A mobile port of the critically acclaimed, ever-enduring Assassin’s Creed series might seem… well, destined for failure is perhaps too harsh, but these kinds of games being ported to mobile never do tremendously well. However, Assassin’s Creed: Rebellion does its very best to strive against this expectation, offering the player a surprisingly good mix of both strategic decision making and lore focused storytelling. With a fairly standard plot of Assassin’s Creed – villainous Templars and heroic Assassins competing for power and artifacts – Assassin’s Creed: Rebellion has you building up an Assassin’s base, with new Assassins and resources to recruit and gather along the way, all the while completing missions to fight against the Templars.
Each level requires you to pick three Assassins, choosing them from a variety of different types. Each type of Assassin has different skills, such as being effective at shadow assassinations, plain old combat or trap and weapon disarming.
[sc name=”quote” text=”Each level requires you to pick three Assassins, choosing them from a variety of different types. Each type of Assassin has different skills, such as being effective at shadow assassinations, plain old combat or trap and weapon disarming.”]
You need to pick the right balance of characters for each mission, as each one will have a unique set of challenges that you have to overcome if you want to get the maximum benefits from finishing the level. The key impetus to complete missions (besides the story itself) is to unlock new and exciting characters using Animus cubes, as well as drop rewards from completing legacy missions. The reward quality and quantity goes up depending on if your characters survive the level. The aesthetic of Assassin’s Creed: Rebellion is decidedly cutesy and animated; however the actual gameplay is anything but.
[sc name=”quote” text=”The aesthetic of Assassin’s Creed: Rebellion is decidedly cutesy and animated; however the actual gameplay is anything but.”]
You combat a whole host of different enemies, beating them to death in direct combat or by stabbing them in the face through misdirection. Despite the cute graphics, the actual gameplay belies the adorable expectation – you are really just as brutal as in the regular Assassin’s Creed games. You progress through missions, gathering resources to improve your base in a fairly linear fashion, as well as choosing the right recruits to level up, train and bring with you on missions. Assassin’s Creed Rebellion strives to combine this odd mix of strategy decision making with the puzzle aspect familiar to most mobile gamers. What’s really strange is that it actually works.
Despite the immediate expectation, Assassin’s Creed: Rebellion is a game that really ties itself together – the Assassin’s Creed story works well within the confines of a mobile game, providing the player with excellent justification for both its existence, and for your continued playing of the game. The strategy elemnt is fairly straight forward, yet not at all boring. It’s a clear, consistent path forwards, but small deviations through gameplay decisions allow you to make each level your own.
[sc name=”quote” text=”Assassin’s Creed Rebellion is a game that really does tie itself together.”]
Assassin’s Creed: Rebellion appears a humble offering, but it really does manage to be something else – part board game, part stealth-strategy game, yet completely Assassin’s Creed. Also, completely fun.
[review pros=”The strategic decision making is in depth, yet simple. The story of Assassin’s Creed works very well, surprisingly.” cons=”The art style somewhat belies the actual gameplay; it is surprisingly brutal.” score=8.5]
[appbox appstore id1164056434]
[appbox googleplay id=com.ubisoft.accovenant&hl=en_US]
