Platform(s): Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Nintendo DS
Genre(s): Action-Adventure
Mode(s): Single Player
Assassin’s Creed is a video game being developed by Ubisoft Montreal and published by Ubisoft. The game is due for release in November 2007. On September 22, 2007, Ubisoft announced the PC version has been delayed until 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.
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 assassinate 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.
