60 Second Review - Assassins Creed 3

Story.
This game might be marked 3rd, but its the 5th in the series. So whilst you might think your getting left out of the loop, you won't need to worry. This game introduces enough of the back story at just the right time to help fill in the gaps. 

In this instalment, you play Connor, a Native American who takes up the Assassin mantle to protect his people.  Along the way you will me a cast of characters that feel right at home in colonial America. Thankfully the game does not glorify the people you meet, the first time you meet Benjamin franklin, you might not even know you did.



Gameplay
The gameplay does not stray far from the formula that was set down by the first, but it does tweak it enough for it to feel fresh. Holding down the right trigger will allow you to sprint, climb trees, buildings, cliff faces and even the rigging of a ship. 

As Connor, you can spend your time tracking animals through out the wilderness, or head into town to sell or buy. One of the new additions is managing the estate that you call home. You are required to collect lumber, and then send it by convoy to be sold. But in doing that you put the convoy at risk, so you need to decide if sending the lumber for the profit you would make is worth the risk.



Generally the game plays well enough, but it does suffer from the as,e issues the first few games had, in that you sometimes find yourself running up a wall, instead of away from it. Whilst not game breaking it can get quite frustrating.  Aside from that, the game plays very well.

The ship combat and sailing portions of the game use a completely different control scheme, and it does not cause any real problems. In fact getting out on the water and letting the ship go full speed can be quite exhilarating.

Graphics
Lets be honest, this game looks amazing. You have two major cities, dozens of small ones littered about and then the expansive wilderness connecting it all. Each area has a certain look about it so you can't mistake it for somewhere else. The art style also exceeds expectations allowing nature to shine when your surrounded by it. 

Connor moves around the environment with ease, and this is an area Ubisoft Montreal have excelled at for years. The facial animation is also another talking point, whilst not quite Avatar, the game portrays a look of realism without looking like photos plastered onto models. The animals found through out the game also look great.



Sound design shows that, even in the middle of nowhere, no cities and no people around there are still many amazing sounds to discover. The chatter of the animals as they move bout, the wind blowing though the trees, or perhaps even the sound of a river, all are amazing in detail and it would not surprise you to find yourself just listen, even for a few minutes.

The sounds of the bustling cities is as equally good, Boston has many little markets that show lots of people trading, shouting for the best deal. 

Final thoughts
Assassins Creed 3 is game worth playing no matter what your format of choice. That game offers an expansive world that's not empty, an amazing story,  great cast of characters and solid gameplay to make each play session seem like your first.