Ubisoft Montreal Game Reviews
Review Assassin's Creed Unity (PS4) - Buggy French Open World Is Disappointing
Heads will roll
Republished on Wednesday 13th July, 2022: We're bringing this review back from the archives following the announcement of July's PS Plus Extra, Premium lineup. The original text follows. French publisher Ubisoft is on its home turf with Assassin's Creed Unity. With a sprawling recreation of 18th Century Paris to explore, the game...
Review Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag (PS4) - Ship-Shape Open World Pirate Escapade
Livin' the sweet trade
Republished on Wednesday 13th July, 2022: We're bringing this review back from the archives following the announcement of July's PS Plus Extra, Premium lineup. The original text follows. Ubisoft has outdone itself with Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag, as there’s more to see and do than ever in this exciting world of...
Review Rainbow Six: Extraction (PS5) – Limited Time Event Turned Middling Co-Op Shooter
Live die repeat
The Outbreak event in Rainbow Six: Siege all the way back in 2018 was a ton of fun. It presented the tactical shooter in a new light, offering something different to players that might have wanted a more fulfilling PvE experience than the tepid “terrorist hunt” offering in the base game. Ubisoft clearly felt there was enough...
"You are incorrigible"
Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Game is finally back after years removed from digital shelves. The 2D beat-'em-up translates the story of the graphic novels and movie well, with each stage culminating with a boss fight against one of Ramona's evil exes. It's a highly entertaining title, but with no real changes in this new...
Review Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Siege (PS5) - Multiplayer FPS Is Only Let Down by Its Community
Intentional team kill
As of December 1st, Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Siege is five years old. Yes, you read that right. But how to celebrate such an incredible milestone for one of the only true Games as a Service success stories? Well, how about a shiny new version of the game that offers an array of improvements? Sure, there are still plenty of...
Review Assassin's Creed Valhalla (PS5) - Next-Gen Upgrade Is One of the Best Games in the Series
The raven's call
Assassin's Creed Valhalla was a disappointment on PS4. Plagued by a constant and unending stream of bugs, an otherwise great open world adventure was held back on Sony's last-gen console. Thank the Norse gods for PS5, then. The new system improves Valhalla massively, to the point where we could actually sit back and enjoy the game's...
Review Watch Dogs Legion (PS5) - Bland Open-Worlder at Least Looks and Runs Better
Rude Brittania
Technically speaking, at least, Watch Dogs Legion is an objectively better game on PlayStation 5 than PlayStation 4. It runs better, it looks better, and it loads much faster. That all does wonders for creating a much smoother experience on Sony's latest console, making sure you spend a lot more of your precious time in the thick of...
Review Assassin's Creed Valhalla (PS4) - Epic Viking Adventure Buckled by Countless Bugs
The Raven still beguiling
Picture the scene: you and your battle-hardened Viking clan are storming a huge Saxon fortress. You've smashed through the main gate, torn your enemies to pieces in the courtyard, and now you're racing towards the central keep. A degenerate king waits inside, surrounded by his finest warriors — but they're not going to...
Review For Honor - Medieval Brawler Comes Out Swinging
'Tis but a scratch
Republished on Wednesday 30th January 2019: We're bringing this review back from the archives following the announcement of February's PlayStation Plus lineup. The original text follows. The back and forth of a mano-a-mano sword fight rarely gets encapsulated effectively in video game form, and even the likes of Nioh or Dark...
Orthanc was a Ubisoft tower?
Transference is one of those games that’s best experienced knowing as little about what awaits you as possible. As such, we intend to remain as vague as possible when it comes to discussing narrative threads and consequences, while still giving you a good idea of how the experience adds up as a whole. Although, with...
Review Far Cry 5: Lost on Mars (PS4)
Spaced out
Far Cry 5, like a few of Ubisoft's high profile releases, has come with the promise of a weird and wonderful DLC schedule that takes the base game and places it in increasingly strange scenarios. Lost on Mars is the latest bizarre excursion for the open world shooter, and it's probably about what you're expecting. It doesn't take itself...
Review Far Cry 5: Hours of Darkness (PS4)
Hell or high whatever
In the two months since its release, the general consensus surrounding Far Cry 5 has settled on it being a solid experience but also one that didn’t bring anything new to the table. In the hope of finding something fresh, series fans have been placing their bets on the game’s post-launch DLC to satisfy those needs. The...
Daddy issues
If an AI were to create a game based on popular Google search terms for video games, Far Cry 5 would likely be the result. Whether that's a good or a bad thing largely depends on what you expect from Far Cry at this point, and probably games in general. Because Far Cry 5 isn't a bad game – in fact, it's an awful lot of good old...
Review Assassin's Creed Origins (PS4)
Welcome Bayek
Assassin's Creed Origins has exceeded our expectations by some distance. After the disaster that was Assassin's Creed Unity and the solid but unremarkable Assassin's Creed Syndicate, it was clear that Ubisoft needed to take a step back and reassess its sandbox property. Fortunately, the company made the right call when it decided to...
Bark or bite?
This is what you wanted, people – this is what you voted for. No, not Trump or Brexit, but a city run by the Blume Corporation where absolutely everyone is constantly under the gaze of an advanced Big Brother surveillance system. This near future society is a Black Mirror-esque teched-up metropolis where ctOS2.0 connects everyone...
Evolution not revolution
It's easy to imagine that when the team behind Far Cry Primal were deciding what their latest outing should be, they looked back over their previous titles and asked: what do people most enjoy about Far Cry? One of the things that would probably be near the top of that list would be the hunting and crafting that acted as one...
Review Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Siege (PS4)
Once more unto the breach dear friends
A teammate is yelling at the hostage to be quiet. Whether they've had a serious mental break causing them to scream at what amounts to a collection of polygons on a screen is up for debate, but what is certain is that you're both in deep trouble. What was believed to be a fortified, secure room is now anything...
Review Far Cry 4: Valley of the Yetis (PlayStation 4)
Different, Yeti the same
The latest piece of downloadable content for Far Cry 4 – Valley of the Yetis – serves up another sizeable slice of action for the Kyrat faithful, and sees protagonist Ajay Ghale crash landing in the titular valley while investigating reports that Pagan Min's forces are on the hunt for a mysterious relic. After waking...
Review Assassin's Creed Unity: Dead Kings (PlayStation 4)
Merde
If we were writing this review for an English literature class, we'd argue that Franciade is a metaphor for Assassin's Creed Unity as a whole. The expansive sandbox setting, which serves as hero Arno Dorian's stomping ground during add-on Dead Kings, is dark and dreary, contrasting the oversaturated architecture of Paris with something a...
Review Far Cry 4 (PlayStation 4)
Take a walk on the wild side
Far Cry 3 managed to blend a near perfect mix of open world and first-person shooter, taking players to the darker side of a Pacific paradise, where many of the inhabitants were the definition of insane. For its sequel, there’s a definite feeling that Ubisoft took the view 'if it’s not broken, don’t fix it', so Far...
Review Watch Dogs: Bad Blood (PlayStation 4)
Dreadlock screen
Watch Dogs was a solid sandbox title that was let down by a shallow story and a weak cast of characters, and even though it featured a number of well designed missions and some great combat, a severe lack of personality kept proceedings from being truly memorable. Flash forward, and we have the game's first expansion: Bad Blood...
Review Child of Light (PlayStation Vita)
Summer child
It took longer and was more brutal than a rap battle between J.R.R. Tolkien and George R.R. Martin, but Child of Light has finally made it to the PlayStation Vita. Those of you who have been desperately waiting to see what all the fuss was about can, after almost three months, join Aurora on her rather poetic quest to save the world...
Review Watch Dogs (PlayStation 4)
Push square to hack
Ever since its announcement and reveal back at E3 2012, Ubisoft's Watch Dogs has ironically been held under close inspection. A sandbox adventure with a focus on hacking, it's an ambitious game that's chocked full of ideas and mechanics taken from some of the publisher's other properties and various open world titles. If you took...
Review Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag (PlayStation 3)
Nautical but nice
There’s more treasure to plunder in Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag than in an entire sunken Spanish fleet. Ubisoft’s seafaring sequel represents another colossal endeavour for the ambitious organisation, leaving you free to sail the colourful Caribbean Sea in search of fame, fortune, and more grog than an honest mariner...
Review Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon (PlayStation 3)
Boom for your buck
Most first-person shooters settle for a few additional maps, a handful of new weapons, and a couple of bonus missions in their post-release period. Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon, however, blows that tradition out of the water, delivering a compelling standalone experience that's both out of the ordinary in delivery and subject matter...
Review Far Cry 3 (PlayStation 3)
Insane in the membrane
Far Cry 3 will find you questioning your sanity, your loyalty, and your will to survive. This tropical adventure gone violent provides the perfect distraction for you to whittle away your winter nights with – and days, too. It offers an exhilarating journey that you'll struggle to put down, and will linger long in the memory...
Review Assassin's Creed III (PlayStation 3)
Talkin' 'bout a Revolution
The Assassin's Creed franchise has taken us to a lot of places – Jerusalem, Istanbul and much of Italy for some — but it's only in the fifth mainline entry and PS Vita spin-off Assassin's Creed III: Liberation that Ubisoft has ventured to the other side of the Atlantic Ocean and breached North American shores. Neatly...
Review Rayman Origins (PlayStation Vita)
A portable platforming masterpiece
When the original Rayman was released in 1995, it was lauded for its lush and vibrant visuals, and it didn't hurt that the game featured some incredible level designs either. But after jumping aboard the 3D platformer bandwagon for the better part of a decade, the series recently took a trip back to its 2D roots...
Review Assassin's Creed: Revelations (PlayStation 3)
Not very revelatory
Considering its subtitle, Assassin’s Creed: Revelations is disappointingly light in this regard. While Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood managed to shatter our pre-conceptions last year, Revelations is the third series title in as many years, and it's starting to show. The mechanics that once felt new and interesting are...
Review Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood (PlayStation 3)
Brothers to the end
Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood picks up moments after the end of Assassin's Creed II. Remember that ending? Bizarre artifacts, weird mystical people and strange prophecies. Brotherhood begins as Ezio leaves the Colosseum with the Apple Of Eden — a bizarre, powerful relic — in hand. If Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood is your...
