Restrained By Ambition - Assassins Creed III

Assassins Creed III launched on October 30, 2012, for the Xbox 360, PS3, and soon after for the Wii U and PC. It marked the first attempt by Ubisoft to deliver a full narrative focused experience with, what were at the time, massive maps and action sequences. The game is set in 18th century America, specifically, during the American Revolution from 1754 to 1783. Over the course of the game we meet everyone from Ben Franklin to George Washington and help each with various tasks to help ensure America’s survival as a sovereign entity. We play as Connor, a half-British half-Mohawk warrior who is hell bent on revenge and is dedicated to saving his homeland. At face value, the game seemed to be more of the same that we had seen in the previous 4 major releases in the series; however, this couldn’t be farther from the truth.

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[lulish]

Animation wise still the best combat in the franchise. Connor is so agile and vicious it's amazing

[EziooAuditore]

The 2012 doomsday element was there since even AC1. It was hinted that during that game and also at the beginning of AC2 when you escape abstergo, if you use eagle vision in the animus room you can see the date 21.12.12 on the floor. So it was planned before and not just introduced in AC3.

[TearsofaLunarian]

I don't agree when people say Connor has a bad (voice) actor. Connor's an introvert and comes from a culture that's very different from what the player is used to - an example that comes to mind is how Connor's not used to being touched and very slowly warms up to people like Sam Adams to be allowed to touch him (while poor Paul Revere gets captured before he ever earns Connor's permission for friendly gestures). Most of the acting comes in his body language and expressions and since the voice actor Noah Watts did motion capture, he did both voice and Connor's gestures. Connor's much less reserved and stoic as a child and as an teenager. If you pay attention to his facial expressions he smiles, shows confusion and embarrassment and determination more easily than as an adult when he tries to prove Achilles' claims about his naïvete wrong by acting more stoic and no-nonsense. That's my take on the character, anyway. Most of his personality is seen from the Homestead missions where he allows himself to be who and what he is without putting up a front for those whose respect he wants to earn/keep, like all the historical figures and Achilles. As for the voice acting itself, I think it fits that he talks the way he does, because he's in fact speaking a secondary language, not his native one. Although I admit that when Watts speaks the native tongue, it's pretty obvious that the actor doesn't speak the language himself as all his concentration goes to pronouncing the words correctly instead of focusing on the emotion (and it bothers me that he pronounces Connor's real name differently in several scenarios). Still, I think it's pretty amazing what he did and fits the character, even if the character itself is not as easily likeable as characters like Ezio, Arno and Jacob.

[hustinharberh.]

I don't know why AC3 received a lot of hate, I actually liked it a lot

[thesageofktn]

To be honest, i thought the story was really good. It was dark and gritty, something the previous games before it didn't have. With that being said, just because it's predictable, it doesn't mean it's weak. Predictable stories can be well written.

And also, i think Connor is a misunderstood character. People think that he's bland but i thought he was rather a character that has been through so much. He's a broken man with nothing left to hold on to, if you've played the game, you'll understand why i said that.

The most damning part however....was that ending.

[deletedwaffles]

Haytham Kenway is probably one of the better villains in all of the AC games. It helps that he makes us confused about whether we should sympathize for him or not being that we were able to control him.

[cameronleach]

I'll argue that a narrative isn't weak because it's predictable. This game's story accomplished something great with Haythem and Connor. With villains like Rodrigo and Cesare Borgia, it was a breath of fresh air to get an antagonist that was relatable and sympathetic. In fact none of the Templars in this story are evil, with the exception of Church (who actually unites the Assassins and Templars for a time). Just because the player knows that the two factions can't cooperate doesn't mean it wasn't interesting seeing them try. I also don't think not playing as an Assassin is an objective fault, at least not on it's own. In AC IV you don't play as an Assassin until the last couple of sequences, and in Origins you never actually play as an Assassin until the Hidden Ones story expansion.

[jonprice]

All 3 narrative's are needed for us to fully understand the character's. I'm glad the character's back stories are fleshed out. Haytham's story is needed for the Conner and Haytham relationship to work later on, Conner's childhood sequence is needed for the pre-assassin as well as the Conner revenge for his mother to be established. Modern day is needed to conclude Desmond story.

[CJTVideos]

I actually loved ac3 mainly because of its: Story, setting, hunting, communities, and mainly because of the cargo system where you could make money off of shipping cargo (I think that's how it works, I don't quite remember.) but none the less, in my opinion, ac3 was a really fun game.

[Chilrona]

I completely disagree about the story. I really liked most of the characters and even Connor was decent enough. The villains Haytham Kenway and Charles Lee are by far the best in the AC franchise. Also it has the best philosophical discussion concerning freedom and tyranny of any game. It was also a really solid sandbox that vastly improved gameplay elements from previous titles. The open world activities outclass those in the Witcher 3 which struggles to provide quality combat opportunities outside of strong narrative context.

[robcain]

Assassin's Creed III is probably one of the most unfairly disliked games I've played. Quite a few people I knew who bought the game felt turned off by it in 2012, probably because the hype set their expectations too high. I don't know what they were expecting; Connor isn't nearly as charismatic as Ezio but he isn't supposed to be; the game is trying to go for a authentic depiction of the Mohawk tribes, a people more serious about their lives and the environment around them.

The game did make some strides with its ship combat and the more morally ambiguous monologues between the Connor and Templars led to more intrigue, on top of the graphics engine being able to render more detailed environments, even with some technical hitches (Of which I didn't encounter any game-breaking bugs on PS3). I agree that the game's pacing was too slow in the first act and that not every element of the sandbox was engaging from a gameplay standpoint but is it the weakest mainline title in the series? I'd give that title to either Unity or Rogue.

[MarkFilipAnthony]

Connor had a lot of personality, i mean he was an introvert with a damaged mind from he was small.

The reason u spend so much time as connor kid is so that u can understand the pain he is carrying throughout the game.

Connor is human shy, antisocial and very bloodthirsty. I saw him as more complex than etzio in the second game and altair in the first (tho ezio evolves more complex throughout all his games)

[dtanobo]

Ugh, the same people that complained about the modern day plot are the same people that now created this awkward imbalance between the modern day and historical gameplay. It's now just... there while it actually had depth before. I don't care what people say, the modern day plotline was actually really interesting and made for some great suspense (albeit some annoying cliffhangers with little payoff). The modern day plot in AC2 is almost as good as the main narrative of Ezio.

[danextips]

I literally used to love the homestead people, helping them out, it felt like a real community to me. by far I would say AC 3 highly underrated.

[ShambrookBen]

It always weirds me out that specifically Americans complain that Connor 'forest gumps' his way through history and meets everyone relevant at the time. Like.. that's literally all the assassins creed games. That's kinda their entire thing. It feels like Americans are specifically more susceptible to it in 3 since they're more familiar with the history of their own country, but like. you're literally palling around with Leonardo Da Vinci in AC 2 while fighting the Borgias, AC 1 ends with you meeting King Richard (The first?) for no real reason. Forest gumping through history is the entire franchises bread and butter.

[jerQCote]

What are you talking about? AC Unity and Syndicate had the worst modern day stories ever! Nothing happens in those games, except for Rebecca maybe dying. That's it. If it exist, it must have a purpose. It's like Chekhov's Gun. The modern day story was introduced and can't be dropped without changing the series' indentity to a point where it's not the same series anymore. Ac3 had the best modern day segments gameplay wise, IMO. The big letdown was that the story relied on everyone having 100% completed the previous games to understand it fully and its conclusion being rushed to all hell and so anti climactic. The comics show how it can be great narratively, especially with Desmond's son being introduced. To overlook the modern day story is to overlook why you're playing the main game in the first place.

[dante]

for the modern day being good in unity and syndicate bra its just cut scenes you dont do anything

[metallicak]

He had a traumatic and horrible childhood witnessed his mother get burned alive and his tribe and village massacred. Why is everyone shocked that he isint some charismatic, suave, loveable guy like Ezio???? Get over yourselves! Connor was great and you felt his pain and understood why he is a certain way

[homiefromfl]

6:25 your gripe about not taking control of a character that has skills you expect for the protagonist goes directly against your gripe about future AC games (as mentioned in the AC:II video, when referencing Bayek) in that you said that having an early limitation on the character to have something to work towards later is a good thing. So, which side of this argument are you on, exactly?

And your opinion on Connor (and his voice actor) is obviously subjective. I find them to be just fine. I found Connor to be highly relatable. I found the contrast between characters like Connor and Ezio to be refreshing. They are very different. And I found that to be a good thing.

EDIT: I just went through and read many of the more up-voted comments on here, and I'm glad there's plenty of people rebutting your critique of the many aspects of the story and characters. Good to know there's people who understand the character of Ratonhnhaketon, Haytham, the struggle of Revolutionist America, and the Templars and Assassins' fight for it. It was a decent video, but your points fall flat.

[MichaeIJacksonOFFICIAL]

Will always be my favorite AC Game. Very underrated.