THE SMALL EASY
Whaddya know…folks who aren’t 12-years old (or who actually purchased a Vita for themselves) are now finally able to play Liberation. The game is packed with HD graphics this time around, giving it a one two punch that the PSP just couldn’t create. The game lets you take control of Aveline de Grandpre, the daughter of a Merchant and a slave. Set in New Orleans just a few short years before the events of the American Revolution, Liberation lets you see the seedier side of the time period.
Aveline can take on three “roles” by changing what she is wearing, be it the clothes of a highborn lady, the rags of a slave, or the infamous cloak of the assassin. Each persona has its own special abilities and certain missions give you a choice of what to wear, thereby changing the tactics you have to use to complete the mission. The assassin is by far the best at combat, but is immediately recognized as a threat if seen. The slave lets you have access to some of your weapons but also lets you be incognito. With the lady you only have your hidden blade and a “Blowpipe parasol.” The lady can’t even climb, but gains notoriety extremely slow. Using the correct combination of guises can make the gameplay interesting and leaves you thinking before each mission on what you think you should do.
One neat little feature of Liberation is how it implements the Chain Kill from the Vita. Originally designed to be used with the systems touch screen, it allows you to pause the game and line up kills when facing multiple enemies. Aveline will then dispatch them gruesomely and effectively, creating a nice little cut scene for your viewing enjoyment. Unfortunately, other aspects of the Vita were included. For example, in the original game there was a puzzle where you had to tilt the Vita to try to make a little ball go into a hole (remember that game we all played on long car rides when we were kids!). When the same puzzle was converted to the current platforms, you have to control the tilting with the control stick. This just sucks and is just ultimately frustrating.
Although the graphics are great, the size of the world is the same as it was on the Vita: small. There are only three main areas you get to explore and you can get 100 percent completion in less than 15 hours. When I say 100%, I mean finding all the optional objects and doing every mission. Don’t let that get you down though. If you’re a fan of the series it is definitely worth checking out for the story alone, chock full of little bits of assassin lore. It answers some questions, and leaves many unanswered (something Ubisoft is all too known for).