Ubisoft have certainly made up for their flaws from Assassins Creed Unity in their latest tale in their saga, Syndicate.

 

Following a very poor reception from Unity, we were a little wary of what was in store for us with the latest rendition, so we approached it with bated breath. However, from the opening scene to the ultimate and inevitable end the game does not disappoint. It is stunning visually, in game play and most importantly, free from glitches as far as we were able to see.

 

This time set in 1868 in the hustle and bustle of London, you, the initiate, relive the memories of, not one, but two assassins. They are the twins, Jacob and Evie Frye and their struggle is to fight and assassinate their way to liberating London from the control of the Templars, the town leader, Crawford Starrick and a ruthless gang called the Blighters.

 

The story takes place in the main areas of London, with iconic areas such as Whitechapel and Westminster along the banks of the Thames and it is teemed with historical buildings and characters, such as Charles Darwin, who you will encounter along your travels. Much like the previous Assassins Creed titles, some of these characters will have a direct impact on the story and the actions you take.

 

While there is a main story, or quest line, to follow there are countless other activities that you can take part in, such as liberating children from child labour, hunting down Templars or catching bounties for the bobbies (London Police). The game seems more freeing, and more action packed than Unity and more like the earlier Creed titles and there are much less “follow” missions than there were in Unity which is a positive.

 

Much of the core of the game has remained the same. You can still pretty much climb everywhere and you will need to use viewpoints to unlock all of the points of interest on the map. Combat is fundamentally the same which tends to be mash attack until you need to block, counter or break your opponents defence and then rinse and repeat. The combat is sometimes a little stiff and non-responsive to the controller which can make things a little more challenging, but this is not normally anything more than an inconvenience. As we mentioned earlier. there are two assassins in this game, you will find yourself in a combat vs stealth choice.

 

Once you have opened up the open world, most of the missions became playable by either character. This means that you, the initiate, choose which assassin carries out the task. Jacob is more of a brawler, and favours the fight, while Evie tends to ere more on the side of caution and stealth. Each of the characters gain skill points individually, which you can then spend to grant certain perks. While most of the perks are available for both characters, there are a few unique ones that compliment their basic play styles.

 

As in some of the more recent Assassins creed games there are ways to earn cash outside of the quests, such as looting and upgrading your gang hideouts and a few well spent coins will go a long way to boosting your income, which can be accessed from your safe, on board your personal train hideout. Yes, that's right, your hideout is on board a constantly moving train, genius. Any cash earned, found or stolen is shared between the two assassins, and can be used to replenish ammunition and medicines, as well as upgrading your weapons and hideouts. As far as upgrading goes, you will also require materials for crafting items. These materials can be found and/or looted through your normal gameplay and can also be granted as rewards for missions or interacting with certain allies.

 

Beyond all the usual assassins creed styles, there are two new mechanics added to the game. The first being the rope launcher. This is a gadget picked up quite early in the game and acts as a grappling hook of sorts, something you would be more familiar with in games like Batman. However, the rope launcher works really well, allowing you to attach to almost any where and zip to it. This is a definite must-have for quick escapes and definitely required if you want to acquire all of the collectibles, of which, there are many.

 

The second is carriages. Now, you can pretty much do everything imaginable with them from hijacking them, riding them, hiding bodies in them and just simply ploughing your way through the busy streets of London. The carriage dynamic and/or rope launcher were definitely something that the franchise needed as the playable areas are getting bigger, travelling around was becoming slow. I'm not sure if both were needed to be introduced in the same game, however, having used both of them A LOT, I couldn't imagine the game without them, as you do become dependant on them.

 

The Creed franchise has always had a good, gritty story to it, however, with the introduction of twins so alike and yet so different has given the story a deeper, and more believable feel to it. Jacob, as mentioned is a brawler, a little dimwitted and arrogant and more interested in his loot, and his gang, which he calls the Rooks, while Evie is a more determined and focussed character, with her eyes fixed firmly on their oath and beliefs. While both characters consistently bounce off each other, and rarely see eye to eye, there is a real inseparable bond between them that is portrayed beautifully in the game and it gives the characters another edge and makes them even more likeable and less wooden than the likes of Ezio, who was simply arrogant and Altair who was, for the most part, emotionless.

 

Overall the game is captivating in looks, story and gameplay and is definitely worthy of a place in the hall of fame for Assassins Creed titles. It is simply the best one to date by far and has definitely restored our faith in Ubisoft. Other than the clunky and somewhat clumsy (at times) combat and movement the game is faultless. We feel a little harsh scoring them 4 out of 5, but its not quite perfect, but it is close.