“…maintaining the same basic premises as its Chinese predecessor, it manages to outdo that game in a number of ways.”
Following the escapades of Shao Jun in China, Ubisoft have now released the second instalment in their 2.5D platforming adventures in the Assassin’s Creed universe. This time set in India, following the love-stricken Assassin Arbaaz, you must attempt to recapture an artefact taking from one of your partners by the Templars before they realise its powers. With a new skill set, arsenal and attitude, Arbaaz creates yet another unique story in the Assassin’s Creed universe in another fascinating setting. I played the game to see how it held up in the grand scheme of the saga, as well as in its own right.
The new setting of 19th century colonial India naturally comes with an entirely new design, similar to the setup we first saw in the China chronicles game. The game is superbly artistic as well as offering all of the experiences you would expect from an Assassin’s Creed game. Making full use of the parkour talents of the protagonist, the architecture of the setting and the 2.5D mechanics which are pushed close to 3D at times, the game creates the perfect atmosphere and stage for the events of the story to unfold upon. The art style makes every swing of your sword beautiful and every short cutscene mesmerising too, making this one of the most attractive games on the market that you could hope to play right now.
As is usual in Assassin’s Creed games, every new character must carry new weapons. This game is no exception to the trend, with both new weapons and new skills being at Arbaaz’s disposal. His primary weapon is the talwar; a large curved sword which allows for flowing strikes in combat alongside deadly heavy blows to finish a fight. Most unique to this assassin however is his chakrams. These circular blades can be thrown at opponents directly or bounced off walls and floors in order to reach a tricky target. You can also use them to break objects in the environment that could otherwise not be reached, or to trigger a distraction and allow you to sneak forwards. Each of these new weapons underlines the Indian setting of the game and helps to immerse you in the style of the character and the world he inhabits.
Arbaaz knows how best to traverse the land he calls home as well, and new skills show this off in delightful ways. Climb and crawl along rooftop beams in order to strike an enemy from above using his grappling hook, or utilise his deadly helix strike or double kill moves to achieve the maximum deadly effect. As ever, the way you choose to approach each scenario is up to you, but if hard and fast is your preferred method then Arbaaz knows a useful thing or two. Sliding underneath enemies to perform an assassination is always an effective choice in my experience, but however you choose to make your moves, the game is well equipped to help you do it.
Assassin’s Creed Chronicles: India does however remember the roots of the game series, and focuses much more heavily on stealth than deadly encounters. Guards are more aware and active than in previous Assassin’s Creed games, and environmental features can easily trigger their attention if you move carelessly. There are also plenty more places to hide in the game too, meaning that the stealth approach is often the easiest one to take. Combine this with much more deadly opponents who can kill you in a single strike and combat is certainly less our protagonist’s strong point when compared to his silent but deadly abilities. The increased difficulty of opponents makes the game far more challenging as well, testing you with new puzzles to solve on every level you play.
As a 2.5D stealth-based platformer, Assassin’s Creed Chronicles: India is almost certainly one of the best you can play. Within the realms of the Assassin’s Creed universe on the other hand, it has its ups and downs. There is a seemingly unnecessary love story involved, which seems like an endeavour that might not be encouraged by the otherwise focussed Brotherhood. That being said, the start of the game is reminiscent of Ezio’s antics at the beginning of Assassin’s Creed II, arguably the high point of the series of games to date. Outside of this element of the game, we stick to the stories regarding the Templar’s desire to acquire the Pieces of Eden and any other powerful artefacts they can get their hands on. The story mostly stays focussed, and is enough to carry the game outside of the excellent gameplay.
If at any point you need a alternative to foiling the exploits of the East India Company, you can of course take on Challenge Mode. As the name suggests, this new mode challenges you to either collect hidden artefacts, find and assassinate a target or kill all enemies on the map within a certain time limit. You can also get bonus points for doing these tasks in certain ways. Sadly, these modes are set in an Animus-style setting rather than maintaining the beautiful Indian backdrop of the game. The Animus maps are confusing when it comes to working out what each coloured area represents, such as green hiding spots or orange lines being climbable. The challenges also have only one victory time limit rather than different levels of victory parameters, such and bronze, silver and gold. This makes them unnecessarily difficult, and likely to put some players off. Despite these flaws however, the challenges to constitute an enjoyable aside from the main game and a fun new test for Assassin’s Creed players to enjoy.
Perhaps the most notable thing about Assassin’s Creed Chronicles: India is that despite maintaining the same basic premises as its Chinese predecessor, it manages to outdo that game in a number of ways. Both games were beautiful to look at with their settings influencing the art styles, but the Indian game’s wider colour pallet certainly gives it an edge. The gameplay feels more fluid and refined, with the developers clearly having taken on board feedback following their previous game. The game also has an interesting protagonist with a range of exciting new weapons and skills with genuine uses, and his storyline is not quite as strong as the game’s mechanics but nevertheless does not in any way let it down. This game is far more difficult the the standard Assassin’s Creed titles however, and does require you to employ stealth in your play style at all times. The challenge modes are also a difficult test of your skills, and a part of the game which could use some refining itself. As a whole however, this 2.5D platformer is well worth playing for any stealth fan, and another welcome expansion to the Assassin’s Creed universe.
The Good:
- A beautiful setting and art style to match, the game is a delight to the eye.
- The new weapons and skills that this protagonist brings to the table are of genuine use and add to the methods and excitement of gameplay.
- A heavy refocusing on the series’ roots makes this a truly challenging stealth game.
- You can choose to progress through the game’s levels in any way that you please, leaving the linear storyline blessed with non-linear gameplay.
- Very difficult enemies push the stealth side of the game whilst making the role of the protagonist more believably an assassin than a meme soldier.
- A reasonable storyline helps carry the non-playable sections of the game.
- The new Challenge Mode offers a testing sideshow away from the main story.
The Bad:
- The exceedingly difficult enemies do close off the run and gun option of play, which some players might prefer to the slower, stealthier approach at times.
- The storyline of the game is not the most interesting of the Assassin’s Creed series to date.
- Challenge mode does not offer different levels or difficulties of completion, which may put some players off if they find this to be too hard.
- Challenge mode takes place in a confusing Animus-based map rather than the more simple and more attractive Indian setting of the main game.
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