Tag: Ubisoft

U.N.I.T.WHY? Assassin’s Creed: Unity Review

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.

November 20, 2014
Far Cry 4 101 Teaches Us About The Wonders of Kyrat

Far Cry 4 is only a few days away and this new video shows you the beautiful and murderous sides of Kyrat. Does a lot of this look like a re-work of the formula from Far Cry 3? Most definitely. Why try to re-invent the wheel when it works perfect to run over people?

We are prepared to lose countless hours in Far Cry 4 starting November 18th.

November 13, 2014
Far Cry 4 Story Trailer Is All About Choice

http://youtu.be/0kG3n4tE334

In a few short weeks we will finally get our hands on Far Cry 4. To say that we are excited is an understatement. Far Cry 3 was our 2012 Game of the Year for good reason and now we are ready to get lost in the frosty, mountainous terrain of Kyrat.

To get you ready even more, here is the story trailer which plays up that you will have choices to make about which side you will take to help your people. Let’s hope there is a third option to join Pagan Min, just because we are dickheads like that.

November 5, 2014
The Crew Trailer Takes You Coast To Coast

The Crew is a racing title that is showcasing itself as a racing MMO, which may sound a bit weird, yet intriguing. You and your friends can join together and begin a crew (thus the name…durr) and drive around the country completing tasks and racing other crews.

You can drive around the country as a single car, but Ubisoft is hoping you will embrace the team aspect of this racer, which lets you jump from city to city on the fly.

It seems like I will have a tough choice come this fall between The Crew and Forza Horizon 2.

The Crew releases on November 11th.

June 11, 2014
Review Roundup- Watch Dogs

Almost two years after its surprise reveal at E3 2012, Watch Dogs is finally ready for everyone to hack away to their hearts content. The game was originally planned for release in November 2013, but was delayed only a few weeks from release with no new release date given which, of course, made the internet throw around its theories of a broken game.

The delay was only six months and the impression of first reviews think it was a good thing. Let’s see if Ubisoft has a new franchise worth our time.

IGN– 8.4/10

“It can last a lot longer than 20 hours though, because Watch Dogs is extremely good at distracting attention away from the main story with a steady stream of side quests and minigames. I’m a big fan of the gang hideout missions, which really let you test your stealth skills as you take down well-guarded targets (though it’s kinda strange that they ask you to keep the gang leader alive but are cool with murdering everyone else).”

Game Informer– 8.5/10

“On the other hand, the on-foot action is entertaining from the get-go and only becomes more engaging as you unlock new abilities. Hacking items adds a meaningful dimension to combat, allowing you to effortlessly hop between camera feeds to get the layout of the environment, tag foes, and activate traps. The solid shooting mechanics make full-scale firefights enjoyable, but Watch Dogs’ combat really shines with a stealth-minded approach.”

Giant Bomb– 3/5

“The other thing that sets Watch Dogs apart from the typical open-world game is the way its online action is structured. While it still has the same boring online race mode that every open-world game seems to have these days (does anyone actually still want to engage in an open-world race in a game that wasn’t built for racing?), it also has a handful of cat-and-mouse-like modes where one player has to get close to another player to steal something from them. These online invasions pop up against your will, forcing you to deal with another player before you can proceed. The rewards for succeeding in this mode are minimal and they seem to always pop up when you’re trying to start another mission, making them feel like a hassle that’s preventing you from doing the thing you actually want to be doing.”

Polygon– 8/10

“In fact, despite its open-world trappings, Watch Dogs does the most with its inventive abilities and great mechanics when it has the most structure. Story missions frequently enable and even encourage a lengthy recon phase. Any new assignment always involved my search for a CCTV camera which would then spider outward like cracked glass as I went from camera to laptop to junction box and on and on, spying weakness, marking targets.”

Gamespot– 8/10

“Watch Dogs’ narrative may win no awards, but as an open-world playground, the game rightfully deserves to be mentioned with heavyweights like Grand Theft Auto and Saints Row. This playground isn’t just loaded with stuff to do, as most such games are; it’s loaded with lots of terrific stuff to do. I lost myself for an hour solving chess puzzles. Other times, I shot up aliens in several of Watch Dogs’ augmented reality games.”

Joystiq– 4/5

“To the game’s credit, the temptation to peek exists without formal judgement, and there are no good or evil points to earn in your approach. Your reputation as a terrorist determines how likely it is for someone to call the cops on you, especially if you’ve been driving on the sidewalk, but the game is happy to let you spy, stalk, or brutally intervene when criminal activity appears in a dank alley.”

May 27, 2014
Assassin’s Creed: Unity Reveal Trailer

Assassin’s Creed reveals are always anti-climatic. Somehow, someway we always know what is coming before the official Ubisoft uncovering. This year was no different with images leaking a few days ago of Assassin’s Creed: Unity, seemingly set in 18th century Paris.

After the amazing Assassin’s Creed IV, I have to admit this is a bit of a letdown.

Assassin’s Creed: Unity is being developed by the team that handled Assassin’s Creed III. Let’s hope they have learned a few tricks since then to make their game…well…exciting.

March 21, 2014
Far Cry 4 To Be Set In The Himalayas

Eurogamer is reporting that Far Cry 4 will see a drastic change in setting and take place in the Himalayas. Far Cry has always been associated with tropical settings (or just damn hot if we are talking about Far Cry 2), so the switch to the mountainous terrain will be a huge shift.

The gameplay will remain close to that of Far Cry 3 (our 2012 Game of the Year) including outposts that need liberating. One new feature will be the ability to ride elephants.

You heard it ride. Elephants…that you ride. I love you Far Cry.

Expect an unveil at the Ubisoft press conference at this year’s E3. A release is expected before the end of March 2015.

March 21, 2014
Watch Dogs Release Date Announced With New Trailer

Ubisoft’s Watch Dogs will release on May 27th worldwide after a six-month delay.

The game was delayed only weeks before its November 2013 release date to give the team more time to polish the game and, one would assume, work out any last minute technical issues.

This is sooner than I was expecting for Watch Dogs to hit shelves. When it was delayed so soon to release last year, I thought there may be some serious issues with the game. I wasn’t expecting a release until at least July. Looks like Mario Kart has some competition in May.

A new trailer has been released with the release news. Check it out.

For some reason it gives me a futuristic Sleeping Dogs more than Assassin’s Creed.

March 6, 2014
Review: Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag

Thank you Assassin’s Creed IV. I thought this franchise was beyond saving but you have shown me that there is life still left in the yearly (ugh) franchise. I had given up hope after Assassin’s Creed 3, which I never got close to finishing for the simple fact it was boring…as…hell. They were working with one of the most fascinating time periods ever and managed to muck it all up.

Not so here!

The team on AC IV have taken the central idea that occupies the mind of anyone that looks for more out of life; “what I wouldn’t give to be a pirate”. Seriously, who has not thought that? If you haven’t then you can start now…

I will wait.

Ships, booty (treasure), swordplay, booty (not treasure), sending people to Davy Jones’ locker. This is the tale of Edward Kenway, a man who leaves his wife to try and make a better life for them only to become one of the greatest pirates (and assassins) of his day. The story begins with Edward killing an assassin and taking his identity. He is a pirate after all. He is then sucked into the familiar war between the Templars and assassins that we all know so well by now in the AC series. I loved the fact that it was introduced in a new way by having Edward weasel his way into it by taking on someone else’s role all while in the search of a great life-changing treasure. One of the many changes that worked.

Soon after, Edward becomes captain of a ship, which he christens the Jackdaw, and you are off to sail around the massive world with an assortment of wonders awaiting you.

You can feel the effect of Far Cry 3 all over this game and not just by the looks of the locale. If the theory that Far Cry and Assassin’s Creed share the same world began on the Rook Islands in Far Cry 3, this idea is only furthered on the open seas of Assassin’s Creed 4. The crafting system has been brought over, albeit in not as big a way. You will go from location to location in search of deer, monkey, jaguar, etc. to further expand your abilities. You also have the ability to craft new outfits on top of the ones you can purchase. There is one that looks like Oliver Queen’s island outfit from Arrow…you know I had to go for it.

The naval battles in AC 3 seemed to be a testing ground for what is the biggest part of your pirate adventure. Sailing the open seas is so damn refreshing that I often found myself setting out in whatever direction just to see what trouble I could get into. The Jackdaw has its own set of upgrades that are required, not suggested, to survive life on the water..

At first it can be daunting to take on ships of a higher caliber but after making the right additions, you will own any ship that comes your way (except the fabled legendary ships). During every battle, when you have weakened an opponent, you have the choice to destroy them or board them and take their supplies. The bigger the ship, the more you must do to take it over. Where a level 17 may have you kill ten crew members, a level 36 Man O’ War will ask you to kill 20 crew and the captain as well as make your way to the top of the enemies mast and cut their flag free.

Combat has been made much more simple and has a certain Arkham series feel to it. It is your basic block and counter but I never felt overwhelmed when surrounded by enemies. It will be hard to go back to any previous AC game again after getting used to it.

Thankfully, one of the improved areas in AC IV is its story which is actually pretty easily followed even with all the time jumps, Templar and assassin history and trips to the present day for some first-person Abstergo action. Don’t let that last part scare you off. It is not near as intrusive or mind numbing like the Desmond parts of…well any past AC game. These segments do not last very long and if you get into them you will be given some hints about the possible future of the franchise (wild west AC? Hell yeah!).

The farther you travel into Edward’s story it becomes easy to say that he is the best protagonist this franchise has ever had. He is a fully fleshed out character whose goal is very clear even if his way of getting there is unique. He has more personality than all characters in previous entries combined. Maybe that comes from the freedom of the time period and profession the developers have used here. Either way, I would not mind more adventures with Edward even if we all know his ending.

There is so much more I could touch on about what this game holds. I spent over 40 hours sailing and boozing and assassinating and still have quite a bit to do. Whether it is using the diving bell to search for deep sea treasure, sneaking into enemy territory to loot warehouses for ship supplies or just finding random ships to pillage, you will never be left wanting. AC IV does fall into the traps of previous entries sometimes with way too many follow and eavesdrop missions but it does not change the fact that this is easily the best entry in the entire series. My favorite Assassin’s Creed (II) now, finally, seems obsolete.

That is a good thing. Let’s hope Ubisoft can keep the momentum going forward.

January 30, 2014
South Park: The Stick Of Truth Delayed Again To March 2014

Photo courtesy gamespot.com

More bad news for South Park fans as Ubisoft has delayed South Park: The Stick of Truth again. The game will now release on March 4, 2014.

Trey Stone and Matt Parker have been closely involved with the project to ensure that it is like playing an actual episode of South Park.

Ubisoft North America president Laurent Detoc was surprisingly honest about the delay:

“Within three weeks after acquiring the game, we sadly realized we had to turn this thing upside down if we hoped to deliver the experience everybody wanted. It’s been such a major overhaul to get to the point where we are that we couldn’t let it go, even if that meant missing December.”

While this certainly does suck worse than a bowl of chili made of Scott Tenorman’s parents, if it means the game will be a more polished and quality game I am all for it.

Ubisoft also released this seven minute gameplay trailer today as the boys hunt down The Bard on their quest for The Stick of Truth.

October 31, 2013