3/5 ★ – RoseFNV's review of Assassin's Creed III.

Not as bad as I once thought: when I played this originally I saw this as one of the worst entries in the series and while that sentiment still holds true I am more mixed on it rather than in a state of outright dislike. Gameplay wise it's very ambitious, adding in plenty of new features including hunting, mini games to pass the time and naval combat. Unfortunately, most of these new Features Are still fairly underdeveloped or poorly executed. Most feel like prototypes to be refined in the entry to come after, meanwhile features that have been in this franchise since day one get downsized or simplified. Combat has less options and freedom and Weapon/armor upgrade systems feel more erratic and unplanned, parkour is still fairly good but doesn't feel as focused on due to the world design and has also had a simplification in terms of mechanics and controls. It's frustrating, especially considering this is an end to one of the main characters story arcs and probably should have been an excuse to further refine assassin's Creed's best qualities so they could branch out and try new things in the follow up. But alas, many of the choices made were not made for the better. For what it's worth this still nails the Assassin's creed essentials well enough. Combat is still fun and parkour and stealth is engaging even if the world design and enemy designs can make stealth a frustrating task to perfect. The story is occasionally convoluted but surprisingly really good overall, and the Addition of genuine missions that take place in present day was a fun mix up and allowed the game's visual variety to stretch it's legs. Connor, despite being not very well acted, is a very solid Protagonist and i enjoyed his relationship to the world around him and the stories villains, which might be some of the best of the series since you get more time to know them. The American revolution stuff is also implemented into the story well and I liked the implementation of the native American tribes and the focus on them. This also does have some of the more interesting side quests of the series, with a lot of filler, sure, but some genuinely very engaging village/town progression that Created a sense of unity to the hub area and the characters involved, and that part of the game might have been my favorite even if it's not very assassin like. There's just something so engaging about helping out a small town and watching it blossom and create itself as the people inside it actually get solid development and characterization. I do wish the overall story ended better overall though, as while the Connor story ends well enough the end to Desmond's character is pretty much a waste and left me unsatisfied. Just kind of feels like a lame excuse to keep the overarching story without any idea of how to really make it interesting or fresh. This could have been a solid point to end the previous civilization story but instead it just feels like a non ending. So yeah, I didn't really enjoy this one as much as I had hoped I would despite a promising start. It just doesn't feel as confident in its direction and mechanics and doesn't do the Assassin's creed atmosphere I love so much as well as it should. Just a lot of downgrades to the way the game works and not enough upsides to its new mechanics to justify it. Still a fun time and there were moments where the magic of the setting and the game systems swept me away and it did keep me entertained throughout most of my 19 hour playthrough, but as a whole this is definitely a lesser entry in.the series