Game Review: Assassin's Creed Chronicles: China

Well my original plan was to finish AC Unity then transition into AC Black Flag, however as we all know life doesn't always go according to plans. As I have recently embarked on my Pacific War phase, it has opened up a whole new realm of cultural curiosity; that of Asia. It's a region I know very little of, and until just recently I have hardly ever written about. I knew very little regarding Japan's history prior to WWII, specifically the atrocious role they played in the invasion of China. I feel the Second Sino-Japanese War is a historical event that is often overlooked by the greater conflict that was WWII. Stemming from this curiosity I intend to make a further dive into the cultures of Japan and China.

I've already written 3 posts regarding the Empire of Japan and their role in WWII, and hope to eventually go back further into their history and culture. However now I shall turn to China, hence the purpose for this post. The game I decided to divert away from my usual European settings is Assassin's Creed Chronicles: China. Unlike most Assassin's Creed games, this games provides the unique format of a 2.5 dimension side-scroller. The franchise produced 3 games in this format taking place in India, China, and Russia. (I plan to later play the Chronicles games set in India and Russia).

The game play was fairly easy for the most part and brought about all the iconic features of the game series. It required stealth, combat skills, puzzle solving, and an arsenal of weapons. The main objective of each mission was to reach a target and avoid being detected by enemy guards. Like in most AC games fighting more than one enemy at a time is very difficult so it's best to be stealthy. Each location offers various platforms with guards on patrol. What makes this game a notch above an older console is the depth it provides. While the assassin can face it's enemy in the linear dimension, it can also hide behind bushes or pillars located beyond the platform, hence a unique 3 dimensional experience.

Unlike other AC games where I spent weeks engaged in the detailed map this one I was able to zip thru in a matter of days. However my favorite thing about the game was the cultural backdrop of the Chinese Empire. This setting takes place around 1526 and details the imperial court of the Qing Dynasty and it's glorious Forbidden City. The main assassin in this game is the female Shao Jun who was previously trained by Ezio Auditore (the protagonist from AC II, AC: Brotherhood, and AC Revelations). Shao is out for vengeance against the powerful gang known as the Eight Tigers, who wiped out the assassin's brotherhood in China.

While the game was fairly easy I was very inspired by the colorful Chinese locations set in Macau, Na'an, the Forbidden City, and the Great Wall. What occurred to me as I played this game is that China has some very impressive architecture. The first thing that comes to mind when I think of Chinese architectural wonders is the Great Wall. While the wall is no doubt among their most iconic landmarks, there are still many other Chinese sites as impressive as the famous European ones. The imperial court of the Forbidden City has to rank among the greatest royal palaces in the world.