Tomwithnonumbers
Since: Dec, 2010
11/01/2015 00:00:00
Everyone explicitly calls the Thames stuff Frogger. It's making me curious now, is it literal playing frogger? =D
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Not revolutionary, but a great game and solid installment
I made a risky decision to pre-order this game two weeks before release, later worried it wouldn't be worth it. But I'm pleased to say, honestly, it's fantastic.
To address what everyone's thinking about, this game runs much more smoothly than Unity did. There are framerate drops and occasionally a problem with some NP Cs, but this is distracting at worst.
The two protagonists, Jacob and Evie, are very likable and interesting. They play off of each other perfectly and it's very saddening to see their escalating disagreements throughout the story. The legion of supporting characters are great too, namely Crawford Starrick and Maxwell Roth, some of the best villains the series has seen.
The gameplay handles very well, taking some of Unity's better machanics (like controlling where you throw your bombs). The grappling hook works extremely well for people who want to use it, and for those that don't (which I completely understand) it's completely optional. It's awesome to to raid boats, or especially trains, where you have to set yourself up to board. Playing Frogger with the constant boat traffic on the Thames rarely gets old, and carriages handle surprisingly well. You can upgrade your Rooks and eventually recruit five at a time, an interesting take on the Brotherhood mechanic from, well, Brotherhood. Combat is easy to get the hang of, and while it's a little repetitive (as most AC titles are) I still had a lot of fun with it.
The graphics aren't quite as good as Unity, and the crowds are smaller, but the presentation is much better with a pleasing night-day cycle.
The music in this entry is excellent. It completely fits with the time era and helps the city feel alive in combination with boat and carriage traffic. Whether it's playful violin on the Thames, a short and victorious piece whenever you conquer a Stronghold, or beautiful (and sadly short) vocals during the title sequence, the music really helps an already solid experience.
Overall, this game is great, on par with pre-Unity entries. It can stand alone as a great game even without Unity for comparison. It doesn't stand out from other previous entries, but on the upside, that's because it's just as good. I can tell I'm going to have a great time with it for months, probably years to come. The final verdict is a solid 9/10.