Review: Assassin’s Creed: Liberation HD

The Assassin’s Creed series has a long and celebrated history, but the handheld side-games in its ranks have not always fared as well as its flagship titles. Previous attempts such as Bloodlines and Discovery on the PSP and DS respectively have tried hard, but never really reached the level of recognition of their console brothers. Liberation, the day-one release side title to Assassin’s Creed III, was definitely a step in the right direction, with a much more well-rounded and cinematic feel more in line with the series’ core values. The game did well enough that Ubisoft decided to give it a proper console re-release on Xbox 360, PS3 and PC… and that where we find ourselves today.

Liberation features a new lead character, gameplay elements and setting. Liberation is introduced as an entertainment product release by the anonymously evil Abstergo corporation, with no link to Desmond Miles or the modern-day Assassin troupe. You play through the life of newly introduced female Assassin Aveline de Grandpre, the noble daughter of a French diplomat in 1700’s New Orleans. Born to a white father and an African mother, Aveline lives a rich life — but that doesn’t stop her from stabbing a bunch of people in her spare time.

As a character, Aveline has many facets that have previously been unexplored by the Creed games. She is a far more light-hearted character when compared to Altair, Ezio or Connor, often joking with her allies in-between mission cutscenes. This is a welcome change to the eternally-serious and often vengeful male Assassins of games past (but we’ll try not to take that as a commentary on men in general!). In addition, Aveline is able to use her ethnicity and gender to approach the world in three distinct guises — the Assassin, the Lady and the Slave. Each role is critical in certain missions, and each gives Aveline different ways to approach her surroundings.

The Lady doesn’t have access to the traditional free-running parkour skills the games are known for (not surprising in her giant froofy dress) and can be confronted by NPCs from poorer castes of New Orleans society, but can bypass guards with charm or bribes. Passers-by or soldiers can be conned into fighting for her, but she still has her hidden blades if it comes down to it. The Slave persona attracts attention for digressions more quickly, but can blend with other civilians or carry crates to remain unnoticed by guards, as well as being able to parkour with the best of them. The Slave also has mid-level combat ability with access to hidden blades and small weapons, and blowpipe darts to take down enemies form a distance. Finally, the traditional Assassin persona has a full array of weapons and abilities, but always has a baseline alert level for guards – they will always spot her and pursue, leading to combat if you’re not quick to move on. Mixing and matching between these three roles can vary the game experience greatly, and truly makes you think before you decide how to approach a goal.

Story-wise, Liberation follows Aveline as she navigates New Orleans and the Bayou in search of her mother, and answers for the mysteries surrounding the Spanish occupation of New Orleans. One of the great things in this title is that all the major players are actually female — our protagonist, the leader of the Bayou smugglers and Aveline’s step-mother, who often helps her smuggle slaves out of the city to freedom. Male characters generally act as supporting cast or antagonists, presenting an interesting take on gender roles in 18th century America; whilst officially the men are in charge, the women are the ones pushing the story’s events forwards.

An interesting dynamic is added in that there are “glitches” present in some of the cutscenes that are revealed to be moments of the story cut out by Abstergo to obscure the truth — references to the Templars are eliminated entirely, until they’re uncovered by a mysterious hacker going by Erudito. This name may be familiar to those who played the Facebook companion games for Assassin’s Creed II, where he/she played a similar role. In this case, Erudito (Italian for ‘truth’, by the way) introduces Citizen E to the simulation — randomly encountered NPCs who unlock the missing chunks of story when murdered. Whilst these missions are optional, they reveal a true ending to the game, beyond that unlocked by simply completing all the memory sequences. Other side missions seem more a diversion than any great contributor — I wasn’t able to figure out whether they changed much in the game environment.

Playing Liberation HD, you’re constantly reminded you’re neck-deep in a port of a handheld game. Veterans of the series will find it strange to see HUD elements that seem out of place in comparison to any other title in the franchise. Touchscreen gimmicks from the PS Vita have been clumsily translated into a traditional control scheme; Aveline has to hold the LT on Xbox 360 during moments where you can tell you’d be tapping the Vita touchscreen otherwise. For an otherwise well-rounded game, those sequences certainly take you out of the narrative, and rather harshly. Apart from that, controls are pretty much identical to other Assassin’s Creed iterations on console.

Graphically, Liberation HD looks better than its PS Vita counterpart, but that’s really to be expected.

If you’re a fan of the franchise and haven’t played the game on Vita before, this game is definitely one to consider. Liberation HD is not as free and fun as Assassin’s Creed II or the recently-released Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag, but it’s certainly not as restrictive as its one-time release brother, Assassin’s Creed III. If you have played through the Vita title before, it might not be a game you want to revisit again for $25 AUD, especially considering most of us have moved on to next-gen affairs. Additionally, achievement hunters beware: this is an Xbox 360 “Arcade” title and, as such, only has 400 gamerscore attributed to it. Purchase wisely, gamers.

Editor’s Note: This review is a modified version of our Assassin’s Creed III: Liberation review for PS Vita.