I haven't written on this blog for ages, I mean the last thing I posted was that crappy Harry Potter comic and that was three years ago! However, in light of the recent reveal of the new location for the ne Assassin's Creed, I felt the need to express my hopes for what the game will be:

Multiple cities

Colonial America, I feel, is a more than exciting time period for AC3, full of the on-going conflict and political intrigue you expect from an Assassin's Creed game. Also technology will have increased much further than in Renaissance Italy, meaning exciting new possibilities for gadgets and weapons. Also I am ashamed to admit this is an area of history I am quite hazy on (being British and all that, they tend not to teach us about conflicts we lost in schools), so I will be excited to explore it as an assassin!

However, cool setting aside; I really hope the game features multiple cities! Rome and Constantinople were great, but they will not match the excitement and anticipation I felt when you were sent off to visit a new and different location in the first two games.

Trim the fat

Revelations was a ruddy good game, I'm not contesting that, but I felt there were far too much optional content and secondary memories distracting from the core experience. I remember the original Assassin's Creed being criticised for lack of variety, now Revelations had too much variety! The bomb crafting and den defence were not boring distractions, but neither of them match the pure exhilaration of free running across the rooftops, or leaping down upon your prey, hidden blade glinting in the sunlight. What I really hope for the game is that they refine these core elements, tighten the platforming, and make combat as precise and stylish as it can be.

Protagonist who is as endearing as Ezio

I love Ezio, he is possibly my favourite video ever character (aside from Crash Bandicoot, but that's another story), he was a charming and charismatic lead, and in his most challenging moments you felt for him. This was one of the things that made ACII a big improvement over the original AC. Try as I might, I struggled to like Altair, with his out of place American accent and his general cocky demeanour. Hopefully the new protagonist will be as likable as Ezio, but for his own reasons, I'm not saying I want an Ezio clone!

The series takes a break

Finally, I hope that this will be the last entry for two or three years at least. Ubisoft unquestionably make a shed load of money from this franchise, and I understand why there have been yearly instalments for the past three years. It has actually been a quite a clever move, these games have built up a momentum to take us into ACIII, and kept the plot fresh in our memory, even though, no doubt, we will still be slightly confused by it.

As this is supposed to conclude the Desmond story arc, I hope Ubisoft will take time to think about the next game (prequel, sequel, or both!). They need to be able to create a viable narrative reason to return to the AC universe, instead of churning out yearly installments, otherwise it risks becoming just another blockbuster moneymaking franchise like FIFA or COD. Fingers crossed, this won't be the case, and maybe, just maybe, they will hold out and launch their next title on the next generation of consoles, what ever they may be...