The Assassin’s Creed Chronicles games are a spin-off series to the yearly AAA games on consoles and PC and as such, offer gameplay in the same world and with similar themes, only in a 2.5D viewpoint where you sneak and kill your way through the levels collecting things around the Animus and playing through the story. India is the next game in the Chronicles series after China and you play as master assassin Arbaaz Mir in 1841 during a rivalry between the Sikh Empire and the East India Company. Of course there is Templar involvement in the mix as well as a mysterious item is also in their possession which of course is related to the Piece of Eden which always crops up like a bad penny.
You being the game learning about how to navigate round the world and if you’re aware of the original Prince of Persia game, you’ll see this as very familiar. You move around the levels avoiding the lines of sight as the guards look around and can choose how to get from A to B to C. Moving through without being detected and not killing anybody will give you a Gold rank, going down to Silver and Bronze if you get spotted or get involved in a full on fight. You can hold the attack button to knock people unconscious or tap it to get your knives out and stab people. You’ll also be able to use a number of items to help you including noise bombs, smoke bombs, the rope dart and discs you can throw to knock people out and influence the world around you. The game also makes you think. There are often multiple ways to move through the levels and also time puzzle elements where you must operate levers and get through doors or jump onto crates before they close or move.
Combat can be a bit tricky. There’s a system where you can attack, block and roll over enemies but the margin for error is very unforgiving. I suppose this promotes going for the stealthy approach but I died more often than not when I got caught in combat and I swear I’m not a rubbish gamer – honest!
When it comes to graphics, I really like the look of this game. It’s bright and colourful and reminds me of the Broken Sword games. Animations are smooth and to keep costs down, the cut-scenes all look hand-drawn with voice over. It’s all rather quaint really, with Indian and British accents in the mix as guards hunt you down and talk to each other.
Once you’ve finished with the story there’s also plenty of replayability in there as well, with items to collect and challenge modes for you to hone your skills and try to get the best time in.
Also don’t forget that if you’ve also got Chronicles Russia to look forward to as well. Finish all three and we’re promised a special ending for people who have stuck with this series.
Assassin’s Creed Chronicles: India gets a very good 7 out of 10.
