Easter eggs

Easter eggs are intentional hidden extras found in games; usually jokes or references. The Assassin's Creed games have their own Easter eggs, and many other games contain Easter eggs related to the series within them.

Transformers
An arrangement of windows seen on certain buildings form the face of Optimus Prime in truck mode from the Transformers franchise.

Jamal
Upon leaving Masyaf for the first time, one of the Assassins in the Kingdom is marked as an enemy (glowing red when seen through Eagle Vision). He can be silently assassinated with no consequences, but openly attacking him will prompt the other Assassins to attack you.

This Assassin is actually Jamal, the traitor inside the order that, along with Masun, opened the gates for the Templar attack at Masyaf. He was originally set to be a mission target to be assassinated, but the mission was cut, and the character remained as a minor Easter egg.

Mario
250px|thumb|right|Mario greeting Ezio. {C At the beginning of the third sequence, Ezio's uncle Mario says "It's-a-me! Mario!" when he greets Ezio which is a reference to Super Mario Bros. To further support this is Mario Auditore's Italian nationality, like Mario of Super Mario Bros.

Giant Octopus
{C A giant octopus can be found in the Assassin's Tomb of Santa Maria Della Visitazione.

To find the giant octopus, the player must first pull the lever that activates the swinging poles for progressing further into the Tomb, but instead looks down into the water near the lever for one minute. Once a minute or so has passed, a cutscene plays, showing a large octopus swimming by.

A second cutscene can be activated if the player pulls the lever once more and looks down again, or attempts to jump into the water. The cutscene shows Ezio narrowly dodging one of the octopus' tentacles, before it swims away. There is however, no sound for the cutscene.

Ghosts of the Past
thumb|250px|left|Ghosts of the Past. {C By downloading the Bonfire of the Vanities DLC, Ezio is briefly able to see a vision of his whole family.

After meeting up with Niccolò Machiavelli, return to Palazzo Auditore and step into the center of the courtyard. Ezio will enter a mode similar to his Eagle Vision, and be able to see the figures of his parents and all of his siblings around the palazzo. Once you leave, the vision will disappear and you will not be able to see it again. (The vision cannot be viewed if you have completed Bonfire of the Vanities, so make sure to do this beforehand).

Palazzo Ducale
thumb|250px|right|Palazzo Ducale easter egg. {C After using the Super Jump or Fence glitch to get into the Palazzo Ducale, you can access the Doge's quarters where Carlo Grimaldi assassinated the Doge. The candle that Carlo Grimaldi and Doge Mocenigo were playing under is unlit, but the chess pieces are in exactly the same position, though Ezio assassinated Grimaldi years ago. After you go into these quarters, the sky and the building turn a blood red.

However, this may not be intentional, but accidental, as scenery when entering other buildings such as the Villa Auditore lighten or darken to match the interior of that building. In this case, the tone is changed to orange or red to match the interior of this specific room, thus changing the outside scenery and sky to orange and red respectively.

Dummy Keys
In the missions "Knowledge Is Power" and "Hunting the Hunter", the player may loot any of the dummy targets and find keys. The keys have no effect whatsoever in the game.

Batman
Occasionally, while freerunning or climbing a building, a male bystander can be heard saying "Another capering crusader." This is a reference to the DC Comics superhero Batman, who uses stealth and has a tendency to run on rooftops. Batman is sometimes referred to as the Caped Crusader.

Money
When throwing coins amongst the crowd, female bystanders may cry "Money! That's what I want!", a reference to the classic Motown song.

Project Legacy
In the Sanctuary, if you look at one of Lucy Stillman's monitors, you see the Memories menu of Assassin's Creed: Project Legacy set to the memories of Mario Auditore.

Castle Crashers
The first memory in the Castel Sant'Angelo is called "Castello Crasher." This can be translated into "Castle Crasher," which is close to the PS3 and Xbox 360 downloadable game, Castle Crashers.

Metal Gear Solid
Just before reuniting with Leonardo da Vinci, Ezio will come across an anachronistic factory-made cardboard box, though he looks away when Leonardo comes around the corner. This is a reference to the Metal Gear Solid series, as the signature stealth move of Solid Snake (the series' protagonist) is to hide in a box or crate.

A second tribute is the Raiden suit, available to all who complete every challenge in the Animus Virtual Training Program with at least a bronze medal.

Mario References
In the mission "Femme Fatale", after Ezio kills all the guards and drags Lucrezia, Lucrezia says "Rescuing princesses from castles now?". This is a reference to the Super Mario Bros. games where Mario rescues princess Peach from Bowser's castle. One of the Brotherhood achievements is entitled "Principessa in Another Castello." This translates to "Princess in Another Castle," which is what would be told to Mario in the original Mario games when he defeats Bowser's minions in their castles.

Another Mario reference is the "Plumber" achievement, which shows the picture of a Mario World Warp Pipe.

Montreal
During the memory "Trojan Horse," whilst escorting Bartolomeo d'Alviano and his Mercenaries disguised as French soldiers, a French guard asks Ezio Auditore which region of France he hails from, to which he replies "Montréal." This is likely a reference to the location of Ubisoft Montreal, the main developers of the Assassin's Creed series. Montreal is the largest city in the French-speaking province of Quebec in Canada.

Alternatively, it could be a reference to the birth-place of Francisco Randez - the character model after whom Desmond Miles was designed.

Machiavelli's Works
Shortly after Ezio successfully enlists the help of the three other guilds, Niccolò Machiavelli asks Ezio how he had managed it. Ezio simply answers that it was "Virtù", a concept about the spirit of leadership that Machiavelli was later known to have theorized.

Also, at the end of Sequence 7, Machiavelli states that "I intend to write a book about you one day" to Ezio, who then responds with "If you do, make it short." This is clearly a reference to Machiavelli's famous (and brief) book, "The Prince."

Finally, an achievement entitled "Il Principe" (which translates to "The Prince") can be unlocked by achieving 100% Synchronization for all the memories in Brotherhood, including The Da Vinci Disappearance memories.

Prince of Persia
In the first tome of the novel, during Desmond's flashback, the Prince of Persia, the main protagonist of the famous Ubisoft's game, appears on the screen of the arcade game monitor at the "L'Horizon" bar.

Assassin's Creed in other media
The characters, gameplay elements, and plot of Assassin's Creed are also featured in various other media.

Adventure Quest
In Adventure Quest, the Assassin job class has a level 10 guardian skill called "Finishing Blow!" After clicking this, it has another button called "Assassin's Creed." Additionally, the armor "Whispering Raiment" has two hidden blades on the left arm.

In AdventureQuest Worlds, there are two outfits available for purchase at the suggestion shop in Yulgar's inn, the "Hashashin Armor", priced at 500,000 gold for free players, and the "Armored Hashashin Armor", priced at 300,000 gold for upgraded members of the game.

The Hashashin Armor includes two hidden blades, though located on top of the player's wrist, rather than on the bottom.

Abduction (2011 film)
Towards the conclusion of the film the protagonist talks with his father via mobile phone. The camera shows a facial scar on the speaking father, identical to Desmond's and his ancestors'. After a few seconds he blends with the crowd and becomes invisible.

Dead Island
In Dead Island there is a knife named "Assassin's Greed"

Dragon Age II
Varric's crossbow is called Bianca, like Bartolomeo d'Alviano's sword. Also, the brothel in Hightown is called the "Blooming Rose", a direct translation of the Roman courtesan headquarters, the Rosa in Fiore.

Gaia Online
{C During the Halloween event 2011 in Gaia Online, Edmund, the shop owner for H & R Wesley, was dressed as Ezio.

Grand Theft Auto IV
After completing a set of assassination missions for a mysterious figure called the Fixer, the player will receive an achievement called Assassin's Greed, which is a direct play on the Assassin's Creed name.

Moreover, the requirement for the achievement is the completion of nine assassination missions, which parallels the first Assassin's Creed game, in which Altaïr was tasked by Al Mualim to kill nine Templars in exchange for his reinstatement as a Master Assassin.

Hero Smash
Within Hero Smash, the antagonist is known as Luigi DaVinci, who has a laser blade attached to his left arm. The laser blade performs much like the hidden blade, but is positioned on top of the arm.

inFAMOUS 2
Located in inFAMOUS 2's fictional city, New Marais, several cinemas and theaters feature movie titles that are direct puns of popular video game names. Among them was Assassin's Creed, which was parodied as "Assassin's Need (Love Too)". These cinemas are located in the very first district of the city.

Also, one of the negative karmic missions available in the game was named "Assassin's Greed", another play on the Assassin's Creed name.

Invictus Games
In the iPhone games Froggy Jump and Froggy Launcher, there is a torso item called "Assassin armor," which looks just like Ezio's armor in Assassins Creed II, that can be bought for 2 Diamonds.

Killzone 3
In Killzone 3, the Helghast Capture Troopers wield knives attached to their right forearms, which work like hidden blades. They also bear a variation of the Helghast isignia that resemebles the Assassins' and their helmets resemble the Assassins' beaked hoods.

L.A Noire
In the case, "A Marriage Made in Heaven" in the first crime scene there's an Assassin's Logo scratched onto the dumpster directly above where you can find the hidden knife in the trash can in the alleyway, implying the victim was assassinated.

LittleBigPlanet
As a part of their promotion for Assassin's Creed II, Ubisoft released Ezio's Assassin Costume as a downloadable costume for the PS3 exclusive LittleBigPlanet on 8 December 2009.

Metal Gear Solid 4
{C On April Fools' Day 2008, it was revealed that an Altaïr costume for Old Snake could be unlocked in the game Metal Gear Solid 4. Hideo Kojima (from Konami, the creators of Metal Gear Solid 4) later announced that this was no joke, and that the costume would really be unlocked if the player did "something special." In order to unlock the costume, the player must either acquire the "Assassin Emblem" (a nod to the game's title), or input a password in the Extras section.

The costume can be used as an alternative disguise early in-game and works exactly like the Middle East Militia costume (unlike Altaïr's robes, the Militia costume is lost early in-game, having the player find another set of disguise) and can cause the Middle Eastern faction to be friendly to the player (as opposed to working to gain their trust). When the costume is worn, the protagonist will bend his ring finger back to his palm, which is maintained so long as he wears the costume. This is a reference to Altaïr's missing ring finger.

Specifically, the password has been revealed to be aottrykmyn.

Metal Gear Solid Peace Walker
{C "Back in the time of the Crusades, members of the order of Assassins used what is called the Assassin's Straw Box to hide and get close to their enemies."

- Kazuhira Miller, commenting on the newly procured item.

In one of the game's missions (namely Main Ops 16), a unique box made of straw dubbed the Assassin's Straw Box can be obtained. To do so, the player must ensure there's a vacant slot in the equipment section, climb onto the roof of the shack above where the straw box is, then perform a "Leap of Faith" into it. The Leap is accompanied by an eagle's screech, similar to its mechanism in the Assassin's Creed series.

Right after you obtain the straw box, one of the main protagonists, Kazuhira Miller, will mention its use during the Third Crusade (the time period of Assassin's Creed), and how it was used by the Assassins. After the aforementioned mission is completed, the Assassin's Straw Box will be available in the inventory.

The box can hold two people simultaneously, and includes a special function not found in other box items; namely knocking out guards while hiding in the box, and recruiting the knocked-out soldier using Fulton Recovery (if another player is present). Continued use can damage the item, to the point where the box will be destroyed completely.

Naruto: The Broken Bond
Completing all the bounty hunter missions in the game will award you with the achievement "Naruto's Creed."

Prince of Persia
In Prince of Persia (2008), Altaïr's costume is available as a free DLC for use by The Prince. Additionally, an achievement entitled "Assassin's View" can be unlocked by standing on a View Point upon the Martyr's Tower.

Similarly, in Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands, Ezio's costume can be purchased via Uplay for 30 points.

The Saboteur
The main protagonist Sean Devlin earns a racing car with white stripes named Altaïr, which is nicknamed "The Flying Eagle."

The Simpsons
In the fifth episode of season 23 of The Simpsons, "The Food Wife", besides some other game parodies, a poster can be seen in the back of the fictional games convention E4 featuring a hippie with two hidden blades and the title "Assassin's Creed - Summer of Love".

Saints Row: The Third
An achievement in Saints Row: The Third called "Everything is Permitted" is awarded when the player completes all hitman side missions.

The Witcher 2
thumb|250px|right|Geralt discovers the body of an Assassin. {C During one mission, Geralt can walk up to some haystacks underneath a view point-like structure, and find the body of a white-robed man, who looks suspiciously like an Assassin.

If the player examines the body, Geralt will say, "Hmm... Guess they'll never learn." The player will then be granted a hidden ability called "Assassin."