Assassin's Creed: Rogue

Assassin's Creed: Rogue is a game of contradictions for me. On one hand, I really liked Assassin's Creed IV, which is good since Rogue uses it as a template religiously; on the other hand, I achieved 100% sync in IV, which is bad since this meant I'd definitely had my fill of sailing, free-running, assassinating adventures for a while. Rogue simply does not do enough to distinguish itself from its predecessor to be anything other than a mild distraction.

In Rogue, you play as Shay Patrick Cormac, an Assassin who, after being sent on an ill-fated mission by his Brotherhood, loses faith in their ways and joins the Templars and begins hunting Assassins. Shay is a dashing rogue-type protagonist - which is quickly becoming this series' standard - and reminds me quickly of Edward. He is mostly an enjoyable, if underdeveloped character; he made me laugh more than once, but I don't know if I'll remember him come next November.

The aforementioned mission which separates you from your Assassin brothers and sister does not occur until about a third of the way through the game. This works to Rogue's benefit as it allows time for the supporting cast to develop themselves. This, in turn makes it more meaningful when you hunt your former friends down and eliminate them, followed by an AC classic: the post-assassination confessional. I didn't break down and sob or anything, but at least Rogue tries to create worthwhile characters, unlike the bare-bones approach AC III delivered. Unfortunately, the conclusion all this builds to is rather disappointing. I discovered that everyone's problems could have easily been sorted if anyone took the time to rationally state their positions, but there needed to be a game here, so that didn't happen.

Rogue looks just as good as IV ever did and flaunts it. The opening cinematic follows an eagle's flight through the air and it is rather pretty, despite the old tech. Locales include the city of New York, the developing colonies to the north and the frigid landscapes of Eastern Canada. Each area has its own interesting feel and all look beautiful. Ice-capped mountains look as good as Caribbean islands did in IV.

The main gameplay of Rogue will feel uncanny if you have played AC IV. You have a boat (which you receive in the very first mission) and you use said boat to do battle against enemy ships, destroy forts which can then be used as fast travel points, manage your trading fleet and generally just explore the world. During melee battle, you attack, counter and use items to lay waste to your enemies. It will feel warm and familiar if you have an inkling for more excellent seafaring, but cold and sluggish if you had your fill of it in the last game, as I did. Luckily, much of the mission design is interesting and varied enough that I enjoyed my time in the main story well enough. Coupled with that is a new enemy type which livens up the typical seek, hide, kill formula of most situations. They are called stalkers and they will lie in wait in areas an Assassin is intimately familiar with: hay wagons, closets and long grass. You use eagle vision and a directional compass to locate them and take them out quickly. They attack when you stray near, do significant damage and flee afterward. This means that no matter how frustrated you are with a mission, it is never a good idea to rush ahead. It is a simple, sensible and fun way to add flavor to an aging formula.

Besides the story, you can occupy yourself with side missions around the world, but again, much will feel familiar. You can take over gang headquarters by killing its leader and cutting the flag; you can do hunting challenges that just involve killing animals on a time limit; hunting down the fragments of a Viking sword results in its obtainment; finding Templar maps and tracking down the locations detailed on them reward you with money or upgrade blueprints; renovations make a return from AC III, being vital to income. There is one side activity worth mentioning. It is Assassin Interception, Rogue's answer to Assassin Contracts. Basically, you need to find all of the Assassins hiding in an area by using eagle vision, then eliminate them before time runs out and they kill your Templar ally. It is a switch-up from the usual, but I never want to do more than one or two in a row, and there are quite a few to be done. Meanwhile, the diving bell missions from IV - which I very much enjoyed - have been dropped entirely.

Now, lets talk about the elephant in the room. Every Assassin's Creed, nay, every open world game has its share of bugs, but some really feel like they should have been ironed out beforehand. Two in particular require mentioning: an intermittent hitching every thirty minutes or so, in which the game locks up for a half-second and scares me half to death before playing normally once more; and an issue where upon failing or reloading a mission, all items I used in that "try" are still absent from my inventory. This does not appear intentional, as it does not always happen.

Assassin's Creed Rogue is honestly a perfectly inoffensive, if uninspired game. It is the "safe" AC game this year, contrasted against Unity. It feels cheap to say, "if you want more AC IV, play Rogue", but this is more fitting than one may realize. It borrows plenty from its direct predecessor, some of which is to its benefit. Unfortunately, most is to its dry, familiar hindrance.