A row of eight monitors, back-to-back in two groups of four, lined a long table at Ubisoft's San Diego Comic-Con showcase, all booted up with the first publicly playable versions of Assassin's Creed 3 multiplayer. We played two new modes, Domination and Wolfpack, though lead game designer for Assassin's Creed 3 multiplayer Tim Browne told us there will be "a lot" of familiar modes in the final game.

Domination uses the full eight-player limit on multiplayer, with two teams of four playing to capture three separate zones in a snowy frontier setting. Players attempt to blend in with the roaming NPCs to stand in zones long enough to capture them, and then defend those areas by spotting and stunning or killing enemies as they enter and try to do the same. Domination is a quiet, intense derivative of Manhunt mode, with plenty to dissect on-screen with every move, all while making it appear as if your character isn't thinking at all.

Wolfpack offers a more intimate multiplayer experience, with up to four players working together to find and take down enemies in a limited amount of time, with extra time added for special kills and cooperation. In a two-player match, the highest we reached was Sequence 7 out of 25 total consecutive, fluid levels -- and that was without talking much over the mics. Browne recommended players converse throughout the match to perfectly sync their kills, which get special cutscenes.