During this week 's Bombcast, Ryan mentioned it was apparent where the third game would be set...did I miss something, because I just finished the game and I didn't see any overly apparent hints.  It won't be set in the current AC universe (present) as they mention Desmond getting back into the Animus, but beyond that I didn't see anything that made it obvious.

There@alConn said:

" During this week 's Bombcast, Ryan mentioned it was apparent where the third game would be set...did I miss something, because I just finished the game and I didn't see any overly apparent hints.  It won't be set in the current AC universe (present) as they mention Desmond getting back into the Animus, but beyond that I didn't see anything that made it obvious. "

I've heard WW2 rumblings, but the way Ryan made it sound,  the game gave some good hints to the next setting...or I misheard him.

No the end of the game is you and the rest of the Assassins leaving for a new base of operations where you will be safe, they put you back in for the trip. Its pretty much to explain why you can go back and screw around in the world. The ending sets up that you will play as Desmond in 2012, also it was sick to get to assassinate people as Demond.

" No the end of the game is you and the rest of the Assassins leaving for a new base of operations where you will be safe, they put you back in for the trip. Its pretty much to explain why you can go back and screw around in the world. The ending sets up that you will play as Desmond in 2012, also it was sick to get to assassinate people as Demond. "

" I really don't want one set in WWII or anything that has more then a crossbow. "

Heck, in this game you have a wrist mounted gun.

"No the end of the game is you and the rest of the Assassins leaving for a new base of operations where you will be safe, they put you back in for the trip. Its pretty much to explain why you can go back and screw around in the world. The ending sets up that you will play as Desmond in 2012, also it was sick to get to assassinate people as Demond. "

When Lucy tossed me a wrist blade when I was Desmond and I was just thinking  "YES YES YES YES!"
 
In the end i was satisfied it was not just for show.

"When Lucy tossed me a wrist blade when I was Desmond and I was just thinking  "YES YES YES YES!"  In the end i was satisfied it was not just for show. "

" When Lucy tossed me a wrist blade when I was Desmond and I was just thinking  "YES YES YES YES!""

" @CL60 said:

" When Lucy tossed me a wrist blade when I was Desmond and I was just thinking  "YES YES YES YES!""

I was thinking "Wait a minute, isn't this supposed to be the future? How about giving me a fucking gun? I mean, what the hell do you think the enemies are going to be equipped with? Batons?"
 
And then they totally were. I was baffled. The most powerful organization on Earth has lost a valuable asset, and send out an elite(I assume) team armed with... batons? I mean come on. "

" @Icemael said:

" @CL60 said:

" When Lucy tossed me a wrist blade when I was Desmond and I was just thinking  "YES YES YES YES!""

I was thinking "Wait a minute, isn't this supposed to be the future? How about giving me a fucking gun? I mean, what the hell do you think the enemies are going to be equipped with? Batons?"
 
And then they totally were. I was baffled. The most powerful organization on Earth has lost a valuable asset, and send out an elite(I assume) team armed with... batons? I mean come on. "

You have to remember that Desmond is key to the Templars understanding anything about what's going to happen. They aren't privy to the same information that Desmond and Lucy are, so presumably would want to keep them both (or at least Desmond) alive to recover the memories about what actually happened in the Vault. They, like everyone in the 15th Century, assumed that a group of 12-15 guys is enough to subdue one assassin.. "

But wouldn't any of those methods mentioned leave Desmond completely unprepared and thus break our illusion of the assassins being badasses? Desmond's training took place 500 years previously, so he's likely to be completely buggered if anyone produces someting other than a stick (either sharpened or others). I certainly hope that in AC3 they manage to find some kind of spurious reason for enemies to still rely on batons for the entire game - I enjoy the random presence of Batons in otherwise futuristic and crazy hi-tech games.

" But wouldn't any of those methods mentioned leave Desmond completely unprepared and thus break our illusion of the assassins being badasses? Desmond's training took place 500 years previously, so he's likely to be completely buggered if anyone produces someting other than a stick (either sharpened or others).   

Modern day or near future would be a horrible idea. For me the whole appeal of the assassins creed series is that the majority of the game is set in an historical place.  
 
Assassins Creed 3: Modern Warfare would just be a Splinter Cell game.

Playing as staright up Desmond would suck imo 
WW1 duder, awesome

" Modern day or near future would be a horrible idea. For me the whole appeal of the assassins creed series is that the majority of the game is set in an historical place.   Assassins Creed 3: Modern Warfare would just be a Splinter Cell game. "

I hope it's in the present and you get to assasinate dudes with chainsaws and beer.

You know, Ubisoft does make Splinter Cell. A SC-esque AC3, with the mix of parkour and more stealth would be awesome, in my opinion. Silent pistols and hidden blades? Sign me up.

 
*the following speculations are littered with spoilers*  
 
It is safe to assume the bulk of AC3 will take place in the game's present. If you look at Subject 16's video (you'll probaby need to solve all 20 puzzles to get a better look) an early setting seems to be established already. However, i can't imagine the whole animus concept being dropped and i'm sure they'll come up with a reason to get desmond back in the machine. which ancestor? which time period? since AC2 seems to lean heavily toward religion, i could see Desmond jumping in and out of year 0, or even before. The two people's names in the video are Adam and Eve. They seem to be enhanced somehow, illuminated lines (glyphs maybe) adorn their back, but they are scared shitless and are endangered. Eve is holding The Apple. Adam at least, must be a descendant from Adam (da vinci code anyone?) this all leans toward a futuristic end-of-the-world scenario meets ancient prophecies. I can see the game shifting back and forth between the fight for the world, which will in good habit, build up gradually, while in the animus desmond will seek out jezus for valuable information...Ok that last part is a joke.  
 
ofcourse, The fact that Adam bares the same name as his descendant seems shady and oversimplified. It would be too easy. Perhaps he's a walking animus?  3.0?
  
Let us not forget the alien in holographic form that could have its own agenda, manipulation is a trademark of the series, "she" (Minerva) could work with Desmond only to turn against him when her species has retrieved the apple and staff. we don't know her true motives. Lastly, and possibly the most intruiging in all of this, i think we haven't seen the last of Altaïr. Ezio was a fine character but i think his story ends right there and then at the end of AC2. Altair is i think a key figure. In codex page 30, Altair is presumably aged and dying. He writes something along the lines of "it couldn't hurt to look at it one last time" he is referring to the Apple. This implies he could still be alive, i assume this apple has an undying ability. He might appear as a god like being, perhaps a guide to desmond. What if he's evil? Desmond could turn him back to the" good" side, they then will fight along side each other, defeating the alien species/and/or/templars. Clash of the titans?  He's obviously not in possession of The Apple anymore but he could somehow have, just because he's Altaïr, been promoted to GOD.
 
One relevant aspect of this is wether AC3 is the last installment or not. If not then none of this really matters and the premise could just be milked endlessly. I will say that the way Ubisoft Montreal present their intruige is quite unusually mesmerizing and it sure looks like they know where they're going with this, but like all third and (presumably) last installments it could have a hard time coming to a decent conclusion. Especially with these end of the world scenarios, it's hard to just kill off everyone , but even more unsatisfying to get all the answers, cuz it's about the journey right? 
 
i am obviously completely wrong about all of this, and for the better because i wanna be surprised. All i hope is that it ends with a bit more spectacle than AC2

" @Magnum said:

" Modern day or near future would be a horrible idea. For me the whole appeal of the assassins creed series is that the majority of the game is set in an historical place.   Assassins Creed 3: Modern Warfare would just be a Splinter Cell game. "

THIS "

I agree with the whole "modern setting would be terrible thing". I loved the historical settings, and I don't want gunplay, or a lame excuse for why there isn't gunplay. Just send Desmond back into the past, and have Desmond do his thing in the future in between sessions, but don't set the whole game in the present.

Desmond won't need the Animus anymore soon enough - he'll be able to shift around without it, maybe against his will. Should make for an interesting setting (settings?) for the next game.

They won't set it 100% in the present. Exploring interesting historical periods, not often covered by entertainment media, is what AC is all about. That said i expect to see more real world stuff along with the animus leading up to one hell of a climax :)

If they were going to have AC3 set in modern day times I think they would of had Desmond pulling up his hood as the last shot of the game, also the series is set in 2012 (maybe they will tie it in with the end of the world...) which could be when AC3/4 is released maybe hinting that itsn going to be modern day

" If they were going to have AC3 set in modern day times I think they would of had Desmond pulling up his hood as the last shot of the game, also the series is set in 2012 (maybe they will tie it in with the end of the world...) which could be when AC3/4 is released maybe hinting that itsn going to be modern day "

Well the entire point of Desmond being in the Animus in AC2 was to train him. So the theories about playing as him in AC3 makes alot of sense.

Just reading this thread...I now HAVE to play Assassin's Creed II.

" Well the entire point of Desmond being in the Animus in AC2 was to train him. So the theories about playing as him in AC3 makes alot of sense. "

" @fresh2deafbill said:

" @Magnum said:

" Modern day or near future would be a horrible idea. For me the whole appeal of the assassins creed series is that the majority of the game is set in an historical place.   Assassins Creed 3: Modern Warfare would just be a Splinter Cell game. "

THIS "

SAM FISHER IS A TEMPLAR  ASSASSIN'S CREED VS. SPLINTER CELL GO "

"  
*the following speculations are littered with spoilers*  
 
It is safe to assume the bulk of AC3 will take place in the game's present. If you look at Subject 16's video (you'll probaby need to solve all 20 puzzles to get a better look) an early setting seems to be established already. However, i can't imagine the whole animus concept being dropped and i'm sure they'll come up with a reason to get desmond back in the machine. which ancestor? which time period? since AC2 seems to lean heavily toward religion, i could see Desmond jumping in and out of year 0, or even before. The two people's names in the video are Adam and Eve. They seem to be enhanced somehow, illuminated lines (glyphs maybe) adorn their back, but they are scared shitless and are endangered. Eve is holding The Apple. Adam at least, must be a descendant from Adam (da vinci code anyone?) this all leans toward a futuristic end-of-the-world scenario meets ancient prophecies. I can see the game shifting back and forth between the fight for the world, which will in good habit, build up gradually, while in the animus desmond will seek out jezus for valuable information...Ok that last part is a joke.  
 
ofcourse, The fact that Adam bares the same name as his descendant seems shady and oversimplified. It would be too easy. Perhaps he's a walking animus?  3.0?
  
Let us not forget the alien in holographic form that could have its own agenda, manipulation is a trademark of the series, "she" (Minerva) could work with Desmond only to turn against him when her species has retrieved the apple and staff. we don't know her true motives. Lastly, and possibly the most intruiging in all of this, i think we haven't seen the last of Altaïr. Ezio was a fine character but i think his story ends right there and then at the end of AC2. Altair is i think a key figure. In codex page 30, Altair is presumably aged and dying. He writes something along the lines of "it couldn't hurt to look at it one last time" he is referring to the Apple. This implies he could still be alive, i assume this apple has an undying ability. He might appear as a god like being, perhaps a guide to desmond. What if he's evil? Desmond could turn him back to the" good" side, they then will fight along side each other, defeating the alien species/and/or/templars. Clash of the titans?  He's obviously not in possession of The Apple anymore but he could somehow have, just because he's Altaïr, been promoted to GOD.
 
One relevant aspect of this is wether AC3 is the last installment or not. If not then none of this really matters and the premise could just be milked endlessly. I will say that the way Ubisoft Montreal present their intruige is quite unusually mesmerizing and it sure looks like they know where they're going with this, but like all third and (presumably) last installments it could have a hard time coming to a decent conclusion. Especially with these end of the world scenarios, it's hard to just kill off everyone , but even more unsatisfying to get all the answers, cuz it's about the journey right? 
 
i am obviously completely wrong about all of this, and for the better because i wanna be surprised. All i hope is that it ends with a bit more spectacle than AC2 "

I agree with most people that the next game will take place in present day.  I also didn't think about the 2012 connection but now it really makes sense.  Not sure what they can do in a period of a few months but looking forward to this game nonetheless.

" @Jeff said:

" @fresh2deafbill said:

" @Magnum said:

" Modern day or near future would be a horrible idea. For me the whole appeal of the assassins creed series is that the majority of the game is set in an historical place.   Assassins Creed 3: Modern Warfare would just be a Splinter Cell game. "

THIS "

SAM FISHER IS A TEMPLAR  ASSASSIN'S CREED VS. SPLINTER CELL GO "

As weird as that sounds, it would actually make me want to play Assassin's Creed III.  "

" @McDom said:

" But wouldn't any of those methods mentioned leave Desmond completely unprepared and thus break our illusion of the assassins being badasses? Desmond's training took place 500 years previously, so he's likely to be completely buggered if anyone produces someting other than a stick (either sharpened or others).   

Of course, and that's why they had to put dudes with batons in the game. But while it makes sense from a gameplay perspective, it doesn't make any sense at all in the game's setting. "

What I believe to happen from what happened in the game: They told Desmond when he first came out of the Animus that the bleeding effect has driven the others crazy and it would not be so bad if they could control it not to worry because he is not showing any bad signs but later on it seems that he is. I think that he will be able to control them and jump back and forth through time without the Animus in the next game but will also be fighting in the present due to the credits fight.

I heard somewhere, although I could be completely wrong, that you actually play as one of Desmond's forbears, who goes into the Animus and plays as Desmond. Although I liked the historic settings, a WWII or even a Cold War one might be nice.

" @Jeff:  So who wants to bet that Desmond will have the night vision googles? "

" haha :p, but he has the eagle vision, in his context, way more useful "

Come on it's got to be either the french revolutionary war, or the american revolutionary war.  (I think they'll both happen in later games.)  They reference both those time periods in the Animus Gliffs.  

" @Pie said:

" If they were going to have AC3 set in modern day times I think they would of had Desmond pulling up his hood as the last shot of the game, also the series is set in 2012 (maybe they will tie it in with the end of the world...) which could be when AC3/4 is released maybe hinting that itsn going to be modern day "

Well the ending strongly points towards you playing as Desmond in the next game. Since the next game is the last one, these 2 games were all a setup to the big finale of playing as Desmond. Lucy passes you a wrist blade and boom..you know all of ezios skills it would seem. Then you jump into the truck. ( I'm not counting the part where they say get back into the animus as we make our way to the cabin. as part of the story because it was obviously just a way to explain you being able to go back in and free roam after the story is complete.)  Hell, the very beginning of the next game may show Desmond getting out of the truck with all the other people while putting his hood up. "

Well, for those who thinks that we wont go back in memory, you will most likely be wrong, because of the bleeding effect. 
Most likely we will visit Altair again, since we did it again in the 2. game.  
 
But i still think that we will be somewhat more in present time, and place the apples around the temples in the globe. preventing the end of the world. 
 
The game also talks about an ancient race (those who came before) and this i find interesting. 
  The First human that walked the earth, said that they were made by others that came to us, and later traveled, only to come back again. 
The Mayan Calendar is based on these people, who are long dead (as well as the mayans).  
So, their calendar ends 12.21.2012, And because it is based on he first people ( **Spoiler**that could possibly be Adam and Eve**Spoiler**) 
 So because their calendar end in 2012, that could be when those who came before came back? 
 
Just  a thought

The  WWII or even WWI idea is a very poor idea for the assassin's creed games. It takes away most of what makes the game good, ubisoft were pushing it by giving Ezio the gun in the first place and to give the next one things like SMGs just destroys it. 
 
Altair is likely to return in the third one but only like in the second one, a flashback.
The era of Feudal Japan seems to be the most logical in perspective of the Assassins. Plus, who doesn't want to fight ninjas and samurai. 
 
The creed and brotherhood being removed from the game was a large blow considering the brotherhood was a key part in the first game and the revenge story made it seem less like a profession, an art if you will, and more like a chore to kill all those people. 
 
The constant switching between Desmond and the next one could also provide more variety for the game, especially if you don't need the animus anymore, so they could have half the time spent as Desmond fighting, apparently, the apocalypse and the Templars, and the other half as an ancestor killing more Templars and unraveling the mystery of the pieces of eden, possibly play a Kunoichi named Washi (Japanese: Eagle)

I just finished it, and yes, what I interpreted out of it was either that it will take place in another timeline (maybe not WW2 which is what the saboteur is going to do, and the platforming is pretty similar). What it somewhat hinted, and what I hope, is that it will take place in a present future. It would've been amazing if you could climb around a semi-futuristic city around the design of the environment you walk around in between animus sessions. As Desmond learns from the animus, he gets the ability to climb around, using the moves that Ezio had. In the end of the game he has learned most of Ezio's abilities, so why not? Anyway, I'm really exited for Assassins Creed 3, and what it brings.