Assassin’s Creed Unity Black Box Missions, Why Are They Great?:
In the most recent gameplay video for Assassin’s Creed Unity we were shown one of the many assassination missions. These have been transformed with a variety of styles, but the one I’m particularly interested in is called Black Box. These missions essentially set up the scene, show you the target, maybe one of the potential ways to kill them, and some other things like the size of the crowd or a potential distraction. After that you’re simply left to kill the target in whatever way you see fit, and that’s where it gets interesting.
In the video below we see Arno going after his target in and around Notre Dame. Firstly we see the target. Then we’re shown a few facts about the mission area, such as a man who will be meeting the target soon, showing us an opportunity to catch the target alone. Next we’re shown some keys, which have been stolen from one of the men inside Notre Dame, we could use these to gain access to the building without using the front door, something that would surely lead to our detection.
After these points are shown, Arno is left to head into the crowd, and then the player can create their own assassination. In the video, Arno heads over to the man meeting the target and kills him. He then moves to the guard with the keys and picks them from his pocket. With keys in hand, Arno scales the building and gets in through a previously locked window. From here it’s a simple task of heading to the meeting point, the confessionals, and killing the target in absolute silence, with no body out in the open for evidence either.
But what makes this such a great way of presenting levels? Well to begin with, they’re completely open. The route to the kill shown in the video is but one of ten potential paths, with distractions and other potential targets littering the map. While watching it I’m reminded of the levels in Hitman, where you’re given a target and left to your own devices. Part of the reason people loved the old Hitman games was because you could run around and cause havoc if you wanted, knowing you could restart with that knowledge and take on the mission a bit more seriously.
Assassin’s Creed Unity brings the Hitman level style to life with energetic parkour, and over 5,000 NPCs in some areas. I don’t hesitate to say that Ubisoft has probably put a lot more potential kill paths into each of their Black Box missions as well. As a market, gamers like open worlds in which they can explore, it’s why there are so many of them releasing within the next few months. Assassin’s Creed games have just caught up with the likes of Far Cry and Just Cause, maybe even GTA, but they’re about to blow them out of the water with these extra open worlds within their open world.
If you think I’m wrong about these missions then let me know in the comments. Also tell me if you think I’m right. Either way, check out the video below to see what I’m on about, if you haven’t already seen it.
Assassin’s Creed Unity Black Box Missions, Why Are They Great?
Subject: Assassin’s Creed Unity Black Box Missions, Why Are They Great? 
Wed Aug 20, 2014 7:20 am