Assassin's Creed 3 Review

If you've got any specific questions, ask 'em here. I'll answer them as soon as I can

I didn't read the review as I'm tryin to avoid just about everything in it though, but what of the game stability, given that there was apparently a large patch out day one?

so far the previous games have given us plenty of insight into the lives of ezio and altair but theres still a bunch of questions surrounding desmond the so called main character

so will we get any answers on his fate?

What is the new multiplayer Wolfpack mode like?

I didn't read the review as I'm tryin to avoid just about everything in it though, but what of the game stability, given that there was apparently a large patch out day one?

I was very careful to avoid spoilers, and this is a very difficult game to review without spoiling.

The large patch, as far as I'm aware, isn't stability issues. It ran fine.

There were some problems in the build we reviewed from, in terms of map markers not appearing, making the Liberation missions particularly challenging (but not impossible), and Homestead characters not being where they were supposed to be, leaving us with some trading recipes inaccessible. We noticed these, asked about them, and told they were known issues.

Since the review, Ubisoft provided us with a fresh build of the game, and the problems appeared to be fixed. That's why these problems don't appear in the review.

I only bought ACII recently, and I honestly fail to see what the hype is about. I appreciate people look for different things in games, but for me it was a game with a complete absence of challenge.

The combat is weak. The parkour is weak. The missions are repetitive. I know people will disagree, but the story and acting felt to me like a Saturday morning cartoon. I like a game with a bit of adrenaline. Where losing is a setback. To me this seems like a casual game in hardcore clothing.

What is the new multiplayer Wolfpack mode like?

I'm not keen on it, but I might have been poisoned by the fact I was playing with strangers. You need to be very tight, and it's just a washout if you can't pull off your synchronised kills or organise who's going after who.

To my mind - it's a lot of back-and-forthing around a medium-sized map, and lacks the intrigue and tension of the competitive multiplayer modes. The only tension is the clock, and I'm not a fan of timer-based clenchdrama.

The competititve modes remain excellent, and there's a lot more encouragement in the form of awards and help text.

I only bought ACII recently, and I honestly fail to see what the hype is about. I appreciate people look for different things in games, but for me it was a game with a complete absence of challenge.

The combat is weak. The parkour is weak. The missions are repetitive. I know people will disagree, but the story and acting felt to me like a Saturday morning cartoon. I like a game with a bit of adrenaline. Where losing is a setback. To me this seems like a casual game in hardcore clothing.

I can see where you're coming from. I never really thought of it as a hardcore game, though. It's more a game of pretty systems.

If you don't buy into the story, there's a chunk of AC that's missing for you. If you do, however, AC3 is going to blow you away. The lack of mystery and holding back is a real surprise for a series that's become defined by it.

Even the fact that I don't like Connor that much is fine, in terms of the story. He's not Ezio, and you're not supposed to like Connor.

I only bought ACII recently, and I honestly fail to see what the hype is about. I appreciate people look for different things in games, but for me it was a game with a complete absence of challenge.

The combat is weak. The parkour is weak. The missions are repetitive. I know people will disagree, but the story and acting felt to me like a Saturday morning cartoon. I like a game with a bit of adrenaline. Where losing is a setback. To me this seems like a casual game in hardcore clothing.

I can see where you're coming from. I never really thought of it as a hardcore game, though. It's more a game of pretty systems.

If you don't buy into the story, there's a chunk of AC that's missing for you. If you do, however, AC3 is going to blow you away. The lack of mystery and holding back is a real surprise for a series that's become defined by it.

Even the fact that I don't like Connor that much is fine, in terms of the story. He's not Ezio, and you're not supposed to like Connor.

Thanks for not rising to my grumpy bait! To be honest I probably will pick it up sometime and give it a spin.
Love the work - keep it up!

Thanks for not rising to my grumpy bait! To be honest I probably will pick it up sometime and give it a spin.
Love the work - keep it up!

You sound like you really dislike it which is fair enough, but then you'll buy it sometime? Can one assume you are looking to bait people?

Thanks for the update Log, once I've played some if it I'll get round to reading the review. If I'm fairly certain I'm going to get something I'll get a generally idea of whether it's any good from several reviews and if it gets decent scores I know it's fine. If it gets some oddly low ones I'll read before buying.

Loved the last games though so looking forward to this. AC2 has probably been the best game I've played on 360.

so far the previous games have given us plenty of insight into the lives of ezio and altair but theres still a bunch of questions surrounding desmond the so called main character

so will we get any answers on his fate?

Spoiler-free answer: Yes.

Thanks for the update Log, once I've played some if it I'll get round to reading the review. If I'm fairly certain I'm going to get something I'll get a generally idea of whether it's any good from several reviews and if it gets decent scores I know it's fine. If it gets some oddly low ones I'll read before buying.

No worries. For the full experience, I'd probably go in without reading reviews myself. The main faults I have are with the economy and the weaker side missions. Too much of it appears to be simply to distance you from 100% Sync

Overall, a very big disappointment for me. I'm a big AC fan, and I was confident this was going to get a 9 or even a 10, but I'm not happy with an 8, I would have thought that 3 years of effort would have been enough to push this to a higher score.

Overall, a very big disappointment for me. I'm a big AC fan, and I was confident this was going to get a 9 or even a 10, but I'm not happy with an 8, I would have thought that 3 years of effort would have been enough to push this to a higher score.

Scores of 8 or above in the magazine receive a "Must Buy" sticker.

It's good enough to warrant that - especially if you're a fan of the story.

Could you give us a little more detail about the Homestead missions please Sir 'Award Winning Pie Ninja' Log Sir please?

Do these skilled workers and artisans do more than just create goods for sale? Can they be used to expand the settlement? Do you need to build log pallisades?/ At risk of attack and need guards for it? What about the trade? Are there a number of different ports that have variable trade values for different commodities? Is there a large number of commodities? Could the trade actually be played as its own little sub-game if you were interested in just building an economy and being a successful trader?

so far the previous games have given us plenty of insight into the lives of ezio and altair but theres still a bunch of questions surrounding desmond the so called main character

so will we get any answers on his fate?

Spoiler-free answer: Yes.

Damn you just spoiled it

Overall, a very big disappointment for me. I'm a big AC fan, and I was confident this was going to get a 9 or even a 10, but I'm not happy with an 8, I would have thought that 3 years of effort would have been enough to push this to a higher score.

Scores of 8 or above in the magazine receive a "Must Buy" sticker.

It's good enough to warrant that - especially if you're a fan of the story.

I shockingly have to agree. I was expecting a 9 as a minimum with the of chance of a 10 so the rating of 8 sort of killed a bit of my eagerness to play.

However i'm in love with the AC story-line so this is still a must buy.

You fickle, fuppin baxters. Oh it doesn't get an arbitrary number that I wanted it to get. Get over it, do you not actually read reviews for the content and the general gist of whether it is good or not? I found it to be an excellent peice of informative writing, and well worth a buy. Or did you not understand what I just wrote because I didn't use numbers and words you are familiar with, I'll write a pop-out book next time.

Erm, apologies for that. I needed to do that.

You fickle, fuppin baxters. Oh it doesn't get an arbitrary number that I wanted it to get. Get over it, do you not actually read reviews for the content and the general gist of whether it is good or not? I found it to be an excellent peice of informative writing, and well worth a buy. Or did you not understand what I just wrote because I didn't use numbers and words you are familiar with, I'll write a pop-out book next time.

Erm, apologies for that. I needed to do that.

meeeeooooow

I was thinking more 'grr'. Tony Tiger style. A cat will do though I suppose.

You fickle, fuppin baxters. Oh it doesn't get an arbitrary number that I wanted it to get. Get over it, do you not actually read reviews for the content and the general gist of whether it is good or not? I found it to be an excellent peice of informative writing, and well worth a buy. Or did you not understand what I just wrote because I didn't use numbers and words you are familiar with, I'll write a pop-out book next time.

Erm, apologies for that. I needed to do that.

*cough cough* umm wow. just wow.

I was only bringing up the point that after a great review i was surprised that the rating was not an 8.... Easy tiger, easy.

No worries. For the full experience, I'd probably go in without reading reviews myself. The main faults I have are with the economy and the weaker side missions. Too much of it appears to be simply to distance you from 100% Sync

Those were the main faults with brotherhood so not too bothered by that myself, cheers. Big thank you for the reviewer feedback with us plebs

Agree with Bezza too, 8 is a really good score so really don't understand only getting games 9 or above. Think Metro got mostly 7s but I thought that was a fantastic game.

I hope you take it in good humour, I don't intend to offend. My point rings true.

Bit of a disappointing review. Was expecting it to get 9/10 or more!

What's worse is the fact the it gets a patch update on first day of release - see link below. Not good.

http://www.latestnewsexplorer.com/assas ... -detailed/

I don't care what 'number' is assigned to it by a review. At the end of the day it's personal opinion. I certainly wouldn't avoid a game because it got a score 10% less than I expected. On the opposite end of the scale - I've bought games that were rated highly, but turned out to be utter crap (in MY opinion) such as Brink.

I've not read the review for fear of spoilers (despite Logs disclaimer in the comments). This was a pre-order for me the day it was available as such. I've played all the AC games including the facebook ones and love them. Would be rude not to play the 'final' chapter.

I'm in love with the series and the story. Log could give this a 4 and I still wouldn't cancel my preorder (just as well really since it's already too late)

Assuming the Great Award Winning Beard is still answering questions: What's Connor like as a person? You mention in one answer you aren't really supposed to like him but is he still someone you want to spend 30 odd hours with? One of the strengths of AC2 was that Ezio was someone that I wanted to see get revenge because he was so well built up. Has Connor gone back more to the Altair cypher approach or does he still get a strong story?

Could you give us a little more detail about the Homestead missions please Sir 'Award Winning Pie Ninja' Log Sir please?

Do these skilled workers and artisans do more than just create goods for sale? Can they be used to expand the settlement? Do you need to build log pallisades?/ At risk of attack and need guards for it? What about the trade? Are there a number of different ports that have variable trade values for different commodities? Is there a large number of commodities? Could the trade actually be played as its own little sub-game if you were interested in just building an economy and being a successful trader?

Homestead missions go like this:

You find ten people around the maps. They're marked on your maps with an icon (they weren't during the review, which made them extremely frustrating - that's been fixed).

After the first mission, they'll join your Homestead. Gatherers, like Miners, Hunters, and Farmers will gather stuff you can buy (it's not free - they're not slaves, Ubisoft are keen to say). Artisans don't make anything, but you need them to unlock the recipes you'll find.

Once you've got them on board, that's not it: most of them have at least one extra mission that levels them up. Think Mass Effect Loyalty missions, really - only much shorter an more numerous.

Warren and Prudence, the Farmers, can be levelled up three times with three missions, each time allowing their farm to produce new items. Lance the Woodworker can make barrels at level 1, but pretty much anything else and you'll need to do an extra mission.

Why are you making these things? For money, basically. You can trade the stuff you build on trade routes. (Other missions, like Privateer missions and Fort missions, have the side effect of reducing tax on these trades). It's a system that's much more intricate than AC2's regular income.

It's an intricate and somewhat baroque system, and the main reward is money - so it's a shame that there's not much useful to spend the money on. The most expensive upgrades are for your ship, and by the time the full homestead has unlocked, and you've collected the money, you've probably already done the ship-based missions to reduce the tax rates.

It's a bit of an economical Catch 22, really

I'm in love with the series and the story. Log could give this a 4 and I still wouldn't cancel my preorder (just as well really since it's already too late)

Assuming the Great Award Winning Beard is still answering questions: What's Connor like as a person? You mention in one answer you aren't really supposed to like him but is he still someone you want to spend 30 odd hours with? One of the strengths of AC2 was that Ezio was someone that I wanted to see get revenge because he was so well built up. Has Connor gone back more to the Altair cypher approach or does he still get a strong story?

Connor is naive and idealistic. Usually, that's supposed to be charming in a character. Maybe even a virtue. Here, it's a major fault. His naivety, and inability to coherently explain his position, makes the player question the rights and wrongs of everything. They've done a GREAT job with Connor. And I really can't say much more without spoilers.

I shockingly have to agree. I was expecting a 9 as a minimum with the of chance of a 10 so the rating of 8 sort of killed a bit of my eagerness to play.

However i'm in love with the AC story-line so this is still a must buy.

I'm glad you're still buying it. I worry about the upward crawl of game scores into areas where 7 is shit and 8 is OK. It's one of my beefs with giving a game a score in the first place. I say we go back to pencil drawings of facial expressions

Could you give us a little more detail about the Homestead missions please Sir 'Award Winning Pie Ninja' Log Sir please?

Do these skilled workers and artisans do more than just create goods for sale? Can they be used to expand the settlement? Do you need to build log pallisades?/ At risk of attack and need guards for it? What about the trade? Are there a number of different ports that have variable trade values for different commodities? Is there a large number of commodities? Could the trade actually be played as its own little sub-game if you were interested in just building an economy and being a successful trader?

Sorry: I'll now answer the questions you were actually asking.

No, you don't need to protect your settlement. You might, however, be called upon to defend attacks on your goods, as they're being transported.

There is a large number of commodities. You find them in chests, ten at a time. Which makes them feel slightly less special and important, really. You have to build every item for 100%, which also means fetching all the Almanac pages flying around the cities.

There is no log pallisade building.

The trade all happens from the account book in your manor. It's not the most intuitive system, but it's not baffling, either.

Could it be played as a sub-game? Not really - it's more a cash-based equivalent of the brotherhood missions in AC2:B

Could you give us a little more detail about the Homestead missions please Sir 'Award Winning Pie Ninja' Log Sir please?

Do these skilled workers and artisans do more than just create goods for sale? Can they be used to expand the settlement? Do you need to build log pallisades?/ At risk of attack and need guards for it? What about the trade? Are there a number of different ports that have variable trade values for different commodities? Is there a large number of commodities? Could the trade actually be played as its own little sub-game if you were interested in just building an economy and being a successful trader?

Homestead missions go like this:

You find ten people around the maps. They're marked on your maps with an icon (they weren't during the review, which made them extremely frustrating - that's been fixed).

After the first mission, they'll join your Homestead. Gatherers, like Miners, Hunters, and Farmers will gather stuff you can buy (it's not free - they're not slaves, Ubisoft are keen to say). Artisans don't make anything, but you need them to unlock the recipes you'll find.

Once you've got them on board, that's not it: most of them have at least one extra mission that levels them up. Think Mass Effect Loyalty missions, really - only much shorter an more numerous.

Warren and Prudence, the Farmers, can be levelled up three times with three missions, each time allowing their farm to produce new items. Lance the Woodworker can make barrels at level 1, but pretty much anything else and you'll need to do an extra mission.

Why are you making these things? For money, basically. You can trade the stuff you build on trade routes. (Other missions, like Privateer missions and Fort missions, have the side effect of reducing tax on these trades). It's a system that's much more intricate than AC2's regular income.

It's an intricate and somewhat baroque system, and the main reward is money - so it's a shame that there's not much useful to spend the money on. The most expensive upgrades are for your ship, and by the time the full homestead has unlocked, and you've collected the money, you've probably already done the ship-based missions to reduce the tax rates.

It's a bit of an economical Catch 22, really

Sounds both excellent and a tad disappointing. From playing Port Royale 3, I know how much fun a trading game can be (from the old PotC game on last gen Xbox too), but it's somewhat disappointing if all that time and effort doesn't really lead to anything except empty money.

Doesn't make any real difference tbh, I'll still be getting it, but it's nice to know so I don't get my hopes up then disappointed when they aren't realized.

Thanks for getting back to me, sensei.

Does anybody how big the update is? (Just wondering how long its going to take to download)

Does anybody how big the update is? (Just wondering how long its going to take to download)

Sorry don't know in Mb how big, but it took about 30 seconds on my 16mb connection.

It's 17mb, it took me around 30 seconds on my 1 mb connection, it was quizically fast.

What is the new multiplayer Wolfpack mode like?

its invite only to play with friends

Lucky sods, post has been and gone in my area and it looks like I won't be playing it today.

Lucky sods, post has been and gone in my area and it looks like I won't be playing it today.

same here

Anyone else think Desmond looks like Adam Sandler?

Lucky sods, post has been and gone in my area and it looks like I won't be playing it today.

same here

If it's any consolation - I can't get the missus off my copy to have a go myself.

If it's any consolation - I can't get the missus off my copy to have a go myself.

Oh man. Thats got to be even worse, especially avoiding spoilers

If it's any consolation - I can't get the missus off my copy to have a go myself.

Oh man. Thats got to be even worse, especially avoiding spoilers

Luckily I have two TVs, and I made her wear headphones once she got past where I got to. LOL

Luckily I have two TVs, and I made her wear headphones once she got past where I got to. LOL

I use handcuffs, a blind fold, candle wax and a paddle, more exciting that way.