Assassins Creed 3 - One week and Counting; The Documentaries

    I know, I know, I told you guys I would do an article on the pre-order bonuses next.  I am working on it, but it is longer than most of the other subjects I will be writing about and I want to do it right.  So in the mean time I'm going to show you the best sources of gameplay footage and information about Assassins Creed 3 you can find; the Documentaries.  These are eight videos which really go in depth into all of the aspects of AC3; the gameplay, the story, the making of the game, etc.
    The first set of videos, the "Inside Assassins Creed 3" series was published by Ubisoft a few months ago.  The series really focuses on the history set around Assassins Creed 3 and how it relates to the game.  I have put them in order here, from top to bottom.

WARNING:  These videos contain minor spoilers and the content of any of these videos in this article may not be appropriate for all ages.

    The next series called "Making Assassins Creed 3" is made by IGN  and Ubisoft and focuses more on the creation of the game and the actual gameplay itself, making it my personal favorite.  Once again I've put them in chronological order from top to bottom.

    I hope you enjoyed these videos and that they have more than satisfied you until I can do the article on the pre-order bonuses.  But next time in the Assassins Creed 3 countdown, I will give you a detailed list of all the pre-order bonuses and give you an analysis of them.  Only one week left...

Assassins Creed 3 - 9 Days and Counting; Who is Connor?

    There are 9 days left until the release of Assassins Creed 3, and we haven't covered arguably the most important aspect of the game; the assassin.  Who is this new assassin Connor?

 WARNING:  Video may contain spoilers, and content may not be appropriate for all ages.

   

    Connor Kenway is a Native American assassin whose Native American name is Rantonhnhake:ton.  His name means "life that is scratched" in the tongue of the Mohawk (the nation Connor comes from) which is shown true through his rough childhood.  After seeing his people oppressed by colonists, he dedicated his life to fighting injustice.  Eventually he was recruited by the Brotherhood in 1770.  When the Revolutionary War broke out in 1775, he sided with the Patriots and their leaders, for their ideals were close to his.  Throughout the course of his life, he met many of the founding fathers of America, including George Washington.  You take control of Connor Early in his life, and progress to several years after the war ended.  

    Connor's Native American heritage doesn't just make for a cool story.  It also affected his choice of weapons.  Connor's weapons include Native American tomahawks, flintlock pistols, a Native American bow, hidden blades, rope darts (essentially a throwing knife attached to a rope; useful for hanging or pulling enemies towards you), and more which you can pick up or can be downloaded as bonus content.  Check out this video for more info on his weapons.

    Connor is a lot stronger and bulkier than assassins in previous games.  This is an advantage in combat, but means that because of his size free-running requires a lot more effort.  Nevertheless, he is able to do it as swiftly and efficiently as his predecessors, and perhaps even better.  Indeed, his special ability to dash easily through the boughs of trees puts his free-running skills above Altair and Ezio.

    Overall, Connor is the most robust assassin ever featured in the Assassins Creed series.  Indeed, Ubisoft claims they are sure that Connor is the most robust third-person action character to date, with over 3,000 new animations for Connor alone!  I hope you enjoyed hearing about this new assassin.

    Next time in the Assassins Creed 3 countdown, I will give you all the info you need to know about the AC3 pre-order bonuses, plus more info about the game itself.  For more info on the game go to www.assassinscreed.com.

Dysis - What is it?

    

 

    What do you get when you combine Minecraft, Portal 2, and Age of Empires?  Why, Dysis of course!  Dysis is a hybrid between a first-person-shooter and real-time strategy with a space/robot theme.  Your goal is to survive by fighting off hostile alien species by commanding your robots to fight, or doing the fighting yourself!
    When I first heard about the game, I thought it was just a space minecraft.  Now that I've seen this video, I'm ready to let One Dimension Games take my money!  I am an avid fan of both FPS and RTS genres, and am absolutely delighted to see such an awesome combination brought to life in Dysis.

    Dysis is currently in the Pre-Beta phase, but is raising money through www.kickstarter.com to continue production.  The goal for $5,000 dollars has been far passed and the game has raised a stunning $16,000!  After the kick-starter, a prototype version will be available for those who donated $20 or more.  Then the Beta update will be released, and then eventually the full game.  Here is a video which contains more info about Dysis and how you can get involved, straight from creator Chris Farrell.  Also see http://kickstarter.dysis.net/ and http://www.dysis.net/ for even more info.

    

Assassins Creed 3 - 11 Days and Counting

 

    Assassins Creed 3 is a third person stealth/fighting game produced by Ubisoft, one of the leading game producers of the world.  It is the 5th installment (oddly enough) of the popular Assassin's Creed series which has entertained gamers since 2007.  It is, without contest, the biggest project Ubisoft has attempted to date, and is one of the most anticipated games of 2012.  With just 11 days until it's release date of October 30th 2012, I will be chronicling the last few days of anticipation expressed by myself and countless other gamers, and catching you up on the latest "AC3" news.
    When I first heard about AC3 in early 2012, I was immediately intrigued by it's Revolutionary setting and Native American antagonist, as were most fans of the series.  But with this news rose a lot of questions.  Seemingly the most common was simply "How would it work?".  There had never been a third person (or first, for that matter) action game set during the revolutionary war.  It seemed like it would be hard to make such a game fun.  For one, the sword had nearly become resolute, and all the major powers of the time primarily used muskets of some kind.  How would an assassin combat such opponents?  Most enemies in previous Assassins Creed enemies had utilized melee weapons of some sort such as knives, swords, and spears.  Another aspect was, because the game is set during one of the most important conflicts in history, the character had to take a side, at least in mentality.  Judging by the first photo released (below), with the American Flag flying behind him, he would most likely side with the colonists.

Not surprisingly, this was met with some resentment from English fans of the game.  But Ubisoft consoled them, later showing shots in a video of Conner assassinating a Templar on the American side.  

    Ubisoft literally started from scratch with this game.  They completely redesigned their game engine to be able to cope with the new features they wanted in the game.  Several of the big improvements include the new ability to climb/traverse trees, pilot a warship, and support over 2,000 computer characters on screen at one time!  These improvements would not be possible without Anvil Next, the new engine for Assassins Creed games.

  

Connor stalking a squad of English soldiers from the trees

Connor and his crew in combat with another vessel.

    In conclusion, I hope this blog series will help you cope with your anticipation for the release of this game, for I know it is sure helping me.  For more info on the game go to www.assassinscreed.com.  I will look forward to writing...and playing!