David Lebrun for Curtains Up
What an eventful weekend! For my first convention since, ever, I’ve been overwhelmed by the size of Montréal’s Comiccon, full of artists, shops, cosplayers, celebrities and attendants. The sheer number of panels offered within it’s walls, the ambiance, the sounds, light and pretty much everything else had a lot to offer. but I’m here to talk about what I spent the most time looking for and navigating, the video games.
A few big releases were shown, showcasing their scope, design, and general ambitions, but three in peculiar caught my attention for a variety of reasons.
Assassin’s Creed: Syndicate
It’s interesting to see how, year after year, Ubisoft is able to push a new Creed on the market. The gene of the game is sensed in its setting, encapsulating a specific time in history, populating it with known historical figures and incorporating the fight between Templar and Assassins.
Focusing on two Assassins from Victorian London, twins Evie and Jacob Frye, and will give out two branching narratives for each characters, with distinct personalities. It gives a new dynamic for the game, something similar to what GTA V aimed for, and it’s going to be interesting to see how it will pan out in the final game.
New elements are added to improve the gameplay, mostly to traverse the city. The new grappling hook enable you to scale buildings, cross large gaps and find new ways to assassinate targets. With the late 19th century also comes horse carriage for transportation and trains. It makes the game’s integration with its setting more believable and organic, helping with the sense of immersion that the series is known for.
But one of criticism that I’d give to the game, from what was shown and played, is that it feels too safe, not enough risk taken. Yes, the new mechanics feel interesting and fresh for the series, but it’s not something that hasn’t been refined by other game series. We’ll need to wait and see in the coming weeks and months for more details to know how the final product will pan out.
I have less to talk about Rainbow 6, since only a 5-on-5 multiplayer demo was available. No single-player information, no panels to talk about the game and a long waiting line. What’s shown of the game though is interesting and will merit your attention if you like cooperative FPS games. With the two teams facing off, you’re given a decent sized map to complete your objective and a lot of tension, suspense and nerve breaking combat to fuel your adrenaline needs.
Attacking consists of choosing a starting point, scouting your objective and enemy placement, and penetrating the enemy forces to secure a specific target. Communication is crucial in letting know your teammates where the target is located, where enemies are and how to successfully penetrate their defenses to complete the objective.
Defending means you’ll need to place the target in a secure position and fortify your location as much as possible to prevent the enemy team of succeeding. Barriers, mines, barbwire and a set of in-building cameras are all at your convenience to successfully complete the mission at hand.
With this much liberty in terms of gameplay, a whole array of classes to choose and a realistic feel to the gameplay, it leads to a lot of creativity from both teams on how to tackle their respective strategies and diversify them.
I’ll be able to give a better feedback when the closed beta will open at the end of September when the closed beta, which I’ve secured a code, will be available on all current platforms.
I was disappointed that a demo from Mankind Divided was not playable on the floor. Being the key franchise for the Eidos Montréal studio, I hoped that some kind of playable demo for the crowd, but it doesn’t mean that their panel wasn’t interesting.
Set two years after the events from the Panchaea Incident from the last game, Human Revolution, we’re shown a new state of the world in which augmented people, with artificial limbs and organs, are now segregated and isolated in ghettoes. Mainly taking place in the city of Prague, it follows Adam Jensen in a new role with an anti-terror group called “Task Force 29” as he tries to unravel some of the mysteries behind the Illuminati. Similar setting, but different characters, new themes and motivations from the cast will hopefully make the game a new experience.
Most of the panel was there to show a few levels the game, showcasing what the developers were calling the “pillars” of the mechanics, stealth, action and social. It’s interesting to see the broad aspect of the levels, enabling the player with a multitude and depth that’s not seen in the modern action game. This was also demonstrated through a boss battle, where social interactions were shown to win the encounter instead of a normal battle.
A new range of abilities was displayed and you can see the effort that the team has brought to make something familiar but upgraded. I’m still not a fan of the small ‘cutscenes’ for enemy takedowns as they feel token and usually break the flow of your actions.
It will be interesting to see more as Eidos lifts the veil on what’s to come, and I’m hopeful that the final product will give us a great experience.
One thing that I’ll remember from the AAA industry at this year’s Comiccon, is their approach to innovation. These three games feel familiar and safe, some exciting things and a lot of love to them, but no unique factor. With their crippling budgets, it’s demanding to try something harder, different and out of the comfort zone. But a whole bunch of teams, all bunched up in a corner of the halls at Palais des Congrès, showed that exciting things are to come in the near future.
