When we consider the Assassin’s Creed franchise, the first thing that jumps into our minds is scale. The grandiose size and scope of each entry’s setting, each new game containing a more epic, fully-realised world than the last. More content, more history, more characters and adventure; in this way the series has continued to grow over the past eleven years, gradually morphing into the RPG-lite behemoth it is today in the form of Assassin’s Creed Origins and Odyssey.
Whilst gameplay has often been a mixed bag, with earlier entries in particular including basic, often clumsy combat alongside somewhat unreliable parkour and repetitive mission design, one constant has remained, the ever-growing spectacle. Ever since players first took control of Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad and scaled a tower to gaze out on the faithfully realised Holy Land that surrounded them, this has been a franchise about the appeal of being set free in incredibly detailed worlds.
Diving into an Assassin’s Creed game you expect to be wowed by the time and place in which your adventure unfolds and, whether it be Renaissance-era Venice, Ancient Rome, New Orleans, the Caribbean or the huge slice of Colonial-era America recreated here in Assassin’s Creed III, Ubisoft has consistently delivered on this front. In terms of the size of the playgrounds offered to players, the impressive historical accuracy and attention to detail, it’s almost impossible to fault the series; these are hugely generous games with regards to content and their ambition – in terms of visuals, narrative and world-building – has never been in doubt.
And so it is a wildly exciting prospect for fans of the series to finally get a proper, full-on Assassin’s Creed entry on a handheld system, even if it takes the form of a remastered version of perhaps the weakest link in the main series’ history. Liberation, the Vita-exclusive which is also included in this remastered package, was designed specifically for handheld, and that shows in its scaled-back scope and gameplay, but Assassin’s Creed III is the real, full-fat deal; a huge world and story with all the bells, whistles and extra content you’d expect from a mainline entry in the franchise.
Originally released earlier this year on PS4, Xbox One and PC, this remaster sees players return to a newly revamped Colonial-era America, with an all-new lighting system, improved art assets, resolution and framerate improvements, tweaks to gameplay and screen space reflections that drag the look of the game all the way from 2012 up to something very nearly approximating the most recent entries in the series. However, there were some concerns amongst fans when the Switch version was slightly delayed and, unfortunately, they have proven to be well-founded in many respects.
Loading up Assassin’s Creed III on Switch for the first time the initial impressions are good; menus are responsive and clean and you immediately have access to that sweet bonus content, including the HD remaster of Liberation and all of the little extras and DLC released for Assassin’s Creed III over its lifetime. The opening sequence – which sees interminable bore Desmond Miles and his crew outside of the Animus – seems to run reasonably well, but it’s immediately apparent that character models and lighting aren’t up to the other remastered versions of the game; something that is perhaps somewhat to be expected on Nintendo’s portable system. However, once the game leaves its initial tutorial area and you’re dropped into the world proper, things start to fall apart quite badly, and excuses like this aren’t quite enough to cover it.
The first thing you’ll notice is that many of the graphical upgrades from the other versions of this remaster don’t actually seem to have made it across to the Switch. The revamped lighting system is certainly absent, screen space reflections (which add visual elements, such as water reflections) are missing, and many textures around the world – including common ones such as doors, trees and walls, things which you’ll spend a lot of your time looking at – appear to be of a much lower resolution, more in line with the original 2012 release of the game (which we also got on Wii U, lest we forget). In fact, comparing this version side by side with the original PC release of the game, it falls some way short of even that older version in terms of textures, draw distance and pop-in; indeed, it is a regular occurrence as you manoeuvre around the streets of Boston in the early parts of the game to have background NPCs materialise into existence right beside you.
It’s an immediately disappointing situation, and one that’s exacerbated to no end by the fact that the framerate struggles at all times to lift itself above the mid-20s, dipping well below that whilst charging around city streets, parkour-ing your way up buildings or engaging in combat which was already quite clumsy without taking place at fifteen frames per second. The game also stutters noticeably at every autosave point, which is, as you might expect, quite often.
All of these problems are made worse when the game is played in docked mode. On a large TV the graphical flaws, low-resolution textures and framerate are much more noticeable, and moving the camera around causes an annoying and constant juddering effect. It’s an unusual situation but this is one Switch game which seems to actually perform better in handheld mode; whether that’s just because the smaller screen hides a lot of the problems we’re not totally sure, but at least in portable mode that awful juddering is absent.
There are also constant audio problems, with the sound crackling almost every time your progress saves or the story transitions to a new scene. All told, it’s hard to see that this version of the game is in any way a remaster; it's better described as a rather flawed port of the original.
And of course, it doesn't help that the original game is considered by many fans to be one of the worst in the series. This is an entry that has no problem plodding along through its rather dull and wearingly long story; it’s roughly a full eight hours before you even get to control main protagonist Connor, and returning to earlier points in a franchise like this after experiencing the advances made – particularly to combat and world traversal – in the likes of Origins and Odyssey really does lay bare the clumsiness of the parkour and the basic nature of the combat on offer here.
Digging deeper, there are still positives to cling to regardless of the mess. Connor may not be a match for Ezio Auditore but his is an interesting enough tale in places, and the shifting of gameplay out of the usual urban areas into the wilds of colonial America is still a brave and well-realised move that adds variety to proceedings. Connor’s attacks can also be pleasingly brutal to perform and a handful of Switch exclusive additions, such as motion controls which help refine your aim and HD rumble support, are welcome. Liberation too, as much as it is one of the weaker Assassin's Creed games, performs well here and its visual upgrades give it the kind of lift we were hoping to see in the remastered version of the main game.
There may well be a patch on the way for Assassin’s Creed III on Switch that will fix the framerate issues and add many of the graphical enhancements we were expecting to see with this version of the game, but we can't review a game based on what it might become, and as things stand this is a very disappointing effort, even when taking into account the fact the Switch was never going to reproduce the same visual enhancements seen in other versions of the remaster. It seems as though calling this version a 'Switch Edition' would perhaps have been a better move on the part of the publisher.
If you’re a really big fan of the franchise you may well still get some joy from playing through Assassin’s Creed III on the toilet; it is, after all, still the same, full-fat entry you likely played back in 2012 squeezed on to a portable machine. However, for everyone else, this goes back to the expectation of being wowed by the world, by the scale and scope of an Assassin’s Creed game. When performance and graphical fidelity are compromised like this, when traversing the cities and forests of this vast world is held back by framerate problems, graphical issues and audio glitches, Assassin’s Creed – and especially one of the weaker entries in the franchise – loses a lot of the core appeal which has seen it become such a hit with gamers over the years.
Conclusion
Assassin’s Creed III on Switch is easily the weakest 'Remastered' version of the game that’s been released thus far. The expected graphical bells and whistles are mostly absent and this game feels more like a straight port of the 2012 original. Framerate issues plague many of the busier areas of the open world and make combat and traversal a chore for the most part, while audio problems are also a constant niggle. Granted, this is still the full-fat game and the fact that it's available to play on-the-go and includes all the DLC (and a pretty nice HD version of Liberation) is impressive, but there's no escaping the fact that it's a lacklustre port of one of the weakest Assassin's Creed titles.
Comments 177
Yeah, this one is roughly just as bad as Revelations and Unity. If it’s also a bad port... save your money. Hopefully the Ezio Collection gets ported or even Black Flag or Origins.
I, brotherhood, and III are my favorite entries so I have no qualms picking this up soon. I really miss the puppet system.
Oops, I already bought it. Oh well, maybe it’ll get a patch before I actually get around to playing it.
Didn't like this one first time around. Seemed to be still going through the tutorial after several hours of play. Give us Black Flag.
Im going to buy it at some point
If essentially none of the Remastered elements are present, why do they even bother calling this a Remaster? It's deceptive marketing for what basically seems to be a port of the last-gen version.
An easy cash-grab remake of a game that was never good to begin with. Classic Ubisoft.
It was a poor game anyway and not one I would have been looking to buy. Really lazy port too.
One of the biggest appeals of Creed games is how great the game looks and the organic-feeling world. This looks like a demastered version of the game sold at a higher price than other versions no less.
Never liked any of the assassin creed games they all suck
I still don't understand why they chose to port this instead of the Ezio collection, or even do a trilogy. I'd be a lot more forgiving if, for the money, I could get the full first 3 games in the series.
I never played AC3 (I stopped playing after II - except for Liberation that I bought on the Vita back then), so I thought I'd be using the opportunity to play it on the Switch (as I mostly game on the train ride home every day) but if it's running as bad as it is mentionned in this review, it's definitely not worth the $50 asked for it.
Will probably wait for a decent sale to pick it up.
A poor port of a poor game? no thanks
Somebody stole my tagline (that I stole from AC )
May get it on sale.
Another garbage cash grab port for the Switch. This not even "remastered" like the other versions.
Rather just play AC:Odyssey (at 98hrs - great game) and read the newspaper on the Toilet.
Ubisoft reported last week that Switch sales were 3% for Q4. With this kind of nonsense, lucky if they even stay at that.
Developers see the Switch, not so much a platform to develop new games on, but an easy way to make a fast buck thanks to Nintendo.
Maybe they got the idea from Nintendo, porting the old Wii u stuff to the Switch. And if reviewers don't score appropriately these games will just keep coming.
OK a 5 will send the developers a message but 8 for Resident Evil 4 will just encourage them.
Given the conclusion here, 5/10 seems really generous.
Oof, that sounds rough. I didn't like AC3 all that much back in the day but was willing to give it another try on the Switch. Oh well, saves me money I guess
So... Someone please clarify this for me: is the Switch more powerful than the Wii U, or less powerful?
Remember being an avid fan of the series until this one came along.
I have never enjoyed this series despite playing 4 of them over the years. I haven’t played this and it doesn’t seem like I am going to anytime soon.
Performance issues are why. If it ran at a solid frame rate, and was cheap enough, I would get it just because it’s been a couple years since I played an AC game.
@Rafke That explains why Nintendo gave it hardly any coverage except that it existed. Seems like they might have been under contract with Ubisoft that they needed to mention it in a direct as part of something else.
The port just looks bad, real shame because the Wii U version was solid enough back in the day. Just going to stick to that version.
I always say the more the merrier on the Switch, and it’s nice to see a 3rd party game of this scale come to the platform. Still, I’m a bit confused on why Ubisoft decided to bring this one over first. Are they just testing the waters?
I don’t think this is the last the Switch will see of AC, but I don’t think it is a good start and probably won’t sell well at that price.
Can we all just agree that a Sands of Time remaster would go down better in Nintendo circles? No? Eep...just me and Ryu then.
Well that’s a bummer and a half. I was considering buying this as my end of degree treat. I haven’t played the series before (my kids have and loved it) so was keen to get my turn....
@GrailUK Oh no, you don't get to claim that by yourself. A remaster of Sands of Time would be amazing. Although I would also like the 360 game as well.
The sequels not so much...they kind of established that Ubi is not good at storyline sequels.
@nessisonett You don’t like Revelations? It’s one of my favourites in the series, and my favourite of the Ezio trilogy.
AC3 tho... I played it on the 360 back in 2012, and I remember getting through it felt like a chore.
@Ryu_Niiyama No no no. I didn't happen like that.
(check original post)
@GrailUK LOLOLOLOL Nice ninja edit there, but I'll take it.
@GrailUK any of the original PoP games would be nice. Trilogy maybe???
@JoakimZ I think by that point, the whole Desmond thing got a bit out of hand and the plot became insanely convoluted. Seriously, who actually enjoys the Abstergo sections? Being able to play as my two favourite Ubisoft bland boys in the same game was pretty cool at the time though.
@Ryu_Niiyama Sands of Time was brilliant on the Cube, I’d really love to replay it with a fresh lick of paint.
@LunarFlame17 Bought it with no regrets. It's a s****y port, however the issues it have are issues that can be fixed with patches. So I am not that worried about the stability as it probably will be fixed soon.
Was on the fence, but after reading this I’ll stick to Skyrim for my stealth assasin kills
@Rafke They're good but you need to be aware that they aren't really games in the stealth genre like the original Assassins Creed games were. The new ones are a lot more like action RPG games.
@MSTRDM I bought it with no regrets but I am also very desperate for stealth games. I would recommend you just wait until Ubisoft patches the issues.
This is a port that so far has some technical problems, graphically and in sound at scene transitions but in no way it is as bad as the author of this article says. The reviewer exaggerates some minor problems to the maximum. His name is PJ O'Reilly. I'll make sure I remain pretty cautious when reading his next review.
@Rafke thanks. Well that makes it sadder that this sounds like it performs worse on Switch than on the Wii U...
@nessisonett ...I liked the Abstergo part up until 4 ...granted I loathe 4 so there is that.
@DarthNocturnal I haven't really played much Assassin's Creed since ACIII (barely touched IV), so that's sad to hear that they got rid of the multiplayer. It was such a fun aspect.
It's a shame, if this was two decent ports it would have really helped the Switch's library... Instead it's a bit of a missed opportunity/cash grab. Oh dear Ubisoft!!!!!
@BANJO As I said a few replies above your comment this is a decent port with the reviewer exaggerating in his complaints.
I've gotta say this is sad to hear. Honestly, not only did the game have story and gameplay related issues when it first came out, but it was actually fairly glitchy in the original version (360 for me). There was texture pop-in, scripted sequences would have sounds/voices not be in sync with the video, and there was a sense of uncanny valley with most of those characters...
IMO, the best part of the game was the homestead missions!
Hopefully, Ubisoft ports Ezio Collection & Black Flag with DLC of Freedom Cry.
@nessisonett
Unity... is a friggin' awesome entry in Assassin's Creed and my favorite game in the series. It had a buggy PC launch but once the patches came the game was awesome.
And no Assassin's Creed game ever did co-op like Unity. Such a shame
Not even 20k@360fps would help ACIII. I remember cringing so hard when I met Benjamin Franklin in Boston - and that's what, the second sequence in the game? I never picked it up again.
“Nothing is true, everything is permitted?”
If by “everything” you mean cash grab, well yes 😉
I’ll buy it in 6 months on sale. It’s the only one I never played. Although I guess I might just be as well to pick up a cheap ps3 copy instead?
@Cosats Well I might pick it up in say six months when it's dirt cheap.... Worth a punt then I guess but not before for me.
Don't really get the hate for the base game, but I'll stick to my Wii U copy of this one.
Not a fan of the series. Not a fan of most third party games. Sad but this isn’t surprising to me.
@Rafke That is true only to some degree, the mechanics certainly aren't build for stealth but rather action and the whole number system inserted to dmg and defence and everything else really makes stealth a difficult and sometimes boring style of gameplay. If you want a stealth game I would not recommend them at all. But they are great action rpgs.
Better luck next year with Assassin's Creed: The Viking Experience.
Just give us a straight port of Black Flag. It looked good on WiiU. How they managed to make this thing run and look so bad is beyond me. So, now two of the big hopes for new open worlds on Switch, are both down the drain. I wish we'd get good ports of good last gen games instead. I'd even be more than happy with a PC port of GTA IV
The true testament of a 3rd party game on the XBox and PlayStation is if you port it to the Nintendo and take away the high end graphics, is it still fun?
I learned from the Wii U version that AC3 was never fun.
More trash from ubisoft!
@TAndvig how are you playing Odyssey? Running around using melee attacks and going for bow and arrow head shots? That’s fine if you are, but it’s also totally possible to move around like an assassin, stealth killing, hiding bodies, learning guard patterns etc. etc. It’s really fun to play that way... Taking down forts and encampments without ever raising an alarm. Avoiding combat completely and just stealing what you need, or sneaking into your target’s sleeping quarters and killing them in their sleep... it’s all there and plenty of it.
😩 I was genuinely excited for this having only ever played 1 and 2. This is also the first game I’ve bought brand new in what feels like 2 years. Looks like when it arrives today I’m goin to just return it. The fact they had the gall to slap “remastered” on it when in fact it doesn’t represent the remaster really irks me and I feel like a sucker for buying it. Definitely returning he game- it’s to be taken as a message that I and we won’t stand for these lazy ports, or whatever name you want to slap in it, and also don’t release the game and then a patch to follow that fixes it. Just do it right the first time and offer minor tweaks after. I appreciate any eventual fixes but that shouldn’t be the case. For those that do play this, Hope you enjoy it! I’ll be taking a hard pass.
I want this on my Switch, but I want them to fix it first. And hopefully discount it to a reasonable price sooner than later.
By the way, I played the original on the PS3 and the performance was crap back then as well. I remember a mate of mine defending it by saying the slow frame rate made it more cinematic LOL! Looks like Switch got the ‘cinematic’ version this time.
I enjoyed this game on the Wii U, but III is indeed one of the weaker AC entries IMO. I can't comment on Liberation. It was also one of two games (both ports) that I had intermittent issues with on the Wii U. I dealt with some freezing, the framerate really tanked a few times, and there was definitely some pop-in on occasion.
That said, the game isn't bad as there are some positive things to find here. I enjoyed it overall, but there's a reason I traded it in. Here's to hoping that Black Flag makes the leap as that one is a blast.
A mediocre game from an overrated series based on weakly worked out concepts by a hit and miss developer.
Yay.
Well, no surprise there.
@Rafke Actually, the Switch has 4 high power and 3 low power cores, but the 4 low power cores are never used, possibly even disabled in the hardware. Out of the 4 high power cores, 3 are usable in games, while 1 is reserved for the OS.
The graphics and memory are vastly better, though.
Cya
Raziel-chan
Why do people hate this game?
@Wesker I think you misunderstood what I was saying. I didn't say you can't play it like a stealth game but it isn't built that way and if that is what your looking for. I would highly recommend looking elsewhere. Sure you can do all those things, but yet. You are heavily restricted because of the level system and stats system added into weapons, gear and etc. Just because you can hide bodies and learn enemies' routes does not make it a stealth game. Can't tell you how many times I've had an enemy not die on me because my gear wasn't up to snuff therefore not having the stats to kill him. That isn't a stealth game.
For example, if you want to kill all the "?" leaders without killing ordinary troops, you can't do that unless you grind XP by exploration and killing animals and doing daunting tasks like fetchquests. It isn't built for stealth in mind therefore not a stealth game.
The game punishes you immensely if you want to play it that way because it's not built with stealth in mind, it is built with action in mind and yes you can be stealthy but you can't play it as pure stealth game unless you want to go through a lot of things that will bore you before you get to that point.
The "?" part of what I said is regarding a certain mechanic that you probably know of. Just trying to avoid spoiling it for the person that is considering playing the game.
Eh, I'm still gonna pick this up, I'll just wait for the inevitable Ubisoft sale. I have Liberation on Vita,but I retired that handheld a few years ago and I want to play that game again on a bigger and better handheld with more buttons.
As for III, sucks it has some performance issues, but nothing major imo. The American Revolution AC games by far interest me the most.
Shame, I was thinking of picking this up but the review has changed my mind...
Hahahaha naaah j/k, I was never going to pick this up.
Sounds like the review itself is the only decent assination here
I can't believe I'm saying this, but Ubisoft is probably better off making another Rabbids collab game. Even then, Mario + Rabbids has plenty of graphical bugs/glitches.
I played it for a good 6hrs today had no problems with it well except the audio crackle that really does need fixing but as for the rest it's play exactly the same of course it won't have same graphical quality as p.c I enjoyed it still am
@TAndvig OK I see what you mean now. But I would say in response to that, is if you do find yourself under-leveled in the game, there are plenty of ways to level up while still role-playing as a stealthy assassin. You are right though, in order to make efficient progress, it is best to engage in fighting and hunting as well. The game encourages you to play it as an action-rpg.
Still runs better than the Wii U port. Hopefully there'll be a patch, otherwise I'm getting the PC version.
@nessisonett once they patched it Unity ended up as a great game. Paris is a wonderful playground, Arno one of the better protagonists of the solo games and the ‘Romeo and Juliet’ plot refreshingly different from the usual ‘stop Templar’s taking over the world’ shenanigans.
So many people like myself thing 3 is the best of the early AC titles. I loved it. The reviewer clearly hates this game, always surprised when they let someone review a game they don’t like before they start.
Disappointing the FPS drop so low. It being less HD than XB/PS is not surprising.
Hoping I can still enjoy it.
Still not a bad review and gave good info but don’t think we need to have all bias about weakest in series when it really isn’t
@Wesker Excactly, to me for something to be a "stealth game" it needs to have mechanics and game design built around that concept and be at the core of the gameplay and not just "bonus". Truth be told, I am so desperate for more stealth games nowadays. Feels like a genre that have very much just disappeared like tactical shooters like what the Ghost Recon series was at some point in time. :/
Yeah I played this back in 2013 I think. I was not a fan at all. The present day gameplay is such a grind and so annoying. Granted they kinda all are, but this one in particular was just not fun to me.
The bulk of the game is ok. I wouldn’t say it’s bad, but there’s just better Assassins Creed games out there. The screenshots look really dark, I don’t remember it being like that. I’d love to see a real effort in porting Black Flag. Call me then Ubisoft.
Not even a remaster . Literally straight port. Yeah, no thanks
@ChromaticDracula @Cosats
Why not play it and make your own mind up !!!!!!
Fed up of this site constantly comparing remastered games with other platforms !!!!!!
Which other handheld platforms are they comparing the switch version to ?
Oh , I see, you’re comparing it to the ps4 and Xbox 1 versions. Then you sound surprised that it’s not the same lol.
Comical really. And a little bit sad.
I am completely convinced that this sort of thing is deliberate. A poor port of a game of this nature will sell poorly and then companies can cite it as an example of how "Nintendo gamers don't like this sort of 'mature' game and only want colorful cartoon graphics".
Companies like this have a history of porting their major series to Nintendo in mediocre fashions and then not releasing further entries in those series on the platform. It is all an excuse to avoid having to do the extra work involved in building a version for the Switch, or making an entry in a series designed for Switch.
This game does have a couple of issues I agree. Sound does crackle but isn’t game breaking. It’s still a good game and the fact I can take it with me anywhere is an absolute bonus. I can put up with the odd issue if it means I can take it anywhere. Just remember it’s not a ps4 or xbox one.
Brutal review... fatality.
@Inktec
Here here.
I absolutely agree with you.
I wonder when the hefty day 1 patch was released and if they had access to it when they started playing for this review. I haven't noticed any of the audio stuttering or frame rate issues they mention.
I’ve got some thoughts on this
1 While the game is by no means perfect and it definitely has some frame rate drops here and there, it’s pretty solid for the most part, and as anyone knows with AC games on 7th gen level hardware, you’re not going to meet current gen standards. People played games like Dark Souls with framerate drops into still frames last gen, but now it seems like if you even lose 5fps on occasion it’s utter trash (unless you’re one of the chosen favorites that doesn’t get targeted by hate like DOOM or Skyrim or even Dark Souls, then losing a couple frames or having audio glitch here and there, or largely looking like a last gen version, heck even dropping res into Vita territory, is totally fine- 9/10) yet strangely when games on other systems do that (MH World, I remember those 25fps particle effect moments), it’s a mild annoyance at most.
And to be frank, The extreme views of a good chunk of the members in the comments sections are really starting to get old. It feels like people wait for someone to exaggerate criticisms so that they can feel validated voicing their extreme criticisms, because people only feel like their criticisms are valid if they are extreme. And people with extreme opinions... they just can’t be trusted. Especially those with chronic, habitual repeat offender status.
2 I played some of this game last gen. And it’s a pretty good game. To anyone who says it’s “one of the worst in the series” and knocking it, I’m not sure why you’re here reading this review in the first place. You already had your mind made up about this game. I’m not even necessarily arguing the point- I’m actually inclined to agree it falls in the lower tier of the overall series- but even games that fall in the lower tier of the series are still really excellent games compared to most other games. I’ve never played a bad AC game. Even the bottom-most rung on the ladder, Liberation, was an absolutely incredible experience on Vita as a handheld entry (which by the way, we are getting an even better handheld version of in this package just as a freebie bonus).
3 The constant comparison of a downclocked tablet to power consoles as a matter of judgement is ridiculous. If someone wants to make a comparison for reference or information sake I totally agree with that. But if you’re going to judge the game, judge it on even terms. Stack Liberation against the Vita version and see how that shift of perspective changes everything. Stack AC3 against the Wii U version- not only does it run better but it’s the first mainline series AC game on a handheld. Notice how that change of perspective makes all the difference.
I’m well and truly satisfied with this game. It looks great and it runs pretty good. And the game itself is extremely enjoyable to me. I’m not a major AC fan, but I like to enjoy the series here and there. This is definitely my pick. I’d rather play this on Switch then pretty much any other game in the series anywhere else. This is another excellent addition to the library, and I’m glad to finally see a portable AC game (the first portable entry of the mainline, numbered series) top Liberations on Vita, while simultaneously providing a better version of that very game on a better handheld.
We know that in the hands of competent developers, outstanding ports can be made to the Switch (e.g., Skyrim, Doom, Wolfenstein, Rocket League, Fortnite, Diablo). Ubisoft should have outsourced this port to Panic Button.
Lets be honest
AC has never had a
"Good" Good title
"It’s an unusual situation but this is one Switch game which seems to actually perform better in handheld mode..."
This isn't the first time it's happened. Strange.
@Ayye-ant Did you play Odyssey?
@PBandSmelly Assassin’s Creed Odyssey was amazing
This is probably one of the least requested remasters...
@JaxonH I agree with a lot of your opinions Jax but I think you are going very easy on AC3 here. This is not a good looking port. We have seen other developers make the Switch hardware sing when it comes to last gen ports. Diablo 3 and Skyrim are proof enough of that.
I also played AC3 on the WiiU, it was actually one of my first games for the system. Comparison videos already exist and this is not a good showing. This is the exact same game we played in 2012. I am aware the Switch is not the most powerful system but it is capable of more than what Ubisoft just handed us. If they want to release the game on Switch that is fine, but this is in no way a Remastered version of the game and Ubisoft should own up to that. Tell us it is a straight port and give us an according price tag.
Got it in GameFly to rent, but I'll hope for a patch first. More lazy "we'll 'get' it there and patch it later" philosophy like Xenon Racer et. al. If only when I played ACIII on Wii U it hadn't constantly crashed every time the boat pulled into Boston (and that was through multiple disc, save file deletes, and updates). We do like more than just Mario + Rabbids, ok Ubisoft? Sheesh.
@JaxonH "Stack AC3 against the Wii U version- not only does it run better" It runs 3 frames better than the Wiiu version, that's nothing. It's crap,but slightly better.
@nessisonett Ezio Collection? Black Flag? AC3 can barely run on a Nintendo hardware(Switch and Wiiu), what makes you think any of the other games will fare better?
@Indielink
Eh, I’m playing it right now, and well I wouldn’t say it’s a pristine port or the gold standard to which all ports should aspire, I wouldn’t say it’s a bad port either.
You have to understand that this is an open world game. Skyrim, LA Noire, Saints Row 3... look at these open world games and how they tend to run. This falls on the upper end of performance for the genre on Switch, actually. And we all know Skyrim isn’t the golden standard either (although for that game, I think it’s an excellent version even despite not being perfect).
I don’t really expect more now on a handheld than what we got in 2012 on a home console. I expect more now on home consoles than what we got in 2012 on home consoles. But not more on a handheld. Despite what people say, pretty much every seventh gen port has been the same version, barring a few minor spruce ups here and there (Skyrim should be commended though). I mean if you really look at it they’ve all been basically just ports. Which is kind of what you would expect given the system is roughly on par with what those systems were. Switch is a portable PS3.
That’s not to say it’s not more powerful. It is... a little. The bottleneck comes from handheld mode, and having to develop games to still run well portably. Any additional effects that maybe could’ve been squeezed in are pretty much put on the chopping block the minute hand held mode is concerned because the game probably wouldn’t run well with those additional effects. But the amount of effects that could’ve been added are going to be negligible in the big scheme of things anyways. When I buy seventh 7th gen ports on the Switch, I’m buying them full well expecting a straight port. And any game that claims to be more than that, if you really look at it, hasn’t been. People said the same thing about Dark Souls. Why does it not look remastered like the other versions, they said. I said the same thing about Saint’s Row The Third. LA Noire. Darksiders Warmastered. Even Skyrim (though screenshot comparisons did show a noticeable difference in some regards)
I agree they should just tell us it’s a straight port. Undoubtedly, I’m with you 100%. I just don’t see being a straight port as a problem when it’s on a handheld that’s actually a little less powerful than the system from which it’s ported due to constraints of handheld mode..
I guess the point I’m getting at is, expecting anything beyond a straight port with a few minor spruce ups is kind of wishful thinking given the hardware. I mean in truth, it is touched up a little bit. It’s running at a higher resolution. HD rumble (very good HD rumble btw). Touch support. Some gameplay tweaks to modernize. Liberation is definitely a step up. So it does have minor improvements over the originals. But that’s all any of these other games really had. At the end of the day as long as it’s not dropping to 15fps or crashing with game breaking bugs, I’m happy. Open world games are extremely demanding on this system, so to hold 30 most of the time, and have added touch screen support and HD rumble and a redesigned HUD interface for handheld mode due to the smaller screen, with sharp, crisp resolution... I’m not complaining. I’m not holding it up as the golden standard or anything, but I’m not complaining. And I’m certainly not trying to label it as trash or garbage. That’s the kind of extreme rhetoric that just destroys intellectual discussion like we’re having now (not that you’re one of those people, but that was one of the points of my post I was getting at)
@Ayye-ant You suck. Don't get mad at Ubisoft because it's not Call of Duty
IT's popular to hate on AC3. I went to the midnight launch and it was a great game. I don't understand the hate and never will. Unity is a much worse game. I understand the story and characters were not as good as previous games, but it's not THAT bad. People just hate on it when they have NEVER played it or because it's a popular opinion. This port DOES suck however. I don't understand why people are smashing ports into a system that can't run them. Saint's Row had this problem too. STOP porting games to the Switch unless you're going to put more effort into it. Is it really that hard? Of course it's just a quick cash grab for people who never played these games and need a quick fix on their Switch.
@MsJubilee
I’m not sure where you’re getting your info from, but the Wii U version was much worse than 3fps lower. This game holds 28-30fps most of the time, with a few places in the open world where you see some 5fps drops. That wasn’t even remotely true for the Wii U version. There are games where the performance is low enough that it’s actually a hindrance to your enjoyment and there are games where it’s not. This is about on par with LA Noire, just to give you an idea of what to expect. Certainly not perfect but by no means a disaster. Definitely playable. And for low spec gamers who, like me, played AC 2, 3 and 4 on GPD Win with ultra low settings and middling framerate, or Liberation on Vita, this is a respectable step up from what’s been previously available on portable systems.
I’m actually playing the game as we speak, so if you want some first-hand feedback I am happy to provide it.
I just want it for AC: Liberation. Can we have a more in-depth, separate review of that compared to AC3: Remastered? And is Liberation on the cart or a separate download code? If separate, I will happily trade in the cart in a heartbeat
@ShikabaneHime13 Liberation is on the cart, only the DLC packs are a seperate download (about 3.5 Gig for the DLC, and 1.8gig for the day 1 patch, so it's about 5.3 Gig total install.)
@MsJubilee Because the Switch can run DOOM and Wolfenstein with some effort put in?
@JaxonH I had AC3 on Wii U, only completed the first handful of chapters (made it to Connor) and unfortunately I had to trade my Wii U before completion. I still plan on getting this sometime this week. I’m glad you posted, as I was a bit worried about getting this after the review slam. As long as it runs as good or better than Wii U version then I’m fine with it.
@daveh30 Ugh..... Well, at least I can say I have it physical on Switch I suppose....
@Dm9982
Ya. It’s way better than that.
I’ve noticed the Nintendo group on this site tends to be overly harsh with anything AC. I’m playing the game right now and it’s absolutely fine. If you hadn’t read a bad review and played this, you wouldn’t even think twice about it. Looks good, plays good (for the most part), has some really solid HD rumble and touch screen support (and redesigned HUD for handheld making it easier to play), The gameplay mechanics have still been tweaked from the original release to make it more modern... it’s just a really solid release.
Do note, the DLC is on the eShop for free, along with some language packs like French, Spanish and whatever else you may need. There’s also a day one patch which fixes the game up a bit.
I love AC3. Love the setting especially.
once again this messy port should be enough reason to stay away from anything that virtuos is touching. virtuos might have released the final fantasy games with minimal issues but they were ps2 games. you'd have to be really bad to mess that up. anything last gen related, has been mediocre so far. LA NOIRE, DARK SOULS and now THIS, are proof that virtuos are just a bunch of amateurs. both la noire and dark souls had weird issues with audio and both of them were clunky docked. it's the same with ac3.
and, i can confirm the framerate is terrible, especially in chapter 6, it's below 20fps i'm sure of it. this should serve as a lesson to never pre order games, no matter how old they are and no matter how you think it's going to be fine on switch. i was proved wrong by both saints row and this.
@JaxonH Awesome, glad to hear it! Yeah, you seem to be in the same boat as I. I’m not a massive fan of the AC series, but I did enjoy what little I got of AC3 and 4. Hoping they port 4 as well.
I also prefer to get any games possible on Switch over my PS4 Pro, like I did with Mortal Kombat 11. I’m a father of 2 girls, a 3 year old and 6 month old. So it’s much easier to get game time on the Switch (handheld) than screen time on the TV w/ the PS4. Plus certain games they don’t need to see yet, like MK11 or Saints Row 3, lol.
I don’t need games to have 4K graphics at 60fps to be enjoyable. Been gaming since 1985, and have seen all manner of games running from great to poor, and played most of em. Honestly I’m happy, as well as impressed, by a lot of the games we’ve gotten on Switch. DOOM was crazy and fantastic! I own both the PS4 version and Switch one, and didn’t finish it till Switch. Downgrade in texture and rez, sure, but still the same game with the same playability.
@nessisonett Not everyone's Panic Button.
@JaxonH Wiiu version is 20 to 26 FPS in almost every scenario, the Switch version is slightly better in free roaming. But in a fight? Its an other story. It goes goes down to 20 to 26 and it's very inconsistent just like the Wiiu version.
@MsJubilee
All I can tell you is I’m playing the game now and I’m not noticing anything. There’s a difference between numbers on a page (“oooh I saw the framerate drop 4fps for 3 quarters of a second, and is hovering at 29 instead of 30, must play like crap“ attitude) and playing a game for yourself and just feeling good when you play it. I literally just had a fight not five minutes ago and I didn’t notice anything, so...
I guess maybe it’s not a good buy for you but, game runs pretty good for me, so... don’t know what else to say. Guess don’t buy it?
@Dm9982
Ya same here, got an X1X and PS4 Pro, but I never buy games for them if I have the option on Switch.
I think the standards of what constitutes a “bad game” have become ludicrous nowadays. Some of the best examples of AAA games on Switch (DOOM, LA Noire, Dark Souls, etc) get touted as “bad ports”. It’s just asinine. You can’t trust anything anyone says anymore because every little imperfection makes a game “crap” now.
Like this game here, I’m surprised how smooth it plays, especially in handheld mode.
@JaxonH I would contest your opinion that handheld is less powerful than the PS3. Handheld definitely has a good bit more power BUT not enough that the system can brute force its way to better visuals without some toying around.
Comparing handheld and last gen versions: Skyrim runs a near clean 30 with many of the textures and some of the lighting of the remastered version with roughly the same res. Dark Souls runs at a slightly higher res and more than doubles the framerate in some places (hello Blighttown). Dark Souls also got most of the multiplayer improvements. Darksiders in quality mode actually holds 30 without screentearing with a higher res AND uses much of the visual feature set of its PS4/X1 counterparts. In performance mode it comes close to a locked 60 and STILL looks better than the older versions...actually I would argue that Darksiders is probably the single best last gen Switch port.
LA Noire never had a chance. As a game designed around the architecture of the PS3 it would have to have been rebuilt ground up to have seen improvements on Switch. Ain't nobody got dat time.
I did not come into this review expecting the Switch version to look like it does on PS4. Ubisoft actually did a nice job bringing the game to the big consoles and it really does look quite nice there. But there really is a clear difference between the ports that had some effort put into them and those that didn't and this looks like one that didn't.
Like you say, I wouldn't go as far as to call this trash. But it definitely looks like a bare minimum effort to get the game going on Switch.
Play this game in portable mode, that's what Switch is for.
This review also failed to mention touch screen support which is really rare for AAA port. Touching that mini map to see the full map is so convenient.
@JaxonH Just cause you don't notice anything(don't know how) doesn't mean the frame drops aren't there.
@MsJubilee
I’m pretty sure I never claimed the frame rate was rocksolid without any drops. Fact if you go back and read all my statements I’m pretty sure I made claim to the contrary.
But just because it drops a couple frames in a couple spots doesn’t make it crap, nor does it mean it’s going to be noticeable the majority of the time. And if it’s not noticeable then it’s not a problem. Or, it’s just not happening and that’s why it’s not being noticed. Either way, I’ve been playing the game all evening and the vast vast vast vast vast majority of the time the game is running very smoothly. Impressively so, actually, especially in handheld mode.
Even the videos analyzing frame rate show that it pretty much clusters right at 29 or 30, even showcasing the worst drops in the game only had like maybe mid 20s for a few brief moments. So I don’t know what you’re talking about. Does it have a few frame rate drops? Sure. Is it some unplayable mess or worse than any other open world game on the system? No. It’s par for the course, especially given its AC.
I was one of the few who enjoyed the game so far i am enjoying it. But they should have ported the trilogy. Next year hopefully they bring black flag to switch. Although there is a slight possibility that rouge could come to the switch.
@JaxonH Ha, that’s so true. People tend to forget when we first entered the 3D arena on home consoles and how those frame rates were. Bahahaha. As far as today’s games are concerned, at least on the AAA front, I don’t believe I’ve come across an unplayable game, unlike some of the crazy that made it to retail back in the early 2000s.
And regarding the frame drops, people tend to forget BotW drops frames....
The remaster of AC3 on PS4 and Xbox One are 30 fps too.
Even the Xbox One drops below 30 fps, this has nothing to do with Switch. Ubisoft needs to optimize the game more.
@MsJubilee people that say it runs fine are the same people that went mad when saints row was confirmed to be an awful port. there are people that don't see past their own crap.
i game on multiple platforms, i CAN see if the game is smooth or not and assassin's creed 3 is anything but smooth on switch. it's barely playable.
@JaxonH care to point that video that proves it hovers around 29 fps? because that's not what i saw at all on contra network or candyland. it hovers way more towards the25-26fps mark than anything else, especially in boston.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0EH_YHcL57g
@Dm9982
Very good point.
We just need more trustworthy opinions from people that aren’t extremist. Everything is either perfect... or utter trash. So few middle ground, fair and balanced takes that it’s just exhausting trying to get reliable information nowadays. Everyone has an agenda.
Given that I buy pretty much every game I have interest in, I try to share my unbiased opinions on the matter. I don’t want to oversell it as being perfect because, it’s not. AC games on 7th gen level hardware, they’re a little rough around the edges. At the same time, I want to make it abundantly clear that people have gone off the deep end with with their extremist criticisms of this game.
Game is confirmed to run near 30 most of the time with a few drops in the open world, pre patch, and people are literally calling it nearly unplayable. Absolutely the most absurd thing I’ve heard is to the point that I can’t even take people on this website seriously anymore. Just become a joke where it’s a contest to see who can demonize a game to sound as worse as possible.
@nintendolie Sounds like it’s the exact same problem a lot of ports have seen over the past couple years - being based on different architecture or being based on a poorly optimized game in the first place.
Breath of the Wild and Mario Kart had Wii U architecture in mind during development, so issues came through to switch causing poor frame pacing / drops.
LA Noire, as stated above, was based on PS3 architecture, so any time it’s ported to another console it’s always gonna have issues.
There’s other examples, but I can’t think of em off of my head.
DOOM is often cited as a port done right, and I’m not trying to diminish what Panic Button accomplished, but they were handed a near flawless game from the get go, they just had to optimize and find out what settings ran it best on Switch.
It’s easier to polish glass to a mirror surface, than a rock.
@LOZ_Master95 Fair to decent chance that did not have the day one patch involved if it was published yesterday.
@LOZ_Master95
Actually if you watch that video it does hold fairly close to 30 a lot of the time, though now that I see the number at the top it’s a little easier to judge then just watching the line, The number does seem to be a couple frames lower than what the line appeared to be.
But I’m not here to sell you on the game. I’m not here to argue. If someone’s not impressed then I say don’t buy it. Too often discussions on here feel like a gladiatorial contest with one group trying to say a game is the worst thing on the planet over a couple frames per second while another group is trying to say the game is flawless and doesn’t have anything wrong with it whatsoever.
I’m trying to give a reasonable voice in the middle. Maybe the patch had something to do with it or maybe dropping a couple frames simply isn’t enough to ruin the illusion of motion. Or maybe, playing in handheld mode simply makes it harder to notice small aberrations. Whatever the case may be, I’m enjoying it, and haven’t really had any real issues with it yet (note: this does not mean I haven’t noticed any issues- I definitely have, there’s been some times where it seemed to be a little slow or stutters). At the end of the day though, come to your own conclusions. I’m just sharing mine, from a position of experience playing the game.
@JaxonH But you did say "Stack AC3 against the Wii U version- not only does it run better" When it's not the case at all, in one category it runs better and that's in free roam. Everything else is the same or worse than the Wiiu port.
@Dm9982 i have the patch and the framerate is still below 30 very frequently in boston and in some parts outside. The audio issues are still there as well. It's the last time i buy a port handled by virtuos.
I rented this so I don't have much of an investment in it. That bring said I am not really seeing a lot of the complaint s I am reading here. There was an update prior to playing, so maybe that addressed some issues? Overall, game is fun.
For me, AC3 and Saints Row 3 are playable. They are not ARK or Xenon racer: games that look drastically different from other platforms and runs like poop.
@MsJubilee
I think that’s categorically false. I’m playing the game right now and I own the game on Wii U, and I can tell you it seems to run noticeably better than that version. It’s not perfect. I can tell it tends to fluctuate a little bit erratically. But as my original statement said it’s reasonably good enough.
Question is, why are you arguing with me about this? I really don’t care what your opinions are (I don’t mean that in a snooty way- I still respect your opinions). You voiced them and that’s great but, why are you still arguing with me? It seems like you’re more concerned with strong arming me into adopting your opinions than simply voicing your own (which is problematic even if you had experience playing the game, but it’s certainly even more problematic when you haven’t). If you’re not impressed, that’s fine.
I wonder why they released this instead of AC2
@nintendolie Ahhhh, lest I forget ARK.... yes that game ran like crap on every, and I mean every, platform. I had it on XB1, so yes, even there.
@LOZ_Master95 It looks as though Virtuos handled FFX/X2, FF12 Zodiac, Dark Souls, LA Noire, and Starlink for Switch. And at least 3 of those games got good reviews on here, and elsewhere, and run well. Again, I think it’s more the source material, and less an issue with the studio behind the port.
They also handled Ezio collection on XB1/PS4, Heavy Rain PS4, amongst other things.
@JayJ because this remaster was now being released on all platforms.
As for me ac3 was my fav in the series so I picked it up yesterday morning. And I am really happy with it after 2h of playing. Framer ates are not that bad. And I am just enjoying the game rather comparing it to versions on other platforms.
One thing that I will say I hate about modern gaming.... the lack of standards. And this is all due to Internet connectivity sadly. Back on NES, SNES, etc a game went through rigorous testing and quality control before release - at least for most companies. When games released they were stable final builds and only ever saw minor revisions down the line. Now days games release in beta and sometimes alpha states even with the plan, or hope, to update and finalize it in the future via patches. This is a mixed blessing. On one hand, a game can be fixed with ease when something is found, but on the other it means games can release without passing half the test. So now the test of a good dev is based on continued support for a product, rather than having a good product at launch. Fair enough when the developer is good and caring of its product and customers. But falls extremely short when they don’t care, or face a “sudden” bankruptcy situation leaving paying customers hanging. It’s a gamble, on our part, instead of a sure fire win.
The other bad part is reviews based on unfinished products. A review comes out before all updates have been applied over the next so many years.... it’s like trying to review an MMO at that point. So people see an old review based on build 1.01 of the game, but may not know it’s in build 2.05 now. Lotta issues with the release and update model we currently are accepting.
A good case in point is Dragon Marked for Death. That released in a not final state, with an odd pay model, and to mixed reviews. I trusted Inti Creates because they’ve released some really nice games over the years, and thankfully they came through. The game has received numerous updates since launch, including level cap increases, new items, elemental alignments for the classes... the list goes on. Reviews won’t reflect what the game is now compared to what it released as. Not to mention initial opinions. Some may have bought it and canned it at launch because it was a different game then.
But anyways, I digress. Just my 2 cents. Gaming sure has changed a ton over the years. Y’all should just be thankful games aren’t Mega Man 1 or Mario Lost Levels difficult anymore, 😆. There was a reason we created Game Genie back then!
When the Wii U version looks and runs beter than the Switch version there is really no excuse.
This is a full fledged Assasins creed open world on portable hardware with remastered cutscene visuals plus an added game thrown in. Theres a few niggles with audio but thats minor compared to what your getting . Reviewer has no idea whats been accomplished here
All I cares about is... whats the menu icon look like?
Assassin's Creed III is my favourite Creed game because of its story, setting and beautiful vivd large open world. I can't believe this runs worse than the 2012 Wii U game that I rated 9/10 back then. I need a side-by-side comparison.
@Timsworld2
Lol
@nintendolie
Thatˋs why we get more and more shoddy and expensive ports of old games. Because "Hey, you can play it portable now! That should be enough." 🙄
Of all the AC titles they chose this?? Are they trying to make some money of AC3 in retrospect?
I would have bought AC1, AC2+B+R and AC4BF, but not 3.
In other better news Gunlord X is now out and is fantastic. I'm scoringit a 9. You read my review first on Nintendo Life before Nintendo life reviewed it themselves. Check back here for more early access news.
@YANDMAN Didn’t know this game existed, looks awesome! Just saw the extended trailer on eshop.... like a ContraVania
Ubisoft is lazy AF. It is well known that French companies are tightfisted as hell. There are no surprises here.
@GrailUK
Still suffer from ptsd thanks to the char race
@LunarFlame17 Why the hell would you buy a full priced game with the intention of playing it later? You do realize it will be much cheaper when you get to it, right?
I am seriously considering picking this up. It is quite unfortunate that the DLCs are NOT on the cart but at least the main game AND Liberation are all on the cart.
Wtf very harsh review. I don’t understand this site anymore. Some average games get near perfect reviews and epic games like this get a bad review 🤷♂️
@nessisonett unity is great
@JaxonH "And to be frank, The extreme views of a good chunk of the members in the comments sections are really starting to get old. It feels like people wait for someone to exaggerate criticisms so that they can feel validated voicing their extreme criticisms, because people only feel like their criticisms are valid if they are extreme. And people with extreme opinions... they just can’t be trusted. Especially those with chronic, habitual repeat offender status."
See this all the time in here. They're not even remotely interested in the game but they'll still pop their head in to take a dump on it.
@Yasume Well, there’s a number of reasons. It mostly comes down to, I had the money, and I wanted it, so I bought it. Sure it’ll probably go on sale at some point, but I might not have the money for it then. I generally plan out my video game purchases months in advance; I rarely impulse-buy video games.
So I’ve known for at least a couple of months that I wanted to buy ACIII the day it came out. Maybe I would have rethought that if I’d read this review first, but probably not. I know I like ACIII (I’ve played it twice), and I have a higher tolerance for technical issues than most people.
Besides, I wanted to support Assassin’s Creed games on the Switch. III isn’t my favorite, but if it sells well, maybe Ubisoft will bring more AC games to the Switch.
In any case, if I buy it, I have it, and I can play it whenever I want. If I waited, and I got in the mood to play it, I’d have to make sure I had the money to buy it, and then download it and wait. This way, it’s on my Switch, ready for me whenever I’m ready for it.
Plus, I like supporting the people who make video games, and buying games for full price as soon as they come out is a good way to do it.
So there, like I said. Lots of reasons.
@Woosh193 Yeah, many reviews on this site are rubbish now
@sandman89 Yes, the Switch version is definitely better than a 5/10, this site is becoming a joke in regards to reviews.
Number 3 will always hold a soft spot for me, as it still is the only AC game that I've ever completed (the story that is, not 100% it).
I always liked the idea behind the AC game(s), but was never able to get very far with them, as they are such long games that I simply never had the time for, and couldn't hog the TV to play as well (am currently having the same problem with Odyssey on Xbox One X; bought the console and game as an impulse buy last November and never really find the time to play it, yet I LOVE the game, but there is not a chance in hell I will ever even have the time to ever complete the base story, let alone any DLC and all the side missions, which is why I will also never buy Red Dead Redemption 2 unless it comes to Switch).
The Wii U however changed all that for me; I completed nearly the whole game using just the GampePad (with just a few sessions on the big TV) whilst my wife could watch her crappy TV programmes.
So I feel I may end up caving in and getting it again as I can enjoy it once again on the Switch without ever needing the TV (though I will naturally take those very rare occasions and play big when I get the chance lol). It's not a priority though as I want to complete Saints Row 3 first, and I still want Sonic Racing and Yoshi's Crafted World.
I have always wondered why number 3 gets the hate it does, but then, I'm hardly a hardcore AC pro.
p.s I am actually very guilty of having the always considered wonderful "Black Flag" for the Wii U sitting on my shelf for about 4 years now, still sealed/shrinkwrapped, so I have absolutely no idea if the game is as good as what people say it is, I just know it gets a lot of love. I'll eventually crack it open lol.
As I expected. But I wasn't really looking forward to this. Played this game on Wii U in 2012 and got rid of it after 10 hours of time waste
I actually like AC III as it had no qualms about showing how almost everyone who came to NA were scum.
But this is a crappy port. Something that should not exist this far into the switchs life. The excuse of Switch being underpowered doesn't apply here, much better looking games run much better.
No problem, our toilet is close enough for playing AC3 on WiiU Thank you for your review.
@ivory_soul ac sucks n call of duty sucks don’t be mad at me cuz ur taste in games SUCK lil bihh
@MJ1200 so now that nintendolife calls out issues of a switch port they are a joke? must be sad to be a nintendo fanboy.
@Timsworld2 a 3 is all it deserves for the lack of effort. but nintendo fanboys will defend anything.
@LOZ_Master95 I'm not a Nintendo fanboy, I actually just played the game on Switch and that's why I can not agree with this review.
@Dm9982 Its essentially mega-Turrican on steroids. if you don't know this then you don't know the awesome people behind it 'GNG-DEV' go and look up their other stellar games and support this one. if this does well they are bringing other across.
Bought the game anyways despite the bad review and it’s completely fine. Not clunky or glitchy; I actually think it runs pretty smooth. This one I loved on Wii U and honestly I feel like it performs better than when it was on the Wii U. Take the review with a grain of salt and judge for yourself.
@MJ1200 and i played too and it's agarbage effortless port not worthy of its remastered title. i'm returning it tomorrow.
@YANDMAN nice! Just looked em up. Awesome that they went from indie home brew on Neo Geo to commissioned games for current systems! And yeah, now that you mention it I can see the Turrican inspiration. I never did play Turrican back in the day. Didn’t have a Neo Geo even though I wanted one badly. When Super Turrican came to SNES I had to choose between R Type and Turrican, ended up getting R Type and forgetting about Turrican sadly.
@Dm9982 Super R Type was the first SNES game i bought and it blew me away. I remember sitting in my bedroom alone and putting that cart in and thinking to myself this really is the arcade at home. Despite its slow-down issues its still a fantastic game. Go play Gunlord and enjoy it. I am a fairly big Neo colelctor but 600 for Gunlord is beyond me, i experienced it on the Dreamcast.
@Dm9982 Also it's worth noting that this version is far improved over all previous version both in content and graphical prowess.
This is a good port, aside from two key issues.
1. NPC count was reduced compared to the Wii U version and other versions. This is especially apparent in cities like Boston, where the roads sometimes feel like they are dead.
2. Audio quality is horrible. HORRIBLE! Why is the menu theme compressed like that? Were they really hurting for space?
@YANDMAN Yeah i saw the huge list of improvements on the site, def gonna pick this up in the next week or so. Just got AC3 and RE4. Next batch will either be RE1&0 or FFX/X2 and either way I’ll toss Gunlord X in there. Just looks too fun!
Edit - Also meant to ask, since I’ve never played Turrican or Gunlord, how’s the upgrade system / new weapon system work in there? Is it like Castlevania/Metroid where ya beat a boss and get an upgrade?
@Dm9982 Weapon system is very easy and sometimes a hinderance because of how many weapns get dropped at once. it's one power strength continuously, five different weapons available plus bombs. Each time you colelct a gun time it replaces your previous so you have to beware of not colelcting something you don't want although none of them are terible at all. levels are huuuuuuuuuuuuuuge but quickly yopu will find your way around. Can't reccomend it enough.
@Woosh193 Even compared to the wii u version it looks worse
They shouldn't call it a remaster if it looks the same or in some cases worse as it did originally
@sakkenijs
True. But this is a portable handheld. Get over it or sell your switch because the quality you want is in achievable on the current handheld system
Fairly harsh review and not completely accurate. The first three sequences of the game can be completed within 1-2 hours, not "roughly eight". I have played the original version on PS3 and I also recently got this for the Switch again because I missed out on the dlc and Liberation. Here's what I will agree with: this isn't necessarily a remaster as much as it is a near straight port of the original and the frame rate is not perfect in comparison to a PC. This is going to be obvious however, given the nature of the Switch's power. From what I have played so far, I have noticed the sound crackling that you mentioned and the frame rate dips, but it's not game breaking by any means, at least in my opinion ( and I'll also agree that a patch would be nice to address these issues) .
However, this game is a lot of fun and I never understood really why people were turned off by it because it has a great variety of game play to explore, from hunting, to the homestead missions, to sea faring battles, and of course some traditional Assassins Creed game play. There is lot about this game that is overlooked by the status quo and I believe that is why Ubisoft wanted to re release this game over something like Black Flag, lets say (Black Flag was cross generational which, while was never ported to the Switch, had an audience already on 360, PS3, Xbox one and ps4. I would like to see a Switch port though .
I think Haytham Kenway, Connor, and much of the story is interesting and a lot of thought and depth went into this game. The developers did the research to make use of the Mohawk language to depict historical accuracy in a historically fictional narrative. The game is vast and there is a lot of frontier to explore. There are a variety of missions to keep the game engaging.
One thing I do think that Ubisoft should have done differently is drop the word "remastered" from the title of this game, and maybe gone with something like "Assassin's Creed 3 Collection" or "Anthology" or something to that effect. I don't know, this is just my thought on the subject.
Played this on Wii U and frankly I wasn't that big of a fan of it anyway & ended up trading it in for another game. I much preferred AC 4 from the Wii U era. Anyway I'll be giving this one a hard-pass.
This was the game that got me into the assassins creed series. I absolutely loved this game. Sure black flag as well as origins was cool. I have no idea why everyone had a hard on for ezio. I found him trying to hard to be cool but each to their own. I might buy this later on down the road for a long trip.
This is the only Assassin's Creed game I've ever really progressed in at all (I've gotten Black Flag and Unity on PC for free during Ubisoft's anniversary/Notre Dame promos). I might play the Wii U version again after hearing the Switch version is bad. Heck, I might play Black Flag soon again. I hear a lot of people say it's one of the better ones.
This review is flat out incorrect on most points it makes and is flawed in its score. This is a 6 or 7 at least based on the sheer amount of content in the game alone. The complaint that it took "eight hours" for the reviewer to reach the main portion of the game is more a reflection on their game-playing ability more than the game, as it does not take anywhere near eight hours to assume control of adult Connor.
The game runs acceptably well on the Switch in both handheld and docked mode, the framerate is high enough even in technically taxing situations with dozens of NPCs and particle effects on-screen (in one case I messed up so badly that I had to fight roughly one hundred enemies in the streets of Boston. The streets were littered with corpses and frightened NPCs, yet the game didn't skip a single beat). Audio drop-outs are infrequent and seem to only occur on loading screens, lasting approximately a second or two before returning to normal — a mildly-annoying issue at most, and certainly a top contender for a patch down the road. It's worth noting that Skyrim, a Switch port often praised by Nintendo Life, also released with initial audio issues at launch.
Loading times are minimal at most. Audio quality, though it's certainly compressed, is perfectly acceptable compared to far worse examples such as LA Noire's Switch port, a port handled by a Chinese developer Nintendo Life ironically have praised in past articles. At no time have I stopped and organically noticed that the audio sounded compressed during my time with the game so far — I wouldn't have even known audio compression was apparently an "issue" for this game had I not read this review.
Nintendo Life's bizarrely confrontational review and Digital Foundry's overly critical analysis aside, this is an impressive port, overall. Assassin's Creed III is among the best open world games available on the system to-date, and is exactly the type of game Ubisoft should be bringing to the Switch alongside their Nintendo collaborations such as Starlink and Mario + Rabbids.
@LOZ_Master95 I completely agree, and I appreciate the troll attempt. The only problem with your well-reasoned argument is that it's completely wrong and you're a total loser for making it.
The port is fine, the audio quality is fine, (and better in places than the audio in comparable ports that Nintendo Life praises) the frame rate is passable, and it features an extra title to play lumped in with the main game, which includes all DLC and additional language packs ready to download — all of this on a portable console you can take with you.
If the steady diet of soy and pad thai your two mothers have had you on has stunted your brain development and you still disagree, think about it this way: it's a main Ubisoft franchise being brought to the Nintendo Switch with minimal sacrifices. The very worst Assassin's Creed port is a million times better than an annual slog of full price Just Dance and Ubisoft party games like Uno and "Carnival Games" counting as their main contributions to the system besides Starlink and Mario + Rabbids — party games that you apparently prefer over full-fledged open world titles because they run at slightly higher frames-per-second and have 44,100khz audio.
@Majora101 stop lying. the audio quality is massively garbage how is it good if it starts crackling every damn time you pause the game or enter a new cutscene lmao your standards are trash. the fact that even reviews are mentionning the audio issue and bad framerate, and that you still reject it proves how much of a fanboy you are.
@LOZ_Master95 Always a pleasure to see your name appear in my notifications!
Once again, I could at least see the humor in your trolling attempts if they were even remotely accurate. I am roughly 45 hours into this port, and I've heard audio crackling maybe twice at the start of a cutscene. And we've already established the framerate is acceptable, but this is a debate, apparently, so we need to continue to type and disregard each other's arguments. I almost agree with your second middle school level attempt at insulting me, but again, wrong — I'm not even much of an Assassin's Creed fan 😂, more of a Zelda guy like yourself.
I'll keep on having fun playing this pretty good game, and you can keep on coming onto a Nintendo news forum and calling its users "Nintendo fanboys" and work on your troll game to impress the boys at the gym, because obviously those dainty typing fingers and those 100lb dead lifts aren't cutting it anymore, you sister.
@lmello surely a marvel, such as a game running at 20k and 360fps would be worth checking out. At those specs and I would play Troll and I just for the novelty. That aside, i paid $5 for AC3 and still felt ripped off.
@nessisonett Revelations was part of the Ezio trilogy...
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