Assassin's Creed games have been a bit Ezio-heavy, as the Italian Lothario got his own trilogy composed of spin-offs. Assassin's Creed 3 is the first game in a while to star a new protagonist, and the latest AC3 featurette shares more detail on the character of Connor.
Watch: Devs talk historical figures, Native American accuracy »
One of the many wonders of the Internet is that we can watch television commercials without even owning a television, getting our recommended daily amount of warm brand association direct through the tubes. Thank you, Internet, you've changed the world. And brought us the Assassin's Creed III commercial shown during the first match of the American football season on Wednesday.
Watch: A television commercial on your computer, as if by magic »
We've heard vague rumblings about the mobile game Assassin's Creed Utopia, but Ubisoft has taken the wraps off the tie-in title. It won't bear much resemblance to the main-line Assassin's Creed games, and will instead be a city-building strategy title set in the Colonial era. It's set for release this winter.
Abstergo Entertainment, a fictional company that lives within the Assassin's Creed universe, is releasing Animus tech "publicly." But why? It's a story that will be explored in both Liberation on Vita and in Assassin's Creed 3's online multiplayer mode.
While the multiplayer offerings of Assassin's Creed have always had a meta storyline, this year's entry will have a far more explicit story--one that will continue after the game's launch.
Read more: Why is Abstergo releasing the Animus to the public? »
Killing people is pretty important in Assassin's Creed 3, it turns out, so Ubisoft has put a lot of work into the open-world murder simulator's killification. A new video developer diary features chaps from the fields of game design, animator, fight choreography, history, and, ah, military re-enactment all talking about killing those blasted lobsterbacks in the American Revolution.
You there! Did you know that Assassin's Creed 3 will feature naval battles? It's true. Ubisoft apparently wants to make absolutely sure you're aware of the boats in its next time-jumping epic, because after an E3 reveal and Gamescom trailer, the company has released yet another video showing off a maritime battle.
Ubisoft is kicking off a new mini-series, documenting the upcoming Assassin's Creed 3. The "Inside Assassin's Creed 3" series looks at the game from the perspective of developers, offering insights and interviews from the people behind the title.
The first one went up today, with word on the protagonist Connor, some insights into the late 18th century colonial setting, and the new technologies we can expect from this iteration of the franchise.
If not for the French at the Battle of the Chesapeake, the Revolutionary War may have lasted much longer than it ultimately did. It may have even ended in failure. It was during this sea battle that the French managed to cut off General Cornwallis' supply route and ensured his ultimate surrender to the Americans.
In the lore established by Assassin's Creed 3, protagonist Connor is a key participant in this momentous battle. Wearing a fashionable tricorne hat, he lays waste to the British with concerted volleys of cannon fire from his vessel. At one point, he even boards one of the vessels to finish its hapless crew with the help of his bayonet and a shot from his pistol. The British, of course, don't stand a chance.
You could say that history is against Assassin's Creed III: Liberation. There have been a million handheld spinoffs of major franchises, and almost none of them have stood out in any substantive way. Ubisoft, of course, hopes to change all that.
To do that, Liberation needs is to be able to stand on its own as a substantive effort in the series. It needs to push the limits of the Vita, but also care to work within them. Think God of War: Chains of Olympus for the PSP, for instance, which was a visually impressive effort that neatly managed the platform's lack of a second analog stick. It's an uphill climb, to be sure, but Liberation seems to be on the right track.
Ubisoft announced the Assassin's Creed 3 naval combat at E3, but saved a more cinematic look for today at Gamescom. A new trailer mans the riggings and swashes the buckles, giving us a nice long look at the war taking place just off the coast of the Colonies.
In typical Ubisoft fashion, we knew Assassin's Creed 3 for the PC would release some time after the console versions. Today, the publisher has revealed exactly how long we'll have to wait to play it on our computers.
Swish technology doesn't make a game, but it can make it awfully pretty to look at. Luckily for us, everyone likes to show their tech off in the hope of inspiring gushing and swooning in polygonphiles. Which is a long-winded way of saying, here, come watch a trailer about Ubisoft's AnvilNext engine, which powers Assassin's Creed III.
As Ubisoft's biggest release planned for this fall, it only stands to reason that Assassin's Creed 3 will sport plenty of downloadable content. An unconfirmed retailer note takes that one step further, claiming the company is actually creating a dedicated team to make new DLC for the game.
How does Assassin's Creed 3: Liberation fit into the series canon? From what we've seen so far, it doesn't appear Connor nor Desmond will play a role in this Vita-exclusive spin-off. Apparently, it's the first game in the franchise to be developed by "Abstergo Entertainment," a branch of the villainous corporation at the heart of the franchise.
The game isn't actually being developed by a fictional company, of course. The real-world developer is Ubisoft Sofia (Ghost Recon: Shadow Wars). However, fans of the franchise's intricate lore will be mesmerized by the possibilities opened by Liberation's unique premise.
Last month's rumor that the PC version of Assassin's Creed 3 would be released after the console versions has been confirmed by Ubisoft's creative lead Alex Hutchinson.
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