Assassin's Creed III

"On this land, I am torn. Part of me wants to fight and repel all outsiders. The other part of me is the outsider. In the name of liberty, I will fight the enemy regardless of their allegiance. While men of courage write history of this day, the future of our land depends on those who are truly free."

- Ratonhnhaké:ton, Assassin's Creed III Gameplay Trailer.

Assassin's Creed III is an upcoming game developed by Ubisoft. It is the fifth main title in the Assassin's Creed series, and is a direct sequel to Assassin's Creed: Revelations. Ubisoft has claimed that the game will be bigger than its previous installments, and will complete the story of Desmond Miles.

The game will be set between 1753 and 1783, and will focus on a new ancestor, Ratonhnhaké:ton, who fought during the American Revolution.

Assassin's Creed III will be released on October 30 in the United States for the Xbox 360 and PS3 and October 31 in Europe, while the PC version will be released on November 20 for the United States and November 23 in Europe. The game will also be a launch title for the Wii U in North America.

Development
With the game in development since January 2010, by its release date, Ubisoft will have worked on the title for almost three years. In a statement made by Yves Guillemot, he shared that "what we have seen is just fabulous."

Despite the many possibilities for a new setting, according to Creative Director Alex Hutchinson, the team settled on the American Revolution "once we realized you could meet Washington, sail a boat, leap from tree to tree in the middle of winter and hunt wildlife".

The game runs on a new version of the Anvil game engine called AnvilNext, which improves environmental effects. There will also be seasonal changes; the landscape is warm and open in the summer, but is covered in snow during winter, which subsequently affects gameplay.

In winter, thick snow will cause people to move more slowly and stumble about in the drifts, and lakes and rivers will freeze over, allowing Ratonhnhaké:ton to access new areas. Although the seasons will change in line with specific memories, fog and rain will change naturally.

Another technical aspect of the engine is that it can depict up to two thousand troops engaged in battle, in contrast to previous games' one hundred, along with detailed close-ups.

Navigation
Exploration will be based around a large countryside area known as the Frontier, which is one and a half times larger than Rome in Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, and not as empty as the Kingdom in Assassin's Creed, as one third of the quests and gameplay content are contained there. The cities of Boston and New York may also be explored, and will have new details and ambiance.

Since there will be a lot more travel included within the game, the fast travel mechanic is making a return, which allows for quick travel from any location, as opposed to previous games. A whole new system of unlocking fast travel has been implemented, which is integrated into the game's natural progress.

More varied methods of movement have been added as well, including climbing trees, cliffs, and other natural elements, alongside leaping over wagons, or sliding under obstacles. Other freerunning elements also have Ratonhnhaké:ton jumping through windows, to trees, and then onto rooftops. Accompanying this, the zipline feature also makes a return.

Combat
Dual-wielding weapons has been implemented, while fighting and stealth have been completely overhauled with new features, such as "double-counters," "multiple takedowns," and chain kills. Ratonhnhaké:ton will go into battle with a wide variety of weapons at his disposal, including the knife, tomahawk, flintlock pistols, rope darts, a bow and arrow, and of course the classic Assassin's Blade is also able to pivot as daggers, though this is switchable.

Context sensitive actions, such as using enemies as human shields, will also be included. The target locking system has been removed and replaced by automated enemy selection, effectively changing the combat dynamics. In addition, assassinations can now be performed with weapons other than the Hidden Blades, most notably the tomahawk and bayonet.

The combat system has been greatly improved, as there are thousands of new animations, few of which have been carried over from previous installments. Simple defense and counter-attacks are now more difficult, and combat has been focused on putting Ratonhnhaké:ton on the offensive, with attacks based on both speed and momentum.

The counter system has been completely revamped, as the developers wanted to create more strategy and options, which prompted them to create new reactions based on button presses. To counter, the Circle (PS3) or B button (Xbox 360) should be pressed, followed by that of a secondary button, with each having their own reaction.


 * Pressing the Square button (PS3) or the X button (Xbox 360) allows Ratonhnhaké:ton to kill his target.
 * Pressing the Circle button (PS3) or B button (Xbox 360) will have Ratonhnhaké:ton throw his enemy to the ground.
 * Pressing the Triangle button (PS3) or the Y button (Xbox 360) will allow Ratonhnhaké:ton to use his secondary weapon.
 * Pressing the Cross button (PS3) or the A button (Xbox 360) will let Ratonhnhaké:ton stun his enemy.

With these combinations, the game's developers were able to create multiple combos and enemies that resist different types of counters. As such, in order to get a kill spree going, the player will need to press an appropriate button for each enemy archetype.

Memories
Desmond will use the new Animus 3.0, and will find himself reliving "significant events." 100% synchronization in memories returns, though synchronization will be treated more like experience in an RPG leveling system, except with a finite amount available.

Activities completed within missions have their own value. The more synchronized Desmond becomes, the more the synchronization bar is filled, which can also be increased through replaying missions. Checkpoints will also be introduced to mission replay, meaning that entire memories need not have to be replayed in order to achieve the 100% synchronization requirement.

Other
The economic system in the game will be different, as Ratonhnhaké:ton can now hunt animals, enabling him to sell the resources gathered from them. These resources can be more valuable depending on quality of the kill performed on the animal, and on the weapon type used to kill it.

Along with this, a new property system known as the Homestead will be added, in which Ratonhnhaké:ton will live in a manor with surrounding land, and he will also be able to invite other citizens to stay nearby. Here, the inhabitants will be given a second chance following the events of the war of the American Revolution, and will generate income through trade and crafting. Following this, the Homestead will expand with every resident that inhabits the area.

The regenerative health system similar to the type featured in Assassin's Creed will return, and in order to regain his health, Ratonhnhaké:ton must escape from combat and rest.

There will also be puzzles similar to the Glyphs, though they will not be given by Subject 16.

Platforming missions, like the Assassin Tombs or Lairs of Romulus, are making a return, though it is unconfirmed in what way they will be implemented. As stated by Corey May, "People like those. We like those. It's not something we'd remove."

Multiplayer
Ubisoft Annecy, who developed the multiplayer components for Brotherhood and Revelations, has been tasked with bringing multiplayer back with this installment, though they are staying tight-lipped about it and its features.

So far, it has been announced that there will be a cooperative mode named Wolf Pack, where 2 to 4 players are tasked with killing certain NPCs during a time limit, through a sequence of 25 stages. Another feature Ubisoft has revealed is the addition of Domination, a team mode, where Abstergo recruits will need to capture areas of the virtual map they are on, before protecting them from the opposite team.

Characters
So far, 13 Animi Avatars have been announced for Assassin's Creed III's multiplayer.
 * Carpenter
 * Commander
 * Huntsman
 * Independent
 * Lady Maverick
 * Mountebank
 * Night Stalker
 * Pioneer
 * Preacher
 * Redcoat
 * Robber
 * Shadow
 * Sharpshooter

Locations
Accompanying the Animi Avatars, eight locations are currently known for multiplayer.
 * Animus Core
 * Boston North End
 * Boston Harbor
 * Fort Wolcott
 * Iceberg
 * New York Brewery
 * Northwest Passage
 * Virginian Plantation

Marketing
Following the official reveal, Ubisoft announced incentives for gamers who pre-ordered Assassin's Creed III from Amazon, GameStop, or BestBuy, in the form of a free steelbook casing that featured artwork by renowned comic book artist.

For newcomers to the series, the Assassin's Creed Double Edition was released on the PlayStation Network, which brought together Assassin's Creed and Assassin's Creed II in a virtual compilation box.

Assassin's Creed III will also have four missions exclusive to the PS3, which will be available for download on the game's launch date. The storyline will be based around Benedict Arnold, a Continental Army general who later defected to the British Army.

With Assassin's Creed III: Liberation set to be released for the alongside Assassin's Creed III, linking the two titles will unlock Ratonhnhaké:ton's tomahawk for the Assassin Aveline de Grandpré to use.

At the 2012 Tokyo Game Show, Sony also announced that the 500 gigabyte bundle of the its new, slimmer PS3 would be available with Assassin's Creed III.

Following this, the Xbox version of the game will come in a two-disc set. The first disc will contain the singleplayer portion of the gameplay, while the second disc will be required for multiplayer.

Criticisms
Initially, the pre-release media for Assassin's Creed III came under heavy criticism by some fans and critics for its portrayal of Loyalist Redcoats. This was mainly because, in every trailer and image released since the reveal in March 2012, the victims of the game's protagonist Ratonhnhaké:ton were almost exclusively of British allegiance; leading some to suggest that the game would be an America versus Britain story.

This claim was repeatedly contested by the game's developers, with writer Matt Turner denying it would be an "America Ra Ra" story, and that there were members of the Templar Order on both sides of the conflict.

Despite these assurances, criticisms for the decidedly one-sided portrayal of Loyalists continued until 2 August 2012, in which Ubisoft released an AnvilNext trailer that depicted Ratonhnhaké:ton killing several Continental soldiers, as well as Loyalist Redcoats.

Editions
Ubisoft has announced several collector's editions of Assassin's Creed III; with three available in Europe and Australia, one available worldwide, and two available for North and Latin America.

Freedom Edition= Join Or Die Edition=
 * A retail copy of Assassin's Creed III.
 * A steel book case, with cover art drawn by award-winning comic artist Alex Ross.
 * A collector's box.
 * A 24 centimeter high quality figurine of Ratonhnhaké:ton.
 * An exclusive lithograph.
 * George Washington's notebook.
 * An additional Animi Avatar, the Sharpshooter.
 * Two exclusive single player missions, Lost Mayan Ruins and Ghost of War.
 * A retail copy of Assassin's Creed III.
 * A collector's box.
 * Ratonhnhaké:ton's medallion.
 * George Washington's notebook.
 * An exclusive single player mission, Ghost of War.
 * An additional Animi Avatar, the Sharpshooter.

Special Edition=
 * A retail copy of Assassin's Creed III.
 * Special packaging.
 * An exclusive single player mission, A Dangerous Secret.

UbiWorkshop Edition=
 * A retail copy of Assassin's Creed III.
 * Assassin's Creed: Subject Four.
 * Assassin's Creed Encyclopedia Second Edition.

Digital Deluxe Edition=
 * A retail copy of Assassin's Creed III.
 * George Washington's notebook. (PDF file)
 * Three single-player missions.
 * The Captain of the Aquila's uniform and traditional Colonial Assassin outfit.
 * Two additional Animi Avatars, the Sharpshooter and Redcoat.
 * Best of audio tracks collection from previous Assassin's Creed games.

Limited Edition=
 * A retail copy of Assassin's Creed III.
 * George Washington's notebook.
 * A statue of Ratonhnhaké:ton, with tomahawk and Hidden Blade.
 * Assassin's Creed-inspired colonial flag.
 * A metal belt buckle.

Gallery
Concept art=