Publisher: Ubisoft Developer: Ubisoft Sofia Format: PS3, Xbox 360, PC Release Out now
If it isn’t unreasonable to consider the original Liberation a part of the main series, the release of Black Flag in November made it seven Assassin’s Creed games in six years. Few games would be able to stand up to such repeated examination in such a short space of time, let alone a franchise that has proven resistant to meaningful mechanical change since its second instalment. Black Flag remedied that somewhat by taking to the high seas, leaving its old ideas floundering and gasping like dying fish on the shoreline. A return to 2012’s Vita game, then, feels like a step back in time in more ways than one. Just over a year since its release, Liberation is already beginning to show its age.
As usual, it sets a fictional character against the backdrop of a historic conflict – in this case, the French and Indian War. Aveline de Grandpré, daughter of a French merchant and an African slave, has already been recruited as an Assassin, and the game follows her attempts to find her mother, while liberating slaves in New Orleans, and uncovering the identity of a high-ranking Templar in the region. The opportunity to play as a mixed-race female lead is a rare one, and worth celebrating, though de Grandpré as a character is arguably less interesting than what she represents. Her backstory is lightly sketched, and while the flighty plot allows her by turn to be stoic and heroic, by the end we know little more of her that isn’t made clear from the opening scenes.
With Liberation’s leaner, more compact missions throwing increased focus onto the narrative, it’s hard not to compare de Grandpré’s tale with that of Solomon Northup – or even Django Freeman – and this falls some way short of both. Meanwhile, the game’s lead writer, Jill Murray, dealt with the horrors of slavery far more effectively in Black Flag’s Freedom Cry DLC.
While this high-definition update benefits from more visual tweaks than simply an increased resolution, its handheld origins are clearly apparent. Liberation’s framerate may be smoother in a general sense, but at times it is prone to alarming dips, juddering noticeably during busier scenes. It’s a problem that seems to worsen as the game goes on, while minor glitches appear too frequently to dismiss. The environments remain artistically interesting – particularly the vibrant colours of Chichen Itza – yet the game’s technical woes are distracting. The novelty of playing it on a handheld device was sufficient compensation in 2012, the smaller screen disguising many of the flaws. On a TV screen, the frequent pop-in is hard to ignore.
Indeed, Liberation’s pacing and structure, tailored skilfully for portable play, lose something in the transition. Like a TV drama brought to the cinema screen, it struggles to fill the extra space. Shorter cutscenes and faster journeys between waypoints are undoubtedly welcome, and yet missions feel curtailed, finishing before they really get warmed up.
At least there’s an increased focus on stealth. Assassin’s Creed III and Black Flag have all but abandoned the early reliance on completing a mission undetected, becoming swashbuckling action extravaganzas. Sneaking may be occasionally enforced here, but the game isn’t punishing enough to make its moments of prescriptive design too problematic. There’s a sadistic pleasure in taking out a trio of guards from the shadows with three well-aimed darts from a blowpipe, silently watching them writhe in confusion and pain before limply collapsing. Aveline’s Lady disguise offers plenty of darkly humorous moments, too, as you lure weak-minded guards into alcoves and around corners to choke them unconscious before elegantly striding away.
Liberation is a slight return to the series’ stealth origins, but its mechanics are beginning to feel dated.
Otherwise, you’ll find yourself going through the motions. You’ll tail people to rendezvous, pausing periodically as they nervily glance behind them. You’ll hold the right trigger and push the analogue stick upwards for minutes at a time to shin up tall trees or clamber onto rooftops for an eagle-eyed view of your surroundings, before admiring the lovingly-rendered bird excrement marking the points at which you can plummet gracefully into a pile of hay. You’ll find yourself engaged in (but not by) the simplistic rhythms of combat and the Quick-Time Events that turn alligator wrestling into a trite mini-game of Simon Says. The game’s language follows a pattern of depressingly familiar verbs: counter, disarm, synchronise, renovate, loot, purchase.
Released alongside arguably the most disappointing entry in the series, the Vita game somehow felt much fresher: its smart pacing, more charismatic lead and even its touchscreen gimmicks all made for an invigorating twist on a formulaic design. Following Black Flag, however, its flaws stand out all the more, and with some of the Vita’s quirkier ideas either absent or rather clumsily replicated, Liberation HD is a reminder that a year can be a long time in gaming – and, perhaps, that for a series this productive, a rest could well be as good as a change.
The post Assassin’s Creed Liberation HD is a Vita update which already feels like a step back in time appeared first on Edge Online.
Source http://ift.tt/1czyQD5
0 comments:
Post a Comment