Assassin's Creed 3 (Impressions)

October 30, 2012
PS3, Xbox 360, Wii U, Windows

Developed by Ubisoft Montreal
Published by Ubisoft

Fight for freedom and salvation against all foes in Assassin's Creed III.

I love the Assassin's Creed series.  I've played from the very first game and have loved them all, yes even the repetitive first one.  The integration of sci-fi genetic memory travel with ancient conspiracies and historic gameplay is an excellent idea and Ubisoft does it all very well.

Assassin's Creed III continues the story of the actual main character Desmond as the modern-day Assassins race to find a way to save the world from an impending apocalypse.  In order to do so, they need to go into the memories one of Desmond's ancestors, Connor (aka Ratohnhaké:ton), who lived during Colonial America.

The enthralling feel of spying on campers. Assassin's Creed III (2012)

The story is very well done for the parts I've seen.  The beginning does a recap of the series for new players but manages to avoid major spoilers from previous games.  Characters are interesting, conversations feel authentic, the setting is fleshed out, and it's easy to see a lot of research went into historical figures.  The modern-day story line is much better developed too.  Lots of tantalizing clues are discovered about the "First-Era" and the mission locations are much funner.  I am very invested into the story and want to play to the end to see how it turns out.  If any game makes me feel that way then I consider it to have a good story.

The gameplay is fluid and fun.  Ubisoft outdid themselves in tree parkour.  They made it both enjoyable and surprisingly plausible.  Sometimes the controls can be a bit fiddly, but it works fine for the most part.  Combat is satisfying and varies enough to keep it fresh.  Tough enemies can't be attacked directly and the toughest enemies require clever combat in order to defeat.  Stealth is done very well with Connor being able to easily blend into crowds, hide in bushes, and surreptitiously peak around corners.  Stealth kills are incredibly gratifying to pull off.  The gameplay alone makes this game worth playing.

Never bring a gun to a tomahawk-knife fight.  Assassin's Creed III (2012)

Missions are varied and interesting.  Synchronization is back with most missions having optional objectives.  Many different locations are available and the developers worked on making most missions different in some way.  Naval missions, new to the series, are incredibly fun and a great new addition.

Multiplayer is back but unfortunately I have not tried it out as I'm too enamored with the main storyline.  I loved the previous games' multiplayer and heard it is like those but improved so I will be sure to try it out.

The beginning is a bit slow, trying to ease the player in, and there are occasional bugs, but overall this game is fantastic and an excellent addition to the series.  I highly recommend this to all players, veterans of the series and new fans alike.

BUY

Words by Joshua Matern