Riona (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
rionaleonhart) wrote2016-01-14 10:34 am
rionaleonhart) wrote2016-01-14 10:34 am
Entry tags:
Maybe I Should Have Thought This Through.
Well, I've finished playing Assassin's Creed: Unity!
Overall, I've enjoyed Unity a lot more than I was expecting to; I'd heard a lot of criticism, but I suppose much of that was due to the disastrous launch. (Unity, if you're not familiar with the backstory, was almost unplayably bug-ridden when it was first released.) You can tell that a great many people worked very, very hard on this game, and it’s a shame that their work ended up being overshadowed by the fact that it was pushed out of the door too early. Paris was stunningly, stunningly gorgeous. I liked the combat system a lot (it's possible to fight, but it's very easy to become overwhelmed, so it really pushes you to master stealth), and the assassination missions felt better-designed than any others in the series so far. And, of course, there's a playable drugged-up psychological breakdown, which is exactly the sort of thing I like to see in my games.
The more I reflect on the game, the more I like it. It might actually be one of my favourite Assassin's Creed games.
Some things were still a bit ridiculous, though. (Arno, you prat, did you actually just set fire to a building full of gunpowder while you were inside it?)
I knew before I started playing that Élise would be killed at the end. I was prepared to be really annoyed about it, but I'm actually okay with the way she died, because it was absolutely on her own terms. She made the choice to leave Arno and fight alone; she put her revenge above everything else. Her death didn't just feel like a footnote in Arno's story; it felt like the end of Élise's, a decision she made to ensure her revenge would be carried out (and in the end she did secure Germain's death by her own). She held onto her own agency until the end, and that’s something I really like.
It took me a while to really warm up to Élise - perhaps I was protecting my feelings, knowing she wouldn't survive the game - but I did end up enjoying her character a lot. Even if her accent was a bit wonky. Come to think of it, that might have been the reason I couldn't get invested in her at first; I was so distracted by her accent that I had trouble getting from 'this is a fictional character played by a voice actor' to 'this is a person I should care about'. (My housemate, watching me play, was constantly shouting 'WHERE ARE YOU FROM?' at the screen.)
I liked Arno more than I was expecting to! He can be a bit of a hooligan and he doesn't make great decisions, but I found him rather endearing. I've always had a strange weakness for characters who are constantly making horrible mistakes and then having to deal with the consequences, particularly when they mean well overall. I think I really realised I liked him when there was that HORRIBLE SCENE WITH THE GUY'S LEG BEING SAWN OFF and Arno's immediate, unthinking reaction was 'screw stealth, I'm going to stop this.' His sarcastic comments are good fun, too.
I was so excited when I realised I'd just assassinated a guy because Arno had decided to assassinate him of his own accord, completely ignoring Assassin protocol and pissing off the Assassin council enormously. (Speaking of the Assassin council: there's a middle-aged woman on it! I'm trying to remember the last time I saw a middle-aged woman in a videogame. It's a near-impossible exercise.) I also really enjoyed the sequence where Arno loses Élise's respect and his Assassin position and becomes a miserable drunkard in the wreckage of Versailles, although his hangover screwing with his Eagle Vision made me feel a bit unwell myself (and I felt a bit bad about stabbing up some guys who were just trying to keep me from stealing a cask of wine).
I'm torn on the Arno/Élise romance. On the one hand, it's interesting and their interactions are pretty cute; on the other, I can't quite get past the fact that they grew up together. I really liked Arno staring in heartbreak at the memory of Élise in Weird Murder Hallucination Land only minutes after her death, though; it's exactly the sort of weird psychological torment that delights me.
I find it hilarious that Arno, with no explanation, can see the memories of the people he kills. I assumed at first that it was just some sort of metaphorical thing; perhaps we, as the player, were just seeing what the target was saying to Arno. And then Arno killed a guy and actually said, 'In his memories, I saw him writing the letter.' Why can Arno see the memories of the people he stabs? Who knows?
Overall, I've enjoyed Unity a lot more than I was expecting to; I'd heard a lot of criticism, but I suppose much of that was due to the disastrous launch. (Unity, if you're not familiar with the backstory, was almost unplayably bug-ridden when it was first released.) You can tell that a great many people worked very, very hard on this game, and it’s a shame that their work ended up being overshadowed by the fact that it was pushed out of the door too early. Paris was stunningly, stunningly gorgeous. I liked the combat system a lot (it's possible to fight, but it's very easy to become overwhelmed, so it really pushes you to master stealth), and the assassination missions felt better-designed than any others in the series so far. And, of course, there's a playable drugged-up psychological breakdown, which is exactly the sort of thing I like to see in my games.
The more I reflect on the game, the more I like it. It might actually be one of my favourite Assassin's Creed games.
Some things were still a bit ridiculous, though. (Arno, you prat, did you actually just set fire to a building full of gunpowder while you were inside it?)
I knew before I started playing that Élise would be killed at the end. I was prepared to be really annoyed about it, but I'm actually okay with the way she died, because it was absolutely on her own terms. She made the choice to leave Arno and fight alone; she put her revenge above everything else. Her death didn't just feel like a footnote in Arno's story; it felt like the end of Élise's, a decision she made to ensure her revenge would be carried out (and in the end she did secure Germain's death by her own). She held onto her own agency until the end, and that’s something I really like.
It took me a while to really warm up to Élise - perhaps I was protecting my feelings, knowing she wouldn't survive the game - but I did end up enjoying her character a lot. Even if her accent was a bit wonky. Come to think of it, that might have been the reason I couldn't get invested in her at first; I was so distracted by her accent that I had trouble getting from 'this is a fictional character played by a voice actor' to 'this is a person I should care about'. (My housemate, watching me play, was constantly shouting 'WHERE ARE YOU FROM?' at the screen.)
I liked Arno more than I was expecting to! He can be a bit of a hooligan and he doesn't make great decisions, but I found him rather endearing. I've always had a strange weakness for characters who are constantly making horrible mistakes and then having to deal with the consequences, particularly when they mean well overall. I think I really realised I liked him when there was that HORRIBLE SCENE WITH THE GUY'S LEG BEING SAWN OFF and Arno's immediate, unthinking reaction was 'screw stealth, I'm going to stop this.' His sarcastic comments are good fun, too.
I was so excited when I realised I'd just assassinated a guy because Arno had decided to assassinate him of his own accord, completely ignoring Assassin protocol and pissing off the Assassin council enormously. (Speaking of the Assassin council: there's a middle-aged woman on it! I'm trying to remember the last time I saw a middle-aged woman in a videogame. It's a near-impossible exercise.) I also really enjoyed the sequence where Arno loses Élise's respect and his Assassin position and becomes a miserable drunkard in the wreckage of Versailles, although his hangover screwing with his Eagle Vision made me feel a bit unwell myself (and I felt a bit bad about stabbing up some guys who were just trying to keep me from stealing a cask of wine).
I'm torn on the Arno/Élise romance. On the one hand, it's interesting and their interactions are pretty cute; on the other, I can't quite get past the fact that they grew up together. I really liked Arno staring in heartbreak at the memory of Élise in Weird Murder Hallucination Land only minutes after her death, though; it's exactly the sort of weird psychological torment that delights me.
I find it hilarious that Arno, with no explanation, can see the memories of the people he kills. I assumed at first that it was just some sort of metaphorical thing; perhaps we, as the player, were just seeing what the target was saying to Arno. And then Arno killed a guy and actually said, 'In his memories, I saw him writing the letter.' Why can Arno see the memories of the people he stabs? Who knows?