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The series of behind-the-scenes trailers in the lead up to Assassin's Creed 3 have placed a great deal of emphasis on the historical accuracy that the game's plot will follow - at least on the surface. the newest trailer takes a stylized look at one of the Revolution's most pivotal events, and shows that the Templar influence, while subtle, may have shaped the conflict more than any would have assumed.

In what may be a sign of the Templars not just existing as motivation for dispatching the British military, the newest trailer indicates that Templars were waging an entirely different war amidst history's most iconic rebellion. The Boston Tea Party of 1773 kicked the American Revolution into action - and provided the fish of the harbor with a horrible night's sleep - but according to Ubisoft, that was just the beginning.

The Boston Tea Party was shown to be one battle that players will take part in as Assassin Creed 3's new hero Connor Kenway, but the trailer implies that the overall revolt and subsequent violence may extend beyond simple Connor-centric combat encounters. That's not reason to think that Connor won't be the heart of the game, but that brand-spanking-new AnvilNext Engine that the developers have been talking about opens some doors. The new system allows up to 2,000 NPC characters onscreen at one time, meaning the chances of seeing an accurate recreation of the Boston Tea Party and Massacre are now a bit greater.

Of course, the American Revolution is just the setting, providing a new backdrop for the battle between the Templars and Assassins. The battle may be centuries old, but the developers seem poised to make the lines between each side more blurred than usual. As the new trailer implies, fans of history will be interested to see how this shadowy war will be shaped alongside the American Revolution, and if any villains really do pop up on the America side.

The image of plotting Templars seen in the trailer does imply that they have worked their way into the American colonies, making them more likely to be impartial puppeteers - albeit with unavoidable British accents. It's hard to believe that the Templars would feel allegiance to one nation over another when the fate of humanity is in the balance, so perhaps their presence in Boston can lead to some less predictable placements in Colonial government.

Assassins Creed 3 Boston Templars

When the plot takes Connor out of Boston and New York (and their respective ports and waterways) and into the American wildnerness, the strength of the new gameplay engine and commitment to accurate recreations means big things as well. If some of you had been hoping that the wide open spaces, lush forests, rivers and swamps filled with wild animals would need to look better than ever before to be considered believable, then hope no more. As the new PC System Requirements have been released, fans can make sure that their PCs are up to spec.

Ubisoft adds their name to the list of developers no longer supporting Windows XP, and have yet to release the recommended PC settings. But with an overall Hard Drive size of 17GB, the game will be packing quite a punch. The game world can't be any bigger than what's possible on consoles, mind you, so don't be surprised to hear Ubisoft bragging about ultra-face-melting texture packs in the near future. Have a look:

  • Supported OS: Windows Vista (SP2) / Windows 7 (SP1) / Windows 8
  • Processor: 2.66 GHz Intel Core2 Duo E6700 or 3.00 GHz AMD Athlon 64 X2 6000+ or better recommended
  • RAM: 2 GB (4 GB recommended)
  • Video Card: 512 MB DirectX 9.0c-compliant with Shader Model 4.0 or higher (see supported list)*
  • Sound Card: DirectX 9.0c-compliant (5.1 surround sound recommended)
  • DVD-ROM: Dual-layer drive
  • Hard Drive Space: 17 GB
  • Peripherals Supported: Windows-compatible keyboard, mouse, optional controller (Xbox 360 Controller for Windows recommended)
  • Multiplayer: 256 kbps or faster broadband connection

Supported Video Cards at Time of Release (Laptop versions of these cards may work, but are not supported):

  • AMD Radeon HD 3870 / 4000 / 5000 / 6000 / 7000 series or better
  • NVIDIA GeForce 8600 GT / 9 / 100 / 200 / 300 / 400 / 500 / 600 series or better
Assassins Creed 3 Boston Tea Party Trailer

With the size of the install, it seems that the cities, forests, and lest we forget the beautiful naval portions, will be particularly impressive.

When Ubisoft provides more details on recommended PC settings or features, we'll keep you up to date. What do you think of the recasting of history as the machinations of the Templars? A fun twist, or potentially insulting?

Assassin’s Creed 3 releases October 30th for PS3 and Xbox 360, November 20th for PC, and November 18th for Wii U.

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