Hello you handsome and beautiful members of the community! Well, another year has passed and we have chosen to reflect on some of the most notable parts of this year. 2013... Wow. How it has come so quickly and what a year it is bound to be!
Notable Events[]
- The 2-3 year developed game, Assassin's Creed 3, was released..
- Our former bureaucrat, D. Cello, left and two new bureaucrats were made in charge; congratulations to Master Sima Yi & Vatsa1708
- A number of Staff members had left and new staff were gained; congratulations to Kaloneous, Stormbeast & Slate Vesper.
- Amnesty went through a voting process and gained Administration status.
- The new bureaucrats had decided to make some changes to the rules and allow more public decisions to be made. Creating a more community friendly wikia and allowing them to get their word in.
Assassin's Creed 3: Liberations Review[]
- "The roads I travel are dark, but they bring me closer to the light."
- ―Aveline de Grandpré.[src]
Assassin's Creed III: Liberation is the smaller sister of the big bad brother we know as Assassin's Creed III. And aptly named sister because this time around, you won't be controlling some testosterone-filled bloke who's actually a military barracks in disguise. No, this time you'll be controlling African-French lady Aveline de Grandpré. So not only is this game set to satisfy the sexists, but it will also satisfy the racists too! But enough about the ethnics, let's talk about the game, or to be more precise, the game probably only 1/4 of this wiki has played.
As I have mentioned already, you'll be playing as Aveline, the first ever lady protagonist of the series. And the descendant is of course Desm--wait, no? Oh yes, that's right. This time around, there is no descendant for you to know. In this game, the setting goes that you're on the console version of the Animus, of the Abstergo Entertainment division, which they keenly remind you from the get-go with the loading and title screen. So, in the grand scheme of things, you're playing a game, about some person playing a game about an Assassin. MIND = BLOWN
And that's just the introduction. Let's get right to it then!
The Good[]
Someone took Kratos' medication...
Probably the first good point I should mention is that you now have a portable Assassin game that's actually a sandbox (and actually feels like an AC game *cough* Bloodlines *cough*) and in a newer setting too, if not smaller than its bigger brother. It takes after its brother too in terms of combat, so you won't be alienated by new combat mechanics. Speaking of combat, they added a new feature that's for the Vita only; Chain-Killing! Now you can pause time and touch your enemies to kill them, and get to kill a lot more by chaining the kills together (hence the "Chain-Kill"). This makes combat quicker, if not overpowered.
Also new is the ability to change clothes (or rather Personas. No JRPG fans, not those Personas), where some mechanics and elements change depending on what you're wearing. You get to choose between Slave, Lady, or Pirate Assassin, and while Assassin and Slave do feel the same save for some blending mechanics, the Lady's the most distinct, with the advantage of "charming" your enemies, but it has its downside too, which I'll go into detail later. This new aspect of gameplay is unique and should be reintegrated into a future titles, perhaps as something more conventional rather than going to booths to change clothes.
Does what a Spider can!
Apart from gameplay, there's a huge twist in the story from the get-go. Instead of being in the caring arms of the Assassins, you are now being managed by Templars. I like how it differentiates itself from the story's current set-up, and how it handles the elements, such as doctored database articles and scenarios. It makes you feel like there's always something brewing about, and pretty soon you'll find yourself finding the slip-ups on the Templar's part, with the help of Erudito. This is a really good atmosphere they've set up, very similar to the feel AC3's multiplayer had going with the story.
The presentation itself isn't that great, but it's not bad either. Graphics are fine, but not something that'd sing gospel songs when you see them. Voice acting's fine, if not recycled (Aveline is actually Cristina Vespucci and Roussillon is actually Tarik Barleti), and the dialogue can be a bit too cheesy at times. There have been times where my head tried to cave itself in due to the embarrassing lines Aveline and Rouissillon shared. But it isn't really a big deal breaker.
And if you have AC3 on the PS3, then you can connect your game to your PS3 to get free stuff, like Connor's tomahawk and get the change to even play as Rahotowhatshisface. So you can count that as good too.
The Bad[]
Be honest; do I look fat? And remember, I still have my Hidden Blade with me.
Okay, here we go. First off, let's start with the details on the Lady Persona I mentioned earlier. I know you're wearing a dress and it's part of the gameplay and story, but using the Lady Persona is just not fun at all; you can't run or do parkour, you have limited weaponry, and worst of all, you're forced to use it. There was a part where they won't let you change personas until you finish at least 3/4 of the sequence, which is a lot more annoying than it sounds, because you have to navigate to your mission objective while wearing a dress, and with a slower run and no parkour, that's like driving a unicycle through a highway with street cones all over the road.
Variety in combat is a bit of a downside too. Yeah, you have like half of what Batman has, and that can be good, but interchanging weapons is a real hassle. The only way to change weapons is to tap the weapon menu button on the touch screen and choose the weapon you want, which will no doubt lag. So not only will it take time for you to choose a weapon, it'll also take time for Aveline to draw the damn thing. That makes combat less fluid and a bit of a hassle in general.
Cause I'd love, love, love, to dance with my father again~
The features added that utilize the hardware is really clunky too. They've introduced new gameplay parts where you utilize the Vita's hardware, namely its back camera, touch screen and rear touch pad. This is probably to nail down the exclusivity of the game to the Vita, but the problem is, its bad and overall, feels forced. You use the Vita's hardware for pick-pocketing, canoeing, looting, accessing the menus, deciphering letters, solving ancient puzzles, and dancing. YES, dancing. You do this to *SPOILER ALERT* lure your target in for a kill. I know it's for the grand scheme of things with the story, but it just seems out of nowhere, and considering the touch control thing, it also seems forced.
Another thing that feels forced is the ancient puzzles I've mentioned. Yes, Aveline goes to ancient ruins where a mysterious artifact is hidden, and in most of them, you have to solve a puzzle by using the motion sensors of the Vita and navigate a ball to that one point. It's like that iPhone game, except the ball that you have to lead is like being pulled constantly by Magneto. I know they're doing this to radically differentiate gameplay, but variety to gameplay isn't really good if the player isn't having fun; it's just annoying.
Connor's only there for one mission. Two if you've synched your Vita with the PS3.
Yet another thing is the glitching features and clunky stealth. The overall stealth gameplay isn't as coherent as AC3 was. A quiet kill would turn into a loud and vain exhibition of blood and gore when the game feels like doing so, which is maybe half the time. And Aveline trips a lot, when she's meant to run-Assassinate the person. Plus, combat can get really stubborn and unresponsive at times, especially when handling large groups. And I'm sure this isn't just bad gaming on my part, because I'm sure you can't fuck up with such limited controls. And I play good, so fuck you.
Lastly the story; in begins in medias res, which kind of cluster-fucks the whole narrative, along with the "No that's not true!!" interference from Erudito, because then you'll be forced to hunt down his signal in order for you to learn what happened. It's not immersing you in, it's confusing. You don't even get to see how Aveline becomes an Assassin; people barely mention how, and the database is vague on it, which kind of ruins attachment for your protagonist. So as a whole, the story isn't really an amazing experience. The problem's probably with the writing.
Also, the animations seem less fluid, and there's not much replay value going on. And a lot less populated world and wildlife.
The Ugly[]
Getting back to the touch screen controls, the deciphering of letters deserve special mention, because I had one crazy experience with it. So here goes:
I was at my University when I was playing AC3:L (because portable, bitch), and my noon class was watching a film. The room was dim and we had to pay attention to the film, so I had to lay low while playing. I got to a part where I had to decipher a letter and apparently, to decipher the hidden message, you have to point the rear camera to a bright light.
And so I did; I took my phone's flashlight app (which has a really powerful light) and pointed it at the front of the camera. It didn't work, and not only that, in blinded some of the guys seating next to me as I flailed it about. Obviously I had to turn the light off. But then I thought the projector had a pretty bright light, so I had to subtly point the camera at the very front of my class, which I think I managed, save for a lot of people behind me seeing me bring up the Vita. And it still didn't work, the damn junkheap.
Obviously I was frustrated, perhaps as much as the people around me. So I decided to excuse myself to the bathroom when I really just went outside with my Vita. I went to the windows and pointed the camera to the goddamn sun. Yeah that's right, maybe that'll show you! But guess what? It still didn't work. So after getting my eyes baked and then peeing for realzies, I went back to my class.
And then after I sat down, I saw the game prompt a success, and moved on to the next phase of deciphering the letter.
So, my question is: What the blue flying fuck was that? I nearly tore the damn thing when that happened, and the professor almost heard me yell. Unless the Vita's camera lens have been turned into a bat's eyes, then I'm chalking that up as the game's fault for its faulty and glitching features.
The Consensus[]
I've dropped the score by numbers thing, because it'd be unfair to equate a complex opinion. What, you still want a number? How about a four? As in FOURCK YOU.
Do I get to sit with the cool kids now?
That said, this game's the perfect standing point for things that can be so much bigger, like multiple personas and newer settings. It's not ground-breaking or anything, but it has the right ideas. Plus the story adds a lot more to the universe's canon, and also has a darker, much more scheming atmosphere to it, with the whole Public Animus thing.
That said, it could have used way more polish in terms of gameplay and narrative. The glitching and clunky combat really need some work, plus they should really fix the structure of their story telling. A lot of the touch gameplay lacks refining too, especially the letter thing. And some really obtuse features that don't seem to do much, like the whole trading thing and the multiplayer.
Overall, a good game, but nothing revolutionary. You should get it if you're a fan (despite all the bad shit I mentioned above), which I'm sure you are, since you're already on this wiki.
Happy New Year.
Keep An Eye Out[]
Howdy people, I have been organizing a bi-monthly event which shows off some of the neatest community creations and will begin on the 25th of this month. So keep an eye out.
Last Notes[]
We'd like to wish you guys a happy new year and would like to present a picture made by Kaloneous but was wrongfully used by an anonymous source. Permission has been granted by the original artist:
And if any of you people have the time, I'd appreciate any opinions of this. Spent alot of time and am curious about the community's opinion. :) --Teller Words, On my Screen :O 07:43, January 1, 2013 (UTC)