Zero Punctuation: Assassin's Creed Syndicate

[bluegate]

The zip line is actually a really nifty tool for crossing big gaps between buildings or climbing buildings when you are in a hurry and don't feel like wasting your time with climbing up and down.

Same goes for the carriages, a fast way to get across parts of the city and to checkpoints. Running is piss slow, and loading times with fast travel are also rather lengthy, making the cart thing a welcome addition to speed up the gameplay.

As for the writing, yeah, total pants.

 

[Bob_McMillan]

I was actually planning on getting this game. I watched about 3 hours of gameplay for it and while the combat looks disgusting, the zip line thing a bit stupid when it comes to long distances, and the AI dumber than a dog without a brain, the characters really appealed to me. Jacob is a shit eater, but Evie was cute, and I mean that both in a "Awww, its Pikachu" and a "Holy shit, is that Emma Watson eating a sausage!?" way. Their brother/sister relationship is something I can really relate to. And I like the hat that Jacob wears at the start. For some reason me and my friends just love anything British.

As for the female enemies, I would have been fine with them if a) they didn't look fucking ridiculous (sorry ladies, you will never look good in top hats. Then again, no one does) and b) they didn't make things weird. There was this voiced enemy once who was supposed to be a dude, but the voice actor was that of a woman. This was what cemented for me the idea that female enemies were just tacked on because of that fucking stupid controversy with Unity's coop. And Ned... Yeah... No...

From what I've seen it is a step up from Unity, and that in itself is good enough. I mean, obviously I'm not getting this at full price! Just a week after its launch its price dropped quite a bit in my local store. I'll probably wait for an online Black Friday sale.

Surprised though that Yahtzee considers it as good (bad?) as Unity, when even people like Jim praised it.

 

[stormtrooper9091]

OK:

Prince of Persia: Sands of Time was a good game. A really good game, and I played it two times. HOWEVER, the second time I played, lots of time passed, and I didn't really enjoy the clumsy controls much. Everything else was (obviously) still good, but I've come to realize that game kind of didn't exactly age well. The entire series was never about flawless writing anyway but it still features one of the best romance subplots in video game history.

So yeah, not top 5 greatest of all time, but certainly not "overrated" as some of the hipster edgelords would like.

On to the point, I'm not really the right person to talk about AC series, the thing is, I played a PC port of 2, and I gave up after half an hour, there was simply nothing in there that I could possibly latch on to, the controls were atrociously badly mapped, I mean they just replaced the PS controller button icons with icons corresponding to the action the command would execute, like, action, run, stuff like that. And after pressing the wrong button for the zillionth time, I knew the game was not for me. That whole thing just felt incredibly lazy, just depict the icon with the key it was bound to, how fucking difficult is that??? And I've missed out on a lot, probably but I never looked back.

Also, why have the SJWs not shown up yet, I want to see how they will be mocked. Or perhaps the Internet has finally gone back to normal and idiots like that Jenner person will finally stop getting the media attention they so crave for

 

[nomotog_v1legacy]

Were there really that many women in Victorian London gangs?

Does the British Army also have that near 50:50 gender divide?

That is a good question. The only thing I have seen is the game theory video on AC:s that talks about it. apparently there were women gangs and mixed genders gangs. I haven't seen anyone else comment on it though. I think most people are just assuming it's just something made up for the game.

No idea about the army though.

 

[Ishigami]

Wait... this disclaimer is for real?


So its another AC, alright... nothing to see, moving along.

 

[Jburton9]

Great review, thank you for posting it : )

"Jolly Hook shotable" I shall attempt to use this later today, finding the proper placement will take skill and timing, *looks off into the distance* hmm.

 

[KikReask]

So, because I was curious to see how the series has evolved, I went back and watched all the ZP AssCreed episodes, in order. And... it's really a rather sad development, actually.

I was hoping he would review Rogue after Unity. I know it's mostly the same game as III and IV, but it's still a main game in the series according to wikipedia, and apparently it was much better than Unity. I wouldn't know however seen as I left the series after III and have never wanted to get back into it after Unity's launch disaster. I can understand why Yahtzee didn't bother with Rogue though, considering that having Assassin's Creed as an annual series is bad enough but two main titles in one year, out on the same week?!

Where's my sequel to Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones already? And no, if Ubisoft will only make another Prince of Persia game as another obvious movie tie in, don't bother. =P

 

[Recoveryanonymous]

It's strange how quickly the Assassin's Creed series has become stale. It's only been around like 8 years. But they've made around that many games in the franchise during that time.

 

[Mangod]

It's strange how quickly the Assassin's Creed series has become stale. It's only been around like 8 years. But they've made around that many games in the franchise during that time.

There's been 22 Assassin's Creed games, nine "main games" and thirteen spin-offs, since November 2007. To quote Funboy:

"Don't you ever f***ing die?"

 

[thanatos388]

I remember when the first one came out, I said something like, "I'll buy them as a set when the series is complete." I thought it was going to be a trilogy. Clearly I will never own these games.

Well the Ezio trilogy is its own package, and those are the best games in the whole series. Well, AC2 and Broho are the best ones and Revelations is just ok like every other game after Broho so thats a good sample of the Assassin's Creed experience and you get the whole of Ezio's story, the only character worth a damn in the franchise.

Personally stretching Ezio's saga out to three games was when I knew this franchise was headed for the pits, every game they introduced some new mechanic that was either pointless or only served to pad the game out(I.E. the Tower Defense in Revelations)

Yeah but that's the full AC experience. It starts good, then you get the time sink grind of Brotherhood, then it wraps up with a bad game called Revelations that pads everything out with stupid gimmicks. You truly haven't experienced Assassins Creed until you feel one of the games suck your soul away with half baked minigames.

 

[Callate]

Even people who were getting sick of AC like Jim Sterling have praised Evie as an interesting character though(though he despised Jacob, and I can see why, as he comes across as an arrogant dick in the trailers), and I actually don't think getting rid of multiplayer is such a bad thing, as i'm honestly getting quite sick of games having tacked on multiplayer modes that nobody ever plays(Jim Sterling mentioned that barely anyone played the multiplayer in Overlord, after managing to get into one MP game on launch, he couldn't find another MP game ever again), or games being multiplayer-only and having no single player at all, despite the fact that making a game that way ensures that once the servers shut down the game disc will be worthless and only useful as a drink coaster(I.E. Battlefront, Titanfall, Evolve, Rainbow Six Siege, Shadowrun 2007, SOCOM Confrontation, MAG) so Ubisoft at least did two things right with this game I suppose, too bad it's still the same boring-ass-creed we've all played before.

Definitely agree with you about multiplayer in most regards, though there seemed to be a fair amount of admiration for the multiplayer in AC: Brotherhood. And Ubisoft seems to be trying to move multiplayer in sufficiently interesting directions (especially as a compliment to games like Far Cry 4 and Watch Dogs that I'd almost hate to see them abandon trying altogether.

But, yeah, for an awful lot of games multiplayer seems like a desperate plea for longevity that merely ends up stripping time and energy out of the development process that could have been better spent elsewhere. My understanding is that Spec Ops: The Line, for example, only added it to the game under pressure from the publisher. Games with no single-player at all sometimes seem to have all but seem to have forgotten that their job is to entertain, not to send "the kids" out to play and not bother the grown-ups.

 

[JagerBombastic]

For me this was the best ZP video of the year, Yahtzee was so on point that if he was any more on point his bum cheeks would be rubbing up against the assassins hidden blades.

 

[Dalisclock]

But I've been gone so long, I have no idea where the overarching story is. I really don't care enough to get back into the series.

There really isn't one as far as I can tell. After the third game and 2012 plot was wrapped up, they started hinting about a new plot with Juno.....but they've more or less just been treading water since then, either not knowing what to do with the future storyline or they just stopped caring at this point.

Maybe it's for the best, because nobody really seemed to care about Desmond and the people in the future/present anyway.

I like AC in general(even 3, for at least trying something different) but after Unity and this, I'm just kind of tired of the whole thing. I'm waiting for Rogue(for more boat action and to play as a Templar this time) to drop down a little more in price before picking it up on steam but that might end up being the last game I play.

The whole future plot hasn't budged much in 3 games at this point and while I do enjoy the historical tourism of it, I'm just not really caring anymore.

 

[JamesStone]

Yatzhee I hate to tell you this, but Prince of Persia: Sands of Time is overrated.

I mean that game is extremely piss poor by todays standards. Combat is bare bones and just reduced to spamming. Platforming has no skill and momentum and its all just timing.

And the plot, oh the plot, was nothing special. Despite the Prince constantly telling me how enthralling his story his.

He does kinda fall into that Nostalgia Critic/AVGN little loop were everything was better back in the day, doesn't he? The type of guy who would look you in the face and say Godzilla 1954 has better graphics and looks more believable than Pacific Rim or that compared to Gordon Freeman's massive characterization Commander Shepard might as well be a piece of stale toast on a white napkin.

But I've been making that same rant about Silent Hill 2 for years and Yahtzee has never responded.

Time period is important when discussing things like this. Yahtzee does talk about this sometimes in Let's Drown Out, saying that what he means by it is a game as good for the time as Prince of Persia and Silent Hill 2 were in their time.


Of course it isn't a side by side comparison. If both of you try and tell me games like Assassin's Creed: Syndicate are as good given their time context as Prince of Persia was given its time context, you better call in in the fun police because I declare shenanigans

 

[Kwak]

So, because I was curious to see how the series has evolved, I went back and watched all the ZP AssCreed episodes, in order. And... it's really a rather sad development, actually.

Assassin's Creed [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/16-Assassins-Creed].
Assassin's Creed 2 [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/1148-Assassins-Creed-2].
Brotherhood [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/2519-Assassins-Creed-Brotherhood].
Revelations [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/5114-Assassins-Creed-Revelations].
Assassin's Creed 3 [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/6516-Assassins-Creed-3].
Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/8424-Assassins-Creed-IV-Black-Flag].
Unity [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/9920-Assassins-Creed-Unity-Review].
Syndicate [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/106803-Assassins-Creed-Syndicate-Review].

What, the sad developement of Yahtzee not using unique and humorously pertinent music as review bookends anymore?
The sad developement of his voice changing timbre as it lost all the vain hope of youth and settled into the bitter concessions of middle age?

Your community service of collecting all those links and painstakingly copy/pasting them is much appreciated.

 

[Mangod]

So, because I was curious to see how the series has evolved, I went back and watched all the ZP AssCreed episodes, in order. And... it's really a rather sad development, actually.

Assassin's Creed [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/16-Assassins-Creed].
Assassin's Creed 2 [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/1148-Assassins-Creed-2].
Brotherhood [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/2519-Assassins-Creed-Brotherhood].
Revelations [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/5114-Assassins-Creed-Revelations].
Assassin's Creed 3 [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/6516-Assassins-Creed-3].
Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/8424-Assassins-Creed-IV-Black-Flag].
Unity [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/9920-Assassins-Creed-Unity-Review].
Syndicate [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/106803-Assassins-Creed-Syndicate-Review].

What, the sad developement of Yahtzee not using unique and humorously pertinent music as review bookends anymore?
The sad developement of his voice changing timbre as it lost all the vain hope of youth and settled into the bitter concessions of middle age?

Your community service of collecting all those links and painstakingly copy/pasting them is much appreciated.

I feel like there should be an "/s" at the end of that post.

And what I meant was the sad development from "Play it", to "Assassin's Creed: Well, here we are again."

captcha: enjoy life.

I feel like captcha is taking the piss out of me now.

 

[Kwak]

I know watcha meant .
Yes, 'tis sad the bloated mainstream rock star Ass Creed has become, and I enjoyed watching the gradual downhill run of it in those reviews.

I do miss the episode specific songs and the higher frequency of vaginal references of Yahtzee past though.

 

[Darth_Payn]

I must correct Yahtzee about the Vaults: in the end of Unity's story, they weren't fighting over a Piece of Eden in an Assassin vault, it was a Templar vault, since it was under their old Paris HQ, the Temple. And the Sword of Eden wasn't the game's main MacGuffin, it was St. Germain himself, because he was a Sage, and the modern day Assassins and Templars were racing to find his remains.