JAKE CURNOW PRESENTS
Assassins Creed Chronicles China
Playstation 4 Version
Officially part of the second trilogy to ever grace the franchise, Assassin’s Creed Chronicles China takes a detour from the three dimensional console interactions into the land of 2.5D. Players take control of an all new Assassin named Shao Jun during 1526 China on a quest of vengeance to eliminate a group of Templars, known as the Eight Tigers, who were responsible for the extermination of the Chinese Brotherhood. Shao Jun is not only one of the very few female protagonists in the franchise, but was also trained by Ezio Auditore de Firenze himself; the star of the first Assassin’s Creed trilogy.
Although Ezio does make an appearance in the games campaign mode, exclusively functioning as a trainer, his role outside of teaching Shao Jun new abilities and combat techniques is limited to nothing more than backstory. At the very beginning of the game, Shao Jun is able to lure one of the Eight Tiger’s into capturing her over an inquiry related to an ancient artifact referred to as “the box”. The remainder of the games story is relatively simple, compared to previous Assassin’s Creed titles, and focuses on Shao Jun’s quest for vengeance, as well as the various people who come into contact with the box. A key difference between mainline console titles and Chronicles China is the fact that story sequences are relayed through two dimensional paintings, although these sequences still feature voice acting.
The voice acting in Assassin’s Creed Chronicles China isn’t exactly the best I’ve seen, but it’s not bad, and it’s solid where it counts. Shao Jun herself has a decent voice actor, and she ultimately comes across as an interesting character that, quite frankly, I wouldn’t mind seeing more of in future 3D iterations – especially since she’s a direct protégé of Ezio himself. Far better than the voice acting is the music of Chronicles China, which is spectacularly cultured, and perfectly tailored for the Chinese environment and atmosphere of the game. Effectively tying into the games musical score and historical era is the scenery and graphics, which are so brilliant in some areas that it’s almost like walking through a beautiful canvas panting.
The brilliant level design of Chronicles China primarily has Shao Jun operating in two dimensions (from left to right), but occasionally gives her the ability to switch planes, ultimately making the game 2.5D. Using stealth is much more reliant on physically hiding, as opposed to the social stealth aspect of previous console titles. Shao Jun has the ability to conceal herself on different planes, crouch behind objects, and hide in a wide range of different areas. Even further: enemies now have a specified cone of vision that Shao Jun should stay out of, similar to the mechanics of the original Metal Gear Solid.
Assassin’s Creed Chronicles China is relatively balanced overall. Despite the fact that combat can sometimes be frustrating, and that it doesn’t function as fluidly as it does in 3D Assassin’s Creed iterations, players virtually always have the opportunity to utilize full stealth takedowns. Shao Jun has four different abilities to aid her stealth approach, all four of which have a decent level of control as to how and where you use them. In addition to Shao Jun’s physical stealth abilities and her four tools, she also has a hidden shoe blade and rope dart, the former of which is more aesthetic than it is practically used in the game.
Level design, both cosmetically and mechanically, is excellent. If the player knows what they’re doing, they can move and position Shao Jun through the entire map with expert levels of grace and fluidity, potentially making Chronicles China a decent game to speed run. Upgradable abilities also let Shao Jun perform a wide range of tasks, such as performing a kill while sliding, or attaching herself to a ceiling. Complementing the fluid gameplay of Chronicles China are periodic escape and action sequences, that were exciting to play and spectacular to watch unfold. Quickly having to navigate Shao Jun through these sequences, leading the game to its conclusion, was certainly a lot of fun.
Although the change in dimensions may not warrant a visit from veterans of the franchise, Assassin’s Creed Chronicles China is still able to deliver a unique flavor of stealth action with an interesting lead character and solid gameplay. Although the game is surprisingly short, additional gameplay modes like new game plus are included in the package. With developers trying to figure out whether or not they want to tailor the current Assassin’s Creed story in with previous elements from the first several games, Chronicles China and the significance of the artifact may possibly elude to a more vibrant and life filled story in future 3D iterations… And with the potential of Shao Jun having now been demonstrated, I can say for certain that I wouldn’t mind seeing more of her in a future title…
OVERALL RATING
7.1/10