Game Review: Assassin's Creed Syndicate

The past month now I have returned to British culture, with a specific focus on the Industrial Age of the 19th century. This is much thanks to my full emersion into the video game, Assassin's Creed Syndicate. The game takes place in London 1860s, with a very detailed map of the industrial city and it's many iconic landmarks. The storyline also intercedes with many famous historical figures of the age, which I will get into later. As per usual I have taken on this historical time period thru multiple fronts such as in books and TV, in conjunction with my gaming experience. I've been currently reading Charles Dickens' "David Copperfield" which is a complete embodiment of the industrial age of London portrayed in this game. I also consider the Sherlock Holmes movies and TV series to give a proper visual of this setting. 

The Setting

The game setting is quite similar to Assassin's Creed: Unity (set in Paris) in which the game is entirely an urban experience. This is a break from the frontier and water settings in ACIII, AC IV, and AC Rouge. I enjoy both experiences (the urban and frontier settings) and can understand why this game didn't have any frontier settings after seeing the enormous map of London. There was also however a minor water element to this game thru the River Thames that ran thru the city. While the assassin's could operate a boat, they still could swim and steal cargo on moving ships if need-be. 

The two main characters of this game were brother-and-sister, Jacob and Evie Frie. I enjoyed both characters, more-so Evie, and really enjoyed the option to choose which character to play as. There were also several missions in the game that could only be played with one or the other, which I thought was a fair way to include both in the story. The character of Evie, had a strong and sexy style to her, that reminded me somewhat of Kate Beckinsale in the movies Underworld (same Gothic style without the vampires). I played most the game with Evie and would say she is probably my favorite female assassin in the series, right along with Shao Jin. 

Just as with most Assassin's Creed games, I am always mesmerized by the historical cities and the free reign ability to roam and climb the architectural wonders. In this setting of 1860s London the two big landmarks that impressed me were that of Saint Paul's Cathedral and the iconic House of Parliament. The Big Ben clock tower soars over the city just as the Eiffel Tower does over Paris. I also was quite impressed with the booming industrial city that it was. From the many factories churning smoke into the skies, to the busy traffic (both on the roads and in the river). Another cool feature of this game was the carriage traffic and the ability to drive a carriage rather than the usual horse. 

The Gameplay

The structure of the game had all the usual components of the Assassin's Creed series with some new additions. There was of course the stealth mode, with eagle vision, and a vast arsenal of knives, blades, and guns. However the game offered character upgrades and new skills to acquire (a concept that was further enhanced in the more free combat style of AC: Origins and AC: Odyssey). The enemies also had a level to them, which made it more difficult to fight someone with a higher level. This was something I did not understand until halfway thru AC: Origins, and frustrated me greatly. However I later adapted and learned to do side missions to continue to upgrade the character. This is a great way to take collect points and money and take on all the game has to offer. 

Another new feature in this game and perhaps my favorite was the grapple hook. The ability to grapple up and across giant buildings (rather than have to climb) made for a refreshing change. It reminded me of the Batman games a bit, a tool he uses often to get an aerial advantage. I used the grapple hook quite frequently to cover ground faster, yet also to make assassinations and quick escapes. This feature was honestly probably my favorite thing about this game, aside from the incredible historical city and it's characters. Other new weapons included brass knuckles and an electrical bomb which was ideal in devastating multiple enemies at a time. 

Other features in this game included gang wars (similar to that of AC: Rouge in New York City 1750s). Jacob and Evie establish the Rooks, to win back the city from the Templar gang known as the Blighters. This is emblematic of Industrial London history as portrayed in popular tv series such as the Peaky Blinders. Each region is divided into various tasks such as a bounty hunt, or assassinating a templar, or liberating children from a factory, or an all out gang war. As I often do in these games, I made this an additional goal of mine to conquer the entire map. It also helps to control regions because you get more support from your gang members if ever caught in a tight spot. 

Perhaps my biggest complaint of this game was the movement up, down, and across buildings. I felt it was not as easy to free jump from one spot to another. This was especially the case when trying to exit the carriage which I thought was often quite discombobulated controls. The historical missions were also a bit sloppy with more errors I felt compared to the main missions. That being said this game was still very enjoyable for me and everything I would expect from my favorite video game series. I began with a desire to better understand the city of London, and walked away with that and more. 

The Historical Characters 

Another thing I greatly enjoyed about this game quite different than the others were the side missions of historical characters. In most the AC games, the main story intercedes with many historical figures and events. This game however offers multiple side missions and interactions with historical characters throughout the city. I suppose this concept was first introduced in the Ezio Trilogy with missions pertaining to Leonardo da Vinci and Copernicus and also returned in AC III with Daniel Boone's missions. However I think it was completely expanded in this game with 6 historical stories (in which I partook and completed each one).

My favorite was that of Charles Dickens, one of England's most famous authors who embodies the whole setting of industrial England. It is thru his writings that I came to understand the cruel and unusual condition of the working class and more so on that of child labor during that age. His character presents the assassin's with ghostly and mysterious tasks, no doubt a homage to his writings. Perhaps the most challenging task in the entire game for me was capturing and arresting a hypnotist, who would hypnotize me if not captured properly. 

There were also minor stories pertaining to Charles Darwin and his scientific endeavors regarding evolution. There was missions with Alexander Graham Bell and his electrical inventions that later gave Jacob and Evie the useful electrical bomb. There were medical missions with Florence Nightingale, often considered one of the founders of nursing. And political missions with Karl Marx, who I was not aware lived in London during the 1850s until his death in 1880s. Much of his communist dealings and organizations began to gain traction in the industrial city of London. I found this to be quite intriguing of an ideology that would later spread to the far east of Moscow. 

The final historical story becomes available after you beat the main sequence in level 10. This pertains to Queen Victoria and working with her secret service operative Alfred Fleming (who is no doubt a homage to James Bond author Ian Fleming). This historical sequence was in my opinion the most difficult, since each mission had some form of James Bond action element. This included jumping on a moving train, to driving a carriage full of explosives, assassinating suicide bombers, and the final task of defusing four bombs in House of Parliament. Each of these tasks were extremely challenging yet also very thrilling.