Game Review: Assassin's Creed Liberation

The past week I have zipped thru the game, Assassin's Creed III: Liberation set in New Orleans (1765-1777). I decided some time ago to play this expansion game after I finished ACIII, assuming it was a continuation of Connor's story. However once again to my surprise this game was not what I expected, and was rather a prequel story, returning me to the French and Indian War. Had I known this, I probably would have played it after I finished AC Rouge and before ACIII. Nonetheless the game is hardly interconnected with the story of ACIII, and aside from the historical date it really doesn't matter if you play it before or after ACIII.

I was also surprised to discover that the game was set in the city of New Orleans. I assumed by looking at the cover and title of the game that it dealt with the American Revolution, however instead it focused on an entirely different matter, the history of New Orleans. I suppose it was a refreshing break from the American Revolution and introduced the first female assassin in the series, Aveline de Grandpre. The game also gave an insightful look into the history and culture of New Orleans. However for the most part I found both the historical setting and the gameplay to be quite lackluster, and perhaps the most disappointing game in the series that I have played yet.

The Setting

This is the first game in the series, that did not inspire me to write about it's historical topic. Consider the other games that set a super high bar for historical settings; AC I: The Crusades, AC II: Italian Renaissance, ACIII: American Revolution, etc). This game was by far the most bland of all settings. I suppose that could be because the setting is merely a southern theater of the French and Indian War, which I have already written about. Matter of fact the game deals with the city's transition of power from French control to Spanish control in 1765. I should make a precursor note that the French had established and controlled the region of Louisiana since 1682 and founded the city of New Orleans as their capital port. However following their defeat by the British in 1763, the French were forced to cede the territory to Spain, thus bringing us to the transitional setting of the game in 1765.

I suppose it is of interest that from the 1760s-1800s the city of New Orleans became a melting pot of cultures. There was the French, the Spanish, and the Caribbean slaves who integrated with one another to establish a new culture known as the Creoles. Despite Spanish control from 1763-1801, the kingdom of Spain hardly had invested as much resources and immigrants into the city as with Central and South America. Therefore despite this brief period of Spanish control, the city still had more of a French and Caribbean cultural influence. The game briefly touches upon the hostilities between the Spanish and French takeover with the unsuccessful Louisiana Rebellion of 1768. This Creole led rebellion to return the city to French power was crushed by the Spanish authorities.

Perhaps even more historically interesting than the French-Spanish tensions was the insight into southern slavery. The game provides a rather unique immersion into the slavery life by which the assassin establishes a guise as a slave herself. She even travels with a band of slaves across the Gulf of Mexico to the Yucatan, where the slaves are working at an excavation near the ancient wonder of Chichen Itza. I found this element of the game to be more historically insightful and intend to make a full study on American slavery in a later post. As for the setting of New Orleans, I am no doubt very intrigued by the city's culture; it's diverse population, the architecture, it's hanging fern plans, the Cajun food, the Bayou, and especially it's mysterious voodo element. Hopefully I can someday visit the city so I can give a more proper account into it's history and culture.

The Gameplay

Aside from the somewhat dull historical setting is an even more lackluster gaming experience. While the game is marketed as an expansion of the ACIII format, it really feels more like an older ACII game. The graphics are significantly inferior to ACIII, and the bugs in the game are at a ridiculously high level. I lost count of how many times I got trapped in a tree in the bayou or a building in the city and would have to restart the console. I think that reason alone makes this one of the most disappointing of the AC games that I have played yet.

Another disappointing factor was the lack of side missions and data recovery. Surprisingly the game did have a long main story with an impressive 9 sequences. However the map and content was very minimal with a file size of only 4 GB. The three locations of New Orleans, the Bayou, and the Chichen Itza were rather small maps. In comparison the other major spin-off game, AC Rogue had only 6 sequences yet a much larger file size of 12 GB. This game provided much more side content with a large map in the likes of ACIV. Even the previous games of ACI and ACII had at least 8GB of content, with more side quests and business investments. The point here being and obvious one that bigger maps and more content makes for a better game. So while AC Liberation is considered an open-play format, I would categorize it somewhere between ACI and the AC Chronicle side-scrollers.

Aside from the criticism, I will now highlight some things I did enjoy about the game. The biggest appeal to this game, was the new feature of different guises. Aveline has the ability to take on three different personas; a charming lady, a deadly assassin, and a humble slave. The purpose of being a lady or a slave helps her infiltrate locations where she can gather information. She is however most deadly as the assassin with the ability to climb and carry a heavy arsenal of weapons. The whip made for a cool new weapon in which she could drag an enemy towards her.

I actually did enjoy Aveline's character and found it quite refreshing to see a female assassin in the series (on par with Shao Jun of AC Chronicles: China). Aveline is just like all other assassins in the series with a feisty, rebellious, and ferocious attitude. However she is also very appealing as a southern belle lady with the ability to charm people. I think that unique ability to seduce and manipulate men, make women just as deadly in the art of stealth and assassination. Consider other famous femme fatales who excelled at the power of seduction such as Cleopatra, Wonderwoman, or Catwoman. The art of seduction can no doubt be used as a deadly tool, and Aveline excels at this practice.

Ultimately I think it's fair to say that this game was a half-hearted intention to provide a new cultural appeal to the series. It is perhaps a slight notch above DLC (downloadable content) games in the series such as the ACIII: Tyranny of Washington or the AC Unity: Dead Kings expansion. I have yet to play ACIV: Freedom Cry (pertaining to the pirate assassin Adewale) yet presume it might be similar to this setting and story. Hopefully when I complete all the games in the series I can give a proper ranking, and would most likely have this one towards the bottom. Next up for me now will be a return to the side-scrolling format of AC: Chronicles, this one set in 1840s India.