GAMING: Assassin's Creed: Unity

UBISOFT'S Assassins Creed: Unity was highly anticipated as one of the forerunners of next generation gaming in late 2014. However, on release the game experienced a number of teething problems including a high number of bugs that prompted an apology from Ubisoft and a number of patches to try to resolve the issues. A few months have passed and as someone experiencing the game for the first time; the positives far exceed the negatives.

Assassins Creed: Unity follows the story of Arno Dorian, a young Frenchman who joins the Brotherhood of Assassins in an attempt to find revenge and redemption after his adoptive father is killed. His story begins in a stunning recreation of Paris in 1789 on the brink of revolution; large, volatile crowds line the streets & for the first time dynamic activities will appear allowing Arno to keep the peace by scaring bullies or catching pickpockets.

Yet Paris’ real beauty cannot be truly appreciated until the scenery from the rooftops is viewed. Arno now has the ability to ‘free run’ up and down buildings inspired by the French parkour.  He will also learn moves as the game progresses as in Unity each player can fully customise Arno’s attributes and equipment as well as perks than can be used in co-op missions.

As with previous versions of the game players can complete a variety of missions that will test stealth, speed and swordsmanship. Unity takes this one step further by introducing co-op missions to the series. Players can enter taverns (that act as social hubs) and see if any of their friends are playing at the same time – they can then request to join them on their mission and fight together. Some of these missions can also be completed alone or with other players worldwide who are seeking to complete the same mission.

Assassins Creed Unity is a sound step forward in the series, yet not without its flaws. Players will enjoy sinking their teeth into the improved stealth and movement mechanics and will never bore of seeing Paris from the rooftops.