Assassin’s Creed 3 shown playable on Wii U, “the same” as 360, PS3, PC

Ubisoft has shown a playable, near-complete version of Assassin’s Creed 3 running on Wii U at gamescom in order to assure fans there’s exact parity between all versions of the game.

Ubisoft’s demo of the naval combat in Assassin’s Creed 3 stood out from the rest of the showings at gamescom yesterday not only for its stab at alternate mechanics, but because it was running on Wii U.

“We’re showing that everything is pretty much the same,” creative director Alex Hutchinson told VG247 by way of explanation.

“It’s exciting for me that all consoles for once are the same. Between PC, 360, PS3 and Wii U, they’re the same game.

“We’re just showing everyone that everything’s fine. There’s no need to worry. Every platform you buy it on will be great.”

Added lead designer Steven Masters: “It’s the same assets and the same engine. The guys in Quebec have been porting it for quite a long time.

“It’s completely equable.”

In what may well be the first showing of a third-party game on the next-gen Nintendo hardware, Assassin’s Creed III certainly looked no different to anything you’d expect to see on 360 or PS3. Graphically, I could see no difference.

The Wii U version does contain unique features over its Sony and Microsoft rivals.

“We’ve got a couple of things,” said Masters.

“First, we just display the map by default. Then for the weapon selection you have quick access using the touch-pad to select exactly what weapons and tools you want to use.”

Nintendo is yet to announce a release date for Wii U, but the system will hit globally this year.

Assassin’s Creed 3 releases on October 30 in the US and October 31 in the EU for Wii U, 360 and PS3. A PC version’s to follow at the end of November.