CHENNAI: GameStop is a brick-and-mortar retailer of videogames. GameSpot is my corpo contemporary who reviews games. The relevance of the recent events to this column ends with making this distinction. Reader, I am sure you have read the ‘Explain like I’m 5’ memes to understand how shorting stocks work. I read them too, only to stay social media relevant. But we have more out-of-the-loop souls to aid. Especially those who have not played Spider-man yet. The non-PS4 gamer needs to get a taste of the experience on a more accessible platform.
‘Assassin’s Creed Syndicate’ is my second replay of this year. Now you may have been following my column long enough to know that I will not skip an AC reference if I can make it. But this time, I am being in earnest. AC Syndicate may well be renamed to AC Vindicat(ion) because it lacks the annoying quirks of the more recent games in the franchise. Did you hate the drag of long-distance horse-back travel in Valhalla? Syndicate brings you quicker fast travel loading times, and wheels (horse carriages)! Did the repetition of climbing large churches in Valhalla and statues in Odyssey permit your brain to spiral into existential thoughts? Syndicate gives you: hardcore parkour, and Rope Launcher! Rope launcher works almost as well as Spidey’s web shooters during stealth events. Evie Frye can jump down, knock out a well-dressed blighter, and zip back up in a matter of seconds. No one notices.
But it’s not just the smooth roof-to-roof swings with magical rope launcher that makes Syndicate a non-supe, historical version of Spider-man. Both games restricted their exploration to a single city – NYC vis a vis Victorian London. The city maps provided the opportunity for depth in missions and to explore location-specific idiosyncrasies. The recentness of the events in Syndicate also allowed for more geographically accurate maps, and building a relatable universe overall. It also did not hurt that Evie could easily overpower her enemies with the variety of combat and weapons options at her disposal (Spider-man had web attacks in comparison), as well as recruits aiding her in the city- wide blighter cleanse.
Syndicate’s vindication remains incomplete however, only because Evie and Jacob Frye’s characters were not explored independently for us to have sufficient attachment to their stories. I rate the game four out of five throwing knives for stealth, and an extra two hallucination darts for the dizzying parkour.
Anusha Ganapathi
@quaffle_waffle
(This economics graduate spends her leisure time preparing for the zombie apocalypse)