Assassin's Creed: Altaïr's Chronicles

Assassin's Creed: Altaïr's Chronicles is a video game released for the Nintendo DS, iPod Touch 4/ iPhone 4, Symbian Mobile and Windows Phone 7, as a prequel to the video game Assassin's Creed. It was published by Ubisoft, developed by Gameloft and was released in the United States on February 5, 2008. A port with improved graphics and gameplay was made for the iPhone OS by Ubisoft, and was released on the App Store on April 23, 2009.

Plot
In the year 1190 AD, the Third Crusade engulfed the Holy Land. Crusaders clashed with Saracens for control of the Holy City, Jerusalem.

Coming Home
Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad, an Assassin, returned home to Alep from an arduous journey, and found it under attack by the sworn enemies of the Assassins, the Knights Templar. He had no choice but to repel the attack, he defeated many of them and even killed a low-ranking captain before the attack was halted. Tasked afterwards by Al Mualim, the Grand Master of the Assassin's Order, to find and retrieve a sacred object known as the Chalice, which was said to have the power to unite under one flag all the factions of whatever side possesses it (either the Crusaders or the Saracens) and end the Third Crusade in victory for one side or the other, Altaïr set off immediately on his new quest.



Assassination of Tamir
Altaïr began his journey in Damascus, Altaïr met with a Rafiq, who told him (after testing his skills on a target) that the merchant, Tamir, had connections to the Templars in the area. Upon interrogating Misbah, a man with connections to Tamir. Altaïr confronted Tamir and, before killing him, learns that the Chalice was kept in the Temple of the Sand and that Altaïr needed to find three keys to enter it.

The Dancer
Altaïr then visited the circus dancer Fajera, but she was unwilling to help, she left Altaïr to fight a circus brute known as Badr. After defeating the man and catching Fajera, she gave Altaïr the first of the three keys, and tells him that a man at the Templar hospital in Tyre can help him find the two other keys. Before he left, Fajera also tasked Altaïr with killing a Templar named Alaat.

The Red Hospital
Later arriving in Tyre, Altaïr first sought Hamid - the Tyre rafiq from whom he learned that Roland Napule, head of the hospital and a Templar, had been questioning someone. In order to get into the hospital, Altaïr navigated through the sewer, he then entered the building from below and proceeded to assassinate Roland. Altaïr was then given the second key by a prisoner of Roland, an old man who had been to the mysterious Temple of the Chalice.

The Hidden Party
Traveling then to Jerusalem and speaking with Kadar, a local Assassin agent, Altaïr learned that the Templar leader of the region, Basilisk, was usually at the Jerusalem royal palace with the king, and that he had the third key. The king was going to have a party somewhere soon that day, and in order to get closer to Basilisk, Altaïr logically decided that this location should be discovered. After Altaïr overheard some of the noblemen's conversations, Altaïr then questioned Ayman, a man who was invited to the party, found out where the party was about to begin and infiltrated it with the help of one of Kadar's men. They encounters Lord Basilisk for the first time and after a brief battle with him, Altaïr got the key, but had no time to kill the Templar master before Basilisk ran away.

Killing the Killers
Afterward, a group of Templars attacked Hamid and stole a map to the desert temple where the Chalice was supposedly located. Altaïr then chased them to their tower and climbed to the top, he faced heavy resistance which included catapults, archers, and a mindless man known as The Brute (whom he faced off against in a courtyard). After making his way through the tower defenses and killing the archer captain in charge, Altaïr encountered the Master, an Assassin-like figure who was actually a high-ranking Templar. Having no choice, Altaïr fought his way through tower, killing the Master's guards and his student until finally, he reached the Master himself. Altaïr then killed the Templar and took the map back.

The Temple of Sand
Altaïr then left the Tower afterward, following the map which led him to the Temple of the Sand. There, he encountered Templar forces and Altaïr then fought his way to the antechamber, which he entered after defeating a large brute carrying an axe. Inside he found an empty chest and Basilisk, who hinted that the Chalice is in fact a woman. Basilisk taunted Altaïr then fled once more, Altaïr managed to escape back to Tyre as the Temple collapsed.

Infiltrating a Templar Stronghold


In Tyre, Hamid told Altaïr that in order to infiltrate the local Templar stronghold, he needed to free two captured men. After Altaïr found and freed the captive brothers (who pinpoint the entrance for him), Altaïr infiltrated the hold (encountering another brute on the way), where he fought and badly wounded Basilisk. Altaïr proposed to Basilisk that in exchange of Basilisk's life, Basilisk would give Altaïr information, Altaïr listened as Basilisk revealed that the Chalice was in fact, in Jerusalem and that the Templars were besieging Acre. The Templars planned to poison the water to speed up their assault. Before he left for Acre, Altaïr set fire to Basilisk's ships so that the Templar Master couldn't reach the Chalice before him.

Infiltrating the Siege Camp
Altaïr journeyed to the besieged Acre, Altaïr helped the city by fighting off attacking Templar soldiers, he infiltrated the siege camp first in the disguise of a soldier, then as a scholar, and finally killing the Templar commander. Altaïr managed to escape the camp using a catapult.

Discovering a Traitor
He then goes to Jerusalem, where he successfully rescued the Chalice from a group of Templars. Altaïr identified the Chalice as Adha, a woman he knew before the events of game. From her, he learned that the Templars have paid off Harash, the second-in-command of the Assassins.

Duel on Basilisk's Ship
Altaïr's plan was to attack Alep, the assassin fortress, kill Harash and run away with Adha, but after making his way through Harash's Assassin Guards and killing him, Adha was kidnapped by Basilisk and taken to their port in Tyre. Altaïr then fought through the Templar forces and killed Basilisk in one final confrontation on his ship. However, he was disheartened to find out that Adha was on a different ship, which escaped before Altaïr could catch it. He swam to shore and, seeing the Templar ship far off in the distance, he yelled "I will find you, Adha!" just before the game ends.

Gameplay
Assassin's Creed: Altaïr's Chronicles takes advantage of the Nintendo DS's features. The game's main gameplay is primarily Prince of Persia-style platforming, mixed with stealth and combat. It utilizes the touch-screen for mini-games, like interrogation and pickpocketing, as well as for displaying a map during standard gameplay.

The game's combat system consists primarily of weak attacks, strong attacks, and combos of the two, as well as using bombs and projectiles. Seven different weapons are available, including the Hidden Blade, Altaïr's Sword, a Crossbow, explosive bombs, smoke bombs, throwing knives and a grappling hook which can be used to rip enemies off their feet. The grappling hook is also used for swinging across gaps with no rope.

Weapons and skills can be upgraded or unlocked by using orbs, which can be found throughout the game. The game also features three different levels of difficulty, allowing for more experienced players to take on a bigger challenge.

Memories
Altaïr's Chronicles contains a feature in the main menu called Memories (much like the DNA Sequence's from Assassin's Creed, Assassin's Creed II and Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood). This lets the player select a mission that they have already completed, and continue the game from there. The Memories are categorized into 13 chapters, with up to 5 sub-chapters within them (e.g 1-1, 1-2, 1-3, 1-4).

Chapter 1 is Coming Home, this chapter consists of 4 sub-chapters. Chapter 2 is called The Hunt Begins, this chapter consists of 3 sub-chapters. Chapter 3 is known as The Dance, this chapter contains 3 sub-chapters. Chapter 4 is known as The Red Hospital, this chapter contains 2 sub-chapters. Chapter 5 is called The Hidden Party, it consists of 2 sub-chapters. Chapter 6 is called Kill The Killers, it contains 3 sub-chapters. Chapter 7 is known as Temple of Sand, it contains 3 sub-chapters. Chapter 8 is known as Great Angry Wall, it consists of 4 sub-chapters. Chapter 9 is called Flow of Poison, it contains 4 sub-chapters. Chapter 10 is called The Running Wind, it contains 1 sub-chapter. Chapter 11 is called The Chalice, it contains 1 sub-chapter. Chapter 12 is known as Snake Heart, it consists of 2 sub-chapters. Chapter 13 is known as Always an End, it consists of 1 last sub-chapter and is the last chapter in the game.
 * Chapter 1: Coming Home
 * Chapter 2: The Hunt Begins
 * Chapter 3: The Dancer
 * Chapter 4: The Red Hospital
 * Chapter 5: The Hidden Party
 * Chapter 6: Kill The Killers
 * Chapter 7: Temple Of Sand
 * Chapter 8: Great Angry Wall
 * Chapter 9: Flow of Poison
 * Chapter 10: The Running Wind
 * Chapter 11: The Chalice
 * Chapter 12: Snake Heart
 * Chapter 13: Always An End

Assassination Targets
The following are all of Altaïr's targets in Altaïr's Chronicles:
 * Tamir
 * Alaat
 * Roland Napule
 * The Master's Student
 * Master of the Tower
 * Harash
 * Lord Basilisk

Reception
The Nintendo DS version of the game has been received with mixed opinions. IGN gave it a 7/10, Gamespot gave it 6/10, Nintendo Power gave it a 7.5/10, X-Play gave it a 2/5, and Game Informer magazine gave it a 6.5 out of 10. The iPhone version was well received overall with a 4.5 stars overall from customers reviews on the App Store.

Trivia

 * The Abstergo Industries logo that acts as a visibility indicator and is present in the loading screen shows that an Abstergo Animus was being used.The animus-like features(DNA health meter and memories menu) support this.