The story of the Nicola letters, in which one man expresses his desire for George Washington to become king of The United States of America, has mutated over time into a great American myth. A myth that has Washington turning down an official offer of kingship with some eloquent words, something like “I have not fought so long and so hard to throw off the tyranny of one monarchy to replace it with another.” But what if the legend were true, and what if Washington had accepted the crown? Assassin’s Creed 3 tackles these questions in its newest DLC pack: Tyranny of King Washington.
Ubisoft is really on to something here. Alternate realities and historic what if scenarios in games are fantastic and fertile grounds. A whole genre could spring up around these concepts. What if the cold war had gone hot? Imagine a game that begins with the Bay of Pigs and ends with the downfall of Castro? Join the resistance to fight a victorious Third Reich… in 1975! Of course these scenarios all have a villain that is acceptable to a western audience. What if the revolution never happened and the U.S sided with Germany in WWII in order to gain its independence? That’s some heavy stuff. Or what if a game had you play as an assassin who has to kill arguably the greatest American to ever live, George Washington? Ubisoft is taking a brave step right into the deep and meaty part of alternate history.