The Tyranny of King Washington

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The Tyranny of King Washington is an episodic single-player downloadable content addition for Assassin's Creed III, which is composed of three parts named The Infamy, The Betrayal, and The Redemption. Accompanying this, the downloadable content will be included in the Season Pass for the game. Ubisoft has stated that the story will be canon for the main story, contradicting a previous claim that it would be non-canon.

The Infamy was released on 19 February 2013 on PC and Xbox 360 and 20 February 2013 on PS3, with The Betrayal slated for 19 and 20 March 2013 and The Redemption on 23 and 24 April 2013 respectively. In it, Ratonhnhaké:ton awakened from an unsettling dream to find that, despite his efforts to deliver justice in the newly-founded United States of America, a new king had been crowned – George Washington. The Infamy will cover the beginning of his journey to dethrone this new king. Each episode is due to cost $9.99 or 800 Microsoft points as a separate download, or they are free for those who have already purchased the Season Pass.

Official synopsis

Welcome to Assassin's Creed III's Tyranny of King Washington - a 3-part DLC series exploring an alternate reality in which George Washington goes mad with unlimited power, foregoing Presidency to rule as tyrannical King. In this alternate world, Connor is and remains Ratonhnhaké:ton. Having never become an Assassin, he must endure new trials, acquiring the skills he'll need to take down a possessed Washington and win freedom for his land once and for all. - Ubisoft.

Synopsis

The Infamy

The episode took place a few months after the supposed events of Assassin's Creed III, after the British were defeated and the Colonies were granted independence.

The episode began with Ratonhnhaké:ton asleep near a riverbank in the Frontier, wearing an animal spirit outfit. Ratonhnhaké:ton was awoken up by his mother, Kaniehtí:io, who alerted him to a threat in the forest. He followed her, questioning why she was alive and what was going on. They met a Bluecoat ambush attacking villagers. After dispatching the ambush, a woman warned Kaniehtí:io that King George was looking for her. Kaniehtí:io led Ratonhnhaké:ton to the top of the hill, while Ratonhnhaké:ton questioned his surroundings, and why the woman referred to George Washington as "King."

Bluecoats setting fires in Concord

As they reached the top of the hill, they witnessed a group of Bluecoats forcing the townspeople into the church and barricading the door. The Bluecoat leader demanded that the townspeople inform him of the location of Kaniehtí:io. As the townspeople insisted they did not know her location, the Bluecoats set fire to the church. Ratonhnhaké:ton and his mother quickly ambushed Washington's men, and liberated the townspeople, only for a cannon ball blast to kill the group before they could escape.

Later, they returned to their village, where they met another Bluecoat attack. King Washington, accompanied by Benedict Arnold and General Putnam, killed Ratonhnhaké:ton's mother with a scepter containing an Apple of Eden. Ratonhnhaké:ton fought Washington, only to be defeated by the Apple from which his power originated, and was later shot and stabbed; consequently, he slipped into a state of unconsciousness. When Ratonhnhaké:ton awoke in a cave, five months had passed and Clan Mother told Ratonhnhaké:ton what happened. She noted that he wasn't surprised at witnessing his mother's death; in fact, she stated that he took her murder very well. Ratonhnhaké:ton was then told by the Clan Mother to climb the red willow, pick its virgin branches, and drink the willow tea. He heeded her instruction and soon gained the ability to become invisible at will, as well as summon a group of wolves to ambush his enemies. Shortly thereafter, he was requested by one of his fellow tribesmen to assist in finding and rescuing his brother. The two tracked his brother and discover that he was tied up along with other members of the village, who were lined up to be executed. Once Ratonhnhaké:ton's tribe members were liberated, he was instructed to return to the Clan Mother for further instruction.

Ratonhnhaké:ton speaking to dying Benedict Arnold

When he returned to their hideout, he discovered all of the villagers had been killed, and a dying Clan Mother. In her last instructions to Ratonhnhaké:ton, she told him to kill Washington, as well as Israel Putnam and Benedict Arnold, finishing what his mother started. Ratonhnhaké:ton trailed Israel Putnam to a large fortress and discovered Benedict in the center of the stronghold. Once his guards had been defeated, he confronted Benedict Arnold and mortally wounded him. Before he died, Arnold told him to free and then talk to Benjamin Franklin in Boston. Unbeknownst to Ratonhnhaké:ton,  Putnam approached from behind and hit Ratonhnhaké:ton in the head with his pistol, rendering him unconscious. Once fully awake, Ratonhnhaké:ton realized that he had been captured and transported in a convoy heading for Boston. Putnam revealed his intentions of taking Boston, claiming that it was as good as done.

The Betrayal

Ratonhnhaké:ton awoke in a cell & was face to face with the Mad King Washington. Washington was greatly surprised to see the man whom he had point blank alive & well before him. Putnam offered Ratonhnhaké:ton as a gift much to the Kings delight and Franklin's dismay who attempted to show his king a member of the rebels that he has captured, but Washington was not interested in Franklin. He ordered both Ratonhnhaké:ton & the rebel to be executed along with several citizens chosen at random. Franklin is horrified by Washington's attitude. Washington called Putnam privately and told him that Franklin is losing his conviction. He also added that if Putnam can deal with the rebels in Boston, he would make Putnam the ruler of Boston.

Ratonhnhaké:ton drinking the Red Willow tea

After Washington left Ratonhnhaké:ton, he used his powers to disappear right before the guard's eyes. Panicked the guards opened his cell which allowed Ratonhnhaké:ton to lock the guards in his cell. He later saw that the rebel whom Franklin mentioned was none other than was speaking of Kanen'tó:kon who was alive. After freeing his friend, Ratonhnhaké:ton went in search of his equipment. He found it in a warehouse full of other spoils of war. Kanen'tó:kon, who also went with him found a vial which contained tea made from the leaves of the Red Willow and argued with Ratonhnhaké:ton about the benefits of drinking it. Seeing no other option, Ratonhnhaké:ton opted to drink the tea instead of Kanen'tó:kon, which caused him to go on a Sky World Journey once more.

After drinking the tea, Ratonhnhaké:ton was transported to the Sky World again. There, he met another one of his spirit animals, the eagle. Ratonhnhaké:ton saw some Bobcats trying to harm the eagle's nest and helped the eagle to defend it. After fending off the Bobcat attack, the eagle granted him the power of the eagle, Eagle Flight.

After he finished his second Sky World Journey, Ratonhnhaké:ton woke up next to Kanen'tó:kon in the warehouse. Kanen'tó:kon told him that the Bluecoats had found them and sounded the alarm. Ratonhnhaké:ton then used his new power, Eagle Flight, to leave the room. Outside, he found some Bluecoats trying to knock down the door. He quickly dispatched them. Then Ratonhnhaké:ton saw Benjamin Franklin coming in with some Bluecoats. Benjamin Franklin and the Bluecoats began searching for Ratonhnhaké:ton and Kanen'tó:kon. Ratonhnhaké:ton then quickly killed the Bluecoats. Franklin saw this and started to run away. Ratonhnhaké:ton started chasing down Franklin whereas Kanen'tó:kon held the Bluecoats back. Ratonhnhaké:ton finally caught up with Franklin, but the latter escaped using a merchandise lift. Ratonhnhaké:ton used Eagle Flight to keep up with Franklin and finally caught him.

After Ratonhnhaké:ton stabbed him, Franklin opened his eyes and said that he had no idea what Ratonhnhaké:ton was talking about. Suddenly, Washington teleported in with help from the apple, and attacks Ratonhnhaké:ton fiercely.

Ratonhnhaké:ton attacking Washington

Ratonhnhaké:ton avoided the blasts and attacked Washington with Eagle Flight and successfully hurt him. He tried it again but this time Washington sent out gold orbs to attack him while he was in Eagle Flight. So, Ratonhnhaké:ton used Wolf Cloak to sneak behind the orbs and attacked Washington successfully from behind. Ratonhnhaké:ton then tried it again but Washington used the apple to make the ground beneath Ratonhnhaké:ton collapse. Ratonhnhaké:ton then used Eagle Flight to jump from platform to escape. As he did this, enormous phantoms of Washington and Kaniehtí:io began to torment him. When Ratonhnhaké:ton landed on the final platform it collapsed and Ratonhnhaké:ton fell into an abyss.

Ratonhnhaké:ton awoke in an alleyway far from where he & Franklin where at before. He was soon found by Kanen'tó:kon who offered to bring him to Samuel Adams, the leader of the rebels in Boston.

New abilities

To combat George Washington, Ratonhnhaké:ton will need to master several new abilities:

• Power of the Bear – Fills Ratonhnhaké:ton with the strength and fury of the mighty bear.
• Power of the Eagle – Delivers a burst of speed, empowering Ratonhnhaké:ton with blinding agility.
• Power of the Wolf – Adopt the master camouflage of the wolf, rendering Ratonhnhaké:ton undetectable.
• Alpha of the Pack – Command a brotherhood of fearsome and ruthless wolves.

Trivia

An image gallery is available for The Tyranny of King Washington

• The Tyranny of King Washington was originally announced under the title of The Madness of King George. This seems to be a reference to the film of the same name, an adaptation of the play The Madness of George III, which chronicles the declining mental health of George William Frederick, better known as King George III, ruler of Great Britain from 1760 to 1820. It has not been officially stated why the name was changed, though it is possible that this was simply done to make the downloadable content's story more distinct from the otherwise unrelated film.
• In an exclusive interview with Creative Director Marc-Alexis Cote, he stated that The Tyranny of King Washington, as a whole, encompassed an extra 7 hours of gameplay.