Recent reviews by Macjof

I'd like to start by saying that whilst I have enjoyed the new gameplay direction of AC post-Origins, it has been incredibly refreshing to play a game that has returned to it's stealthy roots (Including the return of the meme-worthy tailing missions from the Ezio era).
Baghdad is a fantastic (albeit small) map, with a heavy focus on parkour to traverse the city. The streets always feel bustling with NPCs, there are plenty of opportunities for stealth and hiding around every corner, and it was nice to see the return of posters to remove notoriety. Most immersive city setting in an AC game since Paris/London in Unity/Syndicate so I will give it high praise.

While Mirage still has some of the clunky parkour and RPG-style combat (BUT heavily toned down from the powers of the previous 3 titles), it's main focus for accomplishing missions is stealth. You can fight your way out of every situation, however 3 hits will kill you and your "health potions" are limited to a total of 3 by late game. I won't pretend that this is Dark Souls type of difficult, but I appreciate Ubisoft making an attempt to find a balance between the two combat mechanics that the franchise has seen over the past two decades.

The negatives however.

As I said earlier, parkour is clunky af. Running feels slow and sluggish (for a protagonist who is 20 I think the game says). Assassination animations are slow. It's not game ruining, but it DID kinda put a dent in the vibe of being a sleek killing machine.

Other issue I had with the game is that it's SHORT for an AC title. Now while being a short game in itself isn't necessarily a crime, charging £45 for what is essentially a 24-30 hour story is NOT worth it imo. I was fortunate to get it during a sale, so definitely keep a look out for that.

Either way. Super refreshing experience. Slightly flawed but nothing that ruins the experience. Solid 8/10.

Love El Tyranos and supporting modders, even if it costs me £5 to do so.

But cmon Paradox. When are we getting the actual content that fans want? Been over 3 years since launch and we still don't have half the mechanics that CK2 had in the same time.

Seduced my sister and made her my Queen.

10/10 for inbred Prince of England

http://steamproxy.com/profiles/76561198037911233/screenshots/?appid=236850

Anything is possible in EU4. Especially with the Extended Timeline mod.