i immediately liked haytham after the whole "we're actually templars" reveal.. because until that point.. i don't know there was something about him.. like when he's talking to the ship captain at the beggining of the game.. i mean.. he was pretty brutal and kinda extreme.. but then it all makes sense xD
I put up with all the bad story and characterization just to see Haythem he's awesome and an excellent example of an antagonist who believes what he is doing is right and what he says actually makes sense in a way. He was like a more in depth AC1 templar who is actually following the templar ideal and not just power grabbing.
Although I agree with Connor's voice acting quality, I thought about it a little more. Connor was a Native American, who learned English as a second language. He's not going to be able to express the subtleties of a language if it's not second-nature. Maybe I'm trying to defend a bad performance, but it's possible that it was directed that way. Just a thought to throw out there.
Subtleties don't necessarily have to be expressed through word choice. In fact, your point strengthens the fact that the voice actor really needed to be able to work the subtleties into his tone moreso than the script.
Well you gave the best possible defense of that bad performance, I'll tell you that much. ;) Seriously, though. Connor having English as his second language has absolutely nothing to do with the quality of the performance. The issue is tone and inflection. Connor could be speaking complete gibberish, and a better voice actor could have created an emotive, expressive character.
Kinda like the scene in Spider Man 3 where Parker is acting like a douche and everybody said it was a terrible performance by Tobey. When the fact of the matter is, it's supposed to look bad and unnatural, cause that isn't Peter Parker's usual persona.
Just discovered this channel today and stumbled onto this video. I really liked Connor, even though I knew how his story would most likely end (I mean just pick up a history book) but the one thing I find that most reviewers miss out on is that many Native groups thought that English was a highly deceptive language. Though they would learn it, many tended to speak very bluntly and plainly. When you take into consideration Connors sourness to having to become an assassin, his culture, and the political climate he was actually pretty accurate.
conner whatched his mother burn alive as a child. Of course his emotion is stunted. With all the stuff he's been through I don't think he gets enough credit for doing the right thing
I loved this game, mostly becuase of the story that i found really good and the grey templars/assassins (and the great protagonist, really liked Connor because, for me, he was a much more "hard to understand" protagonist than the previous ones. And his cut dialogue "Connor Forsaken ending" is great)
I really enjoyed this one, Arch. You touched on some very interesting points about the theme of this game. I look forward to your AC4 rumination. You should play it as soon as possible... It's awesome. My personal favorite in the series.
Wow! I am speechless. I have watched the entirety of the video nodding my head. You have just summarized in words every single emotion i have experienced with this game. This is exactly how I have felt as well. And yes I agree with you on the fact that it is all nice when everyone waves their flag and fights for ideology and for what they believe is right, but there is this question that one has to always ask themselves: At what cost? The final mission in Assasin's Creed 3 for me was a very well done sequence. As far as the franchise goes itself, so far I have disliked Assasin's creed Unity and it is not because of bugs or glitches, but because it failed to provide me with any experiences that assasin's creed 1 through 4 has provided. I am not saying that Unity does not have some great moments, it is just that there are so many ideologies that could have been shown in French revolution, that were missed out.
Am I seriously the only one that saw the twist coming at the start where Haytham and everyone he recruits are Templars? It was so obvious for one simple reason, they never call themselves Assassins or refer to the brotherhood or creed so it was clear they would be templars
So many parts frustrate me with this game. But I found the narrative and themes to be very well done. Love what you said about thr Templars in this game being fleshed out. It's so true.
Amazing rumination as always. Thank you sir. Oh arch you gonna loooove AC IV :D Me and my wife did too. I just don't know why they made it an Assassins Creed game :) really looking forward to your AC4 rumination.
I appreciate Assassin's Creed 3 a lot more after playing Black Flag, the ideas that were tried that didn't quite work out for the AC3 team were refined to near perfection by the Black Flag team. I look forward to hearing your thoughts on Black Flag.
i played through the assassin's creed series driven by the story of altair ezio and desmond... when I played 3 i didn't liked connor and we all know what happened to desmond so I gave up on the series because I was expecting a game where desmond would have to be the hero on present time... but I liked this video enough to give assassins creed 3 another chance and i think i will replay it soon
"The best possible outcome if you try really really hard, and apply yourself, and on top of that are lucky, is that things will be bad." * looks around himself* Yeah, sounds about right, what's your issue?
AC4 was far better IMO. Dare I say best in the series....yes. I liked Edward a lot as well as the other characters. Ok the gameplay hasn't changed much, but I genuinely feel it was as refined and for once that kind of gameplay mechanics has the perfect terrain to use it on.
It's a bit interesting, the way you described Charles Lee. The thing is, I *did* find him to be a total caricature when I was playing. And I guess this goes along with my perception of most other things that the game presented; I felt like most of the themes that the game attempted to express were (for the lack of a better word) simple and uninteresting. To me, it felt like they were actually trying to make the assassins seem like the objectively correct, and the templars as the opposite. And that bothered me constantly, because the assassins were being complete idiots. I have to admit, the way you put it almost made me reverse my opinion a bit. Unfortunately, I'm stuck with the experience that the game gave me when I played it, and I'm never *ever* planning to play it through again. This is a whole other topic, but I was actually really excited for AC3 before it came out, and I had preordered it together with the season pass. Once I had finished the base game I got so turned off by it that I actually forgot about the DLC entirely. Eventually, I realised that it would be an actual waste of money if I didn't at least take a look at one of the pieces of DLC, so I did. I booted up the Tyranny of George Washington-thing, played for about an hour and turned it off again. It was so bad, I was actually laughing at it. To be quite honest, that was actually my reaction when I watched the credits roll for the base game - I could not believe how bad it was.
It's a strange game for me. The action sequences were not as immersive for me as the previous 2 games and the plot, as you said, was to a point pretty pointless, but at the same time the game, in contrast to the previous 2, really moved to that extra level of reality that it isn't this Good vs Evil (Assassins vs Templar) concept. It goes much deeper where there are pros and cons to both sides. Although the plot was weak, some of the most memorable scenes from my AC experience comes from this game - the scene where Ratonhnhaké:ton(Connor) is being led to the gallows, or the fantastically-done plot twist early in the game where the absolutely brilliant character that is Haytham Kenway is inducting Lee, or the final scene where Lee and Connor are sitting in the bar. I had trouble with Connor's unmerciful actions in that latter scene but it was a reflection of the main plot changing from a Tribal/Assasin driven agenda to a much more personal one. It struck a few chords with the player that you didn't really get from the previous 2 games. In regard Sean's codex, while it was good that they included it, it was pure propaganda, so much so that in a number of occasions, it resorted to flat out lying.
I dont think they should have had an animus for this game. It was unnecessary. The whole game should have been present day. You were at the temple. You were all together. You knew the templars plan and you knew about the solar flare. You had all the training. Desmond should have been given his robes and you should have been hunting abstergo higher ups to stop their launch and find the key. Could have wrapped the whole thing up and then continue single stories about assassins in future games without having to worry about the present day
Wow, I couldn't disagree more when it comes to Connor. Maybe it has to do with interpretation but I see Connor as a vengeful young man enraged by his mother's death and the attack on his village and constantly chopping at the leash to get at those whom he believes wronged him while at the same time being very naive in the giving of his trust and his own sense of honor.
I think the current AC plot should have ended with Ezio/Desmond in AC Revelations. I believe Ubisoft is simply milking the franchise by constantly releasing the game every year. Because the game is playing with time, they can certainly continue on with the series, but the plot about stopping the "end of the world thingy" with the apple of eden, could have easily been solved in the last game. I have not played AC 4 yet either.
regarding the present plot.. i think they should have finished it already, because it's dragging at this point, they should just finish it and then, if they want, just find some bullshit excuse to keep making games.. but we need an ending already
Personally, this is my least favourite AC game (still finishing rogue. Will continue with Syndicate. Don't have Unity nor origins) The plot was not very interesting to me, and in terms of gameplay, most side stuff felt irrelevant. Combat was cool but a little clunky (I played on PS3). Overall, finishing this game ended up feeling like a chore. I don't ever want gaming to be, or fee,l like a chore in my Life. Haytham was AMAZING though. Every single time he was on screen, I enjoyed my time with the game. The twist at the beginning with him being a Templar also caught me by surprise. The other thing I really liked from this game is that I definitely felt like I was playing on the "bad" side of the conflict. I definitely turned Templar with this game. I probably won't ever play this AC again, but I respect the fact that it was a template for the awesomeness that is AC 4
Connor is an example of a good concept but terrible execution. His dialogue comprises mostly of whining or being a prick to those around him, also WHERE'S CHARLES LEE. His moral compass is off, where he finds lying more morally wrong than killing people. The voice actor didn't help either, particularly when speaking in English, meanwhile his Mohawk actually gave a hint of emotional subtleties. Also this game doesn't use historical characters nearly as much as it should of. Haytham is the best thing to come out of the game.
Oddly, I like this game much more than AC4. Maybe it's just because I got finally tired of stale combat/gameplay mechanics by the time AC4 came out. And I think they failed to convey this whole caribbean open-world feel because of the cookie-cutter Ubisoft approach to building their games lately.
AC has gone from a good, quality series to a rushed, half assed money grab. The fact that they are incapable of making a functional and stable multiplayer (ESPECIALLY when trying to play with a group) has killed it for me. AC3 will be the last Ubisoft game that I EVER buy. And I mean that. I had a lot of time with ACIV thanks to a friend. The mulitplayer was again....terrible and broken. I will say the SP was fun, but still not "there" IMO at least. Done with Ubisoft as a whole. Seeing all the anger and rage from the Watchdogs players made me laugh and laugh and laugh and laugh.
For me this was by far the worst in the series. Connor was boring, the world was boring and the story, both in the past and in the future were both uninteresting. The game failed to impersonate the time it was set in. In my opinion this is a bad game.
Does anyone else listen to these whilst they go to sleep?
Alistair Hayes That I do. I watch them normally beforehand, but afterwards I use them to help me sleep. His voice is so soothing.
+Farmeryeti that and their very insightful more than most game analysis.
I do. He's very articulate and has insight into games which puts me in a sort of content mindset, perfect for falling asleep.
Same i thought i was the only one 😃
I tried, but these ruminations especially this one, always get me emotionally and keep me curious. So no i only can sleep after they ended.
The tour guide bit got me. "Hold on I'll scare it off with a flare" in monotone tour guide voice.
i immediately liked haytham after the whole "we're actually templars" reveal.. because until that point.. i don't know there was something about him.. like when he's talking to the ship captain at the beggining of the game.. i mean.. he was pretty brutal and kinda extreme.. but then it all makes sense xD
I put up with all the bad story and characterization just to see Haythem he's awesome and an excellent example of an antagonist who believes what he is doing is right and what he says actually makes sense in a way. He was like a more in depth AC1 templar who is actually following the templar ideal and not just power grabbing.
Although I agree with Connor's voice acting quality, I thought about it a little more. Connor was a Native American, who learned English as a second language. He's not going to be able to express the subtleties of a language if it's not second-nature. Maybe I'm trying to defend a bad performance, but it's possible that it was directed that way. Just a thought to throw out there.
Great point.
Subtleties don't necessarily have to be expressed through word choice. In fact, your point strengthens the fact that the voice actor really needed to be able to work the subtleties into his tone moreso than the script.
Well you gave the best possible defense of that bad performance, I'll tell you that much. ;)
Seriously, though. Connor having English as his second language has absolutely nothing to do with the quality of the performance. The issue is tone and inflection. Connor could be speaking complete gibberish, and a better voice actor could have created an emotive, expressive character.
Agreed
Kinda like the scene in Spider Man 3 where Parker is acting like a douche and everybody said it was a terrible performance by Tobey. When the fact of the matter is, it's supposed to look bad and unnatural, cause that isn't Peter Parker's usual persona.
Just discovered this channel today and stumbled onto this video. I really liked Connor, even though I knew how his story would most likely end (I mean just pick up a history book) but the one thing I find that most reviewers miss out on is that many Native groups thought that English was a highly deceptive language. Though they would learn it, many tended to speak very bluntly and plainly. When you take into consideration Connors sourness to having to become an assassin, his culture, and the political climate he was actually pretty accurate.
Haven't watched yet, but I remember my favorite part about this game being the whole intro section. The revelation at the end of it was pretty cool.
I'm glad to see you doing your ruminations again. Great video, please keep 'em coming when you have the time.
I knew it! Arch doesn't wear pants!
I really enjoy listening to you just break down games. Great work
conner whatched his mother burn alive as a child. Of course his emotion is stunted. With all the stuff he's been through I don't think he gets enough credit for doing the right thing
absolutely love your ruminations
I loved this game, mostly becuase of the story that i found really good and the grey templars/assassins (and the great protagonist, really liked Connor because, for me, he was a much more "hard to understand" protagonist than the previous ones. And his cut dialogue "Connor Forsaken ending" is great)
I'm still kind of disappointed we never got to see Charles Lee walking with his legion of dogs.
Can't wait for you to play AC4 now. I'm sure you'll ADORE it.
Since when did Arch have legs? I thought his bottom half was just a chair.
"You, are a Templar." No Arch, you are not the only one, it got me too.
I really enjoyed this one, Arch. You touched on some very interesting points about the theme of this game.
I look forward to your AC4 rumination. You should play it as soon as possible... It's awesome. My personal favorite in the series.
Wow! I am speechless. I have watched the entirety of the video nodding my head. You have just summarized in words every single emotion i have experienced with this game. This is exactly how I have felt as well. And yes I agree with you on the fact that it is all nice when everyone waves their flag and fights for ideology and for what they believe is right, but there is this question that one has to always ask themselves: At what cost? The final mission in Assasin's Creed 3 for me was a very well done sequence. As far as the franchise goes itself, so far I have disliked Assasin's creed Unity and it is not because of bugs or glitches, but because it failed to provide me with any experiences that assasin's creed 1 through 4 has provided. I am not saying that Unity does not have some great moments, it is just that there are so many ideologies that could have been shown in French revolution, that were missed out.
AC3 is by far my favorite in the series.
Am I seriously the only one that saw the twist coming at the start where Haytham and everyone he recruits are Templars? It was so obvious for one simple reason, they never call themselves Assassins or refer to the brotherhood or creed so it was clear they would be templars
So many parts frustrate me with this game. But I found the narrative and themes to be very well done. Love what you said about thr Templars in this game being fleshed out. It's so true.
Amazing rumination as always. Thank you sir.
Oh arch you gonna loooove AC IV :D Me and my wife did too. I just don't know why they made it an Assassins Creed game :) really looking forward to your AC4 rumination.
Most of the past plot comes with the sub-quests (like homestead building), after the main campaign has been finished.
I appreciate Assassin's Creed 3 a lot more after playing Black Flag, the ideas that were tried that didn't quite work out for the AC3 team were refined to near perfection by the Black Flag team.
I look forward to hearing your thoughts on Black Flag.
The Present Day was Vulnerable.
I am a Big fan of Ac 1 and 2.
Wow I just discovered these videos, I love this! Subscribed and liked!
I'd like to see a assassins creed 4 review or a bioshock infinite review or a last of us review by archeng
Awesome rumination dude. You somewhat redeemed this game for me.
i played through the assassin's creed series driven by the story of altair ezio and desmond... when I played 3 i didn't liked connor and we all know what happened to desmond so I gave up on the series because I was expecting a game where desmond would have to be the hero on present time...
but I liked this video enough to give assassins creed 3 another chance and i think i will replay it soon
the rosebud gag is classic and you never should have dropped it
He does it on stream sometimes
"The best possible outcome if you try really really hard, and apply yourself, and on top of that are lucky, is that things will be bad."
* looks around himself*
Yeah, sounds about right, what's your issue?
Nice Rosebud transition for the spoiler warning.
AC4 was far better IMO. Dare I say best in the series....yes. I liked Edward a lot as well as the other characters. Ok the gameplay hasn't changed much, but I genuinely feel it was as refined and for once that kind of gameplay mechanics has the perfect terrain to use it on.
I had Haytham's alignment spoiled for me, but in any case they cheated - in one of the missions they use the assassin banner to mark your allies.
Great rumination as always! Have you ever thought talking about the tales series at all. Would love know your deep opinion
It's a bit interesting, the way you described Charles Lee. The thing is, I *did* find him to be a total caricature when I was playing. And I guess this goes along with my perception of most other things that the game presented; I felt like most of the themes that the game attempted to express were (for the lack of a better word) simple and uninteresting. To me, it felt like they were actually trying to make the assassins seem like the objectively correct, and the templars as the opposite. And that bothered me constantly, because the assassins were being complete idiots. I have to admit, the way you put it almost made me reverse my opinion a bit. Unfortunately, I'm stuck with the experience that the game gave me when I played it, and I'm never *ever* planning to play it through again.
This is a whole other topic, but I was actually really excited for AC3 before it came out, and I had preordered it together with the season pass. Once I had finished the base game I got so turned off by it that I actually forgot about the DLC entirely. Eventually, I realised that it would be an actual waste of money if I didn't at least take a look at one of the pieces of DLC, so I did. I booted up the Tyranny of George Washington-thing, played for about an hour and turned it off again. It was so bad, I was actually laughing at it. To be quite honest, that was actually my reaction when I watched the credits roll for the base game - I could not believe how bad it was.
Wow, I used to have the exact same opinion of this game. I did have some fun with it, but nowhere near what I had with the previous AC games.
It's a strange game for me. The action sequences were not as immersive for me as the previous 2 games and the plot, as you said, was to a point pretty pointless, but at the same time the game, in contrast to the previous 2, really moved to that extra level of reality that it isn't this Good vs Evil (Assassins vs Templar) concept. It goes much deeper where there are pros and cons to both sides. Although the plot was weak, some of the most memorable scenes from my AC experience comes from this game - the scene where Ratonhnhaké:ton(Connor) is being led to the gallows, or the fantastically-done plot twist early in the game where the absolutely brilliant character that is Haytham Kenway is inducting Lee, or the final scene where Lee and Connor are sitting in the bar. I had trouble with Connor's unmerciful actions in that latter scene but it was a reflection of the main plot changing from a Tribal/Assasin driven agenda to a much more personal one. It struck a few chords with the player that you didn't really get from the previous 2 games.
In regard Sean's codex, while it was good that they included it, it was pure propaganda, so much so that in a number of occasions, it resorted to flat out lying.
I dont think they should have had an animus for this game. It was unnecessary. The whole game should have been present day.
You were at the temple. You were all together. You knew the templars plan and you knew about the solar flare. You had all the training.
Desmond should have been given his robes and you should have been hunting abstergo higher ups to stop their launch and find the key. Could have wrapped the whole thing up and then continue single stories about assassins in future games without having to worry about the present day
Maybe the land of the free, isn't so free after all.
If that's the case, then there's no such thing as a free land.
You should have caught on to the charles lee. im surprised you didn't TBH.
@Lorerunner: so Hatham is Enabrain Tain?
I used to think this game was the weakest of the series then I replayed it when I got older and I think it's great
Wow, I couldn't disagree more when it comes to Connor. Maybe it has to do with interpretation but I see Connor as a vengeful young man enraged by his mother's death and the attack on his village and constantly chopping at the leash to get at those whom he believes wronged him while at the same time being very naive in the giving of his trust and his own sense of honor.
tomclancy008 fact
You explain this yet everyone else doesn't care, due to them not liking him as much. As a man placed it, "He's a brat."
I think the current AC plot should have ended with Ezio/Desmond in AC Revelations. I believe Ubisoft is simply milking the franchise by constantly releasing the game every year. Because the game is playing with time, they can certainly continue on with the series, but the plot about stopping the "end of the world thingy" with the apple of eden, could have easily been solved in the last game. I have not played AC 4 yet either.
Is this the very first rumination??? So they go in order in the playlist? And so what year did the Lore daddy shave his wizard locks ?
They are in order of playlist but all the Ruminations before this were back in the old and terrible days, so I put them in a separate playlist.
MGS ruminations, please?
Wait a minute, was that JC2 in your intro? Archengeia
regarding the present plot.. i think they should have finished it already, because it's dragging at this point, they should just finish it and then, if they want, just find some bullshit excuse to keep making games.. but we need an ending already
Personally, this is my least favourite AC game (still finishing rogue. Will continue with Syndicate. Don't have Unity nor origins)
The plot was not very interesting to me, and in terms of gameplay, most side stuff felt irrelevant. Combat was cool but a little clunky (I played on PS3).
Overall, finishing this game ended up feeling like a chore. I don't ever want gaming to be, or fee,l like a chore in my Life.
Haytham was AMAZING though. Every single time he was on screen, I enjoyed my time with the game.
The twist at the beginning with him being a Templar also caught me by surprise.
The other thing I really liked from this game is that I definitely felt like I was playing on the "bad" side of the conflict. I definitely turned Templar with this game.
I probably won't ever play this AC again, but I respect the fact that it was a template for the awesomeness that is AC 4
by the way.. you really should play "the wolf among us"
Yeah Haytham was a badass
Connor is an example of a good concept but terrible execution. His dialogue comprises mostly of whining or being a prick to those around him, also WHERE'S CHARLES LEE. His moral compass is off, where he finds lying more morally wrong than killing people.
The voice actor didn't help either, particularly when speaking in English, meanwhile his Mohawk actually gave a hint of emotional subtleties.
Also this game doesn't use historical characters nearly as much as it should of.
Haytham is the best thing to come out of the game.
Are you the Captain of your ship of destiny?
Oddly, I like this game much more than AC4. Maybe it's just because I got finally tired of stale combat/gameplay mechanics by the time AC4 came out. And I think they failed to convey this whole caribbean open-world feel because of the cookie-cutter Ubisoft approach to building their games lately.
I was more interested in the past events, didn't care whatsoever about Desmond&Friends.
If you like having your own sheep on a game try minecraft
AC has gone from a good, quality series to a rushed, half assed money grab. The fact that they are incapable of making a functional and stable multiplayer (ESPECIALLY when trying to play with a group) has killed it for me. AC3 will be the last Ubisoft game that I EVER buy. And I mean that. I had a lot of time with ACIV thanks to a friend. The mulitplayer was again....terrible and broken. I will say the SP was fun, but still not "there" IMO at least. Done with Ubisoft as a whole. Seeing all the anger and rage from the Watchdogs players made me laugh and laugh and laugh and laugh.
For me this was by far the worst in the series. Connor was boring, the world was boring and the story, both in the past and in the future were both uninteresting. The game failed to impersonate the time it was set in. In my opinion this is a bad game.