2. Assassins Creed III
To say I love Assassins Creed is probably the biggest understatement of the year. The original is still one of favourites games of this generation, even with the poor missions and terrible AI. The story of Assassins Creed is one I am passionate about and I love Ubisoft's alternative history which is the cornerstone of the world. After I had finished my play through, I just wanted to keep playing. Firstly, every niggle I had in the last four games seem to be eradicated in Assassins Creed III. The free running is much improved and our new hero Connor, moves with more presence. The combat is superb and even the naval missions felt great. I'm sure you all have read dozens of detailed preview so i'll just skim over the main setup for the demo I played. I began with a mission similar to Dishonored, I needed to infiltrate a coastal stronghold and retrieve a map. After assassinating a guard I quickly found myself scaling a cliff towards the settlement. After dispatching a few more guards, I entered a room where I was cornered by three more enemies. The combat, as I said felt brilliant and takes a lot more skill. You have to be constantly moving, dodging, countering, basically no more holding block and transforming into Zorro. After that, it was time for some free running, as the whole place exploded with cannon fire. I escaped and entered part 2 of the demo which was a naval battle consisting of me instructing ships. I liked it but I hope it's not a major part of the game. It could get annoying. Overall, it feels excellent and was very close to being my favourite game at Eurogamer. Connor seems to be another cool character and I can't wait to see the story unfold in what should be an epic campaign. Will there be a better game this year? I don't think so. The controls are incredibly tight and it is a lot more realistic. I fell a few times expecting to bounce back up, but I actually injured myself! The world is massive too. You can build your own independent community and the options for planning an assassination are in their hundreds. It's going to be a good year for us gamers.