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Assassin's Creed 3 's gameplay elements will feel very familiar to longtime fans of the franchise, with the significant exception of the combat mechanics. It'll be interesting to see how fans adapt and newcomers react. "We rebuilt the combat system. I think one of the most striking comments we've heard in the last two days is how different it feels to fans of the franchise to previous game. I think you can do a lot," Alex Hutchinson, creative director on Assassin's Creed 3 told me at a recent press preview. "The whole flow of it is different, the archetypes are different, the old strategies just won't work." Curious about the specifics, I asked Hutchinson for standout examples of differences between the previous four installments in the series and the latest iteration. "For example, before, a counter was an automatic kill. You didn't have to make a decision after that, you could just spam the attack button. Before, you had to target...

The role of Desmond Miles in Assassin's Creed 3 has been the hot topic of late, mostly because we don't really know what's going to happen. We're pretty sure, based on everything we've heard to date, that Assassin's Creed 3 will somehow tie-up Desmond's storyline. Creative Director Alex Hutchinson has dropped numerous hints and, although he hasn't flat out said it, we're pretty sure this will be the end of Desmond's story. Hutchinson has already expressed his concerns that Desmond's story has gone on far too long. To that end, Assassin's Creed 3 is a 90% new game. We've got a new character in Connor, a new setting in Colonial America, and a new time period during the Revolutionary War. As Bob Dylan once wrote, The times, they are a- changin. With that being said, Assassin's Creed 3 will still have plenty of Desmond. In fact, Hutchinson has already confirmed that it will have "more Desmond material than ever before"...

It's Assassin's Creed 3 on the Wii U! Find out what's new for this version. For the first time ever at the New York Wii U Preview event, Assassin's Creed III was playable on Wii U hardware. And let me tell you, it looked sweet. On the show floor of the event, I was able to check out the "Naval Battle" gameplay demo. Followers of the upcoming game might be familiar with the section of the game that requires you to man a battleship while attempting to either destroy or capture other ships. One of the things I was worried about with Assassins Creed III in general, was how the GamePad's screen would be dealt with. Coming away from the demo, I can say with confidence that the additions they made for the touch screen were not phoned in, at least in the section I played. While controlling the ship, a nicely done map is conveniently displayed on the GamePad's screen. With a press of the R button, the game instantly pauses and enables you to select from four di...

  Latest New on Assassin's Creed III     Ubisoft has recently stated that the company may add games that are published by other companies to its Uplay app in the future. In an interview with website MCV, Ubisoft's worldwide director for online games, Stephanie Perotti, revealed that although Ubisoft's digital distribution service, Uplay currently only offers the company's own PC titles, Ubisoft is looking to challenge EA's Origin service and Valve's Steam by adding third-party games. "We remain open to opportunities," Perotti told MCV. "Right now, we're starting the service with our own games, but as we go forward, we plan to potentially add other titles." Uplay was originally an achievement tracking service when it first launched in 2009. The service allowed players to use points to unlock DLC and extras in Ubisoft's other titles. But last month it was revamped and re-launched to allow gamers to download games directly....

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The future for gaming, according to Ubisoft, is branching out across multiple platforms under a single brand. It's not a surprising or shocking move when you consider their inspiration in terms from Nintendo's championing Mario or how the Xbox and Master Chief are synonomous. But while speaking to Gamasutra about this, Ubisoft North America Executive Director Laurent Detoc remarked that he wouldn't mind multiple additions to the Assassin's Creed  franchise: " I also hope we'll be able to branch out from within the franchise. It's very simple to me: There's no such thing as not being able to annualize a franchise. If it's good, people will come. " It sounds redundant almost. But the shocking thing is by this October, Detoc's wish comes true. Assassin's Creed III  and Assassin's Creed: Liberation  will technically be the ninth and tenth game respectively released under the franchise across multiple platforms. If you're ...

For what it's worth, Assassin's Creed 3 is practically a new IP. With a new character in Connor, a new story, time period, setting, and game mechanics, creative lead Alex Hutchinson described Assassin's Creed 3 as "90% a new game". What's the other 10%? Series protagonist Desmond Miles, which Hutchinson said, during a Ubisoft press conference, could be coming to an end. Desmond Miles is really the only factor linking Assassin's Creed 3 to the other games in the popular franchise which dates back to 2007. According to Hutchinson, it's beginning to ask a little too much of people to remember "years worth of story" surrounding Miles. “It’s more like the Twilight Zone. There’s always a guy introducing it and he’s there every episode, but each game completes its own story, ” he said via Polygon. “ Assassin’s Creed 1 was Altair’s story. Ezio has been and gone. You can engage with these historical stories individually without having to necessa...

According to a leaked letter from Ubisoft to GameStop stores, Assassin's Creed 3 will have DLC following its launch in October. The letter, outed by Kotaku, was a "BIG thank you" to GameStop for helping Ubisoft achieve their Assassin's Creed 3 pre-order goals, but further on the letter indicated plans for post-release DLC. "We are currently in the process of creating a complementary development team that will begin working on post-launch episodic cotnent to continue the Game of the Year experience that Assassin's Creed 3 will undoubtedly deliver," the letter detailed. "With a dedicated team specifically to this content we plan to set the bar for quality DLC in our industry." The letter didn't specify if it would be single player or multiplayer DLC, but the fact that it's episodic content makes me believe it will further expand on the single player campaign. Although I'm sure we'll see the typical multiplayer skins and maps...

The release of Assassin's Creed 3 on PC has been up in the air for quite a while now, but creative director Alex Hutchinson has given us a more specific launch window for the highly anticipated game. While the console release of Assassin's Creed 3 is slated for October 30 in the U.S., Hutchinson has confirmed the PC version will release "near the time of the console launch". Speaking at San Diego Comic-Con, Hutchinson confirmed it will arrive "before Christmas". A promotion image, spotted by the Czech arm of Eurogamer, first revealed the delay of the game, noting a November 23rd release for the game. Ubisoft later responded that the "Windows PC release date is still to be announced." While we don't have any official date for Assassin's Creed 3 on PC, we at least know it will arrive this year.

Ubisoft has announced a new novel set in the Assassin's Creed universe, coming about a month after Assassin's Creed 3 hits stores on October 30. Assassin's Creed: Forsaken will be written by Oliver Bowden, and will focus on "the story behind who Connor really is and how he has become a deadly killer." Expanded Details: Written by author Oliver Bowden, Assassin's Creed: Forsaken is the latest novelization to expand the rich universe of Assassin's Creed , one of the biggest video game franchises in the world. Based on the new upcoming game, Assassin's Creed: Forsaken takes a look at newcomer Connor, who has sworn to secure liberty for his people and his nation by unleashing his skills on the battlefields of the American Revolution and in the wilderness of 18th century Colonial America. Forsaken will take a look at the story of Connor, exploring who he really is and how he has become such a deadly killer. Sales of the Assassin's Creed novels, ...

We sit down to chat with Assassin's Creed 3: Liberation lead writer Richard Farrese about how the game steps away from Desmond's story and what it actually means to be an "Abstergo entertainment product." Ubisoft Montreal is striking out in a different direction with fall 2012′s PlayStation Vita game, Assassin’s Creed 3: Liberation . You’ve got a new main character in Aveline, an assassin and the first female protagonist that the series has focused on. The setting is all-new, 18th century New Orleans during roughly the same period that Assassin’s Creed 3 ‘s Connor will be warring with the Templars against the backdrop of America’s Revolutionary War. The biggest shift in direction of them all, however, is how Liberation  is framed within  the fiction of the Assassin’s Creed universe. It’s a product, something created by the Templar-owned Abstergo Industries, for reasons that aren’t yet entirely clear. I sat down with Liberation  lead writer and AC  writi...