![]() ![]() You know the drill: tail the man, stab the man, find the man, climb the thing, stab the other man. You will do this over and over again until you reclaim a borough, at which point you have a gang fight to settle the territory dispute.Įven the main missions, or ‘sequences’, are mostly forgettable. Kidnapping is a new mechanic that asks you to slowly walk an enemy away from their allies with your blade in their back before bundling them into a coach. You will kill Templars, liberate child workers, take out strongholds and kidnap key figures. London’s map is highlighted red, signifying the territory of The Blighters, and you have to complete a bunch of repeating activities to put it in control of the Frye’s gang, The Rooks. ![]() Outside of this, it’s mostly business as usual. Perhaps Ubisoft should set the next Assassin’s Creed on a motorway. Likewise, the missions that see you clambering across the top of moving trains are exciting, as is jumping between moving carts, fighting on carriage roofs as they speed down a street. The world is at its best when you are free-running across the Thames, jumping between fast moving boats, bits of flotsam and small fishing boats to race to the other side. That too is well crafted but lacking substance. Syndicate’s characters are similar to the world in that way. Evie has a couple of brilliant lines towards the end, but while the characters are convincingly voiced and wonderfully animated, they have nothing to say. ![]() Jacob just goes around London doing whatever people tell him, oblivious to the consequences. Much of the exposition comes from your main assassination targets who give a moralising monologue before they die. The story is that simple, and it never really pays off. How does Jacob plan to get rid of this awful gang that is terrorising the city? By starting his own horrible gang, of course.Īt the same time, modern day Assassins are looking for the same artefact as Evie, with this plot thread shown through a handful of short cutscenes that will make you think fondly of the playable Desmond sections of old. Evie Frye is more concerned with her hunt for a Piece of Eden (an alien artifact from a precursor race) while Jacob wants to eradicate the blight that is The Blighters. Starrick is a Templar puppet master who controls London through a gang called The Blighters (yes) and his powerful allies who have infiltrated the government. A brief opening sees you liberating a foundry from a tyrannical boss, then you’re immediately whisked to London to bring down a man called Crawford Starrick you do many things in this pursuit, but your motivations are not always clear. Placing you in the roles of twins Jacob and Evie Frye, you begin the game with both of our leads already members of the Creed. Assassin’s Creed has previously been known for its meandering openings, but Syndicate cuts all the fat. Assassin’s Creed has never let you cross the length of its map at such speed. The streets are wider to accommodate all those horse-drawn carts, you see - any of which you can also commandeer. This mobile base sometimes segues into exploration, too, catching you by surprise by coming into view just when you need it - Syndicate throws up a few treats like this, offering new ways for players to navigate.Ī grappling hook - given to you by Graham Alexander Bell, naturally - allows you to zoom to the top of a building and zipline across the broad streets of London’s central boroughs. Your headquarters in the game is actually a moving train. Trains snake their way around the city, too, and you can hop onto the top of one of them for an impromptu lift. It is a grimy, horrible place, sometimes blanketed by fog and always cut in half by a greenish River Thames, a river busy with boats flowing in both directions. It is so Dickensian that Charles Dickens is actually in it. Syndicate’s London setting is meticulously crafted and filled with period details: its rich citizens stroll around in top hats, tailcoats, corsets and other finery its flat cap-wearing poor sweep the factories its buildings stand tall, alleyways dividing streets and its rain-soaked cobbles are constantly busy with traffic from horse-drawn carts. If there is anything Assassin’s Creed gets consistently right, it is the world, and Syndicate is no exception. The bustle and architecture of Victorian London is a perfect backdrop for a series about blending with a crowds and running across rooftops. The issues that plagued Assassin’s Creed Unity were all but forgotten. All it took was a screenshot of a hooded figure crouched atop a building, gas lamps lighting the street below, Elizabeth Tower looming nearby, and smoke stacks on the horizon dispersing plumes into the clouds. Fans have been lobbying for a Victorian London-flavoured Assassin’s Creed for years. ![]()
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