Developer: Ubisoft Montreal
Publisher: Ubisoft
Platform Reviewed: PlayStation 4
Release Date: November 15, 2016
Acquired via: Purchase by Reviewer
I jumped into the Assassin’s Creed series extremely late. My son was on board immediately, however, and I watched him play the original on his Xbox 360 to see if it interested me. Ultimately, I was not sold based on what I saw. I never saw any of the Desmond storyline (which I do not care for); I only saw Altaïr and his travails during the Third Crusade. I wasn’t too impressed.
I didn’t experience the series firsthand until Cousin Jose lent me his copy of Assassin’s Creed: The Ezio Collection for the PlayStation 3, a compilation that bundled Ezio Autidore da Firenze’s three games – Assassin’s Creed II, Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood, and Assassin’s Creed: Revelations – in one title. It was here that my brief love affair with the series began. It ended with Connor in Assassin’s Creed III, though I did briefly flirt with it again with Edward Kenway in Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag.
Assassin’s Creed: The Ezio Collection is a great example of what I consider a compilation done right. For someone who was not familiar with what many consider the best story arc in the series, Ubisoft provided me a convenient crash course. I usually see such compilations as cash grabs by publishers, but for the first time I felt it was beneficial.
That was on the PS3. Ubisoft has released a remastered version of Assassin’s Creed: The Ezio Collection for the Xbox One and PlayStation 4. With improved graphics, frame rates, and load times on tap, you would think this purchase would be a no-brainer for people wanting to get on board like I did. But a part of me thinks Ubisoft did a better job with last gen’s compilation.
Everything contained in the trilogy’s games is included here. Ezio’s arc from brash rogue to elder assassin is still awesome. This trilogy is a perfect example of Ubisoft Montreal’s ability to craft a fantastic narrative starring a character we can sympathize with. It is also, however, a perfect example of how the Assassin’s Creed series has evolved since then.
As nostalgic as it was to relive the feeling of tearing through the streets of Florence, it was also frustrating to experience old bugaboos again. The parkour in the Ezio trilogy was an improvement over the original, but has been improved significantly since. One simply has to parkour in a direction other than up to experience the difference. Where Black Flag and Assassin’s Creed: Unity feature more fluid sideways and downward maneuvers, Ezio Collection makes the titular character feel as if he is Spider-Man with molasses on his gloves. Combat is also archaic compared to newer titles like Unity or Assassin’s Creed: Syndicate. The latter title is buttery-smooth for me; the combat in The Ezio Collection is more block-and-counter, which feels sluggish.
Of course, that is to be expected. It is a remaster, and the goal is not to fix earlier hang-ups. The idea here is to take the original game and spruce it up with better visuals and performance. I don’t think Ubisoft hit the mark here, though.
In many areas, the remaster is superior to its forebear. The game runs smoothly at 1080p30, and the draw distances are better than they were on the PS3 and Xbox 360. AC II’s Florence, Brotherhood’s Vatican, and Revelations’ Constantinople look even more impressive when sweeping across them from eagle’s eye. The load times for the trilogy are also stepped up, benefitting from the improved throughput of the Blu-Ray players. But…why not 1080p60? I know that’s a typical PC MASTER RACE comment, but I figure that the increased horsepower in the eighth-generation consoles could at least accomplish that milestone with a last-gen title.
Also, the remaster seems to have weird lighting and texture issues. Those same sweeping panoramic shots while high atop the city look muddy and flat if you pan down and scour the city. Again, these might be a product of remastering a last-gen game, but their prevalence mars the supposed visual uptick the remaster was supposed to provide.
One other thing of note: the multiplayer elements from Brotherhood and Revelations are not included in this remastered compilation. Personally, that is no big loss. Although some of the modes were intriguing, the multiplayer felt tacked-on to me. The Ezio Collection always felt like a great single-player experience to me anyway, so the lack of multiplayer does not faze me. Ubisoft did add the Lineage and Embers short films, which help fill out gaps in Ezio’s story.
Unfortunately, the remaster of The Ezio Collection does remind me of all the reason why I hate remasters of previous-gen titles. If you have never played the original games and don’t have the original console to play them on, it’s the best path to take, so they will work for you. For gamers who do have the previous-gen console, however, the benefit will only lie in the improvements the remaster offers. The remaster may offer better visuals and a little more content, but the gameplay is exactly the same. Why pay full retail for an experience that you can have for less on a previous-gen console?
Compilations like this offer a further conundrum. If you became a fan of the Assassin’s Creed series with Syndicate or Black Flag, this remaster is a downgrade no matter what. Even players who do not have a 360 or PS3 will be hard-pressed to consider buying a game that plays worse than the entries they played and enjoyed.
It is a shame. Ezio’s story pulled me into the Assassin’s Creed series. The Ezio Collection on the PS4 and Xbox One carry his story pristinely into the current generation of consoles, and I want neophytes to experience it. But the experience is not as wonderful as it once was, and current-gen gamers may be better served going one gen back and giving it a go there.
Good: Faithful recreation of Ezio trilogy; upgraded visuals and load times; extra content to flesh out story
Bad: Faithful recreation of parkour and combat deficiencies; no multiplayer; visuals are spotty at times
Rating: 6.5 out of 10
