Comic Con 2015 – Assassin's Creed Syndicate

The location is London, England. The year is 1868. Twin assassins are headed to London. Their goal is retake London for the people. They are Jacob and Evie Frye. At San Diego Comic Con, with the Creative director, Marc-Alexis Cote as well as Paul Amos and Victoria Atkin, who played Jacob and Evie Frye respectively, they presented us with a lot of information on the forecoming Assassin's Creed title.

They started with some of the smaller changes that we were seeing the game. Those to the fighting. Much of what we knew from Assassin's Creed Unity has made the transition but not everything. The fighting is picking up, being more like a brawl than the comparably more elegant fighting that was seen in the previous games. Hidden weapons are the main tools that people have in this era.

The Assassin's Hidden Blade has changed a bit. It is very much the Assassin's Gauntlet now. It features the traditional Hidden Blade, but there is a lot more to it. First, you have the Rope Launcher. This is not meant, in any way, to replace the free running elements of the game. More than anything, it is allowing the team to build London properly and still give the Assassins a way to quickly move between buildings and locations with minimal trouble. Next are the Hallucinogenic Darts. Unlike the Poison Darts of the past, these can also be shot into fires to create an area cloud that can inflict numerous people with visions. All these come together for the Assassins to have a much better arsenal at their disposal.

The twins themselves are very different. Jacob is very much a brash and headstrong young man. He wants to prove himself a capable leader and seeks to fulfill his dream of becoming the head of a successful street gang. Evie is more tactical and the brains of the pair. She is a master of Stealth and will plan and execute her targets with ease.

The pair does balance itself out very nicely. It also offers something in that they can learn from one another. The sibling bond is a very powerful thing, especially among twins. Both will grow and change over the course of the game. Just how was never said in any fashion though beyond they do influence each other.

The Fryes offer something that we have not seen in a while. They are born Assassins. Both their parents were assassins. Their mother died during childbirth. Their father, a Master Assassin, died of natural causes just a while before the start of the game. This does put a chip on Jacob's shoulder because of his aspiration to create and bring order with a street gang. They move into London to work at eliminating the Templar influence there, their way.

Both Jacob and Evie Frye handle things differently. They are two very different people even though they are twins. Both will have their own unique outfits and skill trees that can be completed and improve their skills. While the story will require you to play as one or the other of the siblings during missions, during free roaming, you will be able to freely choose who you are playing as.

The city of London is another unique thing. While previously you had some boons for liberating an area or being it under assassin control, this game looks to offer more there. The police will look more favorably on the controlling faction. Those you save and help out will return the favor at times. This offers the Assassins a greater range of freedom as they work to liberate the city and bring it more under their sway of freedom.

The Assassin's Creed panel did have one big reveal. There was a new animated short that Ubisoft had put together. Illustrated by Pop Mhan and directed by F Gary Gray, it told a lot of the known introduction story to the game. This showed things, to a degree, from Jacob's perspective. He talked about just how the Industrial Revolution was doing to people and the cost it was having. It was a fun clip to watch and it is recommended if you want to learn more about the game.

The panel ended with Paul Amos being challenged by Victoria Atkin to run the Assassin's Creed Experience Obstacle course the next day. The winner was Paul by almost 5 seconds. Still, it was a race to watch.

Assassin's Creed Syndicate offers a lot. Ubisoft has learned quite a bit about what they can do in game. They are talking about Syndicate having a much smoother launch than Unity had last year. Just where this will all go though remains to be seen. The Frye Twins' story is ready to begin this October.