It certainly wasn’t its sequel which improved on virtually everything in the original, replacing linearity with spontaneity, creating a protagonist players would want to see grow and develop.
You could say it’s partially down to Brotherhood; ACII’s sequel entering the fray a year later, beginning a trend of perhaps milking the franchise a bit too much. Sure, it added a leadership mechanic, a chance to watch Ezio develop a guild of Assassin’s to liberate Renaissance Rome and continuing on from the cliffhanger ending from the previous game.
No, Brotherhood did indeed add a certain component that not only stuck with Revelations; ACII’s second sequel which not only completed Ezio’s story, but added a completely unnecessary multiplayer mode, but also appeared in the recently released Assassin’s Creed III.
You could say it’s partially down to Brotherhood; ACII’s sequel entering the fray a year later, beginning a trend of perhaps milking the franchise a bit too much. Sure, it added a leadership mechanic, a chance to watch Ezio develop a guild of Assassin’s to liberate Renaissance Rome and continuing on from the cliffhanger ending from the previous game.
No, Brotherhood did indeed add a certain component that not only stuck with Revelations; ACII’s second sequel which not only completed Ezio’s story, but added a completely unnecessary multiplayer mode, but also appeared in the recently released Assassin’s Creed III.
That component is full synchronisation.
Sure, the idea of synchronising had been part of Assassin’s Creed and it’s sequel, except back then, it was limited to collecting macguffins, climbing each high spot and completing extra missions for bonuses that only hardcore fans (or obsessive compulsives…or both) would bother to complete, it never really had any influential change on the core gameplay or the story.
Synchronising mission’s however, as mentioned before, saw its introduction in Brotherhood, as a way of following what the game would interpret as what really happened.
Oh sure, it added some further difficulty but the sacrifice the game made and for me, has been a hindrance since, is creativity. The days of planning, scoping and freedom had been replaced by a system where players were rewarded for following the mandate. Sure, it wasn’t compulsory and you could always replay the missions over, but this one significant change has shaped Assassin’s Creed’s future in a way that makes the series appear to have peaked; two games in.
Assassin’s Creed III stands as the fifth home console release in the franchise and the third game in as many years. Like GTA before it; the numeric addition shows the massive change in setting and characters. Gone is Renaissance Italy and later Istanbul, replaced with Colonial America; taking place before and then during the Revolution that changes the world.
You play the majority of the game as Native American Ratonhnhaké:ton (or Connor) who seeks the ever pesky subject of revenge against the Templars who plan to use the Revolution to create a land in their image. Taking a cue from ACII; Connor’s growth from talented boy hunter to semi-decent assassin is set over a number a years with different events serving as the back-drop.
Synchronising mission’s however, as mentioned before, saw its introduction in Brotherhood, as a way of following what the game would interpret as what really happened.
Oh sure, it added some further difficulty but the sacrifice the game made and for me, has been a hindrance since, is creativity. The days of planning, scoping and freedom had been replaced by a system where players were rewarded for following the mandate. Sure, it wasn’t compulsory and you could always replay the missions over, but this one significant change has shaped Assassin’s Creed’s future in a way that makes the series appear to have peaked; two games in.
Assassin’s Creed III stands as the fifth home console release in the franchise and the third game in as many years. Like GTA before it; the numeric addition shows the massive change in setting and characters. Gone is Renaissance Italy and later Istanbul, replaced with Colonial America; taking place before and then during the Revolution that changes the world.
You play the majority of the game as Native American Ratonhnhaké:ton (or Connor) who seeks the ever pesky subject of revenge against the Templars who plan to use the Revolution to create a land in their image. Taking a cue from ACII; Connor’s growth from talented boy hunter to semi-decent assassin is set over a number a years with different events serving as the back-drop.
The bulk of the game is set around the subject of killing templars with each assassination built-up with a series of submissions where Connor needs to liberate certain areas from templar control, aid in the war effort, eavesdropping important information and more.
Naturally; despite a new engine and new setting; AC3 is very much an Assassin’s Creed title. Connor still has a large array of weaponry at his disposal (although the hidden blades will easily be your weapon of choice), he still needs to climb high points for a portion of the map to become available, occasionally enemies will become suspicious of his activities and Connor will have to blend into a crowd.
Despite the familiarity, there have been significant changes. The biggest (in setting, scale and impact on the game) is the frontier; a large open world with trees replacing buildings and wildlife replacing human enemies and friendly NPC’s.
Much like Red Dead Redemption; Connor can freely hunt game for profit, pelts, meat and/or collectibles in a variety of ways and, while it doesn’t really effect the narrative in anyway (minus its introduction in a dedicated memory sequence), it’s a fun activity, although those who do invest in the story, will find themselves using the Fast Travel function to get across the huge map (and possibly miss this functionality entirely).
Another side mission introduced in the main story but, well, made into a side mission is the induction of Naval Missions. Early in Connor’s story, he gains access to a ship and again, if the player chooses to, Connor can take to the open waters of America’s east coast, battling red coats, escorting freedom fighters and taking down supplies whilst using money to gradually upgrade the ship for a better chance at surviving later missions.
Although easily the most welcome introduction to the gameplay and a definite highlight to the game, much like hunting, the bulk of naval missions are purely sub-missions, inconsequential to the main story and purely for fun, which unfortunately, has the knock-on effect of making the missions ultimately pointless to the main narrative.
The most subtle upgrade from the previous games and arguably, the most pointless is trading. Whereas before; Ezio liberated cities by buying properties and taking a slice of the profits (and possibly gained access to the games best weapons and armour far too easily), Connor instead has the Homestead; where NPC’s craft, collect, hunt etc which can then be traded for money.
Despite the obvious appeal of gaining enough currency to make the game easier, the system is horrendously slow (it takes a while before worthwhile money rolls in) and ultimately; hunting, pick pocketing and even (SHOCK-HORROR), killing enemies offers a more thrilling experience of making money and feeling fulfilled by doing so.
Whilst Connor is the main protagonist of the title, small sections between each memory sequence return to the present day with Connor’s descendant Desmond and friends trying to unlock a door that will, hopefully, explain what the heck the Assassin’s and Templars have been fighting for.
Whilst Desmond’s sections do occasionally branch into assassinations and sneaking into fortified enemy strongholds; they’re quite reserved and ultimately serve as filler for the final cutscene which, somehow explains the narrative and resolves Desmond’s story, but still keeps dangling the carrot and hopes you keep going and, for a while, it works.
Helping you move along is the awe at the beginning, the world established, beginning in Boston before finally moving to the open wilderness and yes, the Frontier is every bit as beautiful as you can imagine, with a weather system that can create numerous new challenges each-time you try to traverse the environment, if you do indeed, choose to skip the Frontier, you are missing out on one of gaming’s best looking worlds.
Also helping is how the story is told, with memorable characters and fantastic performances, although, ironically, Connor and his voice actor’s performance are the weakest of the bunch. Perhaps being spoilt by the charming and intriguing Ezio for so many years has ruined any chances for a successor to the franchise, but Connor is a bit boring, his flat, monotone delivery not helping matters, although again, the rest of the cast shines through.
It’s also worth mentioning the multiplayer has received slight tweaks from its introduction in Revelations. There’s not a whole bunch to say other than, if you liked the previous game, it’s practically the same here with a few new characters and maps, and if you didn’t like it, then chances are nothing will change your mind here.
So, all sounds good right? Surely AC3 is the best in the franchise and a much needed boost from Revelations? Well, and here’s the kicker, AC3 does have problems. Firstly, as mentioned before, the full synchronisation feature for missions takes away the freedom of completing a mission of your own free-will (which is ironic, considering the setting).
The mission layouts and structures themselves can also range from placid to absolutely deranged. An example of this sees Connor chasing an enemy through crowded streets where, to achieve a perfect sync, Connor mustn’t gain any damage nor touch anybody other than the enemy being chased.
Whilst the latter is difficult enough, adding the former where explosives and groups of soldiers plague the route make the mission one of the most tedious and frustrating events in the game where only trial and error and perseverance can prevail.
So, all sounds good right? Surely AC3 is the best in the franchise and a much needed boost from Revelations? Well, and here’s the kicker, AC3 does have problems. Firstly, as mentioned before, the full synchronisation feature for missions takes away the freedom of completing a mission of your own free-will (which is ironic, considering the setting).
The mission layouts and structures themselves can also range from placid to absolutely deranged. An example of this sees Connor chasing an enemy through crowded streets where, to achieve a perfect sync, Connor mustn’t gain any damage nor touch anybody other than the enemy being chased.
Whilst the latter is difficult enough, adding the former where explosives and groups of soldiers plague the route make the mission one of the most tedious and frustrating events in the game where only trial and error and perseverance can prevail.
The other glaring problem is, where AC2 began a trend of adding many mechanics and features to the game, AC2 and even it’s sequels, always felt like the core of the gameplay was assassinating targets, in more elaborate ways with increasingly difficult scenarios.
With AC3 however and the bulk of the new features; the game feels bloated and even muddled at times. Whilst things like the naval missions are brilliantly executed, the title loses its identity, trying to juggle everything but rarely exceeding in anything.
Missions focused purely on assassinating key figures are often used as end of sequence encounters and few of those exceed past the previous titles highlights. It seems strange to say write this, but Assassin’s Creed is no longer about killing bad guys and being sneaky about it; but instead, it’s about leading up to kill the odd templar and being presented with side attractions to distract you.
It’s not terrible in slightest, in fact, it’s easy to say AC3 is one of the year’s better titles, that it looks gorgeous, it plays pretty well when it wants to and the story is an interesting one for the bulk of the game whilst Desmond’s sequences were always going to be a let-down after so many years of build-up.
But at times, it wanes; it feels diluted and often distracting from the core mechanics that made the series such a juggernaut franchise. For the all the awe-inspiring moments, there’ll be times of frustration, never to balance out, but serve as a gentle reminder that despite all the changes and all the improvements, there’s always something holding back AC3 from greatness.
8/10
H
No comments:
Post a Comment