, advertised as the connection between Assassin's Creed III and Liberation, was also rather annoying in that Connor and the mission itself was a rather boring aspect of the game, despite its incredible importance to the story. It's also possible to play as Connor in that mission if you spend the Uplay points, but he looks and acts different compared to his ACIII appearance: he looks like a beta version, and does not even have his own animations, instead sharing them with Aveline. Overall, the story was rather rushed: Aveline’s main quest for the Templar agent known as the Company Man felt kind of like an afterthought overall, as did its resolution. In addition, a lot of the game was running from cut scene to cut scene, awkward transitions, and other issues that just made the gameplay a little awkward at times.

The game does have other, more minor things that should be discussed. The game, while somewhat nice looking, does suffer from its Vita origins. Its status as an HD remake is certainly justified in comparison to its Vita version from the little I have seen, but it is simply not as nice looking as the other AnvilNext-era games (III and Black Flag). Part of this is certainly its origins as a hand held game, but Ubisoft did not take the opportunity in this release to really make the game look and feel like a console or PC release. It just feels and looks like a slightly reworked port. Another small gripe is the use of sort of “bubbles” that are used as sort of a way to point things out to the player (such as a waypoints) that are kind of immersion breaking, though not a huge deal. Additionally, the games had an annoying issue where tutorial messages continued to pop up even late in the game, and were entirely redundant by that point. In addition to this, the voice acting and other audio-related things suffer from glitches and really poor synching of the voices and the faces. It does not help that the music and ambient sounds also suffer with sounds often coming late, and music really not being present or obvious. Also not helping is the rather poor scripting, which really makes the already bad voice acting stand out. The gameplay also suffers from a lack of places to really explore, despite the nice size of both New Orleans and the Bayou maps. There are few secrets to discover, and compared to the predecessors, relatively little to do. Finally, though many of the features unique to this game are fun, they are tragically underutilized, especially taking on different guises. In some of the missions where you are forced into a certain guise, it can certainly feel like a restriction rather than a thoughtful look into subverting the issues such as race and sex. This is not necessarily a huge problem for someone like me because I typically do not care about such things in games, but since that seems to be the point of the system, it just does not seem to have been implemented well.

However, perhaps I am being unfair. If I was playing this on the Vita, it would be easy to say that these issues are just a result of the small-scope of the game; everything had to fit under a certain amount of memory, and this does hurt the game a bit. Despite its small size, there are certainly things to do and collect, with a fair amount of side activities to keep you occupied. The trade system is a bit of fun, consisting of buying and sending ships to different ports to trade. The collectibles and side missions are also kind of fun to do. The soundtrack, when it works, is also quite good, and really stands out even when on its own. The main theme in particular is one of my favorites (this is usually the case with this franchise, though, so perhaps I am a bit biased). Maybe I am giving it a pass because of its origins, but the game, despite its limitations and issues, is still a good one.

Overall, Assassin’s Creed Liberation HD is not your ordinary Assassin's Creed game. There is really no “present day” element to it, which some will consider as a good thing, while others consider it bad. Aveline’s story is unique and rather emotional, as she is a woman torn between two worlds as she tries to live both a normal life and one as an Assassin. The overall plot device of the First Civilization does make an appearance, but is rather underplayed, again could be either good or bad depending on your preferences. Where this game does unfortunately stumble is that many of the rather cool elements and the opportunities presented with them are squandered. This game had the potential to be a great game with its setting, story, and mechanics, but just did not live up to that potential. It is unfortunate, because I believe that if this game had been given the care and development that was given to the likes of Assassin’s Creed III and Black Flag, this could have been an amazing game. Instead, it was delegated to a minor Ubisoft studio, and released initially as a Vita game. And even more unfortunately, it seems like Ubisoft did not take the opportunity with this HD release to drastically improve on the game. Minor issues remain, but are otherwise not game breaking. While it does seem like I am being quite critical of this game, this game is actually quite fun. In fact, I cannot think of a single moment in the game where I was not enjoying myself. This game is not an important or must play game in regards to the whole franchise, but I do not regret buying it at all. It was an enjoyable experience, and I hope to see its mechanics added and improved on in another game. Aveline is a likable character, and definitely an intriguing one. It is just a shame that her spot in the overall story is squandered by not taking advantage of the opportunities presented.

7.5/10

Assassin's Creed III Liberation Vita (2012)

Short Vita Version Review

So I have had a chance to play the Vita version of the game, and I have to say it has given me a whole new fondness for the HD upgrade. I have been playing both free roam as well as the missions. Results were mixed.

On the one hand, the game play and mechanics take full advantage of the Vita's capabilities. Using the touch screen, you can select the weapon menu and the map by simply touching the appropriate part of the screen, and then using your fingers to do whatever you wish on those menus. You can also use the touchscreen to specifically target the people you want with your ranged weapons, allowing you significantly more freedom in doing so that previous titles. You can also use the free aim mechanic as well, but the touch screen is a bit faster though will take some getting used to.

On the downside, the game suffers from various issues. Glitches run amok throughout the free roam and the missions. None of them are horribly game breaking, but do detract noticeably from the experience. These glitches range from minor audio issues such as disappearing or off synch sound effects during combat as well as disappearing music and sounds varying greatly in volume, as well as more serious glitches such as invisible barriers where there should be none. One notable example of this is I literally tried running up nothing but air in one mission when I was about three feet or so away from anything that is climbable. The pop in issues concerning civilians and soldiers is also much more prevalent in the Vita version, leading to people appearing to materialize right next to you, which can be incredibly frustrating with guards. Related to this is the fact that often the minimap will show enemies where there are none. There is also one really notable glitch involving civilian NPCs; sometimes, a weird one pops up that acts more like a sprite than a model, walking strangely and sometimes disappearing into walls. No explanation at all for that sort of behavior, and quite immersion breaking. Dialogue also completely disappears at some points in missions, leading the player to rely on using subtitles when it should not be necessary. There are also some problems with the combat, notably Aveline never using combos appropriately or fully, and in other cases the mechanics do not fully work when they should. The touchscreen mechanics, while useful and natural in some cases, are gimmicky in others, such as using both the front and back touchscreens for opening letters, or utilizing the back screen for rowing the canoes. The game also uses the Vita's cameras in order to help Aveline decipher letters, which require the Vita to be held towards a light, which is rather gimmicky, unnecessary, and rather difficult to do if one is playing the game in the dark. The world also is significantly less detailed than any other game, including the very first Assassin's Creed game. I examined several locations and compared between the two versions and I found significantly more detailed elements in the HD upgrade than in the Vita version, making the Vita game much less beautiful and far less fun to look at. I suppose this is to be expected; after all, the Vita is not even close to the power of a console or PC. What IS strange, however, is the fact that this version of the game actually contains a form of weather effects; sequence three entirely takes place in the middle of a storm. This storm as well as weather in general is completely absent from the HD version of the game, which in all honesty does not make sense when you really start to think about it.

Overall, the Vita game is a disappointment. Yes, I played the HD version first, so perhaps it is unfair. Playing the Vita game has given me new appreciation for the HD remake, and further convinces me that the game had a lot of potential but since it was developed as a handheld this potential was never realized. Still, as a handheld game, it is not terrible, but it is not very good either. However, if Ubisoft can learn and improve from the experience of this game, Assassin's Creed Liberation could indeed be a good starting point for a fantastic series of spin off games for handhelds.

6.5/10

[Sir Adrian]

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