Ubisoft delisted this game adding that it will be inaccessible following September 1st, 2022. So I basically bought a digital paperweight. Thanks Ubi.

I'll end this brief review with a quote that should be fully understood before purchasing any Ubisoft titles.

"We think there is a fundamental misconception about piracy. Piracy is almost always a service problem and not a pricing problem," he said. "If a pirate offers a product anywhere in the world, 24 x 7, purchasable from the convenience of your personal computer, and the legal provider says the product is region-locked, will come to your country 3 months after the US release, and can only be purchased at a brick and mortar store, then the pirate's service is more valuable." -Gabe Newell

Short Version: A solid 6/10. Not the best the AC franchise has to offer, but I've seen worse games.

The Not So Short Version:

Positives:
+ the Bayou area - I could almost smell the swamp.
+ The fabric of New Orleans: this city has character!
+ The three different personas of Aveline. I loved that you get 3 different lives within one game and one character.
+ The story/plot of the game.
+ Sugar cane machete as a weapon. Need I say more?
+ Connor re-appears. It's always nice to see a familiar face.

Negatives:
- Soundtrack not very memorable
- Movement glitches: sometimes you get stuck or jump down to your death without meaning to.
- The story is slightly confusing at times - I needed to first collect and then read the 30 pages of Jeanne's diary to get the background history
- not being able to see collectibles on the map unless I was really close.

The Long Version:

There has been a lot of grumbling about AC Liberation and I partly understand what the fuss is about. There are some problems in the game, and it does seem a bit rushed - this you notice with the soundtrack, for instance. AC games are kind of famous for great soundtracks. AC Liberation does not follow suit. As a gamer who may buy a game based solely on its soundtrack this is a huge minus for me.

And of course there are problems with movement in the game. I think there has been some sort of issue with movement in every AC game. For example: you climb a tree, and suddenly jump to your death. Or you try to disembark a canoe and find that you cannot. For me, these are not major issues, but they do drag the gaming experience down a bit.

When it comes to the story... I've played the game through twice now, and on this 2nd time I can finally say that I wholly understand the story with its background, history and the CitizenE extensions. So yes, the story is a bit confusing. That takes the final grade down another notch.

Finally, I found the map irritating as I tried to hunt down the precious stones and the diary pages. It would not show the collectibles unless I was really close. Dear Ubisoft, this is _not_ the way to make collecting collectibles harder.

But, yay, that's pretty much the negatives down. Let's move to the positives - and they are plentiful, indeed.

First of all, Aveline de Granpré as a protagonist. This is what the franchise has needed, in my humble opinion: a female protagonist. And what a protagonist she is! Instead of one character, you get three personas: the Lady, the Slave, the Assassin. Each persona has their specific strengths and weaknesses: the Lady is poorly equipped for fighting, but can walk pretty much anywhere and charm men out of their possessions. The Slave is likewise poor in combat, but can climb and free run. Moreover, as workers are rarely noticed, she can move into restricted areas - unrestricted. And finally, the Assassin, who is at all times infamous (who would not have noticed a woman in strange garb in the 1770s running on the rooftops, liberating slaves and assassinating Templars, may I ask?) but who can fight anyone, anytime, anywhere. I am not a historian, but I am a girl, and to me the restrictions and strengths of each persona seemed believable. I mean, it is a fact that sometimes your skirts are just too long for parkour.

The combat in AC Liberation is... Well. I am not a very good fighter - not in real life and not in games, either. So, sometimes I found the combat a bit trying. But I am not sure who to blame: the game mechanics or my merry self, so we'll leave it at that. When it comes to weapons, though, it has to be said that the sugar cane machete is b-e-a-u-tiful. One of my favourite weapons in the game by far.

The setting in both New Orleans and the Bayou area is simply magnificent. The city is vivid with different textures and people, and different parts of the city are exactly that: different. The docks' atmosphere with sailors and lowlives differs greatly from the flashier parts of town or the plantation. The Bayou is beautiful in the rotting sense of the word. The swamp seems alive, and it is done so well I could almost smell the putrid fumes at times.

I loved the story, especially the sort of subtle hints of romance between Gerald and Aveline. Also, the relationships: the betrayals; the love of mothers and child was touching. What's more, I love to see old friends in games. And on this front AC Liberation does not disappoint. I only wished the re-curring face could have lingered a bit longer.

All in all I enjoyed the game, and I've played it through twice now, like I said. However, it must be said that AC Liberation does not add much to the big picture and major plotlines of the franchise. So if that's what you're looking for, you're heading towards disappointment. As a stand-alone game, though, it is a nice story in the web of the fictional history of the Assassins and Templars. In other words, if you are a huge fan of the franchise, go ahead. Buy the game. Only, you might want to wait for a sale.

~Z

Ubisoft I wont be purchasing another game from you until you can confirm that we can play the games we bought and owned . until then I am done with you.

Update they have reversed the worst of it but its still a shame they thought they could do it to begin with.

although while you have access to the game the DLC can only be played on there newer version of this game.

DO NOT PURCHASE THIS GAME!!!
If you want this game please purchase Assassin's Creed Odyssey Gold Edition, then you will have Assassin's Creed Odyssey (with all DLCs) and free copies of Assassin's Creed III Remastered / Assassin's Creed Liberation HD.
This game SHOULD NOT be in the Assassin's Creed Bundle and charging you extra money!

Ubisoft become...
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Awesome, but just buy the AC 3 Remadtered Edition and you get this for free with better graphics!

For the benefit of anyone looking to buy this game now (July 2023 and beyond), yes it will work. It is not a 'digital paperweight'.
You will need to sign in to Ubisoft Connect, and then you'll be asked for an activation key, which is in the cog menu > Manage > CD Keys. Once all that is out of the way, the game will launch. Some people might have problems if they are using an Nvidia card (fixes detailed in this games Discussions forum), but I've run it on a Ryzen 6800U device and had no issues.
The controller implementation seems a bit wonky, with a way-too-sensitive right stick (even with sensitivity dialed right down to Zero its still a bit too twitchy), and it doesnt let me select anything other than Keyboard/Mouse as an input, even though the controller inputs do work anyway so..... that's odd.

Anyway, can't really comment on the quality of the game as I've not spent enough time with it, but just wanted to make it clear the game still works and is playable for anyone looking to pick it up on the cheap.

requires activation to play the game, but the activation servers have been shut down, this game can no longer be played.

Ubisoft's executives belong in prison.

The game is set in New Orleans/Bayou at the time of great slavery where the assassin Aveline must rescue the force of liberation for those in need but on this journey she will have to decide between the divided paths that are in her life.

Aveline, a Gemini, is divided into different personalities. In this game you can be a lady, a slave or an assassin. Both have different submission options and certain story missions.

The collectibles range from the famous chests, coins, vodoo dolls, Mayan statues and the sacred 10 pocket watches which can only be bought at a high cost and to get them the tip is to travel with various naval fleets in the interesting financing system.

The game features a special mission that crosses the timeline with Conor in New York where in one of the memories you can play with him. You can also visit Mexico at Chichen Itza in two sequences where the ancient temples of the ancients await and apparently the only interesting part of the whole game.

The travel systems don't work in this one, where you have to walk from place to place in order to continue your journey, which makes it much more tedious.

The game has an interesting financing system (which you'll desperately need if you want to platinum the game) where you have a map that can send certain ships and products to different locations.

The atmosphere of the game has never been so welcomingly impoverishing where, while crossing the branches of the Bayou, you find yourself stuck in simple bushes. The composition is decent and makes a mark on the culture.

The game that ended up changing the aesthetic of characters outside the animus and with more than one ending to be acquired, Assassins Creed Liberation without the hd and sense of the old games. A television soap opera story where you're more likely to squint your eyes in boredom than feel cozy.

*I've tried playing the game now in 2024 again and I've had problems starting up and with the initial controls.
If you have the same problem, give it a try:
-On the disk where the game is stored on your computer, go to ac3lhd_32 and in its properties followed by the compatibility tab. Select:
! Run this program in compatibility mode (Windows 8/7);
! Disable full-screen optimizations
! Run this program as administrator

- If the controls don't work when you start the game, try using steam and ubisoft in administrator mode.

I hope I've helped. Given the circumstances of a new remaster over there, this and assassins creed lll tend to be on the brink of doom for the saga and require an acceptable patch to work.