I hope they accurately show that series-iconic moment where Fassbender tries to run between some people and a wall and ends up climbing up to the ledge over the wall by accident.
I imagine they'll frame it like someone competent is doing it
Man, I don't think I've ever seen a district in an open-world game as well-designed as The Thames
What a masterclass in environmental design that chunk is
The environmental design in general is fucking impeccable, really. I think Paris was a prettier city, and more satisfying to slowly amble through, but London is a joy to navigate. I almost never fast-travel, because it's such a pleasure to move through the world. But even in a world as well designed as this one, Thames stands out as fucking incredible.
I think it would have been far more enjoyable if the grapple worked consistently in that area, instead of randomly picking and choosing what it might or might not want to attach to.
I shouldn't have to! If you want me to explore the awesome environments you made you shouldn't make it a chore to do so when I'm just starting your game
(I already have the cop skill and I need the gang one)
It kinda sucks that the grapple only works on stationary things, and can't work with the moving boats, but man, I do so love the thames. The fact that it is slightly challenging to not end up way further down the river than you intended is what makes it so much more satisfying when you just get all your perfect runs across it.
Actually, getting off and on your train is a huge hassle because of the movement system as well. It's fine, but it's more annyoing than what should be a cool thing.
It kinda sucks that the grapple only works on stationary things, and can't work with the moving boats, but man, I do so love the thames. The fact that it is slightly challenging to not end up way further down the river than you intended is what makes it so much more satisfying when you just get all your perfect runs across it.
Crossing the Thames reminds me of Frogger, which triggers both nostalgia and irritation.
this dlc seems to import a lot of concepts from shadow of mordor, though I suppose fear mechanics existed back in AC1 as well
also is it just me or does the freerunning seem tuned up? I was playing the base game just last night and this dlc is noticeably more responsive than evie, jacob, and arno were before. I know there are people who never had issues with it so maybe it just suddenly all clicked for me
So I really loved the main game, and am just starting into the DLC, and uh, there's some parts that are making me rather uncomfortable (this is more of a gameplay/mission type spoiler than a plot one):
I very much dislike that the recruiting prostitutes thing is back. One of the major positives to the original game was that they took some liberties with history to make it feel like women were actually valuable and present in each level of society; the removal of prostitutes as a game mechanic really helped, there.
Aaaand now they're back and there's some actual borough events related to them too. I....have no idea how to feel about the Walk of Shame ones, honestly; going to need time to parse my thoughts on those. I mean, if they HAVE to have a focus on abuse of sex workers I guess this is an...okay way of handling it by showing someone stopping an attack, publically turning everyone against them and letting the victims have their say...? Still feels...not great as a game mechanic to have women get openly abused in the street though...
The Lost Women event also feels a bit exploitative; framing what is essentially a carriage chase with some kind of human trafficking vibe and I don't really feel like that was a necessary tack to take. Also carriage chases are the worst.
The Brothel Attack events are genuinely frustrating and honestly kind of disturbing. Seriously? You have to kill male guards and do so quietly or they'll choke prostitutes to death? Seriously??
At the very least playing these sections as Evie and not being able to do them as Jacob makes them a tiny bit less fucked up, but it's still fucked up. And in all these weird scenes so far I've only fought one female gang member (during the Walk of Shame bit). Not sure if this is just poor luck, but at the very least the brothels would be less terrible if they were only staffed by women, including the guards.
Finding this aspect of the DLC to be very disappointing, especially after how revolutionary the main game felt; it kind of feels like going from that warm, welcoming setup to this oppressive one and that's really unfortunate.
Still intend to finish this but I'm going to avoid using any of those gameplay points as much as I can.
So I finished the Ripper DLC tonight and well... for the content that was there I don't think I'd recommend picking it up for full-price. There were some really neat concepts gameplay-wise and a few thematic things that seemed interesting, but the actual non-filler questline is really short and I found some of the side and main content to be.... well, gross. I think it could have benefited from a longer development cycle and more editing.
To be a bit more direct about my thoughts (Jack the Ripper major spoilers):
I think there were some interesting ideas surrounding fear and the use of it to control populations. It's implied people work for Jack out of fear, and Evie can use it to non-lethally disperse groups. Jack also works to instill fear in others, because...reasons. I think this could have been expanded upon - if the Rooks are working for him because they're afraid of him, why do they still act like boring old Templar mooks? Hell, why do they not even have the old Rook colours to make fighting them even more difficult for Evie? I wish they'd leveraged that familiarity to drive home that you were fighting allies who were taken from you. As it stands, Evie doesn't seem even the slightest bit perturbed that Jacob's old crew turned so easily.
I also found playing as Jack to be really uncomfortable. I thought that was valuable aa an experience though - it was kind of like the attacks and kills I'd have been really excited about while playing as an Assassin were just straight up horrifying here. I actually wound up playing out of character and only attacking required targets, because I couldn't explain away attacking NPCs as being people who needed to die for the Greater Good. They were civilians whose brutal deaths would just be about Jack proving a point.
I already mentioned my problems with bringing back the Prostitute mechanic earlier in the thread, but was also disappointed when it never really seemed like there was a reason for those characters to be in the game aside from the fact that the historical Ripper preyed on vulnerable women. The game never really works to make bringing this into being a real main theme either; just having you kill a particularly bad brothel owner and using it for a secondary source of filler tasks. It just all feels... exploitative. Which really sucks given the great strides the main game makes.
The entire final battle I was waiting for some kind of hook to be like "oh, okay, THIS is where they're going with this game". And then Jack died like a chump and Jacob is alive and Abberline covers everything up and ??? No resolution for Jacob's health, or how Abberline feels about his participation, or for why Jacob picked Jack up from the asylum in the first place, or for how the Rooks transition from Jack's leadership. I half-expected to find out Evie was fear-gassed again and had actually stabbed Jacob or something. But then the game just ends and all you have for closure is a short paragraph summarizing that last fight.
So while I appreciated the chance to see Evie as an older woman (I think she's the oldest female protag in a mainstream game at this point), and thought some of the new mechanics were cool, I think there were some fundamental flaws in the writing that kind of make me want to dismiss this as an altenate universe story.
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I would legit love that a lot
I imagine they'll frame it like someone competent is doing it
What a masterclass in environmental design that chunk is
The environmental design in general is fucking impeccable, really. I think Paris was a prettier city, and more satisfying to slowly amble through, but London is a joy to navigate. I almost never fast-travel, because it's such a pleasure to move through the world. But even in a world as well designed as this one, Thames stands out as fucking incredible.
What
If I ever have to cross the Thames, it's the only time I do fast travel
Crossing that river is a total hassle
Steam ID - VeldrinD | SS Post | Wishlist
Steam ID - VeldrinD | SS Post | Wishlist
I think the Thames is totally rad, but it really only works because of how different it is from everything else.
If it was more than a thin strip bisecting the map, it would definitely be annoying to me.
But as it is, it's just enough to be really cool and interesting.
This is some Assassin's Creed 2 bullshit
(I already have the cop skill and I need the gang one)
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Crossing the Thames reminds me of Frogger, which triggers both nostalgia and irritation.
Already one huge inaccuracy.
Shitty Tumblr:lighthouse1138.tumblr.com
Based off what? Those templar history books you read?
Wake up people!
also is it just me or does the freerunning seem tuned up? I was playing the base game just last night and this dlc is noticeably more responsive than evie, jacob, and arno were before. I know there are people who never had issues with it so maybe it just suddenly all clicked for me
Oh fuck
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I dug it a lot.
Sad as fuck though.
Shitty Tumblr:lighthouse1138.tumblr.com
Aaaand now they're back and there's some actual borough events related to them too. I....have no idea how to feel about the Walk of Shame ones, honestly; going to need time to parse my thoughts on those. I mean, if they HAVE to have a focus on abuse of sex workers I guess this is an...okay way of handling it by showing someone stopping an attack, publically turning everyone against them and letting the victims have their say...? Still feels...not great as a game mechanic to have women get openly abused in the street though...
The Lost Women event also feels a bit exploitative; framing what is essentially a carriage chase with some kind of human trafficking vibe and I don't really feel like that was a necessary tack to take. Also carriage chases are the worst.
The Brothel Attack events are genuinely frustrating and honestly kind of disturbing. Seriously? You have to kill male guards and do so quietly or they'll choke prostitutes to death? Seriously??
At the very least playing these sections as Evie and not being able to do them as Jacob makes them a tiny bit less fucked up, but it's still fucked up. And in all these weird scenes so far I've only fought one female gang member (during the Walk of Shame bit). Not sure if this is just poor luck, but at the very least the brothels would be less terrible if they were only staffed by women, including the guards.
Finding this aspect of the DLC to be very disappointing, especially after how revolutionary the main game felt; it kind of feels like going from that warm, welcoming setup to this oppressive one and that's really unfortunate.
Still intend to finish this but I'm going to avoid using any of those gameplay points as much as I can.
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The way violin strings come in when you Leap of Faith off a sync point, and crescendo right as you thump into the hay
The way the exact right number of rowboats have guys perched on the end, so they comically tumble into the water when you jostle their ride
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The things Evie does to limbs is, quite frankly, horrifying.
To be a bit more direct about my thoughts (Jack the Ripper major spoilers):
I also found playing as Jack to be really uncomfortable. I thought that was valuable aa an experience though - it was kind of like the attacks and kills I'd have been really excited about while playing as an Assassin were just straight up horrifying here. I actually wound up playing out of character and only attacking required targets, because I couldn't explain away attacking NPCs as being people who needed to die for the Greater Good. They were civilians whose brutal deaths would just be about Jack proving a point.
I already mentioned my problems with bringing back the Prostitute mechanic earlier in the thread, but was also disappointed when it never really seemed like there was a reason for those characters to be in the game aside from the fact that the historical Ripper preyed on vulnerable women. The game never really works to make bringing this into being a real main theme either; just having you kill a particularly bad brothel owner and using it for a secondary source of filler tasks. It just all feels... exploitative. Which really sucks given the great strides the main game makes.
The entire final battle I was waiting for some kind of hook to be like "oh, okay, THIS is where they're going with this game". And then Jack died like a chump and Jacob is alive and Abberline covers everything up and ??? No resolution for Jacob's health, or how Abberline feels about his participation, or for why Jacob picked Jack up from the asylum in the first place, or for how the Rooks transition from Jack's leadership. I half-expected to find out Evie was fear-gassed again and had actually stabbed Jacob or something. But then the game just ends and all you have for closure is a short paragraph summarizing that last fight.
So while I appreciated the chance to see Evie as an older woman (I think she's the oldest female protag in a mainstream game at this point), and thought some of the new mechanics were cool, I think there were some fundamental flaws in the writing that kind of make me want to dismiss this as an altenate universe story.
3DS Friend Code: 0216-0898-6512
Switch Friend Code: SW-7437-1538-7786