Assassins Creed III – First Look (Update 2)

The world is aflutter with the recent revelation, or confirmation if you’ve been paying particularly close attention, that the third game in the Assassins Creed series (yes, third, because brotherhood and revelations do not count) will be set during the American Revolution. In order to avoid taking sides in the war (despite everybody already knowing the outcome) payers will, according to the released information, play as Connor, or Radohnhnecdon, a man of mixed English and Native American ancestry who can provide a neutral, unbiased perspective on American Independence.

Some people have been protesting this as a move away from the historical and into the company of every other game ever – the United States but some people, myself included, see this as a natural progression. Desmond Miles is American. Eventually his lineage was going to move to The New World. It makes sense that it would do it during the War of Independence, given that his previous personalities have been during similar times of strife.

It also opens the door for Ben Franklin and George Washington (who have been confirmed) and other revolutionary figures. Being from a Native American perspective also leaves room for some missions steeped in Mohawk Tribe law. It’s a very interesting period in world history and I look forward to finally moving away from the Italian Renaissance because Brotherhod and Revelations were boring as fuck. My opinion of course. Which is also right. Shut up, that’s why.

Let’s dissect some screenshots:

 

Hiding from the Redcoats

Hiding in the bushes, using trees for cover. I suppose this means the camouflage and blending in system from previous AC titles is getting an upgrade. The invading British are, of course, likely to be a major antagonist within the game.

Snowy Attack

The AC games are, traditionally, set over a long timespan. So it should be no surprise that part of this game will, for the first time (I believe) take place in the snow. Also, that’s an American, a revolutionary; will Connor (I;m not writing his other name again, I’m just not) be taking missions from both sides?

A British controlled settlement

This seems to confirm that Connor will at least visit British controlled towns and cities. But of course that makes sense and should be obvious. The little details on the British uniforms are nice and the overall engine seems to have had at least a minor upgrade since Brotherhood (I haven’t played Revelations because I got sick of Ezio about five minutes into ACB). Also check out that badass leaning against the post. Yeah, I got a bandana, just chill in, what of it?

Deer stalker?

 Rustic bow and arrow? Check. Snowy landscape? Check. Unsuspecting wildlife? Check. Does this mean we’ll have to hunt for food to restore our health? I like the look of the bow. Very Native.

Yup more snow. 

 This one seems to be showing off the snow and I must say, the depth and powder effects are pretty nice. I wonder if the colour of Connor’s coat-tails will be changeable depending on who you are allied with?

I can see you.

No snow this time, but Connor seems to be using his Super Amazing Mohawk Tribe Skills™ to watch some unsuspecting, and apparently non-allied, dudes from afar. They do just seem like regular peeps, not British or American soldiers. Only time will tell but the addition of tree-top scouting positions (and possible Eagle’s nest locations) is exciting.

All in all, I’m far more exciting for AC3 than I have been for either of the last two games. Ubisoft have said that Desmond will feature heavily in the game as he searches for blah, blah, blah. I don’t care about Desmond. He’s a fun framing device, but for me the historical sections are why I play the game. Desmond is just filler.

Hopefully the multiplayer aspect of Brotherhood makes it into this title, because that was quite well received and it could be interesting building up your own faction-allied militia group and with any luck, a trailer soon will show us the game in action.

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UPDATE, March 4

I just found some more info about the upcoming game:

– The game is set between 1753-1783 and is based around the cities Boston and New York, as well as a countryside frontier.

– Animals can be killed of resources like meat and pelts.

– The countryside is bigger than the city of Rome in Brotherhood, and contains a third of the missions.

– There is an all new animation and combat system, and combat is much more offensive than defensive.

– The winter will provide for extra gameplay mechanics, such as enemies stumbling through the deep snow drifts and frozen lakes and rivers granting access to new areas.

– Human shields are included in the game.

UPDATE, March 6

Hey look, video.

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You can harass the author of this post via Twitter: @CAricHanley