JAKE CURNOW PRESENTS
Assassins Creed Rogue
Xbox 360 Version
The evolution of the Assassin's Creed franchise continues with Assassin's Creed Rogue, an interesting change of pace released simultaneously with the Xbox One and Playstation 4's Assassin's Creed Unity. For the first time in franchise history, players have the opportunity of playing as Shay Patrick Cormac, an Assassin turned Templar, as the events of the game unfold.
Shay's a character that may come across as bland and uninteresting at first, but as his character develops throughout the story, he tends to become more interesting. Players familiar with the Assassin's Creed legacy will see familiar faces from previous titles including Achilles Davenport (AC3), Adewale (AC4), and Grandmaster of the Templar Order: Haytham Kenway (AC3). Throughout the process of Cormac's defection, he naturally ends up working for both Achilles Davenport, as well as Haytham Kenway himself.
Working alongside a younger version of Assassin Creed 3's Achilles Davenport was definitely an interesting endeavor, demonstrating Davenport's youth, toughness, intelligence, and excellent command over the Brotherhood during his era. Even further: witnessing an older version of Assassin Creed 4's Adewale and Grandmaster Haytham Kenway (Assassin's Creed 3), was a spectacular gameplay inclusion doing an excellent job at tying together Rogue's story with other key franchise elements.
Like the majority of Assassin's throughout franchise history, Shay Patrick Cormac starts out as another member of the order loyal to the Creed... But under the command of Achilles Davenport, Shay is ordered to retrieve precursor artifacts, which end up convincing Cormac of their destructive nature. Shay, becoming increasingly disobedient of the Creed, it's reckless nature, and it's lack of dialogue with the Templar's, eventually makes the decision to leave the organization, of which obviously doesn't sit well with with Creed. After an intense departure sequence, Shay eventually finds himself being groomed by none other than members of the mysterious Knight's Templar's, whom he eventually pledges his allegiance to.
Following in the footsteps of Assassin's Creed 4, considered among many to be the best video game in franchise history, Assassin's Creed Rogue let's players navigate the high seas with Captain Shay Cormac and his very own ship. As was the case with Assassin's Creed 4, Rogue lets players explore a relatively large amount of area, both on land and sea, where Captain Cormac has the ability to exit his ship at any time, minus being in the midst of a naval battle or naturally occuring storm. Many of the tools, abilities, and weapons in Rogue are the same as Assassin's Creed 4, giving players the option to engage in naval warfare using devastating tools, all of which can be upgraded along with the ships appearance. Also making a return is the ability to board enemy ships during naval warfare, which is always a blast despite the fact that some of these engagements can get a little messy.
One thing that veterans of the franchise will immediately notice upon operating their ship is that controls feel more precise, intutitive, and natural compared to Assassin's Creed 4. After all, players are going to need this new level of precision when navigating through thick sheets of ice and intense naval battles. An element that was rare in Assassin's Creed 4, but extremely common in Rogue, is the inclusion of high winds and minor storms. Whether through story progression or exploration, players are eventually going to find themselves navigating through blistering winds and ice tornadoes, should they choose to tango with the North Atlantic sea. With easier ship controls this time around, however, these high winds and storms are an excellent and welcome challenge, virtually never coming across as frustrating.
Though many of the climbing, gameplay, and combat mechanics have mostly stayed the same compared with the previous two Assassin's Creed entries, there are small nuances here and there that assist the evolution of the series even further. Stealth mechanics have continued to improve in Assassin's Creed Rogue, with players able to conceal themselves using a variety of methods. This time around, however, there is a circular radius showing the exact reach of Shay's whistles, helping players to make better decisions during stealth gameplay. Although this is admittedly a minor feature, it is still an excellent inclusion.
Expected among any Assassin's Creed title is the ability to upgrade your character, ship, and take on side quests, which Rogue is kind enough to offer its players should they feel the need. What I will say, however, is that I personally didn't take an interest in virtually any of these side quests, and instead, found myself rushing through the main story. Having the type of experience with the series that I do, I simply was not interested in rinse and repeat side quests that usually end up being similar to that of previous series entries.
Assassin's Creed Rogue certainly isn't the best game in the series... Elements that originally made the series a smash hit success have been effectively reduced after Assassin's Creed 3, such as the exciting modern day sequences, and Rogue, unfortunately, carries on this all new series trend. As was the case with Assassin's Creed 4, players take control of a subject during the modern day, who seems to be an experimental subject more than anything else, working for Abstergo Entertainment: the modern day front for the Knight's Templars. All of these modern day sequences are in the first person, come across as extremely lackluster, and basically feature a faceless nobody with little connection to the overall franchise story. These new modern day sequences are so lackluster that it isn't even fair to compare them with those of previous series entries.
The Assassin's Creed franchise has the potential to historically develop itself as a titan of the gaming industry, yet it's deviation from it's roots and what originally made it successful have created a mental roller coaster ride of ups and downs throughout this multi-game saga. The wonder, mysteriousness, and excitement present in the modern day sequences earlier titles has diminished into something far less in caliber that becomes immediately apparent to the trained eye. Yet with the easily observable decline in quality, Assassin's Creed Rogue is still able to offer excellent high sea exploration opportunities, and a crisp gaming experience that is still continuing to evolve. Shay Patrick Cormac turned out to be a solid lead character, and it was exciting to see characters from previous titles. With that said, Assassin's Creed Rogue is sometimes viewed as the "black sheep" of the series, yet I became increasingly surprised as to its excellent level of quality while playing through it.
OVERALL SCORE
7.9/10