Set in 1191 AD, during the time of the Third Crusades, Assassin’s Creed puts the player in the shoes of Altair lbn’la-Ahad (The son of none). Orphaned as a child, he is raised by the secretive Hashashin clan, who train him in their ways and mould him into a master Assassin. As conflict rages between the armies of Richard the Lionheart and Saladin, Altair -freshely disgraced and struggling to regain his honour – is handed the responsibility of tracking down and eliminating nine key figures that are fuelling the war machine. Journeying across the holy land in an effort to end the strife and rise through ranks of the Hashashin brotherhood, Altair gradually discovers that things aren’t what they seem and that the crusades are a facade for something much worse.
FAST FORWARD TO THE PAST ?Although Ubisoft has carefully avoided major spoilers, Assassin’s Creed seems to have an unique “Twist in the tale” element. While being pimped at various shows, trailers and gameplay footage showed futuristic elements making their subtle presence felt at various points. Contrary to the plot, the game is supposedly set in the distant future, with an unnamed descendant of Altair recalling his ancestor’s medieval exploits using Genetic Memory Access technology. Taking on shades of The Thirteenth Floor and Quantum Leap, the game has this descendant plug his mind into a virtual-reality simulation to decode his genes and discover the dark secrets of his lineage. Producer Jade Raymond, has talked about subsequent sequels bearing a futuristic streak, with the player alternating between the worlds of the past and future.Assassin’s Creed seems to borrow its gameplay style from Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, allowing you to decide your own path. Caught neck-deep in conspiracy, the out of the flavour assassin is forced to explore the countryside and the cities of Acre, Damascus and Jerusalem, eavesdrooping on secret conversations and picking pockets to find clues as to his victims wheareabouts. NPC interaction is critical here- since the NPCs of the world usually have conflicting interests. Helping one group could easily land Atlair in the bad books of another, prompting careful consideration before accepting the quests.
Once the board is set, the assassination shifts from planning to execution. helping altair dispatch his victims is a collection of melee and short-range weapons – Short Swords, Mini-crossbows and Throwing Knives are this assassin’s weapons of choice. What we have seen and liked the most however, is a wolverine-esque retractable dagger conceiled beneath Atlair’s left arm. Daresome in-game histiory behind this – Altair’s left ring finger was chopped of to make for this spring-loaded dagger, a rite of passage that each assassin endures as he makes the transation from novice to master. TO ALL SNEAK-FRIENDS
Whats interesting here is the stealth dynamics – defined by the developers as next-generation. assassin’s creed introduces the concept of social stealth. The crowd is a living obstacle that changes with every action. As long as Altair behaves in a completely ordinary way and maintains a low profile, the masses pay no attention to him. However, if he decides to run through streets and engage in roof-top jump session, the crowd erupts into chaos, making it dificult for the character to complete his mission. For example, shoving people aside to move forward, instead of gently making your way through the crowd, would result in getting shoved in turn and recieving a punch for added measure. Such actions attract the attention of the guards – you know the drill after this.Encourage flight over fight, the game borrows heavily from th french free-running phenomenon of Parkour, with Altair being able to use any protruding object to nimbly scale walls, vault over rails and leap over rooftops. In combat, however, he cannot take the least bit of damage – even a single blow is instantly fatal. Much like the protagonist in Condemned: Criminal Origins, you get a chance to sidestep or block an oncomming attack. If manoeuvre succeds, your stamina is preserved. This allows you to counter yout opponent’s attack by shoving him violently to the ground and sticking the dagger into his heart. However once Altair or his opponents run out of stamina, they lose their ability to bloc attacks, allowing the final blow to connect.The development team at Ubisoft will look to hone the fighting system from Prince of Persia, allowing players to create their own styles of movement and combat. Assassin’s Creed will make a fair puppet out of Altair, with the controller action buttons being mappd to his head, arms and feet, allowing for full-body awareness at all times.Explaining the concept in a developer interview, Creative Director Patrice Desilets talked about how the organic design of the scheme will let you control Altair much more fluidly. Faced with a set of struts on a rooftop, pressing the (PS3)\(A) (x360) button on the controller would make altair jump across them inturn, while the (CIRCLE)\(B) button allows him to grab them and swing from one to the other. With the (SQUARE)\(X) button controlling Altair’s weapon’s hand, the (LEFT ARROW)\(Y) button allows him to translate the local language being spoken around him or single out his target in the crowd. Using the dual-analouge sticks in their traditional roles, the control scheme also features an emotinal trigger, which can be used to alternate Altair’s intensity of action between gentle and violent – making him run, shove people side roughly or dish out heavy attacks.
Featuring a soundtrack composed by Hitman and Splinter Cel vetaran Jespre Kyd, stunning visuals and a revolutionary social gameplay mechanism, the POP team seems hard at work creating a bright and shiny future action-adventure games. Assassin’s creed seems all set to prove that true next-gen gaming involves improved gameplay mechanics, rather than just giving pretty-looking stuff to blow up. Until the game finds it’s way into our homes sometime next year, it looks like thew only thing we get to kill is time… Unless you count dead rising.
FACT FILE:
HASHASHINS
Formed in 1090 by al-hassan (Te old man of the Muntain), the hashashins were the world’ s first professional hitmen-faceless, silent hunters who struck out a high-profile target and dissappeared without a trace operating from the stronghold at masyaf in Syria, these disciplined killers introduced the world to assassin’s. they executed daring murders that changed the course of human history. they were known for their unflinching loyalty to the cult and their violent initiation ceremonies. the cause of many mdieval bueaucrat nightmare, the Hashashins have figured prominently in contemporary media-often in tales involving major conspiracies.
All the trailers of assassin’s creed are available HERE.
