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It is fall, that means another Assassin’s Creed. I admit that my love for the series burned out quickly. AC2 was great and then Ubisoft hit cruise control until last year when AC4 came along and let me steal ships and booty, while stealing my vote for best AC game ever in the process.

I decided to take a chance and buy an Assassin’s Creed game in consecutive years for the first time. We are going to take things in a different direction from normal reviews with this though. Since AC4 is my favorite, and therefore the basis for grading all other games in this series, that will be the starting point of my review for Assassin’s Creed: Unity.

Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag Review

Here we go:

-The best looking AC game made. The amount of detail in the recreation of Paris is staggering. Crisp visuals and cutscenes that remind me why I bought new systems. +1

10/10

-Even though Paris is painstakingly redone, it feels a step backward to be in one city again after sailing the high seas. -1

9/10

-New downward parkour system is a step in the right direction and shows improvements are being attempted. +0.5

9.5/10

-Still can’t help the fact that after seven years and eight games you still have problems with the controls including jumping off of random buildings to your death when there is a clear haystack to jump in. I love the ability to jump into windows to make quick escapes…when it works, which is rarely. -1

8.5/10

-Arno is a good lead for the game. Charismatic and engaging, though not as much as Edward Kenway. +0.5

9/10

-It is just a shame he is wasted in a story that has been used in almost every AC game. -1

8/10

-Making people sign into UPlay or a mobile app to access chests in the game is a new level of dickery. “Hey, I have every chest found and unlocked in this region. Last one! Companion app?! The fuck??” Yes, Ubisoft, I want to take myself out of the flow of the game I am playing and download an app on my phone. Like I remember my UPlay password anyway, I don’t caaaaaare. -1.5

6.5/10

-New murder mysteries are a fun bit of diversion. They are not difficult, with the guilty party being the first person you think, but it is a nice change of pace besides the normal assassination missions. Character customization is improved greatly with a host of costumes, weapons (long & short range) and stat boosts. +0.5

7/10

-I know you want to ship AC on a yearly schedule Ubisoft, but I prefer not to fall through balconies, blend into buildings, have achievements not come up and completely crash and restart my system. -1

6/10

There was fun to have in Assassin’s Creed: Unity. The map is loaded with things to do from the outset. It is just a shame that it took steps back in performance while giving us a generic revenge tale that squanders a beautiful game. If there is another adventure with Arno in the future let’s hope Ubisoft makes sure it is with a better story and a finished product.