Assassin's Creed (video game)

Assassin's Creed
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Developer(s)	Ubisoft Montreal
Publisher(s)	Ubisoft
Director(s)	Simon Peacock
Designer(s)	Jade Raymond (producer)
Engine	Scimitar Engine
Platform(s)	Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360
Release	PlayStation 3: TBA 2007 TBA 2007 TBA 2007 TBA 2007 Xbox 360: TBA 2007 TBA 2007 TBA 2007 TBA 2007 PC: TBA 2007 TBA 2007 TBA 2007 TBA 2007
Genre(s)	Action-Adventure
Mode(s)	Single Player

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Altaïr Character Model.

Assassin's Creed is a video game by Ubisoft. The game takes place during the Third Crusade, exact year 1191. The gamer plays as a member of the assassin sect Hashshashin known as Altaïr (الطيار, Arabic, "The flying" eagle), whose objective is to assassinate the nine historical figures who are propagating the Crusades, and the suffering of the people. As the gamer 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 people 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.

Features

One of the most talked about features of the game is the ability to get around the city. Influenced by the parkour phenomenon and its freedom of movement, the player will be able to grab onto and climb "any object that sticks out more than 2 inches", which means exploration of the cities, rooftops, etc. will be possible on a greater scale than in any previous game. The game will also be completely free-roaming, which has led to comparisons with Grand Theft Auto, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, Shadow of the Colossus, and other games.

Assassin's Creed was featured in E3 2006, where a new system of gameplay was revealed. Only four trailers have been released so far. The title's in-game graphics, as exhibited at E3, more closely resemble the quality shown in the few screenshots that have been released, as opposed to what has been shown in trailers.

(Much of the following is borrowed from the preview of Assassin's Creed in an issue of Game Informer) Another feature is the intuitive control scheme. Assassin's Creed will employ a new idea that can best be compared to playing marionette of puppeteers to Altair's actions. Developer Jade Raymond states, "What I really like about this concept was that once you understand the controls, you know how to play the game. You don't ever have to look at what the button combinations are. You can invent them as you go along."

On the PS3 controller, the left analog stick will control movement, and the right will control the camera. However the actual buttons are quite different from normal. X will correspond to the feet, Square will dictate arm movement with weapons, Circle will use the character's arms without weapons, and Triangle uses his head. Also, one of the right triggers will act as a shift between violent and gentle intensities. Here are some examples of each:

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In Game Fighting.

If the player just uses the left analog stick by itself he will run, but if he holds the intensity button with it, he will walk. Also, if there is a person in front of Altaïr, the player can press the arms without weapons button (Circle) and violently shove them out of the way. Holding the intensity button will gently move them out of the way. While navigating the rooftops and seeing a set of overhanging building struts, the player can hold X and jump from each one to the other. Or he can press Circle and grab one and swing to each.

When the player approaches a low wall he has many choices on what to do. If the player run towards it and presses the legs button (X), then he will hurdle it. As an alternative, the player can press the arms without weapons (Circle), then he will throw his arms down and vault it. When walking around the crowded areas, the player may hear groups speaking the native tongue of the city. The player can press Triangle to hear the conversation translated, as Altair is multilingual. There is also an "intuition" mode that displays Altair's target as surrounded by a bright aura, thus making them easier to single out.

Combat in Assassin's Creed strives to be somewhat realistic. Unlike most games, Altair cannot take repeated sword blows and neither can his opponents. Rather, whenever Altair or another character would have been hit by a lethal blow, they will clumsily block it, be at a disadvantage, and lose stamina. After enough stamina has been lost, they will no longer be able to block the fatal blow and will be mortally wounded. During the X06 gameplay trailer, a producer from Ubisoft stated that combat would mostly rely on not becoming surrounded, being patient, and waiting for an opening to strike, rather than hacking away offensively.

Assassin's Creed aims to bring a new kind of gameplay to the next-gen console experience: that of "social stealth". Crowds, as previously mentioned, play a large part in the gameplay of Assassin's Creed. They can be either a help or a hindrance to Altair. In one segment, Altair blended in with a group of priests in order to get closer to his victim. This was possible because Altair looked very similar to the white-robed priests.

After Altair's target was assassinated in full view of a busy town square, the crowd erupted into chaos. The developer from Ubisoft mentioned that running into a mob could get Altair knocked to the ground, thus allowing his pursuers to catch him.

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Altaïr blends right in, thanks to Social Stealth.

Ubisoft Montreal did confirm that a demo of the game will be released before the game hits stores. [1] However, they did not state as to what form the demo will come in.

An article on IGN announced that Assassin's Creed will also be released on the Xbox 360 and PC. Although it was never stated the game would go multiformat at E3, it was generally assumed it would do so. PC and Xbox 360 versions were confirmed in August 2006.

There is one known difference between the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions of the game. The Xbox 360 version includes a feature to "feel" for a grip when climbing. The rumble of the Xbox 360 controller will increase as the player is closer to losing the grip on a wall. This won't be available on the PlayStation 3, as the controller does not have rumble.

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 Altair is killed, the screen fades to black and then shows a head's up display with the words 'computer offline'. 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 Altair is "a medieval hitman with a mysterious past" and that he is not a time traveler. The 'computer offline' message may be a computer that is decoding these memories, and death in the memory is some kind of glitch in the system.

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.

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The enigmatic death screen

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 peoples brains and find out an ancestor who used to be an assassin, and sort of locate who that person is.

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Further proof of the genetic memory plot

Further proof for the genetic memory plot can be found in the storyline developer diary, where at one point in the background a genetic structure fades in briefly and then fades out quickly. An image of this structure is to the right, which has had its brightness and contrast modified to make the structure more visible.

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".

Weaponry

Altair carries a number of highly specialized weapons for his role as an assassin - weapons noted from the trailers include a sword (X06 gameplay demo), a small crossbow, and throwing daggers strapped on his chest as well as his concealed mechanical dagger attached to his left arm, which emerges from under his wrist. This is made to retract so that the assassin remains inconspicuous. Altair is also missing his left hand ring finger which was severed as part of an 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.

Awards

The following awards were won at E3 2006:

Game Critics Awards

• 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

External links

Official websites

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

Media and interviews

• Interview with producer Jade Raymond

• On Stage Demo (137 MB, .WMV)
• HD Trailer