Assassin's Creed Syndicate (2015)

Chose this as a "free" game included with my AC Origins xbox one and played it immediately after completing Origins, making this my 3rd AC game. Overall completion is 92%. I did all of the collectibles except for the chests. The other collectibles were certainly annoying and inane though they were reasonably easy to complete (I did use an online guide for the music boxes though). But the chests, my god the chests. There were way too many and with unnecessary rewards; I only got the ones that were not out of my way. I did not care about optional mission objectives thus many of them are not at 100%. I also did not max out loyalty for 2 allies that require grinding repeatable events; mostly racing and sabotage. Sure I could unlock the best gun and cane sword but... meh why when I already beat the game?

My game came with some free dlc. I absolutely hated the runaway train dlc mission; nothing but garbage quick time events. Also got some free outfits: steampunk for Evie and monster for Jacob. Jacob's is considerably better so I ended up using him more often; Evie I had use the defender garb until I got the Aegis (though that was the very last thing that I did so it was hardly useful). I tried out a variety of weapons and focused on the free ones; I generally preferred kukries. I had Jacob focus on leveling up combat while Evie focused on stealth. I did not find gang upgrades to be all that interesting so I focused on passive money generation first.

I loved the world building and atmosphere in this game; the best parts were the special story missions that feel more like Hitman levels. Most of rest of the game is generic Assassin's Creed (even though I did not really know that at the time of playing) with only the Grand Theft Carriage really standing out. Did not purchase any dlc though I might get Jack the Ripper if I ever notice it on a good sale.

8.0/10

Cool thing I learned today about this game by reading the amazing 'Assassin's Creed: The Complete Visual History'. When you visit the richer districts of London, you'll find people of all ages walking the streets. When you visit the poorer districts, you'll find there's almost no elder people.

This reflects the industrial revolution correctly, because poor working people in victorian london rarely reached old age.

Having played up to this game, in order of release, I have to say that this is my favorite Assassin's Creed game by a long shot. It's like they worked all of the bugs out of Unity, and added a lot more interesting characters & story.

Without throwing Origins or Odyssey into the mix (since I haven't played them yet), my rankings so far are:

Syndicate > Black Flag > AC2 > Unity > (AC1 = Brotherhood = Revelations = Rogue = Freedom Cry) > AC3 > Liberation

Do you like action, climbing on buildings and all of that in the comfort of your own home? Than is Assassins Creed the game for you. I am going to evaluate the game ‘Assassins Creed Syndicate’. The game was released on 23 October 2015. The developer is Ubisoft and it is an action, adventure and a stealth game. The adventure begins in 1868. Two very skilled assassins, named Jacobs and Evie, have to battle the mighty Templars. The Templars try to destroy the Monarchy and the church in London. The leader of the Templars, Crawford Starrick, has the plan to poison the townsman and the mayor with a strong soothing syrup. To prevent that mass murder, Jacobs and Evie have to work together and they get support from Charles Darwin, Charles Dickens and Queen Victoria. Crawford Starrick is also on a quest to find the Shroud, a beautiful cape that heals your wounds and gives you extra power. Because Starrick finds it before the Assassins, he is invincible. That is why it will not be easy for the Assassins to beat him and his huge powerful army.

The positive aspects of the game are that it is based on real events, so a lot of things like buildings, the fightings, the horses,… in the game are realistic. Next the graphics in the game are beautiful and the background music fits perfectly, it is a real-life experience. It is just like you are driving a carriage or you are the one who climbs on buildings and who goes into battle with everyone. There are also many different missions, you do not always have the same goal. Hence you will never get bored. Finally you can play the game on PlayStation, Xbox and PC therefore anyone can play. The negative aspects are that some things in the game are less appealing to young people, for instance they rather have the idea that they are driving in a monster truck than driving in a coach. People of the twenty-first century like to drive over poles and street lamps, with a carriage that is not possible. Another problem is an occasional glitch, that means a fault in the system. For example when you shoot a Templar in the head, he does not die.

My final judgement is that this is one of the best games I have played. The graphics are beautiful and the sounds fit perfectly with the events that occur. It is a beautiful story although some things are not from this time but that is a reason why the game stands out in the era of Grand Theft Auto and Fifa. I rate the game 4.5 out of 5 stars.

Just finished the Jack the Ripper DLC, and it was quite an excellent addition to this game. Especially since you finally get the opportunity to play the bulk of the content as Evie, something I wish was true for the main game.

Overall my experience with AC Syndicate has been enjoyable. It is the first AC game I have played since AC III, so things do not feel as stale for me as they may be for those who have played Black Flag, Rogue and Unity between AC III and Syndicate. While I will eventually go back to those games, I am quite happy with Syndicate, from setting to story to characters. All except carriages. Don't get me started on carriages and carriage related missions. If I never have to control another horse-drawn carriage in a video game it will be too soon.

The late 19th Century is one of my favorite periods of history, and while I usually enjoy the American West, it was a joy to hop around Victorian London. While it didn't feel as large as Black Flag, the layout of the industrial city felt authentic as you traversed the dirty slums, congested carriage bridges, and royal parks. Even with the new grapple gun, I found myself using the free-running more as it was much smoother than the clunkier grapple hook. And driving carriages for long distances seemed the most efficient way to travel. The city was alive with bustling sidewalks and I'd routinely stop to listen to street singers or the echoing rings of Big Ben, which were easy to hear as there oddly was a lack of any ambient music.

As for the new Assassins, I really enjoyed them. Evie surprised me, I expected her to be a typical "no-nonsense, boring, professional, hard ass" and while there is some of that present, she's not a complete cliche, even being a little flirty. Jacob, being a total cliche, is still a likable character.
The story was sub-par and very short. I think two things hurt the story, 1. With Jacob & Evie running two different missions simultaneously the game was moving at twice the pace. 2. This meant Jacob & Evie barely interacted with each other. We have twins that never get to play off of each other. The final battle with Starrick was the definite high point, bringing Evie & Jacob together in a pulse-pounding fight.
I enjoyed the new take on Templar Assassinations, sort of a Hitman vibe, using different approaches to reach the target. I did find it odd Evie, the more assassiny Assassin, only had one assassination mission.
All in all, it was a nice trip back in time to a tumultuous period.

Spoiler part: I enjoyed the little side foray into WWI. I hope this was Ubisoft testing a proof of concept for a new Assassin's Creed game with Lydia Frye at the head, if not that was a waste of a good historical figure that is Winston Churchill.