Assassin's Creed III

Next to the main storyline, there are various optional missions and tasks that can be found by exploring the environment. The fighting system uses melee and ranged weapons with various actions to disarm, attack, parry, fire and assassinate based on the equipped weapon. Counter attacks are new and shown in slow motion to make room to strike. Ranged weapons such as muskets and rifles are new to the series and they have a considerable reload time. The free running movement to climb almost any building or obstacle has been modified to tie the different actions into a fluid motion by keeping a single button or key pressed.

There is also a three-tier notoriety system where becoming incognito involves running away and hiding, but also tearing down wanted posters and bribing town criers. All computer-controlled characters have their own routines and this is now influenced by the weather as well, with a day-and-night and seasons cycle.

A large part of the game can also be spent building the settlement Davenport Homestead. Starting out with a single building, NPCs called artisans can be convinced to settle near the Homestead. This brings raw materials and facilities that can be used to craft. Raw goods and crafted items then form a local economy where the player can decide to sell them through land caravans or via sea convoys.

Progress in the homestead is also shown visually with new people working and buildings that appear. Artisans receive upgrades after completing missions for them and this provides better equipment and weapons. Money is earned through the Homestead economy, but also by discovering hidden chests, selling spoils of hunting, looting opponents and pickpocketing.

There are also tools to pick locks through a short, interactive sequence. Another, very different part is played on the The Eastern seaboard with naval campaigns. Connor has to command the ship through sails, cover and cannons in full naval combat and with a large amount of upgrades available for the ship over time.

Additional challenges are unlocked by joining the three clubs: hunting, brawling and thieving. These each offer optional goals in different tiers. Other quests involve hunting down optional trinkets, collecting almanac pages and feathers, delivering letters, performing assassination contracts, synchronizing view points and more.

The game also includes multiplayer modes such as Wolfpack mode where up to four players work together through 25 stages to kill NPCs with a time limit. Another is the Domination team mode where the Animus game console is used to capture areas of a virtual map and protect them from the opposite team.