There’s a scene in this seven-minute Assassin’s Creed 3 walkthrough where you can see a man skinning a deer, peeling off its skin like it’s a great fleshy banana so that its epidermis hangs around its upturned flanks like a terrible meat-skirt. I found it quite a striking animation (and sound), but the game’s creative director Alexander Hutchinson doesn’t comment on it. Instead he opts to discuss the numerous other (often just as bloody) changes being made to gaming’s finest bad-man stabbing simulator. Have a watch.
Much like a half-skinned deer, Assassin’s Creed 3 is becoming more ap-peel-ing (ahahah!) with each new feature mentioned: the ability to assassinate with any weapon, a combat system that allows for multiple simultaneous attackers, bows, bows. Summarised below are the main points Alexander makes in his walkthrough video, but I suggest you watch the whole thingfor the full effect. And the deer/skirt thing.
- The new Anvil Engine allows for fluid movement through trees and cliff faces. The same fluidity we had in the urban environments of previous games.
- The maps will have both a summer and a winter season. In winter, snow slows Connor’s movements, encouraging him to move through the treetops instead.
- Connor has a new stalking pose that allows him to sneak up on humans and animals. A bit like blending then, but with bits of the environment.
- There are two dozen species of animal in the game. Some are prey species who drop skins, meat and other tradeable commodities. Others are predators, like wolves.
- Butchers and doctors in camps will offer sidequests to collect materials from the wilderness.
- NPCs are more active in the world, patriots move into and attack camps during missions, and townsfolk drive carts across the map.
- You have one tool and one core weapon equipped at any given time. In this walkthrough, one button fires your pistol (a tool), while another attacks with the hidden blade (a core weapon).
- You can assassinate with any tool or weapon. You can also assassinate while running, without stopping.
- Soldiers can be used as meat shields when you’re faced with firing lines.
- Two enemies can now attack you simultaneously, rather than the kung-fu movie one-at-a-time method of previous games. This allows for new in-combat kill animations, such as stabbing one soldier with another soldier’s bayonet.
- There are exploding barrels.
Did you see the deer bit? Ugh, I know, right?