Assassin’s Creed Rogue PC Review

“For any Assassin’s Creed fan, Rogue is a must have.”

Towards the end of last year, I reviewed the release of Ubisoft’s then final previous generation instalment in the Assassin’s Creed series; Assassin’s Creed Rogue. Now the game has been spiced up, reworked and had that little extra magic thrown in for its PC re-release, and fans everywhere are probably wondering the same two things as I was; is the PC release an improvement upon the console version, and more importantly does it work better than Unity did? This latter question is likely to be the point which makes many fans hold off before making their purchase of the new title, with the release of next-generation Unity famously being one of the worst in recent memory. On top of these questions of course, those who have waited until the PC release of Assassin’s Creed Rogue will want to know if the game is any good in general too. So then, let’s go ahead and start answering some of these questions…

First off, a quick background to the game for those who aren’t aware of where it fits into the series and what it is all about. Assassin’s Creed Rogue follows Shay Patrick Cormack; an Assassins-turned-Templar who now hunts his former brothers (and sisters). The story fits in between Assassin’s Creed III and Black Flag (Assassin’s Creed IV), and sees the return of a number of familiar faces, as well as revealing some of their fates. The events of the game take place primarily along the Frontier, which was the setting of Assassin’s Creed III, but also see a lot of action on the seas and at other, new locations around the globe too. Oh, and while it may have seemed last year that this was simply a title made to appease the previous generation console gamers who would not be receiving Unity, do not be fooled into thinking that is truly the case. Although developed by a different, smaller studio than the other games in the Assassin’s Creed series, Rogue is as significant a title in its own right as any of its predecessors. Aiming to fill a significant gap in the Kenway saga of the games and bringing it to a final close, Rogue should not be looked down upon as an aside; that it certainly is not.

In terms of gameplay then, the mechanics and controls are very similar to both Black Flag and Assassin’s Creed III, so there is little new to learn there. There is none of this business of turning into animals, so those who were critical of this in some of the Assassin’s Creed III gameplay will be happy about this. There are however lots of sea-fairing adventures again, and so those who loved this in Black Flag will no doubt be thrilled! Personally, I found Black Flag a little too piratey and not quite Assassiny enough for my liking, mostly due to the fact that I spent a fifth at best of the game as an Assassin, but hey ho, if you liked being a pirate you will be delighted to see the high seas action returning in Rogue. Some elements have been added to this part of gameplay, for example you now have the capability to cut through ice in your ship, so that mixes things up nicely and brings something new to the table. Similarly, Shay carries new weapons in his arsenal, such as a rifle and the ability to fight with a sword and dagger together. Essentially then, the developers have kept the proven-to-work systems and features of the game in tact and added just enough shiny new aspects to make it feel different enough to get away with. Yep, that sounds like Assassin’s Creed right? But everything works, and everything is still as fun and exciting as fans have always loved it being, so what is there to complain about? And that everything works point is a particularly strong one for the game, given the Unity fiasco of last year!

The story and gameplay elements of Rogue pass the test then, but what about its new PC optimization? Even when a reviewed an Xbox 360 copy of the game last year, there were bugs like invisible characters in cutscenes which simply shouldn’t have passed by Ubisoft’s quality control testers. Now, with extra time to look at the game and promise of an updated and improved version for PC gamers to enjoy, it is fair to expect the game to get top marks in terms of working properly, good looking graphics and an all-round solid gaming experience. Is this the case? Well as far as I have played so far, the answer is yes! The game looks amazing, maybe not the most incredible next gen looks you will ever have seen but still stunning and very noticeably an upgrade from the previous generation version of the game. There appear to be far less bugs going on too, and it certainly helps you to forget about all the problems that you had trying to run Unity. Occasionally you will get a character who bugs out a bit when you counter kill them or Shay will hop about a bit when he is supposed to climb something, but these issues have always been there and are almost a part of the Assassin’s Creed charm by this point. Besides, no game is flawless! Generally speaking though, the team at Ubisoft who have built Rogue have used their time well and made genuine, visible improvements upon the game’s initial release, which is excellent to see.

There is perhaps only one or two things I do not like about Assassin’s Creed Rogue. One is that you still spend far too long for my liking running around outside of the Animus in the Abstergo Entertainment offices. I get that this is supposed to be to make what is going on seem more realistic and give you a sense of immersion, but let’s face it, none of us really appreciate these sequences. Call me sadistic, but we like the stabby stabby assassiny bits don’t we? Not all of the walking round fixing servers stuff. Secondly, there are far too many cutscenes in the game, especially towards the beginning. I found myself mentally saying “come on, let’s get on with it!” a fair few times in the early stages of the game. Another aspect which caused me to think this was the fact that for some reason there is a long tutorial section in Rogue. It is fair enough that Ubisoft are providing for new players of Assassin’s Creed here, but given that very little about the way you play has changed in this instalment, they could have at least given the more experienced among us the option to skip this. The game also has a lot of side tasks too; maybe more than ever. These are fine, and some people will enjoy trying to complete them all, but there are so many little things to do that most players will likely ignore them and never bother to complete them all. My only other issue is that there is so much sailing in the game, but like I said before, some people like this. Personally, I just like to get down to the actual Assassin stuff…

So to return to our initial thoughts and questions, the answer to all is a good thumbs up. Yes, Assassin’s Creed Rogue for the PC is a significant improvement upon the original console release. Yes, the game works and works far, far better than Unity did. And yes again, Assassin’s Creed Rogue is a very good and certainly a worthwhile part of the Assassin’s Creed series. It has a strong story, the traditional gameplay style with some tweaks and improvements, it looks good and it plays well. There are no serious issues with the game, and what negative points can be made about it only take away slightly from the fun factor and flow of the game; they do not impact on its playability. For any Assassin’s Creed fan, Rogue is a must have.

The Good:

• – Strong story which fits comfortably into the Kenway saga and smoothes off some edges for this part of the Assassin’s Creed series to come to an end.
• – The traditional style of Assassin’s Creed gameplay which is proven to work has been maintained, with some additions in order to keep things interesting.
• – Clear improvements upon the console release of the game include excellent graphics and the elimination of some of the initial releases bugs and issues.
• – It’s doesn’t run like Assassin’s Creed Unity did! (or didn’t…) The Bad:
• – You still wonder around Abstergo doing menial, boring tasks at times.
• – Lots of cutscenes, especially towards the beginning, hold up play time.
• – The game’s tutorial sequence is unnecessary for a lot of the series’ fans.
• – There are so many side-tasks that many will probably never play through.
• – Still too much sailing for an Assassin’s Creed game (a personal opinion).

Disclaimer:All scores given within our reviews are based on the artist’s personal opinion; this should in no way impede your decision to purchase the game.