Assassin's Creed
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Assassin's Creed is a video game developed by Ubisoft Montreal and published by Ubisoft. It was released worldwide in November 2007.<ref name="Assassins creed Dated" /> On September 22, 2007, Ubisoft announced the PC version has been delayed until early 2008.<ref name="acdelay"> PC Assassin's Creed and Mercs 2 delayed till 2008
. GamerNode
. Retrieved on September 22 , 2007 . </ref>
The player assumes the role of Desmond Miles, a seemingly normal bartender who is also the most modern member of a long family tree of assassins. He is taken to a facility where he uses the Animus, a machine that allows him to see the memories of his ancestors during the Third Crusade, in the year 1191. Desmond 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 is able to travel through three cities: Jerusalem, Acre and Damascus as well as Masyaf, the assassins' stronghold.
The interactive environments of the 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 hurts or kills them, the crowd may unite against him, which will also attract guards and he will then have to find a way out or hide. 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 claim the environment is historically accurate. The locations in the game are distinctive models of the cities. All of Altaïr's targets are also historical figures who died or disappeared in the year 1191, although not necessarily by assassination.
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Gameplay
Assassin's Creed is a third-person stealth game, in which the player primarily controls the assassin Altaïr through computer-rendered memories experienced by Desmond. The primary goal of the game is to use stealth and other tactics to complete nine assassinations, though prior to strike out for the target, the player must perform a minimum number of intelligence missions, whether by eavesdropping, interrogation, or pickpocketing information from a given target. Additionally, the player may be made aware of other opportunities to use the assassin's skill, from climbing tall towers to map out the city, or to save citizens from being threatened by others. Many of the acrobatic skills mimic those found in Ubisoft Montreal's previous Prince of Persia games.
The player is made aware of how observable Altaïr is to enemy guards as well as the current state of alert in the local area. To perform many of the assassinations and other tasks, the player must consider the use of both "low profile" and "high profile" commands. "Low profile" commands allow Altaïr to blend into nearby crowds, gently pass by other citizens, or other non-threatening tasks that can be used to hide and reduce the alertness level. "High profile" commands are more noticeable, and including running, scaling the sides of buildings to climb to higher vantage points, and attacking foes; performing these actions at certain times may raise the local area's awareness level. Once the area is at high alert, the player must use both low profile commands as well as aiming to climb away from ground level or using hiding spaces to reduce the alertness level. The player, as they complete the assigned assassinations, will gain either new weapons or new combat skills including counter-attacks and attack dodges. Besides his fists, a sword, a long knife, and throwing knives, Altaïr gains the use of a hidden retractable blade on his left arm that can be used for killing targets at very close quarters without creating any immediate alerts (although, if others come across the body, the alertness level may be raised). This is the most noticeable difference between low and high profile. A low profile assassination can be performed as little as a few feet of other guards or soldiers without attracting attention, whereas a high profile assassination attack will be noticed by everyone within eyesight.
The player's health is described as the level of synchronization between Desmond and Altaïr's memories; should Altaïr take damage, some amount of synchronization is lost, and if all synchronization is lost, the current memory that Desmond is experiencing will be restarted at the last checkpoint. When the synchronization bar is full, the player has the additional option to use "eagle vision" which causes the computer-rendered memory to highlight all visible characters in colors corresponding to whether they are friend or foe or even the target of their assassination. Due to Altaïr's memories being rendered by the computer of the Animus project, the player may experience "glitches" in the rendering of the historical world, which may help the player to identify targets, or can be used to alter the viewpoint during in-game scripted scenes should the player react fast enough when they appear.
The game itself is divided into four cities from the 12th Century: Jerusalem, Damascus, Acre, and Masyaf, and all but Masyaf contain three sections that are unlocked over the course of the game. An approximation of the land lying between these areas is present in the game as "The Kingdom."
Plot
The overall story within Assassin's Creed is set in September 2012, where barkeeper Desmond Miles (the character controlled by the player) has been kidnapped by an unknown person prior to the start of the game, and is brought to Abstergo Industries, where researchers are working on the Animus project. The Animus is able to pull out memories from the DNA of the user, allowing the user to replay those memories as if he were there himself. Desmond was "chosen" for the project due to his relationship to his ancestor Altaïr Ibn La-Ahad (الطائر Al-taa-ir in Arabic "The Flying One") a member of the Assassins during the Third Crusade of the Holy Land; the researchers express interest in understanding more of how the Assassins worked. Though initially Desmond's sub-conscious rejects the memories of Altaïr, he eventually learns to accept them and is able to proceed to follow Altaïr's actions through the Animus.
The memories of Altaïr that Desmond experiences start in AD 1191: Richard the Lionheart has just recaptured the port city of Acre from the Conquer of Muslims. With a base of operations established, the Crusaders prepare to march south. Their true target is Jerusalem – which they intend to recapture for Christianity. However the Muslim forces are massing in the ruins of 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.
The first memory Desmond experiences is that of Altaïr failing to assassinate the Grand Master of The Templar Knights, Robert de Sable, and recover the order's treasure. Due to this, Altaïr is demoted to Uninitiated (the lowest rank in the Assassin Order). But Al Mualim, leader of the Assassins, offers him an opportunity to redeem himself. Altaïr must venture out into the Holy Land and assassinate nine men said to be exacerbating and exploiting the hostilities created by the Third Crusade. In doing so, he will stabilize the region, allowing Mualim to usher in an age of peace.
Along the way, however, Altaïr discovers that his targets are bound by more than just a shared interest in personal gain, but are in fact Templars themselves, with the goal to unite all mankind under a common cause. Desmond further learns from emails when left overnight between sessions that Abstergo Industries is run by modern-day Templars, who are seeking the locations of several artifacts known as the "Pieces of Eden" that they can use to continue to Templars' goals. Desmond learns that he was kidnapped by the company so that they may learn, through Altaïr's memories, where the locations of the other Pieces of Eden may be buried throughout the world. He also finds that what remains of the Assassin's Guild in modern days had tried and failed to recover him before that information could be learned. Altaïr's memories finally reveal that the assignment he undertook was a ploy by the Templars to sow discord between the Assassins and the Crusaders and Muslims. In doing so, Saladin and Richard The Lionheart would instead work together and fight the Assassins, and in the process, bringing peace for the Templars. Altaïr finally catches up with Robert de Sable, his last assigned target, and defeats him. Robert de Sable reveals in his dying words that Altaïr's master is also a member of the Templars, and he has now the sole power of the artifact, the "Piece of Eden" that is able to alter what men can see and can be used for mass hypnosis. Altaïr travels to face his Master, who wields the "Piece of Eden", attempting to alter Altaïr's sight, but eventually falls to his blade. As Altaïr recovers the "Piece of Eden", the device activates one more time to reveal multiple locations across the globe in an holographic manner.
With Altaïr's memory complete, Desmond wakes up out of the Animus to learn that Abstergo Industries is already sending out recovery teams to those locations hoping to find additional artifacts. Desmond, no longer being of use to Abstergo Industries, is to be silenced; however, he is saved by Lucy, who reveals herself to be an Assassin by bending down her ring finger, to imply her membership. In the conclusion of the game, Desmond, having become "synchronized" with Altaïr, is able to use the eagle vision (a sort of empathic sight to see hidden messages and tell friend from foe), and sees messages scrawled across the floors and walls that only he can see that refer to the end of the world described by several religions, among other writings; such writings include references to the biblical passage Revelation 22:13 ("I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end."), a Lorenz Attractor, the Eye of Providence, and other writings in foreign languages. Additionally, there is the Mayan date of 13.0.0.0—December 21, 2012—which is only 3 months away within the game's timeline, that represents the Mayan last day of this age of the world.
Background
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.<ref>http://ps3.ign.com/articles/736/736393p1.html</ref>
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 centres on genetic memory and a corporation looking for descendants of an assassin.<ref>http://tv.ign.com/articles/750/750843p3.html</ref>
Altaïr is voiced by actor Philip Shahbaz.<ref>http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1717255/</ref>
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.
Altaïr (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 Altaïr'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. This procedure provides for the hidden blade to extend from under Altaïr's forearm
Other media
Books
Pocket Books had announced it was planning to novelise Assassin’s Creed in a trilogy, written by Steven Barnes. However, the series has reportedly been cancelled.<ref>http://darkush.blogspot.com/2007/10/why-even-care.html</ref> The title of the first book would have been Assassin’s Creed Book One: The Invisible Imam, and would have detailed events leading up to the beginning of the game.
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.<ref>Assassin's Creed comic, Photobucket</ref>
Film
According to Xbox.com there have been some discussions between five major studios and Ubisoft, concerning making a film adaptation of Assassin's Creed.<ref>http://www.xbox.com/en-GB/news-features/news/Cramming-Assassin’s-Creed-250507.htm</ref> However the identities of the film companies have not been revealed and neither has Ubisoft's response.
Ubisoft and IFC held a contest for short films based on Assassin's Creed. The winning film can be watched here.
Limited editions
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 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
There is a second limited edition containing the game and a 10-inch Altaïr figure.
Demos
On July 10 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 11. 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 26, 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 Altaïr and the head of the Assassin's bureau in Jerusalem called Malik was shown.
Reception
Assassin's Creed has received generally positive reviews, though several publications such as IGN, Electronic Gaming Monthly (EGM), and Eurogamer awarded the game average scores, Eurogamer stating that the gameplay "never evolves and ultimately becomes a bit boring, and quite amazingly repetitive."<ref>http://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=87432&page=3</ref> In Andrew P.'s review for EGM, he writes that the game features "a challenging parkour path of escape..."<ref>Andrew P., "Review of Assassin's Creed," Electronic Gaming Monthly 224 (January 200Image:Cool.gif: 89.</ref> Famitsu awarded Assassin's Creed a 36 (9, 9, 9, 9) out of 40, positively citing the story, presentation, and acrobatics, while criticizing the one button combat, map layout, and camera problems.<ref>Famitsu reviews Assassin's Creed: 36/40</ref> Game Informer awarded Assassin's Creed a 9.5 out of 10, praising the control scheme, replay value, and intriguing story, but expressing frustration over the "repetitive" information gathering missions.<ref>Game Informer, December 2007 issue</ref> On the The Hotlist on ESPNEWS, ESPN's Aaron Boulding called the game's concept of social stealth "fairly original" and added, "Visually, the developers nailed it." <ref>http://sports.espn.go.com/videogames/news/story?id=3129115</ref> GameTrailers similarly praised the story (giving a 9.7 score to its story), and also cited repetitive gameplay and "moronic" AI as somewhat stifling its potential.<ref>GameTrailers Assassin's Creed Video Review</ref> The game has also received a 10 out of 10 from GamesRadar. Assassin's Creed also has a Metacritic score of 83.<ref>Assassin's Creed (xbox 360: 2007)</ref>
Ubisoft announced that the game has sold more than 2.5 million copies by mid-December, 2007, exceeding their initial expectations and prompting the company to raise their sales outlook. <ref> Brightman , James
(2007-12-13) . Assassin's Creed Passes 2.5 Million Sold; Ubisoft Raises Guidance . GameDaily
. Retrieved on 2007-12-13. </ref>
Technical issues
Some players have experienced a bug which randomly causes the game to freeze and which require a hard reset to fix. Other issues that have been encountered is on the second to last mission Altair will fall off the map.<ref> Official Bug/Glitch Reporting Thread
.</ref>
On the 30th of November, 2007, the patch was released via the PlayStation Network for Europe and Australia. North America received the patch on the 4th/5th of December. <ref> Game update for PlayStation 3 Assassin's Creed is now live
.</ref>
A 360 corrective update is currently being developed.<ref> Xbox 360 corrective update news
.</ref>
Cast
- Philip Shahbaz as Altaïr
- Kristen Bell as Lucy Stillman
- Josie Lawrence as Peasant
Awards
The following awards were awarded to Assassin's Creed at E3 2006:
The award nominations and wins after release included:
- Spike TV Awards<ref> Magrino, Tom
(2007-11-11) . Halo 3, BioShock top Spike TV noms . GameSpot
. Retrieved on 2007-11-11. </ref>:
- Nominated: Best Action Game
- GameStooge Awards<ref> Falcon, Jonah
(2007-11-11) . 2007 GameStooge Award Nominations . 2old2play
. Retrieved on 2007-11-11. </ref>:
- Nominated: Best PlayStation 3 Game, Best Action Game, Best Graphics - Artistic, Best Plot Twist, Best Trailer ("Lonely Soul"), Breakout Character (Altair)
- X-Play Best of 2007 Awards<ref> 2007 X-Play Best of 2007 Award Nominations
. G4
. Retrieved on 2007-12-10. </ref>:
- Nominated: Game of the Year, Most Original Game, Best Gameplay Innovation, Best Action/Adventure Game, Best Art Direction, Best Animation, Best Sound Design
Refrences
External links
- How to improve the graphics for the PS3 verison.
- Assassin's Creed UK site
- Assassin's Creed US site
- Assassin's Creed Official Forumar:أسازنس كريد
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