Almost two days ago now, (17th June) both myself and Karen went to see the game at the ACSyndicateTour in South London. In a side street in one of the less polished areas of London (Bermondsey) jutting out proudly from the side of a rather old building was a recognisable symbol… The flag of the Assassin’s Brotherhood.
We entered, greeted by Ubisoft staff, some dressed up in period costume. We started in a gallery room, flanked by posters with information from all different eras of the Assassin’s creed series, however, we did not get to spend long in there as we were quickly moved onto the next area. So, with no photography at this point allowed, we were sat down, staring at a screen with the logo and the game name plastered below it. Our host introduced us to the setting of the game and laid out the rules of this event and what would be happening. We were treated to some gameplay footage, some brutal hand to hand fights from both the main characters and a chase scene across the streets of 19th century London with horse and carts!
We also saw a trailer which was shown at the E3 Ubisoft conference. Onto the next stage of course and we were led up a set of stairs into a room, where a screen was showing an older trailer, and a map of the in-game London. There was also a green screen photo booth and attached to the room were two further rooms where you could have a haircut or shave, and get an Assassin’s Creed style tattoo.
After a while, we were led up to the top floor. Free AC:Syndicate branded water and free Red Bull were on offer, and we watched on with anticipation as the last group were finishing their play sessions.
The version of the game that we had was the PS4 E3 demo, which the map was very limited on. The controls however feel good, although having limited knowledge of the PS4 did not help. The climbing mechanics, as you may be glad to know, are much improved. The draw distance when you are on top of a building is amazing! The movement feels dynamic and life-like and the graphics are beautiful, you can truly tell this is a next generation game.
After some fun ramming other horse and cart users, I decided to get on with the task at hand. Liberate a stronghold. Easy. Stealth killed two of them from above, and easily beat odds of 6 people to 1 assassin. Bullets hurt though. A chase then ensued through the streets on horse and carts, which led to an area near St. Paul’s Cathedral.
There was a big fight waiting for me, and the gang which the character leads… although a few revolver rounds and some throwing knives later, and that was done. Unfortunately, we ran out of time so I could not complete this demo mission.
Overall, the game is far, far better than AC:Unity and is just staggering! You can bet that come release day I will be playing this… Although they better fix some of those errors in period realism… British Rail? In the 1800s? Please…
Blame it on the Animus I guess?
Preview write-up by Steve