Doesn't live up to it's hype, but it's still a good game
Pros:
-Great graphics and setting
-Huge open world to explore
-Good attention to detail
-Interesting storyline and characters
-Naval combat is epic
-Game runs at a constant high frame rate
-Parkour elements are much improved
-Cities offer plenty to do
Cons:
-Combat is still too easy
-A bit buggy
-Lack of side missions in Frontier is disappointing
Assassin's Creed 3 is an ambitious sequel, and while it may make not fulfill all it's promises, it's still a good step forward for the series.
Assassin's Creed 3 puts you in the role of Connor, a Native American who get's caught up in the American Revolution. Throughout your journey you will meet historical figures such as George Washington, Daniel Boone, Benjamin Franklin, and more! Your course of actions will dictate the future of America and help to ensure it's independence, without spoiling anything, the storyline is quite engaging with twists and turns, Assassin's Creed 3 will keep your focus throughout.
In fact Assassin's Creed 3 does an excellent job with it's atmosphere and setting, walking down the streets of colonial New York and Boston is a sight to see, with crowds of people moving and shouting, with street fights breaking out between the Patriots and Royal Army, the world of Assassin's Creed 3 feels alive!
The missions also have a good amount of variety, you will engage in all out combat, stalk enemies from far away, command a naval vessel, and more. However not all aspects of Assassin's Creed 3 are improved, for example the combat is even more easy than before. Instead of having other options such as grabs and dodge etc...., you now only have two, counter and guard break. Countering is made even easier thanks to the game slowing down the attack, allowing you to easily counter attack, and guard break does an attack that simply breaks the enemies defense.
There are a few other aspects such as being able to throw enemies in a counter instead of killing them, or using enemies as human shields to block musket fire, but for the most part combat feels even more toned down than before. It is flashy, very flashy and brutal, it's quite impressive to watch, but in terms of depth the combat in Assassin's Creed 3 is lacking.
Another problem with Assassin's Creed 3 is the lack of side missions in the Frontier section of the game. The world map is huge, it's simply jaw dropping as to how vast it is, but Assassin's Creed 3 offers little things to do in it's Frontier aspect. Aside from the occasional raid on passing British Cavalry, you will find little to do.
It makes the Frontier feel like a big pool in terms of size but shallow in it's depth, which is a shame as you will often come across small towns and villages but they feel more like simple scenery than anything worthwhile. Fortunately the cities offer plenty of side missions that make up for this, from starting riots to finding lost almanac pages, burning blankets with small pox, and more. New York and Boston are the place to go for side missions. There are also a variety of gambling missions available for you to engage in if you so choose.
Assassin's Creed 3 is also a bit buggy, ranging from characters simply not opening their mouths during cut scenes to getting stuck inside objects, or just NPC's flat out disappearing, Assassin's Creed 3 is has it's fair share of bugs. For the most part these are not serious issues, but on occasion you will get a bug that will make you restart the checkpoint. Hopefully Ubisoft fixes these issues soon.
From a visual standpoint Assassin's Creed 3 is gorgeous, you can definitely see the new engine in effect with it's graphical prowess . Character models are very detailed, they show emotion in their faces. The world changes with the seasons and it's beautiful to see the nice sea of green in the spring and summer, and it later transition to a winter wonderland. The game also runs in a constant high frame rate, even in the midst of heavy combat or tons of of NPC's, this makes Assassin's Creed 3 even more impressive. Parkour elements are also improved in Assassin's Creed 3, you can easily move, climb, and run to your destination, even complex things such as moving through trees is made easy.
Assassin's Creed 3 also features naval battles, these are quite engaging and fun. Taking charge of a crew, you shout out various commands such as the Full Sail or Half Sail, and when to fire and what kind of ammo to use. You can also get up close and board enemy ships and engage in pirate like battles. The naval battles are one of the best aspects of Assassin's Creed 3. There is also multiplayer, however I have not yet played this so cannot comment, but I will talk about it once I do.
Final Verdict:
While Assassin's Creed 3 misses a few marks, it's still a great game and it features a lot to be appreciated. If you're a fan of the series you owe it to yourself to play Assassin's Creed 3.
Assassin's Creed 3 get's a 4/5
