Assassin’s Creed III Preview: The Story & The Multiplayer

Developer: Ubisoft Montreal / Publisher: Ubisoft / Release Date: October 30, 2012 / Platforms: Xbox 360, PS3, PC, Wii U / ESRB: Mature [Blood, Intense Violence, Sexual Themes, Strong Language]

Recently, our team spent some time taking an in-depth look at Ubisoft’s sure-to-be Fall blockbuster, Assassin’s Creed III, as well as the upcoming Vita-exclusive, Assassin’s Creed III Liberation. From the story, to the multiplayer, to bringing the Assassin’s experience to a mobile device, we’ve got everything a person with an affinity for the hidden blade could hope for.

In a franchise that deploys yearly installments such as Assassin’s Creed, it’s important for new players to know the level of accessibility for the story. Regardless if you know of Desmond Mile’s history or not, I was assured that new players will have no problem getting to know the new protagonist.

“Conner’s story is completely self-contained with a beginning, middle, and end.”

After combing the comments on previous Machinima videos for ACIII, we’ve noticed a theme: What is going on with Desmond? Assassin’s Creed: Revelations Creative Director Alex Amancio told us in a previous interview that ACIII would be the end of Desmond’s story line, as was set up by previous installments in the franchise. December 2012 is rapidly approaching, so I had to inquire, what is going on with Desmond and the people of the First Civilization?

“There is payoff…There are answers to be had, whether or not people will be happy with them…but there are answers.”

Well, I guess you can’t accuse of us of giving spoilers!

 First debuted at San Diego Comic-Con earlier this year, ACIII multiplayer has lots of new features to offer including new modes Wolfpack and Domination. The Domination mode is exactly what you think it is, capture and defend strategic points A, B, and C. The teams are 4 versus 4 and all characters on each team are identical.

Even more interesting is Wolfpack, a new cooperative mode that has players working together against enemy AI. Your team acquires more points by striking targets simultaneously and by doing it as stealthily as possible. There are a total of 25 sequences to master, and each successful kill earns your team more time to reach the next sequence.

What we really found interesting is the new depth of customization offered, including new ranged weapons like the poison darts. You can also change the face of your character along with more options for costume upgrades. Plus you can even change your taunt and ground kill moves.

Ubisoft also increased the social interaction in multiplayer by adding a new Dare System to use with your friends. Each time you play a new mode, you’ll have a challenge to beat a friends score in a specific aspect of play. There is also the new Abstergo Ladder.

“The Abstergo Ladder is a ranking system based on your skills, this is worldwide…it is based on skills not time of play.”

Damien told us that they wanted to reward people for their skill with stealth kills and not just who has played the longest. He told me there will also be a Season Pass for DLC content but would not provide any specific details on the cost or content of the pass.

Widely considered to be one of the most exciting titles for Sony’s PlayStation Vita, ACIII: Liberation features a female protagonist named Aveline de Grandpre. I dive into her history in the interview, but I was curious on the crossover between the two titles.

“Depending on whether you have your PlayStation connected to your Vita you may have a chance to take on some his [Conner's] weapons or play in Conner’s skin.”

This certainly is exciting news to anyone lucky enough to own both a PS3 and a PSVita. There has been a lot of chatter about the connectivity between the two devices but few games have really shown true crossover content. Perhaps ACIII will really show us what can be achieved.

“It’s much bigger than anyone is anticipating…it is the Assassin’s Creed you know and love but scaled to a portable device.”