By James Herd
Contributor
You stare out onto the vast plains of the Holy Land, admiring the overwhelming landscape, when all of a sudden you hear jungle drums and you take off running. From atop the colossal buildings you see a corrupt official giving a demonstration of his power, and you head in that direction. Jumping off of the building, you prime your blade and successfully pierce his jugular, killing him instantly. You are an Assassin, and this is the world of “Assassin’s Creed.”
After 10 games, countless comic books, and a major motion picture in the works, Ubisoft has officially announced the upcoming “Assassin’s Creed III,” which is set for an Oct. 30 release. Along with this announcement comes much skepticism and excitement about both the setting and the character choice.
Ubisoft’s third-person blockbuster, which first released in 2007, chronicles the tale of Desmond Miles in the year 2012, who descends from a long anthology of Assassins. These assassins secretly fought for the freedom of mankind against the evil aristocratic Knights Templar. Using the Animus machine, Desmond is allowed to relive the lives of his assassin ancestors in order to uncover lost secrets which will benefit the modern day Assassin Order in the waging war against Abstergo Industries, the modern-day front for the Knights Templar.
By stepping into the shoes of both Altaïr ibn La-Ahad (literally Son of None), stoic twelfth century assassin from the Holy Land, as well as Ezio Auditore, Italian Nobleman turned Assassin, Desmond is able to learn more and more about the Assassin Order and of an impending doom facing the world, at the end of 2012 A.D.
The setting this time around is Colonial America, 1700s, which means gamers are bound to have allies or enemies in General George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and maybe even Ben Franklin. According to the released cover art for the European release, which shows our heroic unnamed Assassin about to deliver a tomahawk to an unwitting Redcoat’s face, it seems that our anti-hero is of Native-American descent, which, along with the setting, some longtime fans of the series aren’t too happy about.
“The traditional theme and feel of Assassin’s Creed does not fit into a revolutionary time period,” said a longtime fan of the series, San Antonio freshman Micah Smyth.
However, fans of the series will know that previous games have always hinted to the United States being involved in the war between Assassins and Templars. Besides, out of all the possible locations they had to choose from, including Feudal Japan, the Russian Revolution and Ancient China, they chose this time period for a reason, and gamers will find out that reason come release time.
Houston freshman Taylor Couch said he likes how the setting is going to have the historical background but is not going to be focusing entirely on the American Revolution itself.
Couch also said he enjoys how there will be not only jumping across the buildings, like in previous entries, but it will also feature free running through dense forests, which he says is a welcome change for the series.
Along with this new environment, gamers are certain to have new weapons lining their arsenal. Judging by the exclusive trailer that hit the Internet on Monday, gamers will have a tomahawk with the center carved out to resemble the logo of the Assassin Order, as well as a bow and arrows, which will help with long range killing.
In the trailer, the new assassin can be seen performing a melee combo on an unsuspecting Redcoat soldier, in which he stabs him in the head and then proceeds to use the soldier’s own gun against him. Judging by only the trailer, it seems this will be another compelling addition to the hit franchise.
“Assassin’s Creed III” follows the example that other numbered titles have set in the past. Anyone will be able to pick up the game and play, without knowing much about the series thus far.
Knowing Ubisoft, many gamers believe that the developers are bound to make believers out of all skeptics once “Assassin’s Creed III” hits the shelves in October.
