Let me say that I am a fan of the Assassin's creed series. Before playing this game I did a marathon through the rest over the last few months. In my opinion, the biggest problem that I noticed through almost every iteration of the series is the lack of completion. Each game just doesn't feel complete. Your character never quite moves as smoothly as you would like, stealth is never that satisfying, and the cutscenes were almost always really rough in animation and lip synching. Some were better than others technically, but through and through, each had their own share of annoyances. In my opinion, Black Flag finally got things to a place that I really enjoyed. The stealth felt satisfying and although my character would sometimes do things when I didn't need him to (go into corner mode), he almost never did things when I really didn't want him to. Cutscenes were better, and my character moved more fluidly. But alas, Unity took a lot of the things that I thought they were finally getting a wrap around and mucked it all up again; as badly as you can get, really. A shame too, since I really wanted to love this game.
Let me first say that it's a really pretty game and Paris is so enjoyable to just look at. This is a lot of the reason why it's so painful, because I really wanted to stay in Paris for a long time and explore every nook and cranny, but my anger and frustration at the game mechanics made me leave it. My only real gripe graphically is that the hair is just plain awful. It's like they made each strand of hair like pieces of colored spaghetti and it just looks really bad in my opinion. The cutscenes, though, are the best they have been, even if the dialogue is pretty drab most of the time.
Basically, there are two reasons why I believe this game is just not fun. Arno is an arrogant, annoying prick that somehow is not repulsed by someone who calls him piss-pot most of the game. And the mechanics have been so screwed with that stealth is just awful, and getting somewhere with precision is a crapshoot.
Let me begin with Arno...in the beginning of the game, he's actually somewhat enjoyable to play as. He's cocky a bit, but in that young, naive, foolish way that only a teen can be and still be forgiven. He seemed to have potential. However, after he becomes an Assassin and loses every person he really cared about, which you think would call for some introspection and maybe a bit of humility, instead, makes him into a dick. He makes little snide comments to his superiors like an adolescent and he seems to act like he knows more than those around him. I don't know what UBI was trying to do, but you have to like the hero you're playing and I didn't really like Arno, or for that matter, the whole of the Assassin order. They all seemed like political snobs to me and it just got stale. This made the whole story rather painful in my opinion.
My absolute biggest complaint to this game though is the mechanics. I could have forgiven the story and Arno, because Paris is huge and beautiful and would have been fun to explore, but getting about Paris is a pain most of the time, and doing many of the side missions was just not fun. The stealth is the worst part of this game hands down. I can see what they were trying to do, but the execution is awful. I cannot tell you how many times I wanted Arno to corner cover somewhere and instead he clings to another object right in the view of the enemy, blowing my cover and pissing me off. In Black flag you just walked to a corner and you cling to it, which really worked for me. In Unity, you press X (or A) and hope and pray he clings to the wall or corner you want him to. Half the time he did, the other half, I was swearing and yelling because I had to restart the checkpoint, because he clung to a wall I didn't expect him to; and to me, being an assassin is about being "sneaky", not getting your cover blown because the controls are idiotic, and then fighting your way through, which is near impossible with the more challenging combat.
Speaking of combat, I didn't mind that they made combat harder, although being a bad-ass with a sword in the earlier games was awesome, but by doing so they really push you towards stealth, which only highlights even more how bad it truly is. What's more, combat isn't the only thing that is harder. The guards in this game must be getting payed very well, because they have some of the best vision and concentration of any security guard I've ever known. You move a step in the wrong direction and they will spot you. Then, they won't forget you and if you get anywhere near them, even if you are above them, they will spot you, I swear. I get trying to be realistic, but this just adds to all the problems with stealth, and none of it is fun anymore. And with no ability to whistle, good luck dispatching guards without being seen. Seriously, if you get these games for stealth, stay away from this one. It will only piss you off.
My other gripe with the mechanics is this new up and down climbing. Again, I get what they were doing and if it worked well it would be awesome. However, while it does work most of the time when you're just free-running, whenever I wanted to get on a specific shelf or balcony, or land at a very specific spot on the ground, I had to go as slow as a snail with the controls for fear of landing nowhere near where I intended. Half the time I would push the controls to go up in order to land on a post of my choice, and instead, my character went flying towards another post, right in the view of a guard. Basically, all the controls to this game needed a lot more refinement before this game hit the shelves.
This brings me to my conclusion. This game, even with it's patches, which have certainly helped the frame rate and glitch issues, is still just unfinished and unrefined. This makes the game very annoying and frustrating to play, in my opinion. If you have a boatload of patience and aren't looking for a game that allows you to be an actual "stealthy" assassin, then maybe this game is for you. I wanted a game that added to the solid mechanics and stealth that I believe Black Flag had. Instead, it feels like they turn your character into a cripple who can't excel at any of the things he use to, and instead stumbles around like a bumbling idiot. I like the thoughts behind what they were trying to do. Not plummeting to your death off of a building would be great, and a more refined stealth system would be awesome as well. However, though there is some gems to be gleaned from the system they set in place, as a whole, it is a frustrating and game-breaking experience. I would not recommend a purchase at all.
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GF365: "Since the first Assassin’s Creed game, there have been entries up until now. There are more than a few titles that are far from an ideal stealth game. Let’s discuss why 2014’s Assassin’s Creed Unity is one of the best games in the series."
Glitchy as hell and flat story, nah this aint it. AC2, brotherhood and 4 were amazing games in every respective
Yeah i would say brotherhood and 4 were the best for me. I have not played the new ones and Unity was my last one. Seems like i made a good choice.
I gave up after Revelations. Just couldn't bring myself to care anymore and I got burned out of the gameplay.
Definitely agree on 2 and Brotherhood though. Great games.
After constant glitches Arno being boring nah I am good I skipped Unity. I will always like the Ezio trilogy, Black Flag, Rogue, Odyssey, Syndicate. I use to love the franchise but now it feels stale and boring. But my list of favorite entries into the franchise will vary from other players favorite entries.
Odyssey is a really well-made RPG game ... but it ain't a proper AC game, even though its part of the lore
It’s funny because, at launch, it was universally panned for being unplayable. It’s a great game that holds up today. I’m glad they fixed it.
The only good things i remember from Unity are pretty graphics and really good descending mechanics (even though it sometimes didn't make much sense, when your character can drop down from like 10 meter height onto a flagpole perfectly).
Game is glitchy to this day, i was playing in it years after the release date (with all the DLCs) and it's still broken. You had to reload missions too often for my taste (characters do not spawn, you fall through the floor, getting stuck in falling/sitting/aiming animation, hidden blade stop working, assassination target running away at the start of the mission). Story was meh, searching for all the treasures wasn't enjoyable at all. Coop was pretty much useless, i've beaten every coop mission in solo. Helix rifts were awful as well.
Not saying i hate this game or anything, but it got too many problems.
Assassin's Creed (i know it's a controversial opinion) and Assassin's Creed 2 are still great to this day.
Being a game renowned for its bugs and glitches, Assassin's Creed Unity still has a lot to offer players, especially with its beautifully designed open world. The majority of the game takes place in the city of Paris, which is filled with amazingly accurate details of the French Revolutionary era. This makes it a unique game like no other.
If Ubisoft ever started remaking/remastering the AC games for PS5 this would be at the top of my list. Apart from the bugs its actually are really good game
The last AC I really dug, thought it looked stunning and I didn't experience any glitches or anything, would love to see it remade.
If I remember correctly, all the residents spoke English in cockney accents, and no I'm not getting confused with AC Syndicate.
Quite close to my own views. I definitely hated the omniscient guards most, or rather, the red coats. Stay in plain sight when they pass by, prepare to get attacked, because... well, Arno smells I guess? I couldn't get used to controls either, even after I've finished the story, I could still mix up the buttons.
What I'd add is the awful clutter. Open the map and try to find anything. Can't? Well, Paris apparently is made mostly of chests and collectibles. Ugh.
Unlike you, I didn't like Ubisoft's Paris. It felt small compared to previous AC games, mostly because it's just similar building after similar building. There's just no diversion, unlike previous AC games, to a point where running around Unity's Paris is a mundane task and you wish to unlock fast travel points as fast as possible.
Thanks for the comments. I should have added that what I meant I liked about Paris was some of the landmarks as a few of them were a pleasure to walk through. But the rest, yea, it was kind of same old building after same old building. And as much as some say Arno can move, to me, it feels like he pauses before every move he makes. It seemed very slow for some reason. Totally agree about all the clutter on the map and all those multicolored chests. Very annoying as well.
I tried to hit the highlights of why I think the game is broken. For me, most of the other things were just annoying to work around, but the actual gameplay itself feels so disjointed and I'm constantly fighting with the controls, and that's why I recommend that others don't purchase. I probably could have handled or ignored the rest, but not that.
Man, I actually love these games, but if they can't get their shit together over there, they may never realize the full potential that every fan is waiting for them to hit. Instead, they focus on adding more crap instead of improving the core fundamentals of the game. Sad, as this IP is so much fun to me even with the problems in the past. But this game I can't forgive.
Yea, I felt the same way about this game. I didn't listen to most of the complaints and got it anyway. Sigh indeed.
Finished it last night , really enjoyed it. I thought the stealth and combat was rather good.