I don't think I agree with most of those assessments. The protagonist might not be Ezio, but he certainly isn't Connor, and I've liked most of the combat changes so far.
I think that while Unity is a very polarizing game, it's not particularly accurate or fair to just label it as "bad", especially if you're going to "excuse the technical flaws".
Me not buying it turned out to be a happy coincidence. I have purchased every AC game since AC1. I've been saying for a couple years now that I need a break. One per year is too much, even when they are good. But they aren't always good (looking at you AC3).
I had already decided to skip Unity before I heard of all the technical issues the game was having. This is the first AC game I have not preordered. I was intentionally skipping a year, so that next year I wouldn't be as burned out. But of course, it ended up being a good thing I skipped it since the game is apparently really bad.
Even if you excuse the technical flaws, I've heard the game just isn't very good. Weak protagonist, poor use of the theme/setting, and a combat system that steps the series back, almost as far as the first game.
So apparently Ubisofts idea of 'fixing' the pop in is to add an effect to things that are popping in to make it appear like an Animus glitch. I wish I was making this up.
Wow, I'm glad I stopped playing on PS4 and picked it up for PC instead where pop-in is almost non-existent.
Well, we're getting the new patch later this week, so that might come.
It was in AC4 on PC; even with everything set to max, I had people 'faze' in sometimes.
Wow, I'm glad I stopped playing on PS4 and picked it up for PC instead where pop-in is almost non-existent.
Well, we're getting the new patch later this week, so that might come.
It was in AC4 on PC; even with everything set to max, I had people 'faze' in sometimes.
Yeah it was bad in AC4, but I haven't noticed any pop-in on PC, aside from LoD.
So apparently Ubisofts idea of 'fixing' the pop in is to add an effect to things that are popping in to make it appear like an Animus glitch. I wish I was making this up.
NeoGAF, is that you?
Aka "One single person posted this, no one else backed it up, no confirmation of it being intentional and everyone jumps on the hate-train"? Good lord. This is getting ridiculous, and I don't even like Unity!
So apparently Ubisofts idea of 'fixing' the pop in is to add an effect to things that are popping in to make it appear like an Animus glitch. I wish I was making this up.
To be honest, if they can't get the game working properly, blaming it on the Animus is the next best thing.
It's like how they blamed the Animus for Altair not being able to swim.
[Muffled sounds of gorilla violence]
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Andy JoeWe claim the land for the highlord!The AdirondacksRegistered Userregular
So apparently Ubisofts idea of 'fixing' the pop in is to add an effect to things that are popping in to make it appear like an Animus glitch. I wish I was making this up.
To be honest, if they can't get the game working properly, blaming it on the Animus is the next best thing.
It's like how they blamed the Animus for Altair not being able to swim.
Being able to explain the gamey aspects as bugs and/or features of the Animus has always been one of this series's strengths.
After patch 4 I deleted my old save (which was really only used to test the performance after every patch released) and restarted the game. Played about an hour and a half in a new save, plus an extra hour in the old one (which I,never got really far into as the performance killed all of my fun). Other than the pop-in issues which seemed to have taken a hit since patch 3 (still better than release, though), the game performs much better on PS4: a lot of the collision issues have been ironed out, entering windows became smoother, and most importantly, the framerate is better. It's not a locked 30 FPS and there are still some dips but they're not as harsh and it doesn't stop me from enjoying the game. I doubt it's the last big patch this game sees, but it's finally been brought up to the standard level of bugginess AC titles usually have on release, and I can finally start playing it.
Me not buying it turned out to be a happy coincidence. I have purchased every AC game since AC1. I've been saying for a couple years now that I need a break. One per year is too much, even when they are good. But they aren't always good (looking at you AC3).
I had already decided to skip Unity before I heard of all the technical issues the game was having. This is the first AC game I have not preordered. I was intentionally skipping a year, so that next year I wouldn't be as burned out. But of course, it ended up being a good thing I skipped it since the game is apparently really bad.
Even if you excuse the technical flaws, I've heard the game just isn't very good. Weak protagonist, poor use of the theme/setting, and a combat system that steps the series back, almost as far as the first game.
This all seems subjective - I personally think this is the best AC since 2, and I've played all of them. I think their unfortunate decision to release with serious technical issues is overshadowing the game itself, so I would try it yourself at some point to really decide.
It's the worst storyline in the series, to be honest. You've got main character that tries to channel Ezio and Edward but just falls flat, side characters act incredibly stupid, and it's portrayal of the French Revolution is incredibly offensive. Oh, and the real world stuff? The modern day stuff? The main arc that glues the series together? Basically gone. You're even more of a non-entity then when you worked for Abstergo.
The character customization and stealth mechanics are good, Paris is gorgeous, but holy shit I can not recommend this game.
I dunno, a lot of people are saying that Unity's plot is awful, but then again a lot of people hate the writing in 3 and 4 while going absolutely crazy over the writing in AC2, which I can't stand, nor do I care for Ezio as a character.
Unity's story might turn out to be shit, but I wouldn't hold myself from playing it just because some people don't like it. If I'd done that I might as well wouldn't have played AC3 because Connor isn't to some people's liking.
Nothing wrong with Unity except the lack of boats and me blowing boats up. They've made some minor tweaks to the gameplay and your mileage with the story will vary according to your tastes, but the game is hardly "bad".
The story isn't anything special, but it certainly isn't bad. Just doesn't feel like there's any big conflict between the assassins and templars. Also
why would the assassin order give a damn about a templar grand master getting murdered, and spend so much time trying to figure out who did it? It seems like they're allowing this new initiate to focus solely on his own personal revenge crusade
Everyone has a price. Throw enough gold around and someone will risk disintegration.
I will probably regret asking this, but why exactly is the portrayal of the revolution offensive? I'm not a history buff or anything, so maybe I'm missing something.
I will probably regret asking this, but why exactly is the portrayal of the revolution offensive? I'm not a history buff or anything, so maybe I'm missing something.
Questions over who was in the right over the revolution are still a major political issue in France and, to a lesser extent, Western society in general. One one side, you have those who believe the revolutionaries were simply murderers who became drunk on power. On the other, you have those who believe the revolution was necessary to break the power of the nobility and clergy and allow France (and by extension Europe) to enter the modern age.
The story isn't anything special, but it certainly isn't bad. Just doesn't feel like there's any big conflict between the assassins and templars. Also
why would the assassin order give a damn about a templar grand master getting murdered, and spend so much time trying to figure out who did it? It seems like they're allowing this new initiate to focus solely on his own personal revenge crusade
In the second mission you can see Mirabeau talking to De la Sierre about a truce and maybe even an at attempt at cooperation between the french assassins and templars as both leaders realize that they can combine the power and influlence of their respective groups to lead france, secretly I assume, and take the place of the monarcy. From that point of view, whoever wanted De la Sierre dead is an enemy of Mirabeau and the assassins he leads.
Also, about Mirabeau - Isn't he a bit, well... fat, for an assassin? I mean I served with a quite a few overweight individuals who were in good shape and could run for miles on end, but I don't know how he could go about jumping into haystacks without breaking the carriages.
Not to to talk about climbing up to those viewpoints. Does he even know how Paris looks like from on high?
Presumably he's put on weight since his climbing and stabbing days. Promotion and deskwork will do that to you.
Talking about those haystacks, I'd like an open-world competitive multiplayer where you've got Templars hunting Assassins. Not the enclosed matches we've had in past games, but something in the main world.
A Templar could throw a couple of bear traps into haystacks, then just wait for an Assassin to dive in.
I will probably regret asking this, but why exactly is the portrayal of the revolution offensive? I'm not a history buff or anything, so maybe I'm missing something.
Basically, the revolution is an incredibly complicated subject, and painting the revolution as evil while sucking the dick of the moderates/Royalists is really shitty. It'd be the equivalent of AC3 having the British purely in the right or having the American's be righteous and glorious heroes parting the Delaware via god's favor.
Nothing wrong with Unity except the lack of boats and me blowing boats up. They've made some minor tweaks to the gameplay and your mileage with the story will vary according to your tastes, but the game is hardly "bad".
I disagree. I think the game is bad. If you like it, cool. But I don't. I did, for a while, but the game turned me off pretty hard.
On the bright side, Rogue has proven much better then I anticipated.
So, Unity is still available on eBay for $30 (at least on Xbox One, which is conveniently the platform I want it on and was apparently least buggy at launch).
This is by far the most interesting premise for a AC game to me yet--Revolutionary France is a favorite area of mine (though I don't really give a crap about Les Miserables), and if it turns out Napoleon Bonaparte basically becomes this game's Leonardo Da Vinci, Famous Buddy of Ezio(tm), I would have paid $60 for it.
I'm sure this gets asked regularly: generally speaking, how bug-free/polished is it now, versus when it launched? Is it okay to take the plunge, or should I just wait till I don't have three games I need to finish?
I will probably regret asking this, but why exactly is the portrayal of the revolution offensive? I'm not a history buff or anything, so maybe I'm missing something.
Basically, the revolution is an incredibly complicated subject, and painting the revolution as evil while sucking the dick of the moderates/Royalists is really shitty. It'd be the equivalent of AC3 having the British purely in the right or having the American's be righteous and glorious heroes parting the Delaware via god's favor.
Hmmm.....interesting. Given this was Ubisoft, I was sort of hoping they'd give the revolution the sort of intelligent treatment that I've at least heard they give the other settings....
Napoleon's in the game for about two or three missions. He's also in probably the stupidest scene of the franchise, but still comes out better then Robespierre. Robespierre, for all the awful shit he did, was a very complicated man, and his views honestly align with the Assassins.
But the game makes him a one sequence Templar villain.
Napoleon's in the game for about two or three missions. He's also in probably the stupidest scene of the franchise, but still comes out better then Robespierre. Robespierre, for all the awful shit he did, was a very complicated man, and his views honestly align with the Assassins.
But the game makes him a one sequence Templar villain.
The game isn't interested in going in to the history of the French Revolution, it's just the setting of the game. You wanted something different. That doesn't make this bad or offensive, it's just not what you wanted.
I think Ubisoft heard that everyone hated the Forrest Gumping of the American Revolution in AC3 and went to total opposite direction. They could have gone a bit more in depth with the French Revolution, but whatever. That wasn't the story they wanted to tell.
One of the main ideas behind Assassin's Creed is revealing the hidden truth behind all the textbook history. Maybe we don't need to be involved in EVERY major event in these points of history, but I feel like not being at least tangentially involved in some major stuff is dropping the ball.
Also, this wouldn't be the first time that AC turns a controversial historical figure into a one-note villian, ala Roridgo Borgia.
Basically the depiction of the French Revolution is more akin to AC2' Renaissance - it informs the plot and gameplay but they don't probe too deeply into it or dissect it like they did with the American Revolution.
Unity doesn't set any precedent in the series in this regard.
Napoleon's in the game for about two or three missions. He's also in probably the stupidest scene of the franchise, but still comes out better then Robespierre. Robespierre, for all the awful shit he did, was a very complicated man, and his views honestly align with the Assassins.
But the game makes him a one sequence Templar villain.
The game isn't interested in going in to the history of the French Revolution, it's just the setting of the game. You wanted something different. That doesn't make this bad or offensive, it's just not what you wanted.
I think Ubisoft heard that everyone hated the Forrest Gumping of the American Revolution in AC3 and went to total opposite direction. They could have gone a bit more in depth with the French Revolution, but whatever. That wasn't the story they wanted to tell.
There's a difference between using the history of the place for the setting, and getting the history offensively wrong. AC2 had the Medicis, and while they were Assassin aligned, 2 and Brotherhood both gave them an even portrayal that didn't gloss over their flaws, but likewise didn't make them monsters. They did worse with the Borgias, but still made them charismatic and interesting characters.
Unity portrays the revolution as thugs being controlled by the villains. It's not a different view on history, or a matter of the story they want to tell. it's a shit rewrite of actual history. Fucking Mel Brooks was more on point in The History of the World Part
And to add insult to injury, that's not even how Robespierre looked. And it's certainly not how he dressed, given he was flamboyant as fuck. To say nothing of the game relegating the most famous Assassin of the time period to a one off sidequest.
I don't expect 100% accuracy, but I at least expect the broad strokes to hold true.
One of the main ideas behind Assassin's Creed is revealing the hidden truth behind all the textbook history. Maybe we don't need to be involved in EVERY major event in these points of history, but I feel like not being at least tangentially involved in some major stuff is dropping the ball.
AC3 was the only AC game that actually got involved in a major historical event. All the other games use it as a background to inform the story, but they aren't THE story.
One of the main ideas behind Assassin's Creed is revealing the hidden truth behind all the textbook history. Maybe we don't need to be involved in EVERY major event in these points of history, but I feel like not being at least tangentially involved in some major stuff is dropping the ball.
AC3 was the only AC game that actually got involved in a major historical event. All the other games use it as a background to inform the story, but they aren't THE story.
AC 1 had you interrupting the Templars removing their famous treasure from the Temple. AC2 had both the Pazzi Conspiracy and the Bonfire of the Vanities. AC 3, as noted, covered the American Revolution. Brotherhood dealt with the Fall of Ceasare Borgia. Revolution had the removal of power of Prince Achmed II from power. Black Flag dealt with the fall of the Pirate Republic and the end of the age of Piracy. These are all major events the stories deal with.
Unity deals with the Revolution. It does not handle it well. So far, the Seven Years War shown in Rogue is handled better.
MorninglordI'm tired of being Batman,so today I'll be Owl.Registered Userregular
edited December 2014
I don't really think historical accuracy has ever been a virtue of the AC games. Their strength has always been hitting the right note when they do portray these events.
Tone is an important component of a games overall feel.
It sounds like you and Unity were discordant.
8-)
Morninglord on
(PSN: Morninglord) (Steam: Morninglord) (WiiU: Morninglord22) I like to record and toss up a lot of random gaming videos here.
I don't really think historical accuracy has ever been a virtue of the AC games. Their strength has always been hitting the right note when they do portray these events.
Tone is an important component of a games overall feel.
It sounds like you and Unity were discordant.
So I just started playing this, I forgot how much I love assassins creed. Holy shit the city looks incredible. I don't know wether it's because I've waited so all the patches are out, but it runs fine and just looks damn pretty. The story is blah but most assassins creeds are for me. Also coop is fucking fun as shit. Pleasantly surprised
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NocrenLt Futz, Back in ActionNorth CarolinaRegistered Userregular
Looks like they really changed the UI now which is good. The map/icon shows you if a chest is linked to Initiates or the companion app now, which is great. And Initiates seems to be working as well, for the most part (mine had all the games I've played/synced to UPlay but no badges or anything from UPlay unlocks) and you can now earn xp to level up and unlock chests.
Not sure if there's an issue with the companion app though. Recently I've been unable to sync to UPlay so I can solve puzzles/do missions at work so things are unlocked when I get home.
Looks like they really changed the UI now which is good. The map/icon shows you if a chest is linked to Initiates or the companion app now, which is great. And Initiates seems to be working as well, for the most part (mine had all the games I've played/synced to UPlay but no badges or anything from UPlay unlocks) and you can now earn xp to level up and unlock chests.
Not sure if there's an issue with the companion app though. Recently I've been unable to sync to UPlay so I can solve puzzles/do missions at work so things are unlocked when I get home.
It always showed you that. Yellow chests are Initiates, blue are companion app.
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I think that while Unity is a very polarizing game, it's not particularly accurate or fair to just label it as "bad", especially if you're going to "excuse the technical flaws".
If you need an AC fix, go get Rogue.
Shitty Tumblr:lighthouse1138.tumblr.com
Though Connor is also my favorite protagonist of the AC series and I thought Edward was kind of weak while people gushed over him. So eh.
Rogue is on sale for $39 as well.
PSN/Steam/NNID: SyphonBlue | BNet: SyphonBlue#1126
Well, we're getting the new patch later this week, so that might come.
It was in AC4 on PC; even with everything set to max, I had people 'faze' in sometimes.
Yeah it was bad in AC4, but I haven't noticed any pop-in on PC, aside from LoD.
PSN/Steam/NNID: SyphonBlue | BNet: SyphonBlue#1126
NeoGAF, is that you?
Aka "One single person posted this, no one else backed it up, no confirmation of it being intentional and everyone jumps on the hate-train"? Good lord. This is getting ridiculous, and I don't even like Unity!
Steam ID: 76561198021298113
Origin ID: SR71C_Blackbird
To be honest, if they can't get the game working properly, blaming it on the Animus is the next best thing.
It's like how they blamed the Animus for Altair not being able to swim.
Being able to explain the gamey aspects as bugs and/or features of the Animus has always been one of this series's strengths.
Framerate did seem overall much smoother.
Battle.net: Fireflash#1425
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This all seems subjective - I personally think this is the best AC since 2, and I've played all of them. I think their unfortunate decision to release with serious technical issues is overshadowing the game itself, so I would try it yourself at some point to really decide.
The character customization and stealth mechanics are good, Paris is gorgeous, but holy shit I can not recommend this game.
Shitty Tumblr:lighthouse1138.tumblr.com
Unity's story might turn out to be shit, but I wouldn't hold myself from playing it just because some people don't like it. If I'd done that I might as well wouldn't have played AC3 because Connor isn't to some people's liking.
Questions over who was in the right over the revolution are still a major political issue in France and, to a lesser extent, Western society in general. One one side, you have those who believe the revolutionaries were simply murderers who became drunk on power. On the other, you have those who believe the revolution was necessary to break the power of the nobility and clergy and allow France (and by extension Europe) to enter the modern age.
Not to to talk about climbing up to those viewpoints. Does he even know how Paris looks like from on high?
Talking about those haystacks, I'd like an open-world competitive multiplayer where you've got Templars hunting Assassins. Not the enclosed matches we've had in past games, but something in the main world.
A Templar could throw a couple of bear traps into haystacks, then just wait for an Assassin to dive in.
Basically, the revolution is an incredibly complicated subject, and painting the revolution as evil while sucking the dick of the moderates/Royalists is really shitty. It'd be the equivalent of AC3 having the British purely in the right or having the American's be righteous and glorious heroes parting the Delaware via god's favor.
I disagree. I think the game is bad. If you like it, cool. But I don't. I did, for a while, but the game turned me off pretty hard.
On the bright side, Rogue has proven much better then I anticipated.
Shitty Tumblr:lighthouse1138.tumblr.com
This is by far the most interesting premise for a AC game to me yet--Revolutionary France is a favorite area of mine (though I don't really give a crap about Les Miserables), and if it turns out Napoleon Bonaparte basically becomes this game's Leonardo Da Vinci, Famous Buddy of Ezio(tm), I would have paid $60 for it.
I'm sure this gets asked regularly: generally speaking, how bug-free/polished is it now, versus when it launched? Is it okay to take the plunge, or should I just wait till I don't have three games I need to finish?
Hmmm.....interesting. Given this was Ubisoft, I was sort of hoping they'd give the revolution the sort of intelligent treatment that I've at least heard they give the other settings....
But the game makes him a one sequence Templar villain.
Shitty Tumblr:lighthouse1138.tumblr.com
(It doesn't help that I am part of the tiny minority that thinks pirates are for the most part, boring, tiresome and overdone.)
The game isn't interested in going in to the history of the French Revolution, it's just the setting of the game. You wanted something different. That doesn't make this bad or offensive, it's just not what you wanted.
I think Ubisoft heard that everyone hated the Forrest Gumping of the American Revolution in AC3 and went to total opposite direction. They could have gone a bit more in depth with the French Revolution, but whatever. That wasn't the story they wanted to tell.
PSN/Steam/NNID: SyphonBlue | BNet: SyphonBlue#1126
Basically the depiction of the French Revolution is more akin to AC2' Renaissance - it informs the plot and gameplay but they don't probe too deeply into it or dissect it like they did with the American Revolution.
Unity doesn't set any precedent in the series in this regard.
There's a difference between using the history of the place for the setting, and getting the history offensively wrong. AC2 had the Medicis, and while they were Assassin aligned, 2 and Brotherhood both gave them an even portrayal that didn't gloss over their flaws, but likewise didn't make them monsters. They did worse with the Borgias, but still made them charismatic and interesting characters.
Unity portrays the revolution as thugs being controlled by the villains. It's not a different view on history, or a matter of the story they want to tell. it's a shit rewrite of actual history. Fucking Mel Brooks was more on point in The History of the World Part
And to add insult to injury, that's not even how Robespierre looked. And it's certainly not how he dressed, given he was flamboyant as fuck. To say nothing of the game relegating the most famous Assassin of the time period to a one off sidequest.
I don't expect 100% accuracy, but I at least expect the broad strokes to hold true.
Shitty Tumblr:lighthouse1138.tumblr.com
AC3 was the only AC game that actually got involved in a major historical event. All the other games use it as a background to inform the story, but they aren't THE story.
PSN/Steam/NNID: SyphonBlue | BNet: SyphonBlue#1126
AC 1 had you interrupting the Templars removing their famous treasure from the Temple. AC2 had both the Pazzi Conspiracy and the Bonfire of the Vanities. AC 3, as noted, covered the American Revolution. Brotherhood dealt with the Fall of Ceasare Borgia. Revolution had the removal of power of Prince Achmed II from power. Black Flag dealt with the fall of the Pirate Republic and the end of the age of Piracy. These are all major events the stories deal with.
Unity deals with the Revolution. It does not handle it well. So far, the Seven Years War shown in Rogue is handled better.
Shitty Tumblr:lighthouse1138.tumblr.com
Tone is an important component of a games overall feel.
It sounds like you and Unity were discordant.
In other words...
Shitty Tumblr:lighthouse1138.tumblr.com
Not sure if there's an issue with the companion app though. Recently I've been unable to sync to UPlay so I can solve puzzles/do missions at work so things are unlocked when I get home.
It always showed you that. Yellow chests are Initiates, blue are companion app.
PSN/Steam/NNID: SyphonBlue | BNet: SyphonBlue#1126