Assassin's Creed III Preview

Michael Moccio ’16 / Emertainment Monthly Staff

For those of you who have never heard about Assassin’s Creed, get to the nearest Gamestop and buy a copy of the first installment. But, for now, here is a little background. The mythos of the world involves a secret war between two factions: the Assassin’s and the Templars. Both have similar goals in so far as they want peace in the world, but their methods couldn’t be more different. Ubisoft brilliantly illustrates the dichotomy between ‘freedom to’—what the Assassin’s fight for—and ‘freedom from’—what the Templars fight for.
Templars want to use objects of great power to control the world—food, politics, education, etcetera. They believe that the common man is not fit to make those decisions and believe the world would be a better place if they ran the show. To achieve their goals, Templars would discredit their opposition, create wars, and take control of the economy. Famous Templars include Thomas Edison, Lyndon B. Johnson, and Hitler.
Assassins want to reveal all the information Templars have kept from the world and expose the lies. They believe that “Nothing is true, everything is permitted”. The motto stems from the fact that the world has lived in a lie since the beginning of creation. Although the Assassin’s know revealing the truth will not bring peace, they believe that is the way it is going to happen.
Ubisoft plans to release the eighth installment of their award winning franchise Assassin’s Creed at the end of October. The game, Assassin’s Creed III, follows the story of Connor Kenway—a half-English, half-Native American—during the American Revolution. Ubisoft announced the game on March 1^st and subsequently released the game’s opening cinematic and trailer on May 10^th.
The trailer provides great insight into how the game is going to work. The trailer starts off with a monologue by Connor on how the Revolutionists fight for their freedom. As half-Native American, freedom is an issue for him as well and raises the fair point of “freedom for whom”. Obviously, the game will explore how Connor—who does not quite fit in Colonial America or his tribe—deals with that.
Notable figures such as George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, and Thomas Jefferson make appearances in the game. Unlike the previous titles, Assassin’s Creed III takes place in a time period we’re naturally more familiar with. Players will be drawn into the world through the setting and—I for one—will be eager to see how the secret war plays into our revolution.
The game runs on the engine AnvilNext from Ubisoft, a game engine that has evolved with the Assassin’s Creed franchise and promises to enhance gameplay significantly. Weather patterns will be cycled, movements more fluid, and attack patterns will be more abundant. New features also include a more expansive wilderness frontier, hunting, and naval battles. All of these contribute to immersion within the game and suspension of disbelief. Not to mention it just makes the game that much more fun.
Already Assassin’s Creed III has won accolades, getting the ‘Best of E3 Editor’s Choice’ award at E3, one of the largest gaming conventions.The game has also gotten a lot of hype from the gaming community as everyone is waiting in anticipation for its October 30^th console release. Sorry, PC. You’ll have to wait another month.
Get it: The game looks promising and incredibly interesting. An American Revolution with a secret war going on is a recipe for a great time.
Don’t Get it: Because you are not familiar with the franchise. In that case, get out and start playing from the beginning.