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Now that I've got some caffeine in my system, let's talk about AC:U.

Assassin's Creed: Unity is a much more than I thought it would be thus far. The main character, Arno Dorian, is introduced in a very similar way to Ezio back in Assassin's Creed 2 - with precision and character. In a (roughly) 3 hour introduction, I was able to understand him and his motives before being throw out into the open world. In AC:U, you are the protagonist - which is a great twist on the concept from Black Flag. It will be interesting to see how it plays out, but for now? I'm impressed because it directly connects with the gamers in a realistic way that makes sense based on the storyline of the franchise.

Mechanically? The game contains too many massive overhauls to go into detail. Parkour is the smoothest it has ever been, with the new controlled descent mechanic. It's extremely easy to navigate the world and it flows so, so well. Combat has been totally overhauled now as well, with a more refined and responsive parry and dodge system. Enemies are aggressive in packs and their play style varies despite having weapons that would typically indicate them as a heavy, regular, ranged, etc. So packs of enemies? Are extremely dangerous to face head on - which is an amazing change. You need to consider your tactics and approach when encountering packs of enemies or going into an area swarmed with them.

Mission design has been completely remastered - and it's for the better. In previous AC games, you would completely fail a mission and then restart it based on the last checkpoint. In AC:U? The mission will evolve based on your successes and failures.

For example, I was on a mission to save an agent. This agent was about to be hung in the square, so I proceeded to free him along with some of my assassin buddies. He then decided to run in the commotion because we didn't reach him in time, but instead of failing the mission? It became a chase. We chased him across the streets of Paris for a few dozen blocks, before we lost him in the catacombs. Once again, the mission didn't fail - it changed to a locate mission. We decided to enter the catacombs via a different block entrance (to avoid the guards) and talked to the contact to end the mission. < This system? Is beautiful in it's execution - it's exactly what AC needed.

Customization is phenomenal as well, you can craft any type of play style you would like. Personally, I've been working on my stealth and utilizing abilities that help remaining quiet specifically. You will level up, gain currency and then use that currency to purchase most of your abilities. The only gripe I have with this system? Is that Ubisoft has turned roughly 50 percent of these equipment items into micro-transactions. You WILL be able to unlock everything via the main game without spending a dime, but you can spent money to purchase most of them immediately upon entering the game. (Will discuss this later).

So those are my thoughts after 5-ish hours of time playing #ACUnity. I'm pretty damn impressed. There's too many changes to talk about without writing a full review, including the new cover system and stealth mechanics. But if you have any questions about my opinion - just let me know!