Assassin's Creed III will be Desmond's biggest role

AppId is over the quota
AppId is over the quota

Connor may be the face of Assassin's Creed III, but it could be series regular Desmond that winds up stealing the show. Speaking to the rookie assassin's role in Ubisoft's upcoming sequel, writer Matt Turner told CVG that fans will spend more time outside of the Animus than usual, hinting, "All I can say about Desmond's story is you're going to experience more Desmond than you've ever had before. We're spending more time on the present than we have in past games.”

Turner was careful not to spoil any details regarding Desmond's arc, but added the character will be crucial the game's plot, adding, "It's a big part of our story and I don't really want to give too many details away because I want people to experience what that is. But rest assured, you're going to see a lot of Desmond. More so than in any past game."

Considering the entire Assassin's Creed series has been building up to a major in-game event scheduled for 2012, it make sense that the assassin living in that era would receive major screen time. The big question is where Ubisoft will take the series beyond “the big event”, and if Desmond will live to see another sequel. Our prediction (based on absolutely nothing) is that the ending of Assassin's Creed III will see players awakening from a future Animus after reliving Desmond's final moments. Apologies if we just blew your mind.

Assassin's Creed III arrives for PS3, Xbox 360, and PC on October 30 in North America, and October 31 in the UK. Get a jump on your targets with our preview, Assassin’s Creed III – First look at the Revolution through Connor’s eyes.

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Mass Effect 3's free “Extended Cut” DLC to extend ending this summer

Stop the petitions and polish off your Mass Effect 3 saves. BioWare and EA have announced the arrival of free DLC that promises to bring clarity and closure for those still miffed by the trilogy's ending (or lack thereof).

Landing this summer, Mass Effect 3: Extended Cut will lengthen the game's final moments with new cinematics and epilogue scenes designed to give players a better understanding of ME3's ending, and a clearer idea of where the galaxy's biggest players wound up following Commander Shepard's end-game decision.

“Since launch, we have had time to listen to the feedback from our most passionate fans and we are responding,” said BioWare co-founder Dr. Ray Muzyka in today's release. “With the Mass Effect 3: Extended Cut we think we have struck a good balance in delivering the answers players are looking for while maintaining the team’s artistic vision for the end of this story arc in the Mass Effect universe.”

Casey Hudson, ME3's executive producer and one of the more vocal defenders of the game's ending (read: BioWare defends Mass Effect 3 ending, welcomes feedback for DLC), said the free DLC should satisfy players who felt ME3's raised more questions than it answered, and fell short in offering truly unique outcomes based on player decisions.

“We have reprioritized our post-launch development efforts to provide the fans who want more closure with even more context and clarity to the ending of the game, in a way that will feel more personalized for each player,” Hudson added.

The free expansion announcement comes after weeks of debate over whether BioWare should rework its ending based on community feedback, or if the studio should stick to its guns for the sake of artistic integrity. While it appears BioWare has leaned slightly toward the former, the addition of more story shouldn't bother players who were already content with the studio's first attempt. Or will it? Let us know if you'll be downloading Mass Effect 3: Extended Cut, or if you'd prefer to remember the game as is.

Oh, and while you're waiting for the DLC, see if you agree with our own Mass Effect 3 ending suggestions in Mass Effect 3: Not happy with the ending? Choose one of these 20 alternative endings instead.

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