I was in knots when, on the GOTY Bombcast, there was no initial mention of AC3's multiplayer. Thankfully Ryan chimed in and gave it some due lip service. But man, maybe I'm just blinded by my affection for it, but it feels like AC's multiplayer gets no love at all from the larger gaming community. It's such a breath of fresh air in a sea of modern war FPS.

Why does no one really talk about it? What does everyone think about it?

I'm a big fan of Assassin's Creed multiplayer. It's a bit harder to get into than other games. I think the mode has probably flown under the radar ever so slightly because of how hefty the single player components of the games are.

I really enjoyed the AC3 multiplayer a lot. It's difficult as hell but it's a unique experience that they've continued to perfect the last few years. It deserves recognition, I agree.

I've always played AC for the singleplayer but the mp did look really cool when Ryan played ACB mp on TNT. For some reason I never even tried it, maybe because nobody talks about it. I recently bought AC3 and decided to try the multiplayer. Holy shit! I can't stop playing it. I even liked it more than the singleplayer and it is why AC3 is one of my favorites of the year. So I'm not sure why people don't talk about it. I love it because while it seems simple there is a lot of depth and I can play it the way I like - really slow, defensive and sneaky. You don't even have to kill people to win.

@Artso said:

You don't even have to kill people to win.

I think that's the greatest thing to be said about it. I had a match once where I came in second place with only ONE kill.

Well I am reassured, glad to see people do indeed enjoy it. I guess chalk up the lack of discussion to lots of other great games to play and talk about.

But hey, while we're on the subject, what's everyone running for their loadouts? Any successful strategies?

I haven't played any AC MP (just not my thing), but has it changed in any meaningful ways over the last three games? Could be why they didn't bring it up.

@ajamafalous: I didn't play Revelations, but it sounds like AC3's multiplayer is much like that. I know a lot of the problem with Brotherhood in the beginning was a lack of instruction as to how the game worked, with Targets and Pursuers and the line of sight meter and all that. But they've added a nice, step-by-step tutorial before you play your first match to help new players.

They've added new abilites, changed the way certain mechanics work. It's not radically different, but that's because what's there is pretty solid. You may be right about there not being enough meaningful change for people. And, it's not a game for everyone's taste.

Love it. But I think we need to draw attention to the amazingly cheesy 'faux-Windows OS' UI design for the Abstergo software aesthetic. It's so good/bad.

@SavageHobbit said:

But hey, while we're on the subject, what's everyone running for their loadouts? Any successful strategies?

I would like to know this too. I've only been playing AC multiplayer for a few days now and I'm only around lvl 20 so I don't have all the abilities. I like disguise, I like morph a lot. Tried Glimmer but didn't like it. Watching Youtube videos Firecrackers and Smoke Bomb does seem amazing. Also, it seems important to get extreme variety in every match (climbing up walls and doing air assassinations etc), I guess you get a lot of points for that?

It seems pretty well refined at this point. It's a lot of fun in small bursts for me. Extended plays don't seem to do it for me though.

I got way into Brotherhood multiplayer, Revelations multiplayer was a great expansion on Brotherhood, III multiplayer sort of felt like the Modern Warfare 3 to Revelations's Modern Warfare 2. That probably sounds more harsh than I intend.

They talked about it a TON when Brotherhood came out, and the next two games haven't really brought THAT much new to the table, so unfortunately it's not worth bringing up time and again. I'm pretty sure it earned a bonus star in Ryan's review, so there's that.

@jillsandwich: Edit: I love your screenname...SO MUCH.

I personally could never get into any AC Multiplayer, I can see how it can be very enjoyable, but it's just not for me.