Assassin's Creed III Wish List

Many gamers are still hammering away at the second installment of Ubisoft’s time-hopping epic. However, we thought we’d take a look ahead and explore our most sought after features and experiences for the next installment – Assassin’s Creed III. The third major installment has yet to be announced, but it doesn’t take a Piece of Eden to augur the future and see that a sequel is inevitable. Perhaps it goes without saying, but discussions on this subject will inherently veer into SPOILER territory. You’ve been warned.

Multiple Protagonists

Desmond has wandered the streets of Jerusalem as Altaïr, and faced the wrath of the Templar in Renaissance Italy, but he’s going to need to spread his wings to figure out a way to save the world in the third installment. What’s the solution? Multiple ancestors in one game. As Desmond’s abilities grow and he acquires a deeper understanding of his ancestral background, it’d be great to explore multiple characters – each of whom holds another piece of the puzzle.

One ancestor should definitely be a part of the Mayan civilization that acts as a cornerstone to the threat facing the world – the Mayan calendar predicts an end to the world in 2012, and the Assassin’s Creed universe seems on track to meet that deadline. We need to find out more from the ancient Mayans themselves.

There are a bunch of other cultures that would be exciting to experience before the story is resolved. The first game hints at a lost undersea civilization called Yona Guni, near Japan. The second game includes nods to numerous assassins across the world whose tombs lay across Italy – from the killer of Genghis Khan to the female assassin who supposedly murdered Cleopatra. We’d love to see the assassins themselves in these and other hinted at cultures, but even more we’d love to see Ubisoft Montreal depict some of these amazing historical locations.

In addition, AC III needs some followthrough on both Altaïr and Ezio. What else happens to these popular heroes in the years after their big adventures? We got a glimpse of Altaïr in the most recent game, but we’d love to see more of both characters in the third installment.

And for folks who have completed “The Truth” – how cool would it be to have a sequence that stretches all the way back to one of the two characters presented in that final cinematic?

Finally, no matter what ancestors we get to explore, it’s essential that the third game finally give us some significant time to play as Desmond. Powered up by the memories of his ancestors, it’s time for Desmond to become the super assassin he was destined to be and take down Abstergo once and for all.

Polished Combat

We’ve really enjoyed the combat in the Assassin’s Creed franchise, but that doesn’t mean there’s no room for improvement. The addition of more varied weapons in the second installment was a major plus, but the uses and strengths of those different weapon types need to be better emphasized for us to care about the distinctions. In addition, Assassin’s Creed III should only include weapons that are genuinely useable throughout the game – how many people regularly used the gun after the one mission in which you’re required to use it in AC II?

Assassin’s Creed III should move away from its focus on defensive countering within combat. Counter kills are a great feature in the game, but they lose some of their oomph when they become the primary way to take down enemies. More and better offensive strategies for your assassin would be welcome – ways to get past enemy defenses or trick them into dropping their guard.

Assassin’s Creed III also needs to have more capable combat AI. We love how some enemies in the franchise are smart enough to race across rooftops in pursuit of you, but get them in combat, and they fall back on the same tired strategies again and again. In Assassin’s Creed II, enemies who were fighting one of your allies completely ignored you, making it easy to assassinate them one by one just by walking calmly amidst the battle. These guys need to get smarter and fight back with the intelligence and savvy of Templars about to take over the world.

More Truth

The conspiracy angle introduced into the franchise by “The Truth” was fantastic, and we want more. Whether it comes from additional information left behind by Subject 16, or some other source, “The Truth” helped the game world feel like one giant conspiracy spread across the tapestry of history.

To improve these sections, expand their scope and variety. Word and picture ciphers are cool, but it would be even better if each one of the glyph puzzles was a fundamentally new and different style of puzzle.

Also, expand these sections to reveal more about the history of the conflict between the Assassins and the Templar. We got hints of the involvement of historical figures like Edison, Tesla, and Gandhi, but we want more details about these intriguing snippets of historical fiction.

Come to think of it, while we’re talking about the glyphs left behind by Subject 16, we want to know exactly what happened to the guy. Throw that in there too!

Covert Assassinations

Assassin’s Creed II made some vast improvements over the original game, but we miss some things about the assassinations themselves. In particular, the first game included the option to sneak in and assassinate every one of your primary targets without being seen – a feature yanked from the second game. Several of the major assassinations in the second installment necessitated an open confrontation or discovery ahead of time. For those of us who prided ourselves on our stealthy approaches, it was a disappointment.

Optional Control Schemes

We’re personally big fans of the marionette control scheme pioneered in the Assassin’s Creed franchise, but not everybody is. We’ve talked to numerous readers and industry professionals who have had a hard time getting used to the unique control mechanics of the Assassin’s Creed franchise.

In particular, the idea of holding down buttons to run, jump, and complete other actions confuses many players. While we’d never want to lose the marionette control approach ourselves, we think Assassin’s Creed III would be well served by some alternate control schemes, allowing players to approach the game in the way they want to.

Answers

Assassin’s Creed III needs to complete the story that was started in the first game. We love this series as much as anybody, but leaving fundamental questions hanging for too long is always a bad idea. By the end of Assassin’s Creed III, we want to know the ultimate fate of Desmond and Lucy, what happens to Abstergo, who and what was the civilization that came before humanity, and how the world gets saved (or destroyed!). After that, we’d be happy to have new adventures through time with a new hero and new ancestors. But to make us really happy, the core story needs to wrap up before the credits roll on the third installment.

What about you? What features would you like to see integrated into Assassin’s Creed III?