Assassin's Creed Unity: Abstergo Entertainment: Employee Handbook
Review by Paul Fiander
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Book published by Titan Books for info click here
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There is something rather sinister about the way Ubisoft portray Abstergo as a company within the Assassins Creed franchise, especially now with their depiction as a games company. You can’t but smile at their cheek as they rub your nose in the meta joke of the evil game company trying to control the world. In this light Titan Books have published Assassin’s Creed Unity Abstergo Entertainment Employee Handbook, in order to put across the good side of the Templars. It is part history lesson from the other side of the AC franchise and a great way of bringing players up to date with new Assassin Arno Dorian.
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The design of the book feels like a prepared dossier giving the whole project a sense of continuity and from my knowledge of the series everything feels authentic. Admittedly some more learned fans of the franchise may spot gaps but this was a feat that eluded me. This kind of world building has the ability to elevate a game to a franchise and Assassin’s Creed really is becoming one of gaming’s yearly benchmarks. The book has a very tactile feel from the different textures used on the cover to the variety of pullouts embedded within its pages. It feels very reminiscent of books I had like this a youngster but the twist in this tale is the more adult theme of the content. This is not to say there is sex and violence instead there is just a tangled web of plots to follow. These were created by Author Christie Golden who has a very strong history in gaming related titles and this shows in the way she ties together the story through a string of documents. Visually there a number of pictures some look hand drawn where others are styled from everything from schematics to water colours. These help to move the book at a quick pace and for some it may feel a little short. Coming in at around the £30 mark this is really a book for the AC fan, however it can also be useful for new players who want to catch up with the series without playing through the catalogue of titles that precede Unity. May the father of understanding guide you in your purchase of this book (sorry I could not help myself).
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Book and Imagery received from Publisher
