Has this revolution been worth the wait?
The highly anticipate third instalment in the Assassin's Creed series has been three years in the making and it's the biggest most complete Assassin's Creed yet. Continuing Desmond's story, players are taken from the setting of Renaissance Europe and thrown into Revolutionary America; a change of landscape to say the least.
Right from the get go it's clear how much of an improvement visually this sequel is in comparison to it's predecessors; a particular highlight is when roaming across the American Frontier. It's conjures up memories of first playing Red Dead Redemption and being dazzled by the sheer vastness of the landscape. Although it might not be quite as jaw dropping as Rockstar's Wild West, the Frontier in Assassin's Creed 3 is certainly the best of the four free running playgrounds the game has to offer. That's not to say that New York and Boston aren't beautiful in their own right, but there's a certain magic about elegantly whisking through the tree tops, baiting animals and pouncing on unsuspecting poachers which you can't quite get in the urban settings.
The combat is another aspect that has been reworked making it more than just a waiting for the counter attack game. Stringing together combos is more intuitive and different tactics need to be adopted for different enemy types. The addition of Conner's Tomahawk makes for some brutal, gritty animations which when coupled with the visceral sound design make for some intense and enjoyable encounters. Free running is another thing that has been honed and perfected even more, making the trees, rock faces, buildings and boats a joy to scale, the animations in particular are beautiful. It's bizarre to think that when the first title came out you'd never have thought they could improve the free running aspect of it.
An interesting feature new to the series is naval combat. Initially I went in with the assumption that it'd be a tacked on feature to drive the story. How wrong I was. The gameplay for the naval missions is incredibly addictive. Given command of your own ship complete with crew you are sent on various skirmishes which involve escorting, exploring and destroying. This addition is surprisingly well executed and is a refreshing change of pace from the day to day assassinating.
One setback and minor gripe I have, is that Assassin's Creed 3 is slow starting; almost 6-8 hours so. The game begins with a small Prologue before you are given control of Conner which you must control through his younger years before you get trained up as an Assassin. As a result of this, it's a while until you get free reign to explore the world and start to make a dent in the endless amount of side quests and activities available. The positive of this however is that it allows the game to teach you the various new features it has to offer regarding hunting and combat whilst still telling Conner's story; it could just do with shortening the process a little.
Sound is a particular area that I feel this game exceeds in, maybe because I'm a little bias and simply adore top sound design and composition, but I feel most would agree that the sound design within Assassin's Creed 3 is top draw, from the visceral, meaty sounds of blades and blunt weapons hitting flesh in combat to the cannon fire in naval combat. I initially thought that with the absence of Jesper Kyd on the soundtrack (who in my opinion has been one of the key reasons for the series' success with his ability to evoke Renaissance Italy through music) that the music wouldn't live up to the quality we've come to expect from the series. Again, how wrong I was. Lorne Balfe is at the helm in the latest instalment and does a truly stellar job of creating a masterpiece of a score, I really think it's one of the highlights of the game.
I've always been a huge fan of the series so my final thoughts may be a touch bias. I really think Assassin's Creed is one of the best in the series, perhaps not the best, but certainly up there. It's ambitious open world being the main reason for it's success which is almost limitless in it's activities and hidden areas. The story leaves a little to be desired with another signature cliffhanger suggesting an interesting sequel to come, although that's not to say it's poor, I think it's just become a little predictable in it's format. Saying that, I did enjoy the change of scenery and playing through Conner's story, despite missing Ezio a tiny bit. Overall it's a top game and worthy of the hype it got pre-release and the praise it's received post-release.
9/10
