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."

- Connor Kenway, Assassin's Creed III Gameplay Trailer.

Assassin's Creed III is an upcoming game developed by Ubisoft, set for release on October 30, 2012, which is a direct sequel to Assassin's Creed: Revelations. Ubisoft has claimed that the game will be bigger than its previous console 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, Connor Kenway, who fought during the American Revolution.

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."

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

In winter, soldiers will move more slowly and stumble about in the snow, and lakes and rivers will freeze over, allowing Connor to access new areas. Another technical aspect of the engine is that it can depict up to a thousand troops engaged in battle, in contrast to previous games' one hundred, and 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 in the Frontier. The cities of Boston and New York may also be explored, and will have new details and ambiance.

Since there is going to be a lot more travel in the game, fast travel is making a return, but there is now a whole new system of unlocking it, which is integrated into the natural game progress.

More varied methods of movement have been added as well, including climbing trees and other natural elements, leaping over wagons, or sliding under obstacles. Other freerunning elements also have you jumping through windows, to trees, then onto rooftops.

Combat
Players can dual wield weapons, while fighting and stealth have been completely overhauled with new features, such as "double-counters," "multiple take-downs," and chain kills. Connor will go into battle with a wide variety of weapons at his disposal, including the knife, tomahawk, flintlock pistols, bow and arrow, and Hidden Blades.

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 are carried over from previous installments. Simple defense and counter-attacks become more difficult, and combat is now focused on putting the player on the offensive, with attacks based on both speed and momentum.

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 in-synch you get, the more you fill your sync bar, which can also be increased through replaying missions. Checkpoints will also be introduced to mission replay, meaning you do not have to replay an entire mission to achieve the 100% synchronization requirement.

Other
Economy in the game will be different, as Connor can now hunt animals, and sell the resources gathered from them. The quality of the kill, dependence on the number of hits the animal takes, amongst other factors, also increases the value of the resource. Along with this, a new property system will be implemented as well.

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

There will be puzzles similar to the Glyphs, but 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."

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.

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

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

There will also be four missions exclusive to the PS3, which will be available for download on the game's launch date.

Criticisms
The pre-release media for Assassin's Creed III has come under heavy criticism by some fans and critics for its portrayal of Loyalist Redcoats. This has stemmed mainly from the fact that, in every trailer to date, victims of the game's protagonist - Connor Kenway - have almost exclusively been of the aforementioned allegiance, leading some to suggest that the game will be an America versus Britain story.

This has been repeatedly denied by the game's developers, with lead writer Matt Turner denying it will be an "America Ra Ra" story, and that there are members of the Templar Order on both sides of the conflict.

Despite these assurances, criticisms for the decidedly one-sided portrayal of Loyalists continue.

Editions
Retail Edition= Ubisoft has announced four collector's editions of Assassin's Creed III, with the first three available in Europe and Australia, and the fourth available worldwide. 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 Connor.
 * An exclusive lithograph.
 * George Washington's notebook.
 * An additional multiplayer character, 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.
 * Connor's medallion.
 * George Washington's notebook.
 * An exclusive single player mission, Ghost of War.
 * An additional multiplayer character, 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=Digital Deluxe Edition (for Windows PC) Limited Edition=Limited Edition (for North and Latin American)
 * A retail copy of Assassin's Creed III.
 * George Washington’s notebook.
 * Three single-player missions
 * The Captain of the Aquila’s uniform and traditional Colonial Assassin outfit.
 * Sharpshooter and Redcoat characters for use in multiplayer.
 * Best audio tracks collection from previous Assassin’s Creed games.
 * A retail copy of Assassin's Creed III
 * A statue of Connor, with tomahawk and hidden blade.
 * Assassin’s Creed-inspired colonial flag.
 * A metal belt buckle.