[ALL] Assassin's Creed: Liberation HD

[Handleit_44]

Might as well make a thread for this game since the other info is just shuffled in the Vita thread.

Kotaku Impressions

What happened next was a surprise, though. The action paused, the color faded, and icons lit up over the remaining soldiers. My demonstrator then tagged the soldiers using the Vita's touch screen, and Aveline automatically wiped them out, one at a time.

This power, called a "chain kill," isn't some one-time-only superpower; it's something players can do whenever they want, and is designed to let players who don't want to deal with long swordfights bypass them.

Of course, it's optional, so if you want a more challenging experience, you can forgo the chain kills. Interestingly enough, the chain kills seem to have been added because the core combat has (actually!) been made more difficult. Ubisoft giveth, and Ubisoft taketh away.

The added difficulty comes because there's no longer a perpetual block button—players can't just hold down the button and then mash the "counter" button to do an instakill. Instead, you have to feint and draw opponents out, then perform counters while remaining vulnerable to attack. I didn't have a chance to play the game, but as I watched my demonstrator get his *** kicked by some spanish guards, it became clear that he was unable to do the old Assassin's Creed block-parry two-step.

A few other things I noticed about the game:

• Liberation has a dedicated jump button, the X button. The right trigger runs, but doesn't automatically jump at ledges—instead, you have to press X to jump. That's a big change from a series that typically hasn't had a real jump button.

• I watched a sequence similar to more recent console games' horse and buggy chase sequences; the demonstrator tapped the touch screen to increase the horses' speed and held his finger down to make them slow down. I'm unsold on how fun this would be, but then, I didn't like those sequences in the console games either.

• The game will have an economy like in the console games, though it will be different and "exclusive to the Vita," whatever that means.

• We have confirmation on the alligators in the bayou sections. There will be alligators. Alligators!

• The top devs did the requisite fact-finding trip to New Orleans, and a lot of the city's famous buildings are looking mighty nice.

• Aveline's animations are totally new, and use the same animation tools as Assassin's Creed III; Aveline has a lot of Connor's moves, including pulling up an enemy as a human shield when faced with gunmen.

• Aveline has a machete, which I didn't see used, and a blow-gun, which I did. While she was in one of the series' ubiquitous haystacks, she fired off a dart that poisoned one guard, luring another over to his location for a good neck-stabbing.

• The characters in the game are all based on real historical figures, with the exception of Aveline herself; she's an amalgamation. If a character in the game dies, they died in real life at the same time.

[Swarley]

***We need a Vita thread prefix

The first thing to know about Liberation is that it looks and sounds like a full Assassin’s Creed release. If the game had not been announced as a Vita title, I think I would have assumed it was going to be a console release, because it looks fantastic. The game is being built with the same engine as Assassin’s Creed III, and if they’ve scaled anything back graphically to fit the game on the smaller system, they’ve done an excellent job hiding it.

Our demo begins with Assassin’s Creed’s first female protagonist, Aveline, making her way across a series of roofs in New Orleans towards a gathering of Spanish soldiers in the middle of spat with some of the locals. The city is in the middle of an uprising against the Spanish. Spain was given Louisiana by France after the Revolutionary War, which doesn’t sit will with the residents of the state.

After jumping on a soldier from a rooftop, a fight breaks out. Combat looks like the defensive sword fighting seen in previous Assassins titles. The biggest change from the console versions of the game appears to be the new chain kill bar. Ubisoft said that the name of this new combat mechanic may change by the time Liberation releases, but chain kill bar is an apt description. After performing a number of assassinations, you have a charge bar that will fill allowing you to pause the game and physically tap your opponents on screen. After the game resumes, Aveline automatically chains a series of attacks together to kill everyone you tapped. If enemies are far away, Aveline uses her gun. If they are close, she uses her blade. It recalls a similar system that appeared in another Ubisoft game, Splinter Cell: Conviction, that allowed Sam Fisher to take out multiple enemies in quick succession.

After dispatching the enemies, Aveline moves onto a new section; driving a horse-drawn carriage through the streets of New Orleans. Her cargo is a series of explosive barrels. Enemies fire on Aveline setting her cargo on fire, so she has to rush to her destination in hopes that the barrels don’t explode before she can get where she needs to go. She has a specific location where she wants to the barrels to blow up, after all. To speed up the horses, you have to tap the side of the screen. I asked if you have to use the touch screen exclusively to snap the reigns, and Ubisoft said that it wants to give players the option to use either the touch screen or the buttons for those kinds of actions. At the moment, however, touch screen is the only option. The touch screen was also used to select and equip assorted items in your inventory. Ubisoft said it will likely incorporate the back touch panel in some way, but didn’t have anything to show off in the demo we were seeing.

Our demo ended with a quick romp around the city to see some of the sites. Aveline took a walk through Jackson Square, climbed St. Louis Cathedral, rotated the camera to take in the open city, and did the all too familiar jump into a hay bale below.

[Handleit_44]

[Handleit_44]

[Handleit_44]

Aveline the Chameleon: Personas in Assassin’s Creed III: Liberation

In Assassin’s Creed III: Liberation, you play as Aveline de Granpré, an assassin of mixed French and African heritage. Her assassination skills span multiple disciplines, and she is especially adept at manipulating the perceptions of others in order to move stealthily through all levels of 18th century New Orleans society.

In order to understand Aveline’s talents, it helps to have an accurate picture of the world in which she lived. 18th century New Orleans was a tumultuous place, having just transitioned from Spanish to French occupation. People from all over the world and all walks of life interacted with one another on a daily basis in all sorts of capacities: rich landowners rubbed elbows with freshly imported colonists and wealthy merchants mingled with indentured servants. It was a roiling hodgepodge of nationalities, ideologies, religions, social castes and political affiliations — perhaps more so than any other part of the burgeoning United States.

Born of a French father and African mother through a commonlaw marital system referred to as plaçage, Aveline enjoyed all the privileges of her father’s position as a wealthy merchant. Her mixed race heritage did not impede her ability to blend into high society, as her situation was not uncommon in Louisiana.

As Aveline grew into her role as an assassin, she discovered that she could fluidly switch between social strata just by altering her clothing. This is the basis of the game’s Persona System, accessible through a variety of changing rooms scattered throughout the game world that are unlocked in a way similar to unlocking shops in previous Assassin’s Creed games. Aveline has three personas she can use to blend into different venues: the Slave, the Lady, and the Assassin.

The Slave Persona

Dressed as a commoner of the lower peasant class, Aveline can blend seamlessly with slaves, indentured servants and other workers. As such, she can quickly fade into the background by simply picking up a crate… nothing to see here, just another porter, toting a merchant’s goods. Aveline can also call on her fellow workers for aid and incite them to cause public disturbances on her behalf. There are some drawbacks to this persona, however, as Aveline must eschew her traditional tools of the trade. She’ll be vulnerable if her ruse is discovered!

The Lady Persona

Some places are only open to the highest echelons of society. In order to access these locations, Aveline will need to adopt the aristocratic Lady persona. Dressing in gilded garb befitting the wealthiest and most influential members of high society enables Aveline to charm or even bribe certain individuals, opening up new opportunities for assassination. Sadly, you can’t stash many armaments in a bustle, so Aveline’s weaponry options are extremely limited in her Lady persona. Of course, certain accessories can be modified for lethal effect… poison dart-shooting umbrella, anyone?

The Assassin Persona

The Assassin persona is designed for combat, agility and durability — as such, you’ll spend most of your time in this lethal, nimble guise that boasts many similarities to the Altair and Ezio’s traditional assassin uniform. Though Aveline has access to a much wider variety of weapons and tools in this persona, the Assassin persona has a tendency to stick out like a sore thumb in most social situations. Consequently, guards will naturally become more alert in the presence of the leather-clad Aveline… just think of how relaxed you might feel around someone with a huge machete strapped to her belt!

Now that you’ve familiarized yourself with our heroine Aveline and the tools that she can employ, you’ll be well prepared to tackle Assassin’s Creed III: Liberation when it lands on PS Vita this October 30th. Ignite the revolution!

[Handleit_44]

YES!

[Swarley]

I think my biggest story question right now is, is she actually connected with the Assassin's, or is she just a vigilante assassin on her own?

[IamMedellin]

[Swarley]

So this is what Wikipedia has under the plot section. I'm pretty excited to pop this one into my Vita.

Set in 18th Century New Orleans between 1765 and 1780, which is the time between the end of the French and Indian War up to the middle of the American Revolution, the game follows the story of Aveline de Grandpré, a female Assassin of French and African descent. Aveline is recruited to the Assassin Brotherhood by Agate, an escaped slave, who acts as her mentor. The plot of the game involves the cultural practice of plaçage, where wealthy French and Spanish men have an arranged marriage with a woman of African, Indian or Creole descent, thus allowing those women and their children to gain power, wealth and positions of power in society. "The Bayou" (much like the Frontier in Assassin's Creed III), which is home to smugglers and alligators, will be a place players can visit in the game as well as traveling across the Gulf of Mexico into Mexico. Liberation is not viewed through the memories of series protagonist Desmond Miles; rather it is a "product" created by Abstergo who wish to show a gray area of the Assassin/Templar conflict through the eyes of an Assassin. Aveline will cross paths with Assassin's Creed III protagonist Connor Kenway in the game.

[Swarley]

Game Informer: 7.75 - The Brotherhood Finds A Home On Handheld

The Assassin’s Creed series is one of the biggest success stories of this hardware generation. The historical open worlds, stunning visuals, and cinematic moments showcase the best of what console gaming can provide. While it offers an outstanding experience on the big screen, that ambition has not translated well to handhelds. Assassin’s Creed III: Liberation is the first portable entry to feel like a real Assassin’s Creed game – even if it isn’t among the best of them.

Most of the series’ hallmarks are present in some form. You run around a bustling city, assassinate slavers and business rivals, and search for an artifact from the First Civilization. At the heart of the action is Aveline, a heroine with plenty of personality and a cool arc – especially once the story starts exploring the gray area between Assassin and Templar. The experience doesn’t feel like a low-budget imitation of the real thing, though it admittedly isn’t as polished or extensive as what you find in Assassin’s Creed II or III.

Aveline’s main mission takes her between New Orleans, the bayou, and other locations, but she encounters a handful of diversions along the way. The main money-making loop involves her father’s shipping business. You load up ships with cargo, and then sell that cargo at a different port after the ship’s abbreviated real-time voyage. This addictive mechanic replaces the money you automatically get at intervals in other games, but I like how it requires more participation than simply sitting back and watching the money roll in. I only wish the shipping empire were accessible from more locations; it is inconvenient to hoof it across town to administer your fleet.

Other side missions involve enhancing your shipping, curing poisoned villagers, buying out rival shops, and finding collectibles. Without the constant and automatic influx of money, the value of these tasks is questionable, but they contribute to the sense of activity in the world and keep you occupied when you aren’t slicing through your enemies.

Liberation features a combat system similar to the one found in Assassin’s Creed III, reducing complexity while still making you feel like a capable killer. I miss the ease of Ezio mowing through a group of guards in seconds, but Aveline’s chain-kill ability is a good compromise. Instead of being a natural part of your moveset, it is a special ability that you activate in order to clear out a bunch of attackers in one satisfying swoop. The renewed focus on countering keeps you on your toes, but aggression remains an option. New tools like the whip and the blowgun are great additions to the arsenal, and Aveline shares Connor’s affinity for hatchets.

When Liberation follows the lead of other Assassin’s Creed titles, it excels. When it tries to carve out its own identity, it stumbles. Aveline’s unique hook is her three personas: the assassin, the lady, and the slave. In theory, the abilities of each encourage you to swap them frequently. In practice, the interplay between three personas’ characteristics is poorly thought out. For example, the lady can charm guards, but can’t climb anything – no scaling buildings, leaping fences, or clambering onto the dock if you fall in the water. Every persona has some sort of handicap like that, making them each seem like one-third of a true assassin instead of giving Aveline access to her full range of abilities.

Apart from the single-player campaign (which took me about 12 hours to complete), you can participate in an asynchronous multiplayer mode – but the less said about it, the better. It’s shallow and boring and should be avoided. Another low point is the Vita-specific features; they occasionally feel gimmicky, but more often they are just plain broken. The camera doesn’t detect a bright light even when held directly up to a bulb, the tilt function turns a simple ball-rolling maze into a disaster, and pickpocketing with the rear touchpad rarely works. Liberation serves as a case study in tragic implementation of the Vita’s unique capabilities – probably not what Sony and Ubisoft were hoping for from a system exclusive.

Despite the issues, fans of the series should still seriously consider playing Liberation. None of the worst problems are embedded into the core gameplay. Combat is fun, climbing and navigation work well, the story feels like a natural part of the AC universe. The tie-ins to Assassin’s Creed III are minimal (mainly one mission near the end), but Liberation may hint at what areas the series is exploring next. It isn’t a required piece of the puzzle, but I had fun with Aveline and enjoyed seeing her part in history unfold.

http://www.gameinformer.com/games/assassins_creed_iii_liberation/b/playstation_vita/archive/2012/10/30/assassins-creed-iii-liberation-review.aspx

[Swarley]

Why I Keep Thinking About Assassin's Creed III: Liberation - Shaun McInnis shares his thoughts on why Liberation came so close to greatness, and his hopes for what's to come.

Last week, I reviewed Assassin's Creed III: Liberation. I scored it a 6.5. At various points in the comments, this led people to pronounce that I was surely (A) a Vita hater, (B) a horrible monster, or (C) a horrible, Vita-hating monster. But as these things tend to go, the reality of the matter isn't quite as exciting as the theories: I'm simply a fan of the series who enjoyed Liberation but felt its flaws--technical and otherwise--were substantial enough to warrant a score in the "approach with caution" range.

And yet, in spite of the frame rate issues and misguided touch controls, there's something about Liberation that's stuck with me over the past week. It's a deeply fascinating game, one that takes risks and introduces new ideas to the tried-and-true Assassin's Creed formula. These ideas don't always come together especially well, but they're almost always interesting. And, for me, no part of Liberation is more interesting than its narrative ambitions.



This is a thematically rich game. Kotaku posted a terrific piece last week that goes into great detail about the subject matter in Liberation, the way it places the issues of slavery and racial identity at the heart of its story. And for that, I think Ubisoft deserves a great deal of credit: these are themes few games have ever dealt with, and Liberation confronts them right at the outset.

But therein lies my disappointment with Liberation's storytelling efforts. So much of what makes the narrative interesting is backdrop and backstory, whereas so little of it is character development and sustained plot. It starts out promising, and coasts on that promise for the rest of the game.

A big part of that is how the game handles its protagonist, Aveline de Grandpre. Aveline is a rare sight in video games: an empowered female protagonist whose mixed ethnic background touches on powerful, resonant historical themes. She's the product of two completely different worlds: her father is a wealthy white trader, and her mother is an African slave brought to America by way of Haiti. After her mother mysteriously disappears when Aveline is still a small child, she is taken in by her father and raised in a society that will likely never fully embrace her.

But as the story wears on, the plot is so rushed and concerned with uncovering a dizzying string of Templar threats that hardly any time is spent exploring Aveline's motivations. In fact, Aveline's most important characteristic as an Assassin--why she became one--is almost entirely ignored. Does she join out of revenge? A grand plan to see New Orleans slaves set free? We don't know, and that lack of knowledge removes vital context from Aveline's story.

Now contrast that with Connor's story in Assassin's Creed III. Yes, ACIII gets off to a remarkably slow start, but that's because the game makes a profound investment in fleshing out its main character. It takes its time explaining who Connor's parents are, the trauma he experiences during his youth, and why he's so motivated by anger that he often struggles to align his own goals with those of the Assassin Brotherhood.



I would love to have seen that time and attention afforded to Aveline in her story. So many of the story's most interesting developments--a hinted romance between Aveline and a longtime friend, or her inability to inherit her father's business despite being an only child--are quickly glossed over, and we never see how they motivate her, how they affect her.

Ultimately, Liberation feels like a game that isn't sure of its own identity. Does it want to be a handheld game with a quick, punchy story suited to those playing it on the go, or does it want to take on an ambitious narrative and explore one of the darkest periods in American history? In the end, I feel like Liberation tries to do both and suffers for it.

And yet, I keep thinking about it. A week after posting my review, Liberation's story lingers in my head: "If only this, if only that…" Clearly, Liberation has done something right. Its narrative ambitions may not have led to the most elegant story, but Ubisoft has succeeded in sparking a train of thought that has lasted well beyond the closing credits.

That's why I hope to see Liberation as the first step on the road toward something more. When Ubisoft inevitably continues to expand the Assassin's Creed franchise, I would love to see them return to this era of American history and, if not continue Aveline's story directly, at the very least continue to explore the powerful themes it's touched on here.

Remember, this is a series that has now had five primary installments and at least a half-dozen portable spin-offs. The fact that it's still able to be so interesting is a triumph in and of itself. Now take what makes Liberation so interesting and build on it. Give the story the breathing room it deserves. Forget the rules of storytelling on handheld systems and give us a narrative that plays by its own rules.

http://www.gamespot.com/features/why-i-keep-thinking-about-assassins-creed-iii-liberation-6399671/

[Handleit_44]

Ubisoft happy with sales, hints at more Aveline

“It's the first time we've proposed another experience on another format, but there are some links between both of the games. The consumers are aware that Aveline, the main character on the Vita format, could have a future in our history for the Assassin's Creed brand, and the second thing is we wanted to bring a new experience using the features of the Vita.”

“For now we are super happy with the first results we have got on the Vita, it is the biggest launch for week one for 2012, and it's the first Vita product for this end of the year.”

[Twigg4075]

"...first time we've proposed another experience on another format"? What about Bloodlines on PSP?

[Swarley]

Assassin's Creed: Liberation HD is coming to consoles next year:

[jms493]

Assassin's Creed: Liberation HD is coming to consoles next year:

how much? Ill give them $20 at the most.