Assassin's Creed: Rogue

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Assassin's Creed: Rogue is a sandbox action adventure game, released for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 on 11 November 2014 in the United States, 13 November globally,^[2] and 10 March 2015 for the PC.^[3] Rogue follows the story of the Assassin-turned-Templar Shay Cormac between 1752 and 1760, during the Seven Years' War, and is the closing chapter in the Kenway saga.^[4]

Development

Assassin's Creed: Rogue was developed by Ubisoft Sofia, in collaboration with Ubisoft's Singapore, Montreal, Quebec, Chengdu, Milan and Bucharest studios.^[5] The game was written by Richard Farrese.^[4]

By March 2014, an Assassin's Creed game code-named "Comet" was revealed to be in development, set for release on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.^[10] By the end of the month, additional reports indicated that "Comet" would be set around 1758 in New York, as well as feature sailing on the Atlantic Ocean. The game would be a direct sequel to Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag, and would feature a Templar named Shay as the main protagonist. Haytham Kenway from Assassin's Creed III and Adewalé from Black Flag would also make appearances.^[11]

The game was officially announced on August 5, 2014, following a leak of the title.^[12] Game director Martin Capel described the game as finishing the series' "North American saga" and that the game was designed to accommodate specific fan requests, such as taking on the role of a Templar.^[1] The game is intended to "fill the gaps" of the story between Assassin's Creed III and Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag and has "a crucial link" to the events of the previous games.^[8] In addition to Ubisoft Sofia's work on the game, contributions are also being made by Ubisoft studios in Singapore, Montreal,Quebec, Chengdu, Milan and Bucharest.^[1] Ubisoft also stated that the game was being envisioned without multiplayer components "at this stage", but did not rule out any modes being added after the game launched.^[13]

Gameplay

The primary locations in the game are New York, the Hudson River Valley and the North Atlantic Ocean. The North Atlantic is an icy water-based region, where icebergs can be used as cover during naval combat, as well as broken to reveal frozen cargo and Animus data fragments. With the help of an ice-breaker ram, navigation is supplemented and additional secret areas can be reached. Meanwhile, the River Valley is a hybrid of land-based and naval gameplay, with seamless river navigation integrated into a map reminiscent of the Frontier from Assassin's Creed III.

Some mechanics from previous games' multiplayer have been incorporated, such as a compass indicating the target's position being a part of Eagle Vision, and whispers increasing in volume to indicate the presence of nearby stalkers.

Environmental hazards have been incorporated in the form of poison gas barrels, which drives victims berserk within their expanding radius; Shay can avoid being affected by pulling a mask over his face.^[4] Accompanying this, swimming in the freezing waters of the North Atlantic damages Shay's health.^[6]

During naval battles, the Morrigan can be rammed by enemy ships, forcing Shay and his crew to protect their vessel from Assassin-affiliated attackers.^[7] Sea shanties make a return in Rogue, comprised of a mix of old ones from Black Flag and newly composed ones.

Hunting returns with new animals unique to the Arctic regions, such as narwhals and polar bears.

Characters seen previously in the Kenway saga make appearances, such as Haytham Kenway and Achilles Davenport from Assassin's Creed III, as well as Adéwalé from Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag.^[7]

The ability to kill civilians and domestic animals with melee weapons returns, with desynchronization penalty applying to Shay during his time as an Assassin. Once he leaves the Assassins, bounty hunters will be sent after Shay for killing civilians, similar to pirate hunters in Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag.^[6]

Naval aspects from previous games return with the player controlling Shay's ship, Morrígan. Morrígan has a shallower draft compared to Edward Kenway's Jackdaw from Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag, allowing for river travel.^[1][5] New features include new ship-based weapons such as releasing an oil slick which can then be ignited, Puckle guns, and the ability for enemies to board Morrígan during ship-to-ship combat. The arctic environment also features into naval gameplay and exploration, as certain icebergs can be rammed with an icebreaker.^[6] The underwater diving missions featured in Black Flag do not exist in the North Atlantic, as swimming causes the player's health to rapidly deplete due to the frigid water.^[7]

For combat, the game introduces an air rifle, which allows the player to silently take out enemies at a distance. The air rifle can be outfitted with a variety of different projectiles, such as firecrackers. The player can also use a grenade launcher, which fires off shrapnel grenades and other loads.^[5] Hand-to-hand combat has been slightly altered, and now enemy attacks can be countered with timing, similar to theBatman: Arkham series of games. Enemy Assassins feature archetypes similar to previous games, using skills that players have been using throughout the series; they can hide in bushes, blend in with crowds, and perform air attacks against the player.^[7] Poison gas can now be used as an environmental weapon, and Shay has a mask that can mitigate its effects.

Side missions and activities return, with a number of them based on those of the previous games. Reflecting Shay's role as a Templar, the game introduces a new side mission: Assassin Interception. These mirror the Assassination side missions in previous games, in that Shay, after intercepting a messenger pigeon carrying an assassination contract, must prevent a Templar agent being assassinated by finding and killing Assassins hidden nearby.

The main character of the game is Shay Patrick Cormac, a twenty-one-year-old recruit to the Brotherhood of Assassins who grows disillusioned with their methods and their cause just as his career as an Assassin begins.^[5] He eventually betrays and abandons the Assassins after an assignment ends in disaster, and is later accepted into the Templar Order, offering his services as an Assassin Hunter after seeing some of the Assassins groups used as allies have taken to terrorizing New York. Given access to near-limitless resources, Cormac sets out against his former companions, with his actions having dire consequences for the future of the Brotherhood.^[1][6] Cormac has ties to the events that occur in Assassin's Creed Unity.^[8] Appearances from previous Assassin's Creed characters include: Haytham Kenway, the secondary antagonist of Assassin's Creed III;^[7] Achilles Davenport,Ratonhnhaké:ton's mentor; and Adéwalé, Edward Kenway's quartermaster in Black Flag, and protagonist of Freedom Cry.^[9]

Critical Reception

Assassin's Creed Rogue received mixed to positive reviews. Aggregating review websites GameRankingsand Metacritic gave the PlayStation 3 version 74.06% based on 32 reviews and 72/100 based on 52 reviews,^[14][18] and the Xbox 360 version 73.13% based on 27 reviews and 72/100 based on 32 reviews^[15][19] and the Microsoft Windows version 69.71% based on 7 reviews and 75/100 based on 22 reviews.^[16][17]

Ray Carsillo from Electronic Gaming Monthly gave the game a 8.5/10, praising its interesting lead character, enjoyable story, new weapons introduced, new mission design, which requires player to prevent assassinations instead of carrying out assassinations like in other Assassin's Creed titles, as well as advanced and improved combat mechanics. However, he criticized poor pacing of the story, frequent bugs, lack of replayability and the lack of inclusion of a multiplayer mode. He concluded the review by saying that "Rogue is a far more pleasurable experience than I anticipated. It does just enough to put its own stamp on the franchise while also giving us critical story details in order to tie up loose ends betweenAssassin's Creed III and IV. It serves as a perfect conclusion to the series’ time spent exploring Europe’s North American colonies in the 18th century."^[21]

Eurogamer drew comparisons between Rogue and Assassin's Creed Revelations—a game which served to resolve storylines from Ezio Auditore's saga as a lead-in to Assassin's Creed III, due to its focus on expanding on characters and storylines introduced in III and Black Flag. Although noting that some settings, weapons, and mechanics had been reused from previous games in the series (such as an expansion of the New York City setting from III, naval combat, renovating buildings to build income, and locating enemies with a radar similarly to the former multiplayer mode), the use of Assassins as an enemy was considered to be a "much-needed new [idea] to the series' fighting mechanics" due to their use of tactics that were used by the player themselves in previous games (such as smoke bombs and hiding), and that Rogue felt the most "fresh" whilst exploring its new North Atlantic overworld. However, the story missions themselves were criticized for being noticeably shorter than in previous games.^[30]

Matt Miller from Game Informer gave the game a 8.25/10. He praised the huge variety of activities, varied environments and mission types, new additions and well-performed gameplay, despite being too similar to its predecessors. He criticized the repetitive melee combat and the absence of multiplayer mode. He described the game by saying that "Rogue is vast with lots to explore, and while it lacks novelty, it offers a wealth of gameplay and lore to faithful fans."^[23] Daniel Bloodworth from GameTrailers gave the game a 7.2/10, praising the return of some old characters in the Assassin's Creed series, stunning scenery and environment, interesting interceptions missions, but criticizing the predictable and dull lead character, poorly-constructed missions in the beginning of the game, disappointing boss battles, as well as numerous bugs. He described the game by saying that "Rogue in many ways feels like an extension of last year’s Black Flag, even down to the menus, but there are some tweaks to the formula thanks to your new role as a former assassin, hunting down his old comrades."^[26]

Daniel Krupa from IGN gave the game a 6.8/10. He praised the engaging story, the nuanced lead character, atmospheric scenery, but criticized the lack of Templar abilities included, bland encounters with other main characters, uninspired side quests, empty world, as well as the frustrating combat and traversal system, which he stated has shown no improvements. He also criticized the game for not encouraging the player to explore the world.^[27] Mark Walton from GameSpot gave the game a 6/10, criticizing the predictable story, unlikeable lead character, lack of interesting missions, as well as being thin on core content. He stated that the game feels like a glorified Black Flag DLC pack and has done nothing to put the franchise forward.^[25] Xav de Matos from Joystiq gave the game a 6/10, criticizing the game for not adding anything new to the franchise. He stated that "Assassin's Creed Rogue is essentially a clone of Black Flag's setting and systems. If you can accept rampant copy-and-paste in another full priced entry, you'll more than likely enjoy what Assassin's Creed Rogue has to offer."^[28]

Editions

A retail copy of Assassin's Creed: Rogue.
A collector's box.
A copy of the official soundtrack.
A copy of the official artbook.
Three lithographs.
Two exclusive single player missions: The Siege of Fort de Sable and The Armor of Sir Gunn's Quest.