Assasin's Creed: features, plot, gameplay

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Assassin's Creed is a video gmaes developed by Ubisoft Montreal and published by Ubisoft. It was released worldwide in November 2007 on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 video game consoles. The North American release of the PC version was released on April 8, 2008.

A prequel for this gmaes , titled Assassin's Creed: Altaïr's Chronicles, was released on February 5, 2008 for the Nintendo DS.

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Gameplay
Assassin's Creed is a third-person stealth game in which the player assumes the role of Desmond Miles, an average bartender who is the last descendant of a long family line of assassins. Desmond has been taken to a facility where he is forced to use the Animus, a machine that traces and recreates the memories of his ancestors during the Third Crusade. Through these genetic memories, the player controls Altaïr ibn La-Ahad (الطائر ابن لا أحد , Arabic, "The Flying One, Son of None"), a member of the Hashshashin (The Assassin Brotherhood) which is allied with one of the sides during the third crusade. Altaïr's objective in the game is to slay nine historical figures propagating the Crusades in the year 1191. (According to Ubisoft developers, all of the main character's targets are historical figures who died or disappeared in 1191, although not necessarily by assassination.)

The primary goal of the game is to complete nine assassinations. To achieve this goal, the player must use stealth and a variety of intelligence gathering tactics to collect information on their target. These tactics include eavesdropping, forceful interrogation, pickpocketing, and completing tasks for Informers (other assassins who will give you information in exchange for assassinating targets or collecting flags). Additionally, the player may take part in any number of side missions, including climbing tall towers to map out the city and saving citizens that are being threatened or harassed by the city guards. There are also various side quests unrelated to the story such as hunting down and killing Templars and flag collecting.

The game takes place primarily in the Holy Land. It consists of four main cities: Jerusalem, Acre, Damascus and Masyaf, the assassins' stronghold; all but Masyaf contain three sections that are unlocked over the course of the gmaes . An approximation of the land lying between these areas is present in the gmaes as "The Kingdom." The gmaes 's developers claim the environments are all historically accurate. Each city features a highly detailed environment populated by many people of different types, and as the player interacts with his/her environment, the people around Altaïr respond in logical and predictable ways. For example, when Altaïr climbs buildings without the use of a ladder, the local citizens pause, gather round the building he is climbing and comment on his unusual behavior, or how they won't help him if he hurts himself. Certain actions, such as harming an innocent can attract the unwanted attention of nearby guards, who may then choose to attack him. Neither Richard the Lionheart's forces, nor Saladin's forces are particularly friendly towards Altaïr - If he comes into contact with any guards outside the main cities, he will be chased off, no matter which side.

The player is made aware of how noticeable 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 include 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, Altaïr's weapons include an assassin's sword for standard combat, a short blade, and throwing knives which are used in conjunction with the short blade. Altaïr also starts the main storyline with 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 within 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. This becomes more difficult as the gmaes progresses, as guards become more attentive for Altaïr's presence due to his repeated killings.


During gameplay, intentional glitches that include organic compounds and computer messages will flash on the screen.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 allows 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-gmaes scripted scenes should the player react fast enough when they appear.


Plot
The overall story within Assassin's Creed is set in September 2012. Desmond Miles, a bartender, has been kidnapped by unknown people prior to the start of the game, and is brought to a building belonging to Abstergo Industries, where researchers are working on a project involving a machine called the Animus. The Animus is able to extract memories from the DNA of the user, passed on from descendant to descendant, 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 at-ta'er in Arabic meaning "Flying One" and his last name meaning "Son of None"), a member of the Assassins Order during the Third Crusade of the Holy Land; the researchers express interest in understanding more of how the Assassins worked. Though initially Desmond's subconscious 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 the year 1191: Richard I of England has just recaptured the port city of Acre from the Saracens. 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 Saracen forces are massing in 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, along with another assassin named Malik and his brother, being ordered to retrieve a mysterious artifact from ruins of the Solomon's Temple in Jerusalem which is also being sought by The Knights Templar. As Altaïr and his companions make their way into Solomon's Temple, they discover that Grand Master of The Knights Templar, Robert IV de Sablé is also there. Altaïr, due to his arrogance and lack of discretion, attempts to kill Robert but the ensuing attempt fails and Altaïr gets separated from his companions, leaving Robert and his men with Malik and his brother. Upon returning to the order's base of operation it is discovered that Malik survived the engagement; although losing an arm and his brother, he managed to retrieve the artifact. Since Altaïr failed his mission, and other offenses, Altaïr is demoted to Uninitiated, the lowest rank in the Assassin Order. The leader of the Assassins, Al Mualim, 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, helping the Order's goal of securing peace in the Holy Land.


Cryptic messages on the wall of Desmond's bedroom at the end of the gmaes .Along the way, however, Altaïr discovers that his targets are bound by more than just a shared interest in personal gain, but are secretly members of the Knights Templars, with the goal to unite all mankind under a common cause. Desmond further learns by secretly reading emails on computers of the research personnel when left overnight between Animus sessions that Abstergo Industries is in fact run by the Knights Templar, the order having survived from the Middle Ages, and that the Templars are seeking the locations of several artifacts known as the "Pieces of Eden" that they can use to continue Templars' goals. Desmond learns that he was kidnapped 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 Brotherhood 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 plot by the Templars to sow discord between the Assassins and the Crusaders and Muslims. In doing so, the Muslim leader 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 Sablé, his last assigned target, and defeats him. Robert de Sablé reveals in his dying words that Altaïr's master, Al Mualim, is also a member of the Templars, and he has now the soul-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 Al Mualim, 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, including two locations on landmasses that no longer exist in 2012.

It is never truly explained how the "Pieces of Eden" were created, although it is explained in the game that Jesus Christ was but a carpenter who found one of the artifacts and created an illusion in which everybody perceived him as being divine. Al Mualim mentions the Piece of Eden never turned water to wine, and that various other miracles mentioned in the Holy Bible never truly happened either, all of them being only illusions created by people who possessed a "Piece of Eden". At one point, Desmond reads an email detailing the failed recovery of one other Piece of Eden and other unnamed artifacts, all resulting in disastrous accidents, including the Philadelphia Experiment and the Tunguska event. The email also refers to the Holy Grail, stating insufficient evidence to confirm its existence, and "Mitchell-Hedges Communicators", a reference to F. A. Mitchell-Hedges and his claim of Aztec crystal skulls that gave the owner the power of clairsentience. Further examination of the emails reveals some information regarding Earth as it is in the year 2012. Africa and the United States have suffered calamities of various types; it is stated that an outbreak of L-11 disease has exterminated 96% of the African continent and the United States is facing unprecedented outward emigration, to the degree that the President of Mexico has stationed thousands of troops along the border, with monthly battles between American and Mexican forces resulting on over 1,300 casualties.

With Altaïr's memory complete, Desmond wakes up out of the Animus to learn that Abstergo Industries is already sending out recovery teams to locations shown by the "Piece of Eden" in Altaïr's memory, hoping to find additional artifacts. Desmond, no longer being of use to the Knights Templar, is to be silenced; however, he is saved by a researcher named Lucy Stillman, who reveals herself to be an Assassin by showing her hand with her ring finger closed as if it were missing. 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 by looking at Lucy, he can see that she is an ally to him (shown by her glowing blue), giving further proof that she is a genuine Assassin. He also sees messages that only he can see, scrawled across the floors and walls 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, as well as part of a Mandelbrot set and other writings in foreign languages. Additionally, there is the Mayan date of 13.0.0.0.0—December 21, 2012—which is only three months away within the game's timeline and represents the planned date of the launch of a mysterious satellite the Templars have created, which they claim will "permanently end the war." The Arabic word "Az-Zalzala", literally meaning "The Earthquake" can be seen, which is the title of a chapter in the Qur'an that talks about Judgment Day. Some Nazca Line drawings are also found. There is also a reference to Yonaguni, a Japanese island similar to Atlantis. This leads to the speculation that the sequel might be set in feudal Japan, though Ubisoft has not commented. Further investigation after the credits reveals an email sent to Vidic by Lucy, stating that the drawings come from a mysterious "subject sixteen" who went insane due to what they described as a "bleeding effect" (essentially, genetic memory assimilation comes to a point where the subject can no longer distinguish between their life and their ancestors' memories. Lucy speculates that, though subject sixteen's "bleeding" was brought on by too much time spent in the Animus, natural forms may occur, such as Multiple Personality Disorder and other forms of dementia).


The Assassins Creed
Altair and his fellow assassins follow a creed, a set of guidelines that all honorable assassins must follow. In the gmaes following the creed results in synchronization, and maintaining a low profile, though the player may easily break the first two rules rather easily and with little consequence.

Stay your blade from the flesh of an innocent.
Hide in plain sight.
Do not compromise the brotherhood.

Historical relevance
The nine men assassinated were based on real historical figures who lived in the Holy Land around the year 1191, but many creative liberties have been taken. Most Hashshashin assassinations that actually took place were against rival fellow Muslims. In addition, Altaïr's targets bear no historical resemblance in appearance or character to the actual figures. Most of the young men Altaïr was sent to kill were in reality old and sickly at this time in history. Furthermore, the Teutonic Knights were not militarized until 1198, starting off as an order created to protect pilgrims traveling through the Holy Land. The developers have justified these changes by claiming in-game that the historical records were altered by the Knights Templar to deceive anyone studying the past.

Some of Altaïr's targets include: Garnier De Naplouse, the Grand Master of the Knights Hospitalier; Ibn Jubayr, an Arab-Spanish geographer, traveler, and poet; Hochmeister Sibrand, Grandmaster of the Teutonic Knights; William V, Marquess of Montferrat, the regent of Acre; and Robert IV de Sablé, Grand Master of the Knights Templar.

The stronghold of the Creed is Masyaf, headquarters of the Assassins in the game, and also the headquarter of the Syrian branch of the real-life assassins. In 1191, when the game takes place, Masyaf was led by Sinan, who was also the leader of the Syrian branch.


Development

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.

On December 13, 2006, in an interview with IGN, Kristen Bell (who lent her voice and likeness to the gmaes ) 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."
—Kristen Bell

On October 22, 2007, in an IGN Australia interview with Patrice Desilets mentioned that the lead character's climbing and running were done by "Alex and Richard - the same guys from Prince of Persia".

Altaïr is voiced by actor Philip Shahbaz, and his face is modeled after Spanish model Francisco Randez.

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 the white eagle seen in the trailer, that 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. According to Ubisoft[citation needed] that Altaïr is not religious but rather spiritual and is the son of a Christian mother and Muslim father. It is also stated that in events before the start of the gmaes , there is an initiation where Altaïr'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.

The release of the Nintendo DS prequel, Assassin's Creed: Altaïr's Chronicles, was February 5th, 2008.


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 when 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.

There is no demo available for Assassin's Creed over Xbox Live, the Playstation Network, or PC.


PC version
A pirated version of the game has been in existence since late February 2008 - more than a month before its expected release, though players are only able to complete the game using extra content available on the net in its current state; despite this, it was one of the most popular titles for piracy during the first week of March 2008.

It was made public on 1 April that Assassin's Creed would be sold electronically and available for pre-order through Valve's software distribution program, Steam, and though advertised to the entire Steam customer base it was for unknown reasons locked out for any Steam-customers not in residing in North America (along with the entire Ubisoft catalog).[citation needed] The PC version of Assassin's Creed was released on 8 April 2008 in North America. Four bonus mission types, not seen in the console version, are included. These 4 new missions are archer assassination, rooftop race challenge, merchant stand destruction challenge and escort challenge.

A significant amount of criticism has lately been appearing on the internet about the fact that players who have beat the gmaes are unable to skip cutscenes