E3 2012: Assassin's Creed III Gameplay Demo

We've been excited about Assassin's Creed III ever since we found out about its stake in Amercian American history.  I mean, what's more awesome than giving King George's men a tomahawk to the head?

After a few trailers, we've finally got our eyeballs on a demo of actual gameplay, and it looks fantastic.

Running on the brand new engine Ubisoft-AnvilNext, the demo showcased American Assassin, Ratohnhaké:ton Connor, taking on an assassination of a British Templar.

Courtesy of IGN.com

Through the narrow, snow covered forests (a stark contrast to the sweeping vistas of the cities of the past), Connor leaped and parkour'd through the trees to tackle a dangerous... deer.  Connor snagged some fresh meat, and took on some wolves, Liam Neeson-style.  The assassin headed back to an American camp through thick snowdrifts (which seem to appropriately slow your movement), and we see that the meat was to fulfill a sidequest, which can be overheard and activated as you walk through town (a la Mass Effect 3) to be tackled at your leisure.

Connor then activates the main quest to take down the Templar.  With new weapons at his disposal, Connor hops through the trees and performs a Batman-style hanging takedown, hooking the unsuspecting Redcoat and hanging him from a tree.

The game features the silky smooth, near freeflow combat that we've come to know, as Connor singlehandedly takes down a troop.  Using their weapons against them, Connor switches between his tomahawk, gun, and his enemies' bayonets to take down an entire troop.

Air assassinations are still in full play, and look as awesome as ever.  Plus, at the end of the demo, we see now that Connor can now grab weapons while he's running after his prey, to ultimately use in the final kill (a stolen rifle was used in an air assassination!)

Assassin's Creed III will span 30 years of history - from before, during, and after the Revolutionary War.  During that time, Connor will be set on a journey to become America's first Master Assassin, making his way through cities and the wilderness in both summer and in the winter, offering a variety of gameplay aspects never seen before in an Assassin's Creed game.  This is a welcome change, considering that all previous games remained entirely in the same general setting during their entire campaigns.  (Of course, this made sense in Altair's Jerusalem, where they don't have seasons, but it would have been a welcome change during Ezio's reign in Europe.)

I cannot wait to get my hands on this game, and thankfully I don't have to wait too long.  Assassin's Creed III will be released on Halloween later this year for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC.

Assassin's Creed III Trailer Revealed

Ubisoft's countdown clock reached zero today, revealing the first teaser trailer for the much leaked Assassin's Creed III, the next entry into the Assassin's Creed franchise due out later this year.

I admit: while I do enjoy the thought of giving some poor bastard a tomahawk to the forehead, I can't help but notice the distinct lack of hidden blade in this trailer.  The hidden blade has become a staple in the Assassin's arsenal, so I hope it does make its way back to the game eventually.  Regardless, the idea of fighting alongside George Washington as he leads the colonies to war is pretty damn cool.

Along with the trailer, Ubisoft released some details about our protagonist.  Desmond will be stepping into the moccasins of the half-Native American, half-English Ratohnhaké:ton (pronounced Ra-doon-ha-gay-doo'), although he'll also go by "Connor" to the delight of, well, everyone.  Due to the severe lack of tall buildings in Colonial America, Connor will have to traverse the thick forests for high ground (as the trailer implies), complete with coincidental bales of hay to "Leap of Faith" into, no doubt.

Assassin's Creed III will also mark the first game using the new in-house game engine, Ubisoft-AnvilNext, which promises "breakthroughs in visual quality, character models, and AI."  Hopefully, this will breathe a little life into the series, as the gameplay engine hasn't changed since the original Assassin's Creed was first released back in 2007.

Assassin's Creed III is slated for release on October 30 for the Xbox 360, PS3, PC, and Wii U.

(PS: Does this mean that the Wii U will be released on or before October 30? Could be a possibility! We'll be sure to keep you informed if it does!)

Assassin's Creed III Tells King George To Stuff It

While there have been many leaks sneaking out over the past few days, Ubisoft (via their Facebook page) officially shows us that their recently-announced Assassin's Creed III will take place during the American Revolution.

No more details are known about the game, save for its release date (October 30), so there's still plenty more to revealed in the coming months - such as the name of the protagonist into whom Desmond will be Animus'ing and how this ties to Desmond himself, since this is his last entry into the Assassin's Creed series.

There are plenty of options for the game's direction, and there are plenty of red-coated targets to pursue during the American War of Independence.  I admit, this one's gotten me a little excited - having lived on the East Coast (almost) my whole life, we'll probably be shanking Templars in places that I've visited frequently.

And that sounds awesome.

Assassin's Creed III is slated for released on October 30 of this year for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC.

Assassin's Creed III Set for Release on October 30

The most recent Assassin's Creed game, Assassin's Creed: Revelations, made its way to gamer's hands on November 15 of last year.  Not even waiting a year for the next installment in the stabby, pseudo time-traveling franchise, Ubisoft announced today in an investor conference call that Assassin's Creed III will be released on October 30 this year.

No further details were provided on the game, but we know from previous reports that this game will feature a new protagonist in a new time period/locale, as the previous game concluded the stories of Altair ibn La'Ahad and Ezio Auditore da Firenze. (And yes, I did just write those names out from memory to show that I could.)

Additionally, Assassin's Creed III will conclude Desmond Miles's story of his struggle against the Templars, opening the door for a new trilogy (or, in Desmond's case, poorly numbered pentalogy) starring a new Animus user with a different ancestral line to explore.

I'm happy for a new Assassin's Creed game, of course.  I have certainly enjoyed the the last few installments.  But my heart still hurts over watching Kristen Bell Veronica Mars Lucy Stillman die at my hands.

E3 2011: 'Assassin's Creed: Revelations' Follows Ezio Following Altair

A little more haggard and a little more gray, legendary assassino Ezio Auditore da Firenze culminates his lifelong journey against the Templars in Assassin's Creed: Revelations.

Ezio travels from his home in Italy to follow the ghostly visage of the first great assassin, Altair.  Ezio will find himself in (Istanbul is) Constantinople and further onto Altair's home in Masyaf, unlocking seals that contain Altair's knowledge and essence to unravel the final truth.

It sounds like Desmond and the Animus won't be playing much of a role in this game, as it is Ezio who is finding and revisiting Altair's past through these seals.  (Although I'm willing to believe that the Animus's bleed effect is in full play.)

The aged Ezio has replaced one of his hidden blades with a hidden hook, which will allow the Italian assassin to zipline across maps and hook onto ledges.  When Ezio visits the life of Altair, being older since Assassin's Creed, the nine-fingered assassin has similarly evolved, although to what extent has yet to be revealed.

Assassin's Creed: Revelations is slated for Xbox 360 and PS3 this November.

'Assassin's Creed' Crazy Cool and Cunningly Creepy Collector's Edition

When Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood hits store shelves this holiday season, you'll be faced with a choice:  do I buy the crazy awesome collector's edition or am I boring?

Assuming you decide to pick the former, your copy of Brotherhood will come in a rather snazzy box complete with the game, an art book, a pair of in-game maps, a bonus disc with some extra and behind-the-scenes content, a map of Rome, the game's soundtrack, and a creepily mesmerizing jack-in-the-box of one of the new assassins.

Which assassin, you ask?  Well, that's up to you.  Order at Gamestop, and the Harlequin (pictured above) is up for grabs.  Order anywhere else, and you get the Doctor as your sure-to-cause-nightmares-in-your-children assassin du vivre.

The best part?  The collector's edition is only $100.  Consider me sold.

E3 2010 highlights: Ubisoft Press Conference

Ubisoft brought some star power to their press conference, bringing back the venerable Joel McHale to host the festivities.  Starting off with a Kinect demo of Child of Eden, the spiritual successor to Rez, Ubisoft opened by answering a question I never knew I wanted to ask: what would a manic conductor look like if he could shoot lasers out of his arms?

The demo was pretty damn awesome in the “crap, I have to buy Kinect now” kinda way, but Ubisoft had some more big announcements for us.

Here’s the rundown of the “Games You Can Feel”:

• Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood continues the story of Ezio Auditore da Firenze, as he leads the Sisterhood of Traveling Assassins in the fight against the Templars in 16th century Rome.  Releasing November 16, 2010, the game seems more action-packed than ever before.  The demo shows us the siege of Villa Auditore in Montereggioni by the Templars, and, damn, it gets hectic.
• Shaun White: Skateboarding brings an odd mix of Tony Hawk and Flower.  The game opens in a lifeless, grayscale world, but as Shaun White uses his magical skateboard, color and life populate the world.  The game gives you some freeform mechanics, allowing you to create rails and ramps to ride.
• LASER TAG FOR NO REASON!  I admit I didn’t see this one coming.
• Battle Tag is an IRL laser tag system that is “played away from the screen.”  Coming out at the end of the year, Battle Tag allows for up to 4v4 gameplay and is played in conjunction with the PC, which collects all of the Battle Tag data.  It looks fun, but I feel like it could have benefitted for another few minutes to explain what the fuck was going on.
• Innergy is a weird game, to say the least.  If you think about it, it’s arguable that it’s even a game.  Through some miracle of science, if you attach a sensor to your hand and breathe according to the game, you suddenly get healthier.  There is absolutely a benefit to controlling airflow – my voice teacher once told me that the body only gets enough air to survive, not to function.  Still, blame the engineer in me, but I am highly skeptical tuning your breathing will increase your immune system.
• Your Shape is another workout game using Kinect.  It looks good, but I have yet to see how it’s different from any other workout game.
• Raving Rabbids: Travel in Time comes out November 9th, exclusively on the Wii.
• Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Future Soldier looks frickin’ awesome.  I can’t put into words how much I enjoy this.  Just check out the gameplay video in the presser below.  Skip to 60:00.  It’s that great.
• Driver: San Francisco follows the John Tanner/Charles Jericho manhunt.  Playing as the undercover detective Tanner, you have to hunt down the crimelord and put him down once and for all.  The game now includes real, licensed cars, inspired by the 70s designs.  “Shift,” another new feature, allows Tanner to shift among any of the cars on the road, allowing for instant direction changes and tactical setups.
• Project Dust (working title.)  It exists.  That’s about all we know.  Coming Spring 2011.
• Rayman Origins brings the man vegetable thinagmajig to life in the current gen.  A side-scrolling platformer, Rayman Origins puts Rayman with a friend to take on the crazy creatures of the world.
• ManiaPlanet is a platform that lets users create their own games in the FPS, racer, and RPG genres.  All based upon the same PC creation systems, gamers get to make their own worlds and games and share them with the world.  Other users can then build upon those to create even more amazing games.  The racer platform, Trackmania 2, goes into beta in Q4 of this year, while the FPS platform, Shootmania, goes live Q1 of 2011.  The RPG platform, Questmania, is “coming soon.”
• Michael Jackson dancing game announced.  That’s all they showed.  The name.  And some people dancing to “Beat It.”  Uses Kinect, no doubt.

Watch the presser, courtesy G4tv!

PC Games - E3 2010 - Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood

Ubisoft DRM Fail

Ubisoft's recent implementation of their rather draconian version of DRM (currently in use with the critically acclaimed Assassin's Creed II and the upcoming Splinter Cell: Conviction, among many others) has officially returned to bite the law-abiding players right in the arse.

When Ubisoft announced their new plans for digital rights management in their PC games, many gamers were up-in-arms over the specifics.  Requiring a constant internet connection to "master servers," gameplay would actually terminate if the connection were severed in some way.  Ubisoft tried calming the outcry of the masses, stating that all save data would be collected in the cloud, allowing players to start right where they left off at any computer with an internet connection; but this, unsurprisingly, did little to appease the angry gamers.

Aside from the major inconvenience of not being able to play single-player campaigns offline (like when traveling), what if the master servers all crashed?  Could I feasibly wake up one morning and not be able to finish Ezio's quest because of problems half-a-world away?

Well, yes.

As of this morning, Ubisoft's DRM authentication servers went down, preventing all players from delivering Rodrigo Borgia his last breath, instead leaving gamers twiddling their thumbs.  A post on Ubisoft's forums have been set aflame with angry posts of gamers not being able to play their legally-purchased games.

Although admitting that servers weren't his department, a Ubisoft employee stated in the thread that he would try to get more information "first thing tomorrow," implying that nothing can/will be done for the time being.  We'll keep you apprised of any develops as they occur.  For now, dust off your console, or, dare I say, grab a book.

Update on March 7, 2010 at 10:07 PM by Fridgemaster

The employee, Ubi.Vigil, added an announcement in the Ubisoft forums stating:

Due to exceptional demand, we are currently experiencing difficulties with the Online Service Platform. This does not affect customers who are currently playing, but customers attempting to start a game may experience difficulty in accessing our servers. We are currently working to resolve this issue and apologize for any inconvenience.

I'm not entirely sure what constitutes "exceptional demand," but, when only a few games are using that online platform with many more slated for the future, I question the logic behind buying any Ubisoft PC game any time soon.