Assassin's Creed (computer game)

Assassin's Creed
Studio	Ubisoft Montreal
Publisher	Ubisoft
Erstveröffent- lichung	PlayStation 3 , Xbox 360 : November 14, 2007 November 15, 2007 November 29, 2007 (360) January 31, 2008 (PS3) Windows : April 8, 2008 April 10, 2008 May 16, 2008
platform	macOS Microsoft Windows Xbox 360 PlayStation 3
Game engine	Scimitar Havok (physics engine)
genre	Action adventure
Subject	middle Ages
Game mode	Single player
control	Gamepad keyboard , mouse
medium	DVD-ROM , Blu-ray
language	German, English, French, Italian, Spanish
copy protection	Tagès , the version shipped with it is not compatible with Windows 7 . The current version from the Tagès website must be installed here.
Age rating	USK PEGI

Assassin's Creed ( German  Credo des Assassinen ) is a computer game that was developed by Ubisoft Montreal and published by Ubisoft . It appeared in Europe on 15 November 2007 for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 and on 10 April 2008 for Windows - PCs . The developers have deliberately avoided a demo version of the game. Responsible producer of the game is Jade Raymond , under whose direction more than 300 permanent employees worked on its creation for four years. According to the New York Times , it was one of the most anticipated game titles of 2007.

action

The framework for Assassin's Creed is set in 2012. Abstergo Industries , a - as it later turns out - modern Templar organization, kidnaps the bartender Desmond Miles and subjects him to a process in which he is supposed to live through the genetic memories of an ancestor using the so-called animus , a kind of computer . From this, Professor Warren Vidic, head of the project, hopes to find the remaining parts of the Eden Shard . These are mystical artifacts that were hidden by the Brotherhood of Assassins all over the world. With its help, Abstergo or the Templars hope to be able to control and influence the thoughts of every human being on earth in order to enforce their own world order ("peace through total control"). Opposite them is the Brotherhood of Assassins, which, unlike the Templars, wants to maintain the freedom of the individual and save humanity from the Templars' control.

Desmond is brought back to the memory of his ancestor Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad (Arabic for the flying one or eagle ) in 1191 when the Third Crusade tore up the Holy Land . Hidden in secret and feared for their ruthlessness, the assassins intended to stop the hostility between the various groups through repression.

At the beginning of the game, the crusaders, led by Richard the Lionheart and Philip II, have just recaptured the port city of Acre from the Saracens . The player starts in the ruins of Solomon's temple, where the holy ark of the covenant is located, but the main character Altaïr denies its authenticity. Using this base, the crusaders prepare to march south. Their main goal is Jerusalem , which they want to retake in the name of the Church. However, Saladin , leader of the Saracen army, is currently in control of the city. Humiliated by Richard's victory at Acre, he will not allow Richard to humiliate him again. The Saracens form in the Battle of Arsuf near the ruins of the fortress with the intention of repelling the attack by the Crusaders and preventing them from reaching Jerusalem.

Because of this measure, the rest of the Holy Land is largely unprotected. While Richard and Saladin are fighting, the governors, who now feel unobserved, see the opportunity in the deserted provinces to consolidate their positions of power. Exploitation, manipulation and provocation shape the picture.

After the liquidation of the Templar leader Robert de Sablé and the recovery of the Templar treasure failed due to Altaïr's arrogance and an assassin and an innocent man were killed, Altaïr falls out of favor with his order. Although he played a major role in the defense of Masyaf , the Assassin's mountain fortress, during the Templar attack , he was allegedly executed in Solomon's temple by Al Mualim , the Assassin's leader, as punishment for his arrogance and failure . However, he survived and, when he awoke, found himself degraded to a novice . However, Al Mualim offers him the opportunity to rid himself of his shame and regain his rank. Altaïr has to murder nine people of high social standing who seem to be responsible for the bitter and expanding hostilities as a result of the crusade, in order to usher in an age of peace. Each of these missions can be divided into the sections exploration , assassination and escape . The potential victims are real, historical people from the time of the Crusades. The further the player moves in the story, the more he gets behind the dark machinations of a secret conspiracy. As part of the game, Altaïr will travel to Jerusalem, Damascus and Acre. The crusader town of Arsuf and a rural area called the Kingdom , which connects all places, also represent locations for the plot, which can be explored both on foot and on horseback.

Altaïr must eliminate the following targets: the arms dealer Tamir in Damascus, the doctor Garnier from Nablus in Acre, the slave dealer Talal in Jerusalem, the merchant king Abu'l Nuqoud in Damascus, the margrave William of Montferrat in Acre, the regent Majd Addin in Jerusalem, the Grand Master Sibrand in Acre and the scholar Jubair al Hakim in Damascus. During his missions, Altaïr discovers that his targets are all Templars and are driven by more than just the sheer desire for personal gain, namely the will to enforce their idea of ​​world peace through total control. After Altaïr eliminated all nine Templars and finally the Grand Master Robert de Sablé in Arsuf, it turns out that Al Mualim is also a Templar and is now the sole owner of the Eden Shard. Although Al Mualim can manipulate Altaïr with his help, he manages to kill his master and take the shard of Eden. This shows the locations of the remaining Eden fragments on a kind of hologram .

When Desmond leaves the Animus, Professor Vidic tries to eliminate him. Staff member Lucy Stillman prevents this by highlighting Desmond's potential future use in recovering the artifacts. Desmond can now also use the eagle's eye and sees various characters and sentences in the Abstergo building, through which he can, for example, hack Abstergo's codes. In addition, Lucy now has the blue aura of an ally in the eagle's eye. Together with other previous signs (mysterious emails), this suggests that she too is one of the assassins.

synchronization

role	German voice actor
Desmond Miles	Thomas Friebe
Lucy Stillman	Susanne Dobrusskin
Dr. Warren Vidic	Rainer Delventhal
animus	Heike Hagen
Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad	Markus Pfeiffer
Al Mualim	Hans-Gerd Kilbinger
Malik A-Sayf	Philipp Schepmann
Robert de Sable	Patrice Cuvier
Tamir	Gregor Höppner
Garnier from Nablus	Bernard Murer
Talal	Carlos Lopez
Wilhelm of Monferrat	Bernd Jäger
Majd Addin	Josef Tratnik
Abu'l Nuqoud	Hans Bayer
Sibrand	Simon Roden
Jubair al Hakim	Renier Baaken
Maria Thorpe	Elisabeth Grünwald
Richard the Lionheart	Jürg Löw

Game principle and technology

Assassin's Creed has an interactive environment: the cities are inhabited by large numbers of citizens, and the way in which the player makes Altaïr act determines how the bystanders will react. For example, he won't cause much fuss if he moves gently through a group of people. However, if he knocks someone down, the crowd will turn against him and he will have to find a way to get out of the predicament. It is similar when he pushes a person aside and is possibly pushed back roughly. Should he climb walls, civilians will gather around him, drawing the attention of the guards to him. The behavior towards non-player characters also has an impact if, for example, he helps some of them out on smaller occasions and receives support in the form of information or escape assistance. On the other hand, these characters can actively prevent the player from fleeing if he appears less helpful or even aggressive.

Altaïr is forced to adhere to certain basic rules of the assassin community during the missions. If he does not do this, there may be disadvantages as a result of the action. This includes: innocent people are to be spared, one's own camouflage must be maintained, the brotherhood must not be endangered. These rules require a prudent approach and require the player to act with foresight and planning.

Altaïr can hold onto almost anything around it or climb it. It can therefore be explored to a greater extent than is possible in other games. Ubisoft prides itself on the fact that z. B. Any object that protrudes more than about two inches from a wall is to be used in some way.

Another key aspect is the ability to immerse yourself in a group of scholars instead of just hiding in the shadows.

Since Desmond only experiences what happened then, there is no real life bar. Instead, the player has a synchronicity bar. If Altaïr is hit in combat, falls from a great height, or breaks the code by injuring an innocent man, the bar will drop because it did not actually happen. If too many of these errors happen, the animus loses its connection to the memory and reverts to the last safe point (the last save point). If you meet mission objectives or if you don't make any mistakes for a while, the bar fills up again and the animus is in sync with the real memory. After all, the mistakes made never happened.

The presence of a HUD is also justified by the animus. In this way the animus wants to help Desmond to experience the memory correctly. The animus also explains that everyone speaks a fairly modern German.

With the eagle eye ability, the function and attitude (attention or search level) of individual non-player characters can be recognized using different colored markings.

Places that are not yet accessible at the beginning of the game will only be unlocked gradually. The map is gradually activated or made visible by climbing viewpoints, usually very high towers or buildings.

control

The control scheme in Assassin's Creed differs from that of other genre-typical games. Instead of pressing a specific button for a specific action, the player presses the buttons assigned to the respective body parts, and the game performs an action that differs depending on the game situation. For example, walking towards a wall in combination with the foot / leg button will cause Altaïr to jump over it, while the Arms Without Arms button will cause him to arch over it.

The corresponding body parts are also assigned to the four action buttons in combat. Players emphasize how catchy the control, which initially appears to be very complex, ultimately is. You can only fight with two keys: attack and defense. Despite these easy controls, the fights are always different, as the player is given a free choice of weapons. In addition, you have three main actions: attack, defense ("blocking") or counterattack.

weapons

Altaïr carries a variety of highly specialized weapons with him, including a sword , a short sword , throwing knife and his special weapon for special missions, a dagger hidden on his left wrist . During the initiation ritual to receive the Hidden Blade , the candidate's left ring finger is severed. This is meant to represent the sacrifices that the assassin is supposed to make for life in the brotherhood: anonymity, no family, extinguishing life for a higher purpose. As soon as the dagger is activated by pressing a ring on the little finger, it takes the place of the distant ring finger.

The player receives new skills and improvements for Altaïr's weapon selection as the game progresses. Players can select weapons using the directional key on the game controller, which allows for quick switching during combat.

Historical correctness

The developers emphasize the historical accuracy in Assassin's Creed , but show the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem with its current golden dome, which only replaced the originally black lead roof in the 1960s. The locations in the game are intended to represent characteristic models of the locations at that time. Each of Altaïr's targets is (also historically documented) a leader who either died or disappeared (though not necessarily by murder) around 1191. In this game , the assassins are portrayed as an atheist organization that aims to achieve peace in the Holy Land and is only guided by a few principles, which is historically not true, as the assassins were an Ismaili association. In addition, the assassins committed assassinations, but did not offer any resistance to the subsequent arrest, but simply surrendered to their fate.

In the game itself, such anachronisms are thematized and explained in the framework plot: the historiography is flawed, not the experiences in the animus.

Production notes

In September 2006, developer Jade Raymond confirmed that Altaïr was "a medieval killer with a mysterious past" and not a time traveler.

In December 2006 , in an interview with IGN , Kristen Bell , who gives voice and appearance to Lucy Stillman , commented on the plot:

“I find the plot really really interesting. It's kind of based on current research that your genes may be able to store memories. One could argue rhetorically that this is just instinct, but how does the baby bird, unlike the cockroach, know how to eat a worm without its parents showing it? And it's about this science company trying to get into people's brains matrix- style and find an ancestor who was an assassin and figure out who that was. "

- Kristen Bell

The English voices are spoken by some well-known actors and voice actors : Altaïr by Philip Shahbaz (guest roles in series such as 24 , Sleeper Cell , Californication ), Desmond Miles by Nolan North (including leading roles in Uncharted , Prince of Persia ) and Lucy Stillman from Kristen Bell (Leading roles in Veronica Mars , Gossip Girl , Heroes ). Actress Josie Lawrence ( EastEnders , Outside Edge ), best known in the UK , has a small, albeit fairly frequent, role as a farmer. The appearance of Desmond Miles, and thus also of Altaïr and Ezio Auditore, was modeled on that of the Canadian model Francisco Randez .

E3 2007

On July 10, 2007, Jade Raymond appeared at E3 during the Microsoft press conference to present the game and the city of Jerusalem, which had not yet been shown in the trailers.

The features that were demonstrated here included the improved mechanisms within a crowd, the tracking system and other aspects of free movement. The voice of the main character Altaïr was heard for the first time at this presentation.

Assassin's Creed was again a showpiece the next day during a 20-minute interview with Jade Raymond. The video showed an expanded version of the E3 demo and included the chase scene after the assassination of the slave trader Talal. Various aspects of the game were discussed, among other issues, the physics system and more information on the so-called Leap of Faith (Leap of Faith, in the German version death leap ), a spectacular jump from a great height into a standing round hay wagon to escape such persecution .

Illegal copies before publication

An illegally copied version appeared on relevant websites about a month before the official publication of the title. Since the game was still unfinished, there is in this version bugs and graphical glitches, and may lead to crashes. The manufacturer then warned against using the illegal version and threatened legal action.

reception

reviews

publication	rating	source
Metacritic *	79/100
4Players .de	85/100
critify.de *	86/100
Eurogamer	7 out of 10
360 Live	9.0 of 10
Famitsu	37 of 40
GamePro	91 of 100
Games current	89% (360); 87% (PS3)
GameSpot	9.0 of 10
IGN	7.7 out of 10
Spieletipps.de	88 of 100
GameStar	84 of 100
Computer picture games	1.65 (good)
PC Games	83 of 100
Annotation: * Average rating of several tests

criticism

The game is praised for its appealing graphics, unusual setting, good music and interesting storyline . The controls are also described as pleasant. The size of the world, which invites you to discover it, continues to be seen positively, although this is where the criticism starts because there is nothing to discover. Unlike in games like GTA , where subplots and hiding places can be found, the large environment in Assassin's Creed serves no purpose.

The course of the game itself is also criticized. The murders are nothing more than a collection of mini-games, some of which are untrustworthy, that always run the same way. It is also often possible to just rush into combat - something very uncharacteristic for an assassin - and still carry out your mission successfully.

In April 2012, the American author John L. Beiswinger filed a copyright lawsuit against Ubisoft in the USA. He accuses the company of having copied parts of the story of Assassin's Creed from one of his works with the title "Link". Beiswinger is demanding several million US dollars in damages.

Awards

The following awards were presented at E3 2006: MTV Game Awards

• 1st prize for the best character

Game Critics Awards

• Best Action Adventure 2006

IGN

• Won: Best Action Game, PS3 Game of the Show, Best PS3 Action Game, Best PS3 Graphics
• Second: Best Console Game, Best PS3 Artistic Design, PS3 Award for Technological Excellence
• Nominations: Game of the Show, Best Graphics Technology

GameSpy

• Won: Best PS3 Game of the Show

GameSpot

• Won: Best PS3 Game of the Show
• Second: Game of the Show, Best Trailer, Best Graphics, Best Action-Adventure

Gametrailers

• Won: Best of Show
• Second place: Best Trailer, Most Innovative, Best Action-Adventure

1UP:

• Won: Best PS3 Game
• Second: Best Visuals, Game of the Show

The following awards were presented at E3 2007:

IGN

• Won: Best Action Game, Best Xbox 360 Action Game

Gametrailers

• Won: Best Action Adventure

Gamespy

• Won: Best "It's Finally Playable"

The game has received the following further awards:

ViTiVi

• Won: Best launch trailer
• Won: Best Developer Diary

Sales

As of December 14, 2007, 2.5 million copies of the console version had been sold worldwide. Around 6.5 million units were sold in 2007/08.

Trivia

• Altaïr, actually Altair, means flying or the one who flies in Arabic . Altair is also the brightest star in the constellation of eagles , which fits that in a trailer for the game a white eagle flies over the city of Acre and sits next to Altaïr on a bell tower. In an interview with the developers it was mentioned that Altaïr is less religious, but more spiritual and the son of a Christian mother and a Muslim father. The eagle is also a recurring element in the game, as it flies around the viewpoints to be climbed in the game and an eagle scream can be heard whenever Altaïr makes a death leap .
• The tagline “Nothing is true. Everything is allowed. "Is generally the founder of the assassin , Hassan-i Sabbah assigned.
• The game's soundtrack was composed by the award-winning composer Jesper Kyd , who has already achieved a high level of popularity in the scene through the background music used in other video games.
• The game was also released in a limited edition that includes a character of the protagonist. There was also a Gamestop-exclusive pre-order edition, which also contained a steel case, an art book and other goodies.
• The song from the Ubidays 2007 trailer is called Lonely Soul and was written by James Lavelle ; the song used in television commercials is called Teardrop and is from Massive Attack .
• The game is based on the scimitar engine developed by Ubisoft , which was further developed under the name Anvil starting with the development of Assassin's Creed II . The Prince of Persia , which was completed in 2008, is also based on the Scimitar engine.
• In the trailer, which can also be seen when the game starts, Altaïr still carries arrows in his quiver. Bow and arrow are not available as weapons in the game itself .
• With the exception of this first part, all other games of the Assassin's Creed series that were published on the last generation of consoles have now been re-released for current consoles in a graphically improved form and with all additional content.
• The PC version contains a few additional mission types and is therefore subtitled as "Director's Cut".

Web links

Commons : Assassin's Creed  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

• Official website
• Assassin's Creed at MobyGames (English)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Ubisoft: no demo for Assassin's Creed - Joystiq. In: joystiq.com. Retrieved October 19, 2013 .  
2. ↑ Duking It Out for a houseful of Smiles , NYTimes.com
3. ↑ Majd Addin (English WP)
4. ↑ Assassin's Creed (PC) in the preview - GameStar.de. In: gamestar.de. Retrieved October 19, 2013 .  
5. ↑ Played: This is how Assassin's Creed controls itself. In: pcgames.de. Retrieved October 19, 2013 .  
6. ↑ News: Assassin's Creed: Finally! We played it! - Article intro - News - 2007 - E3 - Exhibition - News - Current - GameStar.de - one click ahead. Archived from the original on November 6, 2007 ; Retrieved October 19, 2013 .  
7. ↑ X06: Assassin's Creed Update - IGN. In: ps3.ign.com. Retrieved October 19, 2013 .  
8. ↑ IGN Exclusive Interview: Kristen Bell - IGN. In: tv.ign.com. Retrieved October 19, 2013 .  
9. ↑ Philip Shahbaz - IMDb. In: imdb.com. Retrieved October 19, 2013 .  
10. ↑ Assassin's Creed - Ubisoft takes action against pirates - News - GameStar.de. In: gamestar.de. Retrieved October 19, 2013 .  
11. ↑ Assassin's Creed: Director's Cut Edition for PC Reviews - Metacritic. In: metacritic.com. Retrieved October 19, 2013 .  
12. ↑ Test (rating) for Assassin's Creed (Action, 360, PlayStation3) - 4Players. In: 4players.de. Retrieved October 19, 2013 .  
13. ↑ Assassin's Creed (Xbox 360) - All tests, reviews, ratings // critify. In: critify.de. Retrieved October 19, 2013 .  
14. ↑ Assassin's Creed Test • Page 1 • Eurogamer.de. In: eurogamer.de. Retrieved October 19, 2013 .  
15. ↑ 360 Live - Assassin's Creed. In: 360-live.de. Retrieved October 19, 2013 .  
16. ↑ Assassin's Creed (360) with game tips. In: spieletipps.de. Retrieved October 19, 2013 .  
17. ↑ Assassin's Creed - This is how the assassin cuts off on the PC. In: pcgames.de. Retrieved October 19, 2013 .  
18. ↑ Wired.com: Review: Why Assassin's Creed Fails ( Memento from April 3, 2009 in the Internet Archive )
19. ↑ Assassin's Creed: Writer accuses Ubisoft of stealing ideas - NETZWELT. In: netzwelt.de. Retrieved October 19, 2013 .  
20. ^ Game Critics Awards. In: gamecriticsawards.com. Retrieved October 19, 2013 .  
21. ↑ Assassin's Creed - 2.5 million mark broken - News - GameStar.de. In: gamestar.de. Retrieved October 19, 2013 .  
22. ↑ Assassin's Creed: Jesper Kyd composes soundtrack (PC Games 5 years ago). In: pcgames.de. Retrieved October 19, 2013 .  
23. ↑ XboxDynasty.de: Assassin's Creed: Contents of the Limited Edition known. Retrieved June 26, 2018 .