For the most part gamers are too nice. We get another instalment in a franchise we've spend a good chunk of our lifetime with already, and we actively look for the things that work, disregarding the parts that don't. It's sometimes painful to admit that something you want so desperately to be acceptable is actually a smouldering wreck of a once-was, but Unity is that tipping point. It's the collective work of a few hundred separate board room meetings from across the globe, all converging to create a game that takes you for granted, banking on the love gamers have in general to try and find the signs of life amongst the wreckage. Would a film be deemed acceptable if it hung on a single frame for half an hour? How about if one in every four pressings made the projector itself burst into flames? Sure you could've liked what you'd seen so far, and you may sit around patiently waiting for a new projector to be installed - but the bottom line is that such things shouldn't be tolerated in the first place. Games are far more expensive now already, but nobody is asking Ubisoft to crank up their production to levels where they need to deploy insidious micro-transactions in-game to recoup their budget. Assassin's Creed II is still a much better game even today, because the gameplay is spot on. The AC series has become one of those that you talk about reservedly, Unity is essentially a guilty pleasure despite providing the best visuals of the entire generation, and Ubisoft's biggest challenge is to right the ship, focus their resources and deliver a title that is top-to-bottom a truly great game. Anything less than that, and they might as well give up. Are you going to begrudgingly buy Victory anyway? Let us know in the comments what you need to get overhauled, or whether you're done with the franchise altogether.
