..... Bit of a thought, but wasn't this game supposed to be the one to finish Desmond's story? I've read that Ubisoft was trying to line up games and releases to co-exist with our own doomsday prophecies, in this case the most recent is late December. Does he really need to go into the Animus again when he supposedly learned all he needed at the end of Revelations? He can fight, he can climb, and he's one of the few witnesses to what all has been happening. Do they have time to put him in another Animus adventure when their date to get ahead of their doomsday and ours is coming so soon?

He likely doesn't need the animus anymore...

Point being, how exactly can they bring in another ancestor related to Desmond when his own story is ending with this game? Having all the data and knowing what to do now, he doesn't need the Animus, but then why is there another person's history to visit? Either it's happening independent of the story, Desmond has gone insane, or Absturgo has a copy of Desmond stored in their own Animus to get info as well.

Or the lab needs a key...

It's likely there's a piece of the puzzle still missing. There was a bit of foreshadowing in the multiplayer videos for Revelations as well; if you are like me and can't be bothered to play the MP past rank 20, I suggest you take a look on Youtube.

There are a lot of things that would be cool about an assasination game set in the American Revolution. But Assassin's Creed set in Colonial America? I dunno... as others have already mentioned, there's not much to climb. Just trees and some small buildings. And not really any crowds to hide in.

If they change some of the core mechanics of the series, it'll work. But... that seems a little risky, given how long it's taken Assassin's Creed to find its stride.

I still think the picture looks stupid.

http://kotaku.com/5889974/leaked-assassins-creed-iii-pics-reveal-british-ambush

Some more pictures were leaked out today. It looks like there will be a good deal of wilderness to play through in this game. It also shows at least 3 different locations. A forest, probably around Pennsylvania, snow mountains which would be further north towards Vermont I guess, and a colonial city, which.... could be anywhere from New York to Jamestown.

Damn ninjaed.

Actually here more pics
http://www.allgamesbeta.com/2012/03/assassins-creed-iii_02.html

Really looking forward to this, actually a fairly unique setting for an action videogame in all fairness and so long as the story is more complex in it's portrayal of the British than a Mel Gibson movie then I'll lap it up!

With rooshandark's pictures I can actually zoom in. Picture #6. Quiver of arrows, what looks to be two different black powder pistols, plus a rifle, probably one shot like before, but it's definitely not a musket, and no bayonet. Also on his back is a bow, looks to be wood and leather. There's no sword however.

Picture #9. Still no sword. He's using a Tomahawk in defense in his right hand and a stiletto dagger in his left hand. Leather gloves, it doesn't appear as though he has an assassin's blade on him. A look at the other pictures affirms that. The hidden blade either comes later to the character relative to what we see or it's completely gone to his particular character.

Remember, plotwise, a big part of desmond's journey's in the animus is to teach him the skills of an assassin to use in the present day.

He's become just about perfect with a sword, axe, crossbow, hidden blade. It would make sense to teach him how to use guns too.

edit: having said that, look at this picture http://h11.abload.de/img/3yrj39.jpg

That's picture #9, described up there. Also, why does he need to understand guns? There's been a chain-gun, hidden pistol, and this game has two pistols and a rifle. None of these guns have a high rate of fire, they wouldn't be much good in modern day. And he's been using them regardless in the Animus. If it was about teaching him to use guns, the game would be placed closer to the 1900's.

Not that the assassins seem to want to use them. Two escapes from Absturgo with no guns on either side and I doubt they're hard to come by.

Sorry I should have read your post more carefully about picture 9

The guns thing is not the only reason for the setting, I'm sure, but they were always going to introduce a shooting gameplay element at some point. (Here comes the gears of war, duck and cover system!)

I'm sure they will move the setting to the early 20th century at some point but they have to milk the series a lot more before that.

The American Revolution seems like the perfect place for Assassin's Creed not to be the same stale action game its become with Brotherhood and Revelations.

Assassin's Creed would be much better in the French Revolution...off with their heads!