The Assassin’s Creed III Boston city demo has been released and it shows that Ubisoft has really upped their game. The game play demonstrated in the demo shows more organic mechanics that allow more realistic maneuvers and actions than ever before.

There are two main cities in Assassin’s Creed III: Boston and New York in the eighteenth century. Alex Hutchinson, the Creative Director of Assassin’s Creed III, narrates the demo that shows Boston in the summer of 1773. Hutchinson explains that New York and Boston were both created at a 1:3 scale using historical maps from the eighteenth century, meaning key landmarks will appear throughout the city.

One of the first things that a player of past Assassin’s Creed games will notice is that previous moves have been upgraded or integrated with new moves. For example, Connor, the newest character in the Assassin’s Creed franchise, can jump into a bale of hay that is moving in a cart through the city. He can then assassinate a guard from that bale of hay and leave the body in the cart.

Hutchinson also explains that they have worked hard to integrate side missions into the storyline. Different characters from these side missions will help the player complete the main objective instead of just being optional side missions.

New stealth moves have also been integrated into game play. Connor can position himself against a wall or trees and is able to assassinate from these positions. New stalking zones have also been added where Connor can croch down and walk around in a bush; as Hutchinson puts it they are ‘mobile hide spots’.

One of the best features of this latest game is that there are more opportunities to distract guards beforehand, making the game that much more realistic. In one part of the demo Connor uses his rope dart to lasso a guard and hang him from a tree, drawing the attention of the other guards. In another part Connor shoots a guard with an arrow which then draws the attention of red coats guarding a ship, allowing Connor to sneak aboard.

In addition to new hide spots Connor can now also blend in between any two people, assuming the same posture and attitude as them. Like other blend spots in the previous games he can also assassinate from these positions.

The crowd within the game has also become more realistic and will respond to weather and other members of the city. Chickens and other animals have also been added to the city. Hutchinson claims that the world feels alive and believable.

Hutchinson also discusses combat saying that they rebuilt it “from the ground, up.” According to Hutchinson, “Connor is a dual-wielding specialist. All of his base combat is using two weapons at the same time. We worked very hard on the flow of combat, so your goal as a player is basically to continue your kill chain by using appropriate moves.”

Connor can also pick up weapons on his way into a fight instead of stopping to do so. In one scene in the demo Connor runs by a weapon rack, picks up a musket, stabs one guard with a bayonet, and shoots a second guard through the first guard. He then pushes another guard off of the boat that the combat is taking place on. The mechanics of the game have not only changed, they are significantly more realistic and smooth.

The health system in combat has also changed. There are no more “magical health potions or other assists” during a fight. Instead, Connor must finish the fight or run if he is to heal. With this in mind, there will be a larger health bar from the beginning since hit points will be harder to regain. This feature will encourage players to get higher kill streaks because they will get rid of enemies faster and before they receive damage. Therefore, players of the previous games who had a hard time getting kill streaks and had to rely more on the health potions, might find this game a little harder than the previous games.

The city navigation has also undergone a “face lift,” according to Hutchinson. Connor can now climb trees in the forest and in the city. The creators have also added something similar to ‘monkey bars’ throughout the city that help with navigation. Connor will also be able to run across or dive into (such as the cart previously mentioned) moving surfaces. He will also now scramble up surfaces put on an incline, but perhaps the most interesting and realistic new move is the interior of buildings. Now the player can have Connor run through the interior of a building – like jumping through two windows in a house – in order to lose pursuers.

Hutchinson does admit that although there are a lot of things that have been changed there were things, like the assassin’s brotherhood, that they liked. “Although we had a rule when we started development there would be no retreads, no mechanics we built in this game just because they’d been in the franchise before, we do like the notion that the assassin isn’t always acting alone.” However, Ubisoft did revamp the brotherhood as well. Now Connor can call in the brotherhood not only to help with assassination but they can also be disguised as red coats and lead Connor, as if he is a prisoner, past “choke points” in the city to get past guards.

Another aspect that Hutchinson elaborates on is Connor’s heritage: half Native American and half European. He admits that it is not only a “cool story device” but also has an impact on the weapons of choice for Connor. His character possesses not only the rope dart but will also use the tomahawk and a bow and arrow.

Ultimately Ubisoft has surpassed all expectations that Assassin’s Creed fans have had so far. These new features were not expected by players of the previous games, which makes the game even more exciting. Additionally, Assassin’s Creed III will be the most strategic of the Assassin’s Creed franchise with so many more possibilities for distractions and combat than ever before. This is definitely not a game to miss.

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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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WatchDogs was a show-stopping surprise for all the attending members of E3. One of the most talked about games for the show, with a concept so eerie and yet also completely plausible, WatchDogs could turn out to be another sleeper hit from Ubisoft’s great design teams, creating original characters and concepts that change the gaming landscape for good.

At E3 2012, Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot announced a new IP that have been in development for over 2 years. Its name is WatchDogs and in the most unnervingly realistic way, it’s a game about how a small select group of people spy on everyone else. And unveiling as secret as can be, fans were blown away by the hacker style gameplay as well as the lighting and gunplay elements. The question Mr. Guillemot left the audience with was “Who is really managing the world we are in” and the video that follows made everyone look at their phones with a bit of trepidation and no small amount of alarm.

The scene is set first with a woman’s voice narrating the news accompanied by ominous sounding music. She talks about how information and technology are managed. She talks about how one man was able to insert a virus that knocked out power to half a country, our country, the United States. Ten years later in 2011 the world is more advanced and therefore a central control system has been installed, able to manage entire cities at the click of a button. This could be a good thing; after all making the running of a city and its complicated budget much easier.

Yet, the concept of centralized control of traffic, transit and utilities controlled by a computer makes one wonder who controls the computer. As the voice continues to explain, the building dread comes to a boiling point as it is revealed that yet unnamed private companies control this central operating system and manipulate it to their own purposes. It is now personal data, not money or some other form of commodity, which has become the key selling point in the world. You’ve lost your individuality and are now just a number, in a growing row and column of numbers, your information harvested and sold in a digital world.

The concept is that all data is connected and through manipulation of that data, you and your world are influenced in both subtle and not so subtle ways.

Back in our reality, E3 attendees sitting in the audience were subjected to a green light scan of some kind. Creative Director of Ubisoft Montreal Jonathan Morin, goes on to say that you’ll play in an open city. Ubisoft has given you the player control of that city to use as your weapon. It may seem a strange concept, controlling a whole city as if it were a giant robot, but is that not what a city actually is? You’ll know everything about everyone in the entire city and control its functions at the literal touch of a button. That kind of power is seductive and that is what Ubisoft aims to prove.

The screen cut to a man walking down a street. Nothing wrong with that — except for the ‘creepy factor’ going through the roof as he jams phones in immediate vicinity, distracting guards at a club he needs to get into. His name is Aiden Pierce and he is out to kill a man.

Pierce could know the mental health, financial history, job, social security number and even the breakfast content of anyone he chooses to at any given moment. The concept is frightening as he scans a whole room of people, hacks an ongoing cellphone call to get the data that he needs. It’s not such a bad thing, using that sort of power to catch a bad guy, but what happens when that data is yours or your loved one’s.

Oh — and the part about wondering how a city can attack someone? Try traffic lights. How do you find your enemies? Try the thousands of camera’s that litter the city. It is not the most ethical method, having multiple people crashing their cars into one another in order to catch one man but then again, Aiden Pierce doesn’t have the time to care. He is a violent guy who’s not afraid to get his hands dirty, hurting bouncers and hired gunmen to send a message to some powerful people.

So the question Ubisoft presents to gamers is, do you want this kind of man to have access to your data? Probably not, not by a long shot. The better question that Ubisoft asks you is, wouldn’t you rather be this man? Ubisoft thinks gamers will love this game and from crowd reactions, they have hit another one out of the park. With no slated release date, this game could be a long ways away but it has great potential to become another massive console and PC hit.

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