Thousands of fans waited in lines at Gamestop and other gaming retailers around the United States in anticipation for perhaps the most anticipated Assassin’s Creed game in the series.

Based on the story of Assassin’s Creed III and the preorder sales of the game, Ubisoft Montreal is confident that this will be the biggest installment to the series.

“Assassin’s Creed 3 is one of the most anticipated games of the year and this impressive pre-order mark is just a hint of the game’s potential,” Tony Key, senior vice president of sales & marketing at Ubisoft said. “When players discover the new features, historical period, characters and gaming experience that the development team has worked so hard to create, we’re confident that they will agree that this is the biggest, best Assassin’s Creed game yet.”

Based on the attendance of fans at the various Gamestop locations in Amarillo, Key is likely correct in this statement.

“There were a lot of people there, there were a ton.” Beau Bellatty, a fan of Assassin’s Creed since the first installment, said. “A lot of people were getting the special editions too, the one with the big statue.”

The game sticks to the tradition of the Assassin’s Creed series by paying close attention to detail in the environment and providing a historical timeline with a fictional conspiracy tie-in. But it adds a new frontier that includes weather changes that go from spring to winter and back again and includes board games, hunting, and new obstacles to climb.

“Assassin’s Creed’s greatest allure has always been melding real history with a conspiracy-laden fiction, and colonial America is rife with moments, personalities and events worth exploring,” Matt Miller, writer for Game Informer, said in the publication’s review.  “Colonial-era Boston and New York are the liveliest and most authentic open cities I’ve encountered in a game, from the squealing pigs to the newsboys hawking papers. The wilderness that separates the two is vast, and filled with plenty to do.  Many missions are set in the frontier, and in between those missions you can hunt animals, bring down enemy forts, climb cliffs and trees, and explore hidden caves, just to name a few of many diversions. As an open wilderness zone, the frontier shines, though long runs to mission objectives can get tedious. Everywhere you go exhibits dynamic weather effects, and the world feels more varied and alive as you witness its passage from summer to winter and back again.”

The game has several brand new features. Connor, the assassin featured in Assassin’s Creed III, uses different weapons. While the hidden blades are still there, he uses a bow-and-arrow and a tomahawk, which reflects on his Native American background. There are also board games as mini-games, courier missions and almanac pages that you collect for legendary Revolutionary War figure Benjamin Franklin. The game also in general flows more smoothly, dismissing the dramatic pause after a stealth assassination and replacing with a quick kill.

“The rope dart is my favorite all-time weapon.” Bellatty said. “The rope dart is fantastic.”

Assassin’s Creed III also introduces a new engine called AnvilNext.

“The AnvilNext engine is a marvel and is responsible for the stoic winter scenes and impressive AI that I mentioned earlier.” John Stewart of Gaming Examiner said in his review of the game.

With all the highs there are in the game there are a handful of lows that, depending on the person, may not be a big deal or it could be a deal breaker.  There is a new combat system. The new combat system takes a little bit to get used to, but if a fan has played Assassin’s Creed since the beginning, there should be very little adjusting. For impatient gamers, the game takes some time to get into the story for when Connor is introduced, but it is key to the plot, which makes the wait pay off.

“Assassin’s Creed III’s pacing is a source of frustration for the first third or so of the story – it takes too long to open up and show its hand,” Keza McDonald, a writer for IGN, said.  “Right at the beginning of Connor’s story, you’re kept on a short leash; your movements are wholly dictated by the plot for a good three hours or so, which is disappointing when you’ve had a taste of how open the world can be.  It’s a definite low point that lasts too long and the game only really recovers when it sets you free again to explore at your own pace.”

There are a handful of technical glitches. For example, a player may want the character to run straight; instead, he will climb a ladder or run up a wall if the character is running alongside a building, which can be infuriating if you are trying to escape detection.

“They have a couple glitchy parts when you’re trying to synchronize with viewpoints.” Bellatty said. “You can have a couple issues because they have trees with some of the viewpoints and they can be a hassle to get to.”

While the story does lend itself to the first four installments in the video game series, it gives the usual “previously on Assassin’s Creed” recap which allows for entry players to make this their first-played game in the series. Graphics and playability of the game has been upgraded from the first four.

“I think it’s better by a lot,” Bellatty said.  “It’s a lot more realistic and fluid with the fight movements.”

What are the ratings from the experts? Stewart gives it an 8.5, while Miller gives it a 9.5.

“8.5.” Mcdonald said. “Huge but inconsistent, Assassin’s Creed III is an impressive adventure that succeeds in most of what it attempts.”

The game is rated M for mature.