Thursday, May 23, 2013

Assassin’s Creed 3: Tyranny of King Washington – The Redemption





By: Robert Murphy

It has finally come to pass; the conclusion to the “Tyranny of King Washington,” “The Redemption” is our final chapter to this three part DLC and this alternate universe we’ve experienced where some of the revolutions greatest heroes have become America’s biggest threat, leaving Connor to put an end to the madness. We finally dig into a heavier dose of action this time around and it all leads up to the confrontation that we’ve all been waiting for between Connor and King Washington and anything that just so happens to stand between you and him along the way. So without further introduction, let’s dig into the fast paced conclusion to the “Tyranny of King Washington” and tearing down his empire of built on blood and suffering.

 I think King Washington is overcompensating a bit

The story comes to us with an enjoyable addition by the way of the sea, yes once again we are back at the helm of the Aquila right at the beginning of “The Redemptions” story and it feels good to be back out on the high seas battling with your crew. Sea warfare was a fantastic part of “Assassin’s Creed 3’s” gameplay and continues to be as you blast your way through the ships outside of New York’s docks that Connor must penetrate to gain access to the city. Last time around in “The Betrayal,” we left the woods of Connors people and entered the hustle and bustle of Boston, which was pretty much the same as it was in “Assassin’s Creed 3” if not exactly the same. In “The Redemption” however Connor heads to New York City which is drastically different from the last time we laid eyes on it, thanks to King Washington and his personal changes, trying to make New York City a sort of capital to his empire and its definitely something to be seen. The city which was once compact with rows of homes and shops is now cleared out and stands testament to Washington’s giant stone pyramid covered with workers toiling away at its walls. These people become the key to your success in this DLC, all the down trotted people of New York City are starving, hurting and angry at the oppression that they are facing and with Connor aiding them this aggression soon turns to action. The missions Connor takes on this time now revolve around this, changing things up from past DLC missions where you go and fetch something for a character and instead lead you to doing tasks like protecting a food chart from being taken by Blue Coats so that it can feed the starving people of New York.

 The Aquila is back!

Speaking of Blue Coats, boy are these guys everywhere and I mean EVERYWHERE! It’s not surprising that the nerve center of King Washington’s empire would be heavily guarded but hot damn these guys make it hard to get around and enjoy this crazy new city’s surroundings. This massive amount of enemies can be a problem but thanks to the new power this time around, you will be able to make quick work of a crowd of those blue bastards. This time around Connor is endowed with the power of the bear which is a large physical stomp that comes in handy when you’re in a jam and surrounded by enemies and is crazy fun to use as it throws your enemies outwards with rag doll enjoyment following along with it. Sadly the power of the bear comes with a price as it zaps a good chunk of your health, so while it is enjoyable to use, it is used more or less used as a last resort in a losing fight against your enemies and makes the original problem of too many enemies still a problem but an easier to deal with problem. But if this still bums you out, you still have all the previous abilities that you’ve gained in “The Tyranny of King Washington” including the power of the eagle, so you can soar over all of the Blue Coats you want.

The power of the bear in action

Now with all this wrapped up we come to center of our story, a moment we all knew was coming as we come face to face with Washington and his tyrannical madness, brought on by the Apple of Eden but also we begin to see the effects and the costs of Connors animal gifts. Yes, Connor has a lot on going on inside of him as the powers that he controls take their toll on him and make it harder to reach your goal of putting an end to Washington’s corruption. This however isn’t very well explained and is rather quickly dismissed as you finally come to the final confrontation with King Washington, which was itself a disappointment. After you climb to the peak of Washington’s monument to over compensation, you’re placed into a sad boss fight, that ends quickly and leaves players with a philosophical and supposedly deep ending which is the exact opposite of what you wanted and for that matter deserved but what are you going to do, it is what it is.

 It all led to this

As a whole, “The Tyranny of King Washington” came to players with a lot of unique and exciting ideas from the alternate universe to the unique premise of having some of our nation’s greatest icons turn out to be the most vile enemies in United States history. “The Redemption” however proves to be somewhat of a lack luster finale to the story, regaining control of the Aquila was amazing, the power of the bear is crazy fun to use but it all came down to the climax of the battle between Connor and Washington, which was far from what it should have been.

Good:

-Being back aboard the Aquila feels great

-Power of the bear is a lot of fun to use as enemies soar through the air in true rag doll fashion

-Stunning visuals and a great new city to explore, if you can

Bad:

-Enemies….enemies everywhere!

-Disappointing ending

Scully Rating: 7.0 out of 10

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