Game Review: Assassin's Creed 3

Ubisoft’s, Assassin’s Creed 3, has finally come out after I have been counting down to its release for an entire year. I expected big things from it and I haven’t been disappointed. Instead I’m finding studying for exams that much more challenging knowing that the game is sitting in the Xbox tray upstairs, waiting for me to continue playing.

Connor on the battlefield (screenshot from trailer)

I could go on about it for several hours, honestly, but I think it's been awesome. I've had sleepless nights just mucking around in the world, Anvil Next, the next-generation graphics engine it runs on, makes sure that there is never a time you don't have anything to do. I guess, because there is so much going on constantly, you never really get bored but there's also a problem with it because the storyline isn't quite as solid and nicely tied together as Assassin’s Creed 2. I think part of that is the feeling that there's more than just one game in it. The prologue is quite long. Then you've got Connor entering and then his rising into becoming an Assassin, which also takes a while, the War and then present day stories with Desmond all combined, so it gets a little nuts.

I don't know about how most people feel about the main American Revolution, late 18^th century, setting, but I really like it. It's something that's a bit different, although there are a few incredibly clichéd moments and features to it. I think everything looks great, and the naval battles have been such a cool addition to the game series. I found because it's pretty easy to control the ships and cannons that you can just enjoy the battles more rather than freaking out about steering in the shallows and around rocks. And actually getting into a battle and having cannons firing at you is exhilarating. 

Naval warfare has been a fantastic addition to the game

I guess none of the character relationships and stories have made me really connect with them yet, but I'm not done on the game, so hey, that could change. I think Connor's pretty cool, but Ezio really just seems like he's going to continue being the favorite assassin, since so far I haven't had any really satisfying revelations with Connor. I could guess Haythem's connection to Connor well and truly before it was actually revealed as well. And Desmond's side of the story has been pretty average so far.

The twist when finishing up with Haythem (prologue), the one with the "How do ya like them apples" achievement, was fantastic. Did not see it coming at all. I had to pause the game and sit there in astonishment for a moment, actually just so amazed that the game had managed to catch me that off guard.

The actual assassinating has been improved, I think. The action sequences are cinematically beautiful and deadly, both at once. And the rope darts have been a lot of fun to muck around with.

Assassination scene

The horses. They annoy me so much! Trying to navigate them through a lot of the areas while trying to move at high speeds gets a little ridiculous, I choose to free-run through the trees for the most part rather than have to deal with them. This is very surprising as I am very much a horse fan, I just don’t really enjoy the ones that have appeared in AC3.

Aside from the massive campaign, which really has been enjoyable, I've played only a little of multiplayer so far, but it's been pretty great. Wolfpack's been good, teaming up to assassinate with friends within a time limit, but it gets a bit tedious after a while.

I think that is about it so far. Once you get over some things, it really is a good game. I think it's totally worth playing, you keep entertained for hours. It may not be the greatest game of all time, but I actually thing Ubisoft did a pretty damn good job, they could have messed this up so much more. Instead they may have just overloaded the game with things to do, which really isn't a big deal at all, since it keeps me busy.

I’ve really been loving it so far, even my parents, who aren’t much into gaming, have come in to watch me play several times. The incredible graphics amazes them. In the words of my Mother “it’s better than a movie!”

Assassin's Creed 3's incredible graphics

 So, overall, I give the game an 8.7/10. There are some things that could have been improved, but I really am not disappointed with the game at all so far.