Assassin's Creed, or Leaping From Rooftop To Rooftop Murdering Guards All The Time

[Ecks]

So I've been playing the Assassin's Creed series lately. Finished up the first game, finished the second, and picked up the DLC for it, and I'm now getting through Brotherhood (played Bloodlines, was meh) in preparation for Revelations' release on November 15.

HOLY FUCK I LOVE THIS SERIES.

I understand the first was a flawed gem. But the subsequent games took the concept and RAN WITH IT. Assassin's Creed II was an EXCELLENT GAME. I loved almost every minute of it (except, y'know, Carnivale's ridiculous race and capture the flag crap) and I'm now getting to play as Desmond in Brotherhood.

This thread is for anything Assassin's Creed, and ideally, it will turn into the Revelations thread once November rolls around, should it last that long. Post stories about your favorite assassinations, really slick stunts you pulled, how you took a liking to wearing white or black hoodies after playing, etc.

For example, I was playing Sequence 12 (the DLC) in ACII. I needed to assassinate Checco, who had stolen the Apple of Eden. I had previously attempted it, and been run down by those really fast fuckers that can catch up to you. So I opted for a different approach: I scaled the battlements, and did a leap of faith into a nearby haystack. A guard approached, and I stuck him with the hidden blade, dragging him into the haystack. I leapt out, only to attract another guard, where I jumped back in and dragged him into the hay after jabbing him with the blade. I then crept up silently behind the remaining two guards, scoring a double assassination while they weren't looking, and then gutted Checco from behind. It looked way cooler on-screen than it sounds via text, I swear.

[Azisien]

I struggled through Assassin's Creed II because I just don't like Italian people or their annoying accents!

I also get annoyed by how the combat becomes a counter-kill button engine.

However, they are pretty damn good games. Brotherhood multiplayer was really neat, and I look forward to seeing how they evolve it.

[Locke cole]

AC1 was interesting in parts. Sadly, much of my time was spent thinking about how I had to slog through 2 hours of stealth quests to get to the interesting parts.

AC2 improved on literally every part of it, and I absolutely love it for it. In that one, I'm exploring, murdering guards, running on rooftops, and going through story events that don't feel like endless fetch quests before I get info on where my target is.

Though, I don't like how methods for quick and easy kills are disabled during story-based fights where your target is meant to survive in a twist of Shyamalanian proprotions, though. Oh, so suddenly my portly target is immune to guns, throwing knives, smoke bombs, and the ever-popular tactic of "throwing dust in his face, and then stabbing him", eh? Gee, I wonder if I'm supposed to kill his guards, and then have him escape in the next cutscene?

[Bells]

A video i did, relevant to this series and thread!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kA6AzL7v45Q

[Ecks]

Being an audiophile, I really enjoy the soundtrack. AC1 was a little bare bones, but ACII had a very nice soundtrack, and I'm looking forward to the soundtrack that's coming with my Revelations preorder.

Ezio's Family (https://www.youtube.com/embed/O0i6YFrSs6c)

I like almost every one of the tracks that use this theme as a base, like Venice Rooftops (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5EaRHlo4B0Y&feature=related).

[Aldurin]

Hey look, apparently they refuse to move on to another assassin for the next game.

Wo6Q14vBB1c

[Locke cole]

Well, it's supposed to be the last Ezio game totally-we-mean-it-this-time.

[Aldurin]

Nah, he's probably only in his early 50's at that point, he's got a lot of mileage left.

[Bard The 5th LW]

Ezio is baller as fuck im cool with this

[CelesJessa]

Assassin's Creed is my current obsession. That is all that you need to know.

Nah, he's probably only in his early 50's at that point, he's got a lot of mileage left.

http://images.wikia.com/assassinscreed/images/c/cb/Assassin%E2%80%99s_Creed_Embers.jpg (Spoilers, I guess, if you're unaware of Ember's existence.)

EDIT: Also, is this really the first time we've realized that Revelations is about Ezio? They've come out with about a half-dozen teaser trailers for Revelations so far. Spoiler: You play as Altair too.

EDIT 2: if so there are some trailers you need to see. This one is a continuation of the one posted earlier. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h0JU0pOg3c8)

[Ecks]

Ubisoft has gone on record (source is Game Informer magazine, latest issue) as saying they use a new character every time they release a numbered entry. So Assassin's Creed III will have a new protagonist.

[rpgdemon]

Ubisoft has gone on record (source is Game Informer magazine, latest issue) as saying they use a new character every time they release a numbered entry. So Assassin's Creed III will have a new protagonist.

I was under the impression that this had been the plan from the start, and that the other non-numbered ones were spin offs/cash cows, depending on how cynical you are, following a character that people like.

[Ecks]

Hell, I love playing as Ezio. He's pretty awesome. Look forward to whoever the next Assassin is, and what era of history it'll be set in.

[Mr.Bookworm]

AC1 took place in ~1200 and AC2 takes place in ~1500. If there's another jump forward ~300 years, you have Napoleon or America as obvious centerpieces. They've stated it's not World War II. World War I could actually be really cool, though. There's a lot in there that fits in with the style and themes of the games, and it's so underexposed in gaming that it would be pretty novel. And you could have Nikola Tesla (who we know worked with the Assassins) as the gadget dude/da Vinci, which would just be awesome.

Whatever it is, I'm guessing the game is going to be half-ancestor and half-Desmond, as apparently the series is supposed to be a trilogy.

[CelesJessa]

AC1 took place in ~1200 and AC2 takes place in ~1500. If there's another jump forward ~300 years, you have Napoleon or America as obvious centerpieces. They've stated it's not World War II. World War I could actually be really cool, though.

I'm pretty sure there was a lot of stuff going on in the Ottoman Empire in the 1800s too, so it could take place there. Though on the codex map there are markers over New York and Mongolia, so maybe around one of those areas.

Whatever it is, I'm guessing the game is going to be half-ancestor and half-Desmond, as apparently the series is supposed to be a trilogy.

I think I read that Desmond's story will be finished by the end of 2012 so I'm assuming AC3 will be the last one (as far as Desmond's ancestors go).

[Aldurin]

Hell, Italian ninjas are apparently a great idea, so why should anybody stop them?

As for the Desmond gameplay, hopefully they give more and more of it, since the entire collection so far has looked mostly like teaser's for what they're planning to do.

Regarding Revelations, it seems as though the last 3 games slowly hinted at humans having a suppressed ability to perceive through time (indicated by the "space bitch from the future and the past" knowing the future, and also possibly hinted by ancestor memories triggered outside of the animus), and it may have some kind of anchor based off the genetic memory, thus allowing Ezio to perceive Altiar, and probably what allows Desmond to continue in the Ezio memories (I'm assuming Ezio doesn't fuck someone at the end of this next game, given his age).

[Arcanum]

Regarding Revelations, it seems as though the last 3 games slowly hinted at humans having a suppressed ability to perceive through time (indicated by the "space bitch from the future and the past" knowing the future, and also possibly hinted by ancestor memories triggered outside of the animus), and it may have some kind of anchor based off the genetic memory, thus allowing Ezio to perceive Altiar, and probably what allows Desmond to continue in the Ezio memories (I'm assuming Ezio doesn't fuck someone at the end of this next game, given his age).

But Minerva isn't human. None of the "gods" (they were perceived as such, ergo the quotation marks) were human, so Minerva's ability to know the future has no way of being passed down to humans, other than if a Piece of Eden was the reason she could do so. Also, having memories triggered outside of the animus is a result of spending too much time in the animus. It's like the bleeding effect, only instead of learning new skills your mind hallucinates memories buried in your genetic code. Also, Ezio seeing Altair's memories could just be a result of early attempts to unlock genetic memories. They obviously wouldn't know at the time they were genetic memories, and maybe just viewed them as going on a spiritual journey, guided by your ancestor. But using crude hypnosis or drugs as a means wouldn't be too far-fetched.

[CelesJessa]

Regarding Revelations, (I'm assuming Ezio doesn't fuck someone at the end of this next game, given his age).

Are you talking about Ezio having kids after Revelations? He does. Look up "Embers"

[Kim]

This seems relevant the interests of some of you, so I thought I'd share it.

http://28.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_ltdzsonzn21qjr340o1_500.jpg

[Ecks]

OHMYGODLIZWHATHAVEYOUDONE

Pretty nice. It'd be cool if they'd set the next ancestor in Revolutionary America or Maybe WWI-II era (even though they've said it wasn't gonna be WWII). Only thing I'd be worried about is introducing guns. Don't want anything close to guns (outside of the hidden gun).

[Krylo]

There's gonna be guns eventually. Desmond still has to stop them in the modern day and I'm pretty sure there are guns in the modern day.

[Marc v4.0]

Crossbows and knives would be much more effective for stealth kills even with guns.

[Krylo]

A silenced 9mm makes little more noise than a crossbow (if any more) is more deadly, and has longer range.

Also, that's only for Ezio. I don't think the Templars are going to give much of a shit about using M16s.

[Arcanum]

Unless you're in a public place, because I don't think the Templars want to draw attention to themselves.

Actually, that's one thing these games have been missing; a mission where you are the one being followed, and you need to stick to crowded areas until you reach an ambush spot or something. It would obviously be a lot harder to make a mission like that, but it would be pretty cool.

[Krylo]

But the Templars are the illuminati and therefore probably have deep rooted ties with the police and military.

Why would they care if its in a public place? They'd just be like "Fucker is a terrorist" and let SWAT go after him.

[Marc v4.0]

Unless your target is wearing armor, a Crossbow is no less deadly then a bullet.

Unsuspecting targets tend to not wear armor in modern times.

[Bard The 5th LW]

You DO get a gun in Brotherhood. Pretty sure its there is Assassin's Creed 2 as well.

[Aldurin]

Yeah, hidden gun has been present since the second game. I just wonder if the next time skip to the third ancestor will give him a sniper rifle during the Civil War era or something.

[Mr.Bookworm]

A silenced 9mm makes little more noise than a crossbow (if any more) is more deadly, and has longer range.

This is a very, very common misconception, but no, silenced guns are pretty damn loud. Listen to this (www.youtube.com/watch?v=hDHVvG6sg-s&t=0m22s) (random Youtube video, there are others). What silencers do is spread out the sound, making it a lot harder to identify where the bullet is coming from. Subsonic versus supersonic ammunition also doesn't make a huge difference.

Now compare to a crossbow (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OrTxNI6oGAw&t=0m50s) (again, random Youtube video).

Unless your target is wearing armor, a Crossbow is no less deadly then a bullet.

Unsuspecting targets tend to not wear armor in modern times.

Crossbows are actually quite a bit less deadly than bullets. A bullet hits you and opens up a giant gaping wound that various things you don't want seeping out of you can seep out of. A bolt hits you, opens up a giant gaping wound, and then at least partly plugs that wound with it's own shaft.

I mean, it hurts like a bitch and it can certainly kill you if it hits you in a number of places, but you're not usually in immediate danger of bleeding to death if someone shoots you with a crossbow. One of the major causes of death back when they actually used crossbows was after the fight, as a significant number of the wounded people would promptly get their wounds infected and die. That's obviously less of a problem nowadays.

---

SO ANYWAYS, I'm guessing the third game will just be similar to the second. You have to stealth in and get in close for a stab instead of just shooting every fucker in your way.

[Marc v4.0]

Modern hunting crossbows drop a charging bear and then stick into a tree on the way out. There is no reason an Assassin would pussyfoot around with a shitty crossbow that didn't kill the target.

They'd at least have access to super-tech concealed crossbows that are small enough to hide but could pop your head apart with nothing but an electronic firing sound to show for it. VIDEO GAMES!

[Krylo]

This is a very, very common misconception, but no, silenced guns are pretty damn loud. Listen to this (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hDHVvG6sg-s&t=0m22s) (random Youtube video, there are others). What silencers do is spread out the sound, making it a lot harder to identify where the bullet is coming from. Subsonic versus supersonic ammunition also doesn't make a huge difference.

Now compare to a crossbow (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OrTxNI6oGAw&t=0m50s) (again, random Youtube video).Youtube videos are not good sources of hearing the difference between sounds (in loudness). I shouldn't have to point this out, if only because it should be obvious if you spend any time on youtube that sometimes normal conversation is quiet as fuck and sometimes it is ear shatteringly loud requiring sometimes not just an adjustment of video volume but computer volume to put it at a reasonable level.

That said:

An unsilenced gun is about 160db, a silenced gun is about 120, a crossbow is about 90-100.

Note that decibels are an logarithmic scale and that a drop of 40db is actually a drop of about 99% of the sound. A drop of 20 is something like 60-80%.

A crossbow is, give or take, around 1/4 as loud as a silenced gun and a considerably louder than normal conversation (which is 65-75 decibels). Not quite twice as loud, but close. A silenced gun is about as loud as a quick shout (and harder to locate the source of). An unsilenced gun can shatter your ear drums if it is close to you and you have no protection.

Edit: To put it more succinctly a silenced gun is about as loud as a fraction of a second of the bass line at a rock concert. A crossbow is about as loud as a snowmobile motor for a little longer than a gun shot.

Also, I REALLY don't want to go into all the differences between bullets and crossbow bolts that make bullets considerably more deadly than crossbow bolts, because god damn wooooooords.

But I will say this: A crossbow can fire one round every 5-10 seconds depending on the skill of the user. A semi-automatic pistol can fire sixteen rounds in roughly two seconds, and can be reloaded in about the same time frame.

Every bullet is likely to be fatal so long as you hit central body mass.

It's hard to judge whether this would be the case in an assassin's creed game or not, but the shitty flintlock already does that.

Therefore, even IF the killing power of a single shot were the same, given that Ezio, Altair, and Desmond are usually up against 4 or more armed (and armored) guards when attempting to kill their targets a semi-automatic pistol, preferably high powered, would be a considerably more useful weapon than a crossbow.

If there were no guards, and no one suspecting them there'd be no reason to not just use the hidden blade.

Edit: On sound, there's also things like pitch and sound dispersal to take into account when figuring in the 'loudness' of weapons, both of which silencers change for guns to make the sound not travel as far and be harder to find the source of.

[Azisien]

But all this logic is pointless in the face of the entire silly premise of AC having a dude sit in a thingy to make you go back in time and learn things. So he'll probably use a crossbow!!

EDIT: Because none of this stops the devs from just adding a "super silent" crossbow that has nothing to do with real life. Just like silenced firearms in video games tend to have almost no sound whatsoever.

[Krylo]

But all this logic is pointless in the face of the entire silly premise of AC having a dude sit in a thingy to make you go back in time and learn things. So he'll probably use a crossbow!!

But neither of the guys he learned from used crossbows. One used throwing knives, and one used a (DUN DUN DUN) gun.

[Mr.Bookworm]

My point was that silencers aren't magic mute buttons, not that they don't work at all, but fair enough.

It's hard to judge whether this would be the case in an assassin's creed game or not, but the shitty flintlock already does that.

I have no idea what the deal with Ezio's gun is, because it's tiny and shouldn't be accurate past the distance you could stab a guy, yet you can practically snipe people with it. And it was invented like three centuries ago. I have no idea how you even aim that thing without the benefit of the magic computer drawing a white line.

But neither of the guys he learned from used crossbows. One used throwing knives, and one used a (DUN DUN DUN) gun.

You get a crossbow in Revelations. It's the single best weapon in the game, too, since you can do awesome counters with it and ammunition is everywhere.

[Krylo]

I have no idea what the deal with Ezio's gun is, because it's tiny and shouldn't be accurate past the distance you could stab a guy, yet you can practically snipe people with it. And it was invented like three centuries ago. I have no idea how you even aim that thing without the benefit of the magic computer drawing a white line. Alien technology!

It's a Space Flintlock from the Ultrafuture.


You get a crossbow in Revelations. It's the single best weapon in the game, too, since you can do awesome counters with it and ammunition is everywhere.I'm guessing you mean Brotherhood? Or you're from the future!

But yeah I didn't really play Brotherhood. I might eventually but I don't really like the whole "Stretch a planned trilogy out into five games with one year development cycles and only minor gameplay changes" thing Ubisoft has decided to do as an obvious cash grab.

Edit: Also their other company decisions vis a vis DRM and stuff. I mean, sure I'd be getting them for consoles but still asshole company is asshole company is a place I don't want to give my money to.

[Geminex]

Decibel is a logarithmic scale, that's correct. But it's log 10.

That means a sound that's 10db higher on the scale is going to be 10 times as loud. A sound that's 20 bd higher is 100 times. 40 db would be 1000 times.

Mind you, perceived sound is always a bit wacky, but in terms of the sound's "power", that is to say, the energy behind the sound, that's about right.

Regardless, I kinda agree with Krylo here.

Yes, there are fringe applications for crossbows. Some chinese border control units use them against suicide bombers (bolts are less likely to set off the bomb). They are pretty silent, and their "payload" is a bit higher than that of a firearm, which allows the delivery of a greater variety of bolts. One that comes to mind would be the deployment of surveillance devices or small explosives, that sort of thing. Grappling hooks, ziplines. I'm sure militaries somewhere use them.

But for actually killing people? Nah. Krylo's already addressed the issue of rate of fire, and he's totally right. The crossbow, whatever other advantages it might have, is not a rapid fire weapon. In a firefight, you do not want to be the guy armed with a crossbow.

Admittedly, Infiltration is a bit of a different issue.

Your goal during infiltration is to eliminate enemies as precisely and quietly as possible, right? As such, you want a weapon that doesn't make much noise, is as accurate as possible at as long a range as possible, and has a high probablity of killing (or otherwise incapacitating) your target before they can respond to your assault. Hmm.

Both crossbow and pistol are short-range weapons, depending on make and ammo. Effective range of, say, 30 metres. Wiki says that's about right. I don't have numbers on accuracy, but, while the crossbow bolt is probably a lot less accurate in windy conditions and less effective against moving enemies (as the bolt travels at about 100 m/s), let's assume that they're both in about the same league. Those 30 metres effective range apply to shots at the centre of mass, though, which is what I'm assuming people are going to be aiming for. Headshots are a lot more lethal, of course, but are a lot harder to get consistently.

What about lethality? Even if you have a higher-caliber pistol (which would, accordingly, be louder and decrease your effective rate of fire), I think enemies wearing body armor have a good chance of surviving a first shot. But the pistol makes up for this with said rate of fire, allowing multiple shots against one enemy, before said enemy can react, probably enough for a kill.

Can the same be said of the crossbow? Don't know, honestly. The crossbow, with its heavier, slower bolt, is going to be a lot more capable of going through kevlar and ceramic (which, I believe, aren't made to stop crossbow bolts). Its first shot is bound to deal some damage, despite the much lower energy (about 120 joules, compared to the pistol's 500, less than a quarter) But is it enough to incapacitate an enemy? I don't think so. Unless you hit their heart, neck or head, they're gonna be hurt bad, but still capable of responding. Calling for help, at the very least. And since you only get one shot, that is bad.

Mind you, the crossbow does win on stealth. 90-100 db is one hell of a lot quieter than what a suppressed pistol can do, particularly if the pistol fires several times (which is necessary to guarantee a kill). Another point is that the advantage of suppressed weapons (Less noise overall, harder to pinpoint) is kinda nullified if you're operating in a confined structure. If you're in a hallway, that'll both amplify your noise and make it easier to pinpoint the noise's direction.

One final point is that the pistol is a lot lighter and easier to handle than the crossbow. Even with a suppressor, the pistol weighs, what, 2 kg? More, less, depending on the model. The crossbow is easily twice that (counting ammo), and, more importantly, it's a lot longer and wider. Not the kind of weapon you want to be holding while infiltrating an enemy compound. Sure, you can use a pistol crossbow (stockless), but that'll cut your accuracy, since you don't have a shoulder stock to stabilize the weapon, and it'll still be a lot harder to handle.
Hell, instead of a crossbow, you could be carrying a suppressed submachinegun, and then it's just no contest.

ANYWAY
Final verdict:
Crossbow: More stealthy while firing, but less likely to eliminate targets before they respond and alert others. Unwieldy. Capable of delivering other payloads.

Pistol: Less stealthy while firing, particularly in structures, but much more likely to eliminate a target. It's a fucking gun, people.

For my data I used the HK Mk.23 and the Barnett Jackal Crossbow.

Also, I'm aware that it wasn't strictly necessary to overanalyze this, but what the hell, it was fun.

[BitVyper]

All of this is assuming Desmond doesn't have a Hollywood silencer.

Anyway, as has been mentioned, crossbows are bad at being immediately fatal. I think what we're forgetting though, is how much of the action in AC games takes place in crowded cities. In such a situation, a suppressed pistol becomes pretty difficult to pinpoint, and may even be mistaken for something else. I mean, Ezio was able to walk away from shooting a guy with a flintlock if I recall correctly.

[Krylo]

I'm not sure if 'more stealthy while firing' is even really true, considering that perceived sound wise they're much closer than what you're saying (one is, as I said, the same decibels of a rock concert, and the other of a snowmobile motor), and the crossbow sound lasts a bit longer.

I mean, I guess at the end of the day the easiest thing to do is just say there's a reason that special forces are generally trained in fire arms instead of crossbows.

[Azisien]

I guess my point may have been missed entirely, which is, what weapons do in the real world isn't always the most important thing. It doesn't matter what decibel a real silenced handgun or a crossbow is, these things are always ridiculously silent in video games. It doesn't matter what the dimensions of a REAL compound crossbow are. Desmond might have a super-future hand-crossbow that's silent with the killing power of a shotgun to the face.

The main point of the series eventually transitioning to guns does make sense though. I would actually hope for some sniper rifle sequences in giant skyscraper areas, if we had to make the switch. Turning it into a cover-based action shooter with guns wasn't really in the same vein as the Assassin's Creed games, the ones I've played anyway (first, half of second, some BroCreed multiplayer). Other than that, keeping to sneaking around for silent knife kills and maybe planting bombs or something.

The final Assassin's Creed game will actually be Hitman: Absolution.

[Aldurin]

Guns being supersilent is meant to counterbalance the bullshit of guard telepathy, or having your cover blown to everybody because your only witness was the guy you killed the moment he saw you.

[Arcanum]

or having your cover blown to everybody because your only witness was the guy you killed the moment he saw you.

Guards aren't people. They are humanoid creatures governed by an overly protective overmind. This is true in real life as well.

But for serious, I kind of hope that when they make AC3 they have the same kind of leap in mechanics like it was from AC to AC2 (where everything was just a bajillion times better). As the gameplay is now though, moving to a higher focus on guns for the player probably wouldn't end well.

[Krylo]

I guess my point may have been missed entirely, which is, what weapons do in the real world isn't always the most important thing.

But where's the fun in just conceding that?

[PyrosNine]

It may not actually take place in another time period, but in a different area. Just because Desmond and Ezio are direct descendents of Altair, doesn't mean their DNA only points to Altair- a good Assassin's creed game could be anywhere, anytime-

Though it does look like Desmond will get more action soon, a recurring theme is that while Desmond is pretty all powerful in the animus, the bleak cyberpunkian (in themes, anyway) future he's in leaves him powerless to do much.

Here's hoping he gets a sneaking suit in the assassin style with stealth camo, disguises, and more urban stuff.

Then there's the idea that maybe we are someone using an animus to see Desmond using the animus seeing Ezio using the old style animus seeing Altair originally finding the animus to see---?

I do think at one point we'll go all the way down the rabbit hole, and play as Adam or Eve.

One thing I do like is how the ideology of the Templars is used. They aren't deluded fools, and while they collectively push for an extreme, they have sympathetic and human qualities. They can claim that they're pushing for a better world and state that they are doing so by using politics and real forces (prestige, wealth, trade) to make this happen, and in many ways they are doing so, we're just seeing the places where they had to break more than just a few eggs to make their omelet.

I notice the greatest logic failure of the templar order is that while anybody can want to create a better world, the only people who are attracted to the Templar order are the people who also want power. Regardless of whether or not they actually deserve said power. Kinda like the first officer from Cryostasis, whose controlling tendencies lead him to assume more responsibility than he actually acted upon. They talk about how devout and how worthy their cause is, but most people are signing up because they like the power and how it can let them fulfill their own personal ends.

In a nutshell, Warren Vidic is not a member of the Templars because he genuinely wants a better world, but because it gives him all the funding he wants for his research, unlimited wealth, and complete control over the entire field of science he wants. All his happy buttons are pressed, and therefore he'll fight for the Templars.

[CelesJessa]

It may not actually take place in another time period, but in a different area. Just because Desmond and Ezio are direct descendents of Altair, doesn't mean their DNA only points to Altair- a good Assassin's creed game could be anywhere, anytime-

I think I heard in an interview that Ezio isn't Altair's descendant anyway, they just happen to both be Desmond's ancestors.

From some of the trailers I've seen of Revelations some stuff that was mentioned in the first novel seems like it will probably tie in with the game, and I'm wondering how much of Altair's life after AC1 they're going to show/If they're going to make me cry like a baby.

[Ecks]

I am impressed NPF! I never thought I'd actually inspire intelligent discussion with this topic.

I probably didn't anyway, but it came about regardless. I would very much like to see what's going on with Assassins the world over. We see from emails in Brotherhood that there are in fact teams in Japan and Russia. I can only imagine this means that there were branches of the Assassin Order in these areas at other points in history. I'd kill to see an AC set in Meiji Restoration Japan, or perhaps during Lenin's revolution in Russia.

[Mr.Bookworm]

I'd kill to see an AC set in Meiji Restoration Japan, or perhaps during Lenin's revolution in Russia.

There is a comic called AC: The Fall that is almost exactly this. Most of the first issue (out of three) is up on the Ubisoft website. (http://www.ubiworkshop.com/post/?pid=3328)

[Ecks]

SO HEY, REVELATIONS GETS RELEASED IN TWELVE DAYS, THAT'S A PRETTY BIG DEAL I GUESS WHO'S GOT PREORDERS?

[Melfice]

I dooooo! =D

[Arcanum]

I'm excited. Are you guys excited? I think you're excited. That's good, you should be.

In other Assassin's Creed news,

Link (http://nymag.com/daily/entertainment/2011/11/assassins_creed_movie_sony_ubi.html)

Last month, Variety reported that Sony will soon be signing a deal to adapt Assassin's Creed [...] But Vulture has learned that this is no ordinary rights deal: [...] Ubisoft was able to demand and receive an unheard of amount of control over the project. To make the deal, Sony had to grant the gaming company approval over just about everything — budget, principal cast, script, release date — and Hollywood spectators are flabbergasted. [...] As a director, even Steven Spielberg cannot get this kind of deal.

This is like, the greatest thing ever for video game movies. Ubisoft can, if they feel the movie is going to be horrible, pull the plug and make it never see the light of day. But hopefully that won't happen since they are also capable of making sure the movie sticks to the source material 100% of the way. This will ensure something like Russel's Not Related To Uncharted In Any Way Because Russel Is A Complete Retard movie script never happens.

But it seems like Hollywood doesn't like it when people muscle in on their business of ruining franchises by taking WAY too many creative liberties.

“It's [Ubisoft’s] billion-dollar brand, so I get that they're protective,” says another head of a different studio that hung in longer than DreamWorks, but ultimately passed. The exec adds, “But they're not moviemakers, and the only way to make sure it's a bad movie is to undervalue what movie studios do — and this is a deal that totally undervalues what movie studios do.”

Yes because everything every movie studio has ever made is solid gold, and telling a movie studio "hey, no, stop that, our writers are better than yours, we know what we're doing" is the only way to make a bad movie. CLEARLY.

Anyway for once I'm actually excited about a video game movie.

[Aldurin]

*looks at unfinished playthroughs of U3 and Dark Souls*
*Looks at the list of steam games that still need to be played*

FUCK YOOOOOOUUUUUUU NOVEMBER!

[Ecks]

Just for the fact that Ubisoft is putting their own funds into the film, I have no quarrel or issue with Ubisoft retaining as much of their creative control as they are. Personally, I feel that the originator of any source material should have complete creative control over adaptations to other medium. Games made into movies especially... though I can think of other adaptations that could have been better *cough*thelastairbender*cough*eragon*cough*

So long as the casting is done very well, I will look forward to the AC movie. I mean, for a sci-fi franchise, it's based in some fairly easily reproduce-able special effects and stunts. You'd have to be a Hollywood exec to fuck that up.

[CelesJessa]

So I was playing AC1 and listening to the Revelation's cinematic trailer music and I realized something...

(click images for SPOILERZ no not really, just me being stupid)
http://img16.imageshack.us/img16/739/mountains02.png[/IMG]"]http://img69.imageshack.us/img69/3518/photo0287od.jpg
http://img207.imageshack.us/img207/7268/mountains01.png[/IMG]"]http://img507.imageshack.us/img507/8728/photo0288p.jpg

Look at those mountains! The true "revelation" is that aliens/gods/science has moved Masyaf to another location completely! Or, perhaps, the whole area is just an illusion...

[Aldurin]

Nah, they just didn't have good enough computers to render such mountains back in Altair's time. But Da Vinci's custom graphics card changed that.

[Melfice]

Is that even Masyaf?
I don't know, I'll admit I haven't even seen that trailer, so...

[CelesJessa]

Is that even Masyaf?
I don't know, I'll admit I haven't even seen that trailer, so...

Yes, it is. In Revelations I believe Ezio is heading to Masyaf to find the hidden library of the Assassins.

Also that trailer is amazing. You should watch it. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4K39UWxdm0U) And then this one (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h0JU0pOg3c8) for the epilogue to the trailer.

[Ecks]

HOLY FUCKING SHIT YOU GUYS MIDNIGHT TONIGHT I'M GOING TO FUCKING PICK IT UP, SIGNATURE EDITION!


WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!

Signature edition comes with the soundtrack, the Embers animation, the full game, and other goodies that are not coming to mind right away.

So yeah. Who's ready for the AWESOME?

[Melfice]

I've already got the game.
*trollface*

Haven't played it very much yet, however. Skyrim and Saints Row: The Third are getting in its way.

[Arcanum]

Thoughts so far:

-Oh my god Eagle Vision is actually useful now since you can see guard patrols!!!
-Hook Blade is pretty nifty, as are ziplines.
-Den Defense is neat, and I' curious what other kinds of units/defenses it will have.
-The beginning is rather slow, but that's expected since all the previous AC games have had drawn out tutorial missions
-I'm rather upset that you need animus fragments to unlock Desmond's memory thingamajigs. Sure you may only need 50 to unlock all of them, but that's still forcing me to collect things just to get the most out of the story.

I'm not that far in, and I want to play more, but school projects and Skyrim keep calling my name :S

[CelesJessa]

Beat it last night. (I couldn't stop playing!)

No spoilers for now but augh it was really dang good. I loved the ending stuff.

[Arcanum]

Holy effing crap CJ.

... Granted I probably would have done the same thing if not for studying and bouts of Skyrim :sweatdrop

[CelesJessa]

Somehow I had two 3-hour classes canceled and I couldn't work on what I needed to do for class so it was Revelations time. And it's been so long since I've had a brand new game that I've been looking forward to, I couldn't stop.

[CelesJessa]

I was trying to get away from some guards and this happened:

http://img210.imageshack.us/img210/7825/roof.jpg

http://img4.imageshack.us/img4/1676/photo0297k.jpg

They don't make roofs like they used to.

[Arcanum]

I love those clip-through-floors glitches (had one in the original AC where half a templar was stuck in some steps and his legs spasmed uncontrollably).

I played some more today (though not much since Wednesdays I have 7 hours of class) but I keep getting distracted by recruiting assassins, buying buildings, hunting down templar dens and lookouts, and doing missions to unlock new bomb recipes. I don't even think I've unlocked faction quests yet.

[Ecks]

Yeah, powered through my copy as well... no spoilers from me, too emotional to say what happened.

[Arcanum]

Ok finally finished it. Have to say though I'm rather disappointed with the ending. Well, the ending involving Desmond. The ending of Ezio and Altair's story was nicely done.

As for why the other one was such a let down, well had they kept the game going for another five or ten minutes we could have had some closure to Desmond's story. Maybe find out why Lucy was stabbed, what exactly they found, how Desmond's Dad and friends found where they needed to go to find it. It was so unnecessarily sudden that I can't help but feel cheated and that Ubisoft is just trying to milk AC for more games.

[CelesJessa]

As for why the other one was such a let down, well had they kept the game going for another five or ten minutes we could have had some closure to Desmond's story. Maybe find out why Lucy was stabbed, what exactly they found, how Desmond's Dad and friends found where they needed to go to find it. It was so unnecessarily sudden that I can't help but feel cheated and that Ubisoft is just trying to milk AC for more games.

Desmond's story always ends super abruptly in the games. I remember playing AC1 and the credits started and I was like WAIT what? Anyway, if I remember right, Desmond's story is supposed to be done by the end of 2012, so I'm guessing now that Altair and Ezio's stories have closed and Desmond has accepted that he's an assassin, AC3 is going to be Desmond: the game.

[Arcanum]

Well like I said, my biggest gripe with the ending is that had they continued for another five minutes we could have had much more closure, especially since Ubisoft kept saying that this game would answer a lot of questions. Except it didn't really answer any questions that were related to Desmond, which is disappointing since the last few games have been leading up to him playing a larger role than just a messenger. I guess if Ubisoft had not hyped up the whole "Revelations will answer so much!!" thing then I wouldn't have a problem with it.

Anyway, game talk stuff now! Sticky blood bombs and coin bombs are hilarious when you stick them to a guard. The blood bomb is more because I can't help but wonder what it would be like to be walking along and then BAM! Covered in blood.

Also I was bored earlier today and collected all of the animus fragments. Turns out that all you get is an achievement and nothing else. Maybe it unlocks a cheat since it counts as a memory being 100% complete? I haven't replayed any memories and looked at the cheats I've unlocked so I dunno.

Multiplayer is also fun. Essentially the same as Brotherhood with some improvements, contested kills/honorable deaths being one of the more crucial things they added. Though the ability restrictions by level makes it rather frustrating to play against higher level players since they have some stupidly good abilities (at level 20 something you can get "Mute" that stops players around you from assassinating, stunning, or using abilities. I hope the cooldown on that move is super long because I had it used against me right as I moved in for an Incognito kill).

Also Corruption is pretty fun, and is basically AC's take on zombies. It's probably the only free for all game type that I'll play (or at least until I get to a higher level), since the others just frustrate me. Although I have yet to try Assassination, which at a glance looks a lot better than Deathmatch since you are free to choose your target instead of being forced to kill that asshole running around on the roofs.

[CelesJessa]

Yeah, I guess I just wasn't surprised/found out enough to satisfy me. Since you learn about Desmond's entire backstory. But anyway!

Blood bombs are hilarious to throw at anyone. I'm a massive troll so I threw one at a Harold after I paid him off(and robbed him). I was throwing a sticky fracture bomb (one that actually hurts) at a well and at the last second some asshole civilian walked in front of me and got it stuck to him, then walked into a crowd.

I think one of my favorite quests/trophies has to be beating up Duccio. I kept getting a marker on him but I didn't recognize him so I stabbed him. Luckily Duccio is immortal and I came back later to beat him up.

In other news, I watched AC Lineage and Ascendance last night. (Lineage was the live-action short film that takes place before AC2 and Ascendance was the animated short film that came between AC2 and Brohood). Ascendance was meh, but Lineage was pretty awesome. It gives me faith that if/when they do an AC movie that hopefully they can do it right. Hopefuly. No Embers yet, I'm waiting to watch that with my best friend.

[Ecks]

Okay, so I've finally gotten around to watching Embers and listening to the soundtrack, things that came with my preorder.

Embers was shorter than I was expecting. But a fantastic piece nonetheless. Requiescat in pace, Ezio Auditore da Firenze.