POSTED 2/12/12


ASSASSIN'S CREED III

Ubisoft
PS3 (also on Xbox 360, PC, Wii U)

Ah, the fickleness of trendiness. Europe’s so last year, honey. America’s where it’s at now, just ask Desmond...

Yes, the Animus-ensconced hero who’s accompanied us – well, we’ve accompanied him - through several Assassin’s Creed jaunts is perfecting his twang and penchant for Twinkies as he takes on not only that old 21/12/12 Earth-go-boom-now chestnut, but also the 18th century American Revolution.

Don’t expect to be launched straight into all-out action though. ACIII takes a while to wind up – in fact you spend much time initially not even being the main protagonist, Ratonhndfjkfke... Ratonhnhdbsjihfgedfbgdsikhjbjkq... Umm, ‘Connor’ – a grumblebum Native American bloke.

The lines between movie and interactive fiction are blurred early, as you basically watch, or stab one or two buttons before more cinematicactivity. But patience is rewarded as things unfurl into an ambitious – very much so - extravaganza of bigness that’s part interactive history lesson and all super-engulfing. Sure, you’ll rub shoulders with historical dudes the likes of Paul Revere, Daniel Boone and Benny Franklin, but it’s the overall story that makes ACIII. You might expect it to be a jingoistic, RAH-America rampage, but that’s not the case. Rather, we partake in writing that’s well-balanced and quite this-is-how-it-was-so-make-up-your-own-mind.

You’ll venture from frontier to Boston to New York, New York, where of course if you make it there you’ll blahblahblah. You’ll do typical AC stuff – walking, running, sneaking, climbing, pick-pocketing, jumping, fetching and fighting - and more, like climbing trees, hunting animals, steering ships and riding wonky horses.

ACIII’s certainly not perfect, perhaps a victim of over-ambition. Shooting can be ordealistic trying to please the auto-targeting, rather than the satisfying release of shitloads of gunpowder into an adversary’s noggin. Also, AI can be a bit, well, derrrrrrrrrrr... But it’s epic in thinking, execution and, the bit that matters to us, engagement. Get in quick, as 21/12/12 isn’t far off...

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