Assassin’s Creed 3 has been in development for over three years. When the game is finally released, it will be almost four years. Eight studios have been working on the game to make sure a lot of “power” will be behind it. The game will be using a new engine called AnvilNext (an upgrade of what was used in Assassin’s Creed 2), which allows the dev team to include over 2,000 characters on-screen at any time, implement a dynamic weather system, and overhaul the animation system.

If you would like to read about Assassin’s Creed 3’s plot, gameplay changes, etc click here. New Collector’s Editions have been leaked as well, which you can see here. To see some screen shots of the game, click here. If you would like to watch Connor’s video, click here.

Information From The Demo

• Connor is the main character and is a half  British half Mojave Indian.
• Scalping was removed as Connor’s heritage suggests his tribe did not scalp.
• 2000 characters are on-screen.
• Gameplay is across huge battle grounds.
• Time runs between reloads.
• There are new seamless multikills.
• A musket or bow is used in ranged combat.
• Close combat is used with pistols, a hidden blade, or a tomahawk.
• There was double the development team compared to previous games.
• You can use auto crouch stealth when entering foliage.
• The weather changes with things such as rain, snow, and fog.
• Footprints can be used for tracking.
• Blood trails can be used for tracking.
• Animals like wolves will attack in packs.
• Bears can randomly attack.
• Animals hunt each other.
• Towns have more people that will interact with Connor.
• Dogs will roam in towns.
• Children in towns will feature for the first time.
• Leap into moving carts.
• You can now lean against cover.
• There are different levels of enemy skill.
• You can fully explore the world.
• Climbing trees offer fluid animations.

• Branches bend due to weight.
• You can now skin animals for hides, clean skin when killed with knives, messy skin with musket due to pellet holes.
• Connor can use a twin pistol, tomahawk, hook rope, and hidden blade weapons.
• Gadgets like smoke bombs return.
• There are moving leaps of faith.
• Connor can jump onto moving items whilst in pursuit or chasing.
• Run through interiors whilst being chased.
• There is a Boston and New York and wilderness setting.
• Wilderness 1.5 times the size of Rome (2km squared).
• AnvilNext game engine is being used.
• There are better cloth physics.
• There are more bones in faces.
• The Animus is now more 3D and integrated into the game world.
• The game has been worked on for 3 years.
• Historical facts are a big part of the story.
• Historical figures like George Washington will feature accurately.

• Combat is more brutal.
• Snow depth can hamper movement speed.
• Ice and wet surfaces can be slippery.
• The day and night cycle returns.
• Connor can grab guns from racks whist on the run.
• Foliage parts as Connor runs through it.
• Connor fights the oppressive regime.
• The game is set in the 1770’s time period.
• Trees can be used to cross wide streets.
• Wilderness activities and missions constitute 30% of missions.

 

Other Information

 

Born from a Native American village, Connor is half British and half Mojave Indian. In early missions,  you will take on the role of a young Connor and experience life in a Mojave village. Adult Connor’s primary mission involves seeing that justice is done. Connor is also equally concerned with making sure that the Mojaves have a place in the new world that will be forged from the American Revolution. Connor will have access to a tomahawk, dual pistols, bow and arrow, various knives, and a musket.

Ubisoft says that Assassin’s Creed 3‘s new engine, AnvilNext, allows for over 2,000 characters on screen at once. A certain battle scene during the demo featured an enormous number of soldiers. The musket smoke, the mix of background and foreground characters, the cannon fire, and the dense forest backdrop made for a very nice historical feel. All of the characters benefit from a rebuilt animation system that affects enemy movements, how smoothly you can climb and fight, and the realism of facial expressions in cut-scenes. AnvilNext focuses on scale and detail.

Assassin’s Creed 3 takes place in two cities, but The Frontier zone separates them. The Frontier is 2×2 kms of forest filled with wild animals, snow, and climbable trees and rock faces. New York and Boston’s appearance will alter as you make your way through the game’s thirty year time span. The main story will play out equally between the three areas. 30% of the game is set in The Frontier. The team is aiming to include certain key events that occurred in the cities during the time-frame.

The Frontier is full of animals. In the demo, there were foxes, bears, wolves, and deer. Connor can hunt and “harvest” these animals for their pelts and meat. We still do not know what harvesting will provide is as yet unknown. Shoot an animal with a gun and the bullets will ruin their skin, thus negatively impacting the value of its fur, whereas stealthier kills with your knife provide a clean yield.

Connor can climb flat faces of rock by using natural cracks and small hand holds as grips. Trees can also be scaled and jumped between, giving you a monkey’s perspective of the forest and allowing you to gain a height advantage over animals and enemies. Snow that is deep will cause Connor to move more slowly and forces him to visibly exert more effort in a bid to traverse it effectively. Free-running will allow for slicker means of dodging through crowded areas and around low standing obstacles. One gameplay sequence from the demo was Connor escaping armed guards by jumping from the top of a lamp post and in through the open window of a house.

As the game progresses through its thirty-year cycle, weather will reflect each of the seasons. The weather will force you to alter your combat approach. As muskets are fired using an exposed plate of gunpowder they can not be fired in the rain, which will reduce the risk to Connor when fighting enemies equipped with such weapons. George Washington, Charles Lee, Ben Franklin and Gilbert du Metier de Lafayette are all included in the game. Certain famous speeches given to troops before battle have been recreated word for word and key buildings from New York and Boston are present and correct as well.

The counterattacking system allows the team to use slick animations and a simple control scheme to provide excitement. Connor can dual wield various weapons. Connor can grab enemies and use them as cover from musket fire. In one part of the demo, the remaining enemies hesitated and refused to shoot the soldier being used as cover, which provided the time required for Connor to launch an attack and take them all out before they could react. The cover system was also used and promised that you will be able to take enemies out in a single surprise attack when hidden.