Also available on Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, and Windows I first dove into the Assassin's Creed series about three years ago. Over the course of a little less than two weeks, I played through AC1, AC2, Brotherhood, Revelations, AC3, and AC4. Needless to say, I was a bit burnt out after that. It took three years, but I finally got the urge to play Assassin's Creed again, and since I'm weird about insisting on playing series in order even if it's not really necessary, I popped Rogue into my PS3 and gave it a go. There are some heavy references to Assassin's Creed III given that Rogue takes place just before the American Revolution, but they aren't important to understanding this game's story. It's more stuff that you'd notice if you played III and would give some context but that in no way would hinder a newcomer's enjoyment of Rogue. The story follows Shay Cormac, an Assassin who questions the ethics of the Assassins' methods and defects eventually becoming inducted as Templar. It's a refreshing look at the other side of things for the series and seeing things from the Templar perspective for a change. As for the present day frame of the game...ignore it. Desmond from the first few games was annoying, but the nameless protagonist and his interactions with Abstergo are just downright stupid in Rogue. Rogue actually looks really impressive for a PS3 game. Character models are surprisingly detailed, the environments are gorgeous and look relatively lived-in, and the ocean - because Rogue incorporated IV's naval combat - looks fantastic. Unfortunately, Rogue ends up feeling pretty much like "Black Flag but not as good." The naval combat is awesome in Rogue, but Black Flag did it better. The story is great in Rogue, but it was better in Black Flag. The ground combat is fun and satisfying, but it's about the same as Black Flag. Overall, everything Rogue did, Black Flag had already done better. Couple this with the truly horrible voice acting for a few characters and the mediocre voice acting for the other characters, and it quickly becomes apparent why this game was widely considered to be the low point for the Assassin's Creed series upon its release. Assassin's Creed Rogue is definitely the black sheep of the 7th generation Assassin's Creed games with regards to quality, but it's much better than I expected and absolutely still a good game. The story itself is really interesting even if the characters are rather dull and the present day bits downright pointless. The game plays well, looks great, and has enough optional side quests to give players plenty to do if the roughly 10 hour story missions leave you wanting more. It may not hold up against its five predecessors, but Rogue is still a good game and absolutely worth playing for fans of the series. My Rating - C |
I'm a teacher.And I like to play video games. I like to collect video games. I like to talk about video games, and I like to write about video games. During the day, I teach high school history; during the night, I spend my spare time gaming. Then I write about it. Archives
April 2024
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