This year Ubisoft has graced us with not one, but two Assassin’s Creed games, one of which is the subject of this review, the other being Assassin’s Creed: Unity.

It seemed a strange move by Ubisoft to release two games on the same day for differing generations of consoles, but the more I played through Assassin’s Creed: Rogue, the more I warmed to the idea and eventually managed to shake away the feeling that I’m being fed a second glass of milk from the same cow.

Read on for the full Assassin’s Creed: Rogue review.

Story

For the first time in the series we’re playing on the other side of the fence, though it’s really a second time if you count Assassin’s Creed III’s Haytham Kenway sections, but it’s the first Assassin’s Creed to place you within the Templar order for the majority of the game. An interesting story plot or just a gimmick to lure players in?

Thankfully it’s the former and Shay Cormac’s tale is told splendidly, albeit with a few misgivings here and there, though the story itself is fantastic and offers a real service to fans of the series, answering a few questions along the way.

If you’ve followed the series since it’s inception then you’ll have a pretty good idea as to what the timelines of the games are and you’ll also be painfully aware of how the series has gone back and forth since Assassin’s Creed III and Black Flag – Rogue doesn’t help the mind-bending timelines much either.

Shay’s story takes place between 1752 and 1761, concurrent to Assassin’s Creed III’s earlier chapters, even bringing back some beloved characters, not just from Assassin’s Creed III but also from Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag, so there’s a little bit of thinking required to work out just where you stand in history.

It’s not a bad thing though and each character brought back from the previous two games are a welcome addition to the already strong cast of characters that Rogue presents.

They’re not just throwaway characters either and they’re given adequate screen time to be fleshed out and become more than digital men who walk in and out of view. The re-introduction of certain characters isn’t just a novelty either, there’s a reason that Haytham Kenway and Achilles are brought back to life, though it’s not my place to spoil the tale for you, I’m only here to give you my impressions of the story. What I can say is that Kenway is just as dastardly yet charming whilst Achilles is a little, different.

In some respects Rogue’s story holds up with the best of them, even exceeding some and serves as a great companion to Unity. There’s a few secrets for you to find, which for me as a long time fan of the series was well received.

As a big fan of games with strong narratives I’ve come to associate the Assassin’s Creed with great story-telling, though Black Flag was a personal disappointment in terms of storytelling, Rogue has once again managed to capture my imagination and just as Assassin’s Creed III hooked me in and lead me to research the American Revolution, Assassin’s Creed: Rogue has got me pouring through history once more. Come to think of it, I’m pretty sure I’d have gotten a higher grade in my History A levels had Assassin’s Creed been released a few years sooner…

If you’ve an interest in the historical stories that unravel within the Assassin’s Creed universe then you’ll be pleased with what Rogue has on offer, especially if you’ve always wondered what came before Assassin’s Creed III and it’s characters, how they came to be and what preceded the events of Assassin’s Creed III and the next-gen exclusive Unity. I’ve said enough, if you really want to know the story of Shay’s journey then you’ll just have to plonk down the cash and buy the game.

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