Assassin's Creed (video game)

Assassin's Creed
Developer(s)	Ubisoft Montreal
Publisher(s)	Ubisoft
Director(s)	Simon Peacock
Designer(s)	Jade Raymond (Producer), Patrice Desilets (Creative Director)
Engine	Scimitar Engine
Platform(s)	Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 Nintendo DS
Release	Xbox 360, PlayStation 3: November 13, 2007 PC: Early 2008 Nintendo DS: February 2008 [1]
Genre(s)	Action-Adventure
Mode(s)	Single Player

File:AC-Altair.jpg

Altaïr Character Model.

Assassin's Creed is a video game being developed by Ubisoft Montreal and published by Ubisoft. It is scheduled to be released in November. On September 22, 2007, Ubisoft announced the PC version has been delayed till early 2008.

The game takes place during the Third Crusade, in the year 1191. The player assumes the role of Altaïr (الطائر, Arabic, "The Flying One"), a member of the Hashshashin sect (the original "assassins"), whose objective is to slay the nine historical figures who are propagating the Crusades. As the player finds and kills these targets, their conspiracy is unveiled. The player will be able to travel through three cities: Jerusalem, Acre and Damascus.

The environment is completely interactive, from the people to the historically accurate cities. These cities are populated by many people, and the way the player controls Altaïr affects how the bystanders around him react to his presence. For example, when going through a crowd, if the player lightly moves someone out of the way, it will not have a significant effect. However, if the player throws someone to the ground and kills them, the crowd may unite against him and he will then have to find a way out. Similarly, if the player shoves a person aside, they may shove him back. If he climbs walls, civilians will gather around, attracting unwanted attention from guards.

The producers of the game take pride in its historical accuracy. The locations in the game are distinctive models of the cities. All of Altaïr's targets are also historic leaders who died or disappeared in the year 1191 (though not necessarily assassinated).

Gameplay

The player will be able to grab onto and climb almost any aspect of the environment, which means exploration will be possible to a greater degree than in most other games. Ubisoft boasts that any object that stands out more than two inches will be interactive.

The control scheme in Assassin's Creed will be significantly different from that of the typical game. Rather than explicitly specifying what actions Altaïr will take, the player presses buttons corresponding to his various body parts and the game attempts to figure out what action should be taken. For example, running toward a wall and pressing the "legs" button will cause Altaïr to jump over a wall, while pressing the "arms without weapons" button will cause him to vault it. Virtually all movement through the environment can be done with just the left thumbstick alone, including walking, running, climbing, jumping, and swinging from poles. The only movement exception appears to be sprinting and starting a wall climb, which requires one to be sprinting first. Also, at the E3 2007 playable demo, pressing the R1 button will switch Altair from free-running mode to fighting mode However, when moving through crowds at a run you will stumble over anyone you run into, so you can also shove people aside as you run past to move faster and avoid tripping. It has not been revealed what the control scheme will be for PC users.

A major selling point is "social stealth": the ability to blend in with a crowd (as opposed to simply hiding in shadows) by performing actions that would be socially inconspicuous; for instance disguising the character among a crowd of monks, as was shown in the trailer.

It also appears that the player will be able to battle many historical figures, including the Order of the Knights Templar.

Background

News has also circulated about a "sci-fi twist", due to information from developer interviews, and some effects visible in trailers of the game. It is theorized that the historical setting may be a simulation, or perhaps some sort of genetic memory, for purposes of training or other gain, being undertaken by an unknown group in the present or near future. During a trailer shown at E3, the screen would glitch and go fuzzy at times, and at one point where Altaïr is killed, the screen fades to black and then shows a head's up display with the words "computer offline" with a woman in a labcoat behind the display. Trailers shown at E3 07 reveal further evidence of this, such as a futuristic looking health bar, effects resembling readouts surrounding locked-on enemies and a rather lengthy conversation with a dying enemy surrounded by a white background. Ubisoft has confirmed that Assassin's Creed will be part of a trilogy, and has also stated that one or both of the sequels may have a futuristic setting.

In support of the idea that it centers around genetic memory, structural formulas for nucleic acids, apparently arranged into a strand of DNA, can be found in the background of the official website.

On September 28, 2006, in an interview with IGN, producer Jade Raymond confirmed that Altaïr is "a medieval hitman with a mysterious past" and that he is not a time traveler.

This is consistent with this particular design team, as in Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, death was interpreted as a mistake in the Prince of Persia's recounting of his story to Farah. In an Xbox 360 gameplay demo of Assassin's Creed at X06, a screen appears with the words "memories /01" in the center with "hard drive" on the left and "options" on the right after the character dies. Above "memories" it says "animus", Latin for "soul/life/spirit" (and where the word "animate" comes from) and under it are the words "access your genetic memory". The word "shutdown" can be seen in the lower right-hand corner, and the outline of a person can be seen past the words, almost as if the person was standing over someone on their back, and the player can also see on the right-hand side a light bulb and a grate on the ceiling. Also, in the upper-left hand corner on the screenshot, it reads "in progress" so this may be something involved in the development.

On December 13, 2006, in an interview with IGN, Kristen Bell (who will have her voice and likeness lent to the game) talked about the plot. According to the interview, the plot centers on genetic memory and a corporation looking for descendants of an assassin.

It's actually really interesting to me. It's sort of based on the research that's sort of happening now, about the fact that your genes might be able to hold memory. And you could argue semantics and say it's instinct, but how does a baby bird know to eat a worm, as opposed to a cockroach, if its parents don't show it? And it's about this science company trying to, Matrix-style, go into people's brains and find out an ancestor who used to be an assassin, and sort of locate who that person is.

Altaïr is voiced by actor Philip Shahbaz.

It was mentioned in the UbiDays interview that Altaïr is not religious but rather "spiritual" and is the son of a Christian Mother and Muslim Father.

Altair (meaning "The Flying One" in Arabic) is a star in the Northern Sky in the constellation of Aquilla ("eagle" in Latin); this ties in well with a white eagle seen in the trailer for PS3 and Xbox 360 which is shown flying over the city of Acre, and lands on the bell tower Altaïr himself is standing on. To complete the theme the Assassin's clothes consist of white flowing robes. His hood also has a hook on the end and his lower robe features a stream on each side, therefore making Altair's shadow in air look like an eagle.

It is also stated that in events before the start of the game, there is an initiation where Altaїr's left ring finger is cut off, so that he is no longer a Novice, but an Assassin. Once his finger is cut off, a hidden blade is installed, as noted below in "Weaponry".

Story

Assassin's Creed is set in AD 1191, when the Third Crusade was tearing the Holy Land apart. Shrouded in secrecy and feared for their ruthlessness, the Assassins intend to stop the hostilities by suppressing both sides of the conflict. Players, assuming the role of the main character, will have the power to throw their immediate environment into chaos and to shape events during this pivotal moment in history.

The story follows Altaïr, a disgraced master assassin who embarks on a quest to restore his status within the Assassin Order. After failing to liquidate the Templar leader Robert de Sable and recover the legendary Templar Treasure, Altaïr is demoted to Uninitiated (the lowest rank in the Assassin Order).

But Sinan, leader of the Assassins, offers him an opportunity to redeem himself. Altaïr must venture out into the Holy Land and assassinate men said to be exacerbating and exploiting the hostilities created by the Third Crusade. In doing so, he will stabilize the region, allowing Sinan to usher in an age of peace.

When the game begins, Richard the Lionheart has just recaptured the port city of Acre from occupying Saracens. With a base of operations established, the Crusaders prepare to march south. Their true target is Jerusalem – which they intend to recapture in the name of the Church. However, Saladin, leader of the Saracen army, currently rules the city. Stinging from his army’s defeat at Acre, he will not allow Richard to humiliate him again. The Saracens are massing at the ruins of Fortress Arsuf, intending to ambush the Crusaders and prevent them from reaching Jerusalem.

These war maneuvers have left the rest of the Holy Land wide open. While Richard and Saladin battle one another, the men left to govern in their stead have begun taking advantage of their newfound positions of power. Exploitation, manipulation, and provocation rule the day. It is in this chaotic mess that Altaïr now finds himself. He is ordered to eliminate those most active in their exploitation. This is how the Assassin begins his mission.

Along the way, however, he will begin to discover that his targets are bound by more than just a shared interest in personal gain. They share membership in a secret society familiar to the Hashshashin. And they are not simply looking for profit. Their true goal and how they plan to achieve it leads to a modern-day conspiracy with secrets to be discovered during the course of the story.

Weaponry

There are four main types of weapons which Altair will be able to use in Assassin’s Creed: a long sword, a short sword, throwing knives, and his hidden blade. Altaïr carries a number of highly specialized weapons for his role as an assassin - weapons noted from the trailers include a sword (Xbox 360 gameplay demo), a small crossbow, the hooked ends of which can apparently be used to forcibly pull enemies away (though it is unknown if it was designed purposefully this way, or merely an effect created for the E3 2006 trailer), and on his back there are bolts for his crossbow in a small quiver; throwing daggers strapped on his chest, as well as his specialty weapon which is used for his assassinations, a concealed mechanical dagger that retracts to avoid notice (similar in concept to an OTF or "out-the-front" switchblade, though it is unknown where it derives the energy to both extend and retract mechanically) attached to the underside of his left arm, which emerges from under his wrist. Altaïr is also missing his left hand ring finger which was severed as part of the initiation ceremony when he received his mechanical dagger. When the blade is extended and the hand is balled into a fist the blade extends through the space left by the removed ring finger. A trailer showing the dagger being "unsheathed" shows a complex clockwork mechanism.

Jade Raymond has stated that the player will be able to unlock new abilities such as improved boots (better grip for climbing) and climbing gloves and customizations for Altaïr's weaponry. In the newest trailer, Altaïr also carries a knife on his back, in addition to his sword. The players can select the weapon they want to use by pressing the directional buttons, this allows quick switch capability during combat.

Other media

Pocket Books has announced it will novelize Assassin’s Creed. The title of the first book will be Assassin’s Creed Book One: The Invisible Imam and is due to be published in October of 2007. The publisher plans to print a trilogy of book's based on Ubisoft’s upcoming game. The first title in the series will detail events leading up to the beginning of the game. The title of the second book has been revealed to be Assassin’s Creed Book Two: The Eye of Heaven.

According to xbox.com there have been some discussions between five major studios and Ubisoft, concerning making a film adaptation of Assassin's Creed. However the identities of the film companies have not been revealed and neither has Ubisoft's response.

Ubisoft and The Independent Film Channel IFC will hold a contest for short films based on Assassin's Creed.

There was a small comic given out to EB Games managers during the company's 2007 annual conference. This was scanned and put on photobucket soon after: http://s166.photobucket.com/albums/u86/sircuddlesGHII/Assassins%20Creed/

Limited Edition

Announced in May of 2007, a Limited Collector's Edition will be released as well. However, the Limited Edition version will only be available to PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 owners. In addition to the game disc the Assassin's Creed Limited Edition will contain:

• Collectible 3-inch Altair figure
• Penny Arcade comics
• Mini strategy guide
• Bonus disc including:
  • Winners of Assassin’s Creed short film contest
  • Behind-the-scenes videos
  • Developer diaries
  • Trailers
  • Producer interviews

Demos

On July 10th 2007 during the Microsoft E3 Press Conference, a demo was shown using a previously unseen city, Jerusalem. Features that were demonstrated included improved crowd mechanics, the "chase" system (chasing after a target trying to flee), as well as deeper aspects of free running. This was the first time where Altaïr could be heard speaking. It was again showcased for nearly 20 minutes on Wednesday, July 11th. The video showed an extended version of the E3 demo, and included Altaïr trying to escape after his assassination of Talal the Slave Trader.

On August 26th, 2007 an 11 minute demo of Assassin's Creed was shown at the Penny Arcade expo. The level that was shown was the same as in the E3 demo, however a different path was taken to reach the target. At the end of the demo, a conversation between Altair and the head of the Assassin's bureau in Jerusalem, Malik, showed an intense rivalry between the two.

Awards

The following awards were awarded to Assassin's Creed at E3 2006:

Game Critics Awards

• Won: Best Action/Adventure Game.

IGN

• Won: Best Action Game, PS3 Game of the Show, Best PS3 Action Game, Best PS3 Graphics
• Runner-up: Best Console Game, Best PS3 Artistic Design, PS3 Award for Technological Excellence
• Nominations: Game of the Show, Best Graphics Technology

GameSpy

• Won: Best PS3 game of the show

GameSpot

• Won: Best PS3 game of the show
• Runner-up: Game of the Show, Best Trailer, Best Graphics, Best Action Adventure Game

Gametrailers

• Won: Best of Show
• Runner-up: Best Trailer, Most Innovative, Best Action/Adventure

1UP

• Won: Best PS3 game
• Runner-up: Best Visuals, Game of the show

Trivia

• The popular phrase used to describe Assassin's Creed's gameplay, "Nothing is true. Everything is permitted." is in fact a quotation generally attributed to the founder of the Hashshashin, Hassan-i Sabbah.

• The case of the game appeared in the "The Dinner Party" episode of popular UK Television series The IT Crowd. Roy picked it up on his way out of the apartment of a woman who he had just walked home asking "Could I have a lend of this?"

External links

Official websites

• Assassin's Creed UK site
• Assassin's Creed US site
• Assassin's Creed Official Forum

Media and interviews

• E3 2007 On Stage Demonstration
• Interview with producer Jade Raymond
• X06 On Stage Demo (137 MB, .WMV)
• HD Trailer
• Trailer From Ubiday 2007
• Jade Raymond Q & A session from Ubidays 2007
• Screenshots of Assassins Creed from Gamespot
• Trailers, Demos, and Gameplay videos
• Previews, videos, screenshots, and other things at Gamespot