To be honest, I would have loved to have seen another Altair storyline; however, moving the storyline along in the Assassin’s Creed franchise will bring us much closer to finding out what it will take to stop the end of the world. This game gives a very brief intro to the whole Abstergo vs. Templars story and gives you all the basics of what’s been happening in this game world. Picking up where the last game left off the assassins finds this mysterious wall leading to a new chamber and this is where our story begins.
What amazed me the most is that the game is off and running almost literally with a brief stop in 1700s London, a nice ship sequence before our character makes it to the New World. After getting to learn the ropes and tackling several missions, you get truly floored with bomb of a storyline twist and it really brought a smile to my face meaning the Ubisoft has a few more tricks up its sleeve with this series.
Gameplay and controls
Still mostly the same except now you get to shoot guns and you have to learn how to shoot and reload. Also navigating the forests can be a bit tricky because almost everything looks climbable so it’s very tempting otherwise no change from its predecessors.
Other distractions
It seems as if Ubisoft lifted a small page out of Red Dead Redemption’s playbook to add some games to keep you busy as you pass the time as you play. There are several dice games as well as checkers-like game that you can learn to play to earn extra money in the game
Graphics
Still amazing at this late stage in the life of these consoles but some of the same glitches still hang around as far as clipping and disappearing and reappearing objects but so far nothing game-breaking as of yet. However, I do wish that loading times could be eliminated when entering certain buildings.
On a whole so far from what I have seen, people who have been nervous about the idea that this wouldn’t have the sweeping expanses of Italy and Turkey can put their fears to rest as 1700s America is just as expansive as the other places we have seen and one can even spend lots of time out in the wilderness exploring before going back out on a mission.
Conclusion
After 3 games with Ezio, Ubisoft has finally taken the next step forward in this storyline and from what I have seen so far, it’s a good step forward filled with twists and some cool missions. Those that have been around since the beginning won’t be disappointed to see what’s next.
4.5 out of 5
Assassin’s Creed III: Liberation
After reading some of the critic’s review of Liberation, I am having a feeling so far that the Vita version of this franchise hasn’t been given a fair shake.
First off, it’s one of the few games that really gets to show off what the Vita can (and shouldn’t) do and rather than being a shrunken down version of its console brother, it’s a separate game in the same era.
The story so far:
As anyone who has read knows, this is the first game of the franchise to have a female lead by the name of Aveline and the story takes place in New Orleans. Not much is known about her except that she lives in a rich household and is an assassin. I am hoping along the lines as I play, we learn how she got involved. We have learned about the others before her including Conner so it would be nice for some back story.
Controls
Let’s get right to it. The touch controls are gimmicky and while it’s not a game breaker, it’s not helping the game play either. I have had to do weird things like hold my Vita to lights and slide my fingers across the screen just so to open a letter. Thank goodness this doesn’t happen to often but thankfully some of these moments don’t always require button pushes and that is a plus. Touch screen chain kills are hit or miss but some are just downright cool as you pull them off. Otherwise, the controls are very responsive and give me a mobile experience I have been looking for.
Sound
After fiddling around with the settings, I managed to find a good blend of music in the background and atmosphere in the foreground and while it may not be much immersive sound, it’s still enough to give you a feel of being in the Big Easy in the 1700s. A lot of French speaking citizens, building noises and some of the usual sounds to give a nice ambiance for a game like this; it works for what it is.
Graphics
While it is one of the best looking games to appear on the Vita since Uncharted, it also suffers from some of the same glitches of the consoles where there are weird clipping errors and NPC bugs which can cause a flower to attack when he shouldn’t be attacking and people who blink in and out of scenery. It’s not game breaking however, but on the other hand the game is indeed gorgeous and one can see the contrast between this and Boston.
Other cool things one may like
One of the things I really like is that Aveline can change costumes near the appropriate buildings and each costume has its own set of strengths and weaknesses. Also for each costume, there are different alerts. She can even charm or bribe officers to help her get to places that she needs to go and that within itself is why I like what they did with this character. They let her act like a female and use her ‘feminine whiles’ to distract as she gets her missions done and that is just one of the many weapons at her disposal.
Conclusion
This is pretty much the experience one can hope to imagine for the PS Vita. While so far it may not have the best story, graphically speaking and control wise, it’s a good mobile Assassin’s Creed experience one can get while on the go.
3.5 out of 5.
Webster Style 