My first hands-on experience with Assassin’s Creed III

Assassin’s Creed III is still feeling the aftermath of its predecessors' repetition. Variety is obviously on Ubisoft’s mind, and the sailing segment – one of a few, but not too many, we’re assured – hits an interesting high note tower defense simply couldn’t.Connor is a man of many talents, which makes navigating the sea easy and enjoyable. The mission began with a laid-back cruise from a sunny beach out into a treacherous storm in pursuit of another ship. My main objective was as easy as they come, almost true to the series’ former simplicity: All I needed to do was kill two enemies. In this case, they weren’t guards or bishops or politicians – my targets were boats, complete with an entire crew unloading cannonballs up my stern.Before boarding my third target ship, I had to torch its two guardians with a small cache of cannonball types. Like Sid Meier’s Pirates, you’ll have to line up your enemy with the side of your boat to unload, leaving you equally exposed. Bracing for the shots keeps your men slightly safer, but a giant metal ball crashing through wood is still exactly that. Sea combat feels dangerous in Assassin’s Creed III, and it’s also incredibly rewarding when your order makes its mark.Lining up a basic shot tears up the crew, but firing close-range flaming cannonballs into the enemy’s bow feels like firing a shotgun with rapid fire bucks. The thundering explosions of your ship unloading its entire arsenal at another is terrifying, even though you know it’s yours. Alternatively, you could use momentum to shoot chain shots – two balls connected by a chain – to really slow your opponents down. Most of these abilities serve the same destructive purpose, and feel fairly similar in terms of what they do, but the means by which they fly through the air lends well to various kinds of captains. If you like to lead your opponents from afar, fire chains. If you want to unload before smashing directly into them, use the fire. If you find yourself in between, the standard fire is just as effective.My demo ended after taking down two boats, and I was surprised to see how much time had passed. It felt like a five minute mission, but I burned 20 minutes chasing, shooting, and smashing through my enemies. This is exactly how time vanished while playing Assassin’s Creed II, and I’m relieved to see its numbered sequel sticks to that with an interesting new mission type that segues seamlessly into hand-to-hand combat.After all, jumping from one boat to another – before eviscerating its crew, of course – is nothing for an assassin who can climb towers and stalk his prey in the shadows of a forest.

Mitch Dyer is an Associate Editor for IGN's Xbox 360 team. He’s also quite Canadian. Read his ramblings on Twitter and follow him on IGN