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All Games -- Assassin's Creed
Release Date: 09-Nov-2007
Developed By: Ubisoft Montreal
Published By: ubisoft
ESRB: Rating Pending
Official Website
Where to buy
setting
Assassin's Creed is set in 1191 AD, 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 an epic 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 into this chaotic mess 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 seem to share membership in a secret society – a group all too familiar to the Hashshashin. And they are not simply looking for profit. Their true goal, and how they plan to achieve it, are secrets to be discovered during the course of the story.
Features
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.
A major selling point is "social stealth" - the ability to blend in with a crowd, as opposed to simply hiding in shadows.
It also appears that the player will be able to battle many historical figures, including the legendary Order of the Knights Templar.
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. 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.
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.[3]
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 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 maybe 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.[4]
“ 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. ”
Further evidence of the genetic memory plot
Further evidence of the genetic memory plot
Altaïr is voiced by actor Philip Shahbaz.[5]
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 "flying" 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 Xbox360 and PS3 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.
It is also stated that in the beginning 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".
Jade Raymond had also mentioned in the UbiDays interview that a hands-on demo is planned for E3 in July.
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Assassin's Creed
Release Date: 09-Nov-2007
Developed By: Ubisoft Montreal
Published By: ubisoft
ESRB: Rating Pending
Official Website
Where to buy
setting
Assassin's Creed is set in 1191 AD, 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 an epic 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 into this chaotic mess 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 seem to share membership in a secret society – a group all too familiar to the Hashshashin. And they are not simply looking for profit. Their true goal, and how they plan to achieve it, are secrets to be discovered during the course of the story.
Features
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.
A major selling point is "social stealth" - the ability to blend in with a crowd, as opposed to simply hiding in shadows.
It also appears that the player will be able to battle many historical figures, including the legendary Order of the Knights Templar.
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. 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.
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.[3]
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 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 maybe 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.[4]
“ 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. ”
Further evidence of the genetic memory plot
Further evidence of the genetic memory plot
Altaïr is voiced by actor Philip Shahbaz.[5]
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 "flying" 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 Xbox360 and PS3 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.
It is also stated that in the beginning 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".
Jade Raymond had also mentioned in the UbiDays interview that a hands-on demo is planned for E3 in July.