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The final side-scrolling stealthy spin-off (say that three times) from Ubi and Climax Studios, Chronicles Russia is gorgeously drawn in the hues of 20th century propaganda, but fiendishly difficult. Spotty controls result in a lot of running into walls rather than up them, but at least you won’t have to avoid the usual swarm of civilians - there’s barely anyone in the streets, meaning that it’s up to the flat textures and boxy buildings to build the atmosphere. It’s a free-to-play affair, sending you to and fro to eliminate some guy / collect this artifact / escort this person in exchange for skill points you can spend on outfits, equipment, and move-sets. Sadly, you’ll probably spend more time messing around with that than you will the actual game.
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Ezio’s been swept aside for custom-created characters, each brought to life using a marvellous Italian name generator. Set in the Italian Renaissance, Identity attempts to recreate the series’ signature sneaking-and-stabbing gameplay, shrunken down for shorter sessions.
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Assassin’s Creed Identity launched on iOS with the intent to be more like the full-blooded console releases, albeit with an RPG spin.
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