Grade: D+
In its ambition to create a fully realized and living version of 1790s Paris, “Assassin’s Creed: Unity” stumbles badly in many respects.
Given that this game was developed exclusively for next-generation consoles, one would hope that Ubisoft Montreal gets its act together for future releases.
You play as Arno Victor Dorian, who is a near carbon copy of Ezio Auditore from “Assassin’s Creed II.”
The difference is the war between the Assassins and Templars is now at a new front during the events of the French Revolution.
As a side note, there is no longer a playable concurrent story set in the present day, with this meta-narrative taking place as a series of cut scenes.
The game, technically, is not nearly up to par with other releases. The frame rate can stutter and freeze erratically. Texture pop-in is a concern in larger areas as well.
Non-player characters are scattered liberally throughout the expanse of Paris, but many of them are copy-pasted versions of one another and sometimes don’t load quite in time for Arno to avoid.
However, probably the most disgusting new feature in “Unity” is the proliferation of microtransactions. Several customization options in the game can be purchased immediately with real-world money.
This behavior has no place in a $60 release.
Add to that the incessant pushing of the companion application and online network plastered across all of the different menus and even in the game, and it leads to a very annoying experience.
On the flip side, there is a lot of nice texture work, and Ubisoft did succeed in creating a visual feast for the eyes at the expense of a smooth frame rate. Art direction and animation qualities are top notch here.
The vast majority of the activities follow the standard “Assassin’s Creed” formula of insta-fail stealth missions, near-pointless collectibles scattered across the map and the scaling of towers to open up the minimap.
This is Ubisoft’s formula at its most generic.
Controls have always been finicky at best in “Assassin’s Creed,” but Paris’ dense environments make that more blindingly obvious.
To address this, a descend button has been built into the controls to make it more intuitive, but it’s not much help when it takes Arno far too many attempts to get into a window or constantly sticks to surfaces when not necessary.
“Assassin’s Creed: Unity” is very disappointing for the seventh iteration in a well-established series.
Technical glitches, crass monetization and an abject failure to address the series’ longstanding problems with controls and camera result in a mediocre experience and a poor showing for Ubisoft.
While patches are on the way, this is not a title to recommend to anyone but the most hardcore “Assassin’s Creed” fans.
