Game Review: Assassin's Creed Unity

The past month I have emerged into one of my favorite historical settings, The French Revolution, much thanks to the video game Assassin's Creed Unity. I was very excited at the prospect of exploring the city of Paris during the 1790s. However going into the game I did hear quite a bit of criticism regarding bugs and issues. Well let me just say right off the bat that I hardly noticed any bugs and the map of Paris was one of the most impressive cities in the AC series. I have still yet to play several other AC games, however I certainly enjoyed this one more than the Ezio Trilogy. 

The main character this time is Arno Dorian who witnesses his father killed as a child in the city of Versailles. The story then fast forwards to 1789 where Arno has a love interest with a childhood friend named Elise who is a Templar. Arno is imprisoned in the Bastille and is able to escape with another prisoner named Bellec during the Storming of the Bastille. Bellec thus invites Arno to join the assassin's brotherhood. Arno is able to investigate and infiltrate the top figures of the French Revolution including Napoleon and Maximilian Robespierre to ultimately confront the wicked leader of the Templar. 

The game play is quite similar to Ezio's trilogy with open-map navigating. The entire story takes places in the city of Paris, with minor subplots in the city of Versailles and Franciade. I felt the details of the city, from it's civilians to it's architecture, to be incredibly awe-inspiring. I did not waste time to climb and explore one of the most iconic landmarks in Paris, the Notre Dame Cathedral. Various architectural wonders have not yet been constructed such as the Eiffel Tower or the Sacre-Couer cathedral. 

However there are some missions that take place in alternate time periods such as the Belle Epoque of the 1890s or Occupied France during WWII. These missions mostly require gathering data and saving fellow assassin's before time runs out. I was glad the game included the monumental Eiffel Tower in some way and these missions were very enjoyable. Some of my favorite of these tasks including climbing the unfinished Statue of liberty or climbing the Eiffel Tower while being shot at by Nazi warplanes. 

Going back to the main game setting however of Paris in the 1790s was a very enjoyable experience. It's always nice to see these historical eras portrayed in movies, however to be able to have free reign exploration of such a setting is a remarkable pleasure. I loved the ability to run, climb, and assassinate people in the midst of the frenzied streets of the revolution. Paris in the 1790s was as beautiful as it was chaotic, and the game manages to accentuate both elements in a great balance. Also a side note, people just dressed so much better in those days (both the rich and the poor). 

The fighting was fairly similar to Ezio's trilogy with three basic combat moves of attacking, counter-attacking, and dodging. The weaponry however was much better with a wide array of swords and guns. Also of note was the phantom blade which was a great way to assassinate enemies from the rooftops or in quick combat. The use of smoke bombs was another of my favorite accessories which I would often use when I was overwhelmed by enemies and needed to escape. This game included some impressive wardrobe designs and upgrades. 

The map was loaded with content outside of the main story quest and after playing the game for a month I have still only uncovered 30% of the sync. Part of this was since I did not partake in the online Co-Op missions which require Xbox Live. However there is still so many side quests, characters to help, cafes to renovate, treasures to unlock, and collectibles to discover. Another new feature of this game I really enjoyed was the lock-picking. This was a skill that needed to be upgraded to be able to break into doors and treasure chests. 

I was also able to download the Dead Kings expansion which made for a funny story. I had intended to partake in this sequence after I had beaten the game, as I knew it was separate from the main story. However one evening I accidentally fast traveled to this city of Francaide rather than my cafe (the two locations are very close to one another). Since the fast traveling usually takes a little longer to load and went to the bathroom. However when I returned from the bathroom, it appeared a new story was unfolding. I assumed it was something happening at the cafe as part of the main game story, however didn't realize until later than I had accidentally transported to the Dead King expansion map.

This eerie city of Francaide was very impressive and actually gave a nice rural portrayal of France in contrast to the urban city of Paris. It's iconic beacon was the impressive Basilica of Saint-Denis. This sequence included about 6 missions, which consisted of some puzzle solving, tomb explorations, and difficult stealth challenges. I was quite frustrated in playing this sequence since I did not realize where I was for some time later. Once I realized I had transported to the Dead King expansion I began to enjoy the setting all the more. Aside from it's main story there was also some interesting side quests such as the infamous man in the iron mask.