Overview
Assassin's Creed is a franchise of action-adventure games from Ubisoft, heavily influenced by games like Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (another Ubisoft franchise, also featuring parkour). Assassin's Creed originally began as a spin-off to the Prince of Persia series, with the original game being an early draft for Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones, before the team decided to make it a new IP with a similarly Middle-Eastern setting, based on the historical Islamic Assassins cult active during the Crusades (see Official Xbox Magazine).
The original Assassin's Creed was set mainly during the Crusades, with Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad as the original Assassin, though it was framed from a near-future point of view in the character of a bartender, Desmond Miles, extracting his "genetic" memories with a device called an Animus. Due to these juxtaposed time periods, the direction and eras that new sequels will take is unknown. The first major sequel, Assassin's Creed II, skipped over five centuries to take place during the Italian Renaissance, and the narrative's focus was on the character development of new assassin Ezio Auditore di Firenze. Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood then acted as a direct continuation of the events of II. The last of the Ezio games, Assassin's Creed: Revelations took place late in this life and was set in Constantinople. Spin-offs for portable platforms have expanded the existing characters' story lines. Assassin's Creed III ends Desmond's journey by reliving Connor Kenway's memories during the American Revolution.
Assassin's Creed's narrative density, its use of historical buildings and the ability to climb them freely, and the Hidden Blade, have become increasingly popular traits in modern gaming culture. Since the release of the first game, the franchise has spawned sequels, prequels, graphic novels, comic books, animated films, figurines, weapon replicas, clothing and other merchandise. It was also referenced in the Grand Theft Auto IV achievement " Assassin's Greed".
Gameplay
Assassin's Creed is presented in a third-person perspective in an open world environment which allows the player traverse because of the parkour mechanics that are employed. To see the whole of the open world environment the player must climb certain high buildings and perform a "leap of faith" which involves jumping from a height straight into haystacks.
There are two types of modes in which the player undertakes a difference stance to other A.I characters, these are "active" and "passive". "Passive" is the normal walking from place-to-place and merging in with crowds that is stealth based while "Active" allows you to run, climb buildings and jump over obstacles this is parkour inspired.
The combat system in Assassin's Creed uses a one button system to strike enemies via a number weapons which vary from big long swords and spears which can be stolen from opposing enemies to smaller knives and machetes. To quietly assassinate certain targets the player has control of a hidden blade that is stored in the character's wrist plated armor. Other weapons include throwing knives, bombs, guns, crossbows, bow and arrows.
Eagle Vision is a genetic ability that is based down through the DNA of the bloodline of some assassin's, with this it helps the player by illuminating hints and clues and can be vital to showing the target that needs to be assassinated.
Other tasks include rebuilding cities under the assassin's order by funding money into the economy this in turn will allow the player to have discounts and upgrades through the different shops that are available. Building up your assassin army and turning them into master assassins by sending them on their own unique missions to other countries.
Starting with Black Flag the series started ship-based combat and exploration. Where the player had an upgradeable ship to converse around the waters in the sea. In Syndicate instead of a ship, the player had an upgradeable moving base that took the form of a train.
Main Games
Platforms: Xbox 360, PS3, PC
Released: Nov. 14, 2007
The first game in the Assassin's Creed franchise introduces the player to Desmond Miles, a bartender who has been taken captive by a company, Abstergo Industries in the year 2012. Here the player is introduced to the Animus, a mechanical device that allows the user to explore the memories of their ancestors through their DNA. It just so happens that Desmond is a descendant of a line of Assassins. The majority of the game is spent through the eyes of Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad, an assassin living during the Third Crusade in 1191. Through the story the player visits many cities of that era, such as Acre, Damascus, Jerusalem, and the Assassin stronghold of Masyaf. It is discovered later in the story that Abstergo Industries is ran by Templars, a military order which the Assassins have been fighting for centuries. At the conclusion of the game Abstergo's true motives are learned when Altaïr activates a piece of eden, a device created by 'those who came before', showing a map of the Earth with the locations of other pieces of eden. Once this happens Desmond is pulled out of the Animus and green-lit for execution.
Platforms: Xbox 360, PS3, PC
Released: Nov. 17, 2009
In the continuation of the saga, Assassin's Creed II sees Desmond rescued by Lucy Stillman and taken to a secret assassin hideout. The animus transports Desmond to Italy in the year 1476. Introducing Ezio Auditore de Firenze, the new protagonist of the series, born of the bloodline of the late Altaïr. This entry in the series sees a revamped combat system, new side quests, a set of new unique abilities and ultimately more things to do. Ezio Auditore is not born into the creed of the assassin's like Altaïr and the game shows how he changes from being a normal family man to training up the ranks of the assassin's. Once Ezio becomes an official assassin he then goes on to fulfil his destiny which is to have a message from Minerva delivered through him to Desmond, outside the Animus Warren Vidic breaches the assassin base but they all escape unharmed leaving the rest of the story open for Brotherhood.
Platforms: Xbox 360, PS3, PC
Released: Nov. 16, 2010
Released just under a year after number Assassin's Creed II the third instalment in the Assassin's Creed franchise show this game's story picks up right after the events of the previous game, showing Ezio Auditore traveling to Rome to recruit a new force of assassins and reclaim the Apple of Eden that was stolen from him. Outside the animus Desmond and the gang are on the run from Abstergo and take hiding in Ezio's villa hoping to find Apple of Eden. The end of the game sees both Ezio and Desmond get the Apple in their respective timelines but at a cost as Desmond kills Lucy. Brotherhood is the first game in the series to offer online multiplayer and focuses on trying to kill other players through disguise and trickery.
Platforms: Xbox 360, PS3, PC
Released: Nov. 15, 2011
Assassin's Creed: Revelations is the fourth instalment in the Assassin's Creed franchise and the final entry in Ezio Auditore's main storyline. A few levels also bring players back in control of the original Assassin's Creed's Altair and depict his rise to the head of the Assassin's guild. Desmond is in a coma after the events of the previous game, his father puts him into the Animus so that he can complete his memory of Ezio and Altair thus waking him up. Ezio journeys to Masyaf on a journey of self-discovery but is shocked to find that it is ruled by Templars. In his journey he finds five seals which details the experiences of Altaïr and ultimately finds his lost library and Apple of Eden. With this revelation Desmond awakes from his coma knowing what his next steps are to stop the Templar forces and the 2012 phenomenon.
Platforms: Xbox 360, PS3, PC, Wii U
Released: Oct. 30, 2012
The fifth of the console games in the franchise. Assassin's Creed III will break away from the story of Ezio to present a new protagonist named Connor Kenway and is set in North America in the late 18th century amid the American Revolutionary War. Desmond, his father and company go to the Temple. Desmond tests his Animus 3.0 to relive Connor's memories and grab the three artifacts to unlock the door. When Desmond was in the core, Juno and Minevra had a conflict about Desmond's future. Desmond did what Juno told him and prevented the phenomenon. Desmond died when the prevention began.
Platforms: Xbox 360, PS3, PC, Wii U, Xbox ONE, PlayStation 4
Released: October 29, 2013
The main character for Black Flag is named Edward Kenway, father of Haytham Kenway, from Assassin's Creed III. Edward is known as a Privateer, Assassin and occasional pirate. The game's location is set in the Caribbean on multiple islands, including Jamaica, Cuba, and the Bahamas.
Black Flag was notable for focusing heavily on naval exploration and combat.
Platforms: Xbox 360, PS3, PC
Released: November 11, 2014
Developed by Ubisoft Sofia and launching on seventh-generation consoles, Assassin's Creed Rogue is set in the 18th century during the Seven Years' War and sees you play as an Assassin turned Templar. Rogue will be primarily single player focused and be similar to Black Flag in terms of ship based combat and land exploration. Assassin's Creed Rogue is the first mainline series entry not developed by Ubisoft Montreal.
Platforms: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC
Released: November 11, 2014
Launching on current-generation consoles (and Personal Computers) the same time as "Rogue", Unity takes place in Paris during The French Revolution.
The main character is named Arno Victor Dorian. Born to an assassin father who was killed when Arno was a young boy. Arno is adopted by his childhood friend's father, a Templar Grand Master. Arno is not taught to be a Templar, out of respect for Arno's fallen father; Elise de la Serre, the daughter of the Grand Master, is. After the assassination of Elise's father, Arno is thrown into prison, suspected of killing the Grand Master, where he is introduced to a member of the Assassin Brotherhood. After escaping the prison, Arno is inducted into the brotherhood to redeem his past and avenge his adoptive father.
Platforms: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC
Released: October 23, 2015
Developed by Ubisoft Quebec and taking place in London in 1868, Assassin's Creed Syndicate is the first entry in the series to feature multiple protagonists in the characters Jacob and Evie Frye. Children of a former assassin in London, the Frye twins arrive in the city to find it under the oppressive rule of Templars, led by the charismatic Grand Master Crawford Starrick. By uniting the city's criminal underworld and working together with notable persons of the era (e.g. Charles Darwin, Charles Dickens, Arthur Conan Doyle) the Frye twins seek to unite London's street gangs, eliminate Starrick, and ultimately undo his Templars' hold on the city. Assassin's Creed Syndicate is Ubisoft Quebec's first full game in the main series.
Platforms: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC
Released: October 27, 2017
The first game in the series since Assassin's Creed II to be developed after a year off, Origins explores the birth of the Assassins in ancient Egypt during the Ptolemaic period in 49 BCE. The protagonist, Bayek, sets out to uncover a conspiracy involving the Order of the Ancients and their ties to the political factions seeking control of Egypt.
Origins represented a significant change to the series formula, featuring the entirety of Egypt as an open world to be explored. The game does not have a minimap, opting instead of a simple compass that indicates nearby points of interest. The combat was redesigned for Origins. Players have a shield to block attacks and arrows, a bow to engage enemies at range, a large variety of swords, axes, and hammers to wield. The combat uses a hitbox system similar to Dark Souls, rather than the combo/counter focused combat of previous games.
Platforms: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC
Released: October 5, 2018
Set in Classical Greece during the Peloponessian War in 431 BCE, Assassin's Creed Odyssey features a choice between a male or female protagonist. The chosen protagonist is a mercenary who sets out on a personal quest to uncover the identities of a mysterious cult slowly taking control of all aspects of Greek life.
Odyssey is structurally very similar to Origins, but with an expanded loot system, the return of the naval exploration and combat from Black Flag, and new systems involving mercenaries and the ongoing conflict between Athens and Sparta. The hitbox combat returns and is augmented with abilities unlocked by leveling up.
Platforms: PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, PC
Released: November 17, 2020
Assassin's Creed Valhalla continues the open-world RPG model established by its two predecessors, this time taking place during the Viking invasion of Great Britain. Players assume the role of Eivor, who can be male or female.
Spin-Off Games
As well as the main entries into the franchise, there are a plethora of other games which take place in the same universe as the main games. Most of these games focus upon the characters from a main game and do not reference the animus aspect of the story. Some however do not even stick to the main Assassins genre for instance Assassin's Creed Recollection is a card collecting game.
Assassin's Creed: Altaïr's Chronicles
Platforms: Nintendo DS, iPhone, iPad, Windows Phone, Symbian
Released: February 5, 2008
Assassin's Creed: Altaïr's Chronicles is a 3D action-adventure platformer developed by Gameloft. The game is a prequel taking place a year prior to the original Assassin's Creed and shows Altaïr trying to retrieve a scared chalice. This game does not mention the current day story in anyway.
Originally created for the Nintendo DS, it was later released iPhone, Symbian and then Windows Phone.
Assassin's Creed II: Discovery
Platforms: Nintendo DS, iPhone
Released: November 17, 2009
Similar in scope to Altaïr's Chronicles from a gameplay perspective with the added ability to rip down wanted posters. Discovery takes place chronically after Assassin's Creed II in the year 1491 and sees Ezio Auditore da Firenze help a Spaniard called Luis Santagel rescue an accomplice of his.
Just like Altaïr's Chronicles it was released first on the Nintendo DS and then later on iPhone.
Assassin's Creed: Bloodlines
Platform: Playstation Portable
Released: November 17, 2009
Chronically taking play after the first game, Bloodlines sees you playing as Altaïr once again hunting down Templars in Cyprus. This was the game which saw you play exclusively as Altaïr.
Bloodlines was released on the Playstation Portable and developed by Griptonite Games. It had Cross-Platform Connectivity with the Playstation 3 edition, allowing players to unlock health upgrades.
Assassin's Creed II Multiplayer
Platform: iPhone, iPod Touch
Released: March 1, 2010
Based upon the multiplayer maps of Assassin's Creed II this game sees you play from a top-down perspective. Playing online with three other players you go through the map trying to find your target.
Assassin's Creed: Project Legacy
Platforms: Browser
Released: September 30, 2010
Project Legacy was a browser based game. In it you play memories of other individuals through a machine called The Data Dump Scanner.
Assassin's Creed Rearmed
Platforms: iPhone, iPad
Released: October 21, 2011
Rearmed was the spiritual successor to Assassin's Creed II Multiplayer and features similar top-down multiplayer competitive matches. The primary mode pits you against three other real players when connected over WiFi or 3G, playing over bluetooth allows a one or one matchup.
Assassin's Creed Recollection
Platforms: iPhone, iPad
Released: December 13, 2011
Recollection is a 1 vs 1 card battle game themed after Assassin's Creed II, Brotherhood & Revelations. The main aspect of the game is a real-time card battle strategy where players engage in order to control a region. The first player to reach two of the three regions is declared the winner.
Assassin's Creed III: Liberation
Platform: Playstation Vita
Released: October 30, 2012
Liberation sees you play as the first female lead of an Assassin's Creed game Aveline de Grandpré. The gameplay is very similar to the games in the main series seeing you take a third person perspective to assassinate people.
Aveline has different personas which have pros and cons from a gameplay perspective. The game also features unique to the series touch minigames,
Assassin's Creed: Pirates
Platform: iPhone, iPad, Android
Released: December 5, 2013
Pirates takes place after the events of Black Flag.
The main gameplay in Pirates sees the player winning ship battles and races to earn various forms of loot, and then spending it to upgrade your crew and your ship.
Assassin's Creed Liberation HD
Platform: Playstation 3, Xbox 360, PC
Released: January 14, 2014
This version is a HD version of the Vita only game. It included 15 new missions tailored specifically to Aveline's three personas (Assassin, Lady and Slave). Touch based missions were removed either altered or removed from this version.
Assassin's Creed: Freedom Cry
Platform: Playstation 3, Playstation 4, PC
Released: February 18, 2014
Freedom Cry was included in the season pass of Black Flag but was later released as a standalone game. It sees you play as Adewale whose mission it is to liberate the slaves of Port-au-Prince and start a revolution.
Assassin's Creed Identity
Platform: iPhone, iPad, Android
Released: September 30, 2014
Identity is a mobile game that takes place from a third person perspective making it play more like the console game than the mobile games before it. Players create their own assassin and complete missions to collect new loot and gear to improve their created character.
Assassin's Creed Chronicles: China
Platform: Playstation 4, PC, Xbox One
Released: April 21, 2015
The chronicle games take place from a 2.5D perspective. The game is set in China in the year 1526, it follows female protagonist Shao Jun, who has returned to her homeland seeking vengeance.
Assassin's Creed Chronicles: India
Platform: Playstation 4, PC, Xbox One
Released: January 12, 2016
The second in the chronicles series. The game takes place in Amritsar 1841, in the midst of a war between the Sikh Empire and the East India Company. Following Arbaaz Mir protecting his mentor Hamid and retrieving "Koh-i-Noor" diamond which is a powerful piece of eden.
Assassin's Creed Chronicles: Russia
Platform: Playstation 4, PC, Xbox One
Released: February 9, 2016
Taking place between the graphic novels "The Fall" and "The Chain" the game follows Nikolai Orelov whilst in Russia, 1918. Orelov intends to leave the Assassin Order but before doing so has to steal an artifact as his last assignment.
Platform: Playstation 4, Xbox One
Released: November 15, 2016
After mixed reviews from Unity and Syndicate, Ubisoft announced that they would not be releasing a mainline Assassin's Creed game in 2016. It was then announced that Assassin's Creed II, Brotherhood & Revelations would be available for current generation consoles under the name of The Ezio Collection. Included is all the three games DLC and the short films Lineage and Embers.
Log in to comment