In a way, Assassin’s Creed Rogue stands out from the other games in the series, for two reasons. Number one, it turns the idea that you’re playing an assassin on its head, as you’re instead controlling an Irishman by the name of Shay Cormac, who finds himself banished from the order of Assassins, and joining up with the Templars as a result. So, yeah, you’re kind of on the Dark Side…?
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But perhaps the second is more significant – Rogue is probably the game people missed the most out of all the Creed games. That’s because it released at the same time that Assassin’s Creed Unity arrived, with only owners of the PS3 and 360 left to enjoy it. And most people had upgraded at that time, so they missed out on a hell of an adventure.
Fortunately, they can make up for lost time with Assassin’s Creed Rogue Remastered, a fitting if slightly technically underwhelming adventure in the series. It may not have the glossy appearance of, say, Assassin’s Creed Origins, nor any its heavy depth. But it’s still an fun adventure, especially if you’ve been looking for more naval combat along the lines of Black Flag. And we know how fun that naval combat can be.
Anyway, Cormac is a man who, again, joins up with the Templars when he’s forced out of his older group. But his journey is a bit of a rocky one, as he finds certain questions coming up. Where should his loyalties lie? You discover this along the way, and also counteract with a person within the modern world, working at Abstergo. That’s really all I need to say about the story, as it’s best to discover it all your own.
Plenty To Do On Sea and Land
Cormac may not be as compelling a character as others in the series, but he carves out his own niche, and watching his involvement over the course of Rogue is really something, especially once you get to the end. I’m happy to report that the game stays its course throughout, even though you can probably wrap it up in about ten to twelve hours time – that is, if you’re not wasting time sinking ships to the bottom of your ocean.
The sea combat is the highlight here, though the ground combat isn’t half bad either, as Shay can utilize a number of counters and strikes to bring his enemies down to size. You’ll learn a bit about this in the forced tutorial at the beginning, but then it’ll become natural as you hunt down foes and spill their blood, moving on to the next group. You also pick up abilities over the course of the story, which are helpful when it comes to gaining leverage on your foes.
Anyway, back to at sea. It works just as well as Black Flag‘s sailing did, although I was a big fan of the ramming ability, as well as breaking through ice to discover far off areas. I enjoyed pirating in this game a lot – and, as you might tell, I’m totally hyped for Skull & Bones whenever it gets here.
The game offers a pretty good dose of missions, though they follow the usual status quo, like hunting down targets, rescuing captives and doing a little stealth work now and then. It’s not nearly as wide open as Origins is, but there’s still a good amount of ground to cover here. It’s just a shame that there’s not any new stuff to make this version stand out. But, then again, this is a remaster, and not really a director’s cut, if you will.
A Suitable, If Imperfect, Package
So the gameplay is well rounded – what about the presentation? Fortunately, it takes advantage enough of the new systems to be worthwhile, but it’s not quite the fulfilling remaster that, say, Shadow of the Colossus is.
For one thing, the frame rate sits at around 30 frames per second. There are times we see slight bursts of 60, but not nearly enough. Also, some of the up-close textures look slightly dull.
Otherwise, though, it’s great to see better environment rendering put to good use, as well as overall improved lighting so you can see the terrain surrounding you much better than you could in the 360/PS3 versions. And the characters look great, even if some of their facial expressions are a bit on the dense side. Hey, wake up, you’re not dead!
The audio is terrific as always, with authentic music and voicework to back up the package, along with fun sound effects. Don’t tell me you don’t get giddy the first time you launch cannonballs and listen to them hit their targets. I know I do.
Assassin’s Creed Rogue Remastered may not be the perfect repackaging of a classic, but it’s an enjoyable one, and it gives you a second chance to discover an odd little gem that passed you by. Even though the story and presentation aren’t perfect, it’s still worthwhile, especially if you’ve been looking for more of a fix along the lines of Black Flag. Plus, how often do you get to say you’ve lived the life of a Templar? (Well, semi-Templar, I suppose.)
WWG’s Score: 3.5/5
Disclaimer: A review code was provided by the publisher.
