Assassin's Creed

You sprint down the path, quickly killing two guards. But you're not going to be able to fight your way out. You need to escape. By now the guards have sounded an alarm, and you can see and hear them chasing you. This is your moment of truth; you need to find a crowd, a roof, a building, an exit?something to remove yourself from harm's way.

You dash up onto a roof, and begin sprinting from building to building. You can see the guards chasing you one story below. They're keeping pace pretty well. You're going to have to figure something out quickly. You see the city gates. You hop off the roof, sprint to the gates?and right before you get there, a mob of soldiers surround you. You fight valiantly -- your spring-activated blade will do you no good now, so you use your sword. You kill one, then another. Just when the tide appears to turn, another group of soldiers arrive. You die quickly, your final thought one of resignation and pride. At least you completed the assassination.

Life as an Assassin The above sequence of gameplay sounds impressive, doesn't it? Improbably, this is exactly how Assassin's Creed, being developed by Ubisoft Montreal, unfolds. We recently received a walkthrough of the mission described above and couldn't believe how organic, gritty, and immersive the experience was.

(Don't believe us? Check out the trailer of the game by clicking here. It's not the exact same mission, but it will give you an excellent grasp of the style of play we're talking about.)

Our demonstration of the game didn't have to end as a loss. More often than not, we were told, the Assassin would find a way out of the predicament, through more careful planning, and a small amount of luck.

Abraham Lincoln. JFK. MLK. Assassins have changed the course of history more frequently than anyone can imagine, so it's intriguing that a game developer has decided to explore the role of history's original assassins, a Muslim cult (originally known as hashshashin or hashshashiyyin). This cult rose to prominence in the 8th century and was highly influential throughout the Crusades up until the 14th century. Numerous legends surround them, including rumors that the drug hashish played a prominent role in their lives.

(For more info on the legends surrounding this mysterious cult, check out Wikipedia's excellent wiki on this topic.)

What does it all mean in terms of gameplay? Scheduled for release in 2007, Assassin's Creed is in a very early state of development, but based upon the real-time gameplay we've seen and Game Informer's comprehensive June 2006 cover story on the topic, it's clear that the design team's high ambitions are focused on several innovative features and play mechanics.

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