Assassin's Creed Chronicles: Russia

Russia finally gives the Chronicles series a good story. The main protagonist Nikolai is kind of a boring guy, but the secondary playable character Anastasia is quite likable and keeps things compelling by adding a little family tragedy to the mix. The plot capitalizes on the events of the previous two games well, really showing off how this has all been one continuous narrative as opposed to three disconnected side-stories in the overall Assassin's Creed canon, and it's nice to see what becomes of that Precursor box. The graphics don't hold a candle to the beauty of India before it, but still manage to impress thanks to their unique style. The bright reds of what you can climb on provide a striking contrast to the black and white world around them. It calls to mind Mirror's Edge and makes highly detailed characters standout from the backgrounds in a way that causes them to pop into perspective. The game looks like a propaganda poster come to life and is much more pleasing to the eye than the dreary greys and browns of China. The gameplay is the most challenging in the trilogy. This is mostly due to the fact you're given only one health bar at the start of the game and therefore a single hit will kill you. Apparently the developers thought that because this is the last Chronicles game they could push our skills acquired from the previous two games to the max as upgrades to your health (as well as your other skills) are locked behind some obscene ranking requirements. Want things to be easier? Then perform better. What's surprising though is that the insta-kill tedium of India never manages to set in here thanks to the meticulous level design. It's always clear what you'll need to do in order to proceed. This allows the main stages to test your abilities without ever really becoming irritating. The same can't quite be said of the returning chase sequences as sometimes the amount of perfection required can be infuriating. A bit involving outrunning a tank is the most frustrating thing I've done in any AC game to date. However, even at it's most demanding to the challenge never feels insurmountable. Completing it was one of the more rewarding gaming I've had over the years. Russia fixes a few of the problems the previous Chronicles games have had. Mainly by giving the sub-series a solid story to tell, but also by making up for a lot of India's gameplay deficiencies. It manages to be difficult while rarely feeling cheap and the later stages provide a nice amount of variety in the types of situations you'll encounter. The new tools you are given access to as a result of the time period it's set in are some of the most fun the overall series has to offer. I loved having near-constant access to a rifle and the winch has many exciting uses. Players will have to put up with a high difficultly level and some aggravating chase sequences, but Russia rewards those who take the time to master it.

It is not a bad game for $10 Dollars, even if it can get repetitive at times, and I like Nikolai, but it can get a bit weird at times and seem like it gets boring, I always have my power button.