Re: Assassin's Creed 3 announced
Got more info!:
-"The Kingdom" Returns! Though this time known as "The Frontier". The space of wilderness spans between New York and Boston. Two major settlements on the Frontier are Lexington and Concord. There will be scatterings of other settlements around as well including Valley Forge where Washington's army is settled and even Connor's Mohawk village. The Frontier is roughly 1.5x the size of ACB's Rome.
-The landscape will alter as the story progresses. To show this, the landscape gets both covered in snow during the winter and then progresses into the summer. Also, due to the Revolutionary period, certain settlements may look destroyed or have "grown" more as time passes.
-Cities are described as even more vibrant than Rome, Florence, Constantinople, etc. There's newscaller boys, dogs and animals in the streets, open windows (with open buildings?) etc.
-Horses are back! There are several shots of Connor on horseback both in cities and out in the wilderness. It is possible he may even be able to shoot arrows while on horseback.
-Connor is better, faster, stronger! Etc. etc. Kidding! The character was described as having around a thousand brand new animations JUST for him. He moves differently than Ezio, more predatory and hunter-like. He also moves differently in the summer than he does through the snow. His fight style is described as more "aggressive" and that Ubisoft is developing the fights to encourage the player to be more forward as opposed to the "wait and counter" mechanics that dominated AC2,ACB and ACR. Also new is that while free-running, Connor is now more interactive with the environment than Ezio. He will slide under objects and even jump across moving wagons as they pass along the street. There was even the description of him running through an open building so they might have some limited open buildings.
-Assassinate and keep moving! There is a description of how now you can assassinate and keep running. Instead of the momentary "freeze" after each kill in the other AC games, Connor will be able to pounce on his victims, kill, and then keep running in seemingly one fluid motion.
-Part of the reason for Connor's mixed heritage (English, white father and Mohawk Native American mother) is to keep him distant from the overwhelming American Revolutionary conflict. He is from both worlds but also really doesn't belong to either. Obviously, Connor's ancestral attachment to Altair and Ezio comes from his British father. When compared speech-wise to Ezio's boisterous style and Altair's stoic nature, Connor is described as more "thoughtful and intense".
-Assassin brothers? Anybody? Looks like you may be a lone wolf once again. There is little information regarding any additional assassins and whether there is even a "Call" mechanic like in ACB and ACR. Ubisoft mentions there might be something, but doesn't go beyond that.
-Tower Defense is gone.
-The various factions (Thieves, Mercs, Courtesans, etc.) are gone but there will be something similar.
-There is a description of being able to join certain "clubs". Perhaps this is similar to the factions that used to be. For example, if you are hunting a lot with bow & arrow, you will eventually be approached by a NPC who asks you to join his hunting society. This may build into several challenges, etc.
-The economy system is different and a focal point seems to be on hunting and selling animal pelts. Pelts can either get you more money depending on how you killed the animal. For example, a bear killed with one arrow with have considerably "less damage" to its pelt than one that was marauder'ed with a tomahawk and knife. Though I'm sure you can get cash other ways as well, this one is described the most. Animals plainly mentioned are bears, deers, and wolves.
-Ubisoft mentions their AC "Anvil" Engine is vastly upgraded for this game. They can animate up to a thousand characters on-screen at once. Perhaps the rumors of assassinating during a giant battle are true.
-The cinematic scenes are described as "better and more realistic". Ubisoft reemphasizes that the game is about Connor's journey and the overall Assassins vs. Templar conflict. The American Revolution and its battles are just a backdrop to all that. They once again reiterate what we've heard about both Americans and British can be both Assassins and Templars ("good guys and bad guys") and that there will be a better emphasis on the Templars' belief that they REALLY believe they are saving the world as well, they just believe that they need to control it in order to save it.
-Desmond is awake from his coma. The ending events of ACR had Desmond and his crew arriving in New York City. Hence, a reasoning why they visit Desmond's Revolutionary ancestor because of his connection with the city during a critical time. The "modern day" events of AC3 take place during "real time" in the last few months of 2012 which seem to hint at a worldwide catastrophe about to take place.
-The Animus 3.0 also debuts. Subject 16 is gone but may be mentioned here or there. Shaun Hastings, the modern-day British assassin is mentioned as being able to bring some witty and funny comments to the British perspective on the American Revolution.
-No real discussion on multiplayer. Though the XBox.com description of the game mentions four player co-op? Hmmmm...
-Ubisoft seems to channel this game more closely to the American fanbase as one of the executives in the article mentions that this is OUR history. They also state that it's easier to diagnose and understand all the historical figures because the records on them are much more clearer and distinct. They know where Washington was on which day in which month in which year thanks to the historical records kept from this time period.