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Leaked Assassin's Creed 3 Screenshots Show American Revolution

An anonymous reader writes "After three years, Ubisoft is finally finishing the newest installment of their Templars vs. Assassins series, set during the American Revolution. PC Magazine reports that 'If the cover art is any indicator, the new Assassin is pals with George Washington, Paul Revere, Ben Franklin, and the other leading American revolutionaries of the day.' A team of developers at Ubisoft reportedly dedicated a full three-year development cycle to re-examining every element in the franchise to improve the game — although it could've taken even longer."

18 of 100 comments (clear)

  1. ...and if you look closely... He's Native. by He+Who+Has+No+Name · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Beadwork armbands, moccasins, ponybead necklace, fringed quiver, ornamented bow and belt, and tomahawk.

    Messer Ezio's great-grandson here is *not* an English colonist. He most likely speaks an eastern dialect of one of the Algonquin peoples and languages. ...and I for one can't wait to play this.

  2. better not have the same SHIT DRM that last game by Joe_Dragon · · Score: 5, Insightful

    better not have the same SHIT DRM that the last game had.

  3. Achievement: Eggs Benedict by Bieeanda · · Score: 4, Funny

    Kick Benedict Arnold in the... eggs.

  4. Re:better not have the same SHIT DRM that last gam by Higgins_Boson · · Score: 4, Insightful

    better not have the same SHIT DRM that the last game had.

    You speak as though Ubisoft are able to learn their lesson.

  5. Re:"US Patriotism" -- Be careful what you wish for by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I know Slashdotters reflexively make anti-US statements every time the US is even mentioned, but I'm really struggling to see the relevance of this complaint.

  6. Re:better not have the same SHIT DRM that last gam by SiliconSeraph · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Any discussion about an Ubisoft product is bound to come around to DRM. Their policy (and the subsequent alienation of legit paying customers) has been one of the worst in memory, so I'd say it's pretty relevant.

  7. Re:better not have the same SHIT DRM that last gam by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Fuck Ubisoft. I will never buy another game from them because they hate their own customers.

  8. Swell by Greyfox · · Score: 3, Funny
    So instead of wandering around for 2 hours in ancient Rome, I'll end up wandering around for 2 hours in ancient Chaleston? That sounds way better...

    I know there's a lot to do in the game, but somehow I always think it's a good idea to buy the game and then end up wandering aimlessly around some ancient city.

    --

    I'm trying to teach myself to set people on fire with my mind... Is it hot in here?

    1. Re:Swell by Glarimore · · Score: 3, Informative

      It's a sandbox game with linear progression and no time constraints.... it's not a genre for everyone.

  9. Wait a second by abigor · · Score: 4, Funny

    If this is AC 3, then what were Brotherhood and Revelations? I guess 2.1 and 2.2?

  10. Fantastic franchise, great story arc by nixed3 · · Score: 5, Informative

    Ubisoft, while consistently putting incredibly restrictive and obstructive DRM on their games, sure know how to make a compelling story. It creates dissonance because I don't want to support the studio which implements such draconian DRM, but I want to support the artists and developers who make such a great game.

    SPOILER ALERT.

    To anyone who hasn't played the franchise, or hasn't kept up with it through the latest game, Revelations, I believe you are missing out on a fantastic work of fiction. The entire story has dealt with the protagonist Desmond's uncovering of an ancient civilization on earth which were wiped out by a massive solar event. He is able to discover this through "re-living the memories of his ancestors in his DNA" by hooking up to a special machine called the Animus. By doing this, he is able to re-live characters throughout time, be it the crusades in the 1190s (Assassin's Creed) or the Renaissance (Assassin's creed 2 and it's two spinoffs). Eventually, Desmond discovered the ancient race, and they instruct him to find something (which we still don't know what it is) that will prevent the Earth from suffering the same cataclysmic fate. In the mean time, the order of the Knights Templar, and their current incarnation, Abstergo Corporation, has been secretly pulling strings on humanity since at least 1198 AD.

    My favorite part of the game is how Ubisoft has been able to link have the massive conspiracy of the Knights Templar throughout history and even into modern times. The game leads the player to believe that almost every major player and every major event in history has been part of this conspiracy. Through the story and the puzzles, the game implicates Robert de Sable, The Borgia Family and Pope Rodrigo Borgia, Chief Justice John Roberts, Hitler, and an unnamed modern day telecommunications company as being all part of the templars. Meanwhile, Da Vinci, Niccolo Machiavelli, and Suleiman the Magnificent are all part of the other side, the Assassins, whose mission it is to stop and expose the templars.

    I find it interesting they pull no punches even with modern day public figures. In Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, one of the puzzles requires you to figure out that John Roberts and Scalia decided Citizens United v. FEC specifically so that the templars, under the guise of Abstergo Corporation, could elect and influence any politician they want.

    I hope Ubisoft gives this game and this franchise the due care and attention to detail and presentation that they have in the past, and aren't trying to just push out a product every year for financial gain. I am excited to see how they will continue the arc in the American revolution.

    BEN FRANKLIN WITH HIDDEN BLADES, YO!

  11. sconeu's law by sconeu · · Score: 3, Interesting

    In any discussion of Ubisoft, the probability of discussion of DRM approaches 1.

    This means that the person who bring it up has lost.

    --
    General Relativity: Space-time tells matter where to go; Matter tells space-time what shape to be.
  12. Re:"US Patriotism" -- Be careful what you wish for by DrVomact · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I know Slashdotters reflexively make anti-US statements every time the US is even mentioned, but I'm really struggling to see the relevance of this complaint.

    The topic is a game that has the American Revolution as its background. An American might surely be forgiven if the word "patriotism" comes to mind in that context. As I pointed out in my reply to the original poster, he is in error when he equates patriotism with nationalism. I think that this discussion is well within the bounds of the topic.

    Incidentally, I currently have moderator points, so I'm faced with the usual dilemma: do I comment, or mod? I prefer to comment. I'm wondering if there should not be a sanctioned way to have your cake and eat it too: abolish the rule that you can't comment if you have modded anything in the thread. To prevent abuse, the fact that you have modded the thread should be pointed out (e.g. "modded OP -1 Flamebait" after your name and slashdot number). Heck, maybe commenting should be compulsory after you mod...maybe you should have to justify why you modded a post up or down.

    --
    Great men are almost always bad men--Lord Acton's Corollary
  13. Re:...and if you look closely... He's Native. by a_mari_usque_ad_mare · · Score: 3, Insightful

    The Assasin's Creed games are not to my taste, but I approve of the main character being an Algonquin. The history of the aboriginal people of the United States and Canada has not gotten the attention it deserves, and its great to see it used as background in a popular work.

    --
    The map is not the territory.
  14. Re:...and if you look closely... He's Native. by Nidi62 · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Beadwork armbands, moccasins, ponybead necklace, fringed quiver, ornamented bow and belt, and tomahawk.

    Uh, not necessarily. Many frontier settlers of that time period had regular interaction and trade with native populations, and in many cases adopted the lifestyles of the natives. They would even go as far as to take a native wife or become a "member" of the tribe. Also, you have to remember that the native clothing and lifestyle were perfectly adapted for living in a wild forest, much more so than traditional European clothing and culture. The frontier settlers wore buckskin, they wore moccasins. They would be familiar with Native weaponry, and would likely possess native jewelry as well through trade. You also have to remember what happened right before the Revolution: the French-Indian War. Most of the battles that took place in the colonies took place on the frontier. There were many frontier militia groups formed to fight alongside the British, and in many cases they fought alongside friendly Indian tribes. So, yeah, just because he has a bow, or is wearing native clothing or tribal jewelry does not necessarily mean he is an Indian. I would put money down that he's simply a frontier settler.

    --
    The only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for it to be pitted against a slightly greater evil
  15. Re:"US Patriotism" -- Be careful what you wish for by shutdown+-p+now · · Score: 3, Informative

    Nationalism is the wish to subject other countries and peoples to the dominion of one's country.

    No, it's not. Just as patriotism is the love for one's country ("patria" - fatherland), nationalism is the love for one's nation. Since countries are not always matched up with nations one-to-one, they don't always coincide. Either can be defensive or aggressive etc.

  16. Re:better not have the same SHIT DRM that last gam by Khith · · Score: 3, Funny

    Don't worry, they'll be sure to have even stronger DRM this time! I hear that the new kind makes you set up an appointment with an Ubisoft representative who will not only helpfully install the game for you using a secret code, but they will watch over your shoulder as you play to make sure that you don't copy their stuff! In fact, you would probably do that when you're NOT playing (Even though with AC2, they must think that if you lose connection for a few seconds, you're obviously pirating.) so they'll install monitoring software and set up cameras to watch your activity. Expect the cost of the games to double, but it'll be worth it to stop those dirty pirates, right?

    It'll be nothing like the shit DRM the last game had, but if they keep doing things like this, it's going to BE their last game.

  17. Re:...and if you look closely... He's Native. by He+Who+Has+No+Name · · Score: 3, Insightful

    My wife is Menominee (one of the Algonquin peoples). She zeroed in on those beaded armbands and the choker and instantly knew what she was looking at.

    And, tada, she was right. :)

    Props to Ubisoft for achieving that level of accuracy and historical fidelity.