This might not be a normal review. Correction, this certainly won’t be a normal review. Unfortunately, we’re in a situation where we have to review the same game twice in two months. If you’ve read our previous issue, or more precisely our review of AC Chronicles India, then you’ll know in advance what to expect here. Once more, Ubisoft has taken a shot and missed, and at this point, that’s turning into an ugly habit. Three different, yet fundamentally the same games in 12 months is inexcusable in itself. The fans of one of the most promising series of the last decade are left at the mercy of a movie which will release later this year. And if that too turns out to be a total failure, it would be the final nail in the coffin of a whole franchise.
So what is so bad in this third installment? Well, nothing major. Everything we’ve seen in India and China is here. It’s a two-dimensional platformer with a focus on sneaking, climbing and quiet incapacitation of enemies. The only new addition is a new gadget – a sniper rifle, which enables you to dispose of your enemies from a distance. The main character has potential, but is simply stifled by a caricatured western accent and unimaginative development. The main antagonists are the Bolsheviks, shortly after the October revolution, and your primary objectives are re-appropriation of artifacts (oh really?) and rescue of the youngest princess of the Romanovs. The dominant color is the color of Red October, and the whole story develops through ample use of communist propaganda posters as templates. There are no major issues on the technical side, because when you use the same code three times, you’re bound to be rid of any mistakes (technical mistakes, of course).
All in all, if there was no AC, we wouldn’t be sure what we’re playing. We are getting the impression that Ubisoft realized what they’ve made and simply hurried to be rid of it as fast as possible. But gamers can hold a grudge, and lost trust won’t be easy to restore.
Gentlemen, if you want to keep making AC games, make them so that players feel like assassins, to feel like they have a goal and that it’s worth dying for. Stop putting us into roles of generic characters with whom we can’t relate with. Remember Ezio, Altair, Edward… Forget hollow plots and give us a real story. If you do all that, the positive reaction won’t be far behind.
Author: Borislav Lalović
Assassin’s Creed Chronicles: Russia
Pros:
- Sniper
Cons:
- Everything else
