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Assassin's Creed III (Nintendo Wii U) Review
Review by 
8.07/10 from 6 user ratings
 

Assassin's Creed is a franchise most gamers are at least familiar with, now consisting of five main entries and numerous supporting entries spanning multiple gaming platforms. For the first time, a main Assassin's Creed game hits a Nintendo console (on Wii U's launch day, no less!) not long after appearing on the competing platforms. Is this game worth picking up among the numerous Wii U launch titles? Will new Assassin's Creed players enjoy jumping in so late into the series?

Being primarily a Nintendo-only gamer, this is the first Assassin's Creed game I have ever played. I was a bit apprehensive about starting the series with a late entry, but I still enjoyed it in the end.

For those new to the series, the main story element to keep in mind is that all the games revolve around a guy named Desmond who lives in the modern world. Each of the different Assassins you've seen on the covers of the games is actually an Assassin from a different time period; Desmond uses a virtual reality machine called the Animus which reads his genetic memory and allows him to participate in the lives of his Assassin ancestors. Once you play the game, you'll realize why Desmond is doing this: it's all tied to the 'eternal' conflict between two groups: the Assassins and the Templars.

Desmond's on the left. I wonder who the lady is?

I did jump straight into the game without having much knowledge of the prior AC games, but not long after, I had a great desire to really understand Desmond's story because I was genuinely interested in how each game relates to the other, and I'm glad I did. For newcomers who don't have time or resources to play the previous games, I strongly recommend reading and/ or watching videos summarizing the events of those games.

Assassin's Creed III is a third-person action adventure game with an emphasis on stealth and moving undetected. During most of the game you will be playing as Connor, the Assassin featured prominently on the game's cover. As Connor, you will progress from one mission to the next in order to advance the story. Your map will always show where your next mission will begin, but it's always your decision whether you want to head straight to that next mission or take part in a side/ optional quest.

As an assassin, you have a large number of moves at your disposal. This is one of those games where the controls can be pretty overwhelming at first, especially since every button (including both the analog stick click buttons) is used, but the game eases you into it with a somewhat long story intro that is heavy on cutscenes and light on actual gameplay. This lengthy intro actually turned me off the game at first, but I'm glad I kept playing, because the game becomes very enjoyable once the world opens up to you.

Your moves center on the different ways you can kill your targets. Usually you will want to be stealthy, as it lets you kill without drawing attention to yourself or raising alarms. Whether you hide in wait for the right time, or end up involved in a fight against multiple opponents, your character will have many different methods of handling any given situation. For example, when forced to fight off multiple enemies, your character can rely on countering to block and attack any enemy from any direction, making the combat fluid and entertaining to watch (especially with the different kill animations, some of which feature dramatic camera angles in slo-mo). I love some of the details like when Connor is waiting behind a corner waiting for his target to walk by; you'll see his body shift slightly from head to toe in a very detailed way as he tries to stay out of sight yet ready to strike in an instant.

Being attacked from all sides... no problem for Connor!

Your character is also extremely acrobatic and can traverse virtually every kind of structure, building, obstacle, etc. in the environment with ease, due to the 'free-running' ability. Basically, your character can scale walls, run swiftly across fences, slide, leap from one small perch to the next while remaining perfectly balanced, all accomplished by holding down the ZR button. However, there were times when I just wanted to run away from my pursuers, but because of the free-running, Connor would try to scale a wall if I got too close, which ended up hurting me in the end. That is, it doesn't always help and can actually hinder you at times when you don't need it. Having said that, free running works beautifully for most of the time; there's nothing quite as exhilarating as running through the trees, leaping from one tree branch to the next with ease, watching as the world below you remains completely unaware to your presence.

Running through the trees is awesome

Connor also has a lot of different weapons and tools that will help, though they are quite numerous and many of them were pretty much unused by the time I finished the game. However, I haven't completed all the optional objectives in every mission, so it's likely those items may still come in handy in more than one instance.

I do appreciate the different modes of transportation the game offers. You can instantly call your horse from most locations and be on your way. The game has a fast travel system in place (select your destination on the map and instantly warp there), though you're forced to unlock many of the fast travel points on your own, which can be quite tedious with the massive environments. Being able to explore these large environments also comes at another high price: looonng load times when going from one major area to the next. The wait can be excruciating; I had to change my strategy many times on when deciding what to do next so I could avoid moving into a new area unless I had to!

A nice stroll on horseback

This game features many side quests, many of them revolving around exploring the massive environments, most of which I greatly enjoyed: there's things like searching for feathers in hard-to-reach locations, infiltrating heavily guarded forts, naval missions (where you command a ship out at sea and take part in cannon battles with enemy ships), hunting animals, assassination contracts, delivery requests… the list goes on and on. However, it's not always obvious what your rewards are for completing them or if it will even make a difference to finishing the game. Having done quite a few of these missions and understanding what the rewards are, I'm somewhat disappointed these weren't better integrated into the main game or resulted in meaningful rewards.

I do want to point out how awesome the naval missions are; they're quite spectacular and make for a fun and entertaining diversion separate from the standard on-foot action. Hunting animals is also a welcome feature; it's mostly optional (there are some mandatory missions that will teach you the basics and result in you killing a number of animals) and will provide for a great source of income, allowing you to buy the stuff that will make your life easier (such as new weapons and ship upgrades). One of the side quest categories centers around the 'hunting society' and can easily take up much of your game time due to enjoying the challenge of hunting different kinds of animals in a variety of ways.

An impressive aspect of the game indeed... makes you feel like you're in that Depp Pirates movie even!

One of the more interesting concepts of the Assassin's Creed games is the Assassin participating in real-world historical events. Without spoiling too much, you'll take control of Connor during many important events during the American Revolution (last half of the 18th century). It's fascinating to get up close and personal with these different historical figures and places (you meet Benjamin Franklin early in the game, as an example), thinking about whether this is what life was really like back in those days and how accurately these historical figures are being portrayed. In the end, this delightful mix of fact and fiction makes for great entertainment, yet can also cause some confusion when you're constantly being introduced to such a large number of important people. I mean, I haven't played too many games like this one where I had to repeatedly go into the game's 'encyclopedia' database to read more about the characters. For example, I have to remind myself: why is this mission important? Why am I going after this guy or that guy? You could argue that a complex story line where you can't even tell the good guys from the bad is a good thing, but sometimes I feel this game pushes it to the point of me not really understanding what is going on, even as I'm trying hard to pay attention to everything. I also had to wonder to myself many times how much of the story is based on actual events and which parts are only a part of the Assassin's Creed world.

A fine evening, gentlemen.

Not long after getting into the story, one thing will become very obvious: the game's environments are very beautiful and lively. The first time in the game when I could freely roam the massive environments… I honestly was amazed by the incredible attention to detail and spent most of my time just looking around and exploring before even heading off to my next mission. Whether you're riding a horse through lush forests (I can't be the only one secretly hoping for a Zelda game that looks like this!) or gazing from the top of a building over the colonial cities of Boston and New York, every area is wonderfully crafted. To further accentuate this attention to detail, the environments transform significantly when the seasons change as story unfolds over the span of years, and whether it's raining, snowing, etc., be prepared to spend time appreciating your surroundings (even the shadows seem to be cast just perfectly). However, with the good, comes the bad: the game has some unfortunate pop-up, particularly when you're moving quickly.

Lots of fantastic views in this game

It's also worth noting that being in the Animus allows for some cool special effects that provide a reason for the player to see items highlighted or visual indicators pop up; it's all there because Desmond is seeing it.

My other complaint about the game, related to its graphics, are numerous glitches. Some are just strange yet harmless, like enemies who sometimes land in the most awkward and unnatural positions imaginable after you kill them due to the nature of the rag doll physics. I've had an instance where my horse went halfway through a boulder and remained stuck there (check my Miiverse post!). Or sometimes when I'm picking a lock and the camera zooms in, the picklock is going through the wood (nowhere near the keyhole!). This kind of stuff won't impede your game progress, but it does break you out of the immersion as the game tries its best to create these realistic settings everywhere you look.

Ouch!

Unfortunately, glitches are not just limited to weird visuals. There were some missions where I couldn't trigger the appropriate action: in one mission, you have to stop some thugs who begin by walking toward a house, then proceed to break down the doors and windows. Once the thugs reached the house and started to destroy it, a meter appeared on the screen indicating how much 'health' the object had before the thug accomplished the mission. No matter what I did, I could not attack the thug once that meter showed up; all I could do was press up against them and wait unit the 'you failed' screen appeared, no matter how many different button combinations I mashed. I seriously thought it was a game-ending glitch, then I realized I could accomplish the mission if I stopped the thugs before they actually reached the object they intended to destroy. I doubt this was how the mission was designed to take place. Another time, I had to complete a mission while ensuring another character stayed safe by my side, but often the character simply wouldn't follow me, resulting in an instant mission failure again.

In other cases it simply seemed the game was being very unforgiving when it came to how it wants the player to perform actions in a very specific way; otherwise it won't work, though it seems obvious you're doing the right action. In one example, you have to fight a guy using only your fists, and you must rely on objects in your environment to damage him (like a glass bottle on a table). Even though I was standing right next to those objects, the action simply wouldn't trigger. After many attempts, I finally pulled it off, but I felt I was successful more because of luck since even then it was not clear to me where the game wanted to me to be and when it wanted me to press the right button.

Overall, as good of a job this game does over the first two or three hours of explaining the game's rules to the players and showing everything your character can do, there is still quite a lot left up to the player to discover on their own. There are a lot of little gameplay details that are tucked away, with most players probably unaware of them unless they start scouring online guides. For example, some of the icons on your map are labeled but never explained in any way what their purpose is (oh vigilantes…)!

The music in this game can be very moving, though it's a bit limited, unfortunately. Since most of the time is spent in the open world, you won't hear music most of the time but will be treated instead to the sounds of your environment (which is fantastic by the way). However, there are definitely some great music compositions during important moments in the game.


The GamePad adds some nice features to the game that I really appreciate. I played using the option for 'Optimal GamePad use,' which results in having your entire HUD info on the Gamepad, consisting primarily of the mini-map. It took a while for me to become accustomed to averting my ways away from the TV screen to look at the Gamepad, but it became second nature. Besides, I consider this sort of like training for future Wii U games that will require a lot of back and forth looking between the two screens. As an added bonus, you can play the game entirely on the GamePad if you so desire. The GamePad also has a handy 'call your horse' icon for quick travel!

Having said that, I can easily think of additional ways the GamePad could have been utilized to streamline the game experience. For example, I would have loved if the item crafting and resource management were more easy to navigate by using the touch screen to go through all the different lists and categories. Instead you have to navigate everything with the d-pad or analog stick. I won't knock the game too much for this since this is a launch title, but I hope future iterations of the franchise use the GamePad even more.

The game also features a fairly well crafted online multiplayer mode, with various options such as killing targets and eluding your pursuer when you become a target. This mode features a large number of unlock abilities as well as bonus points for killing targets in a variety of ways. Unfortunately I have been unable to find random matches online when I hopped online in the past few weeks!

This is a massively scoped game, highly ambitious and with an obviously large budget. There's plenty of stuff to do, and most of the time it's quite fun. However, at times a lot of elements just seem to be there for the sake of existing rather than adding meaning to the overall experience. The game seems to lose focus when the developer attempts to cram as much as possible into the game, leaving a desire for some gameplay aspects to be more fully developed. The completionist in me pushed me to do as much as possible long after the credits had rolled, and even 35 hours into the game I'm only at 78% complete. The story definitely kept me going, as I was always eager to see how these different characters would develop and whether Desmond would succeed in his accomplishing his mission. Despite its issues, I was impressed with what the game had to offer, and I'm glad to have finally experienced Assassin's Creed.

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 Great  8.7 / 10
12/29/12, 00:12   Edited:  02/22/13, 00:23
 
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Nice review! It's particularly well-timed since I just rented this game today and am a newcomer to the series.

I'm only a couple hours in (just rescued the guy in the locked shack who was about to be tortured), but it seems quite ambitious so far. It's a bit different than I was expecting, and I appreciate the setting and variety so far. Some of the acrobatics and the scope of the environments are quite cool.

Like with many 3rd-party action games, though, the controls still don't fully click with me. They feel a little choppy or otherwise imperfect in terms of me being one with the character. I still don't quite have a grip on the weird way guns and reloading are handled, or where the bayonet-equipped gun I picked up went. The character running up walls accidentally is not an uncommon occurrence with me either.

Otherwise, I look forward to seeing what else is in store.

Posted by 
 on: 12/29/12, 01:45
@TriforceBun

I didn't bother with guns at all. They were weird.

Posted by 
 on: 12/29/12, 01:56
@Secret_Tunnel
Gun's get awesome once you get 2 holsters.


Nice review. You covered everything well. And the music is great! You should listen to the soundtrack sometime!

And if anyone is interested in playing some Wolfpack sometime, just shout.

Posted by 
 on: 12/29/12, 02:41   Edited:  12/29/12, 02:42
Nice write-up, though I was more critical towards this game (I scored the 360 version a 7). That being said, I imagine the response will be more positive for those that are new to the series. It's certainly a much more palatable entry than the first game (you want to talk about a boring videogame...good lord!). Unfortunately, I found it to be a pretty significant step back from Assassin's Creed II. It's a shame because it is incredibly ambitious in its scope, and you can tell how much effort went into making this game...I just wish it was more fun. A lot of the main mission designs have me wondering what the hell Ubisoft was thinking.

Posted by 
 on: 12/29/12, 07:28
Thanks for the review! This is my first AC as well and I'm very impressed with the amount of content and work that was put into this game. Do you suggest any youtube videos that give a good explanation of events that occurred before AC3?

Posted by 
 on: 12/29/12, 08:12
I didn't see any mention of the online leaderboards? They were one of my favorite things!!

Posted by 
 on: 12/29/12, 13:38
Thanks guys!

@Pokefreak911

Yeah, the music is fantastic. I think I may just buy the full soundtrack.

Yes, I'm up for some Wolfpack online as well! I really want to try it out.

@Abdooooo

Honestly I only watched one video: IGN's 'Assassin's Creed in 5 Minutes' video. (It has no spoilers for AC III).

I spent more time reading about the story. The Wikipedia page is a good place to start. There's also the Assassin's Creed Wiki for even more details.

@Pokefreak911

Oops, you're right. There's so much stuff to cover with this game I forgot about it. Honestly, it was a cool feature to have online leaderboards just for the single player; maybe I just wasn't paying a lot of attention to it. But it's awesome to see that pop-up message in the upper right of the screen like 'you are now in the top 10% for world wide kills' or something like that. I browsed through the detailed leaderboard one time; the game really does keep track of a ton of stats and compares it all to other players. Well done.

Posted by 
 on: 12/29/12, 17:38
Been playing this lately. It's my firs AC game and its fantastic.

Posted by 
 on: 12/29/12, 17:50
@roykoopa64

Holy!...

That makes this game a lot more exciting! I wish I had taken the time to play the previous installments. I sounds like AC2 was pretty bad ass.

Posted by 
 on: 12/29/12, 18:29
I might pick this sucker up on my Wii U eventually. There are a lot of Wii U games that aren't "must have at launch" for me, but that definitely look interesting and worth my time at some point. This series has always been right on the edge of my interest, and I meant to jump in eventually but they just kept cranking out new games so there was no obvious starting point for a n00b. New system, new game = nice starting point, I think.

Posted by 
 on: 12/29/12, 18:38
@Zero I never played a assassins creeds til this one. Itis amazing to play a game asaNativeAmerican in colonial times,it's brilliant. I'm having tons of fun with the optional missions. I haven't visited Boston in hours because I am having fun losing myself in the woods.

Posted by 
 on: 12/29/12, 19:11
@Scrawnton

Same here

I spent all last night just wandering around the Frontier hunting/finding trinkets/completing missions/conquering random forts I found. Though I think I've finally run out of stuff to do, so I might actually get around to starting Sequence 6 tonight, heh.

Posted by 
 on: 12/29/12, 19:28
I've got the game and would love to play Wolfpack with any of y'all. Though I may be gone for most of January, so... I assume nobody will be playing when I get back. Alas.

Incidentally:

1) Nice review!

2) Any way to mute the Wii U gamepad in multiplayer after initially saying you want to use it for chat?

Posted by 
 on: 12/31/12, 21:50
Kal-El814 said:
Any way to mute the Wii U gamepad in multiplayer after initially saying you want to use it for chat?

Yes, when you're in the multiplayer menu, use the R button to scroll to the right, and under the 'News and Data' category, go to Options -> Sound -> Voice Chat (on or off).

Posted by 
 on: 01/01/13, 01:59
@Kal-El814
I'll still be playing! I plan on trying to 100% multiplayer + ,the DLC should be out by then.

Posted by 
 on: 01/01/13, 04:45
LOL I like that picture of the glitch. I'm hoping it gets patched up before I really get into it. I'm going to try to take most of the games I have and parse them out over the course of the year. Right now, I'm focusing on two games: ZombieU and BLOPS 2. One for the intense single-player, and the other for the badass multiplayer. I wouldn't be shocked if that's all I played for the most part until Aliens: Colonial Marines hits. At that point, I'll probably shift my focus to Aliens and Darksiders 2. After that I'll switch to Batman and Assassin's Creed 3. By that time, E³ will be here, and I'll be able to map out the second half of 2013. I'm not even mentioning Lego City Stories, Rayman, The Wonderful 101, or Bayonetta 2 yet.

As far as I'm concerned, I have about a solid year mapped out on the Wii U already. Its off to a very solid start.

Posted by 
 on: 01/01/13, 05:20
Having spent some more time with the game, have you determined how much is fact vs. fiction? I think of Forrest Gump when you mention this, and how he was responsible for all these things (teaching Elvis to dance, wiping his muddy mud off and some guy becomes the Smiley Face guy, "hey, you just stepped in S!" "It happens."), is it like that in a sense?

So, unless its too spoiler-laden, are the folks in the games in his ancient bloodline? How does he tap into whoever? Does he just get someone at random? I'll probably never play the games, but I do like to know whats going on when I can. Can he go to...THE FUTURE?

Posted by 
 on: 01/08/13, 08:06
@Mr_Mustache
The Animus only allows you to experience your ancestors memories, so you can't go to the future.

Posted by 
 on: 01/08/13, 08:11
@Mr_Mustache I haven't played it but I think that's how it works.

Spoilers for Assassin's Creed 2 -



They do similar things there, but for events we've never heard of, haha. I wound up getting into a brawl in front of il Duomo in Florence, as these two rival families went at it (one family got assaulted by another). I Googled it soon after, and that whole scene was loosely based on actual history - prominent Medici family members were assaulted by another family that rivaled their power in Florence. In AC2, Ezio gets involved and you take sides with the one family. It was super cool to read that the scene actually happened in real life, AND that key figures in the scene were actual historical figures, name and all. Really cool stuff.

Posted by 
 on: 01/08/13, 08:11
@Pokefreak911

Makes sense!

@PogueSquadron

Can you imagine how PISSED those families / lineage would get watching you play, and seeing which side you took? Why, they could have the conflict all over again..in your living room!

Posted by 
 on: 01/08/13, 10:32
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