Assassin's Creed Recollection Review

I've never played anything quite like Assassin's Creed Recollection. Ubisoft has somehow managed to mash up a collectible card game with realtime strategy, all with a deeply-integrated Assassin's Creed theme. And it works. Players spend in-game currency to purchase new card packs and construct their decks. Said decks can then be unleashed on the AI across 20 single-player missions, or against online opponents via Game Center matchmaking.

The card battles themselves are complex and complicated – Recollection's lengthy tutorial is a must. The goal is to fully control two of the three territories in each stage, by scoring ten points in that territory before your opponent. You can earn points several ways, most commonly by deploying attacking "agent" cards (think Assassins), or by placing passive "site" cards (think Borgia towers) that automatically earn points over time.

The realtime element comes from a looping timeline that marches across the center of the battle screen. Each full loop represents one in-game day, and most cards take a half-day to fully deploy or activate. Gold, spent to deploy cards, also accumulates in realtime. Finally, certain Surprise cards activate quickly, giving strategic gamers a chance to cancel an incoming attack or otherwise interrupt an opponent's action.



Recollection is a far better game and far bigger package than it needed to be. The card pool is huge, with 228 cards currently available, and more Revelations-themed cards in the works. All 228 feature gorgeous & unique artwork. Ubisoft also tossed in the entire 20-minute Embers CG short film and comprehensive high-res concept art galleries from all four Assassin's Creed titles. These bonuses alone would make the package an easy purchase for Assassin's Creed fans. Recollection is one of the best-looking iPad games I've played.

The card battles themselves are a little too slow-paced for my taste, but it's still satisfying to construct a themed deck and use it to take apart an opponent. One especially devious AI enemy uses a deck that allows him to rapidly draw cards, while deploying interrupts that force me to discard my own deck, limiting my options.

Oddly, the game flow never quite feels balanced – matches start off frantic, but end with a whimper and not a bang. By each game's end I was always stuck with a huge pile of Gold, waiting for the chance to draw and deploy another card.



Recollection's biggest downer comes by way of its shameless emphasis on In-App Purchases. After completing the entire Single Player I had only unlocked 98 of the game's 228 cards. By forcing players to buy random booster packs, each containing one Rare, players would likely need to spend $50 or more to complete a full set. Ubisoft's store itself also causes problems. No card packs can ever be bought offline, even spending points earned in-game.

Still, anyone remotely interested in the Assassin's Creed universe or in card strategy titles can safely ignore these In-App Purchases and get a lot of enjoyment out of the base $3 purchase.

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