Assassin's Creed III

 Xbox 360
User Score
6.9

Mixed or average reviews- based on 1402 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 738 out of 1402
  2. Mixed: 413 out of 1402
  3. Negative: 251 out of 1402
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  1. Raikazu
    Aug 15, 2013
    7
    Another great take in the Assassin's Creed series. It's not perfect by any meas: the voice acting is poor, the characters occasionally feel far from fleshed out and the movement is not always as precise as it should be. However the cinematic quality and the general storyline is well mapped out and putting Connor in the midst of key historical events made for a very engaging experience. OneAnother great take in the Assassin's Creed series. It's not perfect by any meas: the voice acting is poor, the characters occasionally feel far from fleshed out and the movement is not always as precise as it should be. However the cinematic quality and the general storyline is well mapped out and putting Connor in the midst of key historical events made for a very engaging experience. One of the few games that made me want to research it's subjects and topics and shows that the medium can be used not just to entertain but (in a loose way) educate without losing gameplay.… Expand
  2. Bradyboy12
    Aug 12, 2013
    8
    a well done open world game with very immersive environments and a good not great story although Connor the main character is a little boring, but overall, the game is full of exploration and cool missions.
  3. Valior
    Aug 10, 2013
    8
    I've played through all the Assassin's Creed games and I own each one of them on my shelf. So let me just say that Assassin's Creed III got an awful lot of hype, and that's about a 55/45 divide in fault between Ubisoft and the internet. I'm not making excuses for the game, but any gamer knows that to hype a game almost always (except in rare cases like Skyrim) adds up to it letting peopleI've played through all the Assassin's Creed games and I own each one of them on my shelf. So let me just say that Assassin's Creed III got an awful lot of hype, and that's about a 55/45 divide in fault between Ubisoft and the internet. I'm not making excuses for the game, but any gamer knows that to hype a game almost always (except in rare cases like Skyrim) adds up to it letting people down.

    Assassin's Creed III both does and doesn't do that. I have a little objectivity here because I actually started playing the AC series with III, then went back and played the others. Now, if you're comparing this to past AC games, it falls a little short, half because of hype, and half because of the actual game. The free-running system has been simplified to a point where I found it a little more boring than Brotherhood or Revelations, but that can be debated, and Boston/New York aren't nearly as fun to run around in as past cities (though the Frontier is definitely a success in that regard). What can't be debated is the glitches. I've hit no game-breaking ones like others, but there are a plethora of them and they really do detract from the game, which I think is mostly in part for this game having a very short development cycle with the new engine, and its a real pain. The combat system gets old and its rather predictable, since there are four types of enemies and you learn how to beat them in just a few minutes. The underground sucks, and is a drag to explore.

    On the other hand, I can't speak higher of the storyline. Connor is a step into a new character design from Ubisoft where he is a vehicle to convey hurt, and unshaken conviction to his cause due to that hurt. He keeps his goal set: to ensure liberty for his people and for all, however he keeps questioning whether or not the side he's on is best for that. Many say that he's not likeable, and that's partially true, but he's not supposed to be likeable like Ezio was; he's supposed to be sympathy-worthy and a man you can root for. He's a vehicle to convey the story, the motive and the moral. And Connor's story is more compelling than ANY of the past Assassin's Creeds. I won't spoil it, but I have to give Ubisoft credit for making a very, very strong character.

    The game is also stunningly beautiful. Its graphic leap from Revelations is far further than any of the past games in this series, with the amazing sites in the Frontier offering incredible vistages and Connor's home base looking more astounding than Masyaf, Ezio's hideout or any others. Naval combat, a new direction for this series, is a huge hit. It's simple, fun, doesn't get old even after a while, and offers you a great way to waste time. The soundtrack is brilliant, stunning and is only rivalled by Revelations' in this series.

    In conclusion, if you go in expecting this game to blow you away after playing the previous games, you will be disappointed. Some of the mechanics lack, some completely fail, and a few have been improved. But if you have some objectivity and focus on its strengths in story and characters and the emotional investment it puts in its player, you will enjoy it immensely.    … Expand
  4. Matty_1980
    Aug 10, 2013
    10
    This was my first AC game and i loved it to bits. It's huge, great graphics, lots to see, lots to do, lots of reliability, i just had so much fun with it. I've played through it twice so far and will deffo play through again sometime. My only problem with it was the story line was weak in places and i didn't like the modern day sections and the whole animus thing.
  5. crackshot36
    Aug 5, 2013
    9
    My review on Assassin's creed 3

    SINGLE PLAYER: 8.5/10. outstanding story, great twists and turns. HATE connor, for some reason GRAPHICS: 9.75/10. breathtaking. besides a few glitches. simply outstanding SOUND: 8.5/10. great sound design, decent voice acting MULTIPLAYER: 9/10. lots of game modes and maps, very unique approach. do not like that you can buy your way through the unlocks    My review on Assassin's creed 3

    SINGLE PLAYER: 8.5/10. outstanding story, great twists and turns. HATE connor, for some reason
    GRAPHICS: 9.75/10. breathtaking. besides a few glitches. simply outstanding
    SOUND: 8.5/10. great sound design, decent voice acting
    MULTIPLAYER: 9/10. lots of game modes and maps, very unique approach. do not like that you can buy your way through the unlocks
    GAMEPLAY: 8.5/10. fluid controls, lots of fun mechanics. sadly plagued with quite a few glitches. though.
    FUN FACTOR: 9/10. very fun game, lots of content
    TOTAL: 9/10    … Expand
  6. timsim26
    Aug 4, 2013
    7
    the assassins creed series is one of the best series in gaming and the previous installments have all been top quality. however this game is probably the weakest of the series. it is not a bad game but it is just frustrating how good this game could have been. the setting of the game is so interesting and full of mystery and history and as the series is famous for their alternative take onthe assassins creed series is one of the best series in gaming and the previous installments have all been top quality. however this game is probably the weakest of the series. it is not a bad game but it is just frustrating how good this game could have been. the setting of the game is so interesting and full of mystery and history and as the series is famous for their alternative take on the events of the past this is perfect for the series. however the game gets off to an insanely slow start. unfortunately there is so much going on this world yet you are stuck running from objective to objective to watch another cut scene as the game sets it self up. this didn't throw me off the game but left a rather sour taste in my mouth as the game often continued along this path. The game does a fantastic job in terms of graphics and the world yet falls short on creating interesting characters. Connor has no where near the charisma of ezio and the supporting cast other than the main villain, Charles Lee are all relatively stale. The game also does a great job introducing new mechanics and aspects of the game that refresh the series. The addition of hunting, naval battles and the almanacs as the collectibles rather than feathers all feel fresh and exciting in particular the naval battles which for me are the highlight of the game. AC3 also does a great job sticking to its roots as it adapts. the changes to the combat feel natural and the counters are still as brutal and bloody as ever.

    AC3 is an enjoyable game but by no means the best game of the series. If the battles between the red and the blue coats had of been completed on a major scale and the character of connor was more likeable then this game could have been right there with AC2 and brotherhood.    … Expand
  7. premium_sauce
    Jul 22, 2013
    0
    The game is horrible. I am so disappointed being a AC1 hardcore fan. I rated AC1 10/10 AC2 9/10 and I am giving AC3 0/10.
    Initially the game felt good. But then I realized that there isn't much to do. Story is boring. Anyway to cut a long story short people that rated 7+ /10 are obviously unfamiliar with AC 1
  8. ForeverFalling
    Jul 21, 2013
    10
    Fantastic game. Great voice acting, story, gameplay mechanics, immersion, graphics. Everything is top notch. People giving this a negative review/score have no idea what they are talking about. Somebody thought it was cool to start a "AC3 hate bandwagon" and a lot of people decided to jump on. Most of the negatives scores actually have completely wrong information and/or nitpicks thatFantastic game. Great voice acting, story, gameplay mechanics, immersion, graphics. Everything is top notch. People giving this a negative review/score have no idea what they are talking about. Somebody thought it was cool to start a "AC3 hate bandwagon" and a lot of people decided to jump on. Most of the negatives scores actually have completely wrong information and/or nitpicks that don't hamper the game. People also seem to hate the new protagonist called Connor, for some inexplicable reason. They are obviously stuck in the past with love for Ezio (protagonist from the last THREE games, may I add) that they cant fathom a new hero having a different personality and morals, values, passions. They simply don't understand him. Some people have also been complaining about glitches, even though I only encountered a couple small ones (I.e. floating weapon) throughout the whole game (keep in mind no game is perfect and these are miniscule). All in all, the game left me wanting more of Connor even after I completed the game (which took me 20 hours or so including side missions and collectibles) and I cannot wait to see what Assassins Creed 4 has to offer come October 2013.… Expand
  9. shprea
    Jun 24, 2013
    7
    This game had a lot of hype surrounding it. It was suppose to reinvent the world of Assassin's Creed as we knew it. Did it succeed? Well, sort of.

    The game is very interesting, don't get me wrong. However, the primary issue here is a lack of centralization. There are so many things to see and do, but none of them are particularly interesting. The main story is bland (especially the    This game had a lot of hype surrounding it. It was suppose to reinvent the world of Assassin's Creed as we knew it. Did it succeed? Well, sort of.

    The game is very interesting, don't get me wrong. However, the primary issue here is a lack of centralization. There are so many things to see and do, but none of them are particularly interesting. The main story is bland (especially the story surrounding Desmond), the gameplay can be mundane at times, and the game just doesn't feel as tight as the other entries.
    It's a great game, but it does too much with little focus on any specific aspect.

    There are two things that really make this game great:
    1. The sailing segments are awesome, full of intense combat and excellent atmosphere.
    2. The sound-track is amazing, boasting some of the best tunes in the Assassin's Creed franchise.

    Give this game a try; it might just click with you. For me, it just wasn't quite as good as the other entries in the series. It is better than Revelations, though. That's for sure.    … Expand
  10. GameInterpreter
    Jun 18, 2013
    9
    While the game manages to approve from it's predecessor in many cases it also suffers from several framerate issues along with some minor steps backwards including a false protagonist that is rather frustrating to play as for the first two hours of the game and an ending that will disappoint fans immensely. Regardless of these issues Assassin's Creed III goes on to provide players with aWhile the game manages to approve from it's predecessor in many cases it also suffers from several framerate issues along with some minor steps backwards including a false protagonist that is rather frustrating to play as for the first two hours of the game and an ending that will disappoint fans immensely. Regardless of these issues Assassin's Creed III goes on to provide players with a fantastic look on the secret hero of the american revolution and many hours of collectibles for good replay value.

    9 out of 10    … Expand
  11. thelostuchiha
    Jun 7, 2013
    6
    Assassin's creed 3 is not the perfect sequel AC fans have been waiting for, Dose it live up to the hype? No. It has lackluster side missions except the naval missions), a convoluted story overall, and some game play hiccups. What it dos have is some solid voice acting, and fun combat.
  12. fitscotgaymer
    Jun 7, 2013
    5
    I scored this game a 5. And I think I am being a little generous in doing so.

    The reason I believe that is because this game seemed to have looked at the prior AC games and everything they did (all the improvements made and all the feedback given) and then promptly ignored it all. The game starts you off as probably the most interesting and fun AC character ever, Haytham Kenway, and    I scored this game a 5. And I think I am being a little generous in doing so.

    The reason I believe that is because this game seemed to have looked at the prior AC games and everything they did (all the improvements made and all the feedback given) and then promptly ignored it all.

    The game starts you off as probably the most interesting and fun AC character ever, Haytham Kenway, and then at the end of that section of the game hits you with the two by four in the face revelation that shock! Haytham was a templar all along! *facepalm*
    The delivery and telegraphing of that particular fact was seen a mile off, and when it finally game out it was done in such a hamfisted way that I physically rolled my eyes.

    You are then shifted onto the Connor sections of the game. And from there the whole thing just rolls downhill until its inevitable car crash at the end.
    Connor's youth VA is stilted, and incredibly fake sounding; and the impetus for his revenge was delivered in as pointless and hamfisted a manner as the Haytham-is-a-templar "revelation" it was eye rollingly bad. And he gets no better as an adult. His adult VA isn't as poor but honestly that is no saving grace as the adult "Connor" is the single dullest most annoying character I have ever seen (and I have sufferred through Adoring Fan in Oblivion).

    When Connor isn't being dull, he is being a pointless douchenozzle. And his miraculous involvement in every single major historical event surrounding the independence war period defies belief. It gets to the point of immersion shatteringly bad.
    And then Connor's arc ends, not with having to fight your father Haytham (who was the Grand Master of the Americas Templar Order) but fight "General Lee" his second in command... Which doesn't make sense considering the impetus for the game is to stop his father and the Templars.

    The game does do a better job of communicating the type of person that Desmond is. It shows him as rather brave and heroic and he comes off as pretty likeable. And the Desmond sections of the game don't feel as irritating or annoying in this game as they did in prior games; but I am unsure if that is a function of Connor being so dull that even Desmond looks better in comparison I don't know...
    And then we have that pointless car crash of an ending. I mean honestly what was it with 2012 games ending with 3 all having horribly stupid endings? Dear god.

    Moving onto gameplay. None of the improvements that Brotherhood and Revelations made to the gameplay seem to have made it into this game. In fact it seems to have gottten worst because the devs seem to be trying to portray Connor along the lines of the Wizard archetype (with all his techie stuff) and over complicated the whole thing and implemented it all incredibly poorly.
    There is literally no point to going onto roofs at all in this game. And combat is a frustrating and irritating slog. The guards seem to be psychic; and the controls seem to be back to being twitchy and overly sensitive as they were in AC1.

    The only part of this game I loved (and it seems to be universally loved) is the naval sections of this game. I bet I am not the only person in the world who said "I want a pirate game with these naval mechanics!"
    Evidentally I wasn't because we now have AC4: The Black Flag due out (less than 18 months after AC3 is not a good sign though) which centres the entire game around that mechanic.

    This game... Buy it because you want the complete collection. But honestly it isn't worth suffering through.    … Expand
  13. OctavioM
    May 18, 2013
    2
    Sloppy controls, the game will drive you insane when you try to do the stealth missions, you'll have to do them over and over again only because of the game errors. I do not recommend this game.
  14. orult
    May 17, 2013
    2
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. (1.) Connor is boring. Ubisoft handled this native american stuff with "too much" respect, therefore connor had no sense of humour and no self irony. b-o-r-i-n-g.
    (2.) Very poor ending in the present. I was playing AC since the beginning, and built up Desmond as i played. The result was a catastrophy.
    (3.) Music is much worse than before. Not very bad, but there was nothing remarkable. Lorne is a good composer, so i do not see how could he do that. His tracks in ACR were mush mush better.
    (4.) Poor side missions. In the previous episodes all side quests had an own story. You protected a scared courtesan or got a letter from Lorenzo Medici. Every assassination mission had it's all detail eg. a guarded target, a target in the crowd etc. In AC3's assassination missions players had to kill 5 completely faceless character without any story background. All targets were alone, and should be killed in the same way. The world was beautiful and very large, but you could do nothing interesting there.
    (5.) Optional objectives should provide a full game experience with challenge, and should not make players s_ck.
    (6.) Useless map: From the first episode it was a trivial rule, that synchronizing all viewpoints reveals the map completely. It was very disappointing that you noticed that you have missed many missions AFTER the end of the game. Did you know that there was Thieves guild in AC3? Or assassination missions in the frontier? Here we are.
    (7.)It is a very good thing to make money in a game, if you know, that you can buy something really valuable from it. In AC3 there was no armor at all, and the best weapon was about 10% better than the worst one. That's not enough to make players earn money. The rewards were often useless (after riding all across the frontier and killing a bear, you got a scarf texture on the wall. Collecting all feathers gives you your original outfit Captain kidd's treasure is an almost invisible ring that is ridiculous.)
    (8.) It was a great idea, that all MP characters had their own story, but it was much better interpreted in ACR or in ACB.
    (9.) It would have been nice if characters (like Aveline) has appeared in the game.
    (10.) Low quality riddles. ACB riddles were awesome, they were solvable, yet it was fun to play them. And there were at least 12 riddle types. The reward was good (a video or a message), and most of them revealed some info about templars in the present or in the past. In AC3 a four year old kid can solve these puzzles. All the three of them.
    (11.) Jumping puzzles: Many of AC fans were fans of Prince of persia. Jumping puzzles were one of the most enjoyable parts of the games. In AC3 they were good, the levels were beautiful but they were too short.
    (12.) An assassin doesn't need bombs, ultimate rope darts or bazookas. It's far enough, if he can use the environment with more options than the enemy. It's true, that Connor could climb trees while his enemies could not, but he could not just jump of them, becaust there were very few well positioned haystacks. And the same problem was in the cities.
    13. How does he know?.. It's very confusing if you don't know if your character knows something or not. A character evolves as his knowledge grows. And the player should be there when it happens. Unfortunately we could not see when Connor has been informed about Haytham, nor when Charles Lee became "evil".
    14. There were tons of bugs. I can bet there was no manual testing at all on consoles, they just ran their automated unit tests and were happy that they are green.

    +1.Awful product design. Players had to buy Freedom edition for more than 100 dollars just because i wanted the "exclusive" extra digital content even if they were not interested in Connor's statue. And they had to buy season pass for 40 dollars which contained those extra missions, they had already bought. That's not exclusive, that's pathetic. Ubisoft makes s_ck it's best customers, shame on them.    … Expand
  15. HanYolo
    May 17, 2013
    7
    Firstly I would like to say that Assassin's Creed 3 is an enjoyable game. All the elements that made the previous games so much fun are still present, but, in a similar way to Fallout: New Vegas, AC3 doesn't do much to improve upon the previous game other than a new setting. Having said that, this is good news if you loved the previous game in the series and just wanted more of the sameFirstly I would like to say that Assassin's Creed 3 is an enjoyable game. All the elements that made the previous games so much fun are still present, but, in a similar way to Fallout: New Vegas, AC3 doesn't do much to improve upon the previous game other than a new setting. Having said that, this is good news if you loved the previous game in the series and just wanted more of the same once you'd completed it.

    The new, vastly different setting and historical context does give the game a completely different feel and freshens the series. It's cool to experience a very different point in history, especially one that is so much closer to the present day, so much more relevant and set a lot closer to home for many players.

    The new setting means there are lots of trees which you can climb, which might sound novel but it's basically just the same thing as climbing a building, except your in the middle of nowhere with no reason to climb the tree...

    The naval battles are probably the biggest addition to the series (and were basically the only reason I got the game) but really don't feature that heavily in the storyline. I thought that concept would really get milked but as far as I can tell there is only one point in the game when you get to board another ship which was disappointing as it was a really promising area that was a lot of fun.

    The biggest disappointment in this game (and it was a huge disappointment) is the storyline. For most of the story I really had no idea WHY Connor was doing what he was doing, and at many times it seems like he doesn't know either. And to be honest, the game didn't really do anything to make me care. There doesn't seem to be that much of a purpose to him going around assassinating people. Every cut scene tries to add some ambiguity surrounding what's right and wrong, and who the real bad guy is, but just end up confusing everything even more. It's all left very vague. Every twist that the storyline takes just makes it worse and seems to give Connor LESS of a reason to fight. Ultimately, he's only assassinating people because he's the main character in a game called "Assassin's Creed 3".

    And the ending... Don't even get me started on the ending... It's the worst ending of any game series I've ever played. It might be the worst ending to any game series ever. Assassin's Creed (not to mention all of the fans) deserved more. This shouldn't really affect your decision to buy the game because it doesn't affect the gameplay but you will be left disappointed. I myself stared at the screen going "...is that it?..." (it's not very long either) and then sat through what must have been 20-30 minutes of credits to see if I was actually only half way through the game.

    AC3 is a fun game and if you liked the previous games you'll like this one just as much, but this game isn't reinventing the wheel. There's nothing revolutionary here (ironically).    … Expand
  16. Chrispy92
    May 8, 2013
    6
    I really wanted to enjoy this game. But there are very large flaws in it that prevent me from remembering it in a positive light.

    It does have good strengths. Colonial America feels vast and suitably unique and fresh in the usual library of swords and armor adventure games. There's always something to do, always something to take a look at and have fun with. And the cities feel very    I really wanted to enjoy this game. But there are very large flaws in it that prevent me from remembering it in a positive light.

    It does have good strengths. Colonial America feels vast and suitably unique and fresh in the usual library of swords and armor adventure games. There's always something to do, always something to take a look at and have fun with. And the cities feel very interesting and lifelike. In addition, naval combat was surprisingly fun. It felt brilliantly epic to watch and hear a ship get obliterated by a full broadside from my cannons. And the multiplayer was as unique, involving and fun as it was in previous games.

    But then the big flaws drag everything down. For a start the game is buggy as hell. This would really break the immersion of the places I was in. Sometimes an NPC would just walk between two charcacters during a cinematic. Not cool. Second was that while Haytham is an interesting character to start off as, making me wait for 6 sequences before the game opened up was not good design. Then there was the Desmond storyline, which was just utterly disappointing.The plot twists get increasingly plain stupid, the Abstergo villain turns out to be a gigantic and I never had any more reasons to start giving a damn about the whole storyline. The eventual fate of Desmond indicates Ubisoft didn't either.

    But what really breaks the game is the level design. In every mission it constantly puts secondary objectives, game-over-if-you-are-seen restrictions and boundaries everywhere. There's not even a way to turn off the optional objectives from your screen. And every time you didn't get one of them right the game just loves to remind you of your failure with a big red cross at the end of the mission. This pissed me off to no end because it made me feel as if I was being punished for not playing the game THEIR way. In an open world game, where there are often multiple solutions to a problem, this is just terrible mission design.

    I wanted to like it, but in the end, I didn't feel like it was worth the hype. Not by a long shot.    … Expand
  17. ICEExMagic
    Apr 28, 2013
    5
    This game was a major disappointment.The begging of the game took forever to get to the fighting.Even though the combat is really fun,the game is so boring.
  18. dubz88
    Apr 27, 2013
    7
    Assassin's Creed 3 is a game with so much potential to be an amazing game but littered with problems that prevent it from being a great game. While I did finish the game in its entirety, I felt like I wanted to give up on it multiple times throughout my time with it. However, upon completing it I quickly traded it in and haven't looked back.

    While the game doesn't take place in such    Assassin's Creed 3 is a game with so much potential to be an amazing game but littered with problems that prevent it from being a great game. While I did finish the game in its entirety, I felt like I wanted to give up on it multiple times throughout my time with it. However, upon completing it I quickly traded it in and haven't looked back.

    While the game doesn't take place in such grandiose environments such as ancient Rome and Jerusalem, early America does provide a rather interesting environment for the latest game in the series. Climbing and jumping from tree to tree while you stalk a group of British soldiers and pouncing at the right moment to unless a fury of death by tomahawk was particularly satisfying. I also enjoyed being the counter animations that Connor engages in when attacking multiple enemies and being able to use a single enemy as a human shield while being shot at by a line of muskets. This little details were the highlights of my game experience and kept me wanting to fight every British soldier I could find.

    However, this enjoyment was swiftly crushed by the numerous technical glitches I ran into it and severely underdeveloped game elements. One such element, is the hunting aspect that is introduced in the beginning of the game and becomes completely unnecessary and essentially never used again throughout the game. The Homestead missions were also more of a pain to complete rather than an enjoyment. Many of the NPCs are forgettable and I ended up forcing myself to complete this missions for the sake of completion rather than desire. The "trade" system is also underutilized, which allows you to collect crafting materials from the NPCs in the Homestead and use them to create things such as chairs and barrells to sell through a convoy to cities such as Boston and New York. I also couldn't standing the optional objectives in the majority of the missions. Some are understandable such as not being detected when eavesdropping on a conversation. However, others end up completely the destroying the enjoyment of the game such as "not touching anyone" while chasing someone through a street that the game has made more crowded for this particular mission. While these optional objectives aren't necessary to complete the mission, I wanted to complete all of the missions with the highest amount of "sync" which quickly became a fruitless endeavour if I wanted to keep my controller in tact.

    One particular feature of the game stands out above almost the rest of the game entirely, which was the naval battles. The naval battles could be a game in itself and I have not experienced anything like it before playing this game. Although, given the fact that this game should be focused on being an assassin, being the captain of ship shouldn't be the best part.

    I wanted to like Assassin's Creed 3 and it's not a bad game but it doesn't deserve the perfect scores it has received, especially in comparison to earlier entries to the franchise. I'm looking at you Ezio.    … Expand
  19. hitmonk
    Apr 25, 2013
    4
    Disappointment of the year.

    You need to have a level of expectation to get disappointed, so I'm not saying AC3 is terrible...it's just.. very disappointing. I had high hopes for this third installment. Ubisoft had shown a lot of improvement going from 1 to 2 and then to Brotherhood. I didn't get Revelations because I had my fix and was looking forward to a proper sequel. And so there it    Disappointment of the year.

    You need to have a level of expectation to get disappointed, so I'm not saying AC3 is terrible...it's just.. very disappointing. I had high hopes for this third installment. Ubisoft had shown a lot of improvement going from 1 to 2 and then to Brotherhood. I didn't get Revelations because I had my fix and was looking forward to a proper sequel. And so there it came.

    I love the setting. Interesting time period and location after Renaissance Italy. But from booting it up to finishing it has been a slog and a letdown in almost every other regard. The much taunted graphics? I'm not impressed. It looks like Ubisoft wanted to get a head start on next gen development and then had to cram it onto old consoles that couldn't quite run it. It looks really advanced with pretty lighting and highly detailed characters, but the cutbacks to get bearable performance are noticeable. Very aggressive LOD pops all over the scenery, and anti-aliasing is pretty much absent. This isn't accounted for in the artwork which often uses high frequency details that exaggerate the aliasing and often look downright buggy when viewed from anywhere but up close. This all makes the presentation incredibly rough in spite of all the bells and whistles. The shadows are low res and constantly flickering, making parts look buggy even if they aren't. I would much rather have less bells and whistles in return for a bit more spit and polish. So nobody noticed that from certain angles you can view right through Desmond because there is a huge gaping hole in his character model where his backpack is supposed to meet his sweatshirt? A backpack that has a cool dynamic effect when he moves, which also makes his sweatshirt pop through it. There are constant issues like these, and they distract because they look careless. For all the glaring cutbacks, performance can still be terrible and the frame rate can slow down at the weirdest moments.

    The sound is better. Orchestral score...check. Decent voice acting...check. The lip syncing and facial animation is pretty good and a step ahead of most games. But the series still loves to have it's characters have long winded conversations that aren't that interesting. The script is decent, but it's not a Rockstar game. It lacks punch and some of the historical characters lack weight, coming of more like unfunny caricatures. Overall, the game still thinks it's smarter than it actually is in it's overarching plot and message.

    All of this would forgivable, if the gameplay was good. But it isn't, let's start with the basics: controls, because they dictate the way a game feels. Controls were never the series' strong-point. Your character always had a tendencies to stick to the wrong wall or get stuck on scenery, but the later installments improved on this. AC3 takes a few steps back. The controls are simplified, which is good, but prepare to battle the controls more than you do the enemies in this game. The simplified controls make them easier to take down than ever. Connor can easily take on entire fort full of redcoats without losing too much health (which'll generously regenerate once you step out of combat). But movement is a lot looser, glitchy and unreliable. The walking animation is pretty stupid too, Connor always walks like a bouncer with his arms stretched wide, it looks weird especially going up and down stairs. The horse feels slow and clunky even when going full speed and trekking across the various maps (the game frequently asks this of you) is often a chore. The crappy controls make the stealth parts much harder than they should be, because from a gameplay point of view, there's no challenge there. Simple sneaking and tail the dude who stops to check around at regular intervals. Better hide behind the conveniently placed shack over there!

    There is 'a lot' to do in the game. The map quickly fills up with icons. Sadly, most of these represent repetitive and simple tasks: simple pick ups and drop offs and at best a minor skirmish. It's a kind of false variety. The sea missions are fun, if only because it's something new and fresh. They feel like a different game and they are because they were developed by a different team and only added, not really integrated into the game. There just happens to be a drunk pirate that lives on the estate of your Assassin contact who doesn't want anybody (including you) on his estate. Makes sense, no?

    That brings me to the most annoying part. The fractured nature of the gameplay. You're constantly being taken in and out of cutscenes, loading screens, in and out of the animus, different characters... The game handles this very inelegantly and as glitchy as the rest. It looks messy. Some times it feels like you're walking from cutscene to cutscene. The weather and time of day may change completely, your character may wear different clothes.

    All in all.. it's initially impressive but ultimately such a hollow experience and a giant letdown.
    4    … Expand
  20. Unfunded
    Apr 15, 2013
    8
    Alright, here is my review.

    I've been a fan of AC3 forever, I loved all of them including Revelations. I'll start with the story, Ithe desmond story is a which I doubt anyone cares about, no point talking about it. Now, Connor is a great new character- in fact my favorite out of all the AC assassins, he is very realistic and deep character; I was into his story much more then Ezio.    Alright, here is my review.

    I've been a fan of AC3 forever, I loved all of them including Revelations. I'll start with the story, Ithe desmond story is a which I doubt anyone cares about, no point talking about it. Now, Connor is a great new character- in fact my favorite out of all the AC assassins, he is very realistic and deep character; I was into his story much more then Ezio. I'll admit it, Connor's story is one of my favorite stories in recent memory, albeit with some stedfalls.

    The gameplay is great, I enjoyed it for fun- it wasn't a challenge whatsoever, but it was still VERY fun. Great game, buy it! 8.5/10    … Expand
  21. Enforcer122
    Apr 12, 2013
    2
    When I purchased this game I was promised a lot of things. Some of those things being hunting wild animals, a free roaming area, absorbing story, great character, captivating combat system and fresh ideas on an aging gaming series. But, on every single level it failed. First and foremost I'd just like to say if this is your first time getting an Assassins Creed game, don't bother. TheWhen I purchased this game I was promised a lot of things. Some of those things being hunting wild animals, a free roaming area, absorbing story, great character, captivating combat system and fresh ideas on an aging gaming series. But, on every single level it failed. First and foremost I'd just like to say if this is your first time getting an Assassins Creed game, don't bother. The story is so complicated that you will not even comprehend the game unless you've played every single other one before hand. You start off with a British assassin guy, who you don't know. Why is he the way he is? I have no idea, so as confusing as it is, you play on regardless. But the next thing you know you're in Boston, and this is where things start to get rubbish but don't worry, that's only 20 minutes in. Every mission is the same, go here, listen to this guy, go here, talk to this person, fight a few people, next mission. That's about the gist of it all.

    Never have I played a game with such clumsy, level design. I had to replay missions over and over and over again to stop it from glitching or something very peculiar happening and ruining all my progress on that level, throw in poor check point placement and you got yourself hours of wasted time. There's one point in the game early on where you have to release captured people and it took me 4 hours and 20 minutes straight to do a small part, which should of took 10 minutes due to poor level design, poor AI, poor movement and poor button layout. Who ever created the button lay out for this game had it completely wrong. You're thrown in to the game with no idea how to do anything, all it tells you is how to run. Next thing you know you're fighting 20 guys at the same time, getting shot and having no idea what to do. Not to mention you don't actually get to play the game until about 10 hours in, that's right. You have around 10 hours of the game which is considered 'build up' and 'tutorial' according to the game producers. And when it finally does let you free, it's a major disappointment. I've played Assassins Creed 1 and 2 which I enjoyed, so it seemed reasonable for me to get this. But honestly, don't waste your money. The only thing I could credit about this game is the originality I feel when I play it, it's a great idea being set in civil war America and you're an Indian assassin trying to get redemption. But that's all I can credit this game on, by far one of the most poorly produced games I've ever played. It had the raw potential to work, but the designers of the game got it terribly wrong. This, gets a 2 out of 10.    … Expand
  22. RedJ
    Apr 12, 2013
    2
    good character, good story, amazing gameplay these are the thing AC2 did right and AC3 did wrong Connor is the most bland character in the history of videogaming, hell pacman was a more interesting character. I don't hate the AC series but if this is the track bioware stick to I'm not buying black flag. Oh and thank god I can climb trees wanted that for ages!(Nope!)
  23. kitejr
    Apr 6, 2013
    9
    Ezio was my dude. He is the reson i loved the AC's. AC1 was rather boring. 2 BH and revalations was just wow. We realy got a view and feeling from him. Now on to conner. He is young. Its nice but i think we would need more of him to get that bond. I loved this game aswell as all of them. You know what your getting with this. Nothing new here. We see desmonds story. Sorry but I've neverEzio was my dude. He is the reson i loved the AC's. AC1 was rather boring. 2 BH and revalations was just wow. We realy got a view and feeling from him. Now on to conner. He is young. Its nice but i think we would need more of him to get that bond. I loved this game aswell as all of them. You know what your getting with this. Nothing new here. We see desmonds story. Sorry but I've never played for him. In the end its a good game. Great story and lots and lots of replay. Just as every AC.… Expand
  24. Love4Mets
    Apr 2, 2013
    10
    Best game of the franchise! Ranks straight As in these categories:: Story A+, voice acting A+, gameplay A+, graphics A, Control A+++. Builds on what the Thief, Metal Gear franchises started (stealth genre) and makes it accessible to the masses, with a bang up story to boot. Give it a try. 'Nough said
  25. Ebu
    Mar 27, 2013
    10
    Many people about this game because there hasn't been so much hype for a video game since.. well ever. If there wouldn't have been the hype it had, a lot less people would been disappointed. I on the other hand enjoyed this game maybe even more than AC 2 which was magnificent. Sure it had bugs which lowed my review to 9 instead of 10 (although they have made a patch to prevent majorMany people about this game because there hasn't been so much hype for a video game since.. well ever. If there wouldn't have been the hype it had, a lot less people would been disappointed. I on the other hand enjoyed this game maybe even more than AC 2 which was magnificent. Sure it had bugs which lowed my review to 9 instead of 10 (although they have made a patch to prevent major bugs). Also at some points the game was a bit boring probably because of the 'political' parts. To continue the negative parts I have to say without spoiling of course the ending for Desmond is a bit lame. The guy needs a better ending. Connor was a great character as I somehow liked the fact that he almost never smiled and was a bit frustrated at times.. And he had his reasons for the anger. Yet he never stopped trying to get his people's freedom. Favourite assassin for me. What I also enjoyed was the Naval battles. Now that they've announced Assassin's Creed IV with lots of Naval warfare makes me thrilled as it was one of my favourite parts of AC III. Another great new addition was also made and nobody can deny it: tree runs, tree climbing, tree parkour, whatever you want to call it. This felt fresh and intense everytime Connor leaped from branch to branch. in addition the air assassinations and hanging soldiers with the rope dart felt so cool everytime I made them happen. Another addition was hunting. Even adding animals was new to AC. It was brilliant how the animals moved around doing their own things (or just bugging against a tree). Everytime I saw a bear I was ready to hit it with my hidden blade. So to sum up Assassin's Creed III is a wonderful game with a lot of effort put to it (excluding bugs) and a fresh new look. The best Assassin's Creed game in my opinion.… Expand
  26. OysterSlupper
    Mar 27, 2013
    9
    Singleplayer 9, multiplayer 9. WOOO! when they said there is alot to do they where not kidding,Gameplay: I picked this up a little late so it has had a few patches. Horses, climbing, running do not fill diffrent to me then any of the other AC games. I am disapointed there is no difficulty level for the on it is on is to easy. I understand the developer belives it takes away from the story,Singleplayer 9, multiplayer 9. WOOO! when they said there is alot to do they where not kidding,Gameplay: I picked this up a little late so it has had a few patches. Horses, climbing, running do not fill diffrent to me then any of the other AC games. I am disapointed there is no difficulty level for the on it is on is to easy. I understand the developer belives it takes away from the story, then make a harder dif unlock after finishing the story. Graphics: outstanding but have pushed the limits of XBOX causing lots of ghosting. Sound:love all the characters and thought Connor was a strong charecter well acted. Multiplayer:very addictive and fun but will find yourself poping in and out of session,not sure why. maybe it needs more maps. I have the DLC but have yet to find anyone on those three map servers.which are beautiful maps.(give extra xp for playing those maps, not only will it be fun but would make spending the money on the DLC fill worth it). I highly recommend this game, Rich in History and I belief with the exception of difficulty, one of the best ACs. DID I MENTION THE TASTE WE GET ON THE HIGH SEAS, the best part of the game. Black Flag looks to be amazing. GO NAVY!… Expand
  27. rocketpackpanda
    Mar 25, 2013
    5
    This is what happens when the second game in your series is incredible. You have nowhere else to go so instead you throw in chair making and lumber delivery. It then takes various parts of Red Dead redmptions hunting aspect and fails at them on every level, integration and execution. these are just two of the few problems plaguing the third entry in the series. No longer do you assassinateThis is what happens when the second game in your series is incredible. You have nowhere else to go so instead you throw in chair making and lumber delivery. It then takes various parts of Red Dead redmptions hunting aspect and fails at them on every level, integration and execution. these are just two of the few problems plaguing the third entry in the series. No longer do you assassinate people. That entire mechanic has been so castrated that the game is no longer about it. Compounding this is a serious case of the Kojima's. Overly long cinematics interspersed with a little bit of gameplay. From an artistic standpoint, the game falters from blandness. In AC1 and 2, every local was distinct, in had its own life. This new game misses that, everything feels the same, artistically bland.
    On the plus side, even though the game fails to use its setting properly, the controls show definite promise for use in these environments.    … Expand
  28. Archleach
    Mar 22, 2013
    7
    This game counts as my reintroduction into the Creed world. I played the first but not the second so I was really looking forward to getting back to assassinating some guys. The problem I encounter with this game is in order to have fun you have to deal with TONS of load and TONS of cinematics. Don't get me wrong the quality of the cinematics is not in question, and I enjoyed the story.This game counts as my reintroduction into the Creed world. I played the first but not the second so I was really looking forward to getting back to assassinating some guys. The problem I encounter with this game is in order to have fun you have to deal with TONS of load and TONS of cinematics. Don't get me wrong the quality of the cinematics is not in question, and I enjoyed the story. I just wonder if some of this could have been executed in game play or even exposition during some of the loads. All told this is a beautiful game with nuggets of solid fun. Defiantly worth checking out.… Expand
  29. 5monkeez
    Mar 22, 2013
    5
    Such a heartbreaker! Been a fan of AC since the beginning and have loved the adventure/history blend. Am also a fan of the American Revolution. AC's gameplay has always been stellar... until now. The game is one big glitch. Don't know if I'll buy AC: IV. Yes, it has pirates but this player has been burned.
  30. LukeD420
    Mar 19, 2013
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Assassin's Creed 3 will leave you with mixed emotions.

    Pros The graphics and the combat animations are satisfying to say the least. The naval missions are realistic and will leave you wanting more. Cons Glitches are a big part of the experience. What happens at the end of the game doesn't compensate for the amount of time put into it. Too many times you'll feel aggravated or frustrated with the game.    … Expand
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Awards & Rankings

24
#24 Best Xbox 360 Game of 2012
5
#5 Most Discussed Xbox 360 Game of 2012
20
#20 Most Shared Xbox 360 Game of 2012

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
84

Generally favorable reviews - based on 61 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 52 out of 61
  2. Mixed: 9 out of 61
  3. Negative: 0 out of 61
  1. GameCritics
    Dec 5, 2012
    60
    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.
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  2. Xbox World Australia
    Dec 2, 2012
    90
    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.
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  3. X-ONE Magazine UK
    Dec 1, 2012
    90
    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]
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