Assassin's Creed

Assassin's Creed is a video game being developed by Ubisoft Montreal and published by Ubisoft. Various sources have stated for a worldwide November 9, 2007 release; as of yet, only the month has been confirmed.

The game takes place during the Third Crusade, in the year 1191. The player assumes the role of Altaïr| (الطائر, Arabic, "The Flyer"), 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 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 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 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.

The producers of the game take pride in how Assassin's Creed is historically accurate. The locations in the game are distinctive models of the cities. All of Altaïr's targets are also historic leaders who died or disappeared in the year 1191 (though not necessarily assassinated).

Gameplay
The player will be able to grab onto and climb almost any aspect of the environment, which means exploration will be possible to a greater degree than in most other games. Ubisoft boasts that any object that stands out more than two inches will be interactive.

The control scheme in Assassin's Creed will be significantly different from that of the typical game. Rather than explicitly specifying what actions Altaïr will take, the player presses buttons corresponding to his various body parts and the game attempts to figure out what action should be taken. For example, running toward a wall and pressing the "legs" button will cause Altaïr to jump over a wall, while pressing the "arms without weapons" button will cause him to vault it.

A major selling point is "social stealth" - the ability to blend in with a crowd, as opposed to simply hiding in shadows.

It also appears that the player will be able to battle many historical figures, including the legendary Order of the Knights Templar.

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 Altaïr is killed, the screen fades to black and then shows a head's up display with the words "computer offline" with a woman in a labcoat behind the display. Trailers shown at E3 07 reveal further evidence of this, such as a futuristic looking health bar, effects resembling readouts surrounding locked-on enemies and a rather lengthy conversation with a dying enemy surrounded by a white background. 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 Altaïr is "a medieval hitman with a mysterious past" and that he is not a time traveler.

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.

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 people's brains and find out an ancestor who used to be an assassin, and sort of locate who that person is."

Altaïr is voiced by actor Philip Shahbaz.

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.

Altair (meaning "flying" 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.

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. Once his finger is cut off, a hidden blade is installed, as noted below in "Weaponry".

Story
Assassin's Creed is set in 1191 AD, when the Third Crusade was tearing the Holy Land apart. Shrouded in secrecy and feared for their ruthlessness, the Assassins intend to stop the hostilities by suppressing both sides of the conflict. Players, assuming the role of the main character, will have the power to throw their immediate environment into chaos and to shape events during this pivotal moment in history.

The story follows Altaïr, a disgraced master Assassin who embarks on an epic quest to restore his status within the Assassin Order. After failing to liquidate the Templar leader Robert de Sable and recover the legendary Templar Treasure, Altaïr is demoted to Uninitiated (the lowest rank in the Assassin Order).

But Sinan, leader of the Assassins, offers him an opportunity to redeem himself. Altaïr must venture out into the Holy Land and assassinate men said to be exacerbating and exploiting the hostilities created by the Third Crusade. In doing so, he will stabilise the region, allowing Sinan to usher in an age of peace.

When the game begins, Richard the Lionheart has just recaptured the port city of Acre from occupying Saracens. With a base of operations established, the Crusaders prepare to march south. Their true target is Jerusalem – which they intend to recapture in the name of the Church. However, Saladin, leader of the Saracen army, currently rules the city. Stinging from his army’s defeat at Acre, he will not allow Richard to humiliate him again. The Saracens are massing at the ruins of Fortress 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. It is into this chaotic mess Altaïr now finds himself. He is ordered to eliminate those most active in their exploitation. This is how the Assassin begins his mission.

Along the way, however, he will begin to discover that his targets are bound by more than just a shared interest in personal gain. They share membership in a secret society familiar to the Hashshashin. And they are not simply looking for profit. Their true goal and how they plan to achieve it are secrets to be discovered during the course of the story.

Weaponry
Altaïr carries a number of highly specialised weapons for his role as an assassin—weapons noted from the trailers include a sword (Xbox 360 gameplay demo), a small crossbow, which appears to also be able to be used as an axe, although it is unknown if it was designed purposefully this way, or merely an effect created for the trailer, and on his back there are bolts for his crossbow in a small quiver; throwing daggers strapped on his chest, as well as his specialty weapon which is used for his assassinations, it is a concealed mechanical dagger (similar in concept to an OTF blade or "out the front") attached to his left arm, which emerges from under his wrist. This is made to retract so that the assassin remains inconspicuous. Altaïr 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. Jade Raymond has stated that the player will be able to unlock new abilities such as improved boots (better grip for climbing) and climbing gloves and customizations for Altaïr's weaponry. In the newest trailer, Altaïr also carries a knife on his back, in addition to his sword. The players can select the weapon they want to use by pressing the directional buttons, this allows quick switch capability during combat.

Other media
Pocket Books has announced it will novelise Assassin’s Creed. The title of the first book will be Assassin’s Creed Book One: The Invisible Imam and is due to be published in October of 2007. The publisher plans to print a trilogy of novels based on Ubisoft’s upcoming game. The first title in the novel series will detail events leading up to the beginning of the game.

According to xbox.com there have been some discussions between five major studios and Ubisoft, concerning making a film adaptation of Assassin's Creed. However the identities of the film companies have not been revealed and neither has Ubisoft's response.

Ubisoft and The Independent Film Channel IFC will hold a contest for short films based on Assassin's Creed.

E3 2007
On July 10th 2007 during the Microsoft E3 Press Conference Jade Raymond appeared to demo the game and show off 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.

It is worthy to note that this was the first time where Altaïr could be heard speaking.

Assassin's Creed was showcased again for a near 20-minute interview with Jade Raymond on Wednesday, July 11th. The video showed an extended version of the E3 demo, and included the chase scene after the assassination of Talal. Several aspects of the game were discussed, such as the physics system and further detail on the Leap of Faith.

Many fans tracking the progress of the game expressed disappointment on gaming sites with the flawed crash detection physics, appearance of many "clones" in the game, and Altaïr's uncharacteristic voice. In an interview with G4 on July 11th, Jade Raymond acknowledged that many bugs seen at E3 (eg: floating dead body, little to no crowd reaction) were being worked on and that they have entered the debugging phase.

Trivia

 * The popular phrase used to describe Assassin's Creed's gameplay, "Nothing is true. Everything is permitted." is in fact a quote generally attributed to the founder of the Hashshashin, Hasan bin Sabbah.

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