#AC Unity Full Mission

[damez1979]

Assassin's Creed Unity: Raising the Dead | Unlocking the Inner Temple

[desmon1995]

Title: "The Turnbull ACs and the Night of Brutal Machismo: A Warriors Album Breakdown

One Slate review on The Warriors concept album knocked it for pulling punches on violence and toning down homophobia. I'm not here to address the latter (that's for another post), but I’m perplexed by the former. Less violence? Really? Because if we strip away the music, what you’ve got is essentially a survival thriller with the occasional comedic flare, and nowhere is this more obvious than with the Turnbull ACs. This gang, a terrifying mix of BIPOC men fueled by deep-seated anger, represents raw, unchecked violence—and they bring it full force in their villainous track. The Turnbull ACs aren’t just your typical street thugs; they roll in like a storm on a mission. Their song? An anthem of brutal machismo, laced with misogyny and menace. And Tato, their leader, doesn’t hold back, either. He's practically salivating over the things he wants to do to the Warriors. When he whistles, they’re expected to listen. When he tells them they “look like cute little cakes I want to slice up,” we know exactly the kind of violence he has in mind.They even come armed to the teeth on a school bus, a disturbing image that tells us we’re way past street fights and tough-guy brawls. The Warriors, especially Swan, barely have time to process what they’re up against. These men aren’t just threatening—they’re literally revved up to mow them down. The ACs see themselves as vigilantes, out to punish “those nasty women” who dared defy what they view as the natural order. Never mind that the very person they’re avenging—Cyrus, a leader who called for unity and peace—is a woman. Ironically, the ACs completely ignore this fact, reducing her to “one of the guys,” an acceptable woman by their standards, to justify their actions.Here’s where the album slips into uncomfortable truths. We have a marginalized group of men—Puerto Ricans, to be specific—hunting down another marginalized group, BIPOC women. Why? Because a lie from a white man put them at each other’s throats. The ACs’ brand of violence isn’t cathartic or noble; it’s a display of what happens when people are weaponized by the real villains in the system: those at the top, feeding them misinformation, pitting them against each other to keep their own power intact. And the album makes it heartbreakingly clear that it’s these elites who benefit when the marginalized go to war.The Bulls don’t process trauma; they redirect it. They think their violent “justice” will somehow heal the wounds of living in a world that’s already against them. Instead, what we see is the bitter truth: hurting others doesn’t make you whole. It doesn’t cure pain. When the Warriors escape, the ACs don’t even feel victory—they’re left hollow, mourning losses they haven’t begun to address. Because for all that violence and bravado, the act of violence is empty. And it’s only when that adrenaline fades that they realize the sadness still festers.As a culture critic—and as a man—I know this toxic cycle all too well. Men are taught to swap sadness with anger, to channel every hurt into rage so we don’t seem “weak.” It’s a lie that feeds isolation and festers hate, a destructive path we’re told is the only way to prove strength. But The Warriors doesn’t just expose this toxic masculinity—it dismantles it. The ACs don’t come out stronger; they come out broken. And in doing so, the album shows us what violence really is: a poor substitute for healing.In the end, the Warriors escape, but the Turnbull ACs are trapped in their own pain. The album reminds us of a simple truth: “real” strength doesn’t come from brutalizing others. It comes from having the courage to process hurt, the humility to be vulnerable, and the ability to choose peace.

[joliackermann]

More AC rogue screenshots

Currently trying to get full sync on all the missions, here are some new screenshots (and some old ones)

Bless him, he looks so annoyed 🙏🏻🖤

I can´t fucking remember how to spell out his whole name I literally have to copy it from somewhere else every time I wanna write it.

WHY DO THEY ALL LOOK SO CONCERNED?! Like... Chevalier looks so confused by the fact that he just killed somebody.

I also wanna talk about the fact that during my first playthrough, I hated him. Which I think was intendet lol. But then I read fanfiction where he was actually nice AND LOOK AT HIM TAKING CARE OF HIS MEN! I actually really like him, he´s just a bit mean sometimes.

But look how pretty this is and I really love Chevalier´s outfit! The only two things I have to complain about him is that he can be a bit mean and the fact that the fight against him during my first playthrough was the most boring fight ever. Like, back then I was excited to kill him, but he died from two pistol shots. The guy I had to kill before getting to him had put up a harder fight.

More random old Shay because he´s hot lmao I´m actually really excited to play Unity, even though my friend wants me to play Syndicate first. Sorry @cnmnqirl 🖤🥺

Have I already shared this one? I can´t remember but look at him 🖤🙏🏻

[thelogbookproject]

The Unity of Skovlan, Entry 22: The Factory

The Unity of Skovlan is an upcoming unofficial supplement to Blades In The Dark about the fall and rise of the Skovlander people. This series explores what it is all about in the leadup to its September release.

Let’s talk Missions! All three entries this week are going to be exploring the Straining Period Missions of The Unity War. The first Mission, and the Mission that all Unity War campaigns start off with, is The Factory.

The first Mission starts from the one big Blades canon element of the Unity War: the Leviathan Blood processing plant, planted on Skovlan’s shores without permission, activating the War. By the point of this Mission, it’s primarily symbolic, but the players’ experiences in the campaign are going to be pretty symbolic the whole time, given that they know they’re going to lose the War. This Mission has a bit of everything — military action, stealth, innocent bystanders, the supernatural… all the Soldiers have something to contribute to this one. But what are you actually trying to do?

This isn’t that hard. It’s left very wide open, with the Soldiers free to cause their damage in any way they choose, so long as it’s long, expensive, or hard to fix. Ultimately, this Mission is a bit of a warm-up. The Unity War is meant as a gradual on-ramp to the full Blades mechanics, so this easy Mission can let the players get a grasp on the rules, and they ought to succeed even if they’re not particularly efficient with their dice pools or stress management. The GM guidance indicates that they should never take the Primary Objective actually off the table, even if the players keep screwing up, meaning it’s really more of a matter of how beat-up the Soldiers are by the time they finish up the Missions. Even if, amazingly, they mess it up by all Stressing Out, the Mission can be lost because it’s still just symbolic. That said, if the players all Stress Out and become Exhausted, probably reset the campaign. That really shouldn’t happen…

…unless the Soldiers put everything they have into completing all the Optional Objectives. These can be tougher, and the impulse to try and do all of them is pretty strong! These ones are pretty widespread in nature, and doing all of them isn’t that easy! It’s a good teaching moment for players to naturally understand that doing all of the Optional Objectives can be pretty costly, sometimes even costlier than it’s worth.

I had a particular framing in mind when I started writing the Optional Objectives for Missions: Assassin’s Creed III (other AC games do it too, but AC3 stuck out in my mind). If you’re not familiar, the frame story of that game is that you’re a modern dude using a science-magic machine to walk through the memories of his ancestors. There’s some flexibility in the “how” stuff happened, though the biggest plot points are guaranteed — Alx Squad did The Factory, participated in The Evacuation, and were on The Last Ship Out (the three required Missions). There’s a lot of Optional Objectives on your way to the big Primary Objectives though, and these are framed as “full synchronization,” ie the historical, platonic ideal version of the memory is doing all of the Optional Objectives. The ideal form of Alx Squad, operating at maximum efficiency and ability, successfully did all of the Optional Objectives, and that’s what built their legacy. The more Optional Objectives the Squad accomplishes in play, the more like the ideal form of the Squad they’re acting. This usually involves clever tricks, perfectly-executed plans, and unnecessary but beneficial tasks. In play, you could skip dealing with the Foreman, but it would be a better outcome if they were eliminated. You could allow the workers to get caught in the crossfire, but it’s not the moral ideal of the Squad. You could skip the distractions, but it speaks more to the Squad’s nature to go that route.

This is what the Areas look like for the game! A little blurb, some Characters and Features, and a Clock (or special rule, see below). All of the bits are meant as hooks and levers for the GM to provide or use to inspire opportunities or consequences. For this particular Clock, getting the workers on your side can be helpful, but the Optional Objective to keep them from getting hurt means players won’t want to push them too hard, and will have to be careful about them getting caught, in the crossfire or aiding and abetting the Squad. Getting the workers to trust the Squad is best for just getting them out of the way before they become collateral damage.

This Area is included to show how to complete one of the Optional Objectives, but also provides a great avenue to complete the Primary Objective too. Each Mission has an Area like this, with a Special Rule instead of a Clock, adjusting the rules in a unique way. In this case, the Storeroom is a huge risk/reward opportunity — dangerous to be around, dangerous to use to the group’s advantage, but potentially incredibly valuable.

The climactic Area of the Mission has the potential to be handled quickly and easily, but even one misstep can escalate the situation drastically. Be efficient and quiet, and getting out of the Factory will probably be pretty easy. Otherwise, it’s going to be as much a battle out as it was a tense sneak in, possibly with ghost intervention. This is the first timing Clock of the game, which fills as the players do other things or just take up time. Acting fast is the key when clocks like this come into play. This one fills very fast, being only three segments, but these countdowns are a staple of the campaign going forward.

This was three of the five Areas in the Mission (the second, fourth, and fifth).

I think this Mission does a great job of focusing the campaign on electroplasm, the technological and supernatural difference between the two nations, which as explored in Entry 8 is the best point to focus on if you want to de-emphasize a specifically racial component to the Unity War. This Mission is the centerpoint that I designed around as an easy-but-expandable challenge with widely varying Optionals, and very much grounded me in how I would design the rest.

Next time, we’ll move on the The Ambush!

The Unity War releases for PWYW on September 1, 2023. Check out https://tinyurl.com/tuos-details for the rest of this series! Sign up for my Patreon at https://patreon.com/thelogbookproject for a preview, and full early access to the game! See you Wednesday!

[mishkakagehishka]

i totally get the AC thing like i was soooo skeptical abt origins bc it felt so wonky?? like i love odyssey but it doesn't really feel like assassin's creed, yanno? it feels like it's own entire like... game. like sure there's abstergo and the assassin-templar shit going on but like. it doesn't really have that AC vibe.

ngl i feel like 1-3 with Desmond was like. Peak AC. a nice blend of historical fiction, modern-time stuff (that actually makes you feel connected with the world) and like, sort of actual reasons for things to be happening? and then Desmond got merk'd. like 4 i think was silly but i enjoyed playing as a silly little intern fucking up abstergo's plans and stuff. and syndicate ! that was fun even though i think the modern-day player character took a backseat in that one (if there even really was a modern-day pc? i don't remember anymore).

but yeah. ac feels so... different. as if it's a whole secondary franchise just living in the desiccated carcass of the AC name for extra revenue.

SO real. 1-3 were peak, i think the Ezio trilogy is overrated, but it's beloved for good reason (except for Revelations, what the fuck was that about). They're clunky in their own ways (tho the gameplay haul in 3, I think, was really good, I actually love the gameplay in 3 and Unity-Syndicate the most), but the Desmond saga also had a really good modern-historical story balance, the lore wasn't as overwhelming (/neg) with the fantastical elements, but it still had something to draw you in with the "more than what meets the eye". The historical story in Black Flag was absolutely beautiful, I can write essays about it, I enjoyed it immensely, but the modern day story was more fun and full of easter eggs than carrying much importance (even tho the 4 modern story is when things really started going crazy, I think that's when the whole. Juno's husband's reincarnations with heterophobia in his eyes started going, and from then just the whole thing went wild, I couldn't really follow it).

Unity didn't even have a modern story to my knowledge. But i'll forever be salty ab the way they blueballed me. They put us. In REVOLUTIONARY FRANCE. and did NOTHING with that setting. You escape Bastille and that's It. Co-op missions had more lore on that, but like. Let me tell you. Nobody's fucking playing Unity co-op missions and they're impossible to solo.

Syndicate also had nothing. I love Syndicate, would probs love it more if Ubi didn't pussy out of putting real people as targets bc "living descendants might get offended wah wah" like. Okay. The modern segments, tho. I remember nothing ??? Shaun and Rebecca were there.

But wah, right. Assassin's Creed as the name used to market, but it feels distinctly different. Like if you play Assassin's Creed 2 and then Odyssey straight after, or just read the scripts, it's two entirely different universes. One is fantasy with historical elements, the other is historical with hints of fantasy (that could tbh be mistaken for sci-fi, i actually think originally the precursors... were more sci-fi than anything else)

[lotusterminalfreight]

Driving Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion: A Leadership Journey at Lotus Terminals

At Lotus Terminals, diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) are not just buzzwords; they’re integral to our company’s DNA. In our latest blog, we’re proud to share our journey as leaders in the transportation sector, championing DEI initiatives that foster a culture of respect, belonging, and empowerment for every team member.

Our Diverse Workforce:

From Mumbai to Vancouver, our workforce represents a tapestry of cultures and backgrounds. With people of colour, including South Asian and Chinese, alongside individuals from British, German and Eastern European descent, we celebrate the richness of diversity that fuels our success. Together, we provide seamless transportation solutions that exemplify unity in diversity.

Empowering Employee Wellbeing:

At Lotus Terminals, the wellbeing of our team members is paramount. We prioritize their physical and mental health through weekly training sessions led by personal trainers. Partnering with TELUS Health, we offer comprehensive employee wellbeing programs, ensuring access to resources that promote a healthy work-life balance.

Investing in Professional Growth:

We are committed to the professional development of our employees and support their career aspirations. Lotus Terminals does this in two ways. First, Lotus has invested in an internal Learning and Development Specialist to develop multimedia, asynchronous training programs to ensure employee success not only at the onboarding stage but also within the workflow. At Lotus Terminals, every day is viewed as an opportunity to learn and improve performance. Also, Lotus Terminals supports access to relevant courses and personal development sessions led by external experts. Our commitment to their growth extends beyond their current roles, empowering them to reach their full potential.

Fostering Authentic Communication:

Lotus Terminals employs the most current and effective digital communication tools so employees can communicate instantly and effectively with customers, vendors and colleagues. At Lotus Terminals, we are proud of our close working relationships that transcend physical location. Equally, open and transparent communication is the cornerstone of our culture. We foster an environment where employees have a voice in shaping their career paths, encouraging regular dialogues between team members and leadership. Here, ideas and concerns are not just heard but valued.

Making a Community Impact:

Contributing to our community is integral to our mission. Our employees actively participate in community initiatives, making a meaningful impact beyond their work at Lotus Terminals. By giving back, we strengthen the bonds within our team and create a positive ripple effect in society.

Exceeding Expectations Together:

At Lotus Terminals, we set high standards not only for our business performance but also for our commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). Our belief in DEI is not just a statement; it’s woven into the fabric of our company culture. By fostering a culture of togetherness and collaboration, we empower our team members to embrace their unique perspectives and experiences. Through inclusive practices and a commitment to accountability, we strive to create a workplace where every voice is valued, heard, and respected.

Fostering Inclusivity and Accountability:

At Lotus Terminals, we believe that diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) are not just ideals to aspire to; they are integral to our identity and success. By fostering a culture of togetherness and collaboration, we empower our team members to embrace their unique perspectives and experiences. Through inclusive practices and a commitment to accountability, we strive to create a workplace where every voice is valued, heard, and respected. Together, we exceed expectations by harnessing the power of diversity to drive innovation, creativity, and excellence. In doing so, we not only achieve our business goals but also advance our DEI efforts, making Lotus Terminals a place where everyone can thrive and succeed.

Our commitment to DEI and employee wellbeing is deeply ingrained in our company culture. We provide the tools, resources, and support needed for our team members to flourish both professionally and personally. Together, we’re driving diversity, equity, and inclusion forward, ensuring that Lotus Terminals remains a place where everyone thrives, innovates, and makes a lasting impact.

[snowleopord]

Once upon a time in a quaint village nestled amidst rolling hills, there lived a young woman named Elara. She was known for her radiant spirit and unyielding determination, qualities that had earned her the reputation of the Ace of Wands in her community.

One brisk morning, as the sun's first rays stretched across the horizon, Elara awoke with an idea that set her heart ablaze. The Ace of Wands had ignited within her a passion to transform a neglected piece of land on the outskirts of the village into a flourishing garden. She envisioned a vibrant oasis filled with colorful blooms, herbs, and trees.

With unwavering enthusiasm, she embarked on her mission. The Two of Wands marked her decision to set her plan in motion, symbolizing the initial stages of her endeavor. She carefully selected the best seeds and plants, sowing them into the rich soil with great care and attention.

As the weeks passed, her garden bloomed with the beauty of the Three of Wands. People from the village began to visit, marveling at the transformation. Elara's creation brought the community together, and the garden became a place of solace and inspiration for all.

However, the path to her vision was not without challenges. The Five of Wands emerged as she grappled with unexpected obstacles, including stubborn weeds and unruly weather. Elara faced these hurdles head-on, fueled by her determination and belief in her project.

The Six of Wands marked a turning point in her journey. The garden had reached a level of splendor that was beyond her wildest dreams, and the community celebrated her success with admiration and respect. Elara's triumph inspired others to pursue their own passions and dreams.

Yet, as the garden grew, so did Elara's responsibilities. The Ten of Wands made its presence felt as she found herself burdened by the weight of maintaining her beloved creation. She toiled tirelessly, tending to every plant and flower, and, in doing so, her initial spark of passion began to dim.

Realizing she couldn't bear the load alone, Elara turned to the community. The Ten of Wands urged her to ask for help, and the villagers eagerly joined in, sharing the work of maintaining the garden. As they worked together, they rekindled the spirit of unity and support that had brought them all together in the first place.

With her burden lightened and the community by her side, Elara's journey from the Ace of Wands to the Ten of Wands had come full circle. Her passion for the garden burned as brightly as ever, and her village thrived as a testament to the power of unity and shared dreams. The cards had told her story of growth, determination, and the strength that comes from leaning on others in times of need.

[church-history]

Iniquis Afflictisque:

Papal Encyclical On the Persecution of the Church in Mexico

Pope Pius XI - 1926

To the Venerable Brethren, the Patriarchs, Primates, Archbishops, Bishops, and other Ordinaries in Peace and Communion with the Apostolic See.

In speaking to the Sacred College of Cardinals at the Consistory of last December, We pointed out that there existed no hope or possibility of relief from the sad and unjust conditions under which the Catholic religion exists today in Mexico except it be by a “special act of Divine Mercy.” You, Venerable Brothers, did not delay to make your own and approve Our convictions and Our wishes in this regard, made known to you on so many occasions, for by every means within your power you urged all the faithful committed to your pastoral care to implore by instant prayers the Divine Founder of the Church that He bring some relief from the heavy burden of these great evils.

2. We designedly use the words “the heavy burden of these great evils” for certain of Our children, deserters from the army of Jesus Christ and enemies of the Common Father of all, have ordered and are continuing up to the present hour a cruel persecution against their own brethren, Our most beloved children of Mexico. If in the first centuries of our era and at other periods in history Christians were treated in a more barbarous fashion than now, certainly in no place or at no time has it happened before that a small group of men has so outraged the rights of God and of the Church as they are now doing in Mexico, and this without the slightest regard for the past glories of their country, with no feelings of pity for their fellow-citizens. They have also done away with the liberties of the majority and in such a clever way that they have been able to clothe their lawless actions with the semblance of legality.

3. Naturally, We do not wish that either you or the faithful should fail to receive from Us a solemn testimonial of Our gratitude for the prayers which, according to Our intention were poured forth in private and at public functions. It is most important, too, that these prayers which have been so powerful an aid to Us should be continued, and even increased, with renewed fervor. It is assuredly not in the power of man to control the course of events or of history, nor can he direct them as he may desire to the welfare of society by changing either the minds or hearts of his fellow-men. Such action, however, is well within the power of God, for He without doubt can put an end, if He so desires, to persecutions of this kind. Nor must you conclude, Venerable Brothers, that all your prayers have been in vain simply because the Mexican Government, impelled by its fanatical hatred of religion, continued to enforce more harshly and violently from day to day its unjust laws. The truth is that the clergy and the great majority of the faithful have been so strengthened in their longsuffering resistance to these laws by such an abundant shower of divine grace that they have been enabled thereby to give a glorious example of heroism. They have justly merited, too, that We, in a solemn document executed by Our Apostolic authority, should make known this fortitude to the whole Catholic world.

4. Last month on the occasion of the beatification of many martyrs of the French Revolution, spontaneously the Catholics of Mexico came to Our thoughts, for they, like those martyrs, have remained firm in their resolution to resist in all patience the unreasonable behests and commands of their persecutors rather than cut themselves off from the unity of the Church or refuse obedience to this Apostolic See. Marvelous indeed is the glory of the Divine Spouse of Christ who, through the course of the centuries, can depend, without fail, upon a brave and generous offspring ever ready to suffer prisons, stripes, and even death itself for the holy liberty of the Church!

5. It is scarcely necessary, Venerable Brothers, to go back very far in order to narrate the sad calamities which have fallen upon the Church of Mexico. It is sufficient to recall that the frequent revolutions of modern times have ended in the majority of cases in trials for the Church and persecutions of religion. Both in 1914 and in 1915 men who seemed veritably inspired by the barbarism of former days persecuted the clergy, both secular and regular, and the sisters. They rose up against holy places and every object used in divine worship and so ferocious were they that no injury, no ignominy, no violence was too great to satisfy their persecuting mania.

6. Referring now to certain notorious facts concerning which We have already raised Our voice in solemn protest and which even the daily press recorded at great length, there is no need to take up much space in telling you of certain deplorable events which occurred even in the very recent past with reference to Our Apostolic Delegates to Mexico. Without the slightest regard for justice, for solemn promises given, or for humanity itself, one of these Apostolic Delegates was driven out of the country; another, who because of illness had left the Republic for a short time, was forbidden to return, and the third was also treated in a most unfriendly manner and forced to leave. Surely there is no one who cannot understand that such acts as these, committed against illustrious personages who were both ready and willing to bring about peace, must be construed as a great affront to their dignity as Archbishops, to the high office which they filled, and particularly to Our authority which they represented.

7. Unquestionably the events just cited are grave and deplorable. But the examples of despotic power which We will now pass in review, Venerable Brothers, are beyond all compare, contrary to the rights of the Church, and most injurious as well to the Catholics of Mexico.

8. In the first place, let us examine the law of 1917, known as the “Political Constitution” of the federated republic of Mexico. For our present purposes it is sufficient to point out that after declaring the separation of Church and State the Constitution refuses to recognize in the Church, as if she were an individual devoid of any civil status, all her existing rights and interdicts to her the ac quisition of any rights whatsoever in the future. The civil authority is given the right to interfere in matters of divine worship and in the external discipline of the Church. Priests are put on the level of professional men and of laborers but with this important difference, that they must be not only Mexicans by birth and cannot exceed a certain number specified by law, but are at the same time deprived of all civil and political rights. They are thus placed in the same class with criminals and the insane. Moreover, priests not only must inform the civil authorities but also a commission of ten citizens whenever they take possession of a church or are transferred to another mission. The vows of religious, religious orders, and religious congregations are outlawed in Mexico. Public divine worship is forbidden unless it take place within the confines of a church and is carried on under the watchful eye of the Government. All church buildings have been declared the property of the state. Episcopal residences, diocesan offices, seminaries, religious houses, hospitals, and all charitable institutions have been taken away from the Church and handed over to the state. As a matter of fact, the Church can no longer own property of any kind. Everything that it possessed at the period when this law was passed has now become the property of the state. Every citizen, moreover, has the right to denounce before the law any person whom he thinks is holding in his own name property for the Church. All that is required in order to make such action legal is a mere presumption of guilt. Priests are not allowed by law to inherit property of any kind except it be from persons closely related to them by blood. With reference to marriage, the power of the Church is not recognized. Every marriage between Catholics is considered valid if contracted validly according to the prescriptions of the civil code.

9. Education has been declared free, but with these important restrictions: both priests and religious are forbidden to open or to conduct elementary schools. It is not permitted to teach children their religion even in a private school. Diplomas or degrees conferred by private schools under control of the Church possess no legal value and are not recognized by the state. Certainly, Venerable Brothers, the men who originated, approved, and gave their sanction to such a law either are totally ignorant of what rights pertain jure divino to the Church as a perfect society, established as the ordinary means of salvation for mankind by Jesus Christ, Our Redeemer and King, to which He gave the full liberty of fulfilling her mission on earth (such ignorance seems incredible today after twenty centuries of Christianity and especially in a Catholic nation and among men who have been baptized, unless in their pride and foolishness they believe themselves able to undermine and destroy the “House of the Lord which has been solidly constructed and strongly built on the living rock”) or they have been motivated by an insane hatred to attempt anything within their power in order to harm the Church. How was it possible for the Archbishops and Bishops of Mexico to remain silent in the face of such odious laws?

10. Immediately after their publication the hierarchy of Mexico protested in kind but firm terms against these laws, protests which Our Immediate Predecessor ratified, which were approved as well by the whole hierarchies of other countries, as well as by a great majority of individual bishops from all over the world, and which finally were confimed even by Us in a letter of consolation of the date of the second of February, 1926, which We addressed to the Bishops of Mexico. The Bishops hoped that those in charge of the Government, after the first outburst of hatred, would have appreciated the damage and danger which would accrue to the vast majority of the people from the enforcement of those articles of the Constitution restrictive of the liberty of the Church and that, therefore, out of a desire to preserve peace they would not insist on enforcing these articles to the letter, or would enforce them only up to a certain point, thus leaving open the possibility of a modus vivendi, at least for the time being.

11. In spite of the extreme patience exhibited in these circumstances by both the clergy and laity, an attitude which was the result of the Bishops’ exhorting them to moderation in all things, every hope of a return to peace and tranquillity was dissipated, and this as a direct result of the law promulgated by the President of the Republic on the second of July, 1926, by virtue of which practically no liberty at all was left the Church. As a matter of fact, the Church was barely allowed to exist. The exercise of the sacred ministry was hedged about by the severest penalties as if it were a crime worthy of capital punishment. It is difficult, Venerable Brothers, to express in language how such perversion of civil authority grieves Us. For whosoever reveres, as all must, God the Creator and Our Beloved Redeemer, whosoever will obey the laws of Holy Mother Church, such a man, We repeat, such a man is looked on as a malefactor, as guilty of a crime; such a man is considered fit only to be deprived of all civil rights; such a man can be thrown into prison along with other criminals. With what justice can We apply to the authors of these enormities the words which Jesus Christ spoke to the leaders of the Jews: “This is your hour, and the power of darkness.” (Luke xxii, 53)

12. The most recent law which has been promulgated as merely an interpretation of the Constitution is as a matter of fact much worse than the original law itself and makes the enforcement of the Constitution much more severe, if not almost intolerable. The President of the Republic and the members of his ministry have insisted with such ferocity on the enforcement of these laws that they do not permit the governors of the different states of the Confederation, the civil authorities, or the military commanders to mitigate in the least the rigors of the persecution of the Catholic Church. Insult, too, is added to persecution. Wicked men have tried to place the Church in a bad light before the people; some, for example, uttering the most brazen lies in public assemblies. But when a Catholic tries to answer them, he is prevented from speaking by catcalls and personal insults hurled at his head. Others use hostile newspapers in order to obscure the truth and to malign “Catholic Action.”

13. If, at the beginning of the persecution, Catholics were able to make a defense of their religion in the public press by means of articles which made clear the truth and answered the lies and errors of their enemies, it is now no longer permitted these citizens, who love their country just as much as other citizens do, to raise their voices in protest. As a matter of fact, they are not even allowed to express their sorrow over the injuries done to the Faith of their fathers and to the liberty of divine worship. We, however, moved profoundly as We are by the consciousness of the duties imposed upon Us by our Apostolic office, will cry out to heaven, Venerable Brothers, so that the whole Catholic world may hear from the lips of the Common Father of all the story of the insane tyranny of the enemies of the Church, on the one hand, and on the other that of the heroic virtue and constancy of the bishops, priests, religious congregations, and laity ot Mexico.

14. All foreign priests and religious men have been expelled from the country. Schools for the religious education of boys and girls have been closed, either because they are known publicly under a religious name or because they happen to possess a statue or some other religious object. Many seminaries likewise, schools, insane asylums, convents, institutions connected with churches have been closed. In practically all the states of the Republic the number of priests who may exercise the sacred ministry has been limited and fixed at the barest minimum. Even these latter are not allowed to exercise their sacred office unless they have beforehand registered with the civil authorities and have obtained permission from them so to function. In certain sections of the country restrictions have been placed on the ministry of priests which, if they were not so sad, would be laughable in the extreme. For example, certain regulations demand that priests must be of an age fixed by law, that they must be civilly married, and they are not allowed to baptize except with flowing water. In one of the states of the Confederation it has been decreed that only one bishop is permitted to live within the territory of said state, by reason of which law two other bishops were constrained to exile themselves from their dioceses. Moreover, because of circumstances imposed upon them by law, some bishops have had to leave their diocese, others have been forced to appear before the courts, several were arrested, and practically all the others live from day to day in imminent danger of being arrested.

15. Again, every Mexican citizen who is engaged in the education of children or of youth, or holds any public office whatsoever, has been ordered to make known publicly whether he accepts the policies of the President and approves of the war which is now being waged on the Catholic Church. The majority of these same individuals were forced, under threat of losing their positions, to take part, together with the army and laboring men, in a parade sponsored by the Regional Confederation of the Workingmen of Mexico, a socialist organization. This parade took place in Mexico City and in other towns of the Republic on the same day. It was followed by impious speeches to the populace. The whole procedure was organized to obtain, by means of these public outcries and the applause of those who took part in it, and by heaping all kinds of abuse on the Church, popular approval of the acts of the President.

16. But the cruel exercise of arbitrary power on the part of the enemies of the Church has not stopped at these acts. Both men and women who defended the rights of the Church and the cause of religion, either in speeches or by distributing leaflets and pamphlets, were hurried before the courts and sent to prison. Again, whole colleges of canons were rushed off to jail, the aged being carried there in their beds. Priests and laymen have been cruelly put to death in the very streets or in the public squares which front the churches. May God grant that the responsible authors of so many grave crimes return soon to their better selves and throw themselves in sorrow and with true contrition on the divine mercy; We are convinced that this is the noble revenge on their murderers which Our children who have been so unjustly put to death are now asking from God.

17. We think it well at this point, Venerable Brothers, to review for you in a few words how the bishops, priests, and faithful of Mexico have organized resistance and “set up a wall for the House of Israel, to stand in battle.” (Ezech. xiii, 5)

18. There cannot be the slightest doubt of the fact that the Mexican hierarchy have unitedly used every means within their power to defend the liberty and good name of the Church. In the first place, they indited a joint pastoral letter to their people in which they proved beyond cavil that the clergy had always acted toward the rulers of the Republic motivated by a love for peace, with prudence and in all patience; that they had even suffered, in a spirit of almost too much tolerance, laws which were unjust; they admonished the faithful, outlining the divine constitution of the Church, that they, too, must always persevere in their religion, in such a way that they shall “obey God rather than men” (Acts v, 19) on every occasion when anyone tries to impose on them laws which are no less contrary to the very idea of law and do not merit the name of law, as they are inimical to the constitution and existence itself of the Church.

19. When the President of the Republic had promulgated his untimely and unjust decree of interpretation of the Constitution, by means of another joint pastoral letter the Bishops protested and pointed out that to accept such a law was nothing less than to desert the Church and hand her over a slave to the civil authorities. Even if this had been done, it was apparent to all that such an act would neither satisfy her persecutors nor stop them in the pursuit of their nefarious intentions. The Bishops in such circumstances preferred to put an end to public religious functions. Therefore, they ordered the complete suspension of every act of public worship which cannot take place without the presence of the clergy, in all the churches of their diocese, beginning the last day of July, on which day the law in question went into effect. Moreover, since the civil authorities had ordered that all the churches must be turned over to the care of laymen, chosen by the mayors of the different municipalities, and could not be held in any manner whatsoever by those who were named or designated for such an office by the bishops or priests, which act transferred the possessions of the churches from the ecclesiastical authority to that of the state, the Bishops practically everywhere interdicted the faithful from accepting a place on such committees bestowed on them by the Government and even from entering a church which was no longer under the control of the Church. In some dioceses, due to difference of time and place, other arrangements were made.

20. In spite of all this, do not think, Venerable Brothers, that the Mexican hierarchy lost any opportunity or occasion by means of which they might do their part in calming popular feelings and bringing about concord despite the fact that they distrusted, or it would be better perhaps to say despaired of, a happy outcome to all these troubles. It is sufficient to recall in this context that the Bishops of Mexico City, who act in the capacity of procurators for their colleagues, wrote a very courteous and respectful letter to the President of the Republic in the interests of the Bishops of Huejutla, who had been arrested in a most outrageous manner and with a great display of armed force, and had been ordered taken to the city of Pachuca. The President replied to this letter by means of a hateful angry screed, a fact now become notorious. Again, when it happened that certain personages, lovers of peace, had spontaneously intervened so as to bring about a conversation between the President and the Archbishop of Morelia and the Bishop of Tabasco, the parties in question talked together for a long time and on many subjects, but with no results. Again, the Bishops debated whether they should ask the House of Representatives for the abrogation of those laws which were against the rights of the Church or if they should continue, as before, their so-called passive resistance to these laws. As a matter of fact, there existed many good reasons which seemed to them to render useless the presentation of such a petition to Congress. However, they did present the petition, which was written by Catholics quite capable of doing so because of their knowledge of law, every word of which was, moreover, weighed by the Bishops themselves with the utmost care. To this petition of the hierarchy there was added, due to the zealous efforts of the members of the Federation for the Defense of Religious Liberty, about which organization We shall have something to say later on in this letter, a great number of signatures of citizens, both men and women.

21. The Bishops had not been wrong in their anticipations of what would take place. Congress rejected the proposed petition almost unanimously, only one voting in favor of it, and the reason they alleged for this act was that the Bishops had been deprived of juridical personality, since they had already appealed in this matter to the Pope and therefore they had proven themselves unwilling to acknowledge the laws of Mexico. Such being the facts, what remained for the Bishops to do if not to decide that, until these unjust laws had been repealed, neither they nor the faithful would change in the slightest the policy which they had adopted? The civil authorities of Mexico, abusing both their power and the really remarkable patience of the people, are now in a position to menace the clergy and the Mexican people with even more severe punishments than those already inflicted. But how are we to overcome and conquer men of this type who are committed to the use of every type of infamy, unless we are willing, as they insist, to conclude an agreement with them which cannot but injure the sacred cause of the liberty of the Church?

22. The clergy have imitated the truly wonderful example of constancy given them by the Bishops and have themselves in turn given no less brilliant an example of fortitude through all the tedious changes of the great conflict. This example of extraordinary virtue on their part has been a great comfort to Us. We have made it known to the whole Catholic world and We praise them because “they are worthy.” (Apoc. iii, 4) And in this special context, when We recall that every imaginable artifice was employed, that all the power and vexatious tactics of our adversaries had but one purpose, to alienate both the clergy and people from their allegiance to the hierarchy and to this Apostolic See, and that despite all this only one or two priests, from among the four thousand, betrayed in a shameful manner their holy office, it certainly seems to Us that there is nothing which We cannot hope for from the Mexican clergy.

23. As a matter of fact, We behold these priests standing shoulder to shoulder, obedient and respectful to the commands of their prelates despite the fact that to obey means in the majority of cases serious dangers for themselves, for they must live from their holy office, and since they are poor and do not themselves possess anything and the Church cannot support them, they are obliged to live bravely in poverty and in misery; they must say Mass in private; they must do all within their power to provide for the spiritual needs of their flocks, to keep alive and increase the flame of piety in those round about them; moreover, by their example, counsels and exhortations, they must lift the thoughts of their fellow citizens to the highest ideals and strengthen their wills so that they, too, will persevere in their passive resistance. Is it any wonder, then, that the wrath and blind hatred of our enemies are directed principally and before all else against the priesthood? The clergy, on their side, have not hesitated to go to prison when ordered, and even to face death itself with serenity and courage. We have heard recently of something which surpasses anything as yet perpetrated under the guise of these wicked laws, and which, as a matter of fact, sounds the very depths of wickedness, for We have learned that certain priests were suddenly set upon while celebrating Mass in their own homes or in the homes of friends, that the Blessed Eucharist was outraged in the basest manner, and the priests themselves carried off to prison.

24. Nor can We praise enough the courageous faithful of Mexico who have understood only too well how important it is for them that a Catholic nation in matters so serious and holy as the worship of God, the liberty of the Church, and the eternal salvation of souls should not depend upon the arbitrary will and audacious acts of a few men, but should be governed under the mercy of God only by laws which are just, which are conformable to natural, divine, and ecclesiastical law.

25. A word of very special praise is due those Catholic organizations, which during all these trying times have stood like soldiers side to side with the clergy. The members of these organiza tions, to the limit of their power, not only have made provisions to maintain and assist their clergy financially, they also watch over and take care of the churches, teach catechism to the children, and like sentinels stand guard to warn the clergy when their ministrations are needed so that no one may be deprived of the help of the priest. What We have just written is true of all these organizations. We wish, however, to say a word in particular about the principal organizations, so that each may know that it is highly ap proved and even praised by the Vicar of Jesus Christ.

26. First of all We mention the Knights of Columbus, an organization which is found in all the states of the Republic and which fortunately is made up of active and industrious members who, because of their practical lives and open profession of the Faith, as well as by their zeal in assisting the Church, have brought great honor upon themselves. This organization promotes two types of activites which are needed now more than ever. In the first place, the National Sodality of Fathers of Families, the program of which is to give a Catholic education to their own children, to protect the rights of Christian parents with regard to education, and in cases where children attend the public schools to provide for them a sound and complete training in their religion. Secondly, the Federation for the Defense of Religious Liberty, which was recently organized when it became clear as the noonday sun that the Church was menaced by a veritable ocean of troubles. This Federation soon spread to all parts of the Republic. Its members attempted, working in harmony and with assiduity, to organize and instruct Catholics so that they would be able to present a united invincible front to the enemy.

27. No less deserving of the Church and the fatherland as the Knights of Columbus have been and still are, We mention two other organizations, each of which has, following its own program, a special relation to what is known as “Catholic Social Action.” One is the Catholic Society of Mexican Youth, and the other, the Union of Catholic Women of Mexico. These two sodalities, over and above the work which is special to each of them, promote and do all they can to have others promote the activities of the above-mentioned Federation for the Defense of Religious Liberty. Without going into details about their work, with pleasure We desire to call to your attention, Venerable Brothers, but a single fact, namely, that all the members of these organizations, both men and women, are so brave that, instead of fleeing danger, they go out in search of it, and even rejoice when it falls to their share to suffer persecution from the enemies of the Church. What a beautiful spectacle this, that is thus given to the world, to angels, and to men! How worthy of eternal praise are such deeds! As a matter of fact, as We have pointed out above, many individuals, members either of the Knights of Columbus, or officers of the Federation, of the Union of Catholic Women of Mexico, or of the Society of Mexican Youth, have been taken to prison handcuffed, through the public streets, surrounded by armed soldiers, locked up in foul jails, harshly treated, and punished with prison sentences or fines. Moreover, Venerable Brothers, and in narrating this We can scarcely keep back Our tears, some of these young men and boys have gladly met death, the rosary in their hands and the name of Christ King on their lips. Young girls, too, who were imprisoned, were criminally outraged, and these acts were deliberately made public in order to intimidate other young women and to cause them the more easily to fail in their duty toward the Church.

28. No one, surely, Venerable Brothers, can hazard a prediction or foresee in imagination the hour when the good God will bring to an end such calamities. We do know this much: The day will come when the Church of Mexico will have respite from this veritable tempest of hatred, for the reason that, according to the words of God “there is no wisdom, there is no prudence, there is no counsel against the Lord” (Prov. xxi, 30) and “the gates of hell shall not prevail” (Matt. xvi, 18) against the Spotless Bride of Christ.

29. The Church which, from the day of Pentecost, has been destined here below to a never-ending life, which went forth from the upper chamber into the world endowed with the gifts and inspirations of the Holy Spirit, what has been her mission during the last twenty centuries and in every country of the world if not, after the example of her Divine Founder, “to go about doing good”? (Acts x, 38) Certainly this work of the Church should have gained for her the love of all men; unfortunately the very contrary has happend as her Divine Master Himself predicted (Matt. x, 17, 25) would be the case. At times the bark of Peter, favored by the winds, goes happily forward; at other times it appears to be swallowed up by the waves and on the point of being lost. Has not this ship always aboard the Divine Pilot who knows when to calm the angry waves and the winds? And who is it but Christ Himself Who alone is all-powerful, who brings it about that every persecution which is launched against the faithful should react to the lasting benefit of the Church? As St. Hilary writes, “it is a prerogative of the Church that she is the vanquisher when she is persecuted, that she captures our intellects when her doctrines are questioned, that she conquers all at the very moment when she is abandoned by all.” (St. Hilary of Poitiers De Trinitate, Bk. VII, No. 4)

30. If those men who now in Mexico persecute their brothers and fellowcitizens for no other reason than that these latter are guilty of keeping the laws of God, would only recall to memory and consider dispassionately the vicissitudes of their country as history reveals them to us, they must recognize and publicly confess that whatever there is of progress, of civilization, of the good and the beautiful, in their country is due solely to the Catholic Church. In fact every man knows that after the introduction of Christianity into Mexico, the priests and religious especially, who are now being persecuted with such cruelty by an ungrateful government, worked without rest and despite all the obstacles placed in their way, on the one hand by the colonists who were moved by greed for gold and on the other by the natives who were still barbarians, to promote greatly in those vast regions both the splendor of the worship of God and the benefits of the Catholic religion, works and institutions of charity, schools and colleges for the education of the people and their instruction in letters, the sciences, both sacred and profane, in the arts and the crafts.

31. One thing more remains for Us to do, Venerable Brothers, namely, to pray and implore Our Lady of Guadalupe, heavenly patroness of the Mexican people, that she pardon all these injuries and especially those which have been committed against her, that she ask of God that peace and concord may return to her people. And if, in the hidden designs of God that day which We so greatly desire is far distant, may she in the meantime console her faithful children of Mexico and strengthen them in their resolve to maintain their liberty by the profession of their Faith.

32. In the meanwhile, as an augury of the grace of God and as proof of Our fatherly love, We bestow from Our heart on you, Venerable Brothers, and especially on those bishops who rule the Church of Mexico, on all your clergy and your people, the Apostolic Blessing.

Given at Rome, at St. Peter’s, on the eighteenth day of November, in the year 1926, the fifth of Our Pontificate.

[cosmiciaria]

Assassin’s Creed: Syndicate Review! (spoiler free - long post)

It's done! I finished my first AC game ever! And I loved it!! YAAAY!!

First things first: this is going to be an honest review. I liked the game, A LOT, more than I expected, actually, but it has flaws. Not many that I could find personally, but it has. But before I delve deeper into it, let's have an overview of the game.

AC: Syndicate is the ninth?, installment in the Assassin's Creed franchise. It's a sequel to Unity, that came out just a year before, but you don't need to play any of the other AC games to plunge into this one (or any of them, to be honest), since each game tells a self-contained story. If you've been living under a rock for the past decade or you don't know a thing about videogames, Assassin's Creed games follow a character in the present time, joining the Order of the Assassins, warriors and masters of stealth that have been at odds with the Templars since time immemorial. The Templars desire the pieces of Eden, magical artifacts created with ancient technology by the Precursors, gods and goddesses that somehow bear the names of the Roman pantheon members. These pieces of Eden are extremely dangerous in the wrong hands, but have been long lost to the folds of History and withered pages of books. The Assassins must find them in today's world, through the genetic memories buried within the DNA of the descendants of the Assassins that at some point in History have come into contact with those artifacts.

Well, that premise is true for all Assassin's Creed games. This time, we're following the same initiate we met during Black Flag and Unity, if I'm not mistaken. The previous games have followed Desmond Miles, an actual character with a face, but in these "in-between" installments, the initiate is a faceless placeholder for the player to incarnate them. But, to be honest, the present timeline is, uh, what's this word…

BORING.

Nobody cares what's going on in the present! Let's move on to the actual plot!

Syndicate takes us to Victorian London! Through the DNA of the initiate we travel in time to 1868, to the middle of the British capital. Our protagonists this time is a pair of twins: Jacob and, lo and behold, Evie Frye. I say "lo and behold" because this is the first official female assassin protagonist that we have in the mainline series of games. Prior to this game, we have Liberation which also followed a female assassin, the real first one, but that game is a spin off and mostly overlooked, since it came out only for the Vita sadly back in the day (although there's a remaster for the ps3!). Either way, all previous Assassin's Creed games (if Syndicate is the ninth, then you got the number) have starred male assassins as their protagonists. In Unity this came to a great peak when in the multiplayer co-op players were unable to play as female avatars, which caused a great ruckus. As Syndicate intended to mend many of the problems players found in Unity, we have now an official, canon female character in the main series! And I say: CHEERS TO THAT!

I MUST address this because it was one of the two reasons why I bought this game. I was never interested in the AC games but I've always wanted this one, because you could play as Evie Frye. As a female cis person, I find the lack of canon female protagonist to be baffling, to say the least (the actual word I'm looking for would be "annoying"). I'm not going to say that I'm forced to play as a male character all the time, because nobody forces me to play any game, I play them all because I wish to – but the truth is that, for many years, the videogame industry has been directed at one public only: boys. And some boys, for some reason, won't play the game if the protagonist is a girl or looks like a girl. And I don't care if the presence of a female character breaks your history immersion and whatnot: we have fricking magic in this game, do not throw historical accuracy at me for it. So, Ubisoft: I AM GLAD you created Evie Frye. She's fearless, she's relentless, she's clever, she has a clear goal in mind and solves every little piece to make the bigger plan work. She's badass without throwing her femininity off the window, and for a change she's the one saving the man in distress. I love her and her cloaks. Also she's cute as hell.

I am ALSO GLAD that Ubisoft created Jacob Frye! Jacob is a good balance to Evie, since he's more impulsive, a brawler, and likes throwing himself into battle. He speaks with fists, while never leaving his morals aside. He shows disregard for careful plans, but ultimately works in favor of them. He might sound a little stupid when I picture him this way, but he's not: he follows the creed strictly, during the assassination missions he shows clear precision, planification and ingenuity, and most importantly, he has a golden heart, and knows his ideals and principles very well. And for the love of Minerva, he's so handsome I might die.

So the Frye twins are both your protagonists this time! During the open world map and sidequests, you can switch between them on the fly. But during main missions, one of them will be assigned for you to play as and you'll be forced to complete the quest with either of them. Evie favors stealth, whereas Jacob is all about combat. This allows the player to tackle the game and the different activities as they see fit. If you're patient, probably Evie will be best for you, but if you can't handle the stealth, choose Jacob and start throwing punches! The city of London is open for you to choose the way you can liberate it.

And that takes me to my second reason why I bought this game: London.

For a not native-English-speaker as myself, who has learned and studied British English for over ten years, London will always hold a soft spot in my heart. Two years ago I was finally able to realize my dream and visit the city for the first time ever. I cried when I stepped out of St. Pancrasse station, understanding that my feet were touching English ground. So when I saw that this game not only offered me the chance to play as a female assassin, but it would also allow me to revisit London, I didn't think twice.

We follow Jacob and Evie to London, where they must meet Henry Green, the assassin watching over that city, in pursue of an important Templar figure: Starrick. Along the way to assassinate him, we'll take down other important Templar members, all responding to him. As I will keep this spoiler free, let's leave it at that. Let's just say that Starrick is in London, controlling every nook and cranny, while his second in command, Lucy Thorne, is reservedly researching the leads of a possible piece of Eden that might be hidden in the city's most secretive places.

London is so well recreated, I cried once when I stopped in front of the Big Ben. You're only able to visit and play through a portion of the city, around the Thames and Westminster, but still, even small though it seems, the map is big enough and full of activities to fulfill. The streets feel alive with its multiple, many, MANY npc's walking, running, driving carriages, interacting with each other, often having conversations as well! I was astonished when I was walking with Evie down an alley and an npc waved his hand to another npc that was some feet away, and the first one rushed to the second one to greet each other. It was such a realistic thing to see on the street that I was amazed at the technology behind it. As always, AC games excel at the presentation of countless npc's, each with a different animation and voices. On top of that, the city looks gorgeous, with so many details that I often stopped to stare, especially in the most emblematic buildings, like the different train Stations, the Parliament, St Paul's Cathedral, Westminster Abbey, and, of course, the Buckingham Palace. Everything is so faithful and vibrant and alive, that… yes, I love it. I fricking love it. I travelled again there in this game and I'm thankful for it.

There are nine sequences with 4 to 7 memories each, and all of them are different and unique enough to make them memorable. In particular, the main assassination quests were complex, using exclusive scenarios to the mission, offering the player different paths to tackle the killing – they were my favorite out of all the game. The last mission was *chef kiss*.

Apart from the main missions, you can slowly liberate each neighborhood from the Templars' claws. Each borough has a set of different activities to complete in order for you to "conquer" it. Gang wars, bounty hunts, Templar hunts, there's a lot to do. It might seem a lot at first, but you'll soon see the patterns across the sidequests, only to (unfortunately) realize that they're all the same. These can get tiresome and repetitive after a while, but they're also the best way to level up and earn money quickly. My personal favorite were the child liberations, because I felt like I was doing a good deed and also as if Charles Dickens himself was asking me to do it.

Oh, yes, Charles Dickens is in this game! CAN YOU BELIEVE IT, because I don't! He's one of my favorite authors, so, to be GIVEN a QUEST by HIM, I'm in tears guys, do you understand why I loved this game so much??

But Dickens isn't the only historical person that you'll encounter: Darwin also makes an appearance, as well as Marx (of whom I believed to be in Brussels, but I guess he visited London at some point – now I want an AC game set in Brussels), and Alexander Graham Bell, who will be your DaVinci of this game (Oh, now I want to play Ezio's games), offering you new toys to tinker with as you pave your way across the city. There are other historical people, but I won't mention them, since they're probably a spoiler, so I'll let you be surprised!

You'll have like a "hub world", or more like, a hub train – a train will be your hideout, your base, where you'll collect money, take some quests, interact with some characters and buy stuff cheaper. This train will constantly move around the city – sometimes I found myself appearing on the other side of the map because I was studying and investigating the things the train offered. I really liked the idea of a "moving base house", also it's quite fancy, and besides, I love trains. This game just keeps bringing me the good content.

Evie and Jacob are good protagonists – I'm not going to say they slay at it, but they serve the purpose. They're quite stereotypical, specially Jacob, as he seems to follow the trend Ezio imposed back in the day, and to which Arno also contributed – and Evie is quite the "polar opposite", a cliché often used on twins to express how "different they are". Their personalities are nothing new; what is endearing and worth noting, though, is their interactions. At first I thought "this is going to be another of the never-ending cases of twins acting like friends instead of siblings". I do come across this mistake more frequently than I'd like to, only broken by some exceptions (World of Final Fantasy is a really good one), even more if the twins are a boy and girl. I'm not saying twins shouldn't be friends themselves, but they're siblings first, for the love of Juno, and most creators who put twins into their stories don't seem to remember how siblings treat each other. Luckily, this game proved me wrong, since the Frye twins showed me that they're real siblings: not because they quarrel (they do, sometimes, quite forced in my opinion), but because of the way they look at each other, they care for each other, they often joke about the other, the familiarity and complicity they treat some topics with, because of the small banter that you can hear them have in the train hideout, how Jacob teases Evie with Henry or how Evie teases Jacob for the cloaks he's wearing – that, all of that, all combined, make up for a good sibling relationship and show me that these two have been brother and sister for a while now. I'm glad they ended up being one of the exceptions to this godawful rule among the fictional twin characters. I would've liked, though, maybe a few more scenes with them having a real heart to heart – I think we were robbed of one or two (specially after sequence 8 if you ask me- Jacob please, let's talk, baby).

Henry is another important character – although I thought he'd be more important. He ultimately appeared in less missions than I expected, and is soon relegated to be Evie's love interest and that's it. And even that is, uh… a little underwhelming. I kinda shipped them at first, then I was like "please, they're FRIENDS, don't force this", only to see myself getting disappointed. I think Henry needed more screentime for me to care more about him, and I definitely believe that, after that mission with Evie, we needed a cutscene with an explanation. It was kind of forgotten later, and he felt more like a plot device than anything else. I'm sad, because he could've been a great opportunity to show us a bit of Indian culture, and also because by the end of the game he's treated like another protagonist, when it doesn't feel like he'd earned it, though, considering the whole game. My opinion.

There are other characters worth mentioning, like Freddy Abberline, another historical person, whose running gag about disguises soon grew on me; Clara O'Dea, a little girl who asks us to liberate her fellow children friends from the claws of foremen who exploit them and acts like a little spy for us; Ned Wynart, who brings trans representation into the game; and some other sequence exclusive characters, who I won't mention because it will spoilerish. Let's just say that Jacob comes across a very interesting man.

On the technical department, I already said that London looks great, but I want to stress this: the whole game looks great. From cinematography to animations, I think they nailed the direction in this one. As my first AC game I can't speak for the others, but this one is a gem. I must mention though that the game crashed on me only once, and I was looking for the "destruction trophy", the one that asks you to break 5000 destructible items of the city – well, it seems I had destroyed enough and the game couldn't take any more wrecked chaos across London, but other than that I didn't encounter any bug nor any trophy didn't pop up. It looks great and it plays great: the controls are responsive, you swiftly dash across the city feeling unstoppable – sometimes controls didn't do what I wanted but it wasn't the game's fault, it was mine, so I can't blame it for my own stupidity.

The soundtrack is also such an unexpected jewel in this game. The solemn tracks that play on the background while you're peacefully traversing the city – some are lyrical and dramatic, others go well with a rainy suburb. The vibrant and electrifying tracks during battles or escapes did bring all the Sherlock Holmes movies vibes to the game. It was all – so English, if you catch my drift. The music did fit well with the British atmosphere they were aiming for.

The ending is satisfying – don't expect an opera prima, or a huge revelation, or groundbreaking plot twists. The story is fairly lineal in its presentation: this is the goal? Alright, the whole game goes for it. We can say that it's quite predictable, but let's be honest, we're not here for the ending or the things that might happen to discover the characters in the present time, we're here to assassinate people with our beautifully hidden blade – wait, that sounded way too violent – we're here for the gameplay, for the historical events, for the feeling of being an assassin, and for some world-building regarding the Precursors.

In regards to that, I cannot not mention the World War I Simulation – a rift in time appears in the Thames towards halfway through the game, and you can enter it – it will take you forward in time, to the same London that is now under the attack of the German. In this more modern time, you play as Lydia Frye, Jacob's granddaughter, also an assassin, who collaborates with no other than Winston Churchill to defeat the Templars. In this kind of DLC episode we learn way more about the Precursors, Juno, Minerva and other important figures to this world-building, that it's mostly lacking in the rest of the game. This simulation does feel like a DLC since it only offers a few hours of gameplay, the metaphor isn't in vain – it's a huge change of pace, it plays a little different since you'll be doing war stuff, and you also visit a portion of the city that isn't available in the main game: the Tower Bridge. It IS worth playing, though, not only for the trophies or for the extended map, but for what I said earlier: world-building. Juno plays a big part in this simulation, and I encourage you to play it, even though it's optional. Slowly but steadily, the world of the Precursors is unfolding before our very eyes. Also, Lydia, YASS another female assassin joins the family!

All in all, Syndicate is a positive experience. Sidequests are repetitive and mostly boring after you complete the first borough, some characters needed more screentime, Evie and Jacob could've used a sensitive cutscene with a deep conversation – but the mechanics, the gameplay, the city, the main missions, the relationship between the twins, the customization of weapons and outfits, and the fact that I literally entered Buckingham Palace after killing a royal guard or two – that, is more than enough to compensate for what it's lacking. You might be tired of the same formula over and over if you're a fan of the franchise, but do give the twins a shot. If you never play an AC game before, try this one out – it might turn you into an AC fangirl, like it did to me.

I'm a trophy hunter myself, so I'll try to platinum it! And now my eyes are intent on Unity, because, if you've seen this post, you know that Arno and Élise resemble two of my oc's, so now I need that game to be injected into my veins, thank you very much.

[damez1979]

Assassin’s Creed Unity: Under Lock and Key - Golden Key Heist!

[elffees]

my favorite things abt the ac games i’ve played so far:

ac: 2 ➔ the aesthetics; the artwork, ezio’s robes, the buildings..... everything was just beautiful. i made sure to spend the extra time buying every single painting available. everything was just so gorgeous aesthetic-wise

ac: brotherhood ➔ assassin recruits; solely gameplay-wise it was def a step up from 2, and i really liked the recruit system. i really did feel like i was building up and was now in charge of this new system.

ac: revelations ➔ ancestor no longer just wearing a copy of desmond’s face; ngl i havent finished this one yet (love ezio but i needed a bit of a break) so i can’t say too much abt the story or gameplay or etc. but i was really glad ezio finally didn’t just have desmond’s replicated face and had his own. (hate that they lightened his skin tho ubisoft what the fuck)

ac: syndicate ➔ the npcs’ behavior; the background extras all did different, unique things (having their own conversations & issues, practicing their unique hobbies at the park, etc). the place felt full of life and was incredibly vibrant. quite a few times i stopped whatever i was doing just to watch/listen to what a background npc was instead.

ac: unity ➔ the portrayal of arno’s emotional journey; playing most of these games, i’ve noticed ubisoft has a tendency to just skip any emotion-packed sequences. after ezio’s father & bros were hanged, we get a timeskip; mario died in brotherhood, but there was barely any mourning (or even conversation abt him!) and we just carried on with the mission + timeskips; so it was absolutely refreshing to see and feel arno’s tragic life and the weight it left on him, especially in that scene with him tearing up while sitting on the stairs.

ac: 3 ➔ the sense of community/family; now i said syndicate had the most vibrant background npcs, but only when it came to their behavior. in ac3..... i actually feel truly connected to these people. all the people in davenport genuinely feel like a family (i just got to the wedding scene and oh my heart). i care abt so many of the characters and genuinely want them to be happy. ofc this also comes with a downside too bc the entire storyline is abt connor/ratonhnhaké:ton being pulled in different directions by different groups of people, and by genuinely caring abt them, it’s harder to think. but this was absolutely my favorite thing abt the game so far

i have a lot of other things i love abt each game (ezio and connor are my favorite ac protags, the grappling hook/zip line in syndicate *chefs kiss*, arno’s house being on top of a cafe was so neat, and etc etc). but these listed are just my top favorite things abt each game i’ve played.

note ➔ i played only the remastered version of all the games that have one.

(i wouldn’t touch the original ezio trilogy with a ten foot pole it looks so pale. and while i don’t think the original ac3 looks that bad, the texture of the remastered version just looks better. i def added a reshade mod tho bc ubisoft went a little overboard with the overexposure lol)

[felassanis]

Everything I love about Assassin’s Creed

1. Ezio da la la la

2. If you idle for long enough in Odyssey Ikaros comes and lands on Alexios’s/Kassandra’s arm and then alexios/Kassandra will greet him.

3. Edward’s outfit is by far my favourite Assassin robe. It looks so fooking cool.

4. Alkibiades

5. The first mission in Assassin’s Creed III. Finding the temple and it coming alive with all the lights and the humming was so fucking cool and the theatre with Haytham was such a good way to start the game, I loved the environment that went with the theatre and the parkour was really good too, everything was good even though I had no idea why we were there in the first place lol.

6. SHAUN HASTINGS

7. Edward’s tattoos being the only reason why I go whaling in AC:Black flag

8. The dynamic between Jacob and Evie, I’ve always wanted a twin duo in a game and Jacob and Evie Frye were awesome and y’all keep sleeping on them.

9. The different colour schemes in Assassin’s Creed 2 for the different cities gave the locations their own feel and vibe and it differentiated them from each other while also ensuring that the landscapes were utterly gorgeous. For example, Venice had cooler colours, very blue and silver while Florence was warmer, with more orange and brown thrown into the mix. It really gave those maps their own identity and it was great.

10. All of Lineage. all of it, it was flipping fantastic and I know it’s not a game but it was brilliant and the other Assassin’s Creed movie will never top it despite Michael Fasbender being in it.

11. That cutscene in Black Flag where Blackbeard lights his beard on fire, I love that historical accuracy because it was very likely true and it’s so SO bad-fucking-ass

12. Alkibiades

13. How quickly I fell in love with Frederico Auditore despite the fella only having about 5 lines.

14. Also just how quickly I came to love the Auditore family, that was how well written they were, that I fell in love after 30 minutes with them. 

15. LEONARDO DA VINCI

16. Desmond Miles’s snark.

17. ‘Hey whatta matta with you altair,’

18. SHAUN HASTINGS

19. How buffy Kassandra is

20. The hookblade was actually amazing in Revelations and I’m in full support that it shouldbe brought back. The noise it made was also oddly satisfying too?

21. The Glyphs in AC2 were spooky and ominous and I refused to do the last mission until I had found all of them and uncovered the Truth. Because that entire side quest was full of anticipation and the creepy vibe the Glyphs gave off and how the footage of Adam and Eve was cut up and glitchy was just really interesting and it peaked with a climax.

22. LEONARDO DA VINCI

23. The golden beads in Alexios’s hair.

24. And Alexios just being an overall gorgeous human being who’s face was chiselled by the gods.

25. The flying machine mission in AC2 while really aggravating if you didn’t do it the first time was also really fun and getting to see Leonardo all giddy and happy made it worth it.

26. I don’t know if it’s just me? but Connor’s hair? like I know for a fact that I like men with long hair but something about his hair and the feather intertwined into it was just really appealing? and while I know why Connor shaved his hair I couldn’t help but screech when he did lmao but that’s because it’s obviously not my tradition and it’s abnormal to me. pfft

27. Revelations is one of the best AC games and I’ll fight anyone on this. It was phenomenal given how it finally concluded Ezio’s story (and remember Ezio was the face of the franchise for years and he was fan favourite and still is so there were some pressure and expectations) and how it also concluded Altair’s story.

28. Altair wasn’t that interesting in the original game but Revelations added depth and layers to his characters and made him way more intriguing. The game also gave this character important significance to the lore and I think that’s the perfect way to honour the guy who started it all. As much as we love Ezio, Altair came before and without him, Assassin’s Creed wouldn’t quite be the way it was today. (although it’s up to you if that’s a bad thing or not lmao)

29. And seeing Ezio old and matured, becoming this wise legend of a man was really cool and getting to play as him in his final journey was both heartbreaking but satisfactory.

30. I have to give a massive applause to Ubisoft for making Leonardo gay as well in Brotherhood prominently. I don’t think it was ever proven historically if he was? but it was rumoured? and yet Ubisoft went and made it canon giving that representation while also having Ezio outright say he’s okay with Leonardo dating men?! Like, in that time period if you were gay you could go to prison and the general view of homosexuality was that of disgust and yet Ezio is just here supporting his best friend? hell yes.

31. ALKIBIADES

32. I have certain feelings with Unity, but I won’t lie that the parkour was spot on in that game.

33. Gideon Emery....just Gideon Emery as Reginald Birch. The character’s a massive prick but god...that voice.

34. Connor mentioning his grandfather Edward as he’s sailing the Aquila.

35. Getting to see the wreck of the Jackdaw in Assassin’s Creed Freedom Cry was gut-wrenching.

36. Finally getting to pet animals in ACIII.

37. Finally getting to feed pigs in a video game ^^

38. SHAUN HASTINGS

39. OKay, I like Shaun because the guy is really entertaining and he’s British like me and I need to see this fucker in future games again...because after Syndicate he just vanishes and we got...Fucking Layla ugh.

40. The Naval combat in Black Flag is unmatched, fighting other ships never felt like a chore and it was fun and thrilling and the rewards felt deserving. And the feeling of taking down your first Man’o War is RIVETING.

41. Rebecca calling the Animus ‘Baby’

42. She’s another character I want to see come back. And she and Shaun better come back and be alive.

43. Lucy being a Templar was a plot twist I never saw coming but I was all for that angst especially when it seemed like they were setting up what I thought was the inevitable Desmond x Lucy romance. But I guessed wrong.

44. Yusuf Tazim being the joy and light of Revelations. fuck you Ubisoft

45. Ezio’s family theme song is the most iconic video game songs ever.

46. The introduction of Alkibiades in Odyssey, what a great way to introduce a character. like seriously, I fell in love with that fucker the moment he started speaking and felt up Kassandra’s arms while being half naked and wasted.

47. Bayek being a breath of fresh air in wonderfully written complex characters whose story was powerful and tragic. He needs a sequel.

48. Assassins Creed Brotherhood’s trailer being iconic.

49. When returning to Florence to retrieve the apple and you bring Ezio back to his old home only to see the ghosts of his entire family waiting for him. I was gobsmacked when that happened and it’s such a beautiful detail.

50. Mary Read/James Kidd being one of the best characters in Black Flag and leader in the ‘did not deserve it’ club. Every minute of her was flipping terrific and her significance in Edward’s story as one of the driving points that turned him into a better man was great.

51. I cried at the end of Black Flag.

52. The little text about Shaun sobbing when you look at the database on Desmond the dog in Syndicate.

53. The lip scar being shared between Desmond, Ezio and Altair was a cool detail.

54. The interchangeable cloaks in ACII.

55. Henry Green was so soft, kind and lovely and I honestly adore him.

56. Cane swords in Syndicate WERE AWESOME

57. NO fall damage in Odyssey. Keep this feature I don’t care how impossible it is for me to survive a jump off of a giant statue of a naked god it’s cool and I want it for every other game about to be released.

58. If you walk through grass in Origins Bayek sticks his hand out like that scene in Gladiator.

59. The scene in ACII Where Ezio uncovers his father’s robes from the chest and holds it up, It’s an incredible scene and the music fits so well with it and if you’ve watched Lineage it’s all the more amazing.

60. Rosa being pretty and terrifying in ACII.

61. The Bleeding effect being that other thing in lore that is SO BLOODY INTRIGUING and I wish it was explored a bit more. Can you actually imagine having the bleeding effect? where you can’t tell the past and the present apart? where you see ghosts from the past and hear voices no one else hears? jesus,..

62. getting answers about Clay/Subject 16. Ever since he left that writing in the wall with his own blood I was hooked on his story and thank god we got answers and a face to the legendary name. I wouldn’t mind more of him though.

63. I’ve always been fascinated with Native Americans and finally getting to explore them a bit more in ACIII proved to be interesting and I hope it was satisfactory representation for Native Americans.

64. finally getting to play in the present day in assassin’s creed brotherhood and 3, like actually getting to run around and explore as Desmond.

(I did a post like this on my old blog and I’ve rewrote them on here but I also got some new things, I just like having a post like this on my blog and I like seeing people who also agree with these brilliant features in this franchise, you can pretty much tell which two games are my favourite lol, Black Flag and 2 will always have a special place in my heart,)

[adorians-unite]

“Assassin’s Creed Unity” Fan Tour of Paris: Explore Paris as a Fan of AC Unity

This series of posts will cover locations around Paris and surrounding areas significant to “Assassin’s Creed Unity”. All locations covered in this series are accessible in the game. Descriptions of each location will cover both real-world historical and in-game contexts, and may contain story spoilers.

Access the Fan Guide: | PDF | Google Slides | Google Maps | Index |

La Conciergerie SEQUENCE 03, MEMORY 01: “Graduation”

HISTORY: 

The Conciergerie is a medieval castle that was built as the residence for the King of France in Paris, and expanded in the 13th Century to include Sainte-Chapelle.

During the time of the Revolution, the castle was used as a political prison, where the incarcerated awaited trial. Some of the more famous Revolutionary prisoners included Marat, Georges Danton, Maximilien Robespierre, and most famous of all, Marie-Antoinette.

Today, the Conciergerie it is a museum to the French judicial system and the French Revolution.

IN AC UNITY: 

After finishing his training, Arno is ready for his first mission as a full-fledged Assassin: He meets Pierre Bellec on the rooftops of the Conciergerie, where they witness a meeting between the Templar, Charles-Gabriel Sivert and his associates, Arpinon and Duchesneau, who had been extorting valuables from the imprisoned nobles in the Conciergerie. As Sivert and Duchesneau leave, Bellec and Arno assassinate Arpinon and his bodyguard, and seize the Templars’ ledger of extorted funds.

HELPFUL INFO:

La Conciergerie Official Site

La Conciergerie Opening Hours

Walkthrough: “Graduation”

[lotusterminalfreight]

Driving Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion: A Leadership Journey at Lotus Terminals

At Lotus Terminals, diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) are not just buzzwords; they’re integral to our company’s DNA. In our latest blog, we’re proud to share our journey as leaders in the transportation sector, championing DEI initiatives that foster a culture of respect, belonging, and empowerment for every team member.

Our Diverse Workforce:

From Mumbai to Vancouver, our workforce represents a tapestry of cultures and backgrounds. With people of colour, including South Asian and Chinese, alongside individuals from British, German and Eastern European descent, we celebrate the richness of diversity that fuels our success. Together, we provide seamless transportation solutions that exemplify unity in diversity.

Empowering Employee Wellbeing:

At Lotus Terminals, the wellbeing of our team members is paramount. We prioritize their physical and mental health through weekly training sessions led by personal trainers. Partnering with TELUS Health, we offer comprehensive employee wellbeing programs, ensuring access to resources that promote a healthy work-life balance.

Investing in Professional Growth:

We are committed to the professional development of our employees and support their career aspirations. Lotus Terminals does this in two ways. First, Lotus has invested in an internal Learning and Development Specialist to develop multimedia, asynchronous training programs to ensure employee success not only at the onboarding stage but also within the workflow. At Lotus Terminals, every day is viewed as an opportunity to learn and improve performance. Also, Lotus Terminals supports access to relevant courses and personal development sessions led by external experts. Our commitment to their growth extends beyond their current roles, empowering them to reach their full potential.

Fostering Authentic Communication:

Lotus Terminals employs the most current and effective digital communication tools so employees can communicate instantly and effectively with customers, vendors and colleagues. At Lotus Terminals, we are proud of our close working relationships that transcend physical location. Equally, open and transparent communication is the cornerstone of our culture. We foster an environment where employees have a voice in shaping their career paths, encouraging regular dialogues between team members and leadership. Here, ideas and concerns are not just heard but valued.

Making a Community Impact:

Contributing to our community is integral to our mission. Our employees actively participate in community initiatives, making a meaningful impact beyond their work at Lotus Terminals. By giving back, we strengthen the bonds within our team and create a positive ripple effect in society.

Exceeding Expectations Together:

At Lotus Terminals, we set high standards not only for our business performance but also for our commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). Our belief in DEI is not just a statement; it’s woven into the fabric of our company culture. By fostering a culture of togetherness and collaboration, we empower our team members to embrace their unique perspectives and experiences. Through inclusive practices and a commitment to accountability, we strive to create a workplace where every voice is valued, heard, and respected.

Fostering Inclusivity and Accountability:

At Lotus Terminals, we believe that diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) are not just ideals to aspire to; they are integral to our identity and success. By fostering a culture of togetherness and collaboration, we empower our team members to embrace their unique perspectives and experiences. Through inclusive practices and a commitment to accountability, we strive to create a workplace where every voice is valued, heard, and respected. Together, we exceed expectations by harnessing the power of diversity to drive innovation, creativity, and excellence. In doing so, we not only achieve our business goals but also advance our DEI efforts, making Lotus Terminals a place where everyone can thrive and succeed.

Our commitment to DEI and employee wellbeing is deeply ingrained in our company culture. We provide the tools, resources, and support needed for our team members to flourish both professionally and personally. Together, we’re driving diversity, equity, and inclusion forward, ensuring that Lotus Terminals remains a place where everyone thrives, innovates, and makes a lasting impact.

[mk1comics]

Highlights from this Thursday's new comic list -   full cover gallery for this delivery can be found here https://blog.mk1.co.nz/COVERGALLERY      

Comics/Magazines   

ABSOLUTE CARNAGE IMMORTAL HULK #1 AC https://www.previewsworld.com/Catalog/AUG190914

BATMAN #251 FACSIMILE EDITION https://www.previewsworld.com/Catalog/AUG190442

BATMAN #80 https://www.previewsworld.com/Catalog/AUG190480

BATMAN TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES III #6 (OF 6) https://www.previewsworld.com/Catalog/AUG190495

BERSERKER UNBOUND #3 (OF 4)  https://www.previewsworld.com/Catalog/AUG190261

BIZARRE ADVENTURES #1 https://www.previewsworld.com/Catalog/AUG190998

BLACK CAT #5 https://www.previewsworld.com/Catalog/AUG190954

CANTO #5 (OF 6) https://www.previewsworld.com/Catalog/AUG190815

CHAMPIONS #10 https://www.previewsworld.com/Catalog/AUG191082

CONTAGION #1 (OF 5) https://www.previewsworld.com/Catalog/AUG191015

COPRA #1 (MR) https://www.previewsworld.com/Catalog/AUG190053

DAREDEVIL #12 https://www.previewsworld.com/Catalog/AUG191083

DCEASED #5 (OF 6) https://www.previewsworld.com/Catalog/AUG190502

DEAD EYES #1  https://www.previewsworld.com/Catalog/AUG190060

DEATHSTROKE #48 YOTV https://www.previewsworld.com/Catalog/AUG190500

DIE #8 CVR A HANS (MR) https://www.previewsworld.com/Catalog/AUG190179

DOCTOR STRANGE #20 https://www.previewsworld.com/Catalog/JUL191020

DOLLAR COMICS JOKER #1 https://www.previewsworld.com/Catalog/AUG190585

DOOM PATROL WEIGHT OF THE WORLDS #4 (MR) https://www.previewsworld.com/Catalog/AUG190578

DREAMING #14 (MR) https://www.previewsworld.com/Catalog/AUG190574

DUNGEONS & DRAGONS A DARKENED WISH #3 CVR A FOWLER https://www.previewsworld.com/Catalog/FEB190690

EVERYTHING #2 (MR) https://www.previewsworld.com/Catalog/AUG190257

FANTASTIC FOUR #15 https://www.previewsworld.com/Catalog/AUG191028

FLASH GIANT #1 https://www.previewsworld.com/Catalog/AUG190464

FUTURE FOUNDATION #3 https://www.previewsworld.com/Catalog/AUG191026

GHOST RIDER #1 https://www.previewsworld.com/Catalog/AUG190978

GREEN LANTERN #12 https://www.previewsworld.com/Catalog/AUG190522

GRENDEL DEVILS ODYSSEY #1 (OF 8)  https://www.previewsworld.com/Catalog/AUG190246

HARLEY QUINN #66 YOTV https://www.previewsworld.com/Catalog/AUG190526

HOUSE OF X #1 (OF 6) 4TH PTG LARRAZ VAR https://www.previewsworld.com/Catalog/JUL198663

HOUSE OF X #6 (OF 6) https://www.previewsworld.com/Catalog/AUG190870

IMMORTAL HULK #24 https://www.previewsworld.com/Catalog/JUL190959

INVADER ZIM #47  https://www.previewsworld.com/Catalog/JUL192091

JOE GOLEM OCCULT DETECTIVE CONJURORS #5 (OF 5) https://www.previewsworld.com/Catalog/JUL190403

JUSTICE LEAGUE #33 https://www.previewsworld.com/Catalog/AUG190534

LEGION OF SUPER HEROES MILLENNIUM #2 (OF 2) https://www.previewsworld.com/Catalog/AUG190450

LOIS LANE #4 (OF 12) https://www.previewsworld.com/Catalog/AUG190542

MARVEL ACTION BLACK PANTHER #3   https://www.previewsworld.com/Catalog/JAN190804

MARVEL COMICS #1000 2ND PTG BUCKINGHAM VAR https://www.previewsworld.com/Catalog/JUL198110

MARVEL COMICS #1001 https://www.previewsworld.com/Catalog/JUL190881

NO ONE LEFT TO FIGHT #4 (OF 5) https://www.previewsworld.com/Catalog/AUG190294

NOMEN OMEN #1 (OF 15)(MR) https://www.previewsworld.com/Catalog/AUG190030

OLD MAN QUILL #10 (OF 12) https://www.previewsworld.com/Catalog/AUG191074

ONCE & FUTURE #1 (OF 6) FINAL PRINTING (6TH PTG) https://www.previewsworld.com/Catalog/JUL198620

ONCE & FUTURE #2 (OF 6) (2ND PTG) https://www.previewsworld.com/Catalog/JUL198688

POWERS OF X #1 (OF 6) 4TH PTG SILVA VAR https://www.previewsworld.com/Catalog/JUL198666

PUNISHER #16 https://www.previewsworld.com/Catalog/AUG191090

RED SONJA #9 https://www.previewsworld.com/Catalog/AUG191300

SAVAGE AVENGERS #6 https://www.previewsworld.com/Catalog/AUG191043

SEA OF STARS #4 https://www.previewsworld.com/Catalog/AUG190212

SOMETHING IS KILLING CHILDREN #1 (4TH PTG) https://www.previewsworld.com/Catalog/JUL198621

SPACE BANDITS #4 (OF 5) (MR) https://www.previewsworld.com/Catalog/AUG190215

SPIDER-VERSE #1 https://www.previewsworld.com/Catalog/AUG190958

STAR WARS #72 https://www.previewsworld.com/Catalog/JUL191068

STAR WARS DOCTOR APHRA #37 https://www.previewsworld.com/Catalog/AUG191128

STRANGE SKIES OVER EAST BERLIN #1 https://www.previewsworld.com/Catalog/AUG191364

SUPERMAN UP IN THE SKY #4 (OF 6) https://www.previewsworld.com/Catalog/AUG190590

SWORD MASTER #4 https://www.previewsworld.com/Catalog/AUG191077

TRANSFORMERS GHOSTBUSTERS #5 (OF 5) https://www.previewsworld.com/Catalog/AUG190759

TRUE BELIEVERS X-MEN BISHOP #1 https://www.previewsworld.com/Catalog/AUG190889

TRUE BELIEVERS X-MEN KITTY PRYDE & EMMA FROST #1 https://www.previewsworld.com/Catalog/AUG190888

YOUNG JUSTICE #9 https://www.previewsworld.com/Catalog/AUG190582

 Volumes/Books/Graphic Novels/Manga   

AVATAR LAST AIRBENDER TP TEAM AVATAR TALES  https://www.previewsworld.com/Catalog/MAY180351

AVATAR LAST AIRBENDER TP VOL 18 IMBALANCE PART 3  https://www.previewsworld.com/Catalog/MAY190259

BATMAN & THE JUSTICE LEAGUE MANGA TP VOL 03 https://www.previewsworld.com/Catalog/JUL190632

BATWOMAN HAUNTED TIDES TP https://www.previewsworld.com/Catalog/JUL190633

COSMIC GHOST RIDER DESTROYS MARVEL HISTORY TP https://www.previewsworld.com/Catalog/JUL191102

DOOMSDAY CLOCK HC PART 01 https://www.previewsworld.com/Catalog/JUL190638

ESTRANGED SC GN VOL 02 CHANGELING KING (C: 0-1-0) https://www.previewsworld.com/Catalog/JUL191985

IMMORTAL HULK HC VOL 01 https://www.previewsworld.com/Catalog/APR190949

MAJOR X TP https://www.previewsworld.com/Catalog/JUL191103

MORNING IN AMERICA TP https://www.previewsworld.com/Catalog/JUN191843

MY HERO ACADEMIA GN VOL 21 https://www.previewsworld.com/Catalog/AUG192431

MY HERO ACADEMIA VIGILANTES GN VOL 06 (C: 1-0-1) https://www.previewsworld.com/Catalog/AUG192433

NEON FUTURE TP VOL 01 https://www.previewsworld.com/Catalog/AUG192019

SPIDER-MAN FAR FROM HOME HC ART OF MOVIE SLIPCASE https://www.previewsworld.com/Catalog/MAR191001

SUNNY ROLLS THE DICE GN https://www.previewsworld.com/Catalog/JUL191982

SUPERMAN TP VOL 01 THE UNITY SAGA PHANTOM EARTH https://www.previewsworld.com/Catalog/JUL190656

THANOS OGN HC INFINITY ENDING https://www.previewsworld.com/Catalog/JUN191038

WHITE BIRD A WONDER STORY GN  https://www.previewsworld.com/Catalog/JUL192033

WICKED & DIVINE TP VOL 09 https://www.previewsworld.com/Catalog/JUN190046

YOUNG JUSTICE THE ANIMATED SER TP BOOK 01 THE EARLY MISSIONS https://www.previewsworld.com/Catalog/JUL190668

Next Week's Schedule has been announced here https://www.previewsworld.com/Article/235349-PREVIEWSworlds-New-Releases-For-1092019  Quick Picks follow   (have a look through the schedule - this list is just a quick once over).

BATMANS GRAVE #1 (OF 12) https://www.previewsworld.com/Catalog/AUG190434

RWBY #1 (OF 7) https://www.previewsworld.com/Catalog/AUG190454

JOKER HARLEY CRIMINAL SANITY #1 (OF 9) https://www.previewsworld.com/Catalog/AUG190443

SPAWN #301 https://www.previewsworld.com/Catalog/JUL190084

DOCTOR DOOM #1 https://www.previewsworld.com/Catalog/AUG190992

JOURNEY STAR WARS RISE SKYWALKER ALLEGIANCE #1 https://www.previewsworld.com/Catalog/AUG191107

[zydrateacademy]

Review - Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey

Some of my readers may recall that I found Origins to be lackluster, or at least my review gave off that impression. I believe one of my quotes was, “An extra year of work and this is all they could come up with?” I’m going to be honest, while I did have a good couple dozen hours on Origins I feel that kind of opinion was premature. I actually found Origins to be quite fun, and I would go on to play and beat it up to three times, including a full playthrough on my YouTube channel. Origins was fine and the combat was fun. Odyssey comes to us with a lot of the same ‘feel’. The combat is largely the same but with some tweaks, and I’ll get onto that shortly. I do have some vague gripes but I’ll attempt to salvage what little I know of the game’s story to start people off with.

Also, there will be spoilers in this review. We return to Layla Hassan, the vaguely ‘rogue’ Abstergo employee that found Bayek and Aya in the previous game. Apparently there was a bit of a timeskip or there’s even more lore I’ve lost out on not reading the comics, because there’s some implication that she went full on rogue and is in hiding from Abstergo, now. I’m not even really sure what her motivations are anymore other than a more classic artifact hunt, from the precursor race that has haunted the series. She finds the spear of Leonidas which has the DNA of two siblings, which she can use to hunt through their memories due to an upgraded Animus, as opposed to digging through one’s own ancestors. I still find it a bit odd. In the first couple of AC games, it was implied that the precursor race and their technology was a mostly recent find and the two secret societies were practically scrambling just to get their hands on one. Here in Odyssey, we’re practically tripping over them. The main antagonists have one that is some kind of mind-reader. The spear of Leonidas turns out to be one. There’s a series of mini quests where you find a half-dozen “Apples of Eden”. Remember that? From The first three games? The entire plot centered around one, and now we get several!  So we’re put in the bodies of one of two protagonists, Kassandra or Alexios. Most sources I spoke to have chosen Kassandra, and there’s some consensus that her voice acting is stronger. I admit my choice is a bit more personal. I, like many people, are starved for proper female protagonists. Evie in Syndicate was plenty of fun but the game still forced Jacob gameplay on you from time to time. Playing as Aya in Origins was mostly a gimmick, only in naval combat (a precursor to Odyssey’s current style) and during some of the finale segments. She wasn’t customizeable, couldn’t change her gear or anything so again, mostly a gimmick. Yikes, this is a lot of negative for what is really a good game! Maybe I’m getting it out of the way? I did say there are several improvements, so let’s get down to the mechanics of the game. There’s a lot of them, now.

The combat is a lot more fluid and reminds me of the days in Unity where you actually had to think about how you fought. In Origins, I basically dodged everything and used the heavy attacks exclusively. That’s been tweaked here, as I feel Kassandra’s dodge is a bit shorter range and the full on dodge puts her much further away from the enemy that is desirable so you must decide what kind of dodge to use and when, but mostly it forces you to learn how to actually parry. Parrying has been in pretty much every AC game but this time it actually opens enemies up for combo attacks, wherein you can mix and match light and heavy attacks, and there’s eventually a perk to pick up to give you bonus damage if you do exactly that.

You have three kinds of damage trees you can actively focus on this time around. Between Hunter, Warrior, and Assassin, which are all self explanatory. Rather than keeping them all even, you can actually choose to focus on one style over another. I am personally trying to keep my Assassin and Warrior lines fairly even. Stealth is, as in Origins, incredibly powerful but you won’t be able to one-shot enemies anymore if you are under geared or have been neglecting your spear (which is your blade in the absence of the hidden one). Open combat is however, extremely common so I can’t imagine going full Assassin and being able to get much done. Maybe by better gamers than I.  Moving on, the world is... extremely large. I’m not sure how much larger than previous games they’ve claimed but it’s probably true. Adding to that fact is Fast Travel is only linked to Synchronization points rather than any and every city or major outpost. With a further lack of those, you’re forced to run or mount your way through the world and I’m here to tell you... you’re going to actually want to. Most of the world’s various points are in fact, relevant to something. Ancient ruins have tablets as loot that you’ll need to upgrade your ship. Alpha animal dens typically have high amounts of leather, mines have metals. Many points even have clues against cultists (which I’ll get into later), legendary gear or just fighting will lower the power level of the region which unlocks Conquests, a fun full-battle gimmick which again, I’ll describe shortly. Basically, there’s almost always a reason to actually explore a majority of question marks on your map as you’ll walk away with something that’s worth your time. Browsing my map just now, I can see I’ve skipped a few but I imagine something will take me to them in the future.

This game has a couple of new features that mixes things up. We’re in the Peloponnesian War, which reflects as an actual game mechanic. Every region is controlled by either Athens or Sparta. Your character is a mercenary and can choose to fight for either side at any time without any consequence, and you’ll be forced to after a certain point. I picked up a contract (which are constantly spawning quests, so there’ll never be anything to not do) that required me to kill three Athenian region leaders. Unfortunately, I had been favoring Sparta up to that point and all the regions within my level at the time were all controlled by Sparta. I had to kill and weaken my own favored people in order to shift the control so I could do it all over again against a different faction for epic gear and rewards. Doing all of this unlocks conquests, where are full on battles where you fight hordes of your chosen enemy faction while dealing with captains, bosses, and mercenaries that like to pop up during them. It’s probably the more fun of the new mechanics but I can already see it as just ‘going through the motions’ at a certain point, but they’re worth doing due to the amount of experience they offer.

Speaking of Mercenaries, the game has a bounty and “Wanted” system, reminiscent of earlier games. In games like AC2, your wanted meter affected how quickly Ezio got caught by patrolling guards. In Odyssey, you get hunted by enemy mercenaries which you can choose to kill or knock out and recruit them to your ship’s crew. There’s even an entire tier system as your character earns their way up a “tier” listing and eventually become the top dog. It’s all very similar to Shadow of Mordor’s orc hierarchies but it’s a less complex variant. They all have their unique names, backstories, and weaknesses but there are no over-bosses and nothing you can really do to manipulate their flow. You can only really control your bounty meter, which you can pay it off or kill the sponsor who hosted the contract against you. Beyond that, it lends to some interesting encounters. One merc helped me against a legendary animal quest, but more often than not they’ll come swarming when I’m trying to stealth or fight through an enemy fort, usually resulting me in fleeing. When they show up, it almost always complicates matters so unless you’re actively hunting for the gear they carry, it’s best to keep your bounty as low as possible.

Also having the same ‘feel’ as Shadow of Mordor’s orc mechanic is the Cult of Kosmos. I only found this story arc, maybe an entire fifteen hours into the game but that’s because I spent several doing nothing but exploring the map as my level allowed. Still, it’s a very interesting idea. Once you discover their existence you’re given an entire menu to hunt them down, and doing so is necessary to power up Leonidas’ Spear, alongside several very powerful legendary sets of armor. The idea is that you don’t have all of their identities unlocked and cannot track them all immediately (though it does give you a handful of freebies to get you started). Instead, you have to explore the world or actively investigate some of the clues they give you. This one is fairly straightforward;

However I once had one that said he was in a “Wolf’s Den” in a certain region, so I had to do some actual footwork. Another was near Athens and just told me to “help people nearby”, which turns out that I just had to do several side quests before their identity was revealed. So some of them are locked behind the story, you won’t get them all right away. It’s a very interesting way to go about it. As I said earlier about the world, you might just trip over some clues as you’re out exploring. While some cultists might be locked behind story, there WILL be some just actively wandering the world and you might not know you’re killing one until the “confirm cultist kill” message pops up. Next we have the naval combat, which I have mixed feelings towards. Black Flag is the series golden boy in terms of naval combat, and is one of the best games in the series if you can stomach the more lackluster main story missions (though the story was great overall and I liked Edward’s arc). While there’s certainly some complexity to be had in Odyssey’s ship combat, I still find it a bit more flighty and fast paced, but not in the best way. In BF, the ships felt... meatier. While not being slow, they were big and they hit the waves in a convincing manner. In Odyssey and even Origin’s own special segments, everything just hauls ass and cuts through water like it’s not even there. Even ramming is considered a major part of ship combat and frankly, I’d prefer the balancing flow of firing volleys and bracing against their own shots at the right time. You even get extra rewards if you manage to cleave a ship in two when you’re finishing them off.

I’d rather just shoot stuff, honestly. It still retains its enjoy-ability and I don’t at all ever hate going out to sea, I just don’t like more extended fights and I’m still not sure which of the three actions nets the most rewards; Cleaving, Boarding, or Shoot N’ Loot? I’ll figure it out eventually. So there’s a couple more of points of contention before I summarize.

It can be glitchy at times. I did a Spartan Kick againt an alpha lion for him to clip into the rocks. The game lacks the movement control Unity once had, so holding shift while trying to run away has Kassandra mount every brazier, stick or overhang which can lead to me losing more health than I’d like when fighting stronger enemies. There are some reports of people not getting legendary items (which only ever drop the once). You have to manually save, because right now it’s all cloud saved so if that gets lost or corrupted, you could lose dozens of hours of progress and that kind of thing causes gamers to quit. It’s not nearly as bad as Unity’s release but there are the occasional game breakers which I’ve yet to experience, thankfully. Finally, I’m a bit iffy on the leveling speed. Using very simple math based on my level and hours placed, I net around one level per hour. There was plenty of exploration within that but I was still actively doing stuff, clearing forts and the like. The world is massive and there’s plenty to do in general, I just feel like there’s a lot of footwork to get anything done. Since enemies scale with you (at 50, all regions will be at least 46, where the rewards cap out), I feel the level locked regions are a bit pointless. This ties into a current bout of controversy, so let’s dive into that before I summarize. 

Microtransactions are still a thing. People are exhausted but we expect it from Ubisoft. While it’s mostly cosmetic, there are sets of gear you can buy that have their own stats and bonuses as legendary sets have their own boost when you wear all five pieces. They aren’t any more powerful than other gear, though having a full legendary set right off the bat will certainly give you an edge. The main debate is that the scaling for endgame becomes a bit skewed and I’ve heard from some players that the last few levels are a hell of a marathon to level through. The story offers a permanent 50% experience and money boost (including a variety of cheaper, more temporary ones) which some reviewers have stated does actually make the game better. I imagine such a boost probably makes questing a better incentive and thus leveling quicker. One reviewer made mention of “Pay to play the game less” I find incredibly inaccurate and they probably haven’t actually played (because of course!). As an actual player, I will say the game is massive. The story is long, the regions are large, and you can’t exactly just sprint through the main story and ignore everything else. Especially when several of those “everything else” can be a lot of fun! Even at level cap, you’re probably still hunting those last few cultists, switching some regions to your favored faction, ekeing out those ship upgrades, getting money to fully upgrade your legendary set, or even finding a full legendary set that suits your playstyle the most if you haven’t already. There’s a lot to do and while offering a permanent boost for 20$ is certainly a bit scummy, the “pay to play less” is a horrendous misunderstanding of the game. The game is good! It’s an improvement on Origins in several ways and for once I actually enjoy exploring the variety of question marks that litter my map. I’m only halfway through the world, there’s so much I want to do, armor sets that I wish to acquire to suit my more stealthy playstyle. The world is gorgeous and photo mode has returned to accentuate that fact. There’s no assassin order nor are there Templars, just a cult you’re set out to destroy for some personal slights. You’re a mercenary and the world is yours. Odyssey will also be receiving some support and attention as they won’t be releasing one in 2019, so for a game we’ll be ‘stuck’ with for a couple of years, we’re in good hands.