Assassin's Creed III

[billyro]

Ok, I've just returned from playing some Assassin's Creed III on the Xbox, and I'm quite a bit aggressive towards everything. Therefor I shall vent here why I think AC3 is the worst Assassin's Creed game so far.

 

WARNING: Potential Spoilers.

 

• Fighting
  The fighting in Assassin's Creed III is fun - initially. After you progress through the game, suddenly the combat is just freaking tedious and an all around pain in the neck. Useful combat mechanics have been removed, such as the jump-back dodge and grabbing, and selecting weapons takes a long time because of a stupid full screen menu that pops up. Most of the time I just run away because the fighting is just no fun.
  
• Enemies
  The guards in the game were made specifically to vex me. Late in the game, half the enemies you encounter are the big, fat guys who can counter your attacks and do heaps of damage. Not to mention that you usually face around 15+ enemies at any one time in the cities, and if you flee, they magically appear in places to cut you off (you can see the red-dots suddenly appearing on the map around you when fleeing). Because of the annoying combat mechanics and the horrible targeting system, you try and chain together a combo and then accidentally go for a toughie, resulting in getting head-butted and a loss of health. The quick little enemy filths can defend against your disarm attacks, meaning that you have to constantly focus on exactly which type of enemy you are facing and using the correct buttons to merely live. Also, with the introduction of every single enemy carrying guns, you either have to close the gap quickly or get shot, and since the enemies are always spread apart you are left with not much choice besides fleeing.
  
• Free-running
  Not fun, plainly. It looks good, but takes too freaking long and Connor thinks it is fun to climb random things becaues the developers decided to merge the free-run button with the normal run button. The climbing is still tedious as in previous games and new buttons to press for different actions (such as ascending a tree) are confusing and forgotten about in an escape situation. It's a big gripe when your being chased by 30 enemies (half of which are tough) and Connor decides he'll squat on a barrel that happens to be near to where he was running. The part where I am currently stuck on requires you to chase down Charles Lee through a burning, crumbling building, and because Connor feels inclined to climb every pillar and go places I don't want him to, its a miracle I haven't already thrown my controller into the ground already.
  
• Story and Cutscenes
  The story is slow moving and somewhat disconnected if you are unfamiliar with American history (being an Australian, I didn't understand what was going on). The cutscenes are very long and you can only skip the whole thing, not little bits, forcing you to watch the whole thing or nothing.
  
• Graphics
  Surpisingly good for the Xbox, but the fps is slow low at some places that it urks me to tears. (I'm talking about 10 fps in some places)
  
• Setting
  It doesn't feel like an Assassin's Creed game. The hidden blade feels like a simple addition solely for the fact of reminding the player they are playing and AC game. The forests are pretty good but really they just take up a lot of space and are quite empty. The clothing of everyone (aside from Connor's assassin outfit) differ so much to the medieval times of all the other games that walking down the street just doesn't feel the same. In the game (as to where I am up to) I have seen only one other assassin, and he's the mentor; there is no sense of Assassin Guild in this game at all.
  

 

All in all, a game I don't like to play. Games are meant to be fun. This game is not.

I've played AC2, Brotherhood, Revelations, Bloodlines, and AC3. Assassin's Creed 3 has been the least enjoyable to me by far.

Edited December 23, 2012 by billyro

[Rennn]

I disagree. AC3 is my favorite since AC1.

[billyro]

I guess I just prefer the timeframe of the previous games more than AC3... not to mention they are far more excellent. :)

[CommanderCrazy]

Setting

The clothing of everyone (aside from Connor's assassin outfit) differ so much to the medieval times of all the other games that walking down the street just doesn't feel the same. In the game (as to where I am up to) I have seen only one other assassin, and he's the mentor; there is no sense of Assassin Guild in this game at all.

 

The clothes are different, well, because the time is different. People didn't walk around in chainmail or a cuirass in the 18th/19th century did they xD

As for the no sense of assassin guild in the game: there isn't meant to be really. Its meant to show how the guild is fragmented, with practically none left.

 

I can generally agree on much of the other terms you presented though, especially the blending of free running with the normal run button. I understand making the controls a little more streamlined, but that was just a plain stupid decision.

However, in my eyes it's not all bad. I really do enjoy the game. Surprisingly, the multiplayer is a blast as well. Really love the whole atmosphere of constantly watching your back, while watching for someone elses at the same time. Reminds me a lot of The Ship, actually.

[Rennn]

I liked the Renaissance setting of AC2, and I liked the Crusade setting of AC1. However, Ezio annoyed me constantly, and that pushed me away from AC2+.

 

While I don't normally like the American Revolution as a setting, I think it was handled very well, particularly the environments. The largest changes for the better (imo) was tree climbing and the fact that they ditched Ezio.

 

At first, I liked the addition of enemies who consistently counter your counters. It made the combat much more difficult, which is good, because I'm in the minority that still believes that assassins should be stealthy. However, since then the game has become ridiculously easy again. I can take a crowd of twenty soldiers + heavies without even losing health. It's kind of disappointing in that regard.

[CommanderCrazy]

Oh, I forgot to mention how insanely epic the naval missions are.

 

Ubisoft could comfortably take that segment of the game, expand upon it, and sell it as a new game. I know I'd buy it.

[XanAlderon]

I actually really enjoy it, mostly because of the MASSIVE amount of random stuff you can distract yourself with in cities and the wilderness. I like the combat system as well, you say it is tedious, and I would agree if not for another of your issues, the varying guards who need different strategies to take down which, in my opinion keeps it interesting, and me engaged.

 

I'm also an Australian, and most of the characters, situations and whatnot would fly completely over my head if not for the helpful database, which is actually quite fun to read.

 

Also; those ship-battles... as CommanderCrazy said, epic.

[Vindekarr]

That's an unfilled genre niche and AC3 left me hungry for more. If they built it into a full game, I'd buy it. The controls were just great, really easy to pick up, while the graphics and effects were excellent. I played it on PS3, and it looks simply amazing for such old hardware. I enjoyed it immensely.

[ZeroKing]

Quite enjoyable, though the gameplay is rather easy now, as some of the other comments pointed out. IMHO, they did a pretty good job in the environment details and making Assassin's Creed fit the Colonial Age theme. That and Connor is a pretty badass character to play as :thumbsup:

[billyro]

Ok, let me ammend my initial stance again. I've been mucking around on AC3 these past fews days (not worrying about that chase mission) and actually read into the controls a bit more. I can generally kill a whole bunch of guards now without losing health (includes big people), but the fact still stands that the game is majorly unbalanced.