Ubisoft's version of Victorian London is a gigantic open-world city filled with plenty of things to see and do. Add a pair of deadly assassins to the mix, and the result is a sprawling playground with nearly endless possibilities that can seem overwhelming. Here are some helpful tips to help players navigate the city and make the most out of their retro adventure. (And here is my review for GameRevolution, in case you didn't catch it.)
Fools Rush In: Eagle Vision II
It may seem like a no-brainer to scope out each enemy-infested area before you sneak in, but taking advantage of a few tricks will make recon more effective. For starters, it's easier to spot and tag enemies from rooftops than it is from ground level. In addition, investing in the skill called Eagle Vision II will let players see through walls to tag enemies. This is also very helpful in finding special targets, like Templars, alarm ringers, and snipers. I tag every enemy in the vicinity because this makes them visible while using normal vision, even if they're behind walls. It's also a good idea to use Eagle Vision to find loot crates, explosive crates, and hiding spots, which are highlighted by a white glow. You never know when you need to quickly hide from enemies and/or blow them to smithereens!
Carriages Are Your Friend
Carriages work like slow-moving automobiles in Victorian London. Sure, they're great for getting around the city faster than foot travel, but they're useful for much more than mere transportation. For instance, they can be used to run over targets and enemies, perform assassinations, transport kidnap victims, and transport fellow gang members. It's really cool to see a pack of fellow gangstas pile into a carriage while the player drives it to the destination. Players can also order their gang members to perform a drive-by if you invest in the gang upgrade, Allies in Arms. It's also possible to hop on top of a carriage and fight enemies and/or leap to another carriage and take it over.
Gangsta Paradise
Jacob starts a gang called the Rooks in an effort to take back the city from the Templars. It's very beneficial to grow the gang as much as possible, and using them as allies during activities is as easy as pressing R1 to recruit any that players come across (up to a maximum of five). There's always a chance of running into some Rooks while fleeing from pursuers, and they're great for delaying said pursuers while assassins make a clean getaway. It's also a good idea to invest in gang upgrades to gain access to stronger gang classes and beef them up with upgrades like Increased Firepower and Rooks Training.
Mo Money, Mo Money
Besides skill points, money is the most important thing to collect in this game because it's used to purchase gear (like weapons, gauntlets, capes, belts, and outfits), gear upgrades, gang upgrades, and craft items. Some of these items cost quite a lot, but purchasing treasure maps whenever possible will help raise extra money by showing the location of all treasure chests in each area. Another good idea is to purchase both Black Market gang upgrades to get discounts on purchases and the City Takeover upgrade to make all other gang upgrades cheaper. Lastly, the sooner you purchase the Pub, Pub Games, Bookies, Tea, and Shop upgrades, the sooner you'll be earning extra money on a regular basis that's retrieved from the gang hideout safe.
Tailor Each Assassin to Their Specialties
While there isn't a huge difference in the abilities of both assassins, it behooves players to accent their strengths rather than trying to improve their weaknesses. “Why is that?”, you may ask? It's so easy to switch between players that it becomes a waste of money and skill points to do otherwise. Jacob is a brawler, so I buy all the skills that improve hand-to-hand combat and toughness. Evie, on the other hand, excels at striking from the shadows so I purchase everything that improves stealth and enhanced vision. I also purchase the lockpicking skills for her and switch to her whenever I encounter a locked box or door. There's no sense in buying some of the same skills for both characters. In addition, I've found that Evie performs better with the cane sword while Jacob fights better with brass knuckles despite the fact that both can use all weapons.
Spam Sucks
It's very easy to simply spam the attack button during combat early in the game and win every fight, but eventually some enemies will block everything. When this happens, they can only be struck after counter attacks, with quick attacks using knives or a pistol, or after stunning them. Successfully performing these moves also keep the combo going and can lead to some truly impressive and brutal combo attacks. I also like to bring two or more enemies to the “near death” state and then perform combo finishers. Talk about a bit of the old ultraviolence!
Steampunk Goodness
Gaining an appreciation for Steampunk won't help with gameplay, but it will surely make the game more enjoyable! For those who don't know what Steampunk is, the short answer is Victorian retro-futurism, which basically boils down to a re-imagining of the Victorian era with a heavy focus on steam power and technological advancements. While this isn't a Steampunk game, it is rife with steamy elements like the home screen that's covered in moving gears, pipes, and springs, labs filled with futuristic electrical devices and experiments, gigantic gears and flywheels in factories, assassin gauntlets, voltaic bombs, the firefighter carriage with a steam-powered hose, and more. It also adds a bit of charm to see old-school fashion such as men wearing stylish top hats, bowlers, and suits as well as women donning beautiful flowered hats, corsets, and bustles.
