Assassin's Creed

Assassin's Creed is a video game in development by Ubisoft. This game was initially shown at the Microsoft X05 trade show under the name Project Assassins for the Xbox 360. At the 2006 E3 trade show, it was announced for the PS3, to be released in 2007 using the name Assassin's Creed. The game is being developed by many of the same people who helped make Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, and began production as soon as the latter was completed.

Overview

The game takes place during the Third Crusade. The gamer plays as a member of the assassin sect Hashashin known as Altaïr (of Greek and Arabic origin, roughly translates to ("The Flyer") or ("The Eagle"). The player will be able to travel through three cities, Jerusalem, Acre, and Damascus. The cities are populated by many people and the way the player controls Altair affects how people around you react to his or her presence. For example, when going through a crowd, if you lightly move someone out of the way, it wont make too much of a difference, however, if one throws someone to the ground and kills him, the crowd may unite against the player and he or she will then have to find a way out. Similarly, for example, if you shove a person aside, he/she may shove you back. If you climb walls, civilians will gather around, attracting unwanted attention from guards.

Features

One of the most talked about features of the game is the ability to get around the game world. Assassin's Creed will allow new levels of freedom for the player. Influenced by the Parkour phenomenom and its freedom of movement, the player will be able to grab onto and climb 'any object that sticks out more than 2 inches', which means exploration of the cities, rooftops, etc. will be possible on a greater scale then in any previous games. The game will also be completely free-roaming, which has led to comparisons with Grand Theft Auto, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion and Shadow of the Colossus.

Assassin's Creed was featured in E3 2006, where a new system of gameplay was revealed. Only two trailers have been released so far. The title's in-game graphics, as exhibited at E3, more closely resemble the quality shown in the few screenshots that have been released, as opposed to what has been shown in trailers.

While multiplayer is a remote possibility, chances of seeing it in the franchise's premiere title are slim. Keeping in mind that multiplayer was absent in the original Splinter Cell and added in subsequent installments, Assassin's Creed may follow suit.

(Much of the following is borrowed from the preview of Assassin's Creed in an issue of Game Informer) Another hyped feature is the intuitive control scheme. Assassin's Creed will employ a new idea that can best be compared to playing marionette of puppeteers to Altair's actions. Developer Jade Raymond states, "What I really like about this concept was that once you undersatnd the controls, you know how to play the game. You don't ever have to look at what the button combonations are. You can invent them as you go along." On the PS3 controller, the left analog stick will control movement, and the right will control the camera. However the actual buttons are quite different from normal. X will correspond to the feet, Square will dictate arm movement with your weapons, Circle will use your arms without weapons, and Triangle uses your head. Also, one of the right triggers will act as a shift between violent and gentle intensities.

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