by KrazyFace, HSM team writer

Let’s start this by getting a few things straight, this is not a review of any of the AC games. Instead, this is a summary and account of the story and what you’ll experience from the entire Assassin’s Creed games collection (so far) on PS3, in order. The stories told in this series are vast and complex. Please bear in mind there are some spoilers in here if you’ve never played any of the games. So with that, grab yourself a refreshment and let’s start at the beginning…

The first AC starts with the kidnapping of one Desmond Miles, a loner and a man on the run. This man has very few places to turn; he’s running from not only his past, but whatever his future may hold as well (and a few other things besides). Although Desmond insists that he is “just a bartender”, he is anything but.

Imagine, if you can, a lost part of human history where man lives in harmony (kind of) with a humanoid race that is far superior in almost every way. Their technologies are far more advanced than what we have today, and all before the age of Christ. This is the foundation of the biggest conspiracy the world has never known, and it’s the untold beginning of our story, which will be revisited later.

For now, we look at Desmond, who has been kidnapped by a group known only as Abstergo. This group is what has become of the legendary and ancient Knights Templar, a small group of men sent to the Holy Lands during The Third Crusade in search of answers, treasure and above all, power. The Knights Templar were set up as a sort of policing squad for the missionaries and Christians fighting “the good fight” deep in the Middle East, to help “cleanse” these new worlds and bring them true meaning through Christianity. The Templars are also at the heart of a conspiracy pulling the strings of key figures throughout the ages. In the world of Assassin’s Creed everyone has been bent, tempted or affected in some way by The Templars; from Hitler to Churchill and Washington to people like Copernicus, Da Vinci or Gandhi. Everyone (whether they’ve known it or not) has been manipulated to further the Templar cause. Only one other group knows of their plans and their existence and is willing to do what it takes to stop them — The Assassins.

So, captured by Abstergo and used as a lab-rat, Desmond is coerced into a machine known as the Animus; a device capable of reaching into a person’s genetic memories and allowing them to re-live their ancestors’ memories, every breath and every step. As Desmond happens to be a runaway assassin who refuses to accept his “destiny”, he’s a prime candidate. It’s with this machine that we are taken back in time to around 1190 and Desmond is put into the shoes of his ancestor, Altair ibn-La’Ahad, a disgraced assassin who had abused the very laws the Assassins follow. By killing innocents and disregarding his mission instructions he has been stripped of his rank and forced by his master to begin as a lowly recruit. Through this the player (you!) will journey the harsh and war-torn Holy Lands, visiting places like Jerusalem, Acre or Damascus. The cities here are rich with detail. In Jerusalem, the dusty streets are filled with the chatter and bustle of any modern city, but it has an enveloping character that inspires the awe of such ancient places that feel, for the most part, alive in themselves. The harsh sun drenched avenues and winding back-alleys of Jerusalem are punctuated by small details of Middle-Eastern artworks of pottery and architecture.

Later, Acre is visited just after its sacking. Crushed buildings lie unrepaired, while those left alive pine for those who were lost, and beg you for any spare wealth you might carry for their aid. The air here carries the cold harshness of loss and despair, and the targets of Altair within its walls are almost colder than the old stone walls that surround this city.

As Desmond re-lives the path taken by Altair, he kills prominent figures key to how history is shaped, and gives Abstergo the information of a lost artifact known as the Apple of Eden — a piece of technology left behind by the humanoids we once served. This Apple of Eden carries great power; those who possess it can warp the minds of men, and bend their will to their own deeds.

But this isn’t the only lost technology the Templars (Abstergo) are after, they’re also looking for artifacts such as the Ark of the Covenant or the fabled Holy Lance or “Staff”. However, once Desmond reaches the time that Altair finally gains possession of the Apple, Abstergo no longer has need of him in light of this new information. Just before they kill him, he is helped in his escape by a friend (Lucy) he has made in Abstergo’s labs and flees to find shelter with other assassins.

This is where Assassin’s Creed 2 begins. Once again (although this time willingly) Desmond goes back into a new Animus — The Animus 2.0. It’s here we’re cast into Florence in Italy’s Renaissance period, and fill the shoes of another ancestor of Desmond’s: Ezio Auditore da Firenze. Here we see how Ezio’s family become unknowingly entangled in Templar business and Ezio narrowly escapes the same fate of his father and brothers, who were publicly hanged for crimes they did not commit.

On the run and desperate for help, Ezio discovers that his father was in fact an assassin himself, and so takes up his now dead father’s hidden profession. He dons the guise of the traditional hooded assassin, and begins to stalk the streets of Florence, Venice, Forli and the Tuscan countryside looking for revenge first, and answers second. The recreation of Venice from this time period is stunning, not only can you tour the historical streets at your leisure, but there are beautiful recreations of famous Italian architecture to check out while you do it. The grandeur of places like Basilica di San Marco or the large tower opposite known as the Campanile are so detailed and breathtaking that you just have to pause for a moment to take it all in.

The streets themselves are just as beautiful, adorned with picturesque fountains and benches draped with seating cloths, as ladies and gentlemen of wealth go about their daily business, sometimes stopping to gather in groups to socialize with each other while the cherry blossom leaves whirl in the soft winds around you. Even at night, the tavern’s dwellers spill out onto the streets, gathering to charge their ale mugs and toast the evening as you pass by. The towering, rickety housing that lines the tiny waterways of Venice appears to teeter towards you as you scale them. The only thing missing from this lost period of Venice is the smell — which is probably a good thing!

As you uncover the clues, you’re led around Venice and it’s surrounding areas, again killing anyone involved with the murders of your family and bit by bit uncover plots to unbalance the political powers that keep order. Sabotaging the powerful Borgia family (with a little help from Leonardo Da Vinci) as they try to make a monopoly and eventually leading you to the newly appointed pope himself, whom holds much darker secrets than expected. After the events of all this the assassins are forced deeper undercover in the real world as they are chased by the Templars, pushing them to travel to Rome.

It is here that the next game in the series, Brotherhood kicks off. By now Desmond is in so deep he isn’t just another assassin, but a key figure in the Templar’s plans that could potentially ruin their ideas for world domination. After setting up the Animus in the cellar of Ezio’s house (Monteriggioni) the assassins begin searching the past once again for clues as to how to stop the Templars in their own timezone.

This time Desmond is cast back to a later period of Ezio’s life in Roma. Once again we’re treated to one of the most astounding virtual recreations ever made. Rome happens to hold within it some of the most iconic buildings in history: the Pantheon, the Mausoleo Di Augusto and in particular, the Colosseum to name but a few. The architecture here is just as stunning as you might now expect from the AC games. For example, as you walk through the giant archway columns of the Pantheon into its interior, the details come alive; the polished marble floor that reflects the monumental circular ceiling above is majestic, but doesn’t distract your eye from the detail of the Romanesque support columns topped with gilded gold and floral-inspired tips, or the equally plush golden gates that line the walls all around you. This is but a single example of what you’ll see as you traverse this game.

By this point in the story it becomes clear that the Apple has been lost once more by the Templars. Not only this, but the ancient civilization that once claimed our world as their own tells of a super solar flare that will wipe out life as we know it on Earth at the end of 2012.

Back in the past, since the assassins have been scattered it becomes Ezio’s job to rebuild the Brotherhood to fight the corruption of the Borgia that has been seeded into Roma, and to do this you’ll spend lots of time sabotaging yet more of the corrupted political powers that control Roma, by killing lots of bought-off politicians. However, after running all around the city and its surrounding areas, building the Brotherhood back up, the time spent in the Animus takes its toll on Desmond’s mind. This puts him into a coma, stuck in the machine. The next game in the series comes into play at this time: Revelations.

Revelations takes us even further into Ezio’s life. By now he is an old man (for this particular day and age anyway.) He finally finds his way to Masayaf, the origin of the Assassin Order and the resting place of his ancestor Altair.

Deep under the stronghold, Ezio gains access to the library Altair had chosen as his final resting place and learns he must travel to even further reaches of the globe, namely Constantinople. Or, in this time period, the Ottoman-era Istanbul.

Once again, Ubisoft Montreal pull no punches with their environments. Constantinople is an absolutely massive place, sectioned into cultural slices that represent the sheer size of this religious and cultural melting pot of humanity. Parts of the city reflect the religious factions so well, you can usually tell instantly where you are just by looking around. There’s no shortage of things to do here either, and filling all your given objectives can take a fair while.

Because Desmond is stuck within the Animus (in a coma) it’s vital that his fellow assassins in the real world free him before he dies. With the help of a lost soul, also known as Subject 16 (a ghost in the machine from the first game), Desmond must put his broken mind and memories back together piece by piece as well as find the answers to Ezio’s questions. As you might imagine, this puts a serious strain on Desmond’s mind and the “bleeding effect” becomes ten-fold. This “bleeding effect” is what allows Desmond to harness the skills from his ancestors for use in the real world, and when he finally finds his way out, he becomes a very serious problem for Abstergo.

In Assassin’s Creed 3 Desmond is freed from the Animus and his coma, meets with his estranged father who has come to find him and travels with his small team to a pin-point in America just outside of New York City in search of finality to the happenings of Ezio’s final days, and the beginnings of a new assassin, Ratonhnhaké:ton (or “Connor”, as his English peers would rather call him.) This leads us right into Colonial USA, a time of war and struggle as a new country begins to find its feet. Here we will see the birth of places like Boston and New York, and stalk their streets intent once more on revenge of those who have destroyed and mutilated the lives of many indigenous people, more importantly, of those who killed Connor’s mother.

Fulled with rage from his people being sold-out and led to death by the politics and papers of the white man’s “modern world”, Connor undertakes such large and complex problems that even he cannot believe the truths he uncovers. Created by the original team that made the first game, this time around we swap the towering cityscapes of Europe for the forest and wilderness of old America and the very British-looking skylines of the newly-built NYC and Boston. As native-American Ratonhnhaké:ton, you will face not only the anger of the new settlers but battle with the wild animals of these lands. Using all the skills you have learned as a native to stay alive, and applying them to solve the complications that face him now, Connor’s story is an exhilarating ride that leads us and Desmond to the final piece of Eden, and the opening to the next installment of the story: Black Flag.

The AC series is a phenomenal feat in games, and due to its size and complexities I shall leave you with this video as a wrap up and a teaser for those who’ve never had the pleasure of playing it, yet.

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2 Responses to “Assassin’s Creed, The Series”

1. Burbie52 says:

   June 2, 2013 at 12:19 pm

   Wow Krazy, that was a great synopsis of the series! I am glad you decided to tackle this one, I have never played any of the games but I might have to check them out eventually. I love history and the way you described this sounds like it is amazing.

   Reply
2. KLCgame says:

   June 8, 2013 at 6:55 pm

   As a fan of the series I must say, couldn’t have done it better myself.

   Reply