The Assassin’s Creed franchise has been around for quite a long time. The first Assassin’s Creed game displayed the magnificence of the next generation consoles and was positively received at the time. Fans have followed Altair Ibn La-Ahad in the first game, and then Ezio Auditore da Firenze in the second, third and fourth game. Practically, Assassin’s Creed 3 is the fifth main game in the series, with Brotherhood and Revelations being the third and the fourth. But, since Brotherhood and Revelations continued with Ezio, they are somewhat considered as side parts of the second game. Assassin’s Creed 3 features a completely new assassin: Conner.
Conner is a nice addition to the series, but one cannot admire him as much as Ezio with his sweet Italian accent and wonderful way of saying “Futrovelli”. Nevertheless, Conner isn’t half-bad. His outfit could use a few tweaks, but that’s fine. So, is Conner enough to make this game shine like it’s predecessors? Read on to find out.
First of all, Assassin’s Creed 3 enjoys it’s fair share of bugs and glitches, but that’s nothing that can’t be fixed. A patch is expected to cure these ailments ASAP. These bugs made my experience horrendously problematic and I was highly disappointed with Ubisoft for not having fixed these beforehand. But with the plethora of content and a rich story, this game is hard to hate and ‘ragequit’. Just like the previous games, Assassin’s Creed 3 packs an amazing story, once again continuing with Desmond Miles and taking place during the American Revolution. Obviously, you’ll also be taking the role of Desmond and, since this is the final game and the fate of the world rests in Desmond’s hands, you will be exploring Desmond’s character even further and ultimately using his skills, hence finally getting to assess what he has learnt from his ancestors via the Animus.
Also like the previous games, what makes the story of this game so amazing is it’s ability to interweave it with real historical events such as the Boston Tea Party and the Battle of Bunker Hill. You’ll also see famous American personalities that you thought would only exist in your school text books. All these elements contribute and work together to deliver a thrilling story and a wonderful experience that you won’t be forgetting any time soon. Obviously, I cannot tell you much about the story without spoiling too much, so I’d recommend that you try it out yourself, or read a short summary on the internet if you’re still curious. But let me tell you this, the ending of the game will have you pondering over it and possibly even obsess over the nature of humanity. The game seems slightly slow and boring at the start, but that’s only because some character development was needed before the story could be set on it’s way. The ending isn’t that surprising, but it’s a good conclusion to one of the best video game franchises of this generation.
Something completely new for the Assassins Creed franchise are the naval battles featured in this game. When I originally saw these sea battles at E3, I wasn’t sure what to say. They looked great, but I didn’t assume that they’d be a lot of fun. I mean, we all like to battle with different vehicles… but ships?! I was wrong, of course. Sea battles are one of the best things about Assassins Creed 3. They feel absolutely tense and one can have a lot of fun with them. They’re quite realistic and the mechanics are, well not entirely smooth, but quite good. I personally felt like a real adventurer as I sailed through those raging waters and wreaked havoc on the other ships. Simply put, it’s ecstatic.
Another change in the game is the loss of the health bar. You now have regenerative health, but that’s neither good nor bad. Since there was never a problem with the health bar in the previous games as it would regenerate the last block automatically, and you could find medicine on any dead guard, survivability was not that hard, and it’s quite the same with Assassin’s Creed 3. You now also have trees in the game. Trees that you can climb on and jump to. This may seem easy, but it can get buggy at times and you may not land where you intended to. On the other hand, the streets and buildings of the cities such as New York are yours to roam about, jumping from roof to roof, killing the redcoats and what-not. Coming over to the battle system, it’s quite the same. You still have to block and counter as you always have. Conner’s tomahawk is quite good though. I’m guessing Ubisoft will have a replica made and sold with some future super-expensive collectors edition.
Of course, battles can be completely avoided if you play the game stealthily like a real Assassin, which isn’t really hard. Conner automatically crouches when moving through long blades of grass, and you still have the other regular ways of hiding from your enemies as in the previous games. Either way, you have your advantages and disadvantages.
The game looks gorgeous, from the fierce water effects to the calm snow on the trees, everything looks beautiful. Maybe not highly detailed in terms of textures, but still admirable nonetheless.
When taking a break from the main story or the game’s many side missions that reward you in numerous ways, you could always try to develop your homestead which is similar to the Villa that Ezio had in Assassins Creed II. Simply seeing the homestead grow gives you pleasure and satisfaction.
Lastly, the multiplayer. I’ve never quite enjoyed the Assassin’s Creed Multiplayer because the players hardly ever act as Assassins. Instead, they run around rooftops, exposing themselves to their enemies. And this is the same with Assassin’s Creed III. The gameplay is the same: you have to hide among crowds and then identify and assassinate your target. Hiding and waiting for another Assassin to approach you is quite tense as you begin to worry about whether or not he has identified you as his target. However, the multiplayer is only fun if the players are playing properly. Otherwise, it’s a random ‘kill-on-sight’ affair. As you continue playing, you level up and get to use new skills. Also, you can use your real money to enhance your character’s basic look and gain other perks.
Assassin’s Creed III might not have the best Assassin in the series, and it might be incredibly buggy and it might not be perfect, but it still offers you a lot of content, provides you with a rich story and a great conclusion and gives you a lot of satisfaction as you progress through it.
TechDeville gives Assassins Creed III 4/5 stars.