Assassin’s Creed Rogue might surprise you........

Ubisoft’s last-generation version of Assassin’s Creed, Assassin’s Creed Rogue, might actually surprise fans of the franchise, especially given it’s Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag-like emphasis on naval combat.

During a recent trip to Ubisoft Montreal I had the chance to go hands-on with Rogue for approximately 20 minutes. In many ways Assassin’s Creed Rogue is Black Flag II, only this time the player is thrown into the role of a Templar hunting Assassin. In Rogue you play as Shay Patrick Cormac, a character of Irish descent with a yet-to-be-revealed vendetta against the Assassins. Cormac is working with the British Empire in the frozen Atlantic ocean in the 1700s during the Seven Years’ War, for yet again, another undisclosed reason (Ubisoft has so far been reluctant to discuss the game’s plot).

The game seems to take players back to Assassin’s Creed III’s Revolutionary War setting, arguably the least enjoyable of the series, but in terms of gameplay, it feels much more like an extension of what Ubisoft started with Black Flag. Ubisoft Sofia’s Martin Capel, the Game Director of Assassin’s Creed Rogue, discussed why the studio decided to build Rogue around ship-to-ship combat. According to him, it made perfect sense with the kind of game they wanted to create.

“We received such a high level of appreciation for the naval [combat] that we felt for Rogue that we were in the right location for it and we already had the idea for what the game would be about – filling in the gap of history between Edward Kenway [from AC IV] and Haytham Kenway [from AC III] and what happened there. It’s very much set in the conquest of the new world and naval combat had a lot to do with that. We also had the will to push it further [naval combat] so it seemed like the logical thing to do,” said Capel.

In terms of new on-foot features, what the AC franchise was all about before Black Flag, Cormac has a grenade launcher at his disposal that can dispatch his foes in a variety of new ways. Different kinds of ammunition, including shrapnel grenades, tranquilizer bombs and even a silent air rifle, are just a few of Rogue’s new weapons. Also, while I didn’t get to try it in the short demo, Cormac comes equipped with an interesting new tool called berserk gas that can turn both enemies and animals on one another, just like in Ubisoft’s other popular open-world franchise, Far Cry 4.

Playing as a Templar also has the potential to change the typical Assassin’s Creed story line, which usually revolves around either avoiding or killing Templars, although it’s still unclear exactly how the game’s story will play out. Capel discussed how building an Assassin’s Creed title around playing as a Templar is something Ubisoft has wanted to do for quite some time, although he was reluctant to discuss how Rogue will tie into the broader Assassin’s Creed universe.

Assassin's Creed Rogue

Assassin’s Creed Rogue’s on-foot combat is reminiscent of Assassin’s Creed III’s.

“It’s something that’s been around for many years since AC1, they were like, so what’s it like to play as a Templar now? So it’s an idea that’s been formulating for many years. We felt now was the right time to do it. We’ve already established that Assassins and Templars are pushing for the same noble goal, peace, through different means. The challenge for us is expressing that through the story and gameplay but I can’t go into the story in too much detail,” said Capel.

At the start of the demo my ship, called the Morrigan this time, easily broke through the thin layer of ice covering the ocean’s surface. I was then tasked with taking down a group of nearby enemy ships. Immediately I noticed Assassin’s Creed: Rogue’s vessel is more maneuverable than it was in Black Flag and also has a range of new abilities. I found dropping a flame-engulfed oil slick behind my ship to be particularly useful, especially when multiple ships were pursuing me in open water.

“We went through just about everything in the player’s ship. This time it’s smaller, it’s faster. It’s more maneuverable. Apart from the very visual aspect that you have like how the weaponry has changed, we’ve gone over the vessel completely. We wanted to take the idea that it’s a Templar adapted ship. For us this meant that it’s more efficient and effective. We even did a pass over of all the enemy ships and the AI for the ship and the navigation as well. We also have reverse boarding this time and enemy ships can board you,” said Capel.

Assassin's Creed Rogue

Frigid weather rules the North Atlantic Ocean.

It also quickly became apparent Rogue’s world is very cold, especially when I forced Cormac to jump into the frigid water. As I should have expected, he immediately started to take damage as he swam through the freezing ocean’s water. Rogue’s frozen, desolate Atlantic world is also a nice change of pace from Black Flag’s bright, vegetation filled Caribbean setting.

After taking down the group of ships, I was tasked with destroying a nearby gang outpost and killing its leader, which played out in the traditional way you’d expect from an Assassin’s Creed game. I took out the surrounding enemies rather quickly and then focused on finding their leader. Where things got a little different was when I tried to actually take down the assassin commander who, since he’s an assassin, had the ability to use parkour, smoke bombs and various weapons fans of the franchise have likely used themselves in other games. It was interesting to engage in a battle where it felt like I was facing an AI opponent with similar abilities to my own character.

Next I had to traverse across a shipwreck and free-run across various objects in order to reach a point high up in the wreckage of the ship. This portion of the demo reminded me a lot of Assassin’s Creed III, except for the cute penguins who jumped into the water and swam away as I first approached the wreckage.

Assassin's Creed Rogue's new ship, the Morrigan, feels like an upgraded, more maneuverable version of AC IV's Jackdaw.

Assassin’s Creed Rogue’s new ship, the Morrigan, feels like an upgraded, more maneuverable version of AC IV’s Jackdaw.

The idea of releasing two separate games in one franchise over the course of one year, might seem simple and perhaps a little ridiculous, but very few developers have tried something like this before. In fact, if you think about it, this strategy actually makes a lot of sense, especially if you’re a hardcore fan of the Assassin’s Creed franchise. I’d much rather have a game built from the ground up for the console I’m playing it on than a pared down port of the Xbox One or PlayStation 4 version of Assassin’s Creed Unity.

Even though Rogue might not have the next-gen sheen of Assassin’s Creed Unity, given the short period of time I spent with Ubisoft Sofia’s Assassin’s Creed Rogue, it’ll likely be worth your time, especially if you enjoyed Black Flag’s naval combat.

In fact, simply because of the game’s emphasis on naval combat, a feature that revitalized the Assassin’s Creed series and helped get me interested in it again, I’m actually more excited for Rogue than Unity, despite it only coming to the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.

Still, since I played Unity shortly before Rogue, it was hard to shake the feeling that I was playing an outdated version of the Assassin’s Creed series, both in terms of visuals and gameplay mechanics, particularly when it comes to free-running.

Assassin’s Creed Rogue is set to be released on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 on Nov. 11, 2014.