Assassin's Creed III
Development Issues: Despite having around three years to develop the game, a lot of previewed features had to be restricted or removed. Due to memory limitations, they were unable to include interactive climbing surfaces, such as falling rocks or flower pots. The canoe was removed and re-introduced in Assassin's Creed: Liberation. Not only were they having problems adapting to the new AnvilNext engine, but managing all their teams was a disaster. After Patrice was fired and the original cool script dropped, Ubisoft abruptly cut off the ending of the series in a weird and unexpected way that confused nearly everyone.
Editions: If you were trying to collect every Assassin's Creed figurine, you are in luck. The Freedom Edition included an interesting one. The Join or Die added a sweet medallion (actually made out of metal). The Limited Edition included the figurine, a flag, and a belt buckle (of all things). In an unusual twist, Ubisoft did put together a super-special edition of Assassin's Creed III that auctioned off for the Sydney Children's Hospital Foundation. There were only 10 made and sold collectively for more than $5000. Of course, you could have gotten the game for free at the end of 2016 during their 30th Anniversary.
Remastered Edition: 7 years after the initial release date, Ubisoft produced a newly remastered edition on March 29, 2019. It was given out for "free" if you bought the Odyssey Season Pass. Many speculated simple changes. In reality, Ubisoft changed quite a bit. The expected 25GB size of Assassin's Creed III (with DLC) and Assassin's Creed: Liberation came to a surprising 45GB with High Definition features. Beyond that were small improvements like map indicators and subtitle options (more details below).
DLC: If you look at the list of DLC offered for the game, you would realize that a bunch of individual missions were exclusive in one package or another. The remaster edition claimed it would include all of them. However, I found some content missing. For starters, The Battle Hardened Pack is worthless since multiplayer was not included at all. Although the awesome Aquila and intriguing Colonial Assassin outfits were available, I never did figure out how to access everything from the Hidden Master Pack. The Benedict Arnold package basically added the West Point Fort and had you taking orders from the cold leader until confronting him about his behavior.
The Tyranny of King Washington DLC: For roughly 5 hours, you can experience a What if? scenario where George Washington decides to rule his people with an iron fist. The story itself wasn't so bad, hypothetically speaking. You experience these events as if you woke up one day after all the events in the main game in a Wizard of Oz style of story-telling. You slowly gain superpowers as you try and fight back. Everything is neat, but poorly executed. It was already hard juggling all your tools into the 'Y' slot; you don't need to try and shift between abilities on the fly too. I also didn't understand why they had to spend an unskippable minute recapping the previous episodes. At least they allowed you to fast travel to all the main mission spots.
Assassin's Creed: Subject Four is the name of the combined comics Assasin's Creed: The Fall & Assassin's Creed: The Chain (written by Cameron Stewart and Karl Kerschl) inside the released UbiWorkshop Edition of Assassin's Creed III. They were originally created in 2010 - 2012 individually and were later released again alongside the remastered version on October 19, 2019. If you ever wondered why there wasn't much information behind Daniel Cross in the game, it's because the comics already explained in detail about him and his Russian great-grandfather assassin Nikolai Orelov. They discuss more about the events in a little more detail in Assassin's Creed Chronicles.
Is the Remastered Worth It?
Status: If you check Steam for Assassin's Creed III, you'll be given a notice that it is no longer offered. That's because Ubisoft wants you to check out their new Remastered version instead. However, you'll find something peculiar when you browse the review section. Many people have expressed their outrage so much so that there happen to be more negative reviews than positive. People expected bugs to be fixed and graphics to be improved! Even with their May 16th 1.03 Patch (2 months later), things still look just as bad. So is it worth getting or replaying a second time?
Pros: Other than adding higher resolution textures, there are loads of minor improvements - lockpicking requires a single tap, weapon wheel and inventory doesn't shift to a separate menu, subtitle options (color, size, background), all objectives are clearly displayed on the screen during a mission, whistle has been added while hiding inside bushes, the children aren't as annoyingly loud, modern day cutscenes and the end credits (that last 20 minutes) are now skippable, the game remembers when switching between the stockpile and crafting, skip button only appears on screen if you touch something (with a timed wheel for holding down the 'B' button), all 4-button options are shown on the screen (instead of just 2), and Animus hacks are automatically rewarded in the epilogue without the requirement of collecting pivots.
The map has been drastically modified: The entire outline of the regional map is shown from the start. You now navigate using the left stick instead of the right. All viewpoints are on the map without having to reveal them first (like the original Assassin's Creed). The viewpoints now appear as eagles with closed wings when not discovered or open wings when in sync. The amount of area that is revealed on the map has been widened. Enemy arrows show the way they are facing. Crosshair icons are added to archers while pawprints represent guard dogs. Squadrons of patrolling guards are now shown as a red square.
Cons: Although it seems like they removed the "grey filter" from town and added an "orange filter" to the new dynamic lighting engine, certain aspects of the game are lost in the transition. The new character models are horrendous. They lack depth and look like they were sculpted with play-doh. The worst offense is the child in the first sequence. Compare the old with the new and you'll see these big, bulging eyes. Outfits are no longer displayed in the basement. Many have speculated that combat feels less smooth, there are more glitches than ever before, and that there are more drops in fps. I cannot substantiate these claims.
Conclusion: I wished I had the best of both worlds. The water is no longer crisp, but the towns look nicer. The new character models are horrible, but the map improvements better my playthrough. No matter how many times I tried adjusting the brightness, enclosed areas were too dark and computer areas were too bright. If I had a choice, it seems there is enough there to warrant playing the remastered version for an overall better experience.
Combat
Steep Learning Curve: The combat in this game is much tougher than any of the previous ones. You are given quick tutorials as the story progresses on how to properly fight your opponent. However, I failed to see any sort of area you could practice your skills. Assassin's Creed and Assassin's Creed II offered fighting rings to hone in your skills, Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood provided the Animus training, and Assassin's Creed: Revelations set up scenarios to teach you how to use each type of grenade. The only thing in Assassin's Creed III I could find was an Animus Manual explaining what buttons to press. With the slow introduction to each weapon and linear story-telling, it took me a good 10 hours to figure things out on my own. The game failed to differentiate how tough each opponent was and what not to do in a fight against them. The good news is that there are a lot less horses for the soldiers to use.
Parry: You cannot simply "counter" an opponent with a simple button press anymore. You must wait for a red indicator to appear above their head (which sometimes doesn't appear) and press 'B' to setup a counter. Then you have to press 'X' to strike, 'A' to disarm, or 'B' to dodge. Any officer with a fancy getup or heavy backpack will block your counter and harm you in the process. Strike them too many times and they will surprise you with their own maneuver. Break down their defenses by rotating between a strike (with the 'X' button) and kicking them (with the 'A' button). Participating in the fisticuffs tournament will help you learn these tactics. Though, I hated fighting the Ropebeater. Since he counters everything, the only way to defeat him was by smashing his head into a few tables.
Colonial Arsenal: Sorry, but you can't just barge into a room with your crossbow and gun loaded and fire hundreds of bullets and instantly kill everyone. Guns in this era are just so hard to load. It takes at least 5 seconds of stuffing that powder down the tube! You can fire a readied shot from your pistol and one from a musket that hasn't been fired (the game seems to track each musket). You are able to grab any mounted muskets or those that have fallen to the ground. I wouldn't recommend trying to disarm a soldier of their weapon and picking it up off the ground. Not only is it difficult to highlight the weapon in order to arm yourself, but the soldiers tend to immediately reach down to retrieve their weapon if you do not at least follow through in building up some distance with your strikes. Another new thing you have to watch out for is a yellow indicator for when soldiers setup a "firing lane". Although the game teaches you to shield yourself with a spare body by grabbing them with the 'B' button, I could never get the hang of it. I generally ran around like a panicked civilian hoping they would miss.
Tribal Warfare: Like the pistol, your bow also has a few more realistic drawbacks. It takes roughly 2 seconds to place the arrow into the shelving and must be held in place longer for a stronger strike. 1 arrow would strike down a small animal, 2 for prowlers, 3 for large animals, and at least 5 for a soldier. Because of its sheer lack of damage, I failed to see any reason using this other than chasing down hares. However, the arrow can "pierce" through multiple targets if used correctly. Sadly, you are only able to hold a dozen arrows in your quiver compared to the 30 cartridges you can carry for your pistol. The game will display visually how many arrows you have left and how many struck your target. Although you can't loot every soldier for more arrows like you do for ammunition, you can "retrieve" your arrows from your target.
Weapons: There are quite a bit of different weapons that you can purchase, unlock, or craft. They aren't exactly categorized anymore but still have their own unique combat animations. Each weapon you equip will have a varying degree of combos, speeds and damage. You do also obtain some very nifty rope darts, handed down from Shao Jun, the Chinese Assassin from Assassin's Creed: Embers. Although it can be very difficult to pull your target and hang them over a tree, the darts can still dish out a decent amount of consecutive damage from quite the distance.
Utility Belt: There are a lot of little tools that will help you with your journey. Throw Money is back from the previous games for a quick distraction. Your own personal horse can be called to your side via the Horse Whistle and will follow you around instead of running away like all those other skittish horses. No more throwing daggers, but you are still given a handful of poison darts and smoke grenades for emergencies. Be careful using Trip Mines. Anything - enemies, allies, or even a stray bunny - can trigger them.
Features
Moving Revolution: Take everything you know from the previous games and forget it. You automatically pivot to another ledge without pressing a single button. You only have to press 'A' to jump over gaps and the right trigger to hurry across smooth surfaces. Fast walking through a crowd automatically "shoves" people by holding the 'A' button. Pickpocketing requires you to hold down the 'B' button now. Apparently there are different speeds of "high-profile" running - in addition to walking - depending on how deep you pull the trigger. No need trying to get better armor or collect medicine. You have a set amount of health that will slowly replenish in combat or quickly fill while anonymous. You can strip down your notoriety by peeling wanted posters down (they no longer show up on the map) for 1 level, bribe heralds for 2 levels, or pay the printing press for 3 levels.
Fast Travel: There are several locations you can instantly teleport to from anywhere simply by bringing up your map and clicking on the destination. You can do this from various harbors, region boundaries, headquarters, liberated forts, and underground doors through the tunnels. Defeating the captain, blowing the gunpowder, and raising the flag at any of the 10 Forts will open up those locations. There are around 20 doors that can be found under the cities of Boston and New York. Many might not enjoy skulking around in the dark with a lantern to unlock all the hot spots around the city. I personally enjoyed it. As long as you follow the clues (eagle vision helps) at each fork - follow the rats, look for a sign with an arrow or name, power up the mason wheel on the floor, use a keg of gunpowder to blow up red-marked walls - you won't get lost. Then each door contains some sort of obstacle to overcome: masonry magic lantern, climbing around a gate, picking a lock, or turning some wheels.
Crafting System: Where to begin with this mess? First you need to collect recipes from Treasure Chests, since they rarely reward any money nowadays. Then, completing Homestead Missions will provide you the people and their unique tools to make the items. Once you "pay" for the accumulation of daily material from the environment, you can have your craftsmen build all sorts of stuff. Then you must assign either a 10-minute land convoy or 30-minute sea convoy with a specific merchant for each individual item and send them to a certain destination. All of this is done through the accounting book inside your headquarters or any shop. Hold on, there's more! There is a certain amount of "risk" your convoy can be attacked on their way over. Completing Fort & Naval Missions will reduce this risk. You are notified and are able to defend against these attacks if you reach their marker on the map in time. I wish someone would have planned out the interface for this process a little more. Cycling through each individual menu for each step is terrible. Because so much of the game revolves around this system, it is best to tolerate its problems. Utilizing it can provide you with the needed funds for more ammunition, weapons, treasure maps, outfits, and naval upgrades.
Boat Ride: I have to say that Naval Missions is the best thing I have ever seen from Assassin's Creed. They must have hired a whole separate development team for this portion of the game. You command your own vessel, the Aquila, into the open sea and do battle with other ships. You have a small spitfire cannon for 360-degree pinpoint shots that can instantly rip apart schooners and detonate exposed powder kegs on the other ship. Or you can fire the main guns. Holding down the fire button extends the distance in which the cannonballs will fly. You can evade enemy fire or huge waves by pressing the 'X' button. You can choose to halt your movement, carefully manuever at half-sail, or pursue targets at full-sail speeds. The direction and speed of the wind will have an effect on your course. Choppy water can prevent you from effectively turning your vessel around or get in the way of your cannonballs from you and your opponent. Damage to the port (left) or starboard (right) can be visually seen as plywood, good men, and cannons get torn apart. This forces you to rotate your boat as your firepower depletes from either side. Enough damage on the enemy vessel can give you the opportunity to instantly blow up the deck with one strike to their powder reserves.
Assassin's Guild: I have to be honest here - I didn't know you could send your assassins on assignments like in Assassin's Creed: Revelations. I think there was a tiny footnote somewhere in a notification about it, something about holding the left bumper button and pressing 'X' while in the menu. There are a bunch of Assassination Contracts you have to perform to gather all 6 Assassins. Each one will provide you with some frivolous new ability: Assassinate, Riot, Covert Escort, Bodyguard, Marksman, and Ambush. There is a quick scenario to learn how to use each ability (which amusingly doesn't have to be used to complete it). The abilities simply modify the AI of your assassins. Using it will call all your assassins to your side. There doesn't seem to be a way to cancel or recall your assassins once used.
Bugs: Hiccups in the game are "features," right? No matter how you spin it, the game has more problems with it than any other Assassin's Creed game I've played. And this is the remastered edition! The audio can be sporadically loud or soft, especially inside the caves. Some people don't say a word when receiving or completing a quest. I regret seeing any sort of convoy or carriage roaming down the road. They veer off course, fly around in the air, spawn guards inside its space, and cause civilians to permanently walk backwards. There are plenty of areas where I either got stuck climbing or prevented me from hopping around while free-running. Climbing trees can be a nightmare. I've fallen off roofs several times and jumped to my doom from the very top of towers. I got stuck in a couple of loading screens. I've seen guns get stuck inside walls and gunpowder kegs physically kicked across the fort. Bodies still mysteriously disappear after a cutscene. The old man on the hill wiggled his cane like a golf club down the steps of the mansion. Camera angles can be excruciatingly bad during exploration missions or combat (Fort Wolcott comes to mind). Combat indicators and icons on the map can go missing.
Exploration
The Frontier: There are two rather large areas of the game that take place in the cities of Boston and New York. However, I must say that it was much more enjoyable exploring the vast open areas of Homestead and The Frontier. The forest areas are beautiful. The game tries to teach you how to hunt with Snares and Bait, but all I wanted to do was roam around collecting feathers. You can find all kinds of creatures: bears, bobcats, beavers, hares, and elk. But then there are the wolves. There is just something not fun about your health being gnawed down to critical levels because you didn't perform a proper Quick-Time Event (QTE) the moment a wolf pounced on you. Now imagine if you were pounced by a pack of five. The only reason I give these beasts a pass is because I've watched them take down soldiers that wandered too far from the main road.
Declaration of War: Despite the many historical inaccuracies of the game, I actually enjoyed exploring many of the regions. Much of the sequences revolve around a certain "twist" you must trudge through in the beginning of the game. However, the main missions never really expound past a few tutorials and a confusing story. Yet I think the game did a bang-up job at making me want to learn history. The database entries of all the characters, locations, and events were very well done. Little things like the Siege of Boston, French and Indian War, the Seven Years' War, and the Great Fire of New York were all interesting things to read about. It is true they carefully tip-toed around certain facts regarding slavery or torture, but I applaud it for not bending towards the common stories that are told to kids. For example, Paul Revere went to several houses stating that "The Regulars are coming" instead of yelling "The British are coming" down the street. And it is true that many of the stories were mere propaganda, exaggerated to form public opinion.
By the end of the game, I think development took a nose-dive. A lot of the story felt shoe-horned in. I didn't find it believable at all that an Indian could blend in with the British armies. The explanation behind the "pivots" for the Animus hacks at the end of the game to get stuff like infinite supplies, invulnerability, instant reloads, or change the weather was removed in the remastered edition and rewarded freely after completing the main campaign. Some missions seem to have huge gaps in the story (Myriam's story is severely impacted). As much as I loved Achilles Davenport for continuing to push to 71 years old from 1710 – 1781, hardly anything about the assassins or his past is explained in this game. At least he got a proper ending in the epilogue. I attempted the final chase sequence about a dozen times before requiring a video to show me how to get through the stupid boat. And then there was that weird ending to Desmond's story. One commenter said it best: "There was outright laughter from my brother and friends (we've all been playing through together) at the ludicrously short, poorly thought out, and poorly acted ending."
Extra Fun: Assassin's Creed III packed so much into the game that it is hard to list them all out. You can exit the Animus, interact with a computer, and read your email. One early message was very helpful in explaining how they added weather systems and animals that you can pet. Another message about not exploring the cave wasn't very helpful. You kind of need to find where to stick all those power sources while listening to the floating AI. There are 4 mini-games you can participate in: Morris, Fanorona, Checkers, and Balls. Too bad I'm terrible at them. One thing I missed from the previous game was the ability to ride a horse. Like Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, you can call forth a horse that appears as an Assassin's icon on the mini-map. This time you are only able to "spur" the horse for extra speed every now and then. You can zoom in and out of different areas, but the icons still don't appear (other than main mission and fast travel). There was this point in the game I had to stop and look up the voice actors. The voice acting in this game is awesome. You can now run through a house to immediately lose the guards. Eavesdropping has been better modified to include a circular area around the targets. People, especially those in Homestead, will perform daily affairs without your interference. There was a time I spotted some kids throwing snowballs at a snowman dressed-up as a soldier. Daniel Boone quests are fun and interesting. There are plenty of nice decorations to explore inside the Assassin's Headquarters. The remastered edition includes several Ubisoft-store exclusive outfits from the Assassins previewed in future installments.
There are a couple things that I wish they wouldn't have changed. Looting bodies is viewed as "disgusting" by the public and will cause soldiers to chase after you. I also didn't like how "blending" among the crowd has been reduced to a simple circle above your head. Even Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood had that cool white computer circle appear beneath your feet. I found a lot of the challenges or optional objectives to be counter-productive. One mission asked you to avoid hiding in the cart and the cutscene afterwards immediately transported you into the cart for the rest of the mission. I also thought they could have improved the hunt for collectables. Don't get me wrong, I spent 28 hours on the game and got 80% of all feathers, chests, tunnels, forts, and missions. A part of me just wished you didn't have to collect every item, maybe only gather 75%, in order to get an outfit or two.
Review
Assassin's Creed III contains a lot of features for every kind of player. Exploring the depths of the underground tunnels, being captain of your very own vessel, fighting in American battles, playing board games, hunting down animals from the tree tops, and tracking down the mysteries of the wilderness are all fascinating things to do. With most of the known toys of the series being stripped away and engaging battles against sturdier opponents being at the heart of the experience, the game definitely has a much steeper learning curve than its predecessors. Although the remastered version fixed a lot of technical issues with the overall experience, Ubisoft has yet again failed to address a lot of the problems that still plague the whole experience. Poorly managed interfaces within the crafting system, glitches when climbing around, and a rushed resolution to a confusing story are a few things that ultimately hurts what could have been a wonderful ending to the series anthology. Unless you really hate the American Revolution or are expecting something that caters to only assassinating people, I think this is a wonderful game to play.
5-24-2020