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 Assassin's
Creed III (Playstation 3)
Assassin’s Creed has come to define the current generation of consoles and
the latest installment is proof of how it has remained so appealing. With a
much larger scale than previous games, a new setting and a different
protagonist, it feels decidedly different from the last few titles. While
there are some familiar elements, such as stealth assassinations, these have
been tweaked a little. New types of gameplay and missions have also been
added which gives this adventure a different feel as well. It’s an epic
adventure as usual, and there are more than a few unexpected surprises in
the storyline as well. All of this combines to create another solid
installment in the long running series. Look inside to discover what makes
this latest adventure so appealing.
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The third major
installment in Ubisoft’s long-running Assassin’s Creed franchise takes the
adventure to a new era. This time, players take control of the stealthy
assassin during the American Revolutionary War. Placed in the center of the
action, the protagonist continues the centuries-spanning war against the
Templar organization against a stunning backdrop of impending war and
tumultuous ideas. With snow swirling around the city of
Boston
and its out lying colonies, the Assassin’s Creed series seems to thrive once
again in this fresh setting. You begin the story on the other side of the
Atlantic
and slowly begin your journey in
London.
The action moves quickly from a theater to a transatlantic voyage until you
finally reach your main destination. Once in
Boston,
you meet up with many historical figures and begin your own mission, which
is sometime allied with the revolutionaries. Things start off slowly as you
begin your adventure as a kind of general who’s leading a double life. As
the game moves along, the main character’s true motivations are revealed. As
the webs thicken around his motives, the slow-building storyline becomes
more interesting as its plot moves forward.
The choice of setting is interesting and quite appropriate as you move
along. AC III’s rendition of Boston
during that era is stunning. The city itself is a massive, somewhat
open-ended world to explore and its streets and buildings offer plenty of
places to explore and interact with. The city itself offers an incredible
level of detail, with beautifully rendered streets and buildings that feel
authentic and realistic. Its streets are alive with civilians and soldiers,
with the American colonists mixing with the occupying force to create a
combustible tension that’s really effective in setting the stage and the
stakes involved. At first, it seems like you’re on the side of the British,
but as the first few missions unfold, your true allegiance comes to light.
This dual-identity gives the character an interesting approach to some of
the missions. He can use his outwardly establishment appearance to fool some
of the guards and other characters early on and then take on the role of
traitor to further his own ends. As the game unfolds and his true identity
becomes clear, he sheds this identity and becomes an outlaw killer, a
transformation that occurs slowly but effectively, setting the stage for the
rest of the game.
Its urban locations are impressive in their own right, but where ACIII
diverges most strongly from the earlier games comes when you encounter the
wilderness areas. Instead of tall buildings, you’re surrounded by trees and
natural objects. Here, the gameplay doesn’t feel as linear as in earlier
games and you have to use your wits to survive these sections of the game.
They’re not nearly as populated as the urban sections, but you’ll still
encounter your share of foes. Not all of them are human and you’ll
frequently have to face down packs of wolves and other feral animals as
well. Battling them is a bit different than normal, and most of these occur
as quick time events where you have to press buttons in sequence in order to
survive. In addition, these stages aren’t nearly as simple as they seem, and
you’ll have to earn the trust of the natives as well. Traversing these vast
‘open’ sections takes some time on foot, but you can move through them much
faster if you mount a horse. These sections definitely bring a new, more
rugged feel to the game and give its pacing a completely different feel that
differentiates it from previous games. Instead of walking through bland
environments between cities as in previous games, these sections now feel
alive and natural and have become a much larger and more interesting aspect
of the experience.
They are beautiful and massive, and impressive in their design, style and
approach. You can spend hours exploring these sections and their lifelike
environments and incredibly impressive in terms of their design,
implementation and realism. The last two AC titles included mini-sections
where you managed mansions and houses, collecting items and other goodies
that showed your power and influence. They didn’t really add that much to
the game, but they were fun. In a similar vein, there are some naval battle
sequences in AC III that let you command ships and fire shots against
others. Successfully defeating them allows you to claim their treasure,
which allows you to purchase other items as well. These sequences are
impressive in terms of design and they offer a fun change of pace from the
main storyline but, they seem like distractions from the main plot and don’t
really move the story forward.
While some of the settings in AC III are quite different from the
middle-ages and early civilizations seen in earlier games, there are a few
familiar elements that help to keep things consistent with earlier titles.
The basic structure of most missions should be familiar to AC veterans.
You’re given a primary objective to complete, such as killing a target or
eavesdropping on enemies. While you’re doing this, you also need to keep an
eye on your secondary objectives, such as not being caught or minimizing
damage, which gives you extra money for more powers. AC III’s missions don’t
diverge from what players have come to expect from the series and the game
unfolds in a linear fashion. Missions require patience to complete, and you
need to be careful since even small mistakes can send you hurling back into
the Animus machine where you have to retrace your steps completely. AC III
requires some patience in certain missions, but this gives the player more
freedom that most action games don’t allow. You don’t always need to play
through missions in the same way, and you can usually find multiple paths to
complete each mission. It also makes the game feel less frustrating, though
it does require you to think ahead.
Several different strategies can be used to complete many of the missions,
which makes the gameplay less predictable. You can approach a guard from
either the left or right side and see if that makes a difference. Choices
can also include not attacking at all and trying to reach the next point
undetected. This gives the game a unique pace and presents a unique
challenge. For example, while you may not get through a garrison without a
fight, the order and how quickly you finish off opponents can make a huge
difference in how many points you receive while also giving you added
points. Many of the missions in ACIII are surprisingly complex and require
players to think several steps ahead. These give you little room for error,
which is especially true when you have to finish off multiple targets
without getting detected. Learning the target locations and planning ahead
of time increases your chances, but some missions will likely take several
attempts to beat. This can be frustrating but persistent players will find
additional skills that will help them complete subsequent missions quicker.
The
basic play mechanics should also be familiar, where you can run through
streets, climb over buildings and leap into the ubiquitous haystacks to
restore your energy. When you encounter an enemy and begin to fight them,
you have to basic options. You can either take them on using standard fists
and parry their attacks, using chains to inflict plenty of damage. If you
get the timing right, you can finish off enemies quickly using a finishing
move with your assassin’s blade. These are quite effective but can only be
used a few times. The game’s combat system is still probably its weakest
aspect and can lead to some frustrating moments. When confronted by multiple
foes, you’re auto-target works effectively sometimes, but not in others.
This doesn’t always target the closest or most dangerous foes, meaning you
can take a lot of damage needlessly. It can make ACIII more challenging than
it needs to be and doesn’t have quite the polish it could have. Needless to
say, there are some aggravating moments when you face off with huge numbers
of opponents and have little recourse aside from grinding them down and
trying to locate nearby haystacks. Otherwise, its’ back to the beginning
which is frustrating thanks to the long load times. In addition to its
standard combat moves, AC III also included more extensive gunplay than in
previous games. The guns work fairly well but you have to learn to use them,
which takes a bit of a learning curve. You first need to equip them, then
aim and then release the button to fire your shot. This process takes some
time, which can be frustrating when surrounded by multiple enemies and the
aiming mechanism isn’t as smooth as it could be. Additionally, you’re stuck
in place once you aim your gun, which leaves you vulnerable to attack from
your opponents. This is a big issue early on, but becomes less problematic
as you buy and use more sophisticated weapons.
Assassin’s Creed III offers players a massive world to explore, along with
an immersive storyline and beautiful visuals. The game engine is quite
impressive throughout and its sense of realism and place is incredible,
surpassing the high standards set by the previous games. You can see the
level of detail present in the cobblestone sidewalks under your feet, the
realistic light effects that dramatically bring the world to life and the
small signs in shops. Once you get outdoors, the realistic variety to the
trees and beautifully detailed landscaping of the wilderness sections is
superb as well. These all work together to create a coherent and believable
world, that feels quite authentic throughout. You actually feel like you’re
in this world, and its immersive size and substantial detail only enhances
the game’s hold on the player.
AC III’s level of immersion is diminished somewhat by its ever-present radar
and occasional techno-graphics from the Animus are somewhat distracting,
they aren’t over-whelming. The underlying ‘future’ elements in the game are
also a little annoying since they take you out of the main game, but these
sequences don’t occur often enough to lose your suspension of disbelief. Its
character models are quite impressive as well and each character feels very
much alive with realistic animation than makes them move naturally
throughout the world. Authentic clothing and items such as weapons also keep
things moving. The game’s storyline is rich and detailed, and AC III’s voice
acting is excellent throughout. The level of detail paid to even minor
characters is impressive and the well-written dialogue keeps its momentum
strong throughout. There’s a great number of elements to keep track of.
However, the production values march the game’s ambition and this
highly-polished game succeeds more often than not. All of these production
elements mesh effectively to create a cohesive and robustly cinematic
experience throughout.
Unfortunately, there are a few drawbacks that rear their heads along the
journey. Its pacing can slow to a crawl at certain points, especially early
on which can make some of the early missions feel like watching paint dry.
Even when things start to pick up, players will still find some frustration
in the long missions and infrequent save points, which means retracing steps
in ways that can become tedious. Going on some of the side-quests can feel
like worthless padding in an already long adventure, making you feel like
you’re going around in circles instead of making progress. As you might
expect from these types of games, the gameplay is quite linear and there’s
no reason to go back to earlier missions, which hurts its replay value.
There are also a few scattered glitches here and there where the game seems
to choke on its own ambition, but these seem to have been remedied for the
most part in recent patches. Despite all these problems, Assassin’s Creed
III is still worth experiencing because it creates one of the most
interesting and vibrant game worlds seen in any current generation console
title. It’s epic scale and beautiful production values transport players
into another world full of excitement and intrigue, keeping players interest
levels high throughout. Simultaneously expansive and ponderous, Assassin’s
Creed III represents a stirring finish for the current story line for
Ubisoft’s popular stealth action series.
- Michael Palisano |
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