Assassin's Creed 3 Review

Since the original Assassin's Creed launched in 2007 the series has gradually climbed to

become one of the most innovative and polished franchises of this generation. Inevitably episodic content reared its ugly head with the Ezio trilogy; Brotherhood and Revelations were polished games of course, but they failed to advance the story and gameplay forward and ended up serving mere side notes on the way to the next main entry in the series. Assassin's Creed 3 transports the series to colonial America, offering a compelling trip through both sides of the American Revolution.

After a recap on the events of the series (and a few antics with Desmond Miles and crew in present day Boston) you'll be surprised to learn that Assassin's Creed 3's story refuses to begin with the main protagonist on the front cover but rather another assassin named Haytham who migrates to America in search of a vault and the pieces of Eden needed to unlock it that have become so common in the continuous war between Assassins and Templars. It's a slow start compared with the other games in the series, developing many characters before eventually piling even more back stories on top once you finally gain control of Connor himself, making the beginning to this adventure, quite overwhelming at first. Thankfully once Connor (Known as Ratonhnhaké:ton by his fellow Native Americans) makes his debut in this tale, the narrative becomes much more consistent and straightforward; when his native American village is raided by the British, Connor sets about becoming an assassin, hunting down those who plan on flushing his people from their home. From here the story unfolds across many decades of Connor's life, mainly taking place in New York and Boston and covering many key events in the American Revolution in the process. You'll meet many famous figures through the quest, including George Washington, Samuel Adams and George Lee, all of whom are portrayed with the same care, attention and authenticity you've come to expect from the series. Connor himself is quite dull at first with little traits that make him interesting or likable  but further through the story as Connor begins working for both the British and Colonists the gem to this protagonist is unearthed. Connor ends up feeling more morally ambiguous than any character before in the series; despite the player not having much latitude in how the story plays out, the Native American could be neither a hero or villain, he only seeks to save his people and bring justice to those who wronged them which ends up adding a welcomed layer of unpredictability to the story.

Once you gain control of Connor around an hour or two into the story, Assassin's Creed 3 opens up and it truly is huge, packed with numerous tasks, quests and things to do. Any qualms about visiting just two cities as a pose to five in AC2 is quickly eliminated by the addition of the frontier, an enormous stretch of land connecting the three main locations, the last of which being the homestead, essentially a safe zone which Connor can build, upgrade and add to over the course of the single player campaign. The frontier also serves a gateway to many missions that involve tackling various American myths such as the headless horseman for instance and also offers many opportunities for the brand new hunting mechanic. Taking a cue from Red Dead Redemption, many animals, including deer, hares, elks, wolves, and bears among others are waiting for Connor to slaughter them, providing many materials which can then be sold off for money, or traded for item assignments. It's a deep system that encourages stealth for success and quickly becomes a worthy diversion, hunting down each individual species. Forts also need to be cleared of British forces in both the cities and the wilderness, offering a good choice between stealth and straight up combat. Finally and the best of all, naval missions are tense, dramatic and above all, immensely enjoyable featuring a range of environments, many ships to destroy or invade and a fully upgradable ship.

Aside from these additions, the usual suspects of the series return including item collecting, mail and assassination errands and of course exploring the cities and scaling tall structures to synchronize Connor's view. The missions for the most part are fun to complete and fit in well with the Assassin's Creed universe but it's such a shame that the rewards for going through them aren't at all memorable or exciting; uncovering the myth of a ghost at the frontier lighthouse grants you not currency, not special items, but a mere entry in the database to read for example. For the first time in the series you can even take a break from the Animus and take control of Desmond Miles in modern times, locating artifacts to power up the temple in which the team has set up in; again, these are action packed and have many set piece moments such as a leap off a gigantic skyscraper, though it is disappointing that these are all linear affairs with no chance to explore the modern world.

The single player mode of Assassin's Creed 3 is by far the biggest and most ambitious yet, extending well beyond twenty hours for those who wish to reach full synchronization in all missions and see everything the game has to offer, the PS3 version also comes with an exclusive mission pack to extend the game further, but that's not all; the developer has also made an effort to bring back the multiplayer from the previous games. Again following the basic plot of the Templars training their agents to hunt the assassins, multiplayer offers returning modes such as death match and team death match, but has now added more fast paced modes such as domination (Capture and hold points) and Capture the Flag, but the biggest new feature is wolf pack; up to four players work together to assassinate key targets together over a time limit in which teamwork is vital to earn the most points and XP. Add in the increased customisation for multiplayer characters and detailed accolade and stat tracking systems and it's easy to overlook the complex and jumbled menus the mode is tied to, making AC3's multiplayer the most refined and polished to date.

Assassin's Creed has seen many refinements over the years and the third main entry is no different; several changes have been made to combat, plat-forming and stealth. Connor can now peek around corners of both buildings and trees to eavesdrop on informants, is able perform silent assassinations more quickly than before and the new rope dart for stringing enemies up in trees is immensely satisfying to use. With that said, stealth can end up being the weakest part of the game; enemies are quick to notice you and raise your notoriety level and tailing missions can sometimes be painfully slow. Though there is significantly less rooftop running this time (enemies are very quick to attack you now) the tree running mechanic that now forms the majority of traversal in the game more than makes up for it; jumping through trees to sneak up on enemies or animals feels delightfully devilish and for the most part you won't find problems finding handholds thanks to Connor's fluid movements. The biggest changes to gameplay come with combat which is the most bloody and gratifying it's ever been in the series. Counter kills won't save you in every instance, meaning you'll have to use a wider variety of moves to take down Connor's opponents. Enemies are both aggressive and tough, often readying their rifles from which Connor needs to use a human shield, captains that can slash right through your blocks and other enemies that are lured to your presence from noise. It can become ever so tedious when enemies seem to absorb strikes like sponges but this ends up adding to the tension, despite as a whole not being very difficult to fell multiple foes at once through disarms and chain kills that have carried over from previous games. Assassin recruits have been trimmed down, now restricted to proper characters that bring their own individual skills to the table, some can distract enemies, others can pick off guards from a distance but chances are you won't use them very much as Connor is more than capable of felling numerous enemies on his own.

Multiplayer retains the slower pace the series is known for and in doing so, won't convert anyone who disliked it originally. It still involves carefully sneaking around, blending in and making use of various abilities to catch out your targets. Some of these like the returning ranged weapons can feel cheap and overpowered at times but there is always the option to play simple, without abilities or perks of any sort. The mode remains as unpredictable as ever; time after time you may find yourself nearing first place, only to be put down by another player racing ahead of you towards the end of the match. What has made this online mode unique is that it rewards players for going incognito and Assassin's Creed 3 once again homes in on this trait, keeping its multiplayer unique and interesting.

Running on the new AnvilNext engine, Assassin's Creed 3 wastes little in squeezing the last ounces of power from today's hardware; the battle scenes are by far the highlight, showing off hundreds of enemy soldiers at once, twinned with huge explosions and structures collapsing to give a vivid sense of the brutal and bloody war that took place. Both New York and Boston are just as alive as any other city in the series, with bustling marketplaces and busying citizens. Everything about the game's plot, story and voice acting is filled to burst with authenticity, truly immersing you in the setting and the frontier looks stunning when viewed across different seasons; the sun shimmers through the trees and snow appropriately piles up and encumbers Connor's travel. Animations are still some of gaming's finest with the tree running looking just as fluid as rooftop parkour ever did and combat animations are flawless in their gory execution. A few bugs and glitches are to be expected of such a vast open world game but none are severe enough to dampen the fun or the overall presentation of an otherwise beautiful game.

Assassin's Creed 3 may fall just short of the blockbuster status Ubisoft was hoping for, but nonetheless it stands as another strong adventure game and a much needed recovery from the tiresome continuation of its predecessor's plotline. Connor's journey for justice in colonial America is one worth taking for both fans of the series and adventure lovers alike.

Rating: 8.5/10