Assassins Creed III

[theotherspongey]

The following information is taken directly from http://assassinscreed.ubi.com/ac3/

General Information:

Assassin’s Creed III invites players to experience the untold story of the American Revolution through the eyes of a new Assassin, Connor.

Designed from the ground up over more than two years, Assassin’s Creed III takes one of gaming’s most beloved franchises to new heights.

The year is 1775. The American colonies are about to revolt. You are Connor, an assassin who has sworn to secure liberty for his people and his nation. To do so, you will hunt your enemies across a staggeringly large, open, and realistic world. You will unleash your lethal skills in a violent quest that will take you from chaotic city streets to blood-soaked battlefields in the hostile American wilderness and beyond. You will meet legendary heroes of American history, and together you will conspire to annihilate those who threaten Liberty itself.

Whether you use your predatory instincts to kill silently, or your fearsome arsenal to kill openly, one thing is clear: the world that the Assassins live in has become far more deadly. And so have you.

AnvilNext Information:


Experience the jaw-dropping power of Anvil Next, the all-new engine designed exclusively for Assassin’s Creed III.

The team spent three years building this revolutionary system from the ground up, and the results are nothing short of breathtaking.

It begins with stunning breakthroughs in motion-capture, animation, and AI technology, which deliver more realistic character animations and interactions than ever before. It continues with dynamic weather, seasons, and time, which significantly affect the world around you. And no all-new engine would be complete without a dramatically-expanded combat and stealth system. Take down your enemies with tomahawks, pistols, and more. Use your instinctual tracking skills to learn what happened after an event, and shape your future actions accordingly. Experience the true scope of war as thousands engage in battle.

Anvil Next delivers a next-generation Assassin’s Creed experience on current-generation systems.




Multiplayer Information

WANTED:


Free For All: 4 to 8 players
Game session: 1 round of 10 minutes

Your objective is to kill your designated TARGETS and avoid being killed by your PURSUERS. The higher your rank, the more PURSUERS will hunt you. The highest score wins. Quality kills will boost your score.

MANHUNT:


Team Mode: 4 to 8 players, 2 Teams
Game session: 2 rounds of 5 minutes

Each team takes turns pursuing the other team. Work together to kill your targets or hide with your allies and survive. Performing quality kills and hiding with your allies will boost your score.

DEATHMATCH:


Free For All: 4 to 8 players
Game session: 1 round of 10 minutes

Find and Kill assigned TARGETS and avoid being killed by your PURSUERS. Players compete in a small area without triggering CHASES or using the COMPASS. Quality kills will boost your score.

ARTIFACT ASSAULT:


Team Mode: 4 to 8 players, 2 Teams
Game session: 1 round of 10 minutes

Your objective is to score by stealing the enemy's artifact from their base and carrying it back to yours. When you're in your territory, you are a PURSUER, but once you move into enemy territory, you become a TARGET. The team with the highest score wins.

DOMINATION:


Team mode: 4 to 8 players, 2 Teams
Game session: 1 round of 10 minutes

Work together to CAPTURE TERRITORIES and DEFEND them from the OPPOSSING TEAM to score. The team who fills the SCORING GAUGE or obtains the highest score at the end of the COUNTDOWN wins.

ASSASSINATE:


Free For All: 4 to 8 players
Game session: 1 round of 10 minutes

Identify, acquire and assassinate the target of your choice. Avoid being killed by other players. Performing quality kills will boost your score.

WOLFPACK: (NEW)


WOLFPACK (OPEN) - STANDARD: 2 to 4 players without any restrictions
WOLFPACK (INVITE ONLY) - STANDARD: 1 to 4 players, session cannot be joined, use the invite & group system to play with your friend
WOLFPACK (INVITE ONLY) - DIFFICULT: Invite only restrictions with more difficult Target behaviors and higher score thresholds
WOLFPACK (INVITE ONLY) - HARDCORE: Invite only restrictions with the hardest Target behaviors and the highest score thresholds

WOLFPACK is a non adversarial mode where 1 to 4 players coordinates their actions to maximize their score by eliminating waves of enemies in order to reach the next SCORE THRESHOLD before the end of the SEQUENCE COUNTDOWN.


Multiplayer Maps


All maps have 3 variations: Daytime and Clear, Night time, and Weather

Boston Harbor

Northwest Passage

New York Brewery

Fort Wolcott

Virginia Plantation

Boston - North End

Animus Core (malfunctioned during loading of New York)

 

[gtone339]

Wow, even though I haven't played any assassins creed titles this sure seems interesting!

American Revolution, fighting along side General George Washington against the british! 👍

 

[edawg456]

I'm excited for this game. Can't wait till it comes out

 

[ParkourVeyron]

Screw you, spongey! You beat me to it! I was expecting a big reveal at E3, and I was going to start this thread then. Gah!

Anyway, I'm super psyched for this. Revelations was an enormous let-down for me. Awful ending. Awful ending because there was no big boss battle or anything. Just a stroll through Masyaf.

And it's a good thing that horses will be back, it sucked going around Constantinople on foot.

Oh, and one more thing:

Full details will be announced on the 5th.

 

[Cowboys965]

I haven't even beaten Revelations.

It feels like all I'm doing is running around finding books and going through non-puzzling tunnels.

 

[ParkourVeyron]

Did you play Brotherhood, Cowboys? If you did then be prepared for a less-than-climatic ending in Revelations. I actually enjoyed finding the keys and playing through Altair's memories, but sadly that's about the most exciting part of the game.

 

[Cowboys965]

Did you play Brotherhood, Cowboys? If you did then be prepared for a less-than-climatic ending in Revelations. I actually enjoyed finding the keys and playing through Altair's memories, but sadly that's about the most exciting part of the game.

Yes. I did play that. Sparta throw ending? Lol

 

[ParkourVeyron]

Sparta throw? Whadda you mean?

Oh, I just got it.

 

[Famine]

Totally called it:

Now... I don't imagine that they have to move forward in time for the various regional ancestors who may have discovered clues to their vaults or pieces, but they probably will (I recall something about Ezio being the furthest back, strongest memory besides Altair for Desmond... or something, possibly something to do with handling pieces of Eden). Since we're probably moving forwards in time and Desmond lives in North America (and, furthermore, he can only remember direct descendants), North America is most likely. From the various Animus puzzles from AC2 depicting historical figures, I'd agree that the most likely time period will be Revolutionary War era United States - previous non-Templar holders of an Apple include Nikola Tesla and George Washington and Washington DC is one of the North American locations for a piece of Eden...

I also guessed that the Assassin's name would be Guile or something similar - Altair (the Bird) is a star in the constellation Aquila (the Eagle) and Ezio is the Latin form of the Greek word for Eagle, Eagle-vision being common to Altair's antecedents and "Guile" having the same root as Aquila. I'll suggest that since he's a Native American he'll just have a generic name like "Sees Like Eagle" or something.

Looking forward to AC3 more than any other game in the last five years. Should be an epic conclusion to Desmond's story.

 

[ParkourVeyron]

Anybody else notice that Mr. Main Protagonist's hatchet is shaped like the Assassin Crest?

 

[ParkourVeyron]

Update! Screenshots just surfaced on Reddit a few hours ago! I don't normally double post but it's been 2+ hours and this is big:

Hunting deer and climbing trees have just become a new possibility are now confirmed.

 

[Tom.]

Never liked the other AC's but this looks pretty awesome, the setting/time period mainly.

 

[MagpieRacer]

Love the series and have been dying to get at 3 since I finished 2, played brotherhood and revelations on and off but its 3 I want. Sounding very interesting so far! Can't wait!

 

[ParkourVeyron]

More info: (all of this I got from trust-worthy sources, and why is the March 5th reveal in the unconfirmed category?)

-The new character is named Conner (originally born Ratohnhakéton)
-He is half Mohawk, half British (Indian mother and British father)
-He will carry a hidden blade
-He carries two flintlock pistols (Dual wielding FTW!)
-He can climb trees.
Source for the above.
-It appears that the weather will change according to the seasons (we've seen a cloudy overcast, rain and snow so far)
Source for the weather.
-There will be 3 maps: Boston, New York, and the Frontier (the Frontier map is 1.5 times bigger than the map of Rome in Brotherhood!)
-Hunting and pelt gathering will play a part in the game. (I'm starting to love the fact that Conner will most likely live off the land instead of Ezio's city-slicker way of life)
For the above.

That's about all I could dig up. I've seen in places before that they've been working on this since 2. Since 2! The map will be huge, I mean, if just the wilderness part of the game is 1.5 times larger than the map in Brotherhood, New York and Boston will each be decent-sized.

 

[jcm]

Awesome!!!!! I loved all the Assassin's Creed's so far, and I can't wait for this one. Also, I thought the ending of Revelations was good, and it's sort of refreshing to not have a boss battle for the ending.

 

[Cowboys965]

I'm gonna miss the Medival setting. But that colonial setting looks way cool though.

 

[gtone339]

Update! Screenshots just surfaced on Reddit a few hours ago! I don't normally double post but it's been 2+ hours and this is big:

Hunting deer and climbing trees have just become a new possibility are now confirmed.

Liking the colonial setting so far.

 

[Techy]

I like it. I personally idolize the AC series (although I don't have all the games yet ), and how they all connect. I wonder how this Conner fellow will link up to the Creed. On the other hand, I'm not too hyped up about this game.

 

[ParkourVeyron]

Awesome!!!!! I loved all the Assassin's Creed's so far, and I can't wait for this one. Also, I thought the ending of Revelations was good, and it's sort of refreshing to not have a boss battle for the ending.

It would've been OK if the game was actually challenging. But it wasn't challenging whatsoever. And it probably would've been a lot better if Ezio leap-hugged one last tyrant before he retired.

On the other hand, I'm not too hyped up about this game.

You should be. It's been in production for 3 years and (from what I've heard) has double the budget and man-hours of Revelations. It will have a brand new game engine capable of having 1,000+ people on the screen at one time. It will have seasons and there's already 3 confirmed maps. It's going to be huge. Probably GOTY huge.

Nothing new in the way of news. Can't wait until Monday. (Yes, I'm actually looking forward to Monday.)

 

[CMvan46]

You can tell from those screenshots that the new engine is definitely paying off. This could definitely be THQ's last piece before truly becoming a AAA publisher.

Looks good and interesting to change up the setting for this installment but I look forward to more news.

 

[F1 fan]

This could definitely be THQ's last piece before truly becoming a AAA publisher.

THQ? Am I missing something?

The new game looks great. I hope this can be as fresh as AC2. Still the best moment in the series IMO, but I have high hopes for this. I had been hoping for Jack the ripper era London, but I think they've picked a better setting.

 

[Mr. S]

THQ? Am I missing something?

The new game looks great. I hope this can be as fresh as AC2. Still the best moment in the series IMO, but I have high hopes for this. I had been hoping for Jack the ripper era London, but I think they've picked a better setting.

I might've missed something there, too.

Plus Ubisoft is already an AAA publisher, no doubt.

 

[Famine]

It would've been OK if the game was actually challenging. But it wasn't challenging whatsoever. And it probably would've been a lot better if Ezio leap-hugged one last tyrant before he retired.

Pfft. The ending to ACR was awesome - but like a knife in the heart at the same time. The ACB ending was a little awkward but (and probably because) inevitable - while AC2's was brilliant.

I'll hazard a guess that Connor's native American surname (Iroquois? Looks like an Iroquois language from the pronunciation) translates to "Sees like Eagle"

 

[Mr. S]

ACR was awesome - yet, I hope the next installment will come without things like the "Desmond levels". That was like Portal, just worse.

 

[ParkourVeyron]

Pfft. The ending to ACR was awesome - but like a knife in the heart at the same time. The ACB ending was a little awkward but (and probably because) inevitable - while AC2's was brilliant.

Let me say that I've never played AC2. I will be dropping $20 on it soon though.

ACR's ending was awesome, because three different ends met at one point. But, I didn't like what Ezio dropped at the end. (if you know what I mean) And how nothing was personal in ACR. There was no tyrant that stripped you of your rank and forced you to fetch it like a dog, there was no person that killed your family, and nobody destroyed your home and killed (yet another) a member of your family. Nobody was really a big threat to the Assassin order.

Now, what was like a knife in the heart to you?

I'll hazard a guess that Connor's native American surname (Iroquois? Looks like an Iroquois language from the pronunciation) translates to "Sees like Eagle"

You're really stuck on that prediction of yours. Worried that you might be wrong for once? Conner's part Mohawk, part British. Where would the Iroquois part come from?

Now, for some semi-news:

Assassin's Creed III is on everybody's mind following the big reveal that the franchise will be tackling the New World in the Revolutionary War.

The franchise's most recent installment has innumerable routes to explore, but eager fans are more than willing to do their part to obtain freedom from the corruption of the Templars.

While your adventure may not begin until October, starting as early as March 10th you can secure your own piece of templar treasure. Best Buy and FutureShop have secured an early pre-order that will be hitting their shelves very soon. This G1-sized steelbook boasts some superb artwork and great for fans and collectors alike.

Now to the question on everybody's mind. How does one secure their own steelbook?

Simply find the case in store, typically located in Best Buy's gaming department, and place a $5 pre-order deposit on Assassin's Creed III. At this point the steelbook is yours and the deposit will then be deducted from your purchase of the full game in October*.

A rumor is currently floating about that Gamestop will also be receiving a steelbook, but there seems to be no confirmation one way or the other. Personally, I suggest getting in on this deal early because this particular bonus is one that will undoubtedly go fast.

I'm not done. This is a round-up of all the good information from the Game Informer magazine:

-Want it to be a jumping on point for new players without losing touch with what longtime fans cherish most.
-New hero called Connor/Ratohnhake:ton (pronounced Ra-doon-ha-gay-doo). He has an English father and Native American mother.
-More details about the protagonist/scenarios: You will experience Conner's childhood on the American frontier as he is raised by the Mohawk. The Mohawk eventually clash with white colonists who burn their village down, causing Connor to dedicate his life to confront tyranny and injustice.
-A new traversal approach that has players leaping and climbing trees and mountain cliffs.
-Uses a new version of the Anvil engine that can "depict thousands of troops engaged in bloody battle" along with highly detailed face close-ups. They later imply that if they used version numbers, they would be like going from Anvil 1.0 -> Anvil 2.0 or something of that nature.
-Judging by the images, the faces really are quite good.
-Combat is focused on putting you on the offensive and based on speed/momentum.
-The main character has thousands of new and unique animations (no carry over from other titles) to support the new combat system.
-Character details:
-George Washington: Interacting with Washington is one of the core relationships of the game.
-Benjamin Franklin: He's not a convenient inventor a la Da Vinci.
-Charles Lee: His role is a mystery.
-The game is set between the years 1753-1783 and is centered around the cities of Boston and New York.
-"It's not just going to a historical building now; it's going to a historical event."
-Event examples: "You will see the great fire of New York. You will visit Valley Forge as a location that is currently occupied by Washington's forces. You will visit these places in the moment that they were important, and hopefully, experience the reason why we know where they are today. That's the goal."
-Connor is in the heart of major battles, and they can now have a couple thousand guys on screen, whereas before it was capped at about 100.
-The overall story is still centered around the Assassins versus the Templars and Connor's journey.
-Not all the Colonists will be cast as good people, and not all the British will be cast as evil oppressors. They're trying to focus on how both the Assassins and Templars viewpoints exist in a gray morality as the Templars really believe they're saving the world.
-The French and Native Americans will also feature in the game, as was probably really obvious.
-The modern day stuff relates to that location in New York at the end of Revelations.
-There will be all sorts of wilderness in the game referred to as the Frontier.
-The map of the Frontier is 1.5 times bigger than the entire map of Brotherhood.
-The Frontier is not empty like in Assassin's Creed 1, but features a third of the game's missions and gameplay content.
-The Frontier also includes colonial settlements like Lexington and Concord and Connor's Mohawk village.
-You can hunt animals for resources, and how you kill them effects your reward. A one hit kill on a bear gets you a much more valuable pelt than stabbing it eight times.
-The wilderness traversal plays a big part in the gameplay in the Frontier, allowing you to use trees, cliffs, ledges, and more to set up kills and combat.
-Connor does have a hidden blade.
-The world changes as time passes, so a field where a battle happened in one year may just be a series of empty encampments a few months later.
-The entire world will change with seasons, so the cities and the wilderness will all exist in both Summer and Winter settings.
-In the winter, soldiers will move slowly and stumble about in the snow, and lakes and rivers will freeze over allowing you new terrain to work with. This gives Connor an extra advantage since he can still use the trees and wilderness pretty effectively during this time of year.
-There are all sorts of clubs and groups who want you to join and give you quests. These are separate from the mission system. These clubs will contact you based on what you do in the game. For example, hunting a lot will get you an invitation to the hunting society.
-There will be a goods based economy, a new property system, and more Desmond stuff.
-There's going to be some new puzzle thing like the first person Tetris.
-There's a new GUI known as Animus 3.0.
-There's a new Animus database written by Shaun Hastings, who makes snarky comments about the British perspective of the war.
-They're not unveiling anything about the multiplayer yet.
-There will be more platforming levels.
-Full synchronization returns, but with major tweaks. Missions have checkpoints, You also get significant rewards for doing these tasks instead of a 100%. "Imagine a leveling system in an RPG, except there's a finite amount of XP to find. The more in-sync you get, the more you fill your sync bar. Within each mission, each activity you complete has a value". You can replay everything to increase your score.
-They imply there is something resembling the Brotherhood system of picking up fellow assassins.
-Aligned groups are gone, but something new is replacing them in regards to factions. They don't say what.
-There's a new notoriety system that is more hidden and doesn't penalize you for exploring risky areas.
-The game has fast travel because the game has more traveling.
-Don't expect more tower defense.
-You can upgrade Connor's gear and costume as the game goes on in an attempt to make it feel more authentic.
-The cities have a lot more subtle detail now in terms of ambient things that happen.
-You can now leap over wagons or slide under obstacles, including navigating over and around moving objects. The free running stuff also has you jumping through windows to trees and then on top of church roofs. Basically, expect the free running stuff, but more fluid and presumably generally closer to the ground.
-Connor enters battle with two weapons. The game uses the same controls in and out of battle.
-The tomahawk and knife are a "constant presence" in battle. They also let you do double counters and multiple takedowns, and you can chain kills.
-There's no more target locking, it just automatically detects your target. Counter/defense are the same button to prevent turtling.
-You can use human shields and other context sensitive moves.
-They want you to constantly move in battle.
-There are lots of secondary attacks like the one shot pistol on the Y button.
-There's a new dynamic camera to track the action and make it look as cinematic as possible.
-There is a new sprinting system also, so you can hold the button to instantly turn around and start fleeing from combat. They also let you kill people while still moving so you can keep chasing a target. They kind of imply you can even leap off of them after you kill them, though I'm not sure if that makes you faster or just doesn't impede your movement.
-They really, really, really want you to constantly move. I mean like they say this every four sentences. Not just in battle, but in every section of the game.
-They also try to keep you more in control of the combat than ever before.
-Game Informer really loves their animation system.
-There are around 2.5 hours of character scenes in the game that are fully acted and recorded. They mean this in Naughty Dog style where they have the actors being mocaped while performing on a set that resembles the scene in the game.
-They're aiming for accuracy by having historical dialog consultants and actual Native American actors.
-This game has the longest development cycle since AC1, and has twice the production capacity (in terms of work hours) and budget of Revelations.
-They want the game to feel like AC3.5, and the game will have its first version complete in just a few more weeks, at which point they're going to spend the rest of their time refining it.

 

[Recon]

I'm glad to see this thread, lots of spoilers so far. And if Famine's predictions hold true, I would only be playing for the assassin's story anyway

 

[Techy]

You should be. It's been in production for 3 years and (from what I've heard) has double the budget and man-hours of Revelations. It will have a brand new game engine capable of having 1,000+ people on the screen at one time. It will have seasons and there's already 3 confirmed maps. It's going to be huge. Probably GOTY huge.

Nothing new in the way of news. Can't wait until Monday. (Yes, I'm actually looking forward to Monday.)

Amazing! I never knew that before! Perhaps I'll give this game a go.

 

[ParkourVeyron]

Amazing! I never knew that before! Perhaps I'll give this game a go.

I'd normally think you're being sarcastic, but knowing your personality I don't think you are. This game is going to be huge, they even said that they're trying to put a next-generation game on a current-generation console. That says something.

The reveal is supposed to happen at around 8:30 AM PST, (translates to 11:30 AM here) though an exact time hasn't been set. Over 7 months until the game comes out, though. Wow. I honestly don't think I'll be able to wait that long.

One of the reasons I'm so hyped up about this is because I live in an extremely history-rich area. I've been to Williamsburg, Jamestown, Yorktown, Ferry Farm, (look it up) and not to mention a slew of Civil War battlefields, so seeing a game with so much American History in it makes me go through the roof with excitement. I have a very good understanding of what it was like to live back then, so even thinking about being able to explore a few different colonies is awesome.

 

[gtone339]

Under 13 hours to go guys. 👍

 

[F1 fan]

Let me say that I've never played AC2. I will be dropping $20 on it soon though.

Then you haven't played the finest game in the whole series. I assure you it will be well worth the $20 you pay for it.