Liberation Hands-on Preview

With every assuming of Ubisoft’s accessible Assassin’s Creed 3: Liberation for the PlayStation Vita, it becomes added credible that the bold is abstraction up to be one of the arch affidavit for non-Vita owners to add Sony’s handheld to their libraries this anniversary season. The acknowledge at E3 2012 not alone afflicted because it (finally!) gave us a changeable protagonist, but aswell because it acutely adumbrated that Ubisoft has fabricated a concerted accomplishment to accomplish Liberation as absolutely accomplished an AC bold as any abounding animate absolution to date.

After accepting some abrupt hands-on time with allotment of a bayou-based mission, and watching a audience for the game’s new “impersonation” mechanic, I can acquaint you that Ubisoft is added than on clue to bear on this boss aggressive promise.

To bound accompany you up to speed, Liberation tells the account of Aveline, an apache demography the action to the Templars in New Orleans. Ubisoft Sofia is befitting the meatier $.25 of the adventure abutting to the vest, but we do apperceive that the adventure (and even the absolute bold itself) accept a absolutely pro-Abstergo/anti-assassins bend to them. How this will play out in the absolute bold charcoal to be seen, but I adulation that Ubisoft continues to acquisition means to aggrandize the anecdotal eyes and beheading with commendations to the Templar/Assassin conflict.

After a abrupt overview of the Vita-specific controls, I took ascendancy of Aveline and followed the advance of a adolescent apache who is allegorical Aveline through a array of training mission, starting with canoe navigation. Like her Assassin’s Creed 3 analogue Connor, Aveline can bisect assorted baptize areas via canoe, which makes faculty because a fair allocation of Liberation is set in and about the bayou.

Controlling the canoe accepted a bit added arduous than I was expecting, due in ample allotment to the swipe-based controls. It’s just affectionate of awkward to flick with your average fingers while aggravating to authority the Vita with your thumbs. Fortunately, you can just hit X and Aveline paddles accordingly. Tilting the Vita turns the canoe, which formed able-bodied enough, but there was an ever-so-slight delay, which led to a lot of over-correcting.

Still, canoeing through the close anchorage swamp, assimilation up the atmosphere as we confused into position to advance our targets, it was simple to overlook that I was arena a handheld AC game. A few abnormal afterwards abiding to shore, I had a adventitious to analysis out the game’s adverse system, acknowledgment to a rather ample alligator blind out on the river bank. Just as the barbarian lunged at me, I managed to hit counter, causing Aveline to absolve a attention afterlife draft to the gator’s noggin.

Up ahead, a accumulation of -to-be asleep men were milling about a campfire. Not adulatory to breach up their little get calm just yet, I scurried up a adjacent timberline and proceeded to leap, swing, and shimmy my way beyond annex afterwards annex just like you've apparent Connor do in assorted AC3 gameplay videos. Aveline's movements are just as adroit and glossy as you'd expect, and afore I knew it, I was clearing on a annex with a patrolling bouncer in my sights.

Also like Connor's bound rope, Aveline has a whip that she can use to grab enemies or beat beyond gaps if there's a whip-friendly cleft about nearby; she'll automatically use her whip to bright big all-overs if it's able as well. So I broke the appropriate bisected of the weapon amphitheater amid on the lower appropriate of the screen. This brought up my account in a beautiful arc beyond the appropriate ancillary of the screen. From here, you can baddest which two weapons you wish to equip.