Assassin’s Creed 3: Tyranny of King Washington: The Betrayal

By: Robert Murphy

Time once again everyone to take a look into the what-if world where the father of our country, George Washington is an evil dictator obsessed with power in the second episode of the “Assassin’s Creed 3’s”  DLC, “Tyranny of King Washington: The Betrayal”. Unlike the first episode of the DLC, “The Betrayal” takes players out of the frontier and puts them back into the hustle and bustle of early colonial life in Boston, not necessarily by your choice but that’s a minor bump in the road.

So close and yet so far, Connor and Washington face to face

Back in Boston and under lock and key we are introduce to the main man himself, George Washington and his partners Ben Franklin and Putnam who are on their way to solidifying control over America and taking it all for themselves. Players will see this new Washington in great form as the man who helped to found our nation shows of his skills but this time for his own personal gain in true evil genius fashion. And as Washington continues to ravage the land and showing true cruelty, Connor is left to suffer more heartache through the “The Betrayals” story and is introduced to new characters in the story along the way. Players will definitely start to see the story move in a faster pace this time around as well, missions and story are more to the point and you won’t spend your time wondering around doing meaningless missions and sitting through lengthy dialogue.

Your Eagle power in action

Connor also gains a new ability with this new DLC and oh boy is it a lot of fun to use, this new power allows Connor to take on the form of an eagle and fly around towns and buildings as well as working as a form of fast travel to use to get from city to city. Unlike your handy invisibility cloak that you gained in the first DLC, the eagle form takes up much less health and comes quite handy when taking on missions and generally one upping every enemy you face. Speaking of which your invisibility power makes for an excellent combination with your new found flying ability as there are many different ways in which you can combine the two making for some amazing assassinations and doing a pretty good job of making you feel like a badass. And how could you not when you are walking around in your Native American headdress and war paint, you feel ready to take on anything that gets thrown at you. However this does come off as a little weird as you are strutting around town with an animal pelt over your head, it makes you wonder why the hell Washington and his men can’t find and stop you I mean you’re kind of a sore thumb.

 Looks like Benjamin Franklin’s pissed that nobody invited him to the party

In conclusion, “The Betrayal” definitely helps players feel more grounded and interested in the story as the first episode had you on loose footing with its large amounts of dialogue and slow pacing that went along with it. However there is more work to be done on the story because it is far from perfect, players still find themselves on a few boring side missions but they now feel less monotonous. The characters that we are used to being great and inspiring men have been designed in a way that there complete change of personalities feels believable and it’s almost sad to see these once great men go so wrong. The story ends on a great cliff hanger although I won’t spoil anything I will just say that we are hopefully in for an amazing final episode to “The Tyranny of King Washington”

Good:

-New Eagle power is amazing and fun to use in combination with your previous abilities

-Pacing is much faster and more conclusive

-Washington and his men are well done in regards to their fall into terrene

Bad:

-Still some monotonous missions

-Walking around town in your headdress, while awesome, makes you question why the people aren’t freaking out around you

-Stories still not on completely solid ground but has definitely improved since the first DLC

Scully Rating: 7.5 out of 10  

Assassin's Creed 3: The Tyranny of King Washington

 (Review by Robert Murphy)

We’ve finally gotten what we wished for boys and girls, the first part of the “Assassin’s Creed 3” DLC for “The Tyranny of King Washington” is available to own for “Assassin’s Creed” fans to enjoy. For those of you who don’t know “The Tyranny of King Washington” is an episodic DLC that is to be released in three parts, “The Infamy”, “The Betrayal” and “The Redemption”. For now though we are only getting to sink our teeth into “The Infamy”, in which Ratonhnhaké:ton or as many of you know him as Conner, our new assassin for “Assassin’s Creed 3”, awakens from an unsettling dream to find that, despite his efforts to deliver justice in the newly-founded United States of America, a new king had been crowned, George Washington?! That’s right, in this "topsy turvy" timeline George Washington is a corrupt and cruel man who has gone mad with power and instead of becoming our first president he decides to rule as a tyrannical king. Also in this world, Conner never receives his English name and only known as Ratonhnhaké:ton never become an assassin to begin with.

(Above: Your wolf cloak in action)

Having never learned the skills of the assassins and with a rampaging former president on the loose Ratonhnhaké:ton must now learn a all new set of skills, this time from his Native American ancestry. One new ability is the Wolf Cloak, which allows Ratonhnhaké:ton to become invisible for short bursts but only to humans and not those infuriating watch dogs, so while you’ll enjoy this new ability mastering it will take some time but is insanely fun when you do. Another new aspect introduced in the DLC is the ability to summon familiars, a group of wolves to be exact *que evil grin*, this wolf pack appears just like your group of assassins would and attack near by “Blue Coats”. Getting to these fun bits takes some time however as “The Infamy” doesn’t feature the ability to freely roam wherever you’d like, like in the game. The DLC is fairly scripted for the most part as you pursue mindless missions to take out enemies attacking your Native American brothers, also the story meanders into mysticism cloaked as Native American traditions while deliberately obfuscating how Ratonhnhaké:ton even woke up in this crazy mirror universe by incorporating key moments from “Assassin’s Creed 3” into the story. For instance, an inn where Connor confronts Charles Lee is now a burned-out husk of a building; this leads you to figuring out more about how this alternate reality came about.

All in all “The Infamy” is a decent start to the three part series that “The Tyranny of King Washington” is set before us. Missions are nicely tied together with stealth and murder in classic “Assassin’s Creed” fashion with new powers like invisibility plus refreshed existing features, calling on allies which is now calling on wolves, mixes things up in a fun new way. However the beginning to this story is a bit slow going at the start and mind numbing but the game still offers the look and feel of “Assassin’s Creed” with a whole new upside down package.

Good:

-New skills and abilities

-Unique new “Assassin’s Creed” world

-The lucid memory experiences where you find the memories from your “real life” are fun and interesting

Bad:

-Slow and mind numbing missions

-Thin narrative that makes the confusing situation you’re in even more confusing

Scully Rating: 7.0 out of 10 

Assassin’s Creed 3

Time once again to return to the shadows of history and put a stop to the Templars in the historical open world stealth game “Assassin’s Creed 3” and this time around players are heading for one of the most turbulent times in American history, the American Revolution. For players who aren’t familiar with the franchise the game comes with an introduction of the story thus far before you get a chance to dig into the action, helping fill in the gaps for anyone who is experiencing the world of “Assassin’s Creed”. Players again assume a duel role between main characters as you experience the events in the present world as Desmond Miles, who is coming closer to finding a way to prevent the destruction of Earth through what his ancestors have shown him. Alongside this, players now assume the role of a new assassin, Conner Kenway a half English/half Mohawkian man as well as his father Haythem Kenway who roles assume most of the players experience through the game. “Assassin’s Creed 3” brings a whole new feel set apart from its predecessors whose stories have taken place mostly in cities and towns, this time around players are able to enjoy the hustle and bustle of Colonial American towns like Boston and New York as well as experience the wild untamed frontier. Players will be able to explore the wide open region full of wildlife such as deer, bears, rabbits and mountain lions along with others that can be caught and killed and sold at general stores throughout the game but the fur can be damaged through to many attacks or using pistols so hunters be warned. While other new gameplay additions include new additions to your arsenal aside from the classic weapons of the assassin’s trade like the hidden blade, players now can use muskets and rifles, which can be fired at a considerable, reload time, or used as a melee weapon. Close combat has also been modified, as players are surrounded and are about to be attack time slows down momentarily allowing you to counter in various ways whether it is dodging, blocking, disarming or attacking your opponents and as an added defense human shields can be taken against firing lines of enemies before they get the chance to mow down players. “Assassin's Creed 3” features new weather simulations such as snow, fog, and rain and depending on the seasons, weather determines how the Templars and soldiers will move around with things such as heavy winter snows making it more difficult to move around. 

Another major change is the Homestead or your home base for all of your assassin activities, which starts as a single house and a few outbuildings but expands as Connor performs missions for people who have been mistreated by the Templars or British soldiers which helps you to convince them to settle near the Homestead. As the number of people living around your Homestead increases so does the ability to upgrade your home and your arsenal as the people in your community bring valuable materials and items to your Homestead such as mined minerals and farmed crops. “Assassin's Creed 3” also features a naval aspect. The entire eastern seaboard is a playable area and carries with it its own playable missions, action, side events as Connor captains the ship and controls attacks on enemy ships. The ship like other in game items can be upgraded with better guns, a battering ram and much more. The game also offers a multiplayer mode feature with over 12 modes, such as “Domination” where players hold certain points on the map against oncoming foes. “Assassin's Creed 3” also features a new co-operative multiplayer mode called “Wolf Pack” where players to form teams of up to 4 people and work collectively to eliminate NPC assassination targets, known as “Moles”.

“Assassin’s Creed 3” has completely outdone itself with a whole new approach to the game players know, removing players from crowded cities and adding the ability to freely leave and go out and explore the incredibly designed wilderness. As well as the addition of a new face to the assassins, which while everyone I’m sure has loved Ezio, being able to play as a new assassin is something to love as you set out after the Templars in one of the most influential times in American history. Players will see and interact with a number of famous people of this era in history such as George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Paul Revere and many others, as well as taking part in famous moments of the revolution whether it is famous battles or history changing movements. “Assassin’s Creed 3” has so much to see and so much to do players will find no shortage of action and enjoyment for seasoned assassins and new recruits alike.

Good:

-Incredible time period to explore and be a part of

-Finally a new assassin

-An endless amount of things to do

-Highly enjoyable multiplayer

Bad:

-Player movements are still a problem at times when climbing across rooftops and trees or during chases trying to get Conner to go the *Expletive deleted* right way 

(Game Reviewed on Xbox 360) 

Scully Rating: 9.5 out of 10