With Unity releasing for the current generation of consoles only, Ubisoft have provided an alternative Assassin’s Creed game for those who are still on 360 and PS3. Assassin’s Creed Rogue fulfills its job description well and has, perhaps, given fans of the last two games a better experience than they might find in Unity.
Rogue is an odd addition to the series in that it focuses on the other side of the battle. Starting off as a typical Assassin in training, the young Shay Patrick Cormac’s allegiance soon turns to the Templars instead, which gives this game a fresh perspective but also puts it at odds with the other Assassin’s Creed games.
It also furthers the Abstergo Industries story, though not in any way that is mildly interesting. What it does do during these sequences is tie in to the previous games and Unity, cleverly knitting the previous generation of Assassin’s Creed to the new one. It’s just a pity that many who have arrived late to the Assassin’s Creed party won’t play both of these games.
As for the story, it’s full of twists and turns, as you’d expect, and Shay is a competent hero, albeit a rather dull one at times with the dodgiest Irish accent this side of Tom Cruise in Far and Away. He does, however, excel at being naive enough to be believable as the one Assassin to question everything he has been told to do and his deflection is therefore far easier to swallow as he virtually trips over signposts saying ‘Assassins are bad, come join the Templars’. It’s not exactly the longest story in the series, but it manages to fit in some pretty nice rollercoaster moments where everything around you is going to hell and you just need to peg it to survive.
Aside from the odd set piece, everything else is as it was in Black Flag, right down to ship improvements and base captures. Fans will be pleased to see a return to seafaring as the main focus and the change of location to the icy North Atlantic ocean is a welcome one.
If anything, this seems to have given Ubisoft’s development team time to polish the game world and improve the scenery. It’s definitely the best looking last gen Creed game and the world is full of things to collect and complete long after the main story is over.
Rogue may be the last swan song for 360 and PS3 Assassin’s Creed, but it goes out singing its heart out with a rousing shanty or two.
8/10
