JAKE CURNOW PRESENTS
Assassins Creed Chronicles Russia
Playstation 4 Version
Assassin’s Creed Chronicles comes to a thrilling and dramatic conclusion with the third and final adventure in its trilogy spanning several hundred years of history. Players find themselves in the role of two protagonists this time around, following the aftermath of the October Revolution in 1918 Russia. Chronicles Russia is the newest Assassin’s Creed title available on the market, following both Syndicate, and Russia’s direct predecessor: Chronicles India.
Chronicles Russia follows the story of a member of the Russian Brotherhood named Nikolai Orelov who is secretly plotting to defect from the Brotherhood and escape to America with his wife and family. Before doing so, however, he decides to take on one final mission: which is to locate and obtain an ancient artifact. Along the way, Orelov rescues a woman named Anastasia who becomes the games second protagonist. Technically speaking, both Orelov and Anastasia are some of the most modern protagonists in franchise history, other than Desmond Miles.
Along with the modern environment comes more effective equipment, and taking the place of Shao Jun’s throwing knives and Arbaaz’s Chakrams is a rifle, which Orelov can use to take down or distract enemies. The smoke bombs and whistle function exactly how they did in the predecessor to Chronicles Russia, but a completely brand new tool, called the winch, is now available. This all new tool gives players the ability to rearrange the positioning of certain objects, or send out an electrical shock usually designed to shut down power.
From the very beginning of the game, players are completely immersed in the Russian atmosphere with a spectacular soundtrack, solid voice acting, and vibrant graphics. Walking through the Russian environment feels extremely authentic, and even more so with the properly cultured soundtrack. As was the case with other Chronicles titles, navigating through the various levels can sometimes feel like walking through a canvas painting.
Nikolai Orelov is an excellent protagonist with a solid voice actor, although it’s sometimes challenging to hear exactly what he’s saying. The voice actor for Anastasia, on the other hand, may come across as a little too similar to Shao Jun’s – but that’s for good reason. Without spoiling the story too much, Anastasia is revealed to have a very strong connection to Shao Jun; the protagonist for Chronicles China. This was an interesting twist for the story of the trilogy, and the overall package places Chronicles Russia as having the most interesting story of the trilogy. The presentation of the story creates a roller coaster ride of emotion leaving players anticipating how the game is going to end, but sadly enough, the ending of Chronicles Russia was just as weak as its predecessor. Being the third and final game in the trilogy, players may expect Chronicles Russia to completely tie up loose ends and finish with excitement – but that’s not the case.
Gameplay is just as smooth as the first title in the trilogy, with excellent level design that is both challenging and rewarding. Some of the locations can be mildly frustrating, but the majority of escape and sniping sequences I genuinely enjoyed. Although Anastasia doesn’t have all the tools that Orelov does, she was still exciting to play as, and the minimal tools that she had seemed like they were just enough. Many of the sequences can be trial and error until players finally realize that the reason for their failure is something simple, like not performing a long jump in a specified area. The majority of these sequences felt more challenging than frustrating, however, especially with the roller coaster ride of switching back and forth between the two Assassin’s. Eerily enough, some of the music in Chronicles Russia sounds very similar in nature to the original Metal Gear Solid soundtrack, which isn’t exactly a bad thing.
Assassin’s Creed Chronicles Russia is a game with its strengths far outweighing its weaknesses. An excellent story, interesting lead characters, spectacular music, vibrant gameplay, and unique graphics all dovetail together to create a roller coaster ride with awesome presentation. Although I expected the ending of the Chronicles trilogy to pack more of a punch, playing through the game was still a thrilling experience worthy of the Assassin’s Creed title.
OVERALL RATING
7.6/10