Assassin's Creed III: Let's Jam As Many Words Into This Title As Possible

"The Infamy" - the first of three parts in Assassin's Creed III's The Tyranny of King Washington DLC ... season ... thing - starts rough. It assumes you're starting it fresh on the heels, or even in the middle, of the core game: there are no in-game tutorial bits to refresh your memory on how to play. So if, like I had, you forgot how to counter and what techniques worked against which enemy types, you're going to get beaten around for a while.

The story, too, starts abruptly and awkwardly. This DLC story's alternate universe, where George Washington became corrupted by the power of the Piece of Eden, is introduced by Connor simply waking up into it. Connor, like the player, is surprised by the ways in which this world contrasts with the one he knows -- his mother is alive, Washington's men are killing civilians, and no one remembers the events that he does. (Actually, since he never met Achilles in this universe, he never even got the name Connor, and instead is only known by the tribal name that I couldn't possibly type correctly.) It's a neat angle in theory, but in practice, the series' weak scripting and acting chops aren't really strong enough to sell it. Instead of being drawn into the mystery of this historical anomaly, you're just strung along from setpiece to setpiece as usual, occasionally being reminded that Connor the protagonist doesn't really understand what's going on.

Thankfully, the actual gameplay mechanics in this DLC episode are solid, building on the strengths of the core game, and actually adding to them as well. Combat is still as fluid and brutal as before, and there's even a pocket-sized open-world map with side-quests and collectibles, although it doesn't open up until after a few introductory missions. But things really get interesting about halfway through, when you go on a spirit journey and gain wolf powers: the ability to summon spirit wolves (as you would assassins), and to turn invisible. This invisibility is immensely powerful, and dramatically changes the game of infiltrating enemy strongholds, but it also drains your health over time, meaning it must be attentively managed. The final mission introduces another wrinkle as well, in the form of search dogs that can smell through your cloak. The wolf cloak is a genuinely meaningful and satisfying mechanic, and feels like an organic fit with the alternate-history story, coming from tribal myth instead of Assassin myth.

So, The Infamy follows on the successful mechanics of AC3, and adds a new one of its own. But its story is lackluster, and short; ignoring the open-world collectibles, there are only six story missions, which you can wrap up in a couple hours. (Disappointingly, the final few missions are also the simplest and shortest.) The Infamy does enough right to be thoroughly enjoyable, but isn't quite substantial enough to be a runaway success.

Better than: Batman: Arkham City - Harley Quinn's Revenge
Not as good as: Grand Theft Auto IV: The Ballad of Gay Tony
But come on, Ubisoft: would it have been that hard to wait a few months and put out all three episodes as one DLC package? Releasing and selling The Tyranny of King Washington in three separate pieces is just confusing as shit.

Progress: Finished the story, skipped the collectibles.