Assassin's Creed: Rogue review

Formats Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 Developer Ubisoft Publisher Ubisoft Released Out now

Ironically for a series fixated with speedily bounding across rooftops, Assassins Creed often struggles with pacing. Assassins Creed III was too sedate, taking an age to let you don the assassins hood, while Assassins Creed IV: Black Flag was hampered by recurring tailing missions. Assassins Creed Rogue - sandwiched between them in the series chronology - instead sprints to conclusion. But its haste often leaves it feeling incomplete. At one point, you are so gravely injured you can barely walk. Two minutes later you are buying up properties and taking over gang hideouts.

The optional stuff, like the city renovation, is essential for stretching the game out - sailing around North America and completing the hundreds of optional activities dotted among the various archipelagos and nustled between the buildings of its cities - and it is here the game is at its best. Rogue is essentially an expansion to the largely excellent Black Flag, so expect more of the same. The two games share many of the same assets, including the protagonists fighting style, which is usually different for each lead. Theres even an animation for flicking up your hood upon entering a restricted area, except the new, hoodless protagonist pops his collar up like a stabby Elvis tribute.

Rogue follows directly on from Black Flag and sees key characters return. This isnt so much a lesson in humanitys history as it is the history of the series itself: You witness Achilles (AC IIIs protagonists mentor) as an Assassin, Edward Kenways first mate, Adewale, plays a pivotal role, and the games climax has a surprising link to Ubisofts other 2014 sequel, Unity. You witness all this through the eyes of Shay Patrick Cormac, an Irish initiate of the Assassins. The prologue takes place during Cormacs brief time in the Brotherhood, before events force him to enlist to the Templars. Here he reports to Haytham Kenway, father of AC IIIs protagonist.

This fascination with its own history makes the story impenetrable for newcomers. Though fans of the series will get a lot out of Rogue, especially in seeing the ancient conflict from a new perspective. This shift in allegiances also influences the gameplay - you are now hunter and prey. You can be air assassinated from a nearby roof, attacked from a bale of hay, or struck by a blade in a crowd. The whispers and direction indicator from the series multiplayer (absent in this entry) inform you of lurking Assassins, so you have to approach things more cautiously.

Elsewhere, the game gives you some new toys in the form of a silenced air rifle and a grenade launcher. These dont add much, however, as theyre just alternative ways to tranquilise, send enemies berserk, or kill. At sea, your ship can now be boarded, and The Atlantics icebergs add a new challenge to maneuverability in combat. You can also shoot these icebergs, sending a wave cascading out as the ice sinks and melts into the sea, damaging small vessels. Additionally, your ship is fitted with automatic puckle guns that can quickly trace across an enemy ships weakpoints. Another new trick is to leave a trail of oil behind your ship and ignite it, creating a barrier of fire.

The additions are welcome, bolstering Black Flags excellent formula. The only thing that stops Rogue from reaching the heights of of that game is how its lack of new ideas isnt replaced by a fresh setting. Two of the storys main locations are Assassins Creed IIIs version of New York and its Davenport Homestead, the myriad forts are identical to Black Flags, and the present-day sequences take place in the same beanbag-filled Abstergo offices - even the UI and fonts are the same. The seemingly cut corners and reused assets arent the games biggest sin, though. On paper, Cormac is the most interesting protagonist the series has had. In reality, hes a bland mess of bad voice acting and Irish stereotype. He even has a catchphrase: I create my own luck. Just in case his name wasnt Irish enough for you.

Killing the main Assassins is also disappointing - once spotted, they become near invulnerable to all but firearms and start running laps around the area while you try shoot them. These aspects of the game will likely leave you as cold at the Atlantic, but theres still a lot to enjoy outside of this. The closing missions are enough to put the wind back in your sails alone. Besides that, sailing around North America, creating your own objectives as the sun sets on the horizon, its easy to forgive the game its lack of ambition. Theres nothing out there that quite matches the sense of freedom you get from the open sea, and Rogue is a great excuse to rekindle that feeling.

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Assassin's Creed: Rogue review