Review - Assassin's Creed 3 (PS3)

Since Assassin’s Creed 2’s release in 2009, I've had pretty high expectations for the series. It’s always had some rough edges but to be honest, I was disappointed with Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood and Assassin’s Creed: Revelations. They added a slew of features that helped improve gameplay and keep things interesting but I felt that the story was always a huge part of the series and AC:B & AC:R didn’t live up to that of its predecessor. Don’t get me wrong, I love every game in the main series but something just made the Ezio trilogy feel drawn out and more like a series expansions rather than stand-alone sequels. This time around though, players get a brand new setting, brand new weapons, a brand new protagonist and a continuation of the Desmond Miles story. This confused some players from time to time but became more and more invested as we followed the narrative.

You play as Connor Kenway or Ratonhnhaké:ton, in his native language, a half British - half Native American man who’s mission it is to free his people and guarantee their safety throughout and after the American Revolutionary War. There’s much, much more to the story that I won’t go into for spoilers sake. Needless to say there are some pretty big twists and turns that will keep players second guessing allies & enemies throughout the game.

But of course, a new protagonist and a new setting also means a new set of tools to use in the fight against the Templars. Because of Connor's Native American background, his new arsenal is themed accordingly with weapons such as a tomahawk, bow & arrow and the rope-dart. There are also a few other weapons such as swords and guns but it’s nothing drastically new from the older games in the series. The combat system has been changed and improved from AC:R with the use of the usual kill-streaks, counters and the block-breakers. Connor also has the ability to dual-wield any melee weapon (provided that it isn't a two-handed weapon) with his second hidden blade which detaches to become a shiv/dagger. Combat is a heap of fun in the previous entries of the series and without a doubt the combat in AC3 is the best it’s ever been.

However, the environment is somewhat lacking. The Assassin’s Creed games have always been about climbing to the top of a massive building and leaping off it…. It’s also about stabbing people but that’s not my point. Climbing huge towers in the first game was amazing, the second game followed the same path but enhanced it with the breath-taking architecture of the Italian Renaissance and with Assassin’s Creed 3; the player is presented with trees, cliffs, wooden shacks and brick buildings of the American Revolution. I’m not saying that this was a bad decision on the developer’s part; it’s staying accurate to the time period.

Even though the buildings may not be as fun to climb as previous installments  that doesn't mean that the world is underwhelming. As you play through the game, Connor will be sent to various locations in the east coast area, ranging from New York to Boston as well as the Frontier. These areas are oozing with life; animals and people are never out of sight. Connor possesses the ability to climb trees and cliffs through his background and this system is brought to life through the use of ‘Anvil Next’.

Ubisoft have really pushed the limits of the current-gen hardware in terms of physics, animations and just making the world feel alive. You’ll come across NPCs working, red coats patrolling, dogs running through the streets and so much more. But that’s only the cities; the frontier is packed with wildlife such as deer, bears, rabbits and cougars. Since Connor is half Native American, he is able to hunt almost all of the animals in the frontier and sell their pelts & meat or use them for the new crafting system.

I won’t go into it too much because I haven’t spent a great deal of time with it but from what I have seen, the more you develop the relationships between Connor & the workers he recruits to the homestead, the more items you will be allowed to create and trade.

These features are all good and well but because the limits of the systems have been stretched so far, the game suffers from some technical inconsistencies. Frame-rate drops and long loading times drag the experience down from amazing to great. This isn't to say that the game’s bad, it just taints the experience a little.

A brand new arrival is the naval combat missions. I found these missions a huge amount of fun and I was ultimately left wanting more of those missions but I’m glad that they were few & far between. If they were forced mission then players would find them stale or repetitive.

Multiplayer makes a triumphant return with all of the original modes and one new game where you & 3 friends team up to take down NPC targets. It’s interesting to say the least with each round ending in a co-ordinated strike where all four players need to kill their target at the same time. If they’re successful, they’ll earn bonus points but if they fail to kill at the same time, they won’t achieve these points. I found this mode fun when playing with friends but with players you don’t know or who don’t have the ability to communicate, you won’t have a whole lot of fun.

Assassin’s Creed 3 is a huge game that I know I’ll come back to from time to time whenever I feel like stabbing people in the face or swan-diving off the top of trees or buildings. There’s so much to do but that in its self in Assassin’s Creed 3’s curse. It leaves room for inconsistency which ends up breaking the player out of the truly amazing world that Ubisoft have created. Assassin’s Creed 3 is a huge step forward in terms of player interaction and immersion… if you can look past its blemishes.

Assassin’s Creed 3 gets a 9 ‘Muted Microphones’ /10.

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