Hello fellow gamers and history enthusiasts! Join me on an epic journey through one of gaming‘s landmark franchises – Assassin‘s Creed. whether you‘ve been following the Brotherhood since Altair first unleashed his hidden blade in 2007 or if Valhalla was your first leap of faith into the Animus, I‘ll guide you through the events and real historical backdrops that give this series such unique appeal across 15+ games spanning various eras.
Overview
At its core, Assassin‘s Creed immerses players in pivotal moments from the past while weaving an overarching present day struggle between secret organizations vying to save humanity or exploit us. This war between the righteous Assassin Brotherhood and power hungry Templars has raged for millennia as seen through the genetic memories of various descendants like Desmond Miles, you and me!
We get to relieve these ancestral assassin missions leaping across rooftops and stalking targets from Jerusalem to revolutionary Paris to ancient Greece, thanks to the ingenious Animus technology that enables us to unlock hidden memories encoded in our DNA.
Beyond signature stealth kills and parkour traversal of stunningly realized historical cities and wilderness, there is deep lore around "the ones who came before" – the Isu precursors who created humans and these mysterious artifacts that can alter reality itself!
I‘ll analyze each major chapter covering key events, allies like Leonardo da Vinci, iconic targets such as Cesare Borgia and of course every leap of faith! Let the dive through history begin!
The Launch of a Gaming Phenomenon (2007 – 2012)
The first Assassin‘s Creed in 2007 unveiled the secret war through 12th century Crusades, introducing master assassin Altair Ibn La Ahad whose reckless actions endangered the Brotherhood. As penance, he must neutralize nine deadly targets sowing political chaos across the Holy Land. Little does he realize how these events tie into ancient technology that can end conflict itself!
| Game | Year | Setting | Protagonist | Consoles |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Assassin’s Creed | 2007 | Crusades Holy Land 1191 AD | Altaïr lbn-La’Ahad | PS3, Xbox 360 |
| Assassin’s Creed II | 2009 | Italian Renaissance 1459–1499 AD | Ezio Auditore da Firenze | PS3, Xbox 360 |
| Assassin‘s Creed: Brotherhood | 2010 | Rome 1506 AD | Ezio Auditore | PS3, Xbox 360 |
| Assassin’s Creed: Revelations | 2011 | Constantinople 1511 AD | Ezio Auditore, Altair | PS3, Xbox 360 |
| Assassin’s Creed III | 2012 | American Revolution 1754 – 1783 AD | Haytham Kenway, Ratonhnhaké:ton | PS3, Xbox 360, WiiU |
AC II took the action to 15th century Italy as we witnessed the rise of Ezio Auditore from nobleman to deadly assassin seeking vengeance for his family’s execution. Renaissance genius Da Vinci himself provides intelligence and weapon upgrades like dual hidden blades and poison darts for Ezio’s hunt of Templar conspirators.
Brotherhood continues Ezio‘s story with our assassin mentor rebuilding the brotherhood in Rome to foil the Borgia family‘s conquest of Italy. We‘re also introduced to calling upon trained apprentice assassins for tactical support and unique cooperative multiplayer modes where players stealthily track targets and score points.
In Revelations, our wisened hero travels east to 16th century Constantinople hot on the trail of Altaïr’s secrets that hold the power to permanently seal the legendary assassin library away so templars may never find this priceless knowledge. Plus we uncover more details about the cataclysmic Toba disaster that wiped out 75% of humans on Earth some 75,000 years ago!
Then in most ambitious leap through space and time yet, Assassin‘s Creed III transports us to turbulent 18th century Colonial America on the brink of revolution. We experience the bloody birth pangs of the nation through eyes of the uncompromising Connor caught between his Mohawk heritage as well as loyalty towards the creed as he brushes shoulders with legends such as Washington, Franklin and other key historical figures in sequenced events like the Boston Tea Party.
Overall reviews praised these initial games for conceptualizing immersive historical fiction tied together through genetics while criticism pointed towards repetitive mission design and lack of meaningful modern day progress. However there’s no denying the assassin parkour mechanics that gave us thrilling vertical traversal across landmarks like Florence’s Duomo di Santa Maria or scaling ancient Mayan pyramids combined with exotic weaponry made for revolutionary gameplay.
Historical Accuracy & Storytelling
Now Assassin‘s Creed has sometimes faced questions regarding its historical authenticity since it does take creative liberties by inserting fictional assassins into well known events. However, the developer teams undertake painstaking research into understanding political intrigue, locations architecture and cultural threads correctly for the period. Renowned historians are brought on board to ensure historical figures are correctly portrayed without altering key events central the time period.
So while Ezio never actually conspired to throw Cesare Borgia off the walls of Viana castle ending the tyrannical rule, such sequences aim to capture the same euphoric emotions people of the era must have felt upon death of a repressive regime they suffered under.
Similarly fantastic mythic beasts like Medusa or cyclops encountered in Odyssey represent ancient Greek legends and oral histories their civilization would have evoked to make sense of inexplicable events. So while creative license pushes boundaries, historicity beating at the heart ofpivotal episodes provides us lens into lives often overturned by forces beyond their control.
Now let‘s jump aboard the Jackdaw for some swashbuckling Caribbean piracy in Black Flag as we be sailing through early 18th century as the Golden Age begins!
Becoming Legendary with Black Flag and the Kenway Saga!
With origins of the brotherhood established, future games shifted focus on….
