One of the most ambitious game series ever released, Ubisoft’s historical epics have always pushed the envelope, and Assassin’s Creed III – which whisks us off to the New World during the 18th century and the War of Independence – is quite literally their biggest game yet.
Created by a team of more than 600 working at numerous studios around the world, this is gaming on a huge scale with every detail from uniform buttons to the streets of colonial New York and Boston stunningly recreated.
While there’s some disappointment in the obvious pandering to an American audience (previous titles have been gloriously Yank free), the new setting offers everything we’ve come to expect from the open-world series, and so much more.
After a series of seemingly endless prologues that would give Peter Jackson a run for his money, AC III introduces us to our new hero, Connor Kenway – a half-Mohawk, half-English Assassin with a mind for vengeance after his family were wiped out by the evil Templars. Not nearly as interesting as AC I’s Altair nor as charismatic as AC II’s Ezio, Connor nevertheless could kick both their butts with his brutal fighting style. With tomahawk in hand (along with a whole new arsenal of awesome weaponry), Connor is very much an action-is-louder-than-words kinda guy.
Connor’s adventures from city to frontier see him bumping into a cast of reverently treated iconic figures (most notably Benjamin Franklin and George Washington), but don’t go expecting a history lesson. As in previous AC games, the settings are accurately depicted and the people of the time look the part, but this is very much a work of fiction with the emphasis on entertainment rather than education.
It may take a good eight hours of a roughly 40-hour game time to gain full access to the open-world environment, but when you do the breadth is absolutely stunning. The cities are more interactive than ever before, with through-building short cuts and new freerunning techniques making up for the relative lack of tall buildings to scale, while the frontier offers mountains to climb, animals to stalk and countless places to get yourself lost in. It really is a grandiose feat as sprawling, beautiful and epic as America itself.
But that’s not to say that the smaller details aren’t taken care of. You can spend hours on side missions, hunting in the wilderness or simply playing board games in the pub. The gameplay, meanwhile, has been spruced up and features from previous titles (such as the ability to call fellow assassins in for help and the option to set up a guild of assassins) have wisely been kept in place.
The game’s biggest bangs are saved for a number of historical battlegrounds in which hundreds of soldiers can be seen fighting onscreen at once. It’s an incredible sight, reminiscent of games like Total War but far more graphically impressive. The much-hyped naval battles are also a lot of fun, albeit very unrealistic and rather silly.
With such a huge amount on offer, it’s easy to get drawn into this rich and detailed world. As such, the futuristic framing device – in which Desmond uses the animus machine to access the memories of distant relatives Altair, Ezio and Connor – still jars and makes for an annoying reminder that you’re only playing a game within a game.
While we’re on the downsides, there are a number of glitches that mar the experience. Dodgy facial movements, stuttering camera issues and horse-manoeuvring bugs are pretty darn annoying, but Ubisoft have promised a day-one patch to fix everything and we very much advise you download it before playing the game.
These, however, are minor niggles about a game that is nigh-on perfect. Even the multiplayer, usually included as an afterthought in single-player games, is very impressive and varied.
Assassin’s Creed III is a hugely successful sequel. Bettering its predecessors in almost every way, it ensures this is a saga that will run for years to come.
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