Assassin's Creed III

Quite simply, one of the greatest stories of this gaming generation has just released its greatest chapter.

With a campaign offering anything up to 70 hours worth of gameplay, not to mention a comprehensive multiplayer mode, Assassin's Creed 3 is one of the most complete action-adventure games we've ever played. Connor is a wonderful character and the perfect centerpiece for a riveting story that spans hundreds of years when you factor Desmond into the equation.

Assassin's Creed III is a beautiful, sprawling adventure that proves to be one of the most, if not the most, ambitious titles ever created. Just when you think you have it figured out, an entirely new element is introduced that enriches it further, rendering it one of the least repetitive experiences to be had with a controller.

Assassin's Creed III lets you jump into an intriguing point in history, and it succeeds on nearly every level with nimble combat, fun diversions and the chance to captain your own ship. Connor might not be an altogether likeable hero, but the New World he's fighting to protect is one you won't forget.

There is so much story, so much multiplayer, and so much stuff to do that your average 10 hour game should be terribly ashamed of itself. In this economy, you can't do better than Assassins Creed III.

I never used to get chills playing a videogame, not the way I would watching some epic movie scenes or reading an incredibly engaging book. That has changed in the last few months and this game has set the benchmark.

From new game play elements like the naval battles, the expansive frontier, new multiplayer modes, and the smoothest combat to date, any fan of the franchise will not be able to put this down and newcomers will be awe-inspired by the world laid out before them.

An overwhelming experience in its own right, Assassin's Creed III is the crown jewel on an already excellent series, and it sets the mind reeling about the potential for where the story goes from here.

Assassin's Creed III is a fantastic game that's marred only by a glacial few opening hours, a surfeit of history and exposition, and the odd glitch. That aside, ACIII is a triumph and the perfect way to say hello to Connor.

While it's a little slow to get going, Assassin's Creed III is a rewarding, elegant game on many levels. It understands that everyone plays open-world games differently, and provides plenty of incentive for players to tackle its quandaries how they see fit. The sheer variety, overall quality, brisk pacing, massive amount of content, and satisfying story make it easy to forget its few rough spots. Heady and well-informed, Assassin's Creed III is the polar opposite of a guilty pleasure.

Assassin's Creed III is a pretty damn fine game. It loses none of what makes the series fun with the translation to another time and continent, and creates a whole new set of experiences which define the franchise. The biggest issue, if there is one, are the small technical issues, but these niggling technical issues only seem worse because everything else is such a great experience.

Like any game of such scope, not every part of it is perfect. Yet, taken as a whole, there is very little that can compete with its wonderful, lavish, historical playground. [Issue#91, p.22]

Thus, as an Assassin's Creed game AC3 is the most ambitious yet the most refined yet; it is almost unmatched in density of content and unique in setting.

Assassin's Creed 3 is a massive game and also the best game in the series to date.

One of the best games in this franchise and a great source for many hours of fun.

Though Assassin's Creed III isn't quite the perfect killing machine, it's a damn good one, and a game that definitely lives up to the hype.

A hugely successful sequel, that's as surefooted as its hero when it comes to handling its enormous scale and near endless range of features.

Assassin's Creed III is a huge game. The new gameplay mechanics created by Ubisoft are mostly a success, granting tons of fun with the most complete chapter of this popular franchise. A few technical problems and scattered issues are simply not enough to ruin this great experience.

AC III successfully fulfills fans' expectations, satisfyingly bringing to and end the main plots open in the previous games and introducing some spectacular news over an already rich play offering. We would have liked a less rushed storytelling on Desmond's side with more action missions, while the historic setting could prove to be not as charming for European gamers; it's however a great new episode in Ubisoft's series and a sure must buy.

Connor's adventure is an excellent one. His story is methodical and meticulous, much like the land his people inhabit. A slow build-up may deter players, but plenty of memorable moments are worth sticking around for. The game is so rich with content and minor activities that it's almost impossible to tackle it all.

Assassin's Creed III is an amazing game, period. Tons of stuff to do, tons of animals to hunt, the magnificence of the Frontier and the pleasure to sail and be a privateer makes this game the best of the series so far.

Assassin's Creed III might not be as revolutionary in itself as the historical period it covers, and it still has some shortcomings that may annoy old timers of the series and newcomers alike, but its generosity, the unbelievably high quality of its writing, particularly the character of Connor, the political and societal questions it weaves into its Templar / Assassins storyline, and the overall generosity of its content more than make up for it. It may feel constricted inside our current hardware, but manages nonetheless to push back its limits, combining the proven formula with new gorgeous elements both in the solo and multiplayer aspects.

The biggest and richest Assassin's Creed game to date - maybe not the best, but a place where, for want of a better expression, everything is permitted.

A marvellous return, but a few quibbles hold it back from being the new pinnacle of the series. [Christmas 2012, p.78]

Assassin's Creed III is definitely a step backwards for the excellent and popular series. The main plot is decent and the assassination action itself good as always, but the main character is totally uncharismatic and the gameplay a dull repetition of old rotes. The game world is indeed huge, but sadly it's filled with uninspiring busywork like trade caravans and a pointless crafting system. Assassin's Creed III is still a very good game, but disappointing as it could have been so much more. [Nov 2012]

Ubisoft continues its upward trend with its golden goose of a series. It brings a deeper amount of gameplay, story and enjoyment to the mix with Assassin's Creed III. It's certainly not perfect, but it's good enough to be considered for 'Game of the Year'.

Overall, Assassin's Creed III is an excellent addition to the series. While there a number of bugs and the protagonist isn't someone players will feel particularly attached to, the lengthy campaign, the range of objectives and the well thought out multiplayer ensure there is plenty of replayability to keep gamers occupied. This is a title that should be on every Christmas list.

Surprisingly there are graphical issues that are very noticeable and I really thought that there were some gameplay missteps that could use some retooling in the future; however, in the end this is another great addition to the Assassin's Creed series.

It's a great AC experience for sure, but it doesn't really offer anything you haven't seen before (outside of the fantastic multiplayer component). Likewise, it won't entice any non-fans, which is a shame - this would have been the perfect opportunity to do it.

The only real problem (apart from the weak main character) in Assassin's Creed 3 is that there are so many things to do, but very few feel satisfying. There's a whole range of side-missions and challenges on offer, but at the end of the day completing them doesn't bring anything truly useful to the player.

It's a flawed gem, but still well worth a look.

Assassin's Creed III is a really good AAA game that sucks you in after a brief contact. Unfortunately there are some things missing, and minor flaws can be observed, and those things prevent me from considering Ubisoft's new game as something truly extraordinary. It has everything a game from this series should have, but after watching the end credits there's a feeling that something is lacking. Assassin's Creed III isn't such a big step forward, as AC II was for the original game. In sum: it's very good, but it could be better.

There's a certain amount of diminishing returns on the mechanical evolutions made but the fresh, authentic setting along with a brand new protagonist go along way in rekindling the fire.

Not everything about the game gels together convincingly and the missions' unnecessary prescriptiveness sometimes undermines the sense of freedom that the rest of the game works so hard to create. But it achieves so much that you can't help but respect it; no other open-world game has ever given us a setting that's as impressive to observe or as full of things to do as this.

Bottom line: does the game live up to AC II? Well, no. Ezio's grand introduction is pretty damn hard to top, at least in terms of story content and franchise innovation. But that doesn't invalidate Connor's journey by any means. Assassin's Creed III's newly refined gameplay and incredibly rich setting are captivating stuff, and we're excited to see what adventures lie ahead for our new hero.

Other games stimulate emotion with manipulative music and teary monologues; Assassin's Creed III rouses your mind and your heart by giving you a glimpse into its characters' souls and letting you judge them on their own merits.

Open-world history lesson – this is the area where new Assassin excels. But embrace yourself to a long survival and linear game opening. [Dec 2012]

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.

If you're willing to go off and do the optional activities, then Assassin's Creed III's single player really shines, and there's just so much content here that even despite the negatives, it's well worth your time. Couple that with another consistently excellent multiplayer component and you're left with a game that may leave you frowning on occasion, but nonetheless one that still has a lot of fun on offer.

It's possible to lose days in Assassin's Creed 3, although if players stick doggedly to the campaign, they'll clock in about 20 hours. On top of that, there's a multiplayer – and for a game where the focus for most of the fanbase will be the single-player, this one's actually rather good.

Assassin's Creed 3 is a fitting end for the series and - to an extent - this generation of consoles as a whole. The characters and story are the strongest yet, but at the same time the game comes with all of the franchise's well-known strengths and weaknesses. So, even though this might just be the perfect finale, the next generation of assassins definitely will have to be more willing to refine the series' systems from the ground up. Then we'll happily listen to their brilliant stories some more.

It's not easy to identify with specific characters as a result, meaning (despite their historical origins) they can feel throwaway because they don't stick around long enough to grab your attention and tickle your curiosity. That's not to say they're poorly written, there are just too many to make things feel cohesive. I guess what I'm trying to say is that sequences in Assassin's Creed 3 tend to feel like episodes of a TV show, rather scenes from a movie.

The narrative mix of historical facts and fictitious involvement of the main characters is more believable than ever. The new engine has its flaws but paints beautiful vistas while presenting more detailed characters than its predecessors. But even though this is a package loaded with content, it is far from perfect and lacks connection between all the interesting ideas.

This sense of restrictiveness filters through to ACIII's mission design. There are surprisingly few assassinations here, and relatively little freedom to plan an approach to them. It's mostly eavesdropping, tailing, chase sequences and battle scenes.

Assassin's Creed 3 has a host of issues that pop up throughout the game, issues which by themselves have been enough to drag other titles under. But there's so much good in Assassin's Creed 3, it's so ambitious, so singular, that I can't stop thinking about it, and what's more, Ubisoft may have finally cracked the riddle of inventive multiplayer that doesn't rely on a large playerbase to enjoy.

The strongest aspect of ACIII is the more mature moral tone.

Not the masterpiece we were waiting for, but still an impressive action game with superb art direction.

Assassin's Creed III capitalizes on its historical setting in ways few other games do, hitting several perfect notes and even throwing the best curveball in recent memory. As a crescendo piece, it misses the mark completely. Occasionally iffy controls and a few mystifying design choices also knock down an otherwise solid effort.

Assassin's Creed III is different to the titles that have come before it. It's an open-world game with strong stealth inclinations, rather than a stealth game set in an open world, and for Ubisoft to manage this delicate evolution without entirely alienating an existing core of stealth gameplay enthusiasts is a remarkable feat.

There is a thin line between telling the player a story and letting them experience it, and it's one the previous games parkoured along with only the occasional misstep. Assassin's Creed 3 however, falls flat on the side of telling you its story - and it would be unforgivable if it weren't for the billion other things you can do in the game.

Cohesion (or lack thereof) is the main issue with Assassin's Creed III. There are dozens of secondary elements which make up the content of the game, but they offer little in terms of reward and rarely contribute anything to the Assassin/Templar conflict. While the game is often quite fun, beautiful to look at and empowering to the player, it doesn't offer much challenge beyond the endurance necessary to complete all of the single-player campaign elements.

Through a turmoil of assassinations, naval battles, Freudian conflicts, pig herding and marital ceremonies, Assassin's Creed III ends a saga in a way that many could judge as unsatisfactory. AC III is a flawed and confused game characterized by the absence of a clear identity and the lack of a true vision about the Assassin Order. It remains a big game with plenty to do, even though not knowing exactly why you have to do them.

What it does do well it does with confidence, but uncharacteristic issues prevent it from being top of the class.

The most extensive installment of the entire game series brings a spectacular adventure filled with land and sea battles. It's great to look at it and the traditional sandbox is just fine' however, this third volume's many very important qualities of the entire game series along with its game system have been lost without the new features making up for it. The less, the better, and look before you leap should have been the proverbs of the day. Assassin's Creed III is undoubtedly a very good game, but I cannot shake off the feeling it could have been much much better.

It's indicative of Ubisoft's approach, so wary of the player discovering their own enjoyment, or missing key information, that it so fervently handholds through what should be its most spectacular moments. At times this reduces entire chapters to tediously long treks between cut-scenes, a lot of which feel like less than worthwhile narrative additions. It's an odd occurrence of a game giving and taking away in equal measure.

This is a quite beautiful game at times: attractive, detailed, and beautifully lit. The soundtrack is less noticeable, though the main theme, with driving rhythms and a strident melody that recurs in other tracks is an instant classic. But ultimately the quality of the mission design has taken a huge nosedive from the series peak of Assassin's Creed II.

It's sad to see the game lose sight of its assassin role-playing ideals in favor of bombast, bomb blasts and pig herding, so I hope this is but a momentary stumble while the franchise regains its balance. Trim the excess, remember the central thrust (hint: it's with a knife) and then you'll have a great game again. Assassin's Creed 3 is the kind of game that's just good enough to make you wish it was better.

As a whole, Assassin's Creed III feels lacking. Considering how positive most early impressions were coming out of E3, perhaps my expectations were set too high, but there are clearly a number of disjointed elements that feel half-finished or poorly thought out. This is the issue of having so many cooks in the Assassin's Creed III's development kitchen, and the final product ends up being far more disappointing than I would've expected. It's not without some merit, and it's not something to skip if you're invested in the universe or overarching story, but if you found your interest waning with Revelations, AC3 could be the final nail in the coffin for some players. It's worth a rental, but I wouldn't classify this as a must-play game.

At least the petty indignities of the multiplayer are optional and situated around gameplay that's solid and unique, if frustratingly stagnant. In the single-player campaign, however, it's impossible to escape the ham-fisted manipulations of the Assassin's Creed III development team.