Assassins Creed - Unity

Xenji · 11-11-2014 7:35pm

More Reviews.

Eurogamer - 7/10

As the seventh major instalment in the series, though, not to mention the first designed for new console hardware, Assassin's Creed Unity feels like a missed opportunity. Going back to basics at this point may have resulted in a less substantial game than recent years have led us to expect, but it might have delivered a more satisfying one. As it is, mild improvements in traversal and combat are quickly overwhelmed by the creaking systems onto which they have been grafted. Revolutionary Paris is one of the most beautifully realised environments in a series that has had its fair share of them, but the game you play doesn't really do it justice.

Joystiq - 2.5/5

Assassin's Creed Unity is the best and worst of Assassin's Creed. It's hard not to appreciate everything that it gets right, and you'll have a good time if you can wrangle some friends for co-op, but it's impossible to ignore where Unity falls tragically short.

Gamespot - 7/10

But is it the next-gen Assassin's Creed game we've all been waiting for? Not quite. It's very good, maybe even great in places, but the story's smaller focus has come at the expense of its exquisitely rendered backdrop. The grandness and spectacle that so often graces the finest Assassin's Creeds is sadly sorely lacking here.

Videogamer - 8/10

It's a good time to be an Assassin's Creed fan. I just wish my console could run it properly.

IGN - 7.8

Assassin’s Creed Unity leverages the new-generation consoles to add spectacular new sights and successful co-op multiplayer, but in doing so, it’s created some substantial new problems instead of solving the series’ most persistent ones. The scope is stunning, the customization is satisfying, and the multiplayer touches upon some really ambitious ideas. But the lack of a strong main character or interesting take on the Assassin’s Creed universe costs it momentum and excitement, and the persistent control problems are still a thorn in its side. The first truly new-gen Assassin’s Creed game is a gorgeous, entertaining, and successful proof of concept for what lies ahead for the series, though it isn’t what I’d call revolutionary.

Kotaku: NO

That isn't the game Ubisoft made. They made what amounts to a showpiece for a new graphics engine, a game that will initially turn heads but which quickly reveals itself to be frustrating, repetitive, and dull.

I've been happy with Assassin's Creed for a long time. Any series can have an off year, and hopefully Ubisoft will do better the next time around. But this year, for the first time ever, I'm telling you to skip the year's biggest Assassin's Creed.

Game Informer - 8/10

Inordinately long load times, repeated onscreen notifications, and a couple of hard freezes prove that Unity is a complex game that hasn’t yet had all of its bugs smashed. However, Unity’s frequent missteps are balanced against an astonishing array of engaging content set in a stunning world. Even as I tallied problems, I marveled at the game’s breadth of gameplay and richly realized world. I encourage fans to give Unity a try, and leave your expectations at the door. For both better and worse, Assassin’s Creed is moving in a new direction.

Polygon - 6.5

The ingredients are all here for a spectacular new standard for the series on Sony and Microsoft's new machines. But in the quest to build something that looked and sounded "next generation," Ubisoft Montreal failed to fix the problems that have accumulated over so many annual release. Combined with an uninspiring story, and a long list of considerable technical problems, Unity falls short of the fresh start Assassin's Creed needs.

Destructoid - 7/10

If Ubisoft fixes the glitches, Assassin's Creed: Unity will be a much stronger game, even if the ceiling is a bit lower in general. Unity's potential is not as strong as some of the better entries in the series, but it's good enough for existing fans to continue to journey.

USGamer - 3.5/5

Unity attempts to improve on some of Assassin's Creed's innate problems, but it misses the mark as often as it hits. Nevertheless, you'll want to play it for the gorgeous rendition of revolutionary (etc.) France and the involving, opened-ended primary assassination missions. It's clear Ubisoft is trying to shake up the series a bit, but next time they need to shake a little harder.

CatInABox · 11-11-2014 7:41pm

It's nasty to embargo the reviews until way after release. Really nasty. It doesn't actually affect me, as I usually wait a until a sale before buying a game, but it's still a really really nasty way of doing business.

It seems as if there is no difference between the major publishers these days. Ubisoft, EA, Activision, they all seem to have such contempt for their customers.

I'll still buy this, but only after a couple of price reductions.

Josey Wales · 11-11-2014 8:27pm

Well I know I'm part of the problem but im going to but this game regardless of bad reviews. I like to make my own mind up and I've loved every AC game apart from the original.

GottaGetGatt · 11-11-2014 8:28pm

Disappointed to see the reviews, i thought Ubisoft would really up their game.Just going to buy GTA5 next week and buy Unity and Far Cry 4 after a few months.It'll be probably the first AC i wont be buying on release day.They might bring rogue to next gen but tbh it looks like a mirror to AC3 and Black flag with little or no innovation.There's only so far you can go with regards buying games just for the story.

I just hope the Division isn't going to be a let down.

Kharrell · 11-11-2014 8:42pm

Surprised, but not surprised at the same :pac:. Haven't been following the game as intently as previous years, so I was unaware of the embargo, but it makes sense given all the reviews pouring in. I'll pick it up to kill another week till the release of GTA V and another week closer to Far Cry, and I still want to experience Paris in AC environment of sorts, but once completing it, I'll probably trade it in if it doesn't hold my interest past the story and multiplayer.

M!Ck^ wrote: »

Game has been burnt out by the developers. I never liked it beyond AC 2 and even then it wasn't great.

:eek:

Oafley Jones · 11-11-2014 9:14pm

I was never going to bother with this, but the level of technical issues, micro-transaction BS I am concerned what Ubisoft have managed to do to FC4.

tok9 · 11-11-2014 9:45pm

A series that has gone on for this long and still hasn't fixed/improved it's combat doesn't even deserve the reviews it gets.

It says a lot that the features people most enjoy (sailing) have nothing to do with the core of the game.

Redo91 · 11-11-2014 9:47pm

Is the main reason for the mediocre reviews all the glitches and frame rate drops? If so can't they just patch these issues over the next few weeks or months?

The Freeman · 11-11-2014 10:12pm

Redo91 wrote: »

Is the main reason for the mediocre reviews all the glitches and frame rate drops? If so can't they just patch these issues over the next few weeks or months?

Stor

The Freeman · 11-11-2014 10:12pm

Redo91 wrote: »

Is the main reason for the mediocre reviews all the glitches and frame rate drops? If so can't they just patch these issues over the next few weeks or months?

Stor

The Freeman · 11-11-2014 10:12pm

Redo91 wrote: »

Is the main reason for the mediocre reviews all the glitches and frame rate drops? If so can't they just patch these issues over the next few weeks or months?

Stor

Captain Chaos · 11-11-2014 10:17pm

Just cancelled my order of this, what a mess. They should have delayed this and not release another Assassin's Creed 3. I'll pick it up cheaper later when it's patched up and fixed. I thought this was going to be good and the franchise going back to it's roots but no.

Ubi are becoming as bad as EA releasing broken games lately.

um7y1h83ge06nx · 11-11-2014 10:32pm

It's off my list now.

I usually buy myself 2 games for Christmas. Dragon Age 3 and Far Cry 4 are the current front runners.

Redo91 · 11-11-2014 10:35pm

The Freeman wrote: »

Stor

Stor?

The Freeman · 11-11-2014 11:07pm

Redo91 wrote: »

Stor?

Stupid internet. Sorry.

The story has gotten alot of flack stating that, the lead character is bland. And the story is not very interesting.
These were 2 big concerns.

The technical aspects besides bugs were, not being able to use Cover system correctly with stealth missions. and the crowd aspect being annoying and feels like they are not in the same universe as character.

Not. Sure if they can patch that.

Hopefully they can and we get the game we were hoping for on next gen. Personally I don't think this we happen. I have a feeling it will. Be a mess for a while and ultimately will. Be remembered just like creed 3.. Which I played 2 hours of.

dreamers75 · 11-11-2014 11:08pm

It's true that instant kills are gone

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2014-11-11-assassins-creed-unity-review

WTF?

Its a game about assassining and they take that out?

Redo91 · 11-11-2014 11:40pm

The Freeman wrote: »

Stupid internet. Sorry.

The story has gotten alot of flack stating that, the lead character is bland. And the story is not very interesting.
These were 2 big concerns.

The technical aspects besides bugs were, not being able to use Cover system correctly with stealth missions. and the crowd aspect being annoying and feels like they are not in the same universe as character.

Not. Sure if they can patch that.

Hopefully they can and we get the game we were hoping for on next gen. Personally I don't think this we happen. I have a feeling it will. Be a mess for a while and ultimately will. Be remembered just like creed 3.. Which I played 2 hours of.

No worries. Thanks for the reply.

Ya like most I had high hopes for this so it would be a shame if it turned out like ACIII. From reading reviews it seems to me like most actually say it is a decent game but the glitches/frame-rate drops are the biggest issue most people seem to have. What ever about the crowds and cover system couldn't they fix the bugs and frame-rate issues with a patch?

The Freeman · 11-11-2014 11:47pm

Redo91 wrote: »

No worries. Thanks for the reply.

Ya like most I had high hopes for this so it would be a shame if it turned out like ACIII. From reading reviews it seems to me like most actually say it is a decent game but the glitches/frame-rate drops are the biggest issue most people seem to have. What ever about the crowds and cover system couldn't they fix the bugs and frame-rate issues with a patch?

these issues could be rooted in the game engine or ubisoft could just not bother fixing them once they reach their quarterly profit margin for their shareholders. hopefully i am wrong.

interesting to see what nick that far cry 4 is in next week, would not have thought an EA game(dragons age) will be leading the reviews for pre xmas game launches.

cant help but look forward to The Division and Rainbow Six a tiny bit less, or atleast lower my expectations for both by about 30%.we shall see...

The Freeman · 11-11-2014 11:50pm

Redo91 wrote: »

No worries. Thanks for the reply.

Ya like most I had high hopes for this so it would be a shame if it turned out like ACIII. From reading reviews it seems to me like most actually say it is a decent game but the glitches/frame-rate drops are the biggest issue most people seem to have. What ever about the crowds and cover system couldn't they fix the bugs and frame-rate issues with a patch?

the perfect scenario would be, that ubi learn from rushing this9(doubtful ala creed 3), people vote with their wallet and for it to be patched up nice and good next month and we get it in January for 30e on sale.:p

Redo91 · 11-11-2014 11:51pm

The Freeman wrote: »

these issues could be rooted in the game engine or ubisoft could just not bother fixing them once they reach their quarterly profit margin for their shareholders. hopefully i am wrong.

interesting to see what nick that far cry 4 is in next week, would not have thought an EA game(dragons age) will be leading the reviews for pre xmas game launches.

cant help but look forward to The Division and Rainbow Six a tiny bit less, or atleast lower my expectations for both by about 30%.we shall see...

Ya my expectations for those three games have definitely been lowered. Hopefully they get their act together. I'm a big fan of Far Cry and Rainbox Six so would be gutted if they turned out similar.

Redo91 · 12-11-2014 12:00am

The Freeman wrote: »

the perfect scenario would be, that ubi learn from rushing this9(doubtful ala creed 3), people vote with their wallet and for it to be patched up nice and good next month and we get it in January for 30e on sale.:p

Can still see it selling well unfortunately. Heck I'll probably buy it on the cheap in a few months. Just hope they patch it up somehow!

cherryghost · 12-11-2014 12:25am

That moment when you realize Rogue is getting higher reviews than Unity.

tok9 · 12-11-2014 12:36am

Jesus.. I imagine Ubisoft will get a bit more sh*t too for including microtransactions in the game.

Seriously taking the piss!

Captain Chaos · 12-11-2014 12:40am

Yeah, that **** killed Dead Space 3 and that was EA that wrecked that IP.

Killinator · 12-11-2014 12:41am

All I know is ill be buying it regardless of reviews, I've enjoyed every AC I've played so I'm willing to take my chances on this.

Xenji · 12-11-2014 12:43am

tok9 wrote: »

Jesus.. I imagine Ubisoft will get a bit more sh*t too for including microtransactions in the game.

Seriously taking the piss!

It will still go on to sell millions though, that is the problem, no matter how many are pissed till they see a drastic drop in sales they will keep doing it, it was very refreshing to see CD Projekt announcing that all DLC will be free for The Witcher 3.

gizmo · 12-11-2014 12:50am

The Freeman wrote: »

cant help but look forward to The Division and Rainbow Six a tiny bit less, or atleast lower my expectations for both by about 30%.we shall see...

Why? They're completely different teams.

Captain Chaos · 12-11-2014 12:55am

gizmo wrote: »

Why? They're completely different teams.

It's nothing to do with teams, it's Ubi's management forcing out broken/unfinished games lately. AC3 was a mess, Watch Dogs was false advertising and now this buggy and under performing mess of a game. Bad track record lately. Only Black Flag was the last decent game that looked and worked as pitched.

There has not been a decent Rainbow Six or Ghost Recon game since they left the PC and went to consoles anyway.

J. Marston · 12-11-2014 1:08am

The new crouch button lets Arno sneak up on people in a way that's more predictable and useful than the stealth controls in the series' earlier games. It's tied to the left trigger, and on paper, it works similarly to the generally excellent stealth controls in Ubisoft's Splinter Cell games. But it and the game's cover-snapping do not gel, in part because the game, frustratingly, does not allow you to corner around an object you're covering behind or easily snap from one piece of cover to another. Imagine you're in a room full of chairs and desks. A guard is walking back and forth. You've taken cover behind a desk where he can't see you. You've pressed the A button and you're "stuck" to it. The guard walks away from you and you want to sidle around to the side of the desk to get a bead on him before pouncing. You can't, because you cannot turn a corner while crouched and snapped to cover. You have to unsnap, creating space between you and the desk, risking detection, and then you have to sneak around the corner of the desk and snap again. This is not a hypothetical. It happens during the first big stealth mission.

That would annoy me so much.

gizmo · 12-11-2014 1:40am

Captain Chaos wrote: »

It's nothing to do with teams, it's Ubi's management forcing out broken/unfinished games lately. AC3 was a mess, Watch Dogs was false advertising and now this buggy and under performing mess of a game. Bad track record lately. Only Black Flag was the last decent game that looked and worked as pitched.

There has not been a decent Rainbow Six or Ghost Recon game since they left the PC and went to consoles anyway.

That's not really how it has worked though. AC3, for instance, was in development for over two and a half years, lending it the longest dev period of any entry since the first title in the series. The problems with that game were fundamentally to do with its design, both in terms of the world and the lead character. No amount of extra time given to the project was going to change that.

Similarly, Watch Dogs had quite a protracted development period but quite obviously over promised and under delivered. While I've yet to play it, the majority of complaints I've read again focused on tired design and a poor underdeveloped protagonist. Graphics issues aside, again this doesn't really indicate an issue with a rushed production schedule.

Now, I'm not going to argue that these games were released without bugs, especially if you looked at some of the undercooked PC versions, but I can't agree that their primary problems have been caused by Ubi forcing out broken or unfinished games. Hell, look at Black Flag and the initial reception to Rogue, these games have had the tightest development cycles yet have been praised more than their mainline brethren.

If you want to level real criticism at Ubi, I'd go with either changing the direction of the series from it's originally planned trilogy and losing Patrice Désilets in the process or insisting on devoting such a large number of resources to the series in order to pump out an iteration annually causing it to stagnate. As johnny_ultimate said below, it could really use a year or two off to give people some breathing space and the devs some freedom to try something really new. Or they could just finish the ****ing series and give Michel Ancel the budget he deserves for Beyond Good & Evil 2.

As for the quality of Rainbow Six titles, while I pine for a return to the days of the original games where planning was key to mission success, the first Vegas title was pretty great and was roundly well received. I have absolutely no idea how the new one is going to fair but I'm going to keep an open mind and at the very least, stop telling myself the footage at E3 hinted at more of a SWAT4 style game.

Penn · 12-11-2014 9:33am

Despite huge reservations, I pre-ordered the game from Amazon a few weeks ago as I do love the AC series and I know I'd still get a lot of enjoyment out of the game.

Reading reviews this morning though, my reservations don't seem to have been huge enough. I've now attempted to cancel the game (currently in the process of being dispatched). If I do get it cancelled, I'll likely try and pick it up second hand after Christmas, but most of what I've read in reviews troubles me too much.

Edit:Cancelled

ZiabR · 12-11-2014 9:58am

I was looking forward to this game until I read the performance reviews. How this game was released amazes me, its a disgrace. Another rushed game that clearly has not been optimzed with a new engine not running the way it should be.

How you can justify 20fps on the PS4 and 24fps on the XO is laughable...

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digitalfoundry-2014-assassins-creed-unity-performance-analysis

I think I will be giving this one a miss until a few patches are released and I can pick it up second hand.

Will hold out for Farcry 4.

wes · 12-11-2014 11:22am

Between the micro transactions and the bad reviews, may just wait till this drops in price next year.

Rogue seems to be the better game, and will probably get that, whenever they release it for PC/Next Gen.

Oafley Jones · 12-11-2014 11:29am

tok9 wrote: »

Jesus.. I imagine Ubisoft will get a bit more sh*t too for including microtransactions in the game.

Seriously taking the piss!

Micro-transactions can be fine. If they're implemented correctly that is. Ive no problem with the likes of Horse Armour. But Unity seems to be taking the chugger approach; jumping in front of you, waving it's hands and basically being a ****ing pest. It's a nasty direction these gen has taken. Also app bull****... Taken from GAF

I tried to open a treasure chest, but was told I needed the Assassin’s Creed companion app to open it, with no additional information or context.

I tried to open another treasure chest, and was told I needed to sign up for Assassin’s Creed Initiates to open it.

When I paused the game, the second option in the pause menu is an eStore that lets you spend real money on time-saving boosts, bonus in-game currency, and so-on.

Zero-Cool · 12-11-2014 11:33am

Man that's shyte, I remember a dev playing a preview build a few months back and while scaling a building, he found a a secret door that he could pick the lock. A message popped up on screen saying "Lockpick skill too low" and an option to pay to unlock the Lockpick skill there and then. I know you're not being forced to pay for the lockpick skill but the way it just popped up on screen looked awful. Wouldn't care in the slightest if it said, level up first by gaining more xp from side missions, challenges, etc.

Captain Chaos · 12-11-2014 11:35am

Basically pay to win. Pay now to finish the game and play no more missions. That will be next.

Sephiroth_dude · 12-11-2014 11:38am

sheehy83 wrote: »

Man that's shyte, I remember a dev playing a preview build a few months back and while scaling a building, he found a a secret door that he could pick the lock. A message popped up on screen saying "Lockpick skill too low" and an option to pay to unlock the Lockpick skill there and then. I know you're not being forced to pay for the lockpick skill but the way it just popped up on screen looked awful. Wouldn't care in the slightest if it said, level up first by gaining more xp from side missions, challenges, etc.

Ahhh here.........pay with cash like?

Zero-Cool · 12-11-2014 11:40am

Sephiroth_dude wrote: »

Ahhh here.........pay with cash like?

tripperman · 12-11-2014 11:44am

i think ill get rogue first and wait and see if it comes down in price around christmas

ERG89 · 12-11-2014 11:46am

logik wrote: »

I was looking forward to this game until I read the performance reviews. How this game was released amazes me, its a disgrace. Another rushed game that clearly has not been optimzed with a new engine not running the way it should be.

How you can justify 20fps on the PS4 and 24fps on the XO is laughable...

Yeah I got Black Flag and there was a huge patch to download first, really tempers enthusiasm for something you just bought....AC:III was probably the worst performing game I ever bought pre patch.
At least the Clueless Gamer Review was funny, can`t post a link as i`m still a new user

Sephiroth_dude · 12-11-2014 11:47am

sheehy83 wrote: »

That's ridiculous though.

ZiabR · 12-11-2014 11:51am

ERG89 wrote: »

Yeah I got Black Flag and there was a huge patch to download first, really tempers enthusiasm for something you just bought....AC:III was probably the worst performing game I ever bought pre patch.
At least the Clueless Gamer Review was funny, can`t post a link as i`m still a new user

I am just after thinking aswell. When it was announced that the PS4 and XO would both be running 900p people were going mental saying that it was clearly MS paying Unisoft off to keep the resolution at 900p. Now looking at the performance reviews of the game the PS4 is dropping to 20fps at 900p.

Imagine if it was running 1080p... christ i shudder to think what the fps would be then.

This game has launched in a Beta state, it is a disgrace...

The Freeman · 12-11-2014 12:27pm

gizmo wrote: »

That's not really how it has worked though. AC3, for instance, was in development for over two and a half years, lending it the longest dev period of any entry since the first title in the series. The problems with that game were fundamentally to do with its design, both in terms of the world and the lead character. No amount of extra time given to the project was going to change that.

Similarly, Watch Dogs had quite a protracted development period but quite obviously over promised and under delivered. While I've yet to play it, the majority of complaints I've read again focused on tired design and a poor underdeveloped protagonist. Graphics issues aside, again this doesn't really indicate an issue with a rushed production schedule.

Now, I'm not going to argue that these games were released without bugs, especially if you looked at some of the undercooked PC versions, but I can't agree that their primary problems have been caused by Ubi forcing out broken or unfinished games. Hell, look at Black Flag and the initial reception to Rogue, these games have had the tightest development cycles yet have been praised more than their mainline brethren.

If you want to level real criticism at Ubi, I'd go with either changing the direction of the series from it's originally planned trilogy and losing Patrice Désilets in the process or insisting on devoting such a large number of resources to the series in order to pump out an iteration annually causing it to stagnate. As johnny_ultimate said below, it could really use a year or two off to give people some breathing space and the devs some freedom to try something really new. Or they could just finish the ****ing series and give Michel Ancel the budget he deserves for Beyond Good & Evil 2.

As for the quality of Rainbow Six titles, while I pine for a return to the days of the original games where planning was key to mission success, the first Vegas title was pretty great and was roundly well received. I have absolutely no idea how the new one is going to fair but I'm going to keep an open mind and at the very least, stop telling myself the footage at E3 hinted at more of a SWAT4 style game.

Ubisoft is a huge company. They could have 10 lads in an office in Montreal working on the last 2 months not 300.i wouldnt assume that there were full teams years on end working on these titles . They knew what they were released and marketing. And they released them anyways for the Xmas period.

Watchdogs was false advertising simple as. It didn't look half as good as it did 2 years previous. I expect the division and rainbow six we be similar. Hopefully not.

Retr0gamer · 12-11-2014 12:51pm

According to Digital Foudry it's running better on Xbox One than PS4. The comments section is pure comedy.

Soby · 12-11-2014 12:53pm

Another annoying thing is I preloaded the game and now about 20 minutes into it and can't go further because it hasn't finished downloading. Still 10gb to go. What kinda preload is that

um7y1h83ge06nx · 12-11-2014 1:37pm

That transaction stuff is terrible!

A disgrace that a full price title is acting like some crappy smartphone game.

I don't mind stuff in a little free game but when I pay money for a AAA console game I don't want this rubbish.

Glad it's not great as I can easily boycott it.

12-11-2014 1:42pm

Retr0gamer wrote: »

According to Digital Foudry it's running better on Xbox One than PS4. The comments section is pure comedy.

Just reading some of it there...Could it get anymore childish? Hilarious stuff.
I think we should extract some and post it here for ****s and giggles :P

Mr Freeze · 12-11-2014 1:46pm

M!Ck^ wrote: »

I think we should extract some and post it here for ****s and giggles :P

Post some for the craic.

Game sites are blocked at work!

12-11-2014 1:48pm

Quote:
"Digital Foundry: Outside of more open areas, Assassin's Creed Unity manages to deliver a consistent 30fps on both consoles for prolonged periods of time

Translation of diplomatic wording:
When standing perfectly still and directly facing a wall within an empty room this sub-1080p game runs at 30fps."

:pac::pac:

lee_baby_simms · 12-11-2014 1:48pm

Christ...what a disaster.

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Assassins Creed - Unity

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