Assassin's Creed III is a pretty damn fine game. It loses none of what makes the series fun with the translation to another time and continent, and creates a whole new set of experiences which define the franchise. The biggest issue, if there is one, are the small technical issues, but these niggling technical issues only seem worse because everything else is such a great experience.

Like any game of such scope, not every part of it is perfect. Yet, taken as a whole, there is very little that can compete with its wonderful, lavish, historical playground. [Issue#91, p.22]

Open-world history lesson – this is the area where new Assassin excels. But embrace yourself to a long survival and linear game opening. [Dec 2012]

Overall, Assassin's Creed III is an excellent addition to the series. While there a number of bugs and the protagonist isn't someone players will feel particularly attached to, the lengthy campaign, the range of objectives and the well thought out multiplayer ensure there is plenty of replayability to keep gamers occupied. This is a title that should be on every Christmas list.

Thus, as an Assassin's Creed game AC3 is the most ambitious yet the most refined yet; it is almost unmatched in density of content and unique in setting.

As a whole, Assassin's Creed III feels lacking. Considering how positive most early impressions were coming out of E3, perhaps my expectations were set too high, but there are clearly a number of disjointed elements that feel half-finished or poorly thought out. This is the issue of having so many cooks in the Assassin's Creed III's development kitchen, and the final product ends up being far more disappointing than I would've expected. It's not without some merit, and it's not something to skip if you're invested in the universe or overarching story, but if you found your interest waning with Revelations, AC3 could be the final nail in the coffin for some players. It's worth a rental, but I wouldn't classify this as a must-play game.

A marvellous return, but a few quibbles hold it back from being the new pinnacle of the series. [Christmas 2012, p.78]

Assassin's Creed III is definitely a step backwards for the excellent and popular series. The main plot is decent and the assassination action itself good as always, but the main character is totally uncharismatic and the gameplay a dull repetition of old rotes. The game world is indeed huge, but sadly it's filled with uninspiring busywork like trade caravans and a pointless crafting system. Assassin's Creed III is still a very good game, but disappointing as it could have been so much more. [Nov 2012]

Far from the revolution we were expecting, a shift in focus to simple, repetitive combat, overly-scripted missions and tedious sidequests has for now killed our interest in a once genuinely great series. [Dec 2012]

No multiplayer game so cannily captures a feeling of cat and mouse, and relies so completely on tension and suspense instead of yet more thrills. To call this multiplayer unique doesn't do it justice. If you care about new experiences in videogames, if you want to see how games can explore 3D spaces without resorting to shooting stuff or breaking things, you owe it to yourself to try Assassin's Creed multiplayer.

Surprisingly there are graphical issues that are very noticeable and I really thought that there were some gameplay missteps that could use some retooling in the future; however, in the end this is another great addition to the Assassin's Creed series.

Through a turmoil of assassinations, naval battles, Freudian conflicts, pig herding and marital ceremonies, Assassin's Creed III ends a saga in a way that many could judge as unsatisfactory. AC III is a flawed and confused game characterized by the absence of a clear identity and the lack of a true vision about the Assassin Order. It remains a big game with plenty to do, even though not knowing exactly why you have to do them.

Ubisoft continues its upward trend with its golden goose of a series. It brings a deeper amount of gameplay, story and enjoyment to the mix with Assassin's Creed III. It's certainly not perfect, but it's good enough to be considered for 'Game of the Year'.

What it does do well it does with confidence, but uncharacteristic issues prevent it from being top of the class.

Assassin's Creed 3 is a massive game and also the best game in the series to date.

Assassin's Creed III's methodical world-building and wealth of clever gameplay systems are impressive, even if they don't always confidently click together with all the other moving parts.

One of the best games in this franchise and a great source for many hours of fun.

Though Assassin's Creed III isn't quite the perfect killing machine, it's a damn good one, and a game that definitely lives up to the hype.

It's a great AC experience for sure, but it doesn't really offer anything you haven't seen before (outside of the fantastic multiplayer component). Likewise, it won't entice any non-fans, which is a shame - this would have been the perfect opportunity to do it.

If you're willing to go off and do the optional activities, then Assassin's Creed III's single player really shines, and there's just so much content here that even despite the negatives, it's well worth your time. Couple that with another consistently excellent multiplayer component and you're left with a game that may leave you frowning on occasion, but nonetheless one that still has a lot of fun on offer.

The only real problem (apart from the weak main character) in Assassin's Creed 3 is that there are so many things to do, but very few feel satisfying. There's a whole range of side-missions and challenges on offer, but at the end of the day completing them doesn't bring anything truly useful to the player.

The most extensive installment of the entire game series brings a spectacular adventure filled with land and sea battles. It's great to look at it and the traditional sandbox is just fine' however, this third volume's many very important qualities of the entire game series along with its game system have been lost without the new features making up for it. The less, the better, and look before you leap should have been the proverbs of the day. Assassin's Creed III is undoubtedly a very good game, but I cannot shake off the feeling it could have been much much better.

Assassin's Creed III is different to the titles that have come before it. It's an open-world game with strong stealth inclinations, rather than a stealth game set in an open world, and for Ubisoft to manage this delicate evolution without entirely alienating an existing core of stealth gameplay enthusiasts is a remarkable feat.

It's a flawed gem, but still well worth a look.

It's possible to lose days in Assassin's Creed 3, although if players stick doggedly to the campaign, they'll clock in about 20 hours. On top of that, there's a multiplayer – and for a game where the focus for most of the fanbase will be the single-player, this one's actually rather good.

Assassin's Creed 3 is a fitting end for the series and - to an extent - this generation of consoles as a whole. The characters and story are the strongest yet, but at the same time the game comes with all of the franchise's well-known strengths and weaknesses. So, even though this might just be the perfect finale, the next generation of assassins definitely will have to be more willing to refine the series' systems from the ground up. Then we'll happily listen to their brilliant stories some more.

Assassin's Creed III is a really good AAA game that sucks you in after a brief contact. Unfortunately there are some things missing, and minor flaws can be observed, and those things prevent me from considering Ubisoft's new game as something truly extraordinary. It has everything a game from this series should have, but after watching the end credits there's a feeling that something is lacking. Assassin's Creed III isn't such a big step forward, as AC II was for the original game. In sum: it's very good, but it could be better.

Assassin's Creed III is a fantastic game that's marred only by a glacial few opening hours, a surfeit of history and exposition, and the odd glitch. That aside, ACIII is a triumph and the perfect way to say hello to Connor.