Hey guys, Nick here! I know I promised an AC: Brotherhood and Revelations review but I feel those games are a little dated, especially since we are about to see the release of Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag. So here is a review about a game that is recent enough to be relevant.
Now then, Assassins' Creed 3 is the first game since number 2 to feature a brand new ancestor of Desmonds, Ratonhnhake:ton also known as Connor. He is an original American in the 18th whose village is attacked by British Templars and seeks revenge through the Assassins. Throughout the game you team up with countless historically iconic figures such as George Washington to help fight off the Templar-aided British in the Civil War. The game features an entirely new set of weapons based on the time such as a Bow and Arrow in addition to versions of the old favorites like throwing knives and the ever-handy sword.
The game also brings completely new features to the game, the Hunting system allows you to use your skills to hunt and kill animals from rabbits, all the way to Mountain Lions and Bears in order to harvest their fur and other goods to trade for money or to use to make your own upgrades. There is also Naval Combat, where you take command of a mighty sea-faring vessel to take out enemies and perform specific missions, a nice little treat to prepare you for Black Flag where this new style of combat will take center stage.
On top of the new stuff, the game has once again improved on the old mechanics such as the combat, free running and assassin recruits, making them more unique and easier to use.
Now that we've covered the basics, let's get on with the review.
The things I liked about the game were the thoroughly compelling story, from start to finish I found myself unable to put the game down due to it's constant twists and unpredictable flow. The naval missions played a big part in making this feel like a brand new game, which has been a problem since Assassins Creed 2 and Brotherhood were virtually the same game with a different story. I also loved the hunting part of the game, allowing you to enjoy yourself while you walk across the large outer maps to your objectives and side-quests by silently taking down a Buck with your bare hands and running through the trees as well as buildings.
Another thing I loved about the game was by doing Homestead missions you could build your own thriving community, with each resident having their own unique skills to help make upgrades for Connors weapons and such, as well as providing lots of entertainment watching your community grow and interact with each-other.
Unfortunately the game was far from perfect, and while it had several things about it that made it unique and brilliant, there were several things that took me out of the game as well. For example; the very first thing you notice about the game is that it is VERY glitchy, you'll be hard-pressed to find a section of the game that isn't spazzing out like you poured water on the console. If you thought Skyrim was bad, this game makes it look like a masterpiece.
But not only that, the Assassin Recruits aspect of the game was dumbed down something fierce. I used to love leveling up my recruits, sending them on missions and having them fight for me. Now you can only get four AFTER completing a series of boring tasks for them, and even after you get them, they aren't much use. They have a lot of abilities, but if you don't use them all the time for seemingly no reason they never level up and they are only a hindrance in combat and evasion.
Now that we've weighed the pros and cons of the game, let's say we rate this bad boy!
This game was overall very good, but not perfect. I much preferred the second game in the series over this one due to its overwhelming perfection, this one was on the right track but had too many flaws.
Overall....I'd give Assassin's Creed 3 a 7/10, if you are a fan of the series, you should definitely buy this game for it's story and unique gameplay.
