Assassin's Creed 3

Unfortunately, Ubisoft's attempt to create a new and interesting character FELL REMARKABLY SHORT when they came up with Connor. Not only is he not as loveable as Ezio, he is the furthest thing from a normal person. His limited repertoire of emotions runs from dull and uninterested to stern and angry. He does very little to make the player feel for him, and has NO REAL PERSONALITY to cling to. This faltering, angry and empty character leaves you feeling rather bored, and doesn't have the background story that would make him at least passable. He is a puppet with nothing more than a few bland additions to conversations and a dull dialogue filled with a pathetic and stereotypical "freedom" obsessed agenda (that points to a very self-obsessed American development team) that quite frankly could just as easily be provided by a parrot painted in red, white and blue, and trained to repeat the word freedom from dawn 'til dusk. The story lacks depth, and although the locations may at first appear to be of some interest, the game feels remarkably one-sided. Although the setting of the American Revolution would cause you to expect a bit of Brit-bashing, it becomes wholly about that and by the end of it it doesn't so much feel like the Assassin's versus the Templars, it feels like a single Assassin and a small bunch of random people from various bars and streets versus the British. And to call Connor an assassin is a bit of a stretch - his stealth in this game falls far short of his predecessors. In fact, the idea of stealth rarely enters the game play, and when it does, it works poorly and with terrible results.

A serious problem is that THE GAME MECHANICS ARE TERRIBLE and seem to have been downgraded back to Assassin's Creed II (PC) levels, and then twisted up so that they work in part, but mostly just throw the entire flow of the game right out of the window. If you've played previous Assassin's Creed titles, you'll know that running can be a bit tricky, as nearby objects can sometimes cause the main character to swerve violently from the direction he is running in, and pointlessly leap onto the object, followed by a series of attempts to leap to other nearby objects. Ubisoft still is yet to resolve this issue, and in fact Connor seems even more drawn to these trap-objects, as if he is wearing a gigantic magnet and everything is magnetic.

However, the main point of all this is that, unfortunately, UBISOFT RUSHED PRODUCTION. And it is so very noticeable. Even previous AC titles didn't have a huge problem with incorrect surface positions, but this game has a number. From platforms outside windows that register lower, so that you end up standing three feet below, with your middle stuck in the planks, to window ledges that don't exist and various other objects that have issues with missing surface data. You'll also end with a series of other bugs and glitches, and this has yet to be fixed five months after release. From randomly being assaulted by guards even with 0 notoriety, and being spotted through solid walls, to side-quests not being registered completed and cave echoe-ing remaining on no matter how far into the open you go. Pathing can be pretty terrible, with guards getting caught on terrain and sliding about, and occasionally you'll see someone's hand or head stretched all the way off the side of the screen. Notoriety doesn't work very well, and the poster system is incredibly flawed, which is strange considering it had no problems in the previous games. The kids in the street who pester you for money also seem to cackle with this bizarre and freaky laugh that seems stuck on permanent loop, and they are no the only ones. I've heard a number of members of the public stuck on loop, one was a man shouting at a dog the same short line over and over again with no break between, another a man shouting at some guards after they fled from a riot. Both rattled out their same cry endlessly so that I had to leave the area just to shut them up.

In short, UBISOFT HAVE REALLY FAILED with this attempt at a new Assassin's Creed, and they are well-aware of it. They apologised for the character-less character Connor, and have already embarked on promoting their new release which will be coming later this year, dumping Connor and looking to focus instead on his grandfather. Unfortunately, I have to say that I'll not be so eager to buy the next one, this game has more than knocked my confidence in the Assassin's Creed franchise, and Ubisoft's ability to produce a worthwhile game properly tested and well designed. A BAD MOVE FROM UBISOFT, one they will hopefully learn from, but possibly just a sign of the ever-growing greed of the games media market and THEIR WILLINGNESS TO LET MORE AND MORE RUBBISH THROUGH THE NET just to produce content faster.

Overall I'm very disappointed in this game. AC2 has to be one of my all time favorite games and this just doesn't live up to it. The climbing and puzzle solving in AC2 is almost completely missing from this game(elements like the assassins tombs from AC2). Combat is I find less fluid and enjoyable. The stealth element is poorer too, I've hardly ever needed to blend in with the crowd or plan a cunning approach to a situation. The scenery is magnificent but moving around it is frustrating, your horse is stopped dead by the smallest stone for instance. Finally i seem to have played 75% of the way through he game but have yet to unlock even a small fraction of the homestead artisans and so am unable to acquire new weapons.
Over all very frustrating a sad decline in a series that I loved.

I am such a huge fan of the series 2 AC games, I couldn't wait to buy this (on PC). What a let down, as said in another review this games feels like a slog rather than a pleasure. This is a great shame because the other games were so clever. I don't want to be killing dogs and rabbits, gimme some Templars :) The game does crash frequently too, perhaps now a built in feature of all PC games. There is just so much to miss from the old games, and I hear Ubisoft are preparing a sequel...please don't let it be in this timezone or place. Bring back Ezio!Assassin's Creed 3 (PC DVD)