This past fall, AC fans were greeted with not one, but two major Assassin’s creed games, one of which I have already reviewed. Meant as exclusive for last-gen to appease people who had not yet adopted the new-gen of consoles, this game, instead of the bloody French Revolution setting with Arno Dorian, is a more familiar setting before, during, and after the Seven Years war between Great Britain and France for American Control. Whilst Unity wanted to reinvent the franchise with new technologies and capabilities, Rogue takes a comfortable spot giving us pretty much the same as what AC IV: Black Flag offered, which means swash-buckling ship-faring and island exploration in the River Valley and Arctic. But did taking the “play-it-safe” card work in their favor? Short answer is….well, kind of.
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It’s best to start with story, as it is easily Rogue’s best feature. Taking place, as said before, in the time frame of the Seven Years war, the story follows a young assassin named Shay Patrick Cormac, an Irishman with not too much respect for authority. Underneath the wing of guidance Achilles, in his younger and much more agile years, Shay tries his best to become the best there is, with actually not a lot of information of Shay’s more personal history. After going on a mission with an ancient artifact that turns deadly for thousands, Shay runs back and curses Achilles as Shay was not only not informed better about these things, but also suspects Achilles is to blame for a similar incident that happened in Haiti and is disregarding civilian life for the sake of the Assassin Brotherhood. Being cornered, Shay decides to take one of the crucial keys to finding the other artifacts to the grave, but is thwarted as a Templar saves him from his death, and sympathizes with Shay as the Templars have known about these artifacts and how truly catastrophic the consequences are for disturbing them. In order to stop the assassins from destroying and killing more innocent people under Achilles’ clouded guidance, Shay switches sides to become a full-fledged Templar.
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As said before, this game does everything it can to tell a story that had only been touched upon throughout franchise history, which is to say the perspective of a Templar. Having the lead not only be a Templar, but also an ex-Assassin is a great way of bringing depth to the character. Unfortunately, the story in Rogue is almost a complete opposite of Unity’s story. Whereas Unity had a very simple setup, but great characters and execution, Rogue has a very great setup, but very simple characters and execution. Shay does have moments of doubt and guilt of the paths he’s choosing, and his overall conviction in the end, but every other character in this game seems to be just there. It would be figured that Shay having to hunt down each of his past comrades would be torturous to watch, and for the character of Shay, it certainly is. However, for the player, the supposed friends and allies he has to kill end up seemingly like just simple fodder to further the plot. Pretty much every death in this game caused by Shay is, despite being undoubtedly executed in the right way at the right time, on a character that simply does not have enough depth to be considered a huge loss in the eyes of the player.
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However it could be said that the reason being is for this game’s quick intro without much basking in Shay’s days as an Assassin. In fact, this game is shockingly very short compared to a regular Assassin’s Creed game, clocking in at half the usual length if you skip all the exploration and head straight for story missions. The real-world segment also returns, and thankfully is much more expanded upon than the segment in Unity. Short story is that the player accessing Shay’s memory caused a virus to spread to Abstergo’s entire grid, and the player has to work to restore the servers in order to access Shay’s memory in the correct sequence. The player also has to work with a character named Violet da Costa, who sometimes seems to be trying just a bit too hard. The backstory also given in dropped logs and locked servers is very interesting, as it pertains to characters you actually meet in-game and references the modern-day fight between Assassins and Templars. So despite the setup being a very good one, the experience is somewhat muddled by flat characters and a quick story. However, Shay is powerful enough of a character to carry the story, thankfully, and manages to keep the game interesting.
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As said before, Assassin’s Creed Rogue takes after AC IV’s gameplay of naval exploration and island discoveries, so if you’ve already played AC IV, I hardly need to go on. Nearly everything you consider to be back is back with some touch-ups, albeit some are purely cosmetic. The locations are divided up into 3 segments, the North Atlantic, the River Valley, and New York returning from AC III, though changed slightly to fit the time and to include new mechanics. Edward had a lot of freedom in AC IV, being the privateer he was, but Shay’s exploration is slightly stricter, in most cases. Since the entire world is now divided into these segments, each area sports its own sort of obstacles and weather-related occurrences. While New York is strictly land, the North Atlantic and the River Valley are rather extensive featuring a lot of discoverable land. You’ll crush through icy sheets, icebergs, and other ships with Shay’s ship the Morrigan.
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Most of the ship-faring has remained largely the same with its transition from AC IV, but being the Templar that Shay is, he gets some extra goodies. A lot of the weapons that Shay uses for his ship are far nastier than just a ball and chain, including burning oil and a more powerful ram. Controlling the ship fares largely the same as it did before, with little to no change to how it steers, which is fine because it was hardly bad to begin with. But even with extra weapons and the influence of the British, things will change somewhat on the high seas, as the Assassins are well aware of your travels. If you get too naughty pillaging, the Assassins will send ships to crack you down, much like the Pirate Hunters in AC IV. The flip side is that if they get the drop on you, they’ll board your ship and kill your men in a heartbeat. But if you’re experienced enough, the difficulty will make it seem less like an epic ship battle and more of swatting a fly. The levels of your own ship and the ships you can take on seem a little inconsistent, as you can be half the level of the enemy ship and still take it down without much strategy. But the ships are not the only part of the game, as we’re still a sneaky little Templar.
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If you’ve ever wondered what a Templar fights like, they oddly fight almost exactly like an Assassin, which could go into some philosophy, but is most likely to keep to a working formula. Shay’s movements and attacks are carbon-copied from Edward Kenway, which means Shay is one mean bastard you don’t wanna fight. But of course, it also lets the player weave through an absurd amount of enemies without blinking. However, the game does do enough to warrant the player to sneak around in the form of extra currency and lurking assassins, but we’ll get to the latter later. Fulfilling objectives without breaking into open conflict will reward Shay with extra cash, which in this game is extremely vital and very scarce. Oddly enough, the Monteriggioni income system makes a return in this game along with Unity, and is a much welcomed addition. However, the system won’t let you become king in a day as it did in other games, as many ship upgrades and crafting items are bumped up in price to keep you from buying your way to the top of the food chain. Speaking of items, Shay, apart from knowing all the tricks of an Assassin, also gets some new weapons for himself, which include the air rifle and the grenade launcher. The Air Rifle is a supped up version of the blow dart in AC IV, with a much, much appreciated range boost, and the grenade launcher tosses out either noxious gases or explosive shots to deal to your enemies, which is what you’ll need to face the other Assassins.
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Along with Assassins patrolling your ship routes and setting up bases in the cities, they’ll also be stalking you as you weave around town. Almost everything you did to other enemies in other games and laughed at as you did it, these Assassins can deal the same kind of damage, which is a weird sort of flip-flop scenario. Very rarely is Shay free to do as he pleases, as Assassins can show up around every corner and lurk in any bush. The only way to detect them is using the Eagle Sense, which sports a new look with the radar system that was used in the old PvP Assassin’s Creed Multiplayer. These Assassins, if you’re not careful, can sneak up and take a ridiculous chunk of your health and speed off before you can gain your footing. This new system is a fun little addition and prompts players to be careful, but for seasoned veterans of both the series and the multiplayer, the Assassin efforts on both land and sea are tiny obstacles, which brings to the vital problem of the game, which is the similar gameplay despite these additions. Much like the bomb crafting and recruit system in AC Revelations, these additions can do very little to enhance the experience for people looking for a challenge. For first time players, the new systems can be intimidating and challenging, but for those already experienced in the ways of the Assassin, Rogue is hardly challenging.
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But one factor of gameplay that I personally was shocked to find so improved was the exploration. In AC IV, random areas and islands ranged from little more than patches of sand, giant cliffsides, and some inns. In Rogue, the exploration is completely and fantastically different. Collecting collectables is a much more engrossing and fun experience, as the islands you go to to grab extra cash or the trademark “secret armor” pieces that takes its place in every game, getting these things aren’t exactly challenging, but the design and sheer verticality of these islands is not something to snuff at. Sometimes in AC IV, a secret collectable would be hidden either in a stereotypical cave or on a patch of dirt floating in the sea. In Rogue, you can run all over an island, climbing up mountains and cliff-sides just to figure out how to grab one item, and that presents great design. Rogue boasts an unhealthy amount of new collectables, such as cave paintings, Viking sword pieces, and letters that scouring the seas will take just a bit more effort than just going from place to place. What Rogue lacks in originality in combat and urban exploration, it makes up for in pure mountaineering and climbing like a friggin’ monkey on so many islands with so many secrets.
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However, the presentation and graphical fidelity is where things get…questionable. Assassin’s Creed Unity was barbequed by fans for lacking a solid framerate and its abundance of glitches, but you’d be lucky in Rogue if you played for 5 consecutive seconds with a solid 30 framerate. As for glitches, hell, I counted more just from walking that I did in Unity altogether. The game, despite sharing much of its design with AC IV unfortunately did not take its performance with it. Understandably, the game is exclusive to last-gen, but there are constant lighting glitches, texture glitches, people popping out of the blue, and as said before a framerate which is extremely inconsistent and jittery. Strange hiccups such as Shay not attacking his enemies, or certain enemies simply going blind for a bit can happen without warning and can happen frequently. On a more positive note, certain weather effects like storms and blizzards, along with the look of the sea, are astounding and very impressive. The arctic scenery and glacier design are also very beautiful to look at while sailing by and exploring. The island design is also, as said before, gargantuan and intimidating. Not only that, the music has also been surprisingly made even more amazing. Almost a Jesper Kyd feel, the soundtrack sports some classic AC songs remixed, along with blood-rushing orchestrals that get you ready for whatever the story is going to throw at you. So while the design reigns supreme in islands and towns, the graphic performance can leave a lot to be desired, along with glitches that can be deadly to your enjoyment.
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So what is Assassin’s Creed Rogue? It’s a game that has a Templar for a protagonist, some new weapons, and largely takes after AC IV’s formula. All in All, it’s the third one that is the best description. Rogue does rarely anything new, with additions that could be labelled off as cosmetic, but some think if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. However, much of Rogue needed to be fixed, with its unstable framerate, constant graphical glitches, and AI that you swear is the dumbest on the planet. In spite of that, though, Rogue can be seen as a bit of a humble game, not really meant to be anything spectacular or life-changing, and it succeeds at doing just that. The story, while not having the depth needed, still supported a different take on an age-old idea with the trials and tribulations of an Assassin-turned-Templar, and while the gameplay remained largely the same, the better designed exploration made the game a whole lot more fun to collect everything. Compared with Unity, my own personal choice would still be with Unity, as it just had the right idea to approaching the original AC formula. But, Rogue is still a solid, decent entry in the series, so long as you don’t mind the really weird stuff you’re gonna see.
Mark from WellPlayed writes about five game launches that were impacted by unfortunate scheduling.
Zero Dawn sold really well so I’m not sure this belongs. The second game released next to a big game again and it hurt it some I forget what it was though, oh yeah Elden Ring .
But a good game is a good game to me I don’t care when they release personally but they do have to think about it when you want to get more people to buy it.
From Xfire: "Enemy AI is a difficult subject to tackle in video games. Some may argue that current tech isn't advanced enough to implement ultra realistic AI. However, in a world where your phone's AI can book appointments for you, can't it spot a hooded figure hiding in a 'crowd' of four people? In fact, the AI in 2006's The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion was so smart that the developer had to 'dumb' it down for the final release."
From Xfire: "Blending real-world history with a gripping fantasy story is quite a thrilling concept but with a dozen games released over a period of 13 years, understanding the chronological order of the Assassin’s Creed franchise can be a challenge for anyone. This is further complicated by the fact that Ubisoft decided to leap through the timelines with the release of Assassin’s Creed Origins.
The exact play order of the series can be a heated subject among the core fanbase. Should you play the games in chronological order? Or should you play through the series in order of their release date?"
Cool feature. The anchor point links need to be fixed in the article, but otherwise great stuff. Thank you for posting!
While I enjoyed reading through the text of the review, I got annoyed with those -- between each paragraph. It's a minor thing but it just seems so unnecessary and distracting.