henke on 7/6/2016 at 18:18
Been playing AC: Syndicate for a few days now, and I'm really enjoying it. I know the smart thing would probably be to go for the main storyline first since I often run out of steam with these games before I finish them, but I'm having so much fun with the sidemissions I've barely touched the main story stuff. :erg:
Just did the first proper Murder Investigation sidemission, and wanted to write a bit about it. Things weren't off to a great start with the first mission, which, to be fair, was more a tutorial than a proper mission. It was very handholdy and even required you to point out the wrong person as the murderer before it allowed you to see all the clues and finish the investigation properly. Ho hum! The second one I did after that was investigating the murder of a woman in a park. The investigation took me to several residences in the neighbourhood and had me talking to a handfull of suspects. But by the time I'd found all the clues and the game informed me I would be able to solve the murder I was genuinely stumped. I'd had my suspicions as the case progessed, but the vital piece of evidence I'd hoped to find had failed to materialize, so by the end I was left scratching my head. I opened my notebook up and looked over the collected evidence, and I swear it totally felt like that scene in a mystery thriller where all the pieces suddenly fall into place, and the detective has flashbacks of all the subtle hints along the way, all pointing towards the inevitable and horrific conclusion. I closed the notebook, parkoured my way over to my main suspect, and pointed an accusing finger. A tearful confession later the cops came in and hauled the murderer off. A very satisfying murder investigation, in other words, and I hope the rest of these will live up to it.
Other things I like: The controls feel like they've been streamlined in all the right ways. That and the perhaps faster movement makes the gameplay feel less clunky, and I feel more in control than I have in earlier AC games. And it looks great. And the hideout on the moving train is great. OH AND THE BOATS! Man I love jumping between the boats in the Thames. Things like the Train Heists are great too. Oh, and the hunt for the music boxes which just shows you a photo of a box and then you have to find it in the world? I like that a lot. Reminds me of the treasure maps in RDR, which was an idea so simple and fun I'm surprised it's taken this long for other open world games to copy it. I actually wanted to have a RDR-style treasure hunt in my latest game but I had to scrap it because I was running out of time, ANYWAY
Things I'm "meh" about: The zipline/grapplinghook does it's job in improving the gameplay by letting you get around faster, but I wouldn't really describe it as a joy to use. It's so stiff and automated, and with little real physicality to it. And the horse carriages? Eehhhh, then again when have horse carriages ever been much fun? And the story, natch. At least this one keeps the present day stuff to an absolute minimum.
WingedKagouti on 11/6/2016 at 13:50
Quote Posted by henke
And the horse carriages? Eehhhh, then again when have horse carriages ever been much fun?
Feel joyful in knowing that several story missions involve carriage chases and a couple involve "shadow this carriage without getting spotted".
Thirith on 11/6/2016 at 14:12
The game's rendition of Victorian London is gorgeous. I played it a week or two after a holiday in London, which made for a fun and slightly surreal experience, as I traversed spaces I'd only just been to.
henke on 13/6/2016 at 08:20
Here's some bits and pieces of gameplay.
[video=youtube;dvdsVEsK-7Q]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dvdsVEsK-7Q[/video]
Watching that, you'd be forgiven for thinking 90% of the game takes place on the Thames, but that's not really the case. I just love those riverboats and barges, and the dynamic playspace they create.
Thirith on 13/6/2016 at 09:54
Hopping from boat to barge, it's basically Frogger, though, isn't it? Other than the Thames not killing you when you fall in it, though I'm sure that the water would have been filthy enough to infect even the slightest scratch.
Kroakie on 13/6/2016 at 12:30
I'm glad you like it, because I worked on it!!!
I'm in Ubisoft Singapore, and we are responsible for all the Thames-related stuffs.
faetal on 13/6/2016 at 13:58
I clicked on the E3 thread, saw Kroakie had posted and thought "what was that game that he made ages ago which seemed really cool?".
Clicked back in gaming forum, next thread was about Void, so there was my answer, thought "I wonder what he's up to these days as that mod seemed really cool".
Next thread - details of what you're up to.
Well played.
henke on 13/6/2016 at 14:31
Quote Posted by Kroakie
I'm in Ubisoft Singapore, and we are responsible for all the Thames-related stuffs.
Kroakie my man, that is awesome! :D
scumble on 13/6/2016 at 18:18
I'm tempted to add this to the library but the price is putting me off. Also the annoyance of these DLC season pass things. I end up waiting for the ultimate edition later on because I don't want to spend over 50 quid for the bundle.
Should I care about the DLC at all?
