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Do you remember the original Assassin's Creed? Masyaf in the summertime, Altair being a bit of a dick, the revelation you were actually a bartender schmuck named Desmond? Seven years on and countless games later it feels a good time to look back at Ubisoft's original take on the franchise - its first draft of the series' formula - because of the similarities in how Assassin's Creed: Unity is now shaping up to be. Unity is being billed as something of a series reboot, free of any story baggage that might bother Assassin's Creed newbies. Haven't slogged through the entire series so far? Ubisoft is keen to reassure lapsed fans or complete newcomers that you won't have had to. And then there's also the matter of Unity's two biggest gameplay changes - tweaked traversal controls that allow you to parkour more accurately, and a co-op option so three friends can join your Parisian adventures at pretty much any point.
At the same time, Unity's return to more open-ended assassinations as well as its focus on missions identifying and tracking major story targets all seem something of a throwback to the series' origins. And after several years spent earning our sea legs on the Aquila and Jackdaw, Unity's return to dry land and its focus on a single city feels something of a backstep. But these revisions to the formula are deliberate choices on Ubisoft's part, an attempt to realign the series to its original promise - of an open world with social stealth mechanics, smooth traversal and engaging combat.
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