n the second part of this feature, we’ll take a deeper look into Assassin’s Creed Syndicate’s combat and stealth, weapons, gadgets, and the introduction of vehicles. Check out part one for details on Jacob and Evie, the city of London and their mission there, and their gang, the Rooks.
4. LOOKIN’ GOOD, FEELIN’ LETHAL
Gone are the good old days when you could walk down the streets with a sword at your side and no one would bat an eye. Concealment is now key. In the world of organized crime, it’s smarter to hide your advantage until the moment of attack. Combat is more about getting in close and fighting dirty. In order to support this brutal new style, the Assassins will need some more clever weapons. Weapons like the brutish brass knuckles and the compact revolver, or the gentleman’s cane sword and the exotic kukri knife. These fiercely efficient weapons come together to form the perfect arsenal for an Assassin in the Industrial Revolution.
5. A MODERN ASSASSIN’S TOY BOX
The world of Assassin’s Creed Syndicate is like no world you’ve ever seen in Assassin’s Creed. Carriages fill the streets, which in turn need to be made much wider to support the new traffic flow. The buildings are taller than ever and dense crowds pack the sidewalks. You’ll need some help getting around the city. That’s where the introduction of the rope launcher comes in. A new addition to the Assassin gauntlet, the rope launcher will propel you to new heights at a faster pace or even let you create a zipline between buildings and avoid the streets altogether. The rope launcher can be used at any time, on any building and becomes a very powerful tool in the hands of either Jacob or Evie.
6. SWEET RIDES
Why walk when you can ride in style? Any carriage you see on the busy streets of London can be yours. Yes, even if they are already occupied. You can knock someone out of the driver’s seat or hide in the actual carriage itself to escape from your pursuers. In our demo, Jacob hijacks a carriage to chase after a fleeing target, but is quickly noticed by the local police. After his carriage begins to take too much damage, he makes a daring leap into another nearby vehicle and neatly kicks the driver out before continuing his chase.
Of course, if you can do all these stunts, you can be sure your enemies can as well. They will be able board your ride and rip you right out of your seat for a good old fashioned brawl on the roof of the carriage. Square off against your foes or leap to the relative safety of another carriage top, performing an intricate dance over the vehicles of London.
7. GETTING A STEALTHY UPGRADE
As Jacob enters a restricted area in our demo, he slips effortlessly into stealth mode, whipping off his stylish top hat and pulling up the familiar hood of his brethren. He uses his rope launcher to rapidly propel himself to a nearby rooftop and get a quick layout of the guards in the area. From there, he locks onto a guard patrolling another rooftop, sends a zipline out over the guards head and quietly moves into place above him, before dropping down off the rope and effortlessly silencing the watchman. After that it’s a matter of working his way through the base and freeing imprisoned recruits for the Rooks.
Down on the ground level, Jacob can swiftly slide into cover and make his way through enemy territory. Assassin’s Creed Syndicate moves away from the hard snap cover function of Unity in favor of a more modern, softer snap to give the players a more natural transition from stealth to navigation. Jacob quickly darts around cover as he makes his way through the restricted area, whistling to grab a guard’s attention before noiselessly taking him down and dragging his body to a better hiding place. He then rappels back up to the rooftops and uses a throwing knife to cut down a hanging stack of crates and send it crashing onto a patrolling enemy. The throwing knife can also now be used to create distractions and draw your enemy’s attention away from an area.
