Assassin's Creed Chronicles: China

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Despite its issues, Assassin's Creed Chronicles: China is one of the most entertaining experiences I've had from the series in a while. I wasn't a big fan of last year's releases of Rogue and Unity, which both look a lot better than they play. It's nice to take a break from the increasingly convoluted plot of the main storyline with a straightforward tale of revenge set in a historic corner of the world that often doesn't get a lot of attention in Western video games. This might not be the Assassin's Creed players asked for, but it's one that I'm thankful to have.

But here’s where my Assassin’s Creed DNA comes in - I loved the Ezio Creed games and since then the bloated tent pole releases have held little interest for me. Here, with a simple tale set in China I was much more willing to play and invest in Jun’s struggle. Chronicles might be a little tame in places and lack enough variety to keep you interested for long, but it has a charm I feel the other Assassin’s Creed games now lack. If the other two Chronicles games can build on this start ...

Assassin’s Creed Chronicles: China – the first in a planned downloadable trilogy – is the best spin-off the franchise has received so far, rising high above the mostly garbage mobile and handheld titles. The 2.5D stealth title blends signature Assassin’s Creed elements and plenty of influence from 2012’s Mark of the Ninja. I’m glad somebody’s borrowing from Klei Entertainment’s brand of platforming, sneaking, and killing, as it fits well with Ubisoft’s world.

Assassin's Creed Chronicles: China is a fun and enjoyable game that does the franchise justice while taking it into another genre. There are some truly fantastic ideas here, some super-smooth parkour, brain-tingling puzzle challenges and occasional flashes of brilliance when it's time to get down and dirty in combat. Some ideas haven't been explored as thoroughly as we'd have liked, and there are a few rough spots, though. We're looking forward to the next installment.

I don't recall a situation where Ubisoft has ever outsourced the production of an Assassin's Creed game to an external studio. This treatment turned out to be beneficial, Shao Jun's adventures bring a breath of freshness to the series.

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There are many ways in which this Assassin’s Creed could have gone terribly wrong, but didn’t. Its problems lie, instead, in its inability to truly let the player off the leash, and its uncharacteristically soulless presentation. Assassin’s Creed Chronicles: China is by no means a poorly made game, it’s just an un-exciting one [poilib element="accentDivider"] Vincent Ingenito is IGN's foremost fighting game nerd. Follow him on Twitter and argue with everything he says about them.

In the cherry blossom's shade.

Without a better story, and the game ending before you can really ever test your mettle, Assassin's Creed Chronicles feels lackluster.

Assassin's Creed Chronicles: China feels like an Assassin's Creed game without the sense of adventure and scope, and a Prince of Persia game without the cool platforming and exciting combat.

It’s hard to imagine too many players feeling that urge, though, as 4 hours with Assassin’s Creed Chronicles: China is more than enough. We wouldn’t say that the game overstays its welcome, but by the midway point getting through the levels starts to become a chore. The visuals and level design shine thanks to the minimalistic, hand drawn aesthetic, and the gameplay has some really smart concepts at play. But, in the end, the game faces the same struggle of the average stealth game: how does one make a game about avoiding action engaging? At times Assassin’s Creed Chronicles: China offers that...