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[Kezen]

Remember that the PC version comes out mid November

With Nvidia Gameworks improvements. I really loved HBAO+ in Unity and Black Flag, definitely made a tangible difference.

I'm expecting TXAA to come back, aside from those two I don't think there will be anything.

I would not say no to better LOD than the one used on consoles, if Unity is any indication it should be better on PC.

 

[sjay1994]

Its a combination of things really.

People are wary after the shitshow that was unity, people feel fatigued (check out the AC subreddit, where CrossingEden resides now, and people there are incredibly wary of the game), and lets be frank Syndicate isn't doing a single interesting thing.

Its setting is stereotypical tripe (oi govna, the rich are corrupt), its pushing the god damn suspense of disbelief that Assassins Creed hit around 3, where the protagonist interacts with almost every single significant historical figure of the era.

It inspires no interest from how it plays.

I played a demo of it (that evie gamescom one), and wow compared to other releases like MGSV the gameplay is a joke compared to other things on the market. It continues to be the jack of all trades master of none. Their "new combat system" IS LITERALLY JUST ARKHAMS COMBAT. It took them 6 years to go "huh, our combats not that great... lets just take Batmans". And it doesn't even feel that good.

Parkour is fine I guess, doesn't feel as floaty as unitys. The stealth is a joke. Enemy detection is shody at best, as they will stare at you for 5-10 seconds before calling an alert. It continuously baffles me that they just don't ask the Ubi Toronto guys who did Splinter Cell Blacklist to help with stealth, considering every fucking ubi team is working on this game.

The mission design is still the same ubiformula. Where every side character offers you the same type of missions, and you keep doing them, with practically zero narative payoff.

Even at a baseline appeal, the game offers nothing.

AC3- Had a slew of new features, and was coming of 3 years of Ezio, so people expected a lot of new things (still the best selling creed)

AC4- Had a huge focus on boats, the naval open world was very different from what AC did in the past, and already had a lot of buyer confidence as sailing was almost universally declared the best part of AC3

ACU- Next gen, promised a "completely redesigned experience"

What does syndicate offer at baseline?

uhhh... its not going to be broken at launch I guess. Carriages, uhhhhh two protagonists?

It has nothing interesting going for it.

I dunno, maybe I am underestimating the amount of AC buyers who are not tuned into gaming media or discussion and maybe the game will sell fine. But fuck, I used to adore this series, and seeing them not even trying to make something interesting is really fucking depressing.

Maybe Syndicate will be the wakeup call ubi needs to slow down the production of AC, or they will keep shoveling it out until it dies off.

 

[Brewmont]

I'm actually cautiously excited for this one. From the videos I've watched, it seems to me like the studio is trying their best to make a quality game, since it's their first stab (heh) at it. I know they're always collectathons, but I find that I play these games for the "living breathing" world and as an easy way to blow off steam. Since they're going more modern, they had my attention already that the world will be different, with the inclusion of electric lights, actual roads, and it seems like the gunplay is way more responsive now and is actually an option. I hated the sword combat, since I never felt like my hits counted for anything. I thought I was going to like Unity, but the world was pretty but didn't really pull me in like I hoped, so here's to hoping again!

 

[malfcn]

I've got every one at launch except for Rogue. This is low on my radar, and the hype is hedged way down this time.

 

[TimFL]

They cut out the only part that was interesting to me: 4 player co-op. I spent more time roaming the map with friends and doing the (repetitive) co-op quests than I spent solo/doing story quests.

They should've continued adding more co-op stuff instead of removing it. This game was dead to me the second I heard "SP only".

 

[sjay1994]

This is probably a minority opinion on GAF, but a pretty even one if you used to buy these games every year... the lack of a modern story post 3 really killed a lot of drive from people to have a reason to buy these games every year.

I know a lot of people don't like the modern day, find it annoying, a immersion breaker, etc. But for others including my self formerly, it was a hook for buying these games every year. Like a TV show, where each game was technically a season. Not to mention the expanded cannon stuff like the modern day stuff from the comics was actually really interesting, and outclassed anything shown during the actual games.

So after 3, this complete lack of anything actually happening in the modern day has killed a lot of interest from people who were buying these games yearly. Black Flag imo was a tounge and cheek break, and while I thought it was nice at the time, there was no way I would stand with it for more than a year, and Unity's modern day was literally "oh, Arno did the thing... guess this was a waste of time" and you are literally just some dickhead who bought a video game.

And the syndicate creative director is saying "oh, there is significant modern day" "you'll love it" "I promise"... but they have showed fucking nothing, and people have very little confidence and worry it just going to be a repeat of unity.

The only thing we know about Syndicate is

Spoiler

There is a WW1 level

And honestly, this constant change of creative directors is fucking harmful. One year they go "oh, we want to be authentic to this culture and time period as possible" to "fuck it, everyone has british accents because its "cinematic""

All these writers, this next 10 years of AC planned has no cohesive vision. Its practically all fan fiction.

 

[sjay1994]

They cut out the only part that was interesting to me: 4 player co-op. I spent more time roaming the map with friends and doing the (repetitive) co-op quests than I spent solo/doing story quests.

They should've continued adding more co-op stuff instead of removing it. This game was dead to me the second I heard "SP only".

Thats been a problem with yearly released games. Instead of trying to refine not so stellar features into something meaningful, its obliterated and some new half baked feature is used instead.

 

[Bsigg12]

Unity really crushed any sort of interest I had in the series. I really loved the series at one point because I thought tying it in with the modern day stuff was a cool idea but that shit all over that in Black Flag and Unity was just kinda trash. I'll probably get this digitally though in the inevitable $20 sale next year.

 

[erotic grandpa]

I bought Rogue earlier in the summer for $10 and have been hoarding it, in case I got weak in the knees and thought I'd need to pick this up.

Unity had its moments. There was that very small handful of assassinations, taking place in a big area with a number of approaches, where the game almost felt like it had the openness and promise that the first game had. Even then, though, it still mostly held your hand.

Where Unity burned me the most was the ending. [Spoilers for the modern day part of the ending]

Spoiler

The whole "find the remains of The Sage" bit with the modern day Assassins concluding with "Haha oh well, that was a waste of time, but hey, keep playing, we'll have something better for you next time!" What a meta way to say "please the next game will be good oh god please keep playing."

I guess the historical part of the ending was OK, if kind of dumb. Couldn't bring myself to finish the DLC.

I just can't get excited for Syndicate at all. The Jacob trailers make him seem obnoxious. Evie seems alright, but she's not the focus of the story. And with just how incredibly boring the last game was...nah, I'm out.

Just remember, guys! These games are almost always half off by Black Friday, if not Christmas.

This is probably a minority opinion on GAF, but a pretty even one if you used to buy these games every year... the lack of a modern story post 3 really killed a lot of drive from people to have a reason to buy these games every year.

I know a lot of people don't like the modern day, find it annoying, a immersion breaker, etc. But for others including my self formerly, it was a hook for buying these games every year. Like a TV show, where each game was technically a season. Not to mention the expanded cannon stuff like the modern day stuff from the comics was actually really interesting, and outclassed anything shown during the actual games.

So after 3, this complete lack of anything actually happening in the modern day has killed a lot of interest from people who were buying these games yearly. Black Flag imo was a tounge and cheek break, and while I thought it was nice at the time, there was no way I would stand with it for more than a year, and Unity's modern day was literally "oh, Arno did the thing... guess this was a waste of time" and you are literally just some dickhead who bought a video game.

Yup, exactly this. Remember "The Truth?" Remember how badass it was to find all those glyphs, to find all those weird references to historical events as being part of a big conspiracy? The Adam & Eve stuff? Because Ubisoft doesn't seem to!

 

[sjay1994]

Just remember, guys! These games are almost always half off by Black Friday, if not Christmas.

Evie seems alright, but she's not the focus of the story.

This too. Ubi games drop in price faster than a sack of potatoes... but then again I don't even want to play this. I'll probably just watch the cutscenes pasted together on youtube.

Dude, she isn't even mentioned in most of the base marketing.

She is on the side of the main boxart, and isn't even on the special edition boxart. But repeated bald brute man is

 

[hohoXD123]

It is weird. I mean, as a Londoner I've wanted a Victorian setting for a while now and I thought Unity was ok, but I'm just not that hyped. May be a combination of series fatigue, and what seems like stiffer competition this year. I'll probably end up getting it but because of other games taking priority, this'll probably be January/February time.

 

[CarbonatedFalcon]

Not that I'm necessarily interested in Syndicate, but this thread is making me interested in some of the older ACs, having only played (rented) AC2 for a bit years ago. Probably 3 and Black Flag if I can pick them up on the cheap during a Steam Sale. And maybe one of Brotherhood/Revelations.

But more on topic - yeah, there's some real series fatigue going on here. Should let it rest a bit and only put one out every other year, or at least have alternating takes that differentiate if it must be annualized. The brand is diluted at this point, being at almost at Guitar Hero levels of saturation.

I think the ship has long sailed where I'd consider paying $60 for an AC game though, regardless.

 

[Zekes!]

As an onlooker who never really got into the series, I can't help but feel like the Assassin's Creed series has become a parody of itself.

I feel bad for the fans because it seems like people are consistently disappointed

 

[Toa TAK]

As an AC fan, I'm really glad they finally are tackling Victorian London, but after the fanbase waiting years for the French Revolution and getting crap in return, it's more of a cautious feeling instead of hype around this game. For me at least.

And I'm tired of the Ezio "copy-and-pastes" as well.

 

[IdreamofHIME]

Coming off Witcher, Batman, Mad Max and Phantom pain...another open world game seems daunting, espeically with Fallout just a few weeks away.

 

[Gurish]

Sorry but the game comes out next week? holy shit! don't remember anything like this for the series, seems like Sony aren't pushing it either, this is going to be the worst selling game in the series, maybe besides Revelations.

 

[hydruxo]

I've been an AC fan since the first game but Unity just kind of killed my interest in the series until they make some serious changes or go to Ancient Egypt / Wild West / Japan. There's just too many other new games coming out to be bothered with a game that looks like it's going to play more or less the same as Unity.

Unity really crushed any sort of interest I had in the series. I really loved the series at one point because I thought tying it in with the modern day stuff was a cool idea but that shit all over that in Black Flag and Unity was just kinda trash. I'll probably get this digitally though in the inevitable $20 sale next year.

Eh, it was AC3 that screwed up the modern day storyline.

 

[Toa TAK]

Sorry but the game comes out next week? holy shit! don't remember anything like this for the series, seems like Sony aren't pushing it either, this is going to be the worst selling game in the series, maybe besides Revelations.

Ah man. Revelations had hype trailers. I was so excited for it just to get the hell out of Italy and being the last Ezio game. Plus, Altiar. Modern Day bit was awful, but at least the gameplay was the most polished of the pre-AC3 era.

 

[Rudiano]

Im about 8 hours into the game and yes its quite underwhelming. Im just glad I didnt actually pay for this lol

 

[bananafactory]

Im about 8 hours into the game and yes its quite underwhelming. Im just glad I didnt actually pay for this lol

Did you play Unity? How does it compare? Any improvements?

 

[sjay1994]

As an onlooker who never really got into the series, I can't help but feel like the Assassin's Creed series has become a parody of itself.

I feel bad for the fans because it seems like people are consistently disappointed

My relationship with Assassins Creed is like having an old friend becoming addicted to drugs, and you still hang out with him hoping that maybe he might be able to kick his addiction, but you are facing the grim realization that he probably won't, and there is nothing you can do to help.

 

[Lowmelody]

I just want more Black Flag. I never got around to finishing Rogue but it was also great for part of the reason Black Flag was; listening to beautifully rendered sea shanties on the high rolling seas will never get old.

 

[jesu]

I'm not hyped because I've barely started Black Flag and I still have the one after that in my backlog.
These games come out too often for me!
(I do enjoy them when I get round to it)

 

[sjay1994]

Yup, exactly this. Remember "The Truth?" Remember how badass it was to find all those glyphs, to find all those weird references to historical events as being part of a big conspiracy? The Adam & Eve stuff? Because Ubisoft doesn't seem to!

Remember at the end of brotherhood when Juno told Desmond to find Eve?

What happened to that?

Also, the modern day in syndicate is apparently passive like the one in Unity. Fuck this game, I am just watching the cutscenes on youtube.

 

[Toa TAK]

As an onlooker who never really got into the series, I can't help but feel like the Assassin's Creed series has become a parody of itself.

I feel bad for the fans because it seems like people are consistently disappointed

That's spot on. I dunno why we still hang. ;_;

Im about 8 hours into the game and yes its quite underwhelming. Im just glad I didnt actually pay for this lol

:|

 

[Guerrilla]

This might be the first ac ill skip (probably not though since im an idiot) depending on review scores. Do we know when the review embargo lifts?

 

[lensoftruth]

Why do you expect hype for a consistently poor series of games that sell through advertising alone

 

[Trigonometrize.]

They've been pushing more and more modern for some time now. The series was exciting for a while because it felt like it could go ANYWHERE, and then we realized it just puts its setting in increments of 50-100 years after the last one and it's felt like it's just been going through the motions for the past few years. I think the series would benefit from going to wildly different places at wildly different times.

 

[sjay1994]

Did you play Unity? How does it compare? Any improvements?

Well I played maybe 30 minutes of a demo for Syndicate and can give you my impressions if thats any help.

Technically its stable. Didn't see any frame drops or major bugs. (I saw a demo for unity in person before the game launched, and it crashed twice, there was popin everywhere, and frame rate dropped in it, but I gave them benefit of the doubt back then, which I truly regret)

Parkour doesn't feel as floaty as unity.

Combat is just a very lackluster version of the Batman Games

Stealth is a joke. The AI are idiots, and if you played MGSV (which I know you did as we were all freaking out in the Canada deals thread) trying to play something like this will come off feeling awful instead of just mediocre.

Visually its not as impressive as unity. Guess it had to be done to improve framerate.

 

[sjay1994]

That's spot on. I dunno why we still hang. ;_;


:|

Because we love the IDEA of assassins creed, more than what the games actually are.

 

[Toa TAK]

Because we love the IDEA of assassins creed, more than what the games actually are.

If only the games were better. If I just wanted to stick to the story strictly, I would just read the books (like plenty do), but still...

 

[Conflict NZ]

They seriously need a reboot at this point.Take two years off then finally do a Feudal Japan, getting sick of their excuses for not doing Asia at this point.

 

[Alienous]

Im about 8 hours into the game and yes its quite underwhelming. Im just glad I didnt actually pay for this lol

Better luck next year, Ubi?

 

[Krappadizzle]

For me it's franchise fatigue coupled with the fact that there are so many more unique I.P's coming out in the same window of time.

Witcher 3 just had an excellent expansion, new Halo at the end of the month, a new Fallout next month, Battlefront, etc. There are just things I'd rather spend my money on than another AC. The fact that Ubisoft has consistently treated their customers as endless piggy banks is a big turn-off as well. I'll pick it up next year at a heavy discount just to treat it like a virtual tourist simulator.

 

[Messofanego]

It's getting the amount of hype it deserves. God forbid a multimillion dollar game doesn't have its multimillion dollar marketing budget pay off.

Ask any Brit or Londoner, it seems almost unanimous that despite the setting very little are that excited for this because either they've gone for a very stereotyped and boring portrayal of the period or that it's another AssCreed game with little original ideas so know what to expect.

 

[sjay1994]

They seriously need a reboot at this point.Take two years off then finally do a Feudal Japan, getting sick of their excuses for not doing Asia at this point.

Even if they did do Asia, is that even enough at this point?

I feel like ubi misunderstood what they needed to do for the series to still remain in good graces. They didn't just need to make a polished game, they needed to knock it out of the park, and it sounds like they failed.

 

[PensOwl]

I really wish I could do a poll to see if anyone likes the modern story or not. It's seems like just a few years ago everyone hated it and wanted ubi to drop it.

 

[Straight Edge]

AC needs a complete redesign with actual stealth involved.

 

[Rudiano]

Did you play Unity? How does it compare? Any improvements?

I've played every AC game since AC3. There is 2 patches for day 1, frame rate is good, very stable unlike Unity. Visuals not that impressive (playing on ps4) though the pop-ins are not as bad as Unity.
The parkour feels clunky, AI is still stupid (I killed an enemy with the gun, and another enemy literally around the corner like 5 metres away didnt hear it and just stood there).
I like the new finishing moves you can do to finish off an enemy, but the combat itself isnt smooth and also looks clunky.
In this gif I jumped off the building into the hay, and the Queen's guards just jump off of the building and kill themselves lol
http://giant.gfycat.com/MixedDependentEskimodog.webm

 

[Mory Dunz]

Hm, haven't seen any ads yet.


Has the media blitz started?

 

[threelights]

I really wish I could do a poll to see if anyone likes the modern story or not. It's seems like just a few years ago everyone hated it and wanted ubi to drop it.

Because you usually only hear about people unsatisfied with something.

It's not "everyone" that hated it, but you probably only saw people who did, so it seems like it's everyone...


Either way, for me the modern day story was the only reason to keep up with the atrocious everything else the series has.

 

[nikos]

I loved Unity. I thought it was the best AC since AC2.

That being said, there does seem to be very little hype surrounding Syndicate. Could be because most people were disappointed by Unity. There also seems to be very little coverage, though I could have just missed it. I'll pick it up, but I'm not clamoring for it the way I was last year. I'd love for something to change that.

 

[Mortemis]

It's weird, I still like the idea of AC, I just can't get myself into the games anymore. Black flag was the last game I played and I enjoyed the pirate aspects way more than the assassin parts. I kinda wanted to play Unity but saw the shitstorm so I avoided it, and now with this all I watched was the reveal trailer and nothing else. Honestly surprised it's coming out next week.

Like I said I still like the idea of AC, but the way it's going I'll probably never play another one again. Not until they at least start the series fresh.

 

[Dibils2k]

I've played every AC game since AC3. There is 2 patches for day 1, frame rate is good, very stable unlike Unity. Visuals not that impressive (playing on ps4) though the pop-ins are not as bad as Unity.
The parkour feels clunky, AI is still stupid (I killed an enemy with the gun, and another enemy literally around the corner like 5 metres away didnt hear it and just stood there).
I like the new finishing moves you can do to finish off an enemy, but the combat itself isnt smooth and also looks clunky.
In this gif I jumped off the building into the hay, and the Queen's guards just jump off of the building and kill themselves lol
http://giant.gfycat.com/MixedDependentEskimodog.webm

LMAO!

 

[Toa TAK]

I really wish I could do a poll to see if anyone likes the modern story or not. It's seems like just a few years ago everyone hated it and wanted ubi to drop it.

It started to crumble in Brotherhood, dragged in Revelations, and concluded kinda awfully in 3. Since ACIV on, it feels static and with the introduction of the Sage, unnecessarily overcomplicated.

The mystery that was there was either dropped or answered horribly. Like Lucy or The Truth or anything Subject 16.

 

[sjay1994]

I've played every AC game since AC3. There is 2 patches for day 1, frame rate is good, very stable unlike Unity. Visuals not that impressive (playing on ps4) though the pop-ins are not as bad as Unity.
The parkour feels clunky, AI is still stupid (I killed an enemy with the gun, and another enemy literally around the corner like 5 metres away didnt hear it and just stood there).
I like the new finishing moves you can do to finish off an enemy, but the combat itself isnt smooth and also looks clunky.
In this gif I jumped off the building into the hay, and the Queen's guards just jump off of the building and kill themselves lol
http://giant.gfycat.com/MixedDependentEskimodog.webm

Figures. Can you explain to me about the modern day stuff? Is it basically unity where someone talks to you and is very passive?

 

[Orochinagis]

Did the futuristic Eva and Adan got explained at some point? I am pretty much lost of the main plot of the game and maybe Ubisoft too

 

[Ghost is Bad]

did ac take a turn for evangelion when i wasn't looking or something

 

[sjay1994]

did ac take a turn for evangelion when i wasn't looking or something

When did you stop looking?

Did the futuristic Eva and Adan got explained at some point? I am pretty much lost of the main plot of the game and maybe Ubisoft too

Yeah

-Humans were birthed by the first civilization who used them as obedient cattle
-The Humans rebelled and a civil war was had
-A disaster happened wiping out many FC and humans
-FC decided to preserve their genes, they would mate with humans
-Adam and Eve were a hybrid of humans and FC (Desmond and Clay were there decsendants, thats why they have eagle vision)

 

[ironcreed]

AC needs a complete redesign with actual stealth involved.

Here you go:

It's a series that is just begging for an order of ninja assassins.