Assassin's Creed III

Assassin's Creed III takes everything that worked well in previous titles, sprinkled in a touch of Red Dead Redemption, tweaked the combat to be as smooth as Batman: Arkham City, borrowed the cinematic and character development of Uncharted 2, and polished it all off to be one of, if not the very best, game of 2012.

This game is an amazing new iteration for the Assassin's Creed saga, a worthy successor to its awesome predecessors, and an epic tale where you can enjoy the incredible amount of work that Ubisoft surely invested on it. Here the American Revolution feels alive and fresh, and it comes with a multifaceted and human hero: the memorable Connor.

With such an engaging storyline, refined combat, and content that perfectly complements the time period, Assassin's Creed III is a revolution, not only to the series, but to the genre itself.

Some pop-up and framerate issues are the only problems we've encountered, which is on itself quite spectacular. Assassin's Creed III is an interesting new step for the franchise, delivering a competent story, a number of great gameplay improvements and mind-blowing naval missions.

Assassin's Creed III is unavoidably, inescapably epic.

Assassin's Creed 3 will be the best game of the year for many gamers. It's not the prettiest game, it doesn't tell the best story and doesn't have the most brilliant gameplay. But it portrays a world we can lose ourselves in like no other, which is filled to the brim with interesting characters and content, and it hardly ever bores.

The best Assassin's Creed and one of the best games of the year. Bigger and better, and still an Assassin's Creed. It takes the core of the series and takes it to a whole new level in almost every aspect. It provides dozens of hours of gameplay, and, if you forgive some technical issues, you'll be in front of one of the best adventures we've seen in the last few years.

The storytelling that weaves through these many threads is stellar. Rather than hiding from the complex themes of freedom versus control at the heart of the series, Assassin's Creed III confronts them head on, and tells a nuanced and adult story about the price of liberty, the dangers of extremism, and the connections that bind family.

Naval combat is an exciting cat-and-mouse game in which you constantly have to manage not just the ever changing wind, but your opponents as well. Have a ship in your sights, but the cannons are still being reloaded? Better brace for impact. [November 2012, p.50]

Freerunning has taken on new life with Connor's ability to flit through the trees, and the new weapons hem nicely into the freedom and wealth of options of the series...I can personally guarantee it'll see the top of many Game of the Year lists, perhaps even our own – Assassin's Creed III is a masterpiece.

In more ways than one, this fifth installment (of the core console franchise) feels like the definitive Assassin's Creed experience.

ACIII certainly has its high points: the addictive multiplayer, refined mechanics, involving characters, and unique setting all help to create a rich, compelling experience that surpasses both Brotherhood and Revelations. [Holiday 2012, p.67

After the last chapters, the official third episode of the series manage to renew some gameplay mechanics, thanks to the amazing beauty of the Frontier and to the well designed naval battles.

Ubisoft has suggested some plot threads may end in this iteration, but we don't think the end is anywhere in sight. Thanks to the sizeable engine update and an era shift in Assassin's Creed III, this withering franchise has been allowed to bloom once more. [December 2012, p62]

Assassin's Creed 3 is a carefully crafted game that does border on perfect in terms of this franchise. The new protagonists are interesting and more importantly, the story and gameplay flows together perfectly. For some reason, the story in AC3 is easily the most compelling of the lot and even when you're finished, you could easily play the game again. Add in a sturdy multiplayer mode and Assassin's Creed 3 is a must have game to get you through to Christmas.

After a very disappointing sidestep with Revelations, Ubisoft now releases the best game in the entire series. The script, the environment – basically everything is spectacular. Some irritating bugs are the only aspect that stands in the way of a perfect score.

A gorgeous sandbox with a plethora of things to do inside it. The series has reached new peaks in terms of quality and quantity, it's a pity that Ubisoft didn't manage to improve the combat system and the AI at the same level, preventing the game from becoming a true masterpiece.

Assassin's Creed 3 mixes good old features with some fresh and innovative ideas. The new character Connor and the setting of the American Revolution fit perfectly. There are some gameplay improvements (e.g. sea battles) which make Assassin's Creed 3 the best game of the franchise.

This review is getting long-winded so let's wrap it up. Assassin's Creed III is the biggest and most ambitious Assassin's Creed title yet, but a few missteps leaves it short of being the series' best. In spite of my excessive nitpicking, Assassin's Creed III is great game and a must-have for any Assassin's fan.

A great continuation of the Assassin's Creed series because of the strong visuals, gameplay and story. Though it must be said that the story gets somewhat boring towards the end, which leaves a sour taste.

Assassin's Creed III comes as an arrow lit on fire in the ranking list of the best games of the year. The semi-historic settings in New York and Boston in combination with the gorgeous woods make this game by far the best in the franchise.

Assassin's Creed III builds strongly on the series but fails to take a giant leap of faith into any real new territory. A new plot, the Colonial America setting, and sheer volume of things to do outweigh the disappointing bugs and glitches.

Assassin's Creed III isn't as huge an improvement upon its predecessors' achievements as many players will be hoping for, but it's still up there with the best that the series has achieved - even if it isn't quite the best.

Following lessons by masters Altair and Ezio, Connor brings key new features to the Assassin's Creed series. Naval battles and leafy wilderness areas full of animals and tall trees fit nicely with the well-built historical setting of this American Revolutionary War. Expansive and spectacular, only marred by inexcusable bugs, reduced draw distances, a slow-paced beginning and several AI flaws.

A gargantuan, lavish historical epic that pushes PS3 to its limits, only to be led down by linear missions and a clunky interface. [Christmas 2012, p.82]

Looking at Assassin's Creed III as a whole, this is a game worthy of your time, engaging on so many levels and a joy to experience.

Assassin's Creed III is a huge game. After four games and hundreds of years of history, players will step into an adventure that attempts to bring all the loose ends to a close. While it's a shame that the content tends to get in the way of the bigger picture I find it to be a worthy entry in a storied franchise.

Though its approach doesn't always succeed, it's comforting to see Ubisoft experiment with the franchise so it doesn't become stale; Assassin's Creed III may not deliver on the revolution that was promised, but it keeps hope alive that we might see one in the not-so-distant future.

Assassin's Creed III's methodical world-building and wealth of clever gameplay systems are impressive, even if they don't always confidently click together with all the other moving parts.

Generally, Assassin's Creed III delivers most of the things that fans want. It's a fresh new setting wrapped around the familiar core mechanics. We've lost the less engaging elements that they experimented with in Revelations while adding a couple of new tricks to the range of gameplay.

Assassin's Creed III is how you re-ignite a franchise just when fatigue sets in.

AC3 has flaws, but they are not all that important. It's easy to love the game, and you'll surrender yourself to Connor's fight for freedom and independence from the Templar oppressors with great satisfaction.

A fun and thrilling wrap-up for the series. While it has its share of wonky sections--it's bloated with too many features and collectibles, its pacing is off, and the Desmond sections fall short of expectations--it truly captures the thrills that have made the series so successful.

Exploring the beautifully rendered American east coast during the 16th century is a delight. The woodland nature areas provide a atmosphere and a sense of freedom that's been lacking in the series previous installments. Variation in quests, innovative and well developed systems are the game's strongest parts.

Some interesting and fitting additions don't entirely save an aging formula from feeling stale. Assassin's Creed III is fun and can provide a massive timesink should you give it the chance, but it's a disappointing update all things considered, with all the pre-release promises made.

It feels like Ubisoft's teams forgot everything they learned from excellent titles like Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood. Die-hard fans of the franchise will find a lot to like here, but everyone else should go back and try the older, and better, Ezio-focused games.

The action veers sharply away from that sort of nightclub debauchery and instead asks players to engage in copious amounts of the mundane. The problem is, there's no getting around the fact that even the most realistically simulated errands, well, are still boring errands. As a result, the game is only fun sometimes, often a chore and occasionally painful.

A wonderful gaming world with lots of content, but also a lot of bugs, control issues, very time consuming, boring characters, too much looking at a loading screen and a lackluster story. Instead of fixing what was broken Ubisoft have just added more content.

So much was promised, and so little that's new has been delivered. Certain fundamentals are woefully sub-par (the horse riding is absolutely shameful), and it's either laziness or a troubling lack of creativity that's led to such a generic and repetitive selection of story missions. And yet the game is saved somewhat by the wealth of content it includes (and the well-integrated, largely compelling nature of these side-dishes), and the moments that remind you just why this series remains such a big draw.