Release Date: 14/01/2014
Played On: Win
Available On: PS3 / Win / XB360 (HD re-release version)
Time Played: 17h 51m
Progress: Completed Story / about 90% overall
Developer: Ubisoft Sofia / Ubisoft Milan / Ubisoft Montreal
Publisher: Ubisoft
Originally released as a mobile companion to Assassin's Creed III exclusively on the Vita, this spin-off features some unique systems that have yet to be repeated. There are obvious limitations to starting life on a mobile system, which begs the question why some of the more interesting developments in this game never made it to mainline titles.
It seems that Ubisoft are happy for their developers to take risks when it comes to the secondary titles in the Assassin's Creed franchise. From the fresh squad systems in Brotherhood, to unique naval missions in Freedom Cry; there are a number of interesting elements that make these diversions worth playing if you're a fan of the series.
Don't get me wrong though, Liberation certainly feels like a side project thanks to its leftover mobile oriented systems and small world. Although, it doesn't differ a whole lot from the limitations found in Freedom Cry, so perhaps this is what we can expect from non-mainline titles.
The most obvious limitation of any Assassin's Creed game is figuring out where the parkour system was when it was implemented for the title. There's a definite chart of evolution that can be traced from the first game right through to the last, with this core system improving significantly at noticeable points. My favourite implementation so far has been in Syndicate, which is also the newest title in the series I've played (at time of writing). Picking up an older title like Liberation after playing one of the more modern implementations, can often feel like purposely stepping in cement.
The fluidity of later iterations is not present in Liberation, as it is using the exact same system as AC III. Often you'll be moving your sticks in a certain direction, but your character already has it in their head that the next logical step will be to leap somewhere else entirely. If you're lucky this means that you'll make a lot of small hops in the wrong direction, but at worst get ready to be launched from the top of buildings straight to the hard streets below.
Above everything else in the Assassin's Creed series, the parkour could be the most important system of all, as it informs everything else in the game. In fact, the entire premise has been built on the back of this go-anywhere type gameplay, so if it feels like it's getting in the way, it feels like it's getting in the way of everything.
However, do not despair, as these complaints are largely based on the fact that this system has improved greatly over time and it's hard to digress when you've tasted a better life. After a little bit of time though, you'll find yourself back in the rhythm of compensating for random movements, and how best to mitigate death-inducing disaster. It's not a perfect solution, but it's not as if these flaws make the game unplayable, they just take a little bit of getting used to.
Liberation focuses on a lot of the same moment to moment gameplay that AC III introduced, such as climbing trees and running through natural landscapes instead of the usual city rooftops. The game begins in a small New Orleans with all the usual navigation over and around buildings, but you're soon taken to a swampy bayou, and the snowy frontier of AC III.
Soon enough you realise that the bayou is where Liberations identity wants to stay, as it is one of the more unique sections of the game. There are loads of trees to climb and navigate through canopies, while also offering canoes through mangroves and surprise attacks by alligators. As much has these elements are directly copied from AC III, the bayou soon feels like an oppressive place that is difficult to get around and imposing to explore.
There are some other parts in small areas that serve the game's plot, but you'll be spending most of your time in the bayou or New Orleans. It's nice then that these two maps are a stark contrast with one another and keep exploration interesting. Although, it can be a little jarring at times if you choose to mainline the story missions, as they tend to jump between locations frequently. It's not much of a problem, but without some time dedicated to exploration and discovery, you might not ever feel like you know your way around.
The biggest contribution that Liberation has made to the Assassin's Creed series though, has to be the persona system. In fact it surprises me that we never saw this system in any of the mainline series (although, I haven't played Unity or Origins yet, so I may be wrong), but I suppose it ended up being an experiment for a small title with less risk. Perhaps that's why Liberation also offers the first implementation of a female protagonist, which is another rarity in the mainline series.
Either way though, Liberation introduces the concept of different personas that can be used for specific mechanics and outcomes in the game. They're basically different disguises that Aveline (the player character) can adopt to gain access to different areas and interactions. There's the traditional assassin persona, a slave persona, and the "lady" persona.
Each persona dictates the way that Aveline can move, how effective she is in combat, how quickly she gains notoriety, and the method required to lower notoriety. As usual, the more you do weird and illegal things, the more your notoriety will increase, and there are a number of ways to reduce it. However, this time the system is directly tied to personas. The assassin will always gain notoriety and must bribe officials to reduce it, which can get quite costly at times. The slave persona will gain notoriety the fastest, but reducing it is also the easiest by simply tearing down wanted posters. Finally, the lady will gain notoriety incredibly slowly, but she must kill certain officials to reduce any she's gained.
What's more, the lady persona cannot climb buildings and is weak in combat, while the assassin and slave are more mobile and deadly. Groups of NPC ruffians will attack the lady persona without reason, while guards will always have their eyes on the slave, so suspicious behaviour is less tolerated.
There are also certain mission types and activities that are only available to certain personas. For instance the economical layer is often the domain of the lady persona, who can network and mix with rival business owners. While more clandestine activities are often relegated to the assassin or slave personas.
What all these restrictions and divisions end up creating is a system that feels one hundred percent suited to the Assassin's Creed franchise. There are problems with the personas, and sometimes it can be a little annoying to have to go and change outfits if you want to do something different, but overall it fits with the lore really well. I mean, it's always been a bit of a joke that you'd be wandering around a crowded city wearing obvious assassin robes, but nobody seems to notice. Having to change your clothes and think about what you look like, actually makes sense when you're trying to be sneaky and do illegal things without being noticed.
So it's a shame that this kind of interesting system was never dragged into the mainline series to develop and improve. Much like the parkour system, this could have been refined over time and taken to a more complex and polished level, which I think would add value to the main titles by improving on some of the silly situations that take you out of the world.
Alas, it was not meant to be and I doubt that Liberation ever did well enough to show a big publisher that it had some interesting ideas that could have been imported to other titles. In fact, I think the small nature of these side-games in the series might be precisely why they are able to risk a little bit of the bottom line to try something new.
Ultimately though, the persona system is the best part of Liberation, which doesn't speak well of the whole game. Although, most of its flaws come from being originally built for mobile, as there are some weird control issues, strange graphics like big floating orbs to delineate objectives, and some of the smallest maps we've seen in an Assassin's Creed game.
So this isn't a spin-off I'd be pushing on anyone all that hard, as there are others like Revelations and Rogue (which I'm playing through at the moment) that have so much more to offer. Part of me even wants to designate Liberation as one of the weakest titles in the entire series, but I feel as though that would be an unfair assessment thanks to the innovative persona system and proving that a female lead can kill people just as effectively.
Instead, let's just say that Liberation is a fine entry in the spin-off series, but it won't be blowing anyone's mind anytime soon. For the super fans, the unique systems and locations are probably enough to be interesting, but for everyone else it's probably hard to get past the frustratingly old and unreliable parkour system. I think price will dictate whether this one's worth it, so keep that in mind when you're browsing the bargain buckets.