Assassin's Creed III

One has to be careful of taking the beauty in Assassin's Creed 3 for granted. This is a thought that occurred to me about 10 hours in as I piloted the franchise's newest protagonist through a sun-dappled forest glade en route to completing my latest side mission.

Because Assassin's Creed 3 is bursting with activities, my attention to detail had shrunken somewhat. I caution against a blinkered approach – stop and take in the view sometime.

This is because once one steps back and bothers to survey the game's environment, one can't help but be bowled over. In the brief moment I hurtled through the trees towards my destination, I gazed across a pine forest expanse, over a rock-encrusted river that spilled into a glistening lake by way of a waterfall dropping off a sheer cliff face.

It was like something out of a Terence Malik film. And not only is the world encased in Assassin's Creed 3 an intricately presented breathtaking marvel to behold, it's age and region specific too.

It's worth pointing all of this out because, by now, aching beauty and painstaking attention to historic detail – both visual and temporal – have become calling cards of the Assassin's Creed series. That's why they're so easy to take for granted.

The series fans will certainly love it, and those who are new to it, will be captivated by it, it's an amazing game, and deserves the GOTY.