Games

You can’t approach Assassins Creed: Unity without first acknowledging that it’s an extraordinary bug fest. This has been much documented online, and when you do come across coding issues it’s difficult not to laugh out loud. But this shouldn’t detract from what is a fairly solid addition to the free-running franchise.

The storyline is character rich and the graphical representation of Revolutionary Paris impressive (odd frame-rate issues not withstanding). Night follows day, and the weather can be inclement. Indeed, this immersive world is the title's biggest appeal. The parkour mechanics have been polished – leaping and climbing around Paris is pretty slick – and all the while the soundtrack is outstanding, with a great 360-degree ambience to the gameplay.

Yet …Unity takes hours to progress through – changes to the combat system have made it much tougher – and there’s a lot here which just follows what we’ve seen before. If stealthy murders are losing their appeal you’ll probably find yourself distracted by the natty visuals.

Assassins Creed: Unity, Ubisoft, Xbox One/PS4/PC, £55 Approx
HCC VERDICT: 3/5