Assassin's Creed III: Liberation

Assassin's Creed III: Liberation is a 2012 action-adventure video game developed and published by Ubisoft, and released on October 30, 2012 in North America,[11] with a worldwide launch the following day, on PlayStation Vita.[12] It is the fourth spin-off installment in the Assassin's Creed series, and takes place alongside the events of Assassin's Creed III.

Assassin's Creed III: Liberation
Developer(s)Ubisoft Sofia[1]
Ubisoft Milan[2]
Ubisoft Montreal[3]
Publisher(s)Ubisoft
Director(s)Julian Gollop[4][5]
Producer(s)Martin Capel[6]
Writer(s)Richard Farrese
Jill Murray[6]
Composer(s)Winifred Phillips
Music produced by
Winnie Waldron[7]
SeriesAssassin's Creed
EngineAnvilNext
Platform(s)Nintendo Switch
PlayStation 4
Xbox One
PlayStation Vita
PlayStation 3
Xbox 360
Microsoft Windows
ReleasePlayStation Vita
  • NA: October 30, 2012
  • EU: October 31, 2012
  • AU: October 31, 2012
  • JP: November 15, 2012
Liberation HD
PlayStation 3
  • NA: January 14, 2014[8]
  • EU: January 15, 2014[8]
  • AU: January 15, 2014
Microsoft Windows, Xbox 360
Liberation Remastered
PlayStation 4, Xbox One
  • WW: March 29, 2019
[10]
Genre(s)Action-adventure, stealth
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer[1]

The plot is set within a fictional history of real-world events and follows the centuries-old struggle between the Assassins, who fight for peace with free will, and the Templars, who desire peace through control. The game is set between 1765 and 1777, and focuses on the life of African-French Assassin Aveline de Grandpré, the series' first female protagonist, as she attempts to stop the Templars gaining control over 18th century New Orleans towards the end of the French and Indian War, which culminates in her seeking out and eliminating the mysterious leader of the group in their operations.[1][11] The game takes place within an open world and is presented from the third-person perspective with a primary focus on using combat and stealth abilities to complete missions and optional tasks. Liberation received mixed reviews following its release.

Although originally an exclusive title for Vita, it was fully remade in 2014 as Assassin's Creed: Liberation HD for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Microsoft Windows via the PlayStation Network, Xbox Live Arcade and Steam.[8][13] In March 2019, the game was re-released as part of Assassin's Creed III Remastered for Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and Microsoft Windows, in which it was redesigned to operate with 4K HDR/enhanced visuals, and included several improvements such as an entirely new graphics engine using physics-based lighting, brand new character models, and heavily revamped game mechanics; this remaster was released for the Nintendo Switch in May 2019.

Gameplay

Assassin's Creed III: Liberation retains the "franchise's trademark open world and gameplay",[14] while making use of the PlayStation Vita's touchscreen and rear touch pad, cameras and gyroscope. These include Chain Kill combat, and the ability to pickpocket people.[15] By linking the game to Assassin's Creed III, the player receives an in-game version of Connor's tomahawk, an exclusive character skin, a multiplayer character and a complete upgrade of all ammunition pouches.[11] The game uses the same engine that runs Assassin's Creed III, allowing for the same gameplay experience as a console release. Aveline also has her own new set of animations as well as have the ability to dual-wield weapons, such as the new blowpipe as well as the familiar swords, knives, pistols and hidden blade.[16]

The multiplayer, exclusive to the original Vita version, consists of players tapping nodes on a map, using characters (represented with static portraits) to capture bases and collect supplies, among other things. This differs from the series usual competitive multiplayer which had players assassinating each other for sport.

It is focused on some events in the American history like the tragic mulattos, the anti-miscegenation laws in the United States, the back-to-Africa movement and the education during the Slave Period.[17] Historical characters includes Jean-Jacques Blaise d'Abbadie,[18] Antonio de Ulloa,[19] Mackandal,[20] or Gilbert Antoine de Saint-Maxent.[21]

Synopsis

Setting

Liberation explores the life of a second 18th-century assassin in Colonial America who operated during the end of the French and Indian War within Louisiana, during its Spanish occupation; an Afro-French woman named Aveline de Grandpré,[22] whose work included freeing slaves while eradicating Templars in New Orleans.[23] Aveline's story encompasses a period of 12 years of her life, and takes place alongside the events of Assassin's Creed III. Much of the game takes place within the city of New Orleans and the bayou that surrounds it, though also includes locations connected to the Seven Years' War and the American Revolutionary War.[24]

Plot

In the modern day, Abstergo Entertainment, a subsidiary of Abstergo which is in charge of producing multimedia goods, releases their first major product, Liberation - a video game about the life of the Assassin Aveline de Grandpré. The player is contacted by the hacker group Erudito while playing the game, and learns that a heavy amount of censoring was done in regard to the Assassin-Templar war. The group offer to help the player uncensor these elements in the game during their playthrough.

The player begins experiencing the life of Aveline in 1765, as she operates within the city of New Orleans from her family mansion, which she lives in alongside her stepmother, Madeleine de L'Isle. As the city undergoes a transition of control from France to Spain near the end of the French and Indian War, Aveline discovers a Templar plot to control Louisiana during the transitional period being conducted by the Templar Rafael Joaquín de Ferrer. To counter this, she assassinates two men assisting in his goals - French governor Jean-Jacques Blaise d'Abbadie, as part of a deal to maintain his post in New Orleans, and Baptiste, a defector from the Assassins who attempts to control the smuggling operations in the Bayou around the city and lure Aveline's mentor, the Assassin Agaté, out of hiding. A year after these assassinations, de Ferrer is sent to a Templar worksite in Mexico, while his associate Antonio de Ulloa oversees New Orleans as its new Spanish governor, imposing strict trading restrictions, setting up a covert slave-trading operation, and allowing French officials to continue operating in the city.

In 1768, Agaté orders Aveline to assassinate de Ulloa and remove the Templar presence from the city. However, she disobeys his orders upon learning that the slaves de Ulloa sent out of the city were assigned to a Templar excavation within Mexico, at Chichén Itzá. In exchange for sparing his life and letting him leave, de Ulloa hands over a lens that can decode Templar documents and a map to the worksite. Learning of her actions, Agaté loses trust in his student. Against her mentor's wishes, Aveline heads to Chichén Itzá in the guise of a slave, and discovers during her investigation that her mother Jeanne, a former Assassin who disappeared during her youth, was stationed at the excavation. At the same time, she encounters de Ferrer and overhears him explaining that the Templars operations in the region and Louisiana are being overseen by someone known as the "Company Man". Finding a page of her mother's diary, Aveline enters a cave system beneath the worksite, and finds it conceals an ancient chamber filled with ruins from the First Civilization, along with a one half of an artifact called the Prophecy Disk. Upon recovering it, de Ferrer finds her, prompting her to kill him and his men. Shortly after escaping from the chamber, Aveline is reunited with her mother, who assumes Agaté had sent Aveline to kill her and warns her daughter not to hand over the Disk to him before fleeing in fear.

In 1771, Aveline returns to New Orleans and learns from her friend Gérald Blanc, a fellow Assassin, that while Spanish control strengthened during her absence, a Templar named Diego Vásquez recently bribed several soldiers to control the Bayou. Learning that Agaté is in danger, she quickly goes to warn and protect him from harm. A year later, she returns to Chichén Itzá, whereupon she is reunited with Jeanne again and reconciles with her over her actions in the past. After helping her daughter in recovering the second half of the Disk, Jeanne remains behind to protect the area from further Templar incursions. Aveline returns to New Orleans and commits herself to freeing slaves. When Madeleine learns of her stepdaughter's work, she soon request Aveline's assistance in helping a slave named George to escape to the north. Despite Vázquez's efforts to stop her, she ensures he is safely delivered, alongside supplies being sent to American Patriots fighting in the American Revolutionary War. Upon her return to New Orleans, Aveline assassinates Vázquez at a governor's ball, but learns from him that the Company Man is not him as she originally assumed.

In 1777, Aveline learns from Gérald that a Templar officer working for the Company Man is operating at the New York Frontier. Travelling north, she teams up with the Assassin Connor to locate the officer. When they find him, Aveline is shocked to discover it to be George, and that the Company Man is none other than Madeleine. Returning to New Orleans, Aveline confronts her and learns that she sought to find the Prophecy Disk for the Templars. Prompted to flee into the Bayou, Aveline meets with Agaté to inform him of her discovery, only to be attacked by him over his inability to accept his failure and presumed belief that Aveline was turned by the Templars. Despite Aveline trying to prove to the contrary and convince him to leave Louisiana for his own safety, Agaté opts to commit suicide. Aveline tries to save him, but only manages to grasp his necklace before it tore away from his neck. In the wake of his death, Aveline decides to use her situation as an opportunity to infiltrate the Templars and eradicate it from within.

Upon returning to New Orleans, she arranges a meeting with her stepmother at the Saint Louis Cathedral and gives her Agaté's necklace on the false pretence of showing her allegiance. After her induction, Aveline hands over the Prophecy Disk, and watches as Madeleine tries to make sense of the scrambled messages inside. Taking this opportunity, Aveline assassinates her, eliminates the Templars and reclaims the artifact. Once alone inside the cathedral, Aveline connects a locket her mother left her with when she was young, to the artifact, whereupon she finds it contains a holographic recording detailing a message from the time of the First Civilization and recounting the election of Eve as the leader of the rebellion during the Human-First Civilization War.

Release

Assassin's Creed III: Liberation was released on October 30, 2012, the same day as Assassin's Creed III. The game is available in a PS Vita bundle pack with a new crystal white Wi-Fi Vita and a 4GB memory card.[11] In Japan it was released under the title Assassin's Creed III: Lady Liberty.[25]

It was announced on September 10, 2013, that the game would be re-released as Assassin's Creed: Liberation HD for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Microsoft Windows via the PlayStation Network, Xbox Live Arcade and Steam, respectively, in 2014. The game features visuals closer to III as well as updated audio, AI and facial animations. Additional missions have been added and some of the Vita-specific touch screen missions have been removed, as well as the nodes multiplayer and a minor Quick Time Event minigame.[13] The game was released on the PlayStation 3 on January 14, 2014 in North America and January 15, 2014 in Europe. The Microsoft Windows and Xbox 360 versions were released worldwide on January 15, 2014.[8][9]

It was announced on September 13, 2018 that Assassin’s Creed III Remastered would be included in the Assassin's Creed: Odyssey season pass.[26] Assassin's Creed III Remastered was announced to include all of its original DLC and a remastered version of Assassin's Creed III: Liberation.[10]

Additional content

Purchasing Assassin's Creed III for the PlayStation 3 gives the player the ability to connect Liberation and receive an exclusive mission to play in Liberation as Connor or Aveline, a Multiplayer Skin and an Ammunition Pouch. There was also a promotional DLC, titled Mysteries of the Bayou pack, that came with pre-orders of the game in PAL regions. It included an exclusive weapon, an alligator hunting hat, a Multiplayer Skin and Ammunition Pouches for smoke bombs and poison darts.

These all feature in the HD remaster, save for the multiplayer skin, as that feature was removed.

Music
Assassin's Creed 3: Liberation (Original Game Soundtrack)
Soundtrack album by
Winifred Phillips
ReleasedOctober 30, 2012
GenreVideo game soundtrack
LabelUbisoft Music
ProducerWinnie Waldron
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
ArtasticGaming.comA+[27]
GSoundtracks.com[28]
MundoBSO.com[29]
FilmMusicMedia.com[30]

The music in the game was composed by Winifred Phillips and produced by Winnie Waldron.[7] The soundtrack album was released by Ubisoft Music on the same day as the release of the Assassin's Creed III: Liberation video game, October 30, 2012.[31] Together with music producer Winnie Waldron, Winifred Phillips won several awards for her work on this project. For the music composition of the Assassin's Creed III Liberation video game, Phillips won a Global Music Award for musical excellence.[32] Composer Winifred Phillips and music producer Winnie Waldron won a 2012 Hollywood Music in Media Award for the music score for Assassin's Creed III: Liberation.[33] The main theme music of the Assassin's Creed III: Liberation video game won a G.A.N.G. Award from the Game Audio Network Guild in the category of "Best Original Vocal Song — Choral."'[34] The music of Assassin's Creed III Liberation won a GameFocus Award for Best Music of 2012.[35] The game's musical score also received nominations in several year-end award competitions, including the GameZone Awards,[36] the Best of IGN Awards,[37] and the G4TV X-Play Best of 2012 Awards.[38]

The music of Assassin's Creed III Liberation was very well received by both game and music critics. Robert Workman of GameZone wrote, "The music is superb,"[39] and Evan Narcisse of Kotaku called the soundtrack, "a stealthy success."[40] Jen Bosier of VideoGameWriters said that the music of Assassin's Creed III Liberation was "without question, the best soundtrack the series has seen to date."[41] Music critic Randall Larson of BuySoundtrax.com stated, "This is a fine score and one that even non-gamers should applaud for its cinematic, dynamic and immersive drive." Reviewer Lucas Smith of Piki Geek asserted that "the soundtrack will go down as one of the year's best."[42]

Assassin's Creed III Liberation video game soundtrack
No.TitleLength
1."Liberation Main Theme"2:01
2."Stealth"2:11
3."Virtual Pursuit"2:12
4."The Docks"2:02
5."Abstergo Ops"3:43
6."Secrets of the Bayou"2:02
7."Poverty"2:10
8."Aveline's Escape"3:36
9."Society Suite in 4 Movements"7:16
10."Ride to Oblivion"2:12
11."Mayan Labyrinth"2:04
12."Chasing Freedom"2:19
13."The Hunt"2:13
14."Bayou Fortress"2:00
15."Safe Harbor"2:07
16."Shanty Town"2:01
17."Deliverance"2:27
18."Winter in the North"2:04
19."The Cathedral Grounds"2:05
20."Animus"2:27
21."In the Bayou"2:23
22."Mayan Ruins"2:03
23."River of the Mayans"2:35
24."Agate's Power"3:26
25."In the Service of Humanity"3:11
26."Virtual Reality Room"3:26

Reception

Initial reviews for Assassin's Creed III: Liberation were mixed. Metacritic, which assigns a score based on reviews from industry leaders, has the game scored at 70/100 based on 71 reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[43]

Shaun McInnis, reviewer for GameSpot, gave the game a score of 6.5/10, praising the protagonist as "...a woman born from the romance between a wealthy father and a slave mother, someone who has overcome her uncertain upbringing to find a new life in the Assassin Brotherhood". McInnis also commended the setting, writing "...a brilliant version of 18th-century New Orleans, one that beautifully reflects the diverse cultural ambience formed over years of operating as a French trading port". However, he also wrote that the game "squanders its most unique ideas...Liberation takes little advantage of its own narrative format" and that the plot is "largely aimless and hastily delivered".[49]

IGN's Greg Miller stated, "The moves and kills you'd expect are here, but the story is boiled down to be easy to jump in and out of. That takes away some of the excitement in playing through it", giving it 7.2/10.[14] In April 2020, Game Informer ranked the game as the 12th best game in the Assassin's Creed series to date.[50]

References
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