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  1. Games
  2. Action
  3. Assassin's Creed
  4. Assassin's Creed Unity

AC Unity's stunning Paris - how does it compare to 8 totally unrelated things?

Features
By Chet Manly published 19 November 2014

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

Attention to detail

Attention to detail

Throughout the last few months, Ubisoft has been keen to point out just how realistic its version of 18th century 'revolutionary' Paris really is. Streets, people, and landmarks have been recreated in painstaking detail, and would undoubtedly be instantly recognisable to players who were alive back in 1789.

This has already prompted many of our competitors to run fascinating features that compare AC Unity's Paris to modern-day Paris, which - given that the two exist roughly 225 years apart - is a bit like comparing a grape to a raisin. Seeing how we were beaten to the punch on the whole game / real-life Paris comparison, we've instead decided to compare Assassin's Creed Unity's stunning rendition of Paris to eight totally random things. Enjoy! And learn.

Page 1 of 10
Page 1 of 10
Ile de la Citie vs A child's tricycle

Ile de la Citie vs A child's tricycle

Hmm, not a great start. Despite recreating the famous cathedral at Notre Dame in eye-breaking detail, the AC Unity team has totally failed to make it look anything like a child's trike. Poor show.

Page 2 of 10
Page 2 of 10
Notre Dame vs John Keats

Notre Dame vs John Keats

Let's take a closer look at that in-game version of Notre Dame. After squinting at it for several minutes, there's no way we can see a visual link between Paris' most famous religious monument, and 19th century romantic poet, John Keats. Very disappointing. It might be time to revisit our review score for Unity.

Page 3 of 10
Page 3 of 10
Les Halles vs a DVD copy of Body Heat

Les Halles vs a DVD copy of Body Heat

Ah the bustling market-heart of 18th century Paris. It looks positively alive in Assassin's Creed Unity, but frustratingly, it bears little resemblance to a DVD of Body Heat. Note how not even a single French peasant looks anything like William Hurt, or a plastic DVD box with a sleeve insert. Are you even trying, Ubi?

Page 4 of 10
Page 4 of 10
Versailles vs Cillit Bang

Versailles vs Cillit Bang

The palace at Versailles is the beating heart of French royal life, and in AC Unity, it's wonderfully detailed inside and out. We explored it for several minutes before realising that it in no way resembles a bottle of Cillit Bang. NO amount of opulent curtains and gold chandeliers can disguise the fact that it looks nothing like cheap floor cleaner.

Page 5 of 10
Page 5 of 10
Bievres vs a bag of crisps

Bievres vs a bag of crisps

Ah Bievres - the merchant district of Paris on the left bank of the river Seine. In Unity it's stuffed full of traders and and shipping equipment, quite unlike this bag of Walkers cheese and onion crisps, which contains only fried potato snacks. Such a wasted opportunity.

Page 6 of 10
Page 6 of 10
Louvre vs Mise En Scene

Louvre vs Mise En Scene

Ah-ha! Got a good feeling about this one, because both of these things have French names. And, after spending some time wandering around the famous artistic district of Paris, we did start to notice some similarities to the cinematic device of mise en scene. Well done, AC team!

Page 7 of 10
Page 7 of 10
The Bastille vs Lou Diamond Phillips

The Bastille vs Lou Diamond Phillips

After the success with 'Mise En Scene', we had high hopes for this one. However, after running around it for half an hour, we just couldn't see any similarities between Paris' notorious prison, and '90s bit-part actor Lou Diamond Phillips. Shame - we'd love to see the bastille starring alongside Emilio Esteves in Young Guns.

Page 8 of 10
Page 8 of 10
Versailles vs the 1991 Chicago Bulls

Versailles vs the 1991 Chicago Bulls

No. Even after scouring the inside of the French palace, we have to concede that it looks absolutely nothing like the hugely successful 1991 Chicago Bulls franchise. At one point, we thought we saw Scottie Pippen hiding behind a chaise-lounge, but it wasn't him.

Page 9 of 10
Page 9 of 10
Wait - didn't you use this outro slide before?

Wait - didn't you use this outro slide before?

Here are some things. 8 zero-point achievements that will make you cry, and winners of the 32nd annual Golden Joystick Awards.

Page 10 of 10
Page 10 of 10
CATEGORIES
PC Gaming PS4 Xbox One Platforms PlayStation Xbox
Chet Manly
Chet Manly
Chet cut his gaming teeth on PSone, then advocated multi-console love before it was cool to do so. He still claims Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 is the best game ever made, and swears he can "do all the tricks for real".
See more PC Gaming Features
Read more
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