The Assassin’s Creed franchise has always been good at delivering decent entertainment, but as time went by the need for something fresh and exciting has risen. With the growing number of rival titles, the series needed a revival of some sort. Assassin’s Creed 3 seemed to be nothing akin to the other two main titles in the series, and the decision to take on American History seemed to be rather daft, but after playing through it I can safely say that this was the best decision the team has ever taken.
Plot: For entertainment’s sake, I will not be divulging any information regarding the storyline. I will not even mention the talking Kangaroos or the pissed off raccoon.
Audio and Video: I don’t know what’s going on down at Ubisoft, but this title looks ridiculously good. The textures and lighting are so good that I think my brain had a tiny orgasm. The uniforms and environments are rendered incredibly well and in great detail, the human and animal body movements are spot on, and the water physics is simply amazing. The map is ample and diverse, with a lot of stuff to interact with, so much so that travelling from one point to another will lead to the discovery of great sceneries and locations. The environment really feels alive, it’s like there is an ecosystem that with or without me it works, for instance whilst walking through the city there was a cat randomly chasing some pigeons. There were a few glitches here and there, such as floating weapons and characters walking through walls, but a game this vast had to have a few graphical problems, surely. The soundtrack of the game is great and really immerses you in the era of the game and the actions you’re about to take. The voice acting is really good, even if some minor characters have too much of a British accent to be taken seriously. The only thing I didn’t appreciate from the sound aspect, is the effects of the surroundings, for example, you’d be on a ship in choppy waters, and during a conversation on the upper deck, you’ll hear nothing but the people talking, no SFX sounds what so ever.
Gameplay: Like its predecessor you are the main character in the game set to assassinate key figures and performing small tasks to help history (re)write itself for the good of humanity. The stealth and free running are the key elements in reaching your goal, and in this title they work really well, and the controls are extremely intuitive. As the game progresses you’ll unveil new weaponry and skills which aid in performing epic kills. The main story missions are paced well, and they are immersive as well as addictive in their mechanics. Some side missions are a bit boring and tend to slow down the pacing of the game, which then tends to divert you towards playing through the main missions only. The naval battles are amazing, the developers really managed to bring out the feel of maneuvering a large ship and leading it and its crew to battle. There is a sense of size whilst navigating the mighty ship, it really felt like I’m actually maneuvering a large vessel against strong winds and choppy waters, it really felt good, I was almost aroused.
Personal Experience: I didn’t think the American History thing would hold well with this franchise, but in all honesty I really believe this new direction of the series is exactly what it needed. It felt like a fresh start to something that was starting to become stagnant. The entertainment value is fantastic, and seeing all those gorgeous new world era costumes, environments, weapons, and ships in front of you, in such great detail really put a smile on my face, and as the history unravels in front of you, you simply feel like a child in front of a Haribo pack… come on you take part in the Boston Tea party… Come on!!
Overall Rating: 8.5/10
Written By Matthew C