The opening video sets the stage for “Assassin’s Creed III,” the latest adventure from Ubisoft. First impressions are important and as with each new Assassin’s Creed game, the opening sequence is both a return to familiar ground and an excellent addition to the epic Assassin storyline.

Right off the bat the music is grander, giving the game a much larger scope. The feeling in the game is that you have arrived, the end is near. In that sort of sense, it is both true and yet untrue: The game makes immediate mention of both your journey as Altair and Ezio Audiotore through the eyes of Desmond Miles. As many fans have always believed, Altair was only the introduction and Ezio the tip of the iceberg. In many ways, because Ubisoft pays attention to its fans, this may be a facet of art imitating life where Ubisoft has taken fan comments to heart and built them into the storyline.

Whichever the case may be, the game remains an epic battle between good and evil. Fans who expect to start off with Ratonhnhake:ton or simply “Connor” will find another character in his place: Grand Master Templar Haytham Kenway is who you start with and it seems Ubisoft has it in for players to love yet another complex character. It’s a good move, since Kenway is nearly evolved in his persona and skills, leads the story as a stoic alternative to Ezio Auditore. This gives the player a sense of picking up where the game mechanics left off, rather than starting an entirely new character with no backstory. The advantage is that new players to the Assassin’s Creed universe get thrown into the deep end of the Assassin’s Creed game play, parkour and combat mechanics. Meanwhile, veteran players who are an old hand at aerial assassinations get to brush up on rusty skills since the ending of “Assassin’s Creed Revelations.”

Newer features that will frustrate veteran players though, like the rifle combat, which has taken a realistic but annoying twist. Now, loading time and preparation are as accurate to the period weaponry as possible. Rifles will take time to load as they would in reality, but this does slow down the gameplay and is confusing at first. The lack of dedicated tutoring beyond a few cues means that players are left to fend for themselves when the bullets start flying.

That aside, the regular bladed combat for “Assassin’s Creed III” is as crisp and fluid as ever. Whether with sword or axe movement is clear, precise and devastating. Never one to shy away from the carnage, the game still packs a bloody good punch with plenty of weapon choices. The tools of the trade as it were, to assassinate have been updated to include different sword styles that should hopefully change the combat environment. At least that is the hope, rather than simply having weapons that look different, have different stats and yet play the same across the board.

At the same time, what may look similar in-game has been given a revamp as well. Familiar walls and other street furniture are in your free running path. However, the sense of space that has pervaded previous Assassin titles is noticeably lacking at first. True it’s stated that there are two cities to travel between but on first impression that traditional sense of open space isn’t here. Boston feels cramped and cluttered, feeling different from cities like Masyaf, Rome, Italy or Venice. The one comparison that is easy to make is that the city of Boston feels like Ezio’s place, formerly owned by his late Uncle Mario, the Monteriggioni estate. First impressions show Boston to be squat, low to the ground with plenty of obstacles and haphazardly-placed buildings at random angles.

Graphically, the game has grown with each successive release. The changes are noticeable if one compares Assassins Creed I directly to “Assassin’s Creed III.” Though they may graphically look similar in style, the devil is really in the details. That is, each and every detail, from facial cue to voice has been taken into consideration like never before. In the preceding games, the level of detail and articulation in NPC’s was good but not great. Similarly, the environmental backdrop has been given a huge overhaul, adding people, places, things and all manner of visual eye candy for this latest assassin game. Haytham’s arrival in the Port of Boston in sequence 02 as is the depth of detail during the ocean scenes in that very same section.

This many games later, having considered the wealth of work that Ubisoft has put into “Assassins Creed III,” it makes perfect sense that this game, the fifth in the series, possesses both a sense of finality as well as a feeling of new found wonder. Fans new and old alike will enjoy this rich and inviting world while traveling throughout an in-depth interactive history lesson.

Stay tuned to Toonari Post for the full review.

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Now that the E3 Conference has wrapped up, even more information has been revealed about the new game play mechanics and features in the upcoming “Assassin’s Creed III.” In part 1, the storyline and setting were discussed in addition to some new features of game play. “Assassin’s Creed III: Liberation” and the DLCs for “Assassin’s Creed III” were also discussed. In part 2, the heart of game play is revealed.

At the E3 conference in early June, several of these new announcements were made regarding aspects of movement. The creators have worked to put more momentum into Connor’s action – rebuilding how this assassin moves from the ground up. Unlike the previous games, Connor will not have to stop to do assassinations and he can continue straight from an assassination to fighting with other enemies or running away.

Stealth and escape are amplified through the new uses for the brotherhood members. Connor will still have access to the other assassins but now he can also hire them to pretend to be soldiers; this new aspect will significantly aid in stealth and assassination missions, since these assassins can also pretend to have captured Connor.

This new assassin will still participate in the citizen rescue that was used for Brotherhood recruitment in Brotherhood and Revelations, but each mission will be unique. Every non-player character (NPC) in the game will have their own goals and motivation thanks to the AI technologies of the AnvilNext engine. NPCs and Connor can be attacked by animals suck as wolves, bears, and dogs. Another returning feature includes the underground tombs and the puzzles, although the puzzles will be completely different from what we have seen in the past.

Multiplayer gaming will return as well and it too has changed dramatically. Now individuals will work in teams of four battling to hold three key points in a domination style game. Teams can chose their own unique attire to distinguish themselves from opponents and NPCs. Players can also interact with NPCs during the game, making it harder for opponents to recognize and track down each other.

ACIII will also include a new naval battle mini-game. Since the Revolutionary War was fought by land and sea, including naval battles in ACIII was extremely important to the creators, according to their presentation at the E3 conference. Connor is the captain of a ship and during battles he will steer and order the crew when to fire at enemy ships. Weather will change randomly and will significantly affect the sea and how the player maneuvers his or her vessel. During a battle players will be able to sink enemy ships as well as board them. This announcement is perhaps the most exciting of the Assassin’s Creed III developments to emerge from the E3 conference.

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The long awaited “Assassins Creed III” has fans everywhere anticipating the October 30, 2012 release date. Three years in the works, Ubisoft has declared “Assassin’s Creed III” the “most ambitious” of any of their projects, according to Airborne Gamer. The description is aptly earned since Ubisoft spent those three years building a new engine, AnvilNext, from the ground up, to improve game quality. Using motion-capture animation and AI technologies, AnvilNext not only creates more realistic scenery but also character models and interactions. According to Ubisoft, the company is attempting to make “Assassin’s Creed III” look like next generation technology on current generation consoles.

The game continues with character Desmond Miles as he continues to search the past for clues as to how to save the world from devastation in 2012. Now he visits the memories of an assassin ancestor caught in the middle of the American Revolution, Connor Kenway, and follows his life from 1753 to 1783. Connor Kenway, or Ratohnhake’ton, is considered an outsider as the son of a Mohawk mother and British father. When his village is attacked by colonists he is thrust into the main action of the game and joins the assassin cause.

Connor experiences all of the major events during this time period as he explores the cities of Boston and New York and the vast wilderness in between. He attends the Battle of Bunker Hill and meets many legends of American history including George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Charles Lee, Israel Putnam, Lafayette, John Pitcairn, and William Prescott. One aspect that Ubisoft was very particular about in game creation is that people will only die on the days in which they actually died. Many wonder how assassin, stealth, and recon missions will change with this attention to detail.

Assassin missions will also be affected because Connor takes neither side through all of these events he witnesses and participates in, meaning Templars from both sides are fair game. In one of the first promotional videos put out by Ubisoft, Connor states, “in the name of liberty I will fight the enemy, regardless of their allegiance.”

With the move to the new world and a completely different culture to pull from, the creators of “Assassin’s Creed III” have updated game play mechanics. Connor possesses instinctual tracking skills that allow him to learn what has happened after an event; this is no doubt an updated version of eagle vision. In addition to climbing buildings Connor will be able to climb trees and cliffs, which he will need to survive and traverse the wilderness setting.

His weapons have also changed to include a Tomahawk, rope darts, and firearms. Guns will be more prevalent in this game due to the time period, but since rifling of the barrel was not introduced until the Civil War, accuracy of soldiers is terrible. The bombs from Revelations will disappear from game play in ACIII now that black powder is being used; instead, players can shoot explosive barrels and destroy enemy camps. According to the “Assassin’s Creed III” website, “one thing is clear: the world that the Assassins live in has become far more deadly. And so have you.”

The Assassin’s Creed games were planned as a trilogy, meaning that although this is the fifth game in the series it is the last game to be numbered and the last new assassin to appear. There is the possibility that Ubisoft may create a follow-up game to the Connor storyline but this is mere speculation.

However, Ubisoft has announced that they are creating a completely new game for the PS Vita to be released sometime this fall called “Assassin’s Creed III: Liberation.” “Liberation” will take place during the same time as “Assassins Creed III” in New Orleans but with a new female assassin, Aveline, who resides in New Orleans and is advised by an escaped slave, Agate. Ubisoft has been considering a female assassin for a long time but believed the game setting in “Assassin’s Creed III” a bad match. The “Liberation” storyline will cross paths with Connor but another individual will be using the Animus instead of Desmond Miles.

Ubisoft is including a lot of DLCs and extras with pre-orders or special editions. Pre-ordering the game in the US includes a single player mission called the “Lost Mayan Ruin” and an extra weapon: the sawtooth sword. There will also be four different types of collector’s editions: Freedom Edition, Join Or Die Edition, Special Edition, and UbiWorkshop Edition; each with their own unique content and extra materials.

More information from the E3 conference can be found in part 2 of this article. The topics covered include naval battles, the multiplayer game, and even more on Connor’s abilities.

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