Assassin's Creed is a bizarre example of a yearly franchise. Most game series that dedicate themselves to coming out once a year are typically smaller than most, but Assassin's Creed games always feel huge. That being said, that's not always the best thing: Assassin's Creed games always have a ton of content, but a lot of said content feels like filler. Each entry in the franchise focuses on new innovations, but it's also caused the series to lose some of its unique identity. It's a problem that's unique to Assassin's Creed, and as the years go by, the problems become more and more noticeable.

Assassin's Creed Unity is the first truly next-generation entry in the series, and Ubisoft has made it clear that the game is supposed to be the next big thing for the franchise. The story of Unity may be set in a revolution, but is the game a revolution in and of itself?

Assassin's Creed Unity's story is basically split in two: the story of Arno Dorian and the modern-day fight against Abstergo. Arno Dorian is the true hero of Unity, and takes up the vast majority of the game's screen time. The game opens with the inciting incidents behind Arno's transformation into an assassin: as a young boy, Arno's father is killed, and as a young man, his foster father is killed. Soon enough, a shady past is uncovered and Arno begins his search for those responsible.

As a protagonist, Arno is very similar to Assassin's Creed II's main character Ezio, for better and for worse. Arno is a bit bland, though nowhere near as forgettable as Assassin's Creed III's Connor - but he's also no where near as fun as Black Flag's Edward Kenway. In terms of Assassin's Creed protagonists, Arno falls right in the middle: not too boring, but not truly memorable, either.

The vast majority of the game follows Arno's attempts at bringing his foster father's murderers to justice, but unfortunately, the main story simply doesn't have enough impact. Events just sort of happen, and characters come and go without any real sense of build-up. Arno simply accepts what's happening to him, whether it's his induction into the Brotherhood of Assassins or his new memory-reading abilities.

Even the French Revolution - one of the game's main attractions - fails to carry any sort of emotional weight, as Unity holds back on the actual war for nearly three-quarters of the game. The cast is just as forgettable, and most major characters are never given enough time to show off any sort of personality. As a result, the major story events end up falling flat, and the ending of the game carries little weight despite Unity's best attempts to forcibly add drama during the final scene. It's very much a case of too little, too late.

The modern-day story almost isn't worth talking about; it's so bare-bones, it almost seems as if Ubisoft didn't want to include it at all. The modern-day twist that initially defined the series has become nothing more than a footnote. Aside from a few returning characters from the Desmond Miles trilogy, there's nothing of note in terms of the modern-day war against the Templars.

Yes, someone talks to you through a headset, but players never see these other characters, or fight enemy Templars, or even learn the player-character's name. The modern-day sections exist solely to tie Unity in with the rest of the franchise: the story goes absolutely nowhere and the ending is almost laughably bad. The only real standout portion of the modern-day story is the Server Bridges, short levels that take place outside of Revolution-era France. They're fun to play, but the levels ultimately feel out of place and don't impact the story at all.

At its core, Unity is still very much an Assassin's Creed game. It's all about exploring an open world, completing missions for various factions and assassinating Templars. Single-player missions move the story forward, side missions are a great source of cash and equipment, and a metric ton of unlockables are scattered throughout the world for players to collect.

It's a bit of a shame that a lot of these missions still feel like fluff. Main missions are far more diverse than they were in Black Flag and aren't simply a long list of mandatory tutorials. However, the side missions typically boil down to more of the same: find something specific or kill someone specific. After a while, playing several of these side missions in a row can start to feel like a slog.

The actual assassinations have received a major facelift, and the game is much better off. Each assassination mission now features unique conditions and optional objectives, and the new system allows for much more individualized play styles. It goes a long way to making the assassinations feel meaningful again, which hasn't been the case since Assassin's Creed II. It's a shame that such variety doesn't extend to the side activities, but the improvements to the single player missions are still very much appreciated.

Multiplayer has been fleshed out since its introduction during the Ezio trilogy, and the cooperative mode finally lives up to its potential. Up to four players can take on various missions throughout Paris, and while each mission features some great production values, the missions are still very similar to the side missions from the core game. It's nice that the rewards are transferred back into the single-player game, but input lag and bad teammates can easily ruin the experience. The multiplayer portion of Unity could be a distraction for fans of the franchise, but one has to question the co-op's staying power.

The gameplay is where Assassin's Creed Unity falls apart. In general, the game plays like previous Assassin's Creed titles, with a focus on stealth and free-running movement. Unity features a much deeper customization system, with a massive number of gadgets, weapons and gear. Missions can be far more difficult without the proper gear, and having decent weaponry makes a major difference.

For the first time in the series, combat feels threatening: Ubisoft wisely removed the one-hit counter-kills from the game entirely, and players won't feel overpowered when taking on enemy threats. For the most part, combat isn't the best option, and the game's refocusing on stealth is another major improvement. When it works, Unity feels great to play.

The problem is, Unity's gameplay only works about half the time. Black Flag's open environments meant that getting around, while not exactly precise, was still possible. Unity's environments almost feel cluttered with the sheer number of different objects Arno can interact with, and the game will often get confused as to what exactly players are trying to do. When simply trying to move around the world, climbing in the wrong direction or watching Arno get stuck on a park bench is nothing more than an annoyance.

When such control issues surface during a mission or in the midst of combat, it can and will result in an unfair game-over. This extends to stealth as well, as Unity's cover system may be one of the worst in the industry: trying to get Arno to stick to a piece of cover rarely works consistently, and again, these issues can result in an unfair restart.

That doesn't even cover the glitches. Aside from simply getting stuck in the environment, enemies can also spawn in randomly or notice Arno behind their backs. In open-world games, some bugs are to be expected, but Unity's glitches occur far too often to be excused. In general, the game only feels responsive half the time. Nothing about the controls are precise whatsoever, and Arno ends up stuck in the environment or refusing to move.

It's been a problem in games prior, but the issues in Unity really drag the whole experience down. The environmental detail is simply too much for the game to handle - perhaps it's time Ubisoft went back to the drawing board in regards to the Assassin's Creed game engine.

It's strange to say, but it's actually pretty easy to overlook the graphical improvements in Unity at first glance - but once players look at the little details, the visual upgrades are impressive. On the surface, Unity looks similar to the next-gen versions of Black Flag: from a distance, the textures and characters models look similar, but when things get up-close and personal, Unity is far better-looking than its predecessor.

Unity's biggest improvement are the absolutely enormous crowds of people. Hundreds upon hundreds of unique non-player characters fill the streets, all of them animating and acting independently of the player. It's truly a sight to see, but again, it's a shame that the game holds out on something so impressive for so long.

The new facial animation systems are also a high point. While it really only applies to the story's main characters, the faces in Unity look amazing. Aside from a few isolated instances, the game's characters managed to avoid the uncanny valley entirely: the game's story may lack impact, but Unity's facial animations almost make up for it on their own.

Other, smaller details round out Unity's visual package. Watching clothes and fabrics bounce and sway realistically is great, and the number of tiny details in the environment is amazing. The sheer size and scope of the city, both interiors and exteriors, is something to behold...it's just a shame that the changes aren't more noticeable. The game really shines up close, but from a distance, Unity looks extremely similar to previous games in the series.

In terms of sound design, Unity does a fine job of transporting the players to Revolution-era France. Sound effects do a fine job of conveying the weight and impact of early firearms, and the ambient tracks are extremely effective at setting the tone. When it comes to voice acting, the main cast does a fine job of portraying the characters. Despite the fact that the game takes place in France, the characters in Unity speak with a British accent.

Again, the main cast does a fine job, but the NPC dialogue is downright awful: when lines are delivered with an overly-thick and ridiculous Cockney accent, France is the last thing players think of. It's almost comical at points, but most of the time, it's more a combination of annoying and distracting.

When it comes down to it, the controls are easily the worst part of Assassin's Creed Unity. Whenever the controls fall apart, the experience is essentially crippled, and while it doesn't ruin the entire game, it can certainly kill any desire to continue playing. It's never a good thing when the player feels like they've been cheated or that the game is broken, and sadly enough, it happens far too often while playing Unity.

For existing fans of the franchise, Assassin's Creed Unity is worth playing. It's more of what those fans want, and even if some features were cut, the improvements are more than worth it. However, for those that aren't dedicated to the series, the game is much harder to recommend.

Assassin's Creed Unity is fun when it works, but the series needs a more solid foundation if it wants to stay relevant moving forward.

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