Assassin's Creed: Bloodlines

Overview

Assassin's Creed: Bloodlines is a PSP title developed by Griptonite Games and published by Ubisoft. Its story follows the adventures of Altaïr, the protagonist of the original Assassin's Creed game, as he hunts down the remaining Templars on the island of Cyprus.

Cross-platform Connectivity

Assassin's Creed: Bloodlines features connectivity functions with the PS3 edition of Assassin's Creed II. This is accomplished by connecting the PSP and PS3 with a USB cable while running both games simultaneously, and selecting "connectivity" from the options menu. The games will then scan each others' save and profile data to unlock additional features in both games.

Bloodlines unlocks up to six secret weapons in Assassin's Creed II, depending on the player's progression in the main story:

1. Maria Thorpe's Longsword
2. Fredrick's Hammer
3. Mace of The Bull
4. Dark Oracle's Bone Dagger
5. Twins' Blade
6. Bouchart's Blade

Each weapon is based on a boss character from Bloodlines, and will be stored at the Villa for Ezio's use once unlocked. A complete play-through of Bloodlines is required to unlock all six weapons.

Templar coins collected during the game (as collectibles and quest rewards) are also converted into Assassin's Creed II Florins.

Conversely, Codex pages collected in Assassin's Creed II convert to health upgrades for Altair, including the ability to fire throwing knives in a similar fashion to Ezio's hidden gun.

There is an issue connecting the PSP Go AC:B version to your PS3 where the connectivity won't detect the PSP Go. This can be fixed by manually disabling the Bluetooth function as there is no auto-prompt asking you to do so.

Plot (Spoiler Warning)

Assassin's Creed: Bloodlines takes off shortly after the end of the first game. The Templars, having lost their leader Robert de Sable to Altaïrs blade, have fled to the island of Cyprus. Altaïr, determined to "put an end to their quest for power", follows them there and help the Cypriot resistance.

The plot of Bloodlines loosely follows the historical events surrounding Templar occupation of Cyprus. Just as in real life, Cyprus was the site of a small Templar garrison administered by Armand Bouchart, becoming the order's headquarters and location of the Templar archives prior to their destruction by a Cypriot revolt.

The Bloodlines revision of the events, however, add a science-fiction twist to the concept of the Templar Archive, implying that it may be some sort of device. Altair, however, is unable to determine the device's nature or purpose before it is moved off the island and into hiding by the Templars at the end of the game.

Once everything is over, Altair travels east with Maria Thorpe, a female Templar from Assassin's Creed, to find out more about the Piece of Eden, the strange device at the center of the first game's narrative.

Gameplay

As in the first game, the player will be able to run around and climb buildings wherever he/she goes. The investigation parts from the first game feature in this game as well, but have been enhanced by 8 new mission types. The goal for these was to "make each mission feel as fresh and exciting as the final Assassination moment."