Assassin's Creed: Syndicate

[esmittystud101]

I'm enjoying it so far, the visuals and soundtrack is really stunning at times. They've done a great job recreating the Victorian Era. Although I'm not that familiar with AC games so are you supposed to go straight from sequence to sequence or is it better to unlock different parts of the map or do side activities first?

Pretty much when I get to a new area, I always go for towers that lets you sink up up that area where you see all the items in that part of the map, eagle vision is what they call it I think or sync. I always do that first so when your strolling around that area you can see things pop up easier on your mini map on screen so you can grab them/it. Next, I do pretty much every side mission I can so it will build my character faster so I am more prepped for main missions. I always leave main quest missions last. Just seems like I enjoy the game longer by doing this. If I finish the game too early, I might never go back and grab everything later, collectables, side missions, ect, depending on how much I like the game.

 

But I know what you mean, if you have access to other areas of the map and your not finished with everything where your located at the time, your always at question, "Should I go there yet?" I go through this with every game. Especially open world ones.

Edited October 23, 2015 by esmittystud101

[Vault111]

 

I'm enjoying it so far, the visuals and soundtrack is really stunning at times. They've done a great job recreating the Victorian Era. Although I'm not that familiar with AC games so are you supposed to go straight from sequence to sequence or is it better to unlock different parts of the map or do side activities first?

Pretty much when I get to a new area, I always go for towers that lets you sink up up that area where you see all the items in that part of the map, eagle vision is what they call it I think or sync. I always do that first so when your strolling around that area you can see things pop up easier on your mini map on screen so you can grab them/it. Next, I do pretty much every side mission I can so it will build my character faster so I am more prepped for main missions. I always leave main quest missions last. Just seems like I enjoy the game longer by doing this. If I finish the game too early, I might never go back and grab everything later, collectables, side missions, ect, depending on how much I like the game.

 

But I know what you mean, if you have access to other areas of the map and your not finished with everything where your located at the time, your always at question, "Should I go there yet?" I go through this with every game. Especially open world ones.

Thanks for the advice, any of the guides I've read online seem to be saying the same thing.

[Jvaz615]

I am thoroughly enjoying it so far. Love the dynamic between the twins. Glad to see whistling, carrying bodies and the white room make a return game is visually stunning and, to me, the gameplay has a kind of old school AC feel to it

Edited October 23, 2015 by Jvaz615

[Hit by Lightning]

 

I don't think they're trying to deceive anyone. I genuinely think that whoever is in charge of marketing is an idiot. Everything about it is idiotic. Their sh*tty trailers, their sh*tty real life parkour thingy, the stupid idea to actually get a real pirate ship for Black Flag. And how could I forget Arno's "iconic" pocket watch pre-order. Iconic. Nevermind that Arno was a new character for a game that wasn't even out yet. These people are imbeciles to the nth degree. They're like an insecure, clingy girlfriend desperate for attention.

 

It seems that nothing is gonna change your mind! Why don't you give this one a try?

Here is my first impression so far:

- London is absolutely gorgeous. I actually spent my first hour or so just exploring and trying to find all the landmarks!

- It's clear that Ubisoft has learnt from Unity's disaster. Haven't seen a single bug so far apart from one cutscene (the first one on the train, all characters are invisible but you can hear their voices ). I've recorded it!

-Gameplay is your typical AC with a small difference. You'll miss the familiar swordplay as weapons here are a bit different. It's 1880 after all!

 

in Short, if you are a big fan of AC or open world games in general, Syndicate is a must!

 

My only criticism is the ridiculous price of the Season Pass. Who do you think you are? CD PROJEKT RED?

For 30% of Ubisfot price CPR delivered one expansion that worth 10 of Ubisoft's season passes!

Edited October 24, 2015 by Hit by Lightning

[trip]

I only liked Black Flag. But the thing is I really really really liked Black Flag. Hated Unity.

 

Convince me to buy this game or just give me the honest thought and say it isn't something that I need to buy and play tonight.

[steveox1961]

Or the day Assassins Creed goes to WWII and you get to meet HITLER

 

 

 

[esmittystud101]

I took me a while just to get started. 18 add on downloads right off the bat.

 

https://flic.kr/p/zSTYDL

 

Edit: Just starting to dig in for a while. I like the skills section, it has some nice upgrades and it's something else to shoot for in the game atleast. For some reason I'm digging the default hud which I'm not too crazy about with most games. I like how example: "Perform a multi-finisher on 2 enemies 8/40" shows in bottom left side after taking two guys down. By it popping up it gives me a good reminder on switching up how I take enemies down. I'm enjoying the map. Detail is great, when lightning strikes in a storm it looks fantastic. I think they probably went in the right direction by going 900p again. I think Black Flag was 1080p and frankly at times on PS4 it wasnt anything to brag about. Adding the protagonist Evie was a plus. Running or stealth takedowns are cool as well.

 

I'm hoping the story turns out decent but who knows. I know some things I listed some would laugh at and say "doesn't make it a decent game", but it's just things that stood out to me right off the bat. Either you like the Assassin's Creed formula or you dont pretty much what it boils down to.

Edited October 24, 2015 by esmittystud101

[Hit by Lightning]

Try to avoid bringing your gang to the bounty hunt missions. Why? Because these bloodthirsty idiots are gonna kill everything that moves, including your target (you will get higher rewards if you bring him/her alive).

 

I only liked Black Flag. But the thing is I really really really liked Black Flag. Hated Unity.

 

Convince me to buy this game or just give me the honest thought and say it isn't something that I need to buy and play tonight.

Charles Dickens alone would be enough for me

Edited October 24, 2015 by Hit by Lightning

[HaythamKenway]

I only liked Black Flag. But the thing is I really really really liked Black Flag. Hated Unity.

 

Convince me to buy this game or just give me the honest thought and say it isn't something that I need to buy and play tonight.

What exactly did you hated about Unity? Syndicate is pretty much Unity meets Saints Row 2, there are changes and improvements, but at the core, it's still Unity's formula through and through.

 

I unfortunately didn't have much time to play yesterday, only got to the start of Sequence 4. So at the end of the notorious AC tutorial. Some impressions.

 

• I just have to go back to the score, some of the quieter ambient tracks with flutes and violins are the best AC music I've heard in years and the mixing is just fantastic. Brilliant sound design, Ubi have really outdone themselves this time.
• The graphical downgrade is real. It's just as much of a jump downwards as between AC III and IV. It doesn't really matter, since the game still looks great and thankfully doesn't spaz with framerate drops and glitches like it has a seizure anymore, but it should be mentioned. London is amazing, no surprise, and it's fascinating to see essentially a modern European city in an AC game. The street layout, architecture, it feels really unusual for an AC game.
• Evie is pretty good, Jacob is... ehh. Comic relief sidekick bumped up to be a protagonist. I still like him and the chemistry between them is great, but Evie really stole the show so far. The writing in general is sharp and thoroughly entertaining, definitely a huge step up from Unity.
• I like the grappling hook much more than I expected. Its line launcher capabilities are just so much fun, it's like ziplines from Revelations, but you can use them anywhere, at any time. But grappling from the ground to the rooftop with just a press of a button annoys me. Ziplines have a place in the game, since London is not as dense as Unity's Paris, but vertical grappling is just way too cheap and completely slices off the fun of climbing. I know it's optional, but I think offering such shortcuts for something that is core of AC gameplay isn't right. Carriages are dumb, but fun (it's hard to not drive like a complete jackass) and I had a blast platforming over Thames.
• Combat is meh. Unity's combat was flawed, but Syndicate went straight back to Arkham-style AC III era combat, just with enemies having more health. Nothing to write home about. I enjoy the animations though, surprisingly, considering how wonky they looked before the release. It's most brutal the series has been since AC III and some of Evie's finishers look really nasty. Stealth feels just as good as it did in Unity. I don't want to comment on mission and area design, since I haven't played enough to fairly evaluate, but so far, it feels a bit more restricted. Areas I've stealthed in so far are not as expansive as Unity's, but the game still gives you enough options and free reign to play your way.

Edited October 24, 2015 by HaythamKenway

[Creed Bratton]

 

 

I don't think they're trying to deceive anyone. I genuinely think that whoever is in charge of marketing is an idiot. Everything about it is idiotic. Their sh*tty trailers, their sh*tty real life parkour thingy, the stupid idea to actually get a real pirate ship for Black Flag. And how could I forget Arno's "iconic" pocket watch pre-order. Iconic. Nevermind that Arno was a new character for a game that wasn't even out yet. These people are imbeciles to the nth degree. They're like an insecure, clingy girlfriend desperate for attention.

 

It seems that nothing is gonna change your mind! Why don't you give this one a try?

Here is my first impression so far:

- London is absolutely gorgeous. I actually spent my first hour or so just exploring and trying to find all the landmarks!

- It's clear that Ubisoft has learnt from Unity's disaster. Haven't seen a single bug so far apart from one cutscene (the first one on the train, all characters are invisible but you can hear their voices ). I've recorded it!

-Gameplay is your typical AC with a small difference. You'll miss the familiar swordplay as weapons here are a bit different. It's 1880 after all!

 

in Short, if you are a big fan of AC or open world games in general, Syndicate is a must!

 

My only criticism is the ridiculous price of the Season Pass. Who do you think you are? CD PROJEKT RED?

For 30% of Ubisfot price CPR delivered one expansion that worth 10 of Ubisoft's season passes!

If It's not a technical disaster on PC I'll get it on sale. But Ubisoft's business model doesn't appeal to me at all. Too many DLC's. It makes me feel like I'm not getting even half of the experience for full price on release.

Edited October 24, 2015 by The Yokel

[Osho]

Interesting review: - While titles like Witcher 3 and Metal Gear Solid V have innovated on the open-world adventure, Syndicate is stuck in the past, in more ways than one. It manages an evocative and detailed recreation of Victorian London. But both the city and the game it holds are creaking.

[Creed Bratton]

 

 

A whole host of side activities then further continues the series’ preference for quantity over quality.

Sounds like Ubisoft game design policy in a nutshell. It just wasn't so blatantly obvious in the past when their games weren't as bad.

[Dbzk1999]

 

A whole host of side activities then further continues the series preference for quantity over quality.

It just wasn't so blatantly obvious.Lol, that's a good one.

[Jvaz615]

I like when people bash a game they haven't played. Its full of chuckles

[HaythamKenway]

So, my thoughts after the first (real) day of play. Funny, I progressed less in the story than yesterday, despite playing more (just one sequence today). I spend a lot of time doing side missions, liberating boroughs and so on. Ended the session with a peaceful stroll from Trafalgar Square down to the Palace of Westminster. Sometimes I feel like people who say that AC cities aren't "alive" or "real" don't play these games. London makes Los Santos look like a damn joke.

 

In a nutshell, this game really is Unity 2.0, and that is simultaneously its biggest strenght and the greatest failure. I think Unity really was a move in the right direction, but way too rough around the edges. Syndicate smoothed out a lot of those mistakes and dialed down even things that worked (interiors immediately come to mind), but what actually is in the game is generally more polished and refined. Like AC IV, it's a much less ambitious game compared to its predecessor and that isn't necessarily a bad thing.

 

The problem is obvious though, for people who didn't like Unity's formula, Syndicate simply doesn't have much to offer. It's not like AC IV, which took AC III and twisted it in a completely different direction, it's like Brotherhood to II. So, despite having a lot of fun with the game, it's hard to wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone disappointed with Unity or generally tired of the series. Syndicate doesn't break any new ground, doesn't turn AC into something that it wasn't.

[esmittystud101]

The Dreadful Crimes missions is a nice change of pace from the game. I only did the first one but I liked it.

[LiniArc]

 

 

• The graphical downgrade is real. It's just as much of a jump downwards as between AC III and IV. It doesn't really matter, since the game still looks great and thankfully doesn't spaz with framerate drops and glitches like it has a seizure anymore, but it should be mentioned. London is amazing, no surprise, and it's fascinating to see essentially a modern European city in an AC game. The street layout, architecture, it feels really unusual for an AC game

 

Its a shame that even after the Graphical Downgrade, consoles versions some times dip below 25 fps and for that matter are suffering with 900p for most of the time. Ubisoft really needs to hire good game developers like R* has.

[Hit by Lightning]

Two Evies

 

[Creed Bratton]

Its a shame that even after the Graphical Downgrade, consoles versions some times dip below 25 fps and for that matter are suffering with 900p for most of the time. Ubisoft really needs to hire good game developers like R* has.

Or just work on their games for a few years.

[LiniArc]

 

Its a shame that even after the Graphical Downgrade, consoles versions some times dip below 25 fps and for that matter are suffering with 900p for most of the time. Ubisoft really needs to hire good game developers like R* has.

Or just work on their games for a few years.

 

 

 

Exactly m8, I don't know how long would they be cooking Assassins Creed V at their workplace. It better be atleast 3 years. V needs to be big just like every other [Assassins Creed : Roman No.]

[Niobium]

Here's the thing. When a game like AC:Unity is so broken that it's basically unplayable, the review score is supposed to be in the red. Not in the green or in the yellow. Red. It shouldn't be higher than 4/10 or 2/5. The game has has to at least be playable to get a decent rating. It wasn't. So to understand just how inflated these reviews are, you need only to compare them to last year's reviews of Unity and you'll see just how trustworthy they are. Reviewers who didn't have the guts to rip Ubisoft a new asshole for butchering Unity should never review another Ubisoft game.

the main reviwers like IGN and gamespot are afraid of calling ubi$oft out, because if they do then millions of angry, mindless fanboys will attack them.

 

independent reviewers are better because they don't care about the opinions of dumbass fanboys and just do their own thing.

[Creed Bratton]

 

Here's the thing. When a game like AC:Unity is so broken that it's basically unplayable, the review score is supposed to be in the red. Not in the green or in the yellow. Red. It shouldn't be higher than 4/10 or 2/5. The game has has to at least be playable to get a decent rating. It wasn't. So to understand just how inflated these reviews are, you need only to compare them to last year's reviews of Unity and you'll see just how trustworthy they are. Reviewers who didn't have the guts to rip Ubisoft a new asshole for butchering Unity should never review another Ubisoft game.

the main reviwers like IGN and gamespot are afraid of calling ubi$oft out, because if they do then millions of angry, mindless fanboys will attack them.

 

independent reviewers are better because they don't care about the opinions of dumbass fanboys and just do their own thing.

They're not afraid of fanboys, they're afraid of Ubisoft. If they piss them off then Ubisoft can deny them review copies for their next title and they won't have reviews until much later than their competition. And it will be too late to capitalize on them later on when most people have bought the game already. They need those early reviews.

 

This is why reviews of big publisher AAA titles are mostly bullsh*t. IGN, GameSpot, Polygon, Kotatku etc. can't be trusted. Let's not forget that GameSpot fired Jeff Gerstmann for his Kane & Lynch review. That stuff happens unless you bow your head to the big publishers. And video game industry is even worse today.

Edited October 26, 2015 by The Yokel

[DamnedDev]

If they pull it off i'm sure the series will be amazing if they don't be sloppy. I like that they will have horse cars. It comes close to being a gta creed game almost. It might make me reconsider the series. I haven't actually finished Unity yet tho. But i really want to see if they can show something new and fresh. I really hope they bring something fun like more mini games and something unquie to multiplayer.

[esmittystud101]

Assassins's Creed has its own formula it uses. Well atleast with Black Flag and Syndicate, but Syndicate is deeper and has alot more activites. It doens't have multi player which I'm happy about, it lets them focus more on what matters, the single player. If they have a huge decline in sales they might change there game up some, but why change a formula that sells every year? Ask Activision, they do the same kind of formula with there series COD. The formula is "it sells." They make millions of dollars each year on there formula and either your into it or you not. Its simple Bussiness 101 economics. You all are starting to sound like baseball purist or something.

 

Assassin's Creed formula is basically you get to an area, sync that area, complete missions/side missions, while your doing so collect some items/collectables/findables while also meating NPC's that associated with missions, conquer an area, move on to the next. There not changing this. It works. It sells. Guys thats still living in Assassin's Creed II days (you know that game that came out in 2009) are over. Assassin's Creed II did so well back then becasue it was a "new feeling" formula you all weren't used to. So of course it was great and you all loved it. I'm not dogging on Assassin's Creed II or anything but it came out almost a console ago. Yes, 2009 was a while ago. Now the story on the other hand for games in general, the way I see it, if you take 20 video games that have some kind of story associated with them, I'll guarantee only five to seven are decent stories and the rest suck. Its video games. So take Syndicate's story for what it is. It has more interesting characters in the game than what I'm used to. A young Alexander Grand Bell and Charles Dickenson are the only ones I met so far. If your not into that then your probably not going to like the game. I don't want to spoil too much for anyone but.......

 

 

A young Alexander Grand Bell ties in Jacobe and Evie to him inventing the telephone. Well maybe just them giving him the idea he should call it the telephone and not what he was going to call it. It was pretty funny and a nice addition to the story.

 

 

 

As for the reviews, its an average 76 right now on Metacritic which is low to me. I wouldn't have gave it a ten or anything but atleast an 8.5 - 9.0 range. Its probably the best 76 score game I have ever played. I'm enjoying it alot more than I did Black Flag and I'm going to have more playing time with it because it is larger and deeper.

Edited October 26, 2015 by esmittystud101

[Hit by Lightning]

Yeah baby!

 

 

This is my progress so far:

 

 

 

Loving this game so far, and I like the fact that it doesn't force you to grind money or XP. I've conquered London by doing just side activities.

 

Small tip I've learnt from the gang wars. Before each final showdown, there is a small window to kill the leader. DO IT asap, don't let him/her escape. If they escape they'll make your life harder in the final fight!

Edited October 26, 2015 by Hit by Lightning

[El Dildo]

I think it looks good so far.

I'm getting this for PC next month but so far I haven't seen anything that makes me afraid to buy it. I really enjoyed Unity and Syndicate just feels like more of the same.

[Jvaz615]

Yeah I am really enjoying this game a lot. I am taking my time with it as well. I think I am only on Sequence 3

[esmittystud101]

The Helix Glitches and the secret music boxes are tough sometimes to pin point. Finally finished all of them in Whitechapel and Lambeth. I may as well try Thames next.......holly crap this river is busy. Its like Frogger trying to get accross. Taking a boat ride sometimes is nice.

[ABCDOGGY ginette]

So everyone here is concerned about how bad/good Syndicate is but i'm sitting here really wondering how the f*ck we don't know nothing about the next Assassin's Creed game yet.

 

We knew about Black Flag, Unity and Syndicate (Victory at the time) before the release of their predecessor.

 

On topic: I always enjoyed AC games. The Ezio trilogy is a masterpiece (yeah you read that right) IMO. I really enjoyed III's slow pace, contrary to alot of people. I loved Black Flag and enjoyed Unity even though the story and narrative sucked major balls. I never got to finishing the game because of that. It definitly was a step up gameplay wise and mission design wise though so i'm gonna pick up Syndicate as soon as it's under $40.

Edited October 27, 2015 by ABCDOGGY ginette

[HaythamKenway]

Finished the story yesterday. The ending (the final scene of the historical portion of the game in particular) is the cheesiest thing I've seen in AC since Ezio's fistfight with the Pope. In general though, this game feels a lot like Ezio trilogy, Brotherhood in particular ("big surprise", considering it was written by the same people). Syndicate is the first game to recapture that carefree, lighthearted adventure style of those games, it is quite refreshing to play a game like that, even though I generally prefer AC1/III/IV's more serious stories to Ezio's.

 

This style is the reason why I don't really mind that Syndicate's story and cast are pretty simple and straightforward and heroes and villains are pretty clearly black/white. Syndicate really doesn't want to be anything more than that, it wants to be just a fun, pulpy, cheesy tale set in romanticised Victorian London. And it achieves all that successfully, while Unity wanted to be a gripping drama, but it was about as engaging as a tree stump with a sad face drawn on it and wanted to tell us how horrible the French Revolution was, while terribly misinterpreting, simplifying and lying about it.

 

Two characters I enjoyed most were Evie and (surprisingly) the Templar Grand Master Starrick. Evie and Jacob, at the first glance, aren't as richly characterised as previous protags were, but the story being written around them playing off each other helps balance it out a bit. Especially Evie though has some pretty interesting inner conflicts and layers to her. Starrick really defied the expectations I had for him. I expected a maniacal moustache twirler, like Cesare, but instead got a cool, verbose and sensible villain. Yes, Starrick, like all other Templars here, is clearly evil and highly unsymphatetic, but he's not evil for evil's sake, nor out for himself. You really get the impression he cares about the Order and believes he's doing the right thing, which makes him respectable. Most of my favorite scenes and speeches in the game came from him.