Game Picks: ‘Assassin’s Creed: Syndicate’ is another big winner
‘Assassin’s Creed: Syndicate’ is another winner for the Ubisoft franchise
The “Assassin’s Creed” franchise owns and operates one of gaming’s great story premises. Each new title takes place in a different era of history, with players assuming the role of legendary figures in a secret lineage of elite warriors.
Previous installments in the series have placed the action in medieval Europe and the Middle East; Renaissance Italy; Colonial-era New England; Imperial China; and the French Revolution. The modern-day framing story, meanwhile, lends a sci-fi gleam by incorporating concepts of genetic data-mining and virtual-reality time travel.
It’s the premise that keeps on giving, and developer Ubisoft has delivered another winner with “Assassin’s Creed: Syndicate” – a vast open-world adventure set in the sooty streets of Victorian-era London.
Attention to detail
The abiding appeal of the “Assassin’s Creed” games, to my mind, has always been in the hyper-detailed world building. The immersive onscreen environments are produced with the same attention to detail you get in big budget Hollywood period films. Architecture, clothing, weapons, technology – everything is era-appropriate and digitally designed for authenticity.
Victorian London is the perfect milieu for “Assassin’s Creed” and one that fans have been requesting since the series debuted in 2007. The crowded streets and shadowy cobblestone alleys are ideal for the game’s stealthy style of play. With the Industrial Revolution in full swing, the new setting introduces emerging technologies and cultural dilemmas.
We get two terrific new heroes this time around, as well: twin assassins Jacob and Evie Frye. Throughout the storyline, players can switch back and forth between the two protagonists, each of whom has a different philosophy. Evie’s the long-term strategist; Jacob’s the impulsive rogue.
Jacob and Evie share experience points and money as you advance through the story, but you can level-up their skills and gear independently. Take advantage of this setup and you can play the game with two parallel strategies. I like to use Evie for the delicate infiltration missions and Jacob for the muscle work. You’ll need both approaches, as the plot involves wresting control of London’s criminal underground from the evil Templar Crawford Sterrick and his vicious street gang known as the Blighters.
Pros and cons
On the gameplay side, “Syndicate” drops some features from the previous installment – no more co-op multiplayer, for instance – and adds in some new twists. By far the most effective is the grappling hook rope launcher, which makes traversing London’s vertical elements fast and viscerally thrilling. Climbing to the top of Big Ben circa 1868 is maybe the single coolest gaming moment I’ve had this year.
The new “kidnapping” mission template is an interesting new challenge, too. It requires a different kind of tactical thinking that complements traditional tasks of infiltration, exploration, combat and – when required – assassination.
The game’s most conspicuous weakness concerns hijacking and driving horse-drawn carriages. Predictably, the stupid things handle like a shopping cart on ice and vehicular carriage combat is precisely as goofy as it sounds.
Navigating the game’s multiple, overlapping mission structure can be frustrating as well. Simply following the thread of the main story can be confusing when you’re flipping through dozens of maps, tabs, overlays and filters. This has always been a point of tension in the “Assassin’s Creed” series. The freedom to follow hundreds of story threads at any given time can actually be rather paralyzing.
Brushes with greatness
But these are minor complaints, really. “Assassin’s Creed” occupies its own lofty realm in the video game business. It’s one of the industry’s most popular franchises, and one of the busiest: Since 2012, publisher Ubisoft has been cranking out titles yearly, which is a very ambitious development schedule for open-world games of this size.
“Syndicate” is the best series installment in years, largely due to the Victorian London setting and the tremendous art design work all around. I also enjoyed crossing paths with some historical figures of the era, including Charles Dickens, Alexander Graham Bell, Florence Nightingale and Karl Marx. Word is that future expansion releases will feature a nasty little villain known as Jack the Ripper.
Hey, where’s Sherlock Holmes, by the way?
“Assassin’s Creed: Syndicate” is now available on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, and will be available for PC on November 19.
This story was originally published November 5, 2015 at 4:00 AM with the headline "Game Picks: ‘Assassin’s Creed: Syndicate’ is another big winner."