New Assassin’s Creed III Info
This last few days has seen a flood of new details for Ubisoft’s upcoming Assassin’s Creed III, most of them leaked from Game Informer’s huge cover story. I’m extremely excited for this latest entry in what has become one of my favorite series in all of gaming. The details that follow are pretty much all we know about the game thus far.
- Assassin’s Creed III will feature a variety of environments that have never been utilized in past installments, and all of them will present unique gameplay and traversal. For example, climbing in forests and jumping from tree to tree as you stalk your prey from above.
- The game runs on a new version of the Anvil engine, allowing for a far greater number of characters on screen at one time, all while looking better than ever before. Apparently they were going for a “Nex-gen” look on current console hardware and feel that they have come pretty close to that goal.
- The new protagonist is the son of a mixed British and Native American pairing. He goes by the name of Connor, but also has the Native American birth name of Ratohnhaké:ton. Connor’s mother is a member of the Mohawk Indian tribe, and the Mohawk language will be used at certain points during the game’s narrative.
- Assassin’s Creed III has been in development for longer than any other game in the entire series. For three years now, the developers at Ubisoft Montreal have been laboring hard on the title while a different team worked on Brotherhood and Revelations. During that time the team was composed of some of the best staff that had worked on Asassin’s Creed II. Presumably with the rest of the year to go before the title’s October release date, the entire power of the Ubisoft Montreal studio will be brought to bear on completing the game.
- While the game’s primary story does have to do with a struggle between the Templar’s and the American Colonists, the Revolutionary war will not be the only focus of the narrative. It’s important to note that Ubisoft Montreal wants to bring back some of the gray shades to the Templar-Assassin war by making sure that not all of the American characters are freedom fighting patriots, and not all of the British are tea drinking tyrants. Connor’s life and personal story will also be explored in detail and is a very important aspect of the game.
- There will be a new camera system that gives a better view of the action, whether that be fleeing a group of pursuing British soldiers in the streets of New York, or a brutal melee battle between bayonets and tomahawks. The camera was even described to pull in close to a “fighting game” style view here or there to make the battles more up close and personal.
- Assassin’s Creed III’s combat system has been overhauled, making it harder to just stand there countering all day long to get through a tough fight. Connor in particular is described as having a low to the ground style of fighting, avoiding many attacks by moving under them and attacking in a very predatory fashion. Connor can also dual wield weapons and will be making use of ranged weapons such as a bow and arrow or big flintlock pistols. It’s also mentioned that Connor will be able to use people as human shields to block incoming musket fire.
- Locations will include large colonial American cities such as New York and Boston. There are plenty of large, densely packed buildings to run across and tall church steeples to climb. It’s even mentioned that you should be able to platform through open windows and run out the other end. There will be large, moving wagons which you can use as dynamic platforms for parkour, and the crowds in these cities will be much more diverse than in previous games as they now include children and dogs. There is also a frontier area with rivers, forests, small towns and Connor’s Mohawk village. This frontier area alone is said to be 1.5 times the size of the entire Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood map.
- Weather and seasons will be an important factor in Assassin’s Creed III, with each city and open area in the game featuring a summer and winter version. Winter will cover areas in snow and freeze water, which can open up new paths for Connor to explore the frontier. British soldiers and other enemies were said to struggle through the dense snow, sometimes stumbling or falling while Connor more easily traverses the area and uses the snow to his advantage.
- The game features a new economy system, allowing you to sell certain items. One of these is animal pelts which can be gathered from animals you can hunt in the wilderness. These include deer, wolves, bears and other various game. The manner in which you kill them will also determine the value of the pelt, as a quick clean kill produces a more valuable pelt than a long protracted knife battle with a raging grizzly.
- Connor will be able to upgrade and tweak his appearance in various ways throughout the game, just like in previous titles.
- 100% memory synchronization will return, but in a slightly altered form of some kind.
- The Animus used in the game is a new 3.0 version and will have a different design aesthetic in the game. Desmond’s story will of course continue and he will be in the middle of some extremely important events.
- The much maligned Den Defense in Revelations will not return.
- There will no longer be courtesan or romani factions, but there will be some manner of equivalent to take advantage of. There are also “Clubs” that will encourage you and give you in game rewards for hunting, climbing and exploring to your hearts content.
- Some form of Multiplayer is expected but not confirmed.
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