The Assassin's Creed franchise ends on a high note with their most ambitious and detailed entry yet.
Right off the bat, the game hits you with a bit of back story explaining the events that transpired from the first game all the way to AC: Revelations. Desmond and his cohorts Rebecca Crane and Shawn Hastings, along with Desmond's father William Miles, arrive at the entrance to the final First Civilization hinted at the end of Revelations. The rest of the story deals with Desmond finding the power sources to the temple and using his ancestor to search for the key.
The ancestor in question is named Ratonhnhaké:ton, or Connor Kenway, for those not versed in Mohawk. He is a half Mohawk, half English assassin who lived during the American Revolution, a turning point in world history that brought a new form of government and way of living from monarchy. Doing away with Altair's arrogance and Ezio's swagger, Connor's trait is that of innocence/naivete. He is an outsider from both sides of his ancestry, and is forced to learn the hard way what power does to human nature. While not as instantly memorable as Ezio, Connor really grew on me, and I found him to be just as enjoyable as the rest, even if he's seems a little dull at first.
Connor, as told by Ubisoft, played an important role in helping the Revolution to start. Through his interactions with the raunchy and hilarious Benjamin Franklin, the passionate Samuel Adams, the insecure political genius George Washington, and a host of other key figures of the time, Connor gets swept up in the events that led to the birth of a new kind of nation. His enemies are also those you love to hate, having personalities that could only describe them as utter pricks. Connor gets to participate in many of the battles of the Revolution, such as Lexington and Concord, Bunker Hill, and the devastating Battle of Yorktown that ended the Revolution fighting. Yeah, Connor had a lot to do with it, it seemed.
Connor's exploits take him from the American frontier filled with trees, cliffs, and lakes, to Boston and New York, two powerhouse political cities within America at the time. The detail here is staggering. Knowing that the developers took the time and effort to map these cities out street for street, building for building is flat out marvelous. Their appeal is helped by the stunning visuals brought by the new Anvil Next engine designed specifically for this game. Running through trees and rooftops as this new assassin has never looked and felt this incredible and fluid, barring a few minor visual hiccups that come with the territory of open-world gaming.
Connor's also faster and stronger than his ancestors, capable of climbing trees with grace and speed. The free-running mechanics of this game are vastly improved. Gone is the need to hold the run and jump button at the same time, which admittedly can feel a little awkward to get used to at first. All that's need is the run button, which allows for precise and accurate landings, which was always an issue within the series. That doesn't mean that this game is free of these problems, but they're a lot less frequent, which is a blessing.
The combat system is by far the most noticeable improvement to the series. Gone is the need to constantly defend in a battle, and in is an aggressive, predator-like style mode of fighting that easily fits the brutal fighting style of the Mohawk tribe. Enemies are also more aggressive, but the game makes excellent use of counter attacks, guard breaks, and even human shields to keep muskets from piercing your lungs.
Not every encounter is going to be victorious, however. There are points where running is the best option, and this is where the stealth mechanic comes it. The core of the stealth gameplay hasn't changed much since Assassin's Creed II, and that's a good thing, since they got it right then. Enemies still search hiding spots, they use all their available men in the area, though at times it feels as though they're using their rooftop guards a little too well. The notoriety system is a bit revamped, and forced me to use less running around and more of a strategy, such as using back alleys and running through homes, though sadly the latter doesn't happen often.
Similar to the Villa and the Assassin bases in earlier titles, this game has the Homestead: a village in the American frontier owned by Connor's mentor. In the game, there are missions that allow the Homestead to grow and become a prosperous safe haven for those escaping the brutality of the war. The way this area is built is more dynamic than the previous games, allowing full-on stories to unfold while exploring its lands. Detailing the lives of the people living there proved to be both fun and a good break from all the sneaking and fighting
Bringing in money for the place, however, is the biggest hassle this game offers. Obtaining money comes primarily through trading, and finding the right resources to create items for sale is often difficult. Without the right recipes, you'll end up slaving for hours finding the right materials and people to create the items that sell well. I know that's how it is in real life, so I can appreciate how things worked back then. A system like this, while implemented well into the setting, can prove to be a lot of busywork, so make sure to be patient when it comes to making money in the game, as the rewards are sure to be satisfying in the end.
Hunting is another way of making money. Numerous animals roam the frontier, and Connor is no stranger to them. You encounter deer, hares, wolves, and even a few cougars along the frontier. Utilizing items like bait, snares, and arrows, these animals can be killed for their pelts, teeth, antlers, and other things. While hunting, I felt that a lot of these mechanics reminded me of Red Dead Redemption's excellent hunting mechanics, although shooting an animal will damage the loot. The game requires that you hunt in specific ways in order to get the most for your money, which I thought was fascinating. It brought depth to this very unique system and allowed, again, for more strategic methods of capturing your prey.
As with all AC games, there are a plethora of side quests, from recruiting assassins into your order, courier missions and assassination contracts to earn a little extra cash, and even taking down Templar forts, all of which bring countless hours into a game that'll already take twelve to fourteen hours to complete just from the story alone. The majority of them though, apart from recruiting assassin members, do tend to find themselves on the "pointless" side of things. While it brings in money, there's really no incentive to complete most of the side missions for any real gain in the grand scheme of things.
A new feature added to the game is the use of naval combat, where you captain a ship and go off to fight other ships in ocean battles, cannon on cannon. I was worried this would feel gimmicky and have poor mechanics. I throw my hands up after experiencing how fully fleshed out this feature is. The ship you captain controls smoothy (thank God!), and combat is intense. You can feel every cannonball hitting the ship, and the feeling of victory after taking the enemy down is immensely satisfying. Even the water effects are beautifully crafted to make it look as authentic as possible. I only wish there were more missions likes this added to the game, but that would've gotten old fast.
But that's not all. Desmond, who was barely used in the previous games, now plays a much larger role in the story. He gets three unique missions that utilize the skills he earned to locate power sources for the temple he and his friends are working from. Since this is the last we'll ever see of him, I found it to be a satisfying way of getting his story finished, though the ending admittedly was a bit underwhelming.
From the compelling voice work, to the innovative gameplay ideas, and the unique world that sets itself apart from the previous entries. The game doesn't exactly hit all the notes it wants, however. For instance, sometimes the game will glitch to where you won't gain an assassin recruit from liberation missions. The difficulty also prevents the optional mission side objectives from being completed. The major battle set pieces, a major thing hyped to death in the trailers, aren't as impressive in the actual game. I know that history has to be preserved at some level, but don't bring our hopes up for epic battles and give us a specific path to follow during the actual moment. Huge letdown for me.
Having said that, the story also suffers from pacing issues. Important events are either glanced over or are over analyzed, resulting in a less than fluid narrative structure. Also, the ending is also a little confusing, which I have theories on, but will not get into for now.
These few gripes are minor for me, as this was the game I've been waiting for in the Assassin's Creed series. Full of ambition, character, and detail, this entry serves as the definition of what Assassin's Creed is all about. This is a must-own for any Assassin's Creed fan out there.