Assassin's Creed 3 features hinted at

By Fred Dutton Published 3 December, 2010

Ubisoft survey drops a few clues.

An Ubisoft survey suggests that the publisher is looking into a number of fresh innovations for the next game in the Assassin's Creed franchise, including new customisation options, crafting features and a different lead character.

The survey, conducted by Global Market Insite, asks participants to what degree they would welcome the following features in a follow-up to the excellent Assassin's Creed Brotherhood:

  • An upgrade to the assassin's blade that increases the fluidity and speed of free-running
  • An enhanced Eagle Vision: see the patrol paths of guards, spot clues to complex navigation puzzles, detect when characters are lying during interrogations, etc.
  • An intuitive crafting tool that lets you create custom bombs from dozens of ingredients found throughout the game world
  • Tactical use of a variety of bombs suited to unique contexts and situations (smoke, poison, flash, explosive, etc.)
  • An additional objective where you and your Assassins guild fight against the Templars to gain control of a city, district by district
  • Playing as a new Assassin, in a different historical time period
  • A continuation of Ezio's story as the leader of the Assassins, set outside of Italy
  • Deeper connectivity between all the Assassin's Creed projects (eg. an action you make on the Facebook game will impact your game experience on the console; events that you read about in the comics will be related to the storyline of the videogames, etc.)
  • Online Cooperative Mode
  • Offline Cooperative Mode
  • The availability of new maps for the Multiplayer
  • A choice of additional Multiplayer characters with new skill-sets
  • Playing new Multiplayer modes
  • A deeper team-based Multiplayer experience (guilds / squads that have common objectives, new tools for clan management, etc.)
  • A customization of the Multiplayer experience (logos, avatars, objects, team names, etc.)

Ubisoft recently revealed that there will be a new Assassin's Creed game in 2011, so you won't have to wait too long to find out which, if any, of these features make the cut.

Picture of Fred.

About Fred Dutton

Fred Dutton is Eurogamer's US news editor, based in Washington DC.

Read more articles from Fred by visiting the Fred Dutton archive page.

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Comments (55) Latest comment 1 year ago

Comments for this article are now closed, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • M83J01P97 #1 1 year ago

    I want all of those and more... I think Ezio has had his day though, but I would like the next game to address him either in flash back or just story related information. He's too good a character to just let disappear into history like Altair.

  • dunts #2 1 year ago

    Sneaky!

  • wingZero21 #3 1 year ago

    Bring back Altair. He is badass. That is all.....

  • bad09 #4 1 year ago

    "Offline Cooperative Mode"

    Obviously not talking about the DRM infected PC version then.....
    Edited by bad09 at 03/12/10 @ 20:50

  • penhalion #5 1 year ago

    Actually I'd settle for some present day action and a conclusion to the story where the animus levels are the exceptions and not the present day levels.

  • Daeltaja #6 1 year ago

    After completing Brotherhood, I have to say, it really need's a shake up. ACII was possibly GOTY for me, but I really couldn't get into Brotherhood, as much as I was looking forward to it. It's starting to feel archaic already. The controls and range of 'sneaking' options don't compliment the assassination style quests.

    Ezio (or whoever it will be) need's to be able to duck/crouch. He needs to be able to hug walls, high and low. There is no sense of creeping up on your target. He need's a much wider range of movements, think Uncharted.

    Kind of sick of the interace too, this needs a major re-working. More customisation is good too, but the formula of Assassin Tombs, feathers, weird glowy puzzles etc, need to be outed for something new too, otherwise it will get stale.

    Good luck though Ubi.

  • DaftVice #7 1 year ago

    The gameplay does need a bit of a refresh. It's great but I think another game exactly like the last three is going to feel a bit tired.

    Also, I'd love Victorian London as a setting. You could play a wrongly accused Jack the Ripper or something. That or ancient Greece as a Spartan assassin or ancient Egypt.

  • AMD500 #8 1 year ago

    I think a new assassin in a new time period is needed

  • Shinetop #9 1 year ago

    How would a blade increase the fluidity and speed of free running?

  • Markitron #10 1 year ago

    Don't need so many multiplayer features. It's all about the story for me, I don't wanna go through it with co-op randomers

  • hayaiame #11 1 year ago

    Bit of stupid survey, as if you pick the female option, you don't even get asked about Assassin's Creed. WTF, I like the friggin' series too.
    Edited by hayaiame at 03/12/10 @ 21:52

  • Centrifugal #12 1 year ago

    I definitely want a new Assassin. Ezio has been great but I think his story should be put to rest now, although I would like him to appear in subsequent games through flashbacks.

    The new Assassin's Creed, in my opinion, needs to be set in Victorian London at the dawn of the Industrial Revolution. As someone named Jack.

    ;)

  • Shinetop #13 1 year ago

    Fin de siecle London or Paris make the most sense as new locations. Although that's quite a gap in time between the second and the third game, so maybe the 1600's are first?

  • drhickman1983 #14 1 year ago

    I'd like to see a new time period and Assassin. Having a 3rd game set in Italy would start to drag, changing the settings would allow the game to feel fresher. And I can't say I agree with people who want to see more Altair, though he's a strong character he was a little to dour to really engage me.

    I do agree with the idea of Victorian England being a possibly good location.

    I'd also like to see better stealth options, even just being able to duck behind cover would help things greatly, and wouldn't feel out of place.

    The core game itself seems quite strong though. I really like the Assassin's Tomb style bits offering almost more platformy action in contrast to the more free roaming outside world.

    I tried the survey, all I got was a bunch of questions asking about what games I'd played and purchased :/

  • BigJonno #15 1 year ago

    I'd like to have a female assassin, just to see the response of Desmond and the gang. "Desmond, there's something a little...different about this ancestor." "Don't worry, I can handle it...what the fuck? Where did these come from?"

  • patootik #16 1 year ago

    Heloooo?! Ninjas anyone?! I just think that would be awesome, walking around old wooden Tokyo, the scenery and the vibe would be just very cool.

  • thedgam #17 1 year ago

    @patootik That's the first thing that pops to my mind when speculating for a fresh assassin's creed sequel but story-wise ubi would do a whole-hell lot to convince me on how an ezio/altair descendant ever got to Japan.

  • Mockerre #18 1 year ago

    A difficulty setting?

  • Acrid #19 1 year ago

    They should move it to WWII, now there's a time period that hasn't had enough coverage in games.

  • Spekingur #20 1 year ago

    Awesome.
    I would love to see some fluid parkour fighting - meaning 'on the move' kills. In modern times as well. With guns.

  • blooter #21 1 year ago

    AC Brotherood is deffo a AAA game but I would like Ubisoft to tweak the free running/climbing controls. There are a few frustrating moments. I dont mean dumbing down the controls, even the opposite, Make them more anolog like Fight Night.
    Setting, yes Victorian London, hunting down Jack the Ripper who's become a rogue assasin.

  • abot #22 1 year ago

    I would like to see AC3 take place in Victorian England.

    Also they should create mini games for the iPod where I can import my character from the console game play and level up and then import that character back into the console.

  • Skoptsie #23 1 year ago

    Hopefully AC3 will be set in France, starting out around the revolution and running through to Napoleon emerging as new templar leader after those naughty French royals are taken down. Maybe the Duke of York was linked to the Assassins?

    Then Victorian London for AC4 please Ubisoft.

  • Bluetooth #24 1 year ago

    Wow, that sounds exciting. Yes to all, except for that Facebook bollocks.

  • Daikon #25 1 year ago

    Deeper connectivity between all the Assassin's Creed projects (eg. an action you make on the Facebook game will impact your game experience on the console; events that you read about in the comics will be related to the storyline of the videogames, etc.)

    Dear God no.

  • mushroomyakuza #26 1 year ago

    Either Tudor or Victorian England. Also I see no reason why we can't go further back in time? Ancient Egypt sounds awesome. Also would like; South America, Third Reich Germany, Feudal Japan.

  • Lord_Gremlin #27 1 year ago

    Slow down, Ubisoft. First bad sequel will kill the IP.

  • Genyus #28 1 year ago

    Play as Desmund and swipe out Abstergo please

  • Shikasama #29 1 year ago

    Hah, I don't meet their demographic criteria, despite playing and owning both Ass Creed 1 and 2.

    Bit of a useless survey.

    Makes me wonder where I failed, hopefully it wasn't the higher education with too high an income, because then I worry about the peopl;e influencing the next game.

  • Shinetop #30 1 year ago

    Maybe it was because you clicked "Yes" on the "Do you often feel a need to post about your education and income in the comments section of a website about video games in order to get a fleeting sense of importance and superiority?" question.
    Edited by Shinetop at 04/12/10 @ 10:56

  • Shinetop #31 1 year ago

    Wonderful survey.

    "What is your country of residence?"
    "Other."
    "Please state your region of the UK."
    "..."

    Great survey, will take again A++++++++

  • M83J01P97 #32 1 year ago

    @mushroomyakuza

    Because the main story arc is moving forward through time, tracing the origins of the Templar vs. Assassins war. They could jump back in time for spin off games once the main story arc has been wrapped up possibly.

  • thebuttonz #33 1 year ago

    IMHO I would love it to be in Victorian London, as it's pretty much stayed the same in many parts, and I would love to see it recreated ala AC2/Bh but...

    it needs to be set in a time where he guards/police were relatively expendable. If a poloceman was murdered in London circa 1875 it would have been big news. In AC:B you can pretty much off 500 guards with little issue and nobody bats an eyelid.

    I know that an game requires a suspension of disbelief but I think that setting the game too close to the present would push that too far.

    All IMHO :)
    Edited by thebuttonz at 04/12/10 @ 12:11

  • azma91e #34 1 year ago

    important is to improve old things , like fighting system. make character and also opponents more aggressive, in order not to be like chess figures, waiting for their turn to attack.

    Also, as mentioned above free-running should be more precise.

    and what kind of assassin he is if he even can't crouch or hug walls. add this option
    Edited by azma91e at 04/12/10 @ 18:31

  • hinsten #35 1 year ago

    Hi all sorry for my English, but I also want to comment on the future of the Assassin's Creed.
    I want a new character and period, it would be nice closer to contemporary times, such as Victorian era and the action set in Britain, even a hero could be a woman, it would be in at least some variety. Actually can be any different, just in order to Ezio was not a hero again, because it makes the series will stop in place.
    I also want the choice of difficulty level easy normal and hard, because the game is very simple.
    Edited by hinsten at 04/12/10 @ 14:43

  • Abscido #36 1 year ago

    it needs to be set in a time where he guards/police were relatively expendable. If a poloceman was murdered in London circa 1875 it would have been big news. In AC:B you can pretty much off 500 guards with little issue and nobody bats an eyelid.

    An excellent point and something that occurred to me during Brotherhood - one of the reasons it works is because, in popular culture, we are used to seeing 'Roman' soliders die by the dozens and be relatively anonymous and expendable. Roman archetypes are some of the few that we can take 'seriously' from a fictional and historical point of view while still overlooking the almost comical nature of the underclasses.

    On top of that, it's easy to understand why people would keep enlisting in an army like the Borgia forces, because there wasn't much of an option - it was work!

    There aren't many eras where that simplicity would make sense in the context of an Assassin's Creed game.

  • Madder-Max #37 1 year ago

    "I'd like to have a female assassin, just to see the response of Desmond and the gang. "Desmond, there's something a little...different about this ancestor." "Don't worry, I can handle it...what the fuck? Where did these come from?"

    I dont think a lesbian assasin that spends all her time pleasuring herself would work though

  • M83J01P97 #38 1 year ago

    Also, I doubt you would get Victorian era coppers hanging around on the roofs of buildings, which is kind of a staple part of the AC games now. As much as I'd love an AC game to be set in the Victorian era, there are more than a few aesthetic reasons against it.

  • OneClassyBloke #39 1 year ago

    Most people seem to want London for the next Assassin's Creed...

    In my opinion, the Russian Revolution seems like a far better setting. You have the events leading up to the start of WWI, some of the war itself, and then the rise of the communists and the fall of the monarchy of Russia. It seems like a far more exciting time period and region to work with. Also, within those Subject 16 puzzles, they make mention of communism and attempting to cripple its progress. Maybe they aren't just being edgy.

    Also, jumping off the Kremlin, or Big Ben, which would be more amazing?
    Edited by OneClassyBloke at 04/12/10 @ 15:33

  • MistaGav #40 1 year ago

    "In my opinion, the Russian Revolution seems like a far better setting. You have the events leading up to the start of WWI, some of the war itself, and then the rise of the communists and the fall of the monarchy of Russia."

    Well the comic book (is fantastic btw!) features a Russian character and they did say that this new guy would play a vital part so maybe they branch more into him. In terms of game development I'm actually glad that they are taking feedback and looking to try and innovate on this franchise then say...ONE OTHER CERTAIN PUBLISHER!!!

  • bigmickhart #41 1 year ago

    seeing as theyre assassins, more stealth please.

  • Shinetop #42 1 year ago

    You know what, OneClassyBloke? I agree. London and Paris are amazingly atmospheric and extremely suitable to AC style gameplay, but they're kind of played out as settings go. A Russian setting would be incredible. Also: snow rather than haystacks, trains rather than countryside levels.. It could be awesome.

    My only concern is that it's too far a jump in time from the 16th to the early 20th century for the third game. AC4, though...?

    Also: who would be the templars? The royal family was kind of evil, but they get overthrown pretty early on. And the revolutionaries are also sort of evil, and they lose before the century is over.
    Edited by Shinetop at 04/12/10 @ 18:03

  • The-Bodybuilder #43 1 year ago

    AC3 in Scotland.

  • J_C_X #44 1 year ago

    I done one of these last year and it's more or less the same questions. One thing that stood out in my mind was that they seemed to be toying with a UK setting (then).

  • goatjugsoup #45 1 year ago

    "An additional objective where you and your Assassins guild fight against the Templars to gain control of a city, district by district"

    i love when games do this, its quite fun for me


  • Fatallyflawed #46 1 year ago

    ""I'd like to have a female assassin, just to see the response of Desmond and the gang. "Desmond, there's something a little...different about this ancestor." "Don't worry, I can handle it...what the fuck? Where did these come from?"

    I dont think a lesbian assasin that spends all her time pleasuring herself would work though "

    It would work for me

  • Chazmeister #47 1 year ago

    Well I would definetely like to see a new assassin in a different time period, as it's time for a change after two games set during the renaissance period.

    Online co-op, yes please!

    However as for deeper concetivity with the rest of the franchise, no thanks. I don't do Facebook and I don't read the books or comics, nor do I suspect the vast majority of people who play the games. So wouldn't make sense to throw in plot devices and characters that only make sense to a small minority of hard core fans. I don't want to be introduced to a life long friend or enemy I'm suposed to recognise and know all about, only to be thinking "who the fuck are you?" Just because I didn't watch the cartoon or something.

  • kangarootoo #48 1 year ago

    "eg. an action you make on the Facebook game will impact your game experience on the console"

    NOOOOOOOOO!!!!!

  • Genome #49 1 year ago

    I'll just repeat what I've said before on this and other sites:

    No ninjas. No fucking ninjas. And no goddamn pirates, as I've seen discussed elsewhere. It's always pirates and ninjas. Why not include some zombies as well?

    I want to see an AC set in something like London during the Industrial Revolution. Somewhere around 1800 or so. Maybe somebody like James Watt could fill the shoes of Da Vinci. Have the Luddites be a plot by the Templars. If you set it a bit earlier, around 1780, there could be hints that the Templars kept the papal seat and the Gordon Riots could be part of the plot.

    Just don't do ninjas.

  • Heybunny #50 1 year ago

    Since I wasn't entitled to do the survey due to my gender (seriously, wtf), I couldn't give my relatively minority opinion on (HELL YES) offline co-op! Most options given are good, some wouldn't hurt but I could live without, but playing AC with the bf would be something else.

    Anyway, I'd like to see a new setting and assassin, awesome as Ezio is. He's in danger of becoming rehashed to the point the character loses his charm. Female assassin wouldn't be bad, I'd like to see that. French Revolution wouldn't be bad, nor would Victorian England. The options are near limitless, that's what I love about this series.

  • winstoninabox #51 1 year ago

    @Abscido

    The point about the expendable enemies is a great one, and exactly the kind of way the series can be shaken up.

    Setting in Victorian England, where the coppers can't just be bumped off, would be a great challenge for the makers to come up with fresh gameplay that has you working around this problem. Stealth would be so much more important when you there are enemies that you just can't kill, or if you do kill them then the overall feel of the game changes. Stuff like greater patrols in the area, more detail on wanted posters, etc, until the heat dies down, or the constabulary are paid off.

    Disguise could be a worthwhile skill, too. The in-game ability to make the appearance of your character, and then alter it as the game progresses to get around town because you've just bumped off too many people.

    Of course there would also be levels which are just populated by bad guys, underground strongholds and the like, which you can just let rip indiscriminately in.

  • Kikizosan #52 1 year ago

    Surely, the one thing the series needs is some breathing room; we've only just got Brotherhood, and that in the same year as AC2.
    Edited by Kikizosan at 06/12/10 @ 12:10

  • blanka #53 1 year ago

    For the love of Christ and everything that is holy ! NO FB INTEGRATION WHATSOEVER !!!

  • Skorms-Boss #54 1 year ago

    If they do have a new ansestor I need to know how Ezio's story ended, who he married and what happened to him, not knowing would drive me mad (er)

  • assassinscreedfan #55 1 year ago

    This might be a little off the wall, but... I think Abstergo erased desmond's memory except for basic things like his name, age, etc.
    and Vidic might be desmond's dad or other relative from "the farm" and he left in search of desmond.

    please feel free to reply to this and correct me on anything you think is wrong.