Ubisoft, Why...Why...Why do you force me to give my favorite gaming franchise of all time such a low overall rating for one of it's releases? It's killing me to do so like a wristblade in my neck but I'm hoping that it will prevent this travesty from happening to the next PC release. This mess had to be the result of outsourcing a strictly console game to a low balled PC conversion facility to make it classifiable and sellable as a PC game. It's unfair and frankly unconscionable that a company would do this to an AAA level title to squeeze out more profit at the expense of killing the quality and reputation of the franchise while screwing over loyal customers. In no real order is a list of some of my grievances regarding the PC release of this title only as I don't game on consoles expressly for the reason that I don't want to be bound by their hardware limitations and thus software limitations that must be programmed for it.
(1) Performance - I struggled for weeks of adjusting the settings to get this thing to run mostly acceptable on my i7-2600K & Nvidia 780 GPU overclocked but it still lags some so I'm waiting to finish the game until after I upgrade my CPU and GPU this black Friday (JUST TO RUN A CONSOLE LEVEL GAME).
(a) The game is so broken for the PC, I spent over a week of troubleshooting crashes and failure to load saves everytime I went online with Ubisoft only to figure/find out that their online save system was given higher precedence than my local copy and everytime they would force upload a copy of my save, it would be corrupted by their servers to where the game wouldn't load their copy thus not start. The solution I devised was to go OFFLINE from Ubisoft to play the game and then it will only use your local saves so I have to do this all the time just to play the game. I told them about it but they don't seem to care and look to be trying to move past this game as fast as possible rather than own up to it shortcomings.
(b) Also, this is imperative to anyone using the DVD copy of the game instead of digital download on 64 bit Windows. Another week of useless Ubi tech support forced me to figure/find out that the game won't update itself from Ubisoft if installed from DVD because it automatically installs to "Program Files" but Ubi digital download installs to "Program Files(x86)" and refuses to or can't update installs to "Program Files". So you'll find the game doesn't run without the update but for some reason you can't get the update from them. So just input your code into Uplay and digital install and forget using the disks to avoid problems. Also, I told them and again don't seem to care.
(2) IT'S A CONSOLE GAME with unoptimized tweaks for PC - It's an appalling conversion and no less of a travesty and disgusting display of corporate greed to let it be released than was the new Batman release which was honorably pulled from the shelves to save franchise face.
(a) The game menu selection screen starts with a big cursor in the middle of the screen obviously for a controller input because it doesn't respond with a mouse at all making a PC player think the game or mouse is malfunctioning right from the start so a big screw you to mouse users.
(b) Map cursor doesn't respond to mouse or player set movement keys as it's designed for a controller or the forced ported settings of WASD keys so another screw you to mouse users.
(3) IMMERSION KILLING design and limitations (which are likely a result of console limitations not upgraded for PC users because Ubisoft respects your money but not your game system choice.)
(a) Mirrors in game have no reflection in 2015 but was possible in Duke Nukem 3D circa 1996...sad.
(b) Graphic anomolies and tearing in many areas and buildings.
(c) Lag & stuttering in the cutscenes is sometimes worse than the game...how can that be?
(d) You can't open a window not already open so a room full of windows is a prison unless someone opened an escape for you.
(e) 2nd floors of some buildings actually have no stair access to them as if the building was designed for people who regularly climb up the outside of their house to enter it.
(f) Loot chests are placed in some of the most ridiculous places that it feels as immersive as passing a car in the sky of a flight simulator. It would have been better to animate pulling a loose stone out of wall for the loot than seeing a big formal chest in a stupid location.
(g) Parquor abilities and animations are now appallingly apparent to be superheroesque compared to previous versions which fought off the tempations of disbelief. Vertical leaps while climbing up a wall here make Michael Jordan look like an utter joke on his best single floor jump.
(h) No interactions with the animals like previous versions allowed so the theme here is de-Evolution of gaming quality is the future.
(i) The hawk at the pinnacle of the lookouts has been downgraded in quality and focus so again previous games much better.
(j) No Fist Fighting? What? The game makes you stab two people at the beginning who were miffed with you for something you did but instead of beating them up like what would be plausible, YOU HAD TO STAB THEM WITH A SWORD and make the assumption that you were so good that you did it in a way that was mostly harmless and believe the fact that they would attempt to kill you for a minor issue! PREVIOUS GAMES HAD FIST FIGHTING for resolving minor disputes and challenges.
(k) They changed the look of the game and especially the characters and people to look like a friggin DISNEY movie. It looses so much sense of brooding and seriousness to the game and objectives when your expecting everyone to burst out in song and birds to land on your shoulder. Again, this must have been done to placate to a younger generation of kiddy console players thus destroying the proper feel of previous titles.
(l) No Skill backstory or justification! All of a sudden, you are this person with awesome abilities to fight and parquor up the side of buildings with no understanding of how this developed nor allowing the player to develop the skills themselves as if it's normal for someone to be able to do this without reason or training. Previous games didn't make you feel unjustified to have the skills and abilities that you had like this. It would have been easy to set a backstory that he was like the game THIEF where he stole to survive and garnered skills needed to survive from stealing from the rich like a Robin Hood. That's the one I mentally instilled in my own head in order to accept the crap I'm able to do without training.
(m) Game starts out forcing you to fight as a Templar and kill Assassins. Thank you geniuses. Great way to bond you to the side that you will be playing in the game by forcing you to kill the side you will be working on. That really instills a sense of loyalty and player focus as to your goals. At least in ACIII, you didn't know he was a Templar till later so it was an awesome twist of fate so again so much better previously.
(n) Low quality NPC textures likely used due to console limitations and almost no interactibility or canned responses with bystander NPC's make the world feel quite stagnant and removed.
(4) Your character is not really likable, respectable, honorable or redeemable in a way that makes you proud or content in playing him with the limited backstory you were given for him nor for his reason's for becoming a full fledged and dedicated Assassin. It's more like life forced him into it so he's just going with the flow or that he must become an Assassin simply because he can read the invisible code. Must you become Superman just because you can fly? It's just not honorable to be something because you had little choice than if you did and you made a difficult choice and that's the problem with this character in that he is doing what he is doing just to basically save his own arse rather than a sense of justice or an epiphany.
So given this list without even having finished the game yet as I want to overload my system with top end hardware to force this unoptimized hunk of crappy coding to run at a stable and enjoyable framerate rather than be annoyed here and there with lagging issues, I must say that it is a huge disappointment! This feeling is based more on playing it's predecessors that were mostly targeted to PC players and while each of them had their quirks, they were on the whole amazing and enjoyable works of art that respected and used the PC to it's greater abilities. On the other hand, this monstrosity is the reason true PC gamers despise console half breeds as games now are often developed only up to the limitations of a single console and then released to all systems with a few modifications to sell the cheapest produced product possible with the greatest income potential by adding compatibility modifications. The problem with this is seen here with the De-Evolution of PC gaming where it was already proven that it can and was better and they actually had the nerve to sell you something that wasn't fit for PC nor ready for release which felt like they put a Ferrari emblem on a Ford Focus and sold it to you as a Ferrari.
Thus, my two star scoring is based on the fact that the game quality COMPARED to it's predecessors is basically 0 stars but the game still has an essence of AC if you can get it to run decently enough and if you are itching for some more as I was and can look past an endless list of shortcomings then there is some fun and enjoyment to be had here. So, while you may be balled from pulling your hair out at the end of it, a dedicated fan of the franchise may be able to satiate their fix with this until the next release assuming Ubisoft has learned any lesson here or if this really is the death of PC gaming and quality is ruled by the limitations of the current console versions as shown here. Ubisoft's next release will likely answer this question and whether the recall of Batman for PC had any influential impact on a commitment to quality or not for them.
UPDATE: I'm not sure if Ubisoft did any more optimizations to the game but after buying a Geforce 980TI 6GB video card, the majority of graphical problems have disappeared and the game is actually playable and looks good now which shouldn't be a surprise for the 2nd best card available to PC users. Surprisingly, the game quality has improved from the beginning sequences which is wierd since you usually want to put your best foot forward for a good first impressionl. So, with those two issues drastically improved I feel like the "meat" of the game deserve an upgrade to an "Okay" 3 Star rating. It still has the majority of developmental problems/design issues listed above so it doesn't deserve ratings comparable to it's predecessors and I still play "Offline" to avoid problems so that is the best I can give it.
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From the manufacturer
Assassin’s Creed Unity
For centuries, France has been ruled by the privileged few. No longer. On this day, the people of Paris have risen up against tyranny. Now, in the midst of one of history’s most chaotic and brutal revolutions, the fate of a nation rests on the edge of the Assassin’s blade.
Introducing Assassin’s Creed Unity, the next-gen evolution of the blockbuster franchise powered by an all-new game engine. From the storming of the Bastille to the execution of King Louis XVI, experience the French Revolution as never before, and help the people of France carve an entirely new destiny.
A Co-Op Experience You Must Play To Believe
In addition to an epic single-player campaign, play with up to 4 players online and experience the open world of 18th-century Paris together. Pull ambitious heists and take part in unique narrative-driven missions designed exclusively for co-op play. Sabotage an execution. Protect an emperor. Assassinate a Templar agent. Victory won’t be easy; you and your lethal band must rely on communication, coordination, and diverse skills to accomplish your missions, then vanish into the shadows.
A Ruthless New Hero for a Brutal World
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Full Motion Control ParkourEnjoy unprecedented freedom and control over your Assassin with new parkour mechanics for free running up, across, and down city walls and buildings. |
Reinvented CombatA deeper fighting system provides a richer combat experience based on skill, timing, and flow. |
Enhanced StealthMaster improved stealth gameplay, including a new stealth mode, cover system, and crowd-manipulation techniques. |
Deep Customization of the Master Assassin
Craft a unique play style by choosing weapons, gear, outfits, and specialized skills. Mix and match from hundreds of possible combinations and build your stealth, fighting, and navigation abilities from a new, expansive skill tree. Become the ultimate Master Assassin.
Discover Revolutionary Paris, Brought to Life as Never Before
Carve through the stunning full-scale open world city, a feat only made possible through the power of an all-new game engine. Explore detailed building interiors and discover secret catacombs and sewers. Embark on ancestral missions, treasure hunts, murder mysteries, contracts, and more. Witness the chaos of the French Revolution firsthand and become immersed in the realistic, systemic crowds of up to 5,000 AI-driven characters.
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