Assassin’s Creed III: Remastered (NSP, XCI) ROM + v1.0.3 Update + DLC

Assassin’s Creed III: Remastered Experience the American Revolution like never before with this game, featuring enhanced graphics and improved gameplay mechanics. This collection also includes Assassin’s Creed III Liberation Remastered and all original solo DLC content. This is a 2012 action-adventure video game developed by Ubisoft Montreal and published by Ubisoft. It is the fifth major installment in the Assassin’s Creed series, and a direct sequel to 2011’s Assassin’s Creed: Revelations. The game was released worldwide for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, beginning in North America on October 30, 2012, with a Wii U and Microsoft Windows release in November 2012. A remastered version of the game was released in 2019 for Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch, and in 2021 for Google Stadia.

GAMEPLAY

Assassin’s Creed III is an action-adventure, stealth game set in an open-world environment and played from a third-person perspective. The main narrative of the game follows Ratonhnaké:ton, also known as Connor, an 18th-century Assassin from Colonial America, and his involvement in various events during the American Revolution and the Revolutionary War. In the game’s prologue, consisting of the first three main sequences, players control Connor’s father Haytham Kenway, the leader of the Colonial Templars, while in the modern-day sequences, the player character is series protagonist Desmond Miles, who searches for a way to protect the Earth from an upcoming solar flare on December 21, 2012. The game world consists of three main areas: Boston, New York City, and a large wilderness known as the Frontier (which is roughly 1.5 times bigger than Rome in Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood). Portions of the Eastern Seaboard and Caribbean Sea can also be explored during the naval side missions.

Free running has been simplified to allow for more fluid parkour in the cities and wilderness, such as climbing and running on trees, mountains, cliffs, etc. Close combat has also been modified, allowing Connor to dual-wield weapons and take down multiple opponents at once and players no longer need to manage the lock-on mechanic. Aiding this, Connor has access to a wide range of weapons which include muskets, swords, pistols, native weapons such as the tomahawk and bow and arrow, the Rope Dart (used to pull foes or hang them from above), and the Assassins’ signature Hidden Blades. Human shields can be used against firing lines of enemies. Medicine is no longer used as health recovers automatically. Stealth is also revamped, allowing players to use natural elements such as tall grass and trees to hide, along with the ability to blend between any two people.

Assassin’s Creed III features new weather simulations such as snow, fog, and rain. The seasons can also change i.e., Summer and Winter, which not only affect visuals but also gameplay, as the player will find that they run slower in deep snow. Snowfall can reduce visibility for the player and enemies, aiding stealth. The game also features a wide variety of animals, both domestic (such as horses, cows, and dogs) and wild (deer, wolves, bears, etc.). Wild animals are found in the Frontier and can be hunted for meat or marrow to be sold. The quality of the kill determines the price, encouraging the player to hunt silently. For this, traps and bait can also be used.

The Remastered version of the game features more revamped mechanics. Players can now whistle from anywhere while hidden, whereas the original version only allowed whistling from corners. Double assassinations have been improved so as not to require entering high-profile mode to do so. Free-aiming with ranged weapons was also made possible, allowing Connor more control over his bow and pistols. The mini-map and the UI were upgraded with better-looking and easier-to-recognize icons for ease of accessibility, figuring out where enemies will point next, and also features color-blind modes. The crafting system and the economy system were also vastly upgraded. The game’s lighting system has been upgraded to resemble the new technology implemented in Assassin’s Creed Origins and the textures have also been revamped to resemble those seen in the Assassin’s Creed games utilizing the more advanced AnvilNext 2.0 engine.

SETTING

Following the conclusion of the “Ezio Trilogy” with Assassin’s Creed: Revelations, Assassin’s Creed III shifts focus towards a new historical period: 18th-century Colonial America. The game follows two new protagonists: Haytham Kenway, a British nobleman and high-ranking member of the Templar Order, who is sent to America to establish a strong Templar presence on the continent and find a temple of the First Civilization that predates humanity; and Ratonhnhaké:ton (also known as “Connor”), Haytham’s half-Mohawk son, who joins the Assassins to avenge the burning of his village and his mother’s death and stop the Templars from gaining control of the colonies.

Haytham’s story serves as a prologue to the main narrative, and takes place from 1754 to 1755, at the onset of the French and Indian War, which paved the way for the American Revolution. Connor’s story spans two decades of his life, from his childhood in 1760 to 1783, and involves major events from the American Revolution and the Revolutionary War seen from Connor’s perspective.

Boston and New York City are cities that can be explored, as well as the American Colonial Frontier, spanning forest, cliffs, rivers, Connor’s village, and the settlements of Lexington and Concord. The player can hunt small and large animals, and approximately one-third of the story takes place in the Frontier. The city of Philadelphia can also be visited at one point during the game, as can The Caribbean during several naval missions. The entire Eastern seaboard is also explorable via Connor’s captaining his naval warship, the Aquila.

Like the previous games in the series, the story also includes segments set during the modern day, in 2012, which again follow Desmond Miles and his efforts to save humanity from an impending disaster. These segments have been expanded significantly, and now involve actual missions that the player must complete to advance the narrative. Locations visited during the modern-day segments include a skyscraper in Manhattan, New York; a stadium in São Paulo, Brazil; and Abstergo’s facility in Rome, Italy.

PLOT

After the events of the previous game, Desmond, William, Shaun, and Rebecca find the Grand Temple of the First Civilization in a cave in New York and access it using their Apple of Eden. As Juno begins to communicate with him, Desmond enters the Animus to deal with his dissociative fugue, where Juno’s influence causes him to experience the memories of his ancestor, Haytham Kenway. In 1754, Haytham assassinates a patron at the Royal Opera House to steal a Key in his possession. Instructed by his Order (later revealed as the Templars) to find the Temple they believe opens, Haytham travels to the American Colonies and recruits several allies to aid his expedition. In the process, he meets and falls in love with a Mohawk woman, Kaniehti: io, who enlists his help in eliminating Edward Braddock before taking him to the Grand Temple, which Haytham is unable to access.

Deducing the Key is meant for the Temple’s inner chambers, Desmond relives the memories of Ratonhnhaké:ton, Haytham, and Kaniehti: io’s son, to find it. In 1760, Kaniehti: io dies during an attack on their village, which Ratonhnhaké:ton assumes was ordered by the Templar Charles Lee. In 1769, the village elder informs Ratonhnhaké:ton that their tribe must protect the Temple, and gives him a Crystal Ball which allows Juno to communicate with him. Juno leads Ratonhnhaké:ton to retired Assassin Achilles Davenport, whose brotherhood collapsed years ago, and he reluctantly agrees to train him. At Achilles’ suggestion, Ratonhnhaké:ton renames himself “Connor” to move more freely throughout the colonies.

Over the following years, Connor is drawn into the American Revolution and the Revolutionary War as he attempts to protect his people and keep the Revolution free of the Templars’ influence. After assassinating most of Haytham’s allies, Connor meets his father and works with him to eliminate a rogue Templar. Later, Haytham discovers George Washington’s plan to displace indigenous populations suspected of supporting the Loyalists, including Connor’s tribe. Haytham also reveals that Washington ordered the attack that killed Kaniehti: io, causing Connor to angrily break ties with both of them. Returning to his village, he learns Lee recruited Mohawk warriors to turn back the Patriots sent to eradicate them and is forced to kill the warriors to avert conflict. In the present, Desmond retrieves batteries to activate the Temple, while being hunted by the Templar Daniel Cross.

After William is captured while trying to recover the final battery, Desmond storms Abstergo’s headquarters in Rome, Italy, kills Cross and Warren Vidic, and rescues his father, reconciling with him. Connor becomes conflicted about eliminating the Templars and hopes to work with Haytham toward peace and freedom. However, Haytham remains convinced of the necessity to control the nation by replacing Washington with Lee. Lee is disgraced by Washington for attempting to sabotage the outcome of the Battle of Monmouth and takes refuge in Fort George. Connor infiltrates the fort, but finds Haytham instead and is forced to kill him. Connor eventually tracks down and assassinates Lee, retrieving the Key given to him by Haytham. Returning to his village, Connor finds it abandoned and the Crystal Ball left behind. Instructed by Juno to conceal the Key, Connor buries it in the grave of Achilles’ son, Connor Davenport.