The New Gameplay Of Assassin's Creed Unity

While visiting Ubisoft Montreal for our September cover story on Assassin's Creed Unity and Rogue, the lead developers on the new-gen title Unity emphasized that they were reworking the core pillars of the franchise to go along with their full leap to the next generation. We spoke with creative director Alex Amancio, lead game designer Alex Pedneault, and game designer Max Spielberg about exactly what has changed in the navigation, stealth, and combat gameplay for Assassin's Creed Unity.

[LAWSON72]

I thought this was just an AC game with co-op, man was I wrong. After that I kind of wish it had a dedicated SP lol. The climbing mechanics look slick and a stealth mode is a great addition that should have came sooner. Hopefully the co-op focus does not handicap the depth of the world and still has good storytelling

[starchild]

I like the changes they have made. They seem like very nice improvements. I can't wait for this game.

Btw, the video is pretty nice and it even shows a few glimpses of new gameplay. Check it out, guys.

[mikeslemonade]

AC series is 2nd-rate compared to UC.

[NukaCola]

AC and UC are two entirely different games.

[Mariusmssj]

For me the best parts was when they admitted they done quite a few things wrong and moved away from what assassins creed core was. They seem like they want to go back to the roots and improve upon what they didn't do well.

[DarkOcelet]

Why compare two very different games , and they are both good and untiy is looking like a major improvement since the competitive mp is over and done , the co op seems like it just fits ..

[Back-to-Back]

Looks great. As usual I will buy this game on Black Friday when it gets discounted.

[extermin8or]

@Lawson72 I don't think coop is avilable in all misions, it's it. 's own seperate campaign of missions plus it still seems to have incredible depth in the E3 commentated video the guy mentions "adding a murder mystery to his quest log" so I think it's gona bit more RPG style than before :D

[LAWSON72]

Interesting.. can't wait to play and find out how it all works together.

[lashes2ashes]

It is single player. The co op is only in a section of missions. The majority of the game is single player based.

[XtraTrstrL]

I agree about the 'counter' making AC fights too easy. I like that it's been changed to 'parries'. It should make the nonstop fighting less boring, and more challenging.

[levian]

Yea definitely agree about that. The counter kills made combat insanely easy and boring, but also annoying. Not being able to kill most enemies unless you do a certain counter drives me nuts in games

[DragonKnight]

I really can't wait for this game. The more I see of it, the more I like it, and the fact that he said it was philosophically like Assassin's Creed 1 but with the vast improvements this game is bringing is a very good thing to me because AC1 remains my favorite game in the franchise and more of that is never wrong in my book.

[guyman]

I feel 100% the same way:)

[Exoil]

I'm sorry, but I thought and still think that AC1 was a great game. To show your buddies what nice graphics the PS3 had back in the beginning.

Story wise, gameplay wise, everything except the graphics was just mediocre imo.

Assassins Creed 2 is the real gem in this franchise, with Brotherhood and 4 settling in nice as second and third.

[DragonKnight]

Story wise AC2 doesn't hold a candle to AC1. They flipped the script and made it about an Italian play boy's revenge story while Altair's story was the very beginning of the true story that the AC games should always be. That being Assassin's vs. Templars with Altair's redemption added in.

Gameplay is nearly identical to AC2. AC2 just improved on what was already there and added some new stuff, doesn't mean that it's completely different from the first game.

Brotherhood was a good game, but there's no way it's second place, especially since AC4 is better than it in practically every way.

[DarkOcelet]

Assasins creed 1 was really awesome , i remember how amazed i was when i climbed the first high building and jumped into the bushes , such an awesome feeling , instant classic .

[Exoil]

@DragonKnight: I can't for the life of me even remember the story in AC1, it was just a way to boring game for me to remember, but I remember AC2 perfectly.

Didn't say it was immensely different, just said it was way better.
Far less clumsy controls, less repetitive missions, the world felt much more alive, better characters, better side missions, better everything.

Yes AC4 betters Brotherhood in most ways, just like Brotherhood better AC2 and AC2 is far, far superior than AC1.
But AC4 doesn't have the same AC feel to me as Brotherhood does, which is why for me, Brotherhood is a better AC game.

Jade and all the gaming press hyped AC1 way to much for me, and the game didn't deliver on anything other than pretty graphics and some cool mechanics.

[DragonKnight]

We won't agree on this, and it's all a matter of opinion anyway.

[UltraNova]

Story AC1 was more focused than AC2. If AC1 had variety in the missions/side quests and more interesting stuff to actually do while in free roam it would be unparalleled. AC2 improved on everything except story.

The thing is I enjoyed AC4 more than any other entry in the series. It really shows that they took everything they learned and just made it happen, I just wished they gave more emphasis on the present day story arc and how everything is connected by those entities that truly hold the strings...

[ironfist92]

The changes they've made to the game are astounding. Combat really does look tough, before you could take on 20 guys and walk away, now it seems like 3 or 4 is going to be a challenge.

And they've revamped the stealth mechanic a heck of a lot which is great to see.

Parkour system looks much better and now works with what the players desire rather than against it.

[DragonKnight]

I'd wait and see on the combat.

It could be that either the person playing really sucks or they're purposely trying to make it look tough.

[ironfist92]

I dunno.

Watch closely to the videos and you see how the other enemies stab and attack you even while you're fighting someone else off, and also i noticed the character limping when the enemy kicked him in the leg.

Perhaps there are variations in difficulty for enemies, but I feel like more than a few will be overwhelming whereas one or two will be easy.

[skulz7]

Simply amazing. So far this is my most anticipated next gen title.

[Sevir]

For me the jury is still out, free AC3 I'm burnt out on the franchise. I need to see more, I love the look of the parkour systems, and the cinematic presentation of of the graphics, I'm gonna half to play it to see what's been tightened up.

[GusBricker]

Looks so much more fluid.

[Sketchy_Galore]

I'm still burnt out on the series but that was a great advertisement. Letting you know how they've improved all of those little annoyances that plagued the series, it's a good idea. The main one that does get my interest is the idea that they have assassinations you can go about in your own way. The series had gotten so restrictive, Black flag was a tiny bit better but AC3 was unbelievable for handholding. It felt you were an actor being punished for not hitting your mark or doing the exact action the script said you should.

[starchild]

I don't get that. Even AC3 gave you way more freedom than most games. There was still a tremendous amount of flexibility in how you approached your missions, the order you tackled missions, and how you completed missions.

There were usually bonuses for completing missions in particular ways--for example, using an air assassination to kill your target--but you were certainly free to tackle the missions however you saw fit.

In general Assassin's Creed gives you more freedom than most games do (especially compared to most linear games) and it's one of the qualities I like about the series.

[scark92]

This actually is exciting me, I have not been excited for AC since AC 2 or Brotherhood, Looks fantastic.

[cfc83]

Think i'll pass. Ubisoft would have moved away from AC, but they flog it every year for sales. It just doesn't appeal at all.

[RealtorMDandDC]

Played AC4 on PS4 for the first time in the series. It was a good time. The controls were a little frustrating at time. And the eavesdropping mission were the worst.

What's interesting is Steven Spielberg son Max Spielberg is the game designer.

[victorMaje]

Finally, they seem to be going back to basics, also no more sticky man :)

[Harmy666]

Looks amazing.

I find it weird that they say this is the first Assassin's Creed game that actually has stats for the weapons. In all but he first game, I remember seeing speed, strength etc. for all weapons. Does that mean those stats were all just a lie?

Seriously though, the improvements they've made on Unity, are the main things I've wanted from the Assassin's Creed franchise!