UBISOFT: GAMERS WANT ASSASSIN'S CREED EVERY YEAR

Ubisoft Montreal boss Yannis Mallat does not think gamers are turned off by the idea of a new Assassin's Creed game every year. 

"No," Yannis Mallat told Eurogamer this week. "The players will tell us. Right now there are more and more coming into the franchise, so I don't see that day." 

Mallat explained that as long as each new entry is a quality product, gamers will continue to come back every year for more. 

"It's our breakthrough. When you have quality content, the frequency of coming out with the game is not an issue at all. On the contrary, people expect more and more of that content," Mallat added. "So it's natural to be able to provide that content. The gamers are happy and it's our job to make them happy." 

Ubisoft has released a new core Assassin's Creed game every year since 2009. Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag launches October 29 and a follow-up is already in the works. 

UBISOFT TORONTO WORKING WITH UBI MONTREAL ON ANOTHER ASSASSIN'S CREED

Ubisoft Toronto is collaborating with Ubisoft Montreal on an

Assassin's Creed game coming after AC4: Black Flag. and has plans to be involved with the development of four other unannounced games. Speaking with Polygon, managing director Jade Raymond said the studio, involved with Splinter Cell: Blacklist and Rainbow Six: Patriots, has plans set for five further games in total.

"We have two big collaborations coming that we're not talking about, on two of the biggest franchises at Ubisoft. We also have two new IP," Raymond told Polygon, noting that the fifth project is a Splinter Cell game.

Raymond's comments follow on from the intentions she laid out in 2010 to eventually have five triple-A projects going on at Ubisoft Toronto at the same time, with a staff of some 800 people involved. 

In other words, Ubi Toronto's plans for world domination are beginning to surface, and we should call the authorities immediately. 

AC4 DIRECTOR: ANOTHER LEADING LADY 'WOULDN'T BE SURPRISING' IN THE FUTURE

The Assassin's Creed team at Ubisoft never imagined placing a woman in the lead role during the era of the Kenways, which spans Assassin's Creed 3 and Black Flag, director Ashraf Ismail told IGN.

"Really early on, we decided to tell the story of the Kenways," Ismail said. "So we already had in place the idea to tell Edward, Haytham and Connor. This was actually years ago, we had this." He continued, "We actually never thought, 'Could this be a woman?'"

Historically, there weren't many famous female pirates, Ismail said, and he didn't want players to fixate on that detail. Still, there's a lot of history between pirates and now, and Assassin's Creed may explore a leading lady in another, main game. The lead character of Assassin's Creed 3: Liberation for Vita was a woman, and that story fed into directly the prime Assassin's Creed 3 narrative. Ubisoft may continue this trend with future games.

"I would say it wouldn't be surprising to see a female assassin coming up in a mainline Assassin's Creed," Ismail said. "But for us, for AC4, it was always Edward."

If choosing the gender of protagonists was a business decision, it would fall to Ubisoft's brand team, and Ismail said he didn't know what they were cooking up for the "next few games."

"But the concept of a female assassin, I can tell you it's not a no-no; it's not something we're trying to avoid at all."

Epic Games art director Chris Perna, recently sounded off about selling a female protagonist, saying "it's tough to justify something like that," at least from a business standpoint.

ASSASSIN'S CREED 4: BLACK FLAG 'PUSHING HARD' FOR MORE ASSASSINATIONS

It has become necessary to ask about the prevalence of assassination in a series called Assassin's Creed. Ubisoft's massive franchise has grown to encompass different developers, protagonists, historical contexts, and design ideals. The central thrust of the hidden blade has been obscured by an ever-growing stack of systems, plots and economies, some of which suit the business of killing – and some that allow you to manufacture and sell barrels.

"Yes, we are a pirate game, and we advertise ourselves as a pirate game. It's even in our title," says Ashraf Ismail, Game Director at Ubisoft Montreal for Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag. "But it's an Assassin's Creed game, and this is very important, because this is how we're able to build a pirate game. We have this really solid foundation that is the core and the heart of the experience. The story is about a guy who is an assassin and the conflict he goes through to become this guy. We actually have more assassinations than AC1 had."

Following a presentation at Ubi's offices in San Francisco, Ismail explains the "older philosophy" of Assassin's Creed as an important consideration for Black Flag, even if appearances suggest otherwise. "This is something we did learn, we do listen to our fans a lot," Ismail says. "We know that in AC3 there was a lot more handholding done, and we do want to go back to an older philosophy where we just present you with a simple objective and we let you choose the gameplay you want."

Ubisoft's intentions don't always come through: Assassin's Creed 3 was pitched as a fresh, focused sequel, but was criticized for its superfluous systems and obviously manufactured missions. There was a disconnect between the rich fiction and your presumed agency in the world, and it was clearly felt during the game's slow-burn opening. Assassin's Creed 4 addresses the issue of hand-holding in a few ways, Ismail says, starting with new anti-hero Edward Kenway – yes, the father of Haytham Kenway, the surly pre-protagonist in AC3's ambitious, barely elastic prologue.

"At some point, people were asking us – do pirates in Assassin's [Creed] make sense?" says Ismail. "They're very different fantasies. But, actually, the gameplay mechanics of being an assassin completely fit in line with being a pirate. For example, navigation: well, pirates were sailors, and they climbed masts, and they were actually really great climbers, so that makes sense. Fighting? Well, they were melee fighters and used guns, and this is why Edward has four pistols.

"And the stealth itself, they were outlaws, they needed to be hidden, even when they plundered certain ships."

Confident in a pirate's suitability as assassin, Ismail considers the entire context as the crux in making Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag a better, more dynamic action game. There are three major cities to infiltrate (Nassau, Havana and Kingston), augmented stealth mechanisms and stern encouragement to use them, and an emphasis on elevating Edward's abilities alongside his ship, the Jackdaw. And though naval combat is an important component (and more complex than it was in AC3), Ismail sees it as a scenario modifier. If it all works properly, the ocean, the storms, the ships and your ability to board them all will coalesce into the kind of player-controlled stories we've seen from the likes of Far Cry 3. Some Far Cry 3 folks at Ubisoft Montreal are in charge of how combat and optional tasks feed back into upgrading your ship, which sounds like bad news for sharks.

Though development of Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag started in earnest during Summer 2011, Ubisoft Montreal claims there's been enough time to consider the critical and fan discussion around Assassin's Creed 3. "We don't tell you 'go here, touch this thing, interact with this thing, push this guy' to accomplish the goal. It's really just where you need to be, get there as you wish."

The process of eliminating major targets, Ismail says, will be more open to planning and improvisation; less reliant on scripted events and big battles. "This is a philosophy we're really pushing hard in the missions and the assassinations."

With that point made, look for more coverage of Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag on Joystiq later today. 

ASSASSIN'S CREED 4: BLACK FLAG CONFIRMED FOR PS4

As the prior week's leaks suggested, Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag will boast next-generation ports ... rendered by the PlayStation 4. (Here you go.)

Speaking to Joystiq in San Francisco last month, Assassin's Creed 4 game director Ashraf Ismail said the AnvilNext engine, which powers Ubisoft's pirate game and debuted with Assassin's Creed 3 in 2012, was built for platforms beyond the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Wii U.

Ubisoft hasn't confirmed a launch date for the PS4 version yet, since the exact timing is entwined with Sony's guarded launch plans. All other versions of Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag (that we know of) are due on October 29 in North America. 

ASSASSIN'S CREED 4: BLACK FLAG DEBUT TRAILER SETS SAIL

No need to worry about leaks anymore, shipmates. Blackbeard's here to introduce you to the newest hero in the Assassin's Creed lineage, one Edward Kenway, as well as the latest, piracy-stuffed entry in the series. Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag docks on the shores of North America on October 29, and Europe on October 31 (UK November 1). The game is coming to PS3, Xbox 360, Wii U, PC, and next-gen consoles (at some point) including the PS4. 

 Edward Kenway, A Pirate Trained By Assassins

ASSASSIN'S CREED 4 DATED OCT. 29, CONFIRMED FOR NEXT-GEN CONSOLES

Ubisoft's official Asssassin's Creed site reveals a launch date for Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag by use of some technical wizardry that involves replacing a letter in the URL.

As DarkZero discovered, heading to the official AC4 site for the world premiere trailer, which will launch in four days, and then simply adding a "v" to the end of the url reveals the above image.

The Ubisoft site notes an October 29 release date for AC4 and states it's "also coming to next-gen consoles." Sony announced the PlayStation 4 last week, Microsoft is expected to announce the next Xbox within a few months.

ASSASSIN'S CREED 4: BLACK FLAG SCREENS LEAK

Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag's reveal is leakier than a boat with no hull. This morning the screenshots that were likely to be associated with tomorrow's intended reveal have leaked on AllGamesBeta.

Not only that, but the site has the game's debut trailer up too, which leaked yesterday, but was quickly plugged up again.

Go check it all out before Ubisoft has its lawyers set sail again. Or, who knows, maybe by this point even they've given up.

[Thanks, Michael]

Update: NintendoEverything has its hands on another leaked trailer, this one introducing the character Edward Kenway. Head there to view the video before it's forced to walk the plank.

ASSASSIN'S CREED 4: BLACK FLAG [MORE UPDATES]

Assassin's creed 4 related news:

 

1. ASSASSIN'S CREED IV : BLACK FLAG, IS THE NEXT ASSASSIN'S CREED

The worst-kept secret in gaming is no longer "secret," as Ubisoft has revealed the cover art for the next Assassin's Creed, Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag. The game stars a new pirate assassin and turns its focus to the Caribbean, mixing open-ended ship-based exploration and combat with land-based adventures on a number of Caribbean islands.

continue reading

2. ASSASSIN'S CREED 4: BLACK FLAG SCREENS LEAK

Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag's reveal is leakier than a boat with no hull. This morning the screenshots that were likely to be associated with tomorrow's intended reveal have leaked on AllGamesBeta.Not only that, but the site has the game's debut trailer up too, which leaked yesterday, but was quickly plugged up again.

continue reading

3. ASSASSIN'S CREED 4 DATED OCT. 29, CONFIRMED FOR NEXT-GEN CONSOLES

Ubisoft's official Asssassin's Creed site reveals a launch date for Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag by use of some technical wizardry that involves replacing a letter in the URL..

continue reading

4. ASSASSIN'S CREED 4: BLACK FLAG DEBUT TRAILER SETS SAIL

No need to worry about leaks anymore, shipmates. Blackbeard's here to introduce you to the newest hero in the Assassin's Creed lineage, one Edward Kenway, as well as the latest, piracy-stuffed entry in the series.

continue reading

5. ASSASSIN'S CREED 4: BLACK FLAG CONFIRMED FOR PS4

Ubisoft hasn't confirmed a launch date for the PS4 version yet, since the exact timing is entwined with Sony's guarded launch plans. All other versions of Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag (that we know of) are due on October 29 in North America. 

continue reading

 

6. ASSASSIN'S CREED 4: BLACK FLAG 'PUSHING HARD' FOR MORE ASSASSINATIONS

It has become necessary to ask about the prevalence of assassination in a series called Assassin's Creed. Ubisoft's massive franchise has grown to encompass different developers, protagonists, historical contexts, and design ideals.

continue reading

7. AC4 DIRECTOR: ANOTHER LEADING LADY 'WOULDN'T BE SURPRISING' IN THE FUTURE 

The Assassin's Creed team at Ubisoft never imagined placing a woman in the lead role during the era of the Kenways, which spans Assassin's Creed 3 and Black Flag, director Ashraf Ismail told IGN.

continue reading

ASSASSIN'S CREED IV : BLACK FLAG, IS THE NEXT ASSASSIN'S CREED, UBISOFT CONFIRMS

The worst-kept secret in gaming is no longer "secret," as Ubisoft has revealed the cover art for the next Assassin's Creed, Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag. The game stars a new pirate assassin and turns its focus to the Caribbean, mixing open-ended ship-based exploration and combat with land-based adventures on a number of Caribbean islands. The fact that this year's AC would be Black Flag—and that it would be more of a nautical adventure—was becoming more and more clear on Tuesday, as a poster leaked to Kotaku, showing both the new character on its front and the game's map on the back. 

But let's drop the pretense of "breaking news" for a moment and let me level with you, folks. I was shown Black Flag this past Monday. I already knew this was the new game even prior to us running those two poster images. As is standard, I'd not informed my reporting team about most of the game's details, freeing them to react genuinely if anything came up.

On Monday, I had talked to two of the game's creators, saw a presentation on the game and some video footage. As is common with seeing games early, I signed an embargo agreeing not to talk about what I'd seen and been told—in this case for a full week, up until noon Eastern on March 4.

The advantage of an embargo is that it allows the people showing a game to present something in an unhurried manner and allows the reporter to take time to compose their thoughts. Some embargoes are signed documents; others are verbal agreements. They're not unique to corporate game publishers (plenty of indies request holding coverage until a certain date, though typically only verbally), and they're not unique to covering games. That said, the severe disadvantage of embargoes is that they put us in the position we found ourselves in on Tuesday, a day after I saw ACIV, of not being able to speak freely to you, the reader about material we're publishing.

By Tuesday, as anonymous tipsters began to send us the images of the front and back of a poster that none of us had seen in person—but that squared with the game I'd been shown—we faced a conundrum: 1) refrain from publishing what we knew were valid tips that would be of interest to our readers, thus failing to honor our commitment to informing our readers about compelling news, 2) play dumb and publish, while pretending we didn't know the images were probably real, thus intentionally misleading you, the reader, 3) potentially tick off Ubisoft to whom I gave my word we'd hold off on covering the details of my briefing until March 4—a date that began to seem like it was tied into a pre-order incentive.

In both instances on Tuesday involving those poster images, the instinct to inform you, the reader, won out. Cynics will say that the instinct to get pageviews is simply what won out, but that is inherently intertwined with a sense that it is anathema for a news outlet to ignore compelling news tips—for a week, no less.

It is reasonable for the creators of any video game to ask that their new baby be kept under wraps for a time and to ask for such an agreement from the reporters to whom they show it. But it is maddening to not be able to level with you guys and gals; it is unacceptable for us to sit on news tips sent to us independently; and it is nauseating to recognize that this situation was partially of our own making. Some may say that the simple solution is to refrain from signing future embargoes, but, as I wrote above, verbal agreements are common on this beat and often are simply a matter of courtesy—the price for seeing something rough-edged a bit early. In the future, we can be more clear with those who show us games that we will run tips that are clearly sent to us independently and that, if and when we do, we will have to be able to more clearly acknowledge their veracity.

We will never leak information ourselves, but we can't sit around and fail to report when information starts leaking. If that spites us some access, so be it. I don't want my readers waking up on any future March 4ths feeling they were misled by our site. We worked hard to not seem like we were playing dumb in our AC IV posts this week, but that doesn't feel like it was enough.

So, yes, look for more AC IV coverage from me on Monday. I still feel I should honor my agreement to not divulge the many, many things that were shown to me about the game that haven't leaked. But, rest assured, we'll do everything we can to make sure this kind of awkward situation doesn't happen again.

Assassin's Creed 4 dated Oct. 29, confirmed for next-gen consoles.

Next Assassin's Creed set for fiscal year 2014, new hero, new time period

A new Assassin's Creed game is coming in Ubisoft's fiscal year 2014 – that's between this April and March 2014 – and it's set to feature a new hero, a new team around him or her, and a new time period, CEO Yves Guillemot announced during today's earnings call. "In financial 2014, we will introduce an all-new Assassin's Creed hero, within an all-new team and time period, and we expect it to be another major leap forward for the franchise."


The new series entry will be developed by multiple teams, each designated chronological chapters within the game. "It is the benefit of multiple teams, working on multiple chapters of the brand, each getting several years to make their versions of an Assassin's Creed game."

Yves promises Ubisoft will offer more details "very soon." 

Assassin's Creed Movie Gets a Screenwriter

The Assassin's Creed movie got its star months ago, and now it has someone to write the damn thing. His name is Michael Lesslie and unfortunately he hasn't done any big-name movies. He is mostly known for writing the scripts for the short films Heavy Metal Drummer and Skirt, along with some theater projects. His IMDB page is pretty darn barren, for now.

Assassin's Creed is a collaborative effort between Ubisoft Motion Pictures and New Regency and the-guy-who's-in-everything-all-of-a-sudden Michael Fassbender is set to star.

Ubisoft also has movies in the works for Ghost Recon and Splinter Cell, which already has Tom Hardy lined up to play Sam Fisher. These guys are busy.

Who knows if any of these projects will ever see the light of day, but let's hope that if they do they turn out well, unlike so many other movies based on video games.

Assassin's Creed 'Warrior Concerto' music video features wubs, guts

This fan-made Assassin's Creed video has it all, baby. You want some dubstep? Check. You want some cool dudes jumpin' off of stuff? Double check. You want a complicated, super long epic of deceit and mystery? Oh, well then how about some guys getting stabbed a whole bunch? That's what I thought.

Editor's note: Some of the clips used in this video may be considered spoilers to some. Please enjoy dubstep responsibly, and proceed at your own risk. 

ALTAIR VS EZIO VS CONNOR

ALTAIR

Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad (1165 – 1257) was a Syrian-born member of the Levantine Brotherhood of Assassins, and served as their Mentor from 1191 until his death in 1257. During his tenure as Mentor, Altaïr made several discoveries and inventions that greatly helped the Order's progression, and his leadership saw to the spread of the Assassins' influence in the Old World. He was an ancestor to Desmond Miles.

Raised to be an Assassin from birth, Altaïr obtained the rank of Master Assassin by his twenty-fourth year. However, following his failure to obtain the Apple from Robert de Sable in early 1191, and subsequently allowing the Templars to attack the city of Masyaf, headquarters to the Order of Assassins, he was demoted to the rank of novice and sent on a quest for redemption.

Tasked with the deaths of nine individuals, who, unbeknown to him, made up the ranks of the Templar Order in the Holy Land, Altaïr began a quest to change his ways and liberate the Kingdom from the corruption of the nine. During his quest however, Altaïr learned of a plot far more sinister than originally believed. Completing his mission to kill the nine targets, and cleansing the Order of its treacherous leader Al Mualim, Altaïr rose to the rank of Mentor, taking the Assassins into a new, more secretive direction.

With the Apple in hand, Altaïr changed the ways his Order lived their lives; writing the details in his fabled Codex for later generations of the Order to read. Altaïr's vision of the Assassin Order was for them to be across the world living among the people and started setting up Assassins Guilds during his tenure as Mentor. During his adventures Altaïr strengthened the Order, stopped the Templars various times and was able to prevent the uprising of Genghis Khan.

^EZIO

Born in 1459, Ezio was a young Florentine Noble who lived in Florence during the 15th century. Ezio led an affluent, care-free lifestyle until a tragic turn of events changed his life forever. Betrayed by corrupt Nobles, Ezio's family were the victims of an evil plot that ultimately took the lives of his father and brothers. Of the Auditore men, only Ezio was able to escape. Through Ezio's help however, both his mother and younger sister managed to survive, finding a way to the escape the city with him. According to the Florentine Guard's record books, Ezio appeared as a womanizer, with guards rarely able to capture him.

Ezio Auditore da Firenze (1459–1524) is a fictional character and one of the main protagonists of Ubisoft's Assassin's Creed series. He is an ancestor of Desmond Miles, though he himself is not a direct descendant of Altaïr. He is also the earliest known link between the lineages of "Subject 16" and that of Desmond. Also, to continue with the tradition of the reference to an eagle, Ezio is derived from the greek word Aetos, meaning eagle.

^CONNOR

Ratonhnhaké:ton (1756 - unknown), also known by the adopted name of Connor, was a Native American Assassin of the Kanien'kehá:ka during the American Revolutionary War. He was an ancestor of Desmond Miles.

Born to Haytham Kenway and Kaniehtí:io, Ratonhnhaké:ton was raised among his mother's village in Kanatahséton. His childhood was spent in the company of the other children in his village, including Kanen'tó:kon, whom he remained close friends with into his later life. When Ratonhnhaké:ton was five, he was assaulted by several members of the Templar Order, who were seeking the Precursor site rumored to be near Kanatahséton. He demanded to know the name of the leader of the group, and Charles Lee answered him, amused why he wanted to know. Ratonhnhaké:ton promised that he would find him, but the Templar only brushed off his statement.

Ratonhnhaké:ton's life was spared, though he was knocked unconscious, and woke to find his village in flames; an attack that he mistakenly assumed that Lee and his Templar brethren had been responsible for. The event took Ratonhnhaké:ton's mother from him, and would later prompt him to seek justice for his people and fight tyranny wherever he saw it.

ALTAIR VS EZIO VS CONNOR

Either Ezio or Connor, as while Altair may be the first assassin we play as, we see immediate improvements of style and methods for things such as fighting and free running. when we  played as Connor, one could only imagine that his skill will also be much improved since Ezio. Ezio also uses much more advanced and powerful weaponry compared to Altair, though it was Altair that learned many formula's to creating these from the apple. Connor also may use a tomahawk, but these are much easier to use in combat and much easier to master, and will more than likely have developed a better fighting style. The range of weaponry which Connor has at his disposal is also of good quality and is very useful.

• Connor Kenway: Clothing and Equipment

 

• So here is my conclusion when it comes to fighting hands up to Connor.

• When is comes to looks and weapons(especially double blade) EZIO scores.

• But when its comes to assassin, ALTAIR ranks above all because is he not just an assassin, he is THE ASSASSIN. 

 THE REST IT'S FOR YOU TO DECIDE.

This post is made in response to a comment on :

Assassin's Creed 3 review: Declination of independence 

 

Gorgeous Games of 2012: Assassin’s Creed III

Assassin's Creed III was one of 2012's most divisive games, but can we agree to enjoy a forest vista for a second? 
 
Look at that bird. Look at all those trees to climb. And, best of all... there's no one to chase.

See more of Kotaku video editor Chris Person's cinemagraphs of 2012's most gorgeous games in our Year in Beauty round-up.

Do not load your saved AC3 game while the DLC is downloading in the background

 

 

Downloading the Hidden Secrets DLC pack for Assassin's Creed 3 caused "a very small number of players" to lose their save data, Ubisoft wrote on its forums. One player began a thread describing the issue and a few others joined in to share their own tales of woe. Ubisoft responded with the following message:

"Just a quick heads up, we're able to reproduce this issue at the studio and are working on a fix/workaround. From what we can tell, this problem seems to be rare and should generally only affect a very small number of players. That said, we're taking the speedy and complete resolution of this very seriously."

Barring a complete fix, Ubisoft offered a tip to avoid the glitch:

"Do not load your saved AC3 game while the DLC is downloading in the background. This appears to be the key trigger for this bug. You can do anything else you want to do, just don't load up your saved game and play it while the DLC is downloading."

Hidden Secrets launched for Assassin's Creed 3 Season Pass holders on December 4 and drops for the public on December 11.

 

 

Check out the touch controls in this Assassin's Creed 3: Liberation trailer

This trailer for Assassin's Creed 3: Liberation shows off some of the game's touch controls, which allow players to pick-pocket and perform chain kills with the swipe of a finger. Assassin's Creed 3: Liberation is coming to Vita on October 30. 

 

 

Should Assassin’s Creed III Be Your First Assassin’s Creed?

With the impending launch upon us, it can be tempting to go back and play through all the other games before stepping up to Assassin’s Creed III. But if you managed to make it this far without playing any of the others, it might not be worth your time. Assassin’s Creed III has expanded upon the successful formula and is undoubtedly the biggest game in the series to date, making it the perfect entry point for players new to the series.

The Story So Far

Assassin’s Creed has always placed a heavy emphasis on narrative, but despite that, it hasn’t really pulled the threads together in a coherent way... yet. So far, our story follows the path of Desmond Miles as he uses the Animus to relive the memories of his Assassin ancestors while protecting them from the Knight Templars -- both in the Animus and the real world.

This all might sound a bit confusing, but thankfully there’s a “previously on Assassin’s Creed” wrap-up at the beginning that summarizes the story so far. It doesn’t cover everything, but it summarizes enough to get the main point across for new players. It also helps that each game in the series works as an independent experience. Sure, they might be better as a whole, but they can stand alone, both in terms of story and mechanics.

Assassin’s Creed III is the perfect place to jump in, as we saw the conclusion of the Ezio trilogy with Revelations. The clean slate means that there aren’t any unanswered questions hanging around like there were with Assassin's Creed I and II -- with the exception of some of the Desmond stuff. That has always taken a backseat to the ancestral action though, so it isn’t that critical.

Assassin’s Creed III has the advantage of historical accuracy (with the exception of the assassin running around killing everyone), with each of the major events in the game corresponding to actual real-life events that took place during the Revolutionary War. The setting of the Revolutionary War allows for more context throughout the game, giving players a frame of reference for their actions in relation to major historical events.

Change of Scenery and Tools

One of the biggest gripes with the last few games is that there weren’t any drastic changes and it felt like you were still roaming around the same environment two games later. In previous games, it was all about the big cities, but Assassin’s Creed III focuses on shorter, more underdeveloped areas. It takes place in a time when the colonists were still settling and forming new areas of development.

This isn’t a bad thing though, as it actually allows for more free-form exploration and discovery. You can spend less time climbing to get to a roof and more time running from building to building. Assassin’s Creed III mixes things up by presenting not only a new environment, but a completely new style of terrain for Connor to explore with the inclusion of the Frontier -- an open-world forest area that relies on movement through trees rather than city buildings. This is the first time that something like this has been done in Assassin’s Creed before. Between the open Frontier and small cities like Boston, Assassin’s Creed III has the largest variety of locales for players to explore.

With this new environment comes some new tools at Connor’s disposal, most notably his tomahawk and rope dart. His tomahawk is much better than any of the daggers or swords from previous games at close range encounters. This is partly due to the more fluid combat system that is much faster due to the abundance of black powder guns during the Revolutionary War. The rope dart also speeds up the flow of combat and leads to some exceptionally brutal kills.

Side Quests

The Assassin’s Creed series is known for its side quests, both bad (Assassin’s Creed) and good (Assassin’s Creed II). Luckily, Assassin’s Creed III tends to follow in the footsteps of the latter, even taking things up a notch with the inclusion of naval missions. Gone are the days of painstakingly hunting through the city looking for flags and feathers in hopes of completing a quest (though there are still feathers scattered throughout the Frontier). Instead, Assassin’s Creed III focuses more on the bigger events of the time that might not fit into the main story but are still extremely relevant for the time period and present an optional narrative line to explore. This gives the player a larger variety of missions that aren’t just collectible hunting or assassinations, which can’t be said of past titles.

Naval battles are of particular interest, as nothing of the sort has ever been attempted in an Assassin’s Creed title before (unless you count the horrible tower defense sequences in Revelations). They give the player control of a large naval vessel in the biggest open area that the series has ever seen. It isn’t some on-rails sequence either because there’s actual strategy involved as you navigate the waters, line up your targets, and destroy them while avoiding incoming fire.

These translate to some of the most intense action sequences in the series and have a large variety of objectives that aren’t just “shoot the other boat”. Some of these sequences even translate into on-foot combat as Connor boards enemy ships after disabling their weapons and returns to his boat, usually leaving the enemy ship in a fiery wreckage.

The simulated home management from Ezio’s villa in Assassin’s Creed is back in Assassin's Creed III with Connor’s Homestead. The Homestead is Connor’s sanctuary in the Frontier and a focal point for a large portion of the combat in the area. It still isn’t a major part of the game, but it does play a more involved role as you’ll actively start building it out early on in the story. It continues to be a great way to spend time while not focusing on the main quests or if you need to take a break from all the stabbing.

Multiple Assassins

Multiplayer has been done before in the Assassin’s Creed series, starting in Brotherhood, but it was never really much more than different variants of a deathmatch format. Assassin’s Creed III changes that by introducing new competitive and cooperative modes that are worlds better than any of the previous iterations.

Wolfpack is a new cooperative multiplayer mode in Assassin’s Creed III and is unlike anything in the series so far. It doesn’t rely on individuality or betrayal, but rather how well your team can communicate and work as a singular unit to take down groups of AI-controlled enemies in an allotted amount of time. Domination works roughly the same way, though it's more competitive rather than cooperative and tasks you with using your teamwork to capture certain points on the map.


So, Should It ?

While there’s plenty of reasons to go back and enjoy the previous Assassin’s Creed title, it’s a busy holiday season for games and you might just not have the time. Assassin’s Creed III makes a compelling case for why it should be your first in the series come October 30th, and we can’t help but agree.

Assassin's Creed 3 TV commercial wants liberation

This cinematic TV commercial for Assassin's Creed 3 teases the game's story and GameStop pre-order bonuses, which includes the lost Mayan ruins single player mission and a sawtooth sword. Assassin's Creed 3 is due out October 30 for PC, Xbox 360 and PS3, and will launch on Wii U November 18.