Stand on the tip of the south-easterly American protuberance that is Florida, and you're around 300 miles away from the Caribbean Sea. That's the curiously remote location where Assassin's Creed III's naval warfare demos have been set.
Why is an area fenced in by Cuba, and the umbilical cord of smaller countries that link Columbia to Mexico, getting so much attention? Well, in 1778, it was one of the naval theatres of the American Revolution. Mainly, where the British and the French would fight over the resources of the West Indies. And if one thing will stop us British being so tetchy about being the bad guys in ACIII, it's getting the French involved.
Right as rain
It's set against the violent and beautiful extremes of weather and cloud-porn skies that have been conjured by the AnvilNext engine. The weather will affect your tactics but, more importantly, it's bloody lovely to look at.
You'll be able to fire multiple kinds of ammo from your broadside cannon. Your standard round shot cannonballs fire at long range in flank-busting salvos of iron. We've seen the chain shot, where the ball separates like the deadly yellow plastic of a Kinder Egg - only connected by a chain designed to take down masts and sails.
Grapeshot is like an oversized shotgun, firing smaller lead pellets that bounce harmlessly off a ship, but tear lethally through the personnel at short range. Finally, there's the heat shot - molten lead that'll mess up the boat and crew alike. There's also a swivel cannon that you can use to take out individual targets.
Most naval battle games stop short at the point where you've sunk the ship. But Assassin's Creed isn't about piddling boats - it's about wiping out Templar conspirators. So once you've battered a galleon into a hobbled, splintered submission, you'll have to pull up alongside your quarry, board, and deliver Tomahawk-flavoured lacerations onto the soft, pink faces of your enemies.
8 comments so far...
Captain_Chao5 on 18 Oct '12 said:
This is sounding awesome! I cannot wait for it to arrive. Luckyily I've ordered Dishono(u)red to keep me quiet in the meantime.
Jukegun on 18 Oct '12 said:
Team America vs the French and the Brits.......MUCRICA!!!!!! no one in the UK is preordering this game, everyone is waiting for some British reviews to come out. If it's like the trailers, then no chance
DGR1980 on 18 Oct '12 said:
Not true.
I preordered it weeks ago, even before i saw the trailer of Connor leap assassinating an american soldier
Gazisdaman on 18 Oct '12 said:
Actually I'm pretty sure that the French were on the side of the Americans as they saw it as an excuse to draw British assets away from the ongoing Napoleonic wars in Europe.
JacobsM on 18 Oct '12 said:
I CAN'Twait!!!!!
EdDeRs1 on 18 Oct '12 said:
hes right, the Revolution took place while we were kicking Napoleons ass all over Europe so we didnt have the troops to hols America when the French sent in forces to help the traitors to the crown
Rick.Ramsayer on 18 Oct '12 said:
Actually I'm pretty sure that the French were on the side of the Americans as they saw it as an excuse to draw British assets away from the ongoing Napoleonic wars in Europe.
hes right, the Revolution took place while we were kicking Napoleons ass all over Europe so we didnt have the troops to hols America when the French sent in forces to help the traitors to the crown
This game is set during the so called American War Of Independance where the English colonies were revolting against taxation imposed by the government in London. This occurred many years before Napoleon came onto the scene. Don't confuse this period in history with the war of 1812 when England got annoyed with the U.S. for protesting against their ships and crews being forced to serve in the Royal Navy against Napoleonic France. The French supported the Revolutionaries because it was in their best interests and it was because of their intervention that English had to admit defeat and allow the colonists to rule themselves.
ChillieBonBon on 18 Oct '12 said:
This is like an online history lesson!