Assassins Creed Syndicate wont have totally random side quests this time

When it comes to the side-missions of Assassin's Creed, well, they can be a mixed bag at best. From eavesdropping and fetch quests to solving murders on the streets of Paris, each year's Creed has come with some memorable (and downright frustrating) extras, but the same old templates have certainly worn thin over the years. So what will become of the humble side-mission in Assassin's Creed Syndicate?

In the latest issue of Official Xbox Magazine, creative director at Ubisoft Quebec Marc-Alexis Côté reveals that side-missions have been designed to reflect the fight for power in each of Victorian London's seven districts. "In Assassin’s Creed we tend to be very generous with the activities that players can engage in, but one of the things that we need to do to modernise the experience is to make sure that those activities make sense for the players – and this is something that we are working on this year," he says.

Côté is also adamant a sense of cohesive narrative is key to crafting a special brand of additional tasks (much in the same way the inclusion of new drivable carriages will add a unique flavour to Syndicate's navigation). "Every activity that the player will do will make sense in the narrative quest of the protagonist," he says. "The goal is to take back London, so all the activities that you will do in the open world will serve that as well as the main storyline.”

The latest issue of Official Xbox Magazine, with Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain on the cover, is out now. Download a copyhereorsubscribeto future issues.