I was browsing Flickr this morning and came across a gallery of photographs that recreated the Assassin’s Creed world with LEGOs! Kick ass! It totally reminds me of that funny Monty Python Lego video from a few years ago. Check out this work. Whoever made this is certainly creative. It would be cool to see a leap of faith recreation.

You can view them all here.

The video game expo E3 has all but come and gone. After several days of conferences and new game demos, fans of Assassin’s Creed were left with nothing. Though we really couldn’t expect to see any news on our game, there was that small glimmer of hope that we might see something about possible Downloadable Content or perhaps even an Assassin’s Creed 2 Teaser. E3 would have been the perfect platform to hype an upcoming sequel.

We know the game is in development, it’s just that Ubisoft has said that they are in no rush to release the sequel. The lack of Assassin’s Creed news at E3 confirms this. Fans don’t always get what they want. Look how long it took Blizzard to make Diablo 3 and Starcraft 2. I really hope we don’t have to wait that long for Assassin’s Creed 2.

The following is an awesome Assassin’s Creed video created to the music of System of a Down - Innervision. Let me know if you like it.

I just got done reading a recent review of Assassin’s Creed on the N95 (a Nokia mobile phone device). I haven’t come across anyone who is playing this game on a mobile device, but apparently a lot of people do. It’s being called Assassin’s Creed HD. Here’s a quick excerpt of an article on Pocket Gamer:

In Assassin’s Creed HD’s case (the ‘rich’ version of last year’s Assassin’s Creed: Altair’s Chronicles – Gameloft is currently putting ‘HD’ on the end of games where once it would have said ‘3D’), the mobile in our pockets represents a time machine, shoving a sword in our hands and transporting us back to the Middle East in the time of the Crusades. It’s a journey that, perhaps surprisingly, proves that the canny mobile phone can serve up sword-slicing action with the best of them, with main character Altair’s foray onto the rooftops serving up an adventure that’s as deep as it is entertaining.

The rest of the Assassin’s Creed HD review just goes into the basic info we’ve all heard before. That the game consists of a lot of running, fleeing, jumping and escaping. But it also ends on a very positive note: “Gameloft has developed one of the few mobile games that genuinely makes you forget what format you’re playing it on, widening the scope for those that follow.”

I did not write this list. I actually found it on an Assassin’s Creed forum. Nonetheless, it’s a great list that I approve of. It gives 10 ways that Ubisoft can improve on to make Assassin’s Creed better then the first one.

Tweak the free-running

The free-running in Assassin’s Creed is good, but it’s far from perfect. To start with Ubisoft needs to figure out how to free up your right thumb in order to manually control the camera using the right analogue stick. Altair could also do with a little more upper body strength, allowing him to pull himself up over ledges a little quicker. This would make fast-paced chases all the more enjoyable.

More variety in assassinations

For a game about an assassin, the assassinations in Assassin’s Creed left a lot to be desired. They nearly all played out the same and were basically impossible to carry out without alerting all the guards in the local area. Whether it’s making your target less obvious or simply trying to spot the target based on his location and actions, it shouldn’t be as easy as walking into an area and starting a fight.

Interesting NPCs (NON-PLAYABLE CHARACTERS)

Assassin’s Creed’s cities are full with citizens. The number of people wandering the streets is truly amazing to see, but most of them are just there to make up the numbers. Why can’t they each have something to say, and more of them need to trigger side missions and objectives. A citizen who needs to be saved from guards gets old after you’ve done the same thing a handful of times, and it just makes no sense for the same thing to be happening all over each of the cities.

A real ending

There’s no denying that the end to Assassin’s Creed is interesting, but it’s certainly not what we’d call satisfying. Assassin’s Creed needs to explain a few more things without simply offering fairly cryptic clues. And at the end we need an actual conclusion. It’s fine to set up a sequel but we don’t want to be left with more questions than answers.

Improved guard AI

The guards in Assassin’s Creed have their moments, but all too often you can casually walk behind them and stealth kill them from behind. This isn’t what we’d call intelligent AI. You should have to work for your stealth kills. On the other hand, when giving chase they could do with being a little less aggressive and not quite so agile. Assassin’s Creed needs to make you feel superior to the enemies in the game, so when you’re on the run you should have a clear advantage - less being knocked off ledges by rocks please(maybe)

More stealth

Altair’s costume is superb, but could he not do a little more to blend in? Why not change into something a little more suited for the district he’s in and perhaps it’s not wise to carry a large blade on your back? While the notion of the public not being aware of such an assassin is believable for a time, given that there’s little way for the citizens to communicate other than by voice, surely by the end of the game your appearance and presence should be all too well known.

Better combat

Having a combat system that relies on counters has its merits. Fights in Assassin’s Creed look great and anyone can get good at fending off a large group of guards, but more options for skillful players would be great. An optional combat system that plays similarly to God of War would be superb, as would a willingness by the guards to attack more than one at a time.

Do more with the cities

The three main cities in Assassin’s Creed and wonderful digital creations and something Ubisoft should be proud of, but more should be made of them. There needs to be more life, random occurrences, scripted events, epic moments and more interactivity. Most of the buildings in the game are for show and can’t be entered, while there’s very little sense of the citizens actually going about their daily lives - instead simply going along pre-determined routes.

Co-op play

Stealth gameplay works in co-op, as Splinter Cell has proved. Open city games work in co-op too, as Crackdown has proved. Combine the two, along with the improvements mentioned above, and Ubisoft would have a killer game on its hands. Just imagine Player 1 causing a slight disturbance in the town centre, maybe by starting a fight with a merchant. This then calls the guards away from their post outside a building, allowing Player 2 to enter, take up a safe position and await the arrival of your target.

No water death

How this is still even in modern games is beyond us, but please Ubisoft, don’t let Altair die when he hits water in Assassin’s Creed. When playing on the dock in Assassin’s Creed, if you miss a grab breaker you’re odds on going to get thrown into the obviously toxic blue liquid that the boats are floating on - presumably crew-less due to the fumes being emitted. It’s a simple thing, but surely a hard guy like Altair should be able to take getting a little wet.

For those of you who are having trouble finding the locations of the flags in Assassin’s Creed, or are too lazy to look the for flags, here are 2 useful links:
Flag locations 1 - This is a Google Maps mashup that shows the locations of the flags in Masyaf and Damascus Poor
Flag Locations 2 - here’s a comprehensive list of screenshots with flag locations in all the world

Ubisoft’s North American president, Laurent Detoc, was recently quoted as saying, “When we bring it [Assassin’s Creed] back, there will be more anticipation for it.” This was in response to why Ubisoft waited so long to bring the Prince of Persia franchise back to gaming consoles. Apparently Ubisoft believes in making gamers wait a long period of time so that when a sequel comes out it will be hyped up and highly anticipated.

Right now, Ubisoft is behind EA and Activision in the video game industry. Do you think Ubisoft has noticed that EA (Madden) and Activision (Guitar Hero) are constantly releasing new titles of their popular franchises? Ubisoft says they have enough money to hold them over and don’t need to keep pumping out games.

So while it’s is highly likely we will see an Assassin’s Creed sequel in the future… it may just take 3-4 years for it to get here.

This is one of the hardest assassination missions in the game. You can spend a couple hours doing this and still come up short. There will be wave after wave of foes before you finally reach the real Robert de Sable. Unfortunately, there is no way around it. You must fight, and you must win.

I’ve read one suggestion online that says:

The easiest thing to do is get out the hidden blade and counter one of them.
Although it is difficult and the timing is strict, once you nail one of them at least one of the other guards should back away in fear, letting you simply jump onto him with the wrist blade.

For every kill one of the guards should react like this, so you can easily combo most of the guards down using this little tactic…

I’ve read another that recommends you fight, then just keep running in circles until your health regenerates.

If you’re still having trouble, check out this video below. It may give you a better idea of how to accomplish this mission.

Nearly 26,000 PSP fans have signed an online petition demanded UbiSoft release their smash hit Assassin’s Creed to the PSP. The petition starts out very strongly, and reads:

Considering the success that Assassin’s Creed has seen on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, we feel it is a slap in the face for PlayStation Portable fans to see the Nintendo DS getting Assassin’s Creed in early 2008. If this is the kind of treatment Ubisoft plans to show its loyal PSP fans in the future, then I for one will go elsewhere for my gaming needs.

I doubt Ubisoft would take an online petition seriously. Years of planning goes into development for video games. If they wanted to release Assassin’s Creed on the PSP, they would have done it by now. They must have their reasons… I just don’t know what they are. If it can be created for Nintendo DS, then it can be ported to the PSP.

Anyways, go ahead and sign the online petition if you want.

Lucy Stillman, of Assassin’s Creed, is a scientist working for Abstergo Industries. She helps Dr. Vidic in the research of Altair. She is modelled after and voiced by Kristen Bell.

Not much is known about Lucy’s at the start of the game, although it can be assumed that she is not as cold hearted a person as Dr. Vidic is. She frequently stops Desmond from using the Animus for prolonged periods of time, because she says it can strain the body severely if used for too long. She is also generally warmer in personality than Dr. Vidic and is generally nicer to Desmond, allowing him a bit more freedom than Dr. Vidic Does, even to the point of allowing him to use her computer once.

Ubisoft, the creator’s of Assassin’s Creed, modelled Lucy almost identically to Kristen Bell. Take a look at the hair and beauty marks. I mean, the real version of her is way hotter then the pixellated one, but still I think they did an awesome job.

Why is there no night time in Assassin’s Creed?

It’s a very interesting question. Most evolving games nowadays have lifelike time in which we see day and night as the game progresses. So why did the makers of Assassin’s Creed not include any night time missions?

I can think of a few reasons, although I’m not sure if any of them were considered by Ubisoft. For one, during the middle ages, citizens rarely ventured outside once the sun went down. It was too dangerous and people went to bed really early back then. Another reason Ubisoft may have excluded night time from Assassin’s Creed is because the assassination missions in cities were meant to be public. They wanted to kill to be seen.

Sure roaming around at night time and being stealth-like would be cool at times, but it’s not how this game was meant to be played. Altair was meant to kill important people in front of everyone.

After you complete certain quests in Assassin’s Creed, the NPCs will say, “Here take a map of where guards will be stationed.” I’ve come across several people asking how to access this map so I thought I would write a quick post about it. To get to your map of the guards you need to access your additional memories. Go in your memory log and click view attachment. It’s quite easy to find it.

Now, whether or not you will actually use the map of the guards is another question. I never used it on my first play through, but did find it useful when just running around having fun. Some people think looking at the map is like “cheating” because you know where all the guards are stationed. Instead, I’d rather keep the realism in Assassin’s Creed and be surprised.

Those of you playing Assassin’s Creed on the PC probably noticed a small patch download/install in the recent days. Ubisoft had been promising all the Assassin’s Creed gamers a new patch that would fix the graphical bugs and it looks like they help true to their promise.

Here is a list of everything the patch fixed:
- Fixed a rare crash while riding the horse in Kingdom
- Fixed a corruption of Altair’s robe on certain graphics hardware
- Cursor is now centered when accessing the Map
- Fixed a few problems with Alt-Tab
- Fixed a graphical bug in the final fight
- Fixed a few graphical problems with dead bodies
- Fixed pixellation with post-FX enabled on certain graphics hardware
- Fixed a small bug in the DNA Menu that would cause the image to disappear if the arrow was clicked rapidly
- Fixed some graphical corruption in Present Room with low Level Of Detail
- Character input is now canceled if the controller is unplugged while moving
- Added support for x64 versions of Windows
- Fixed broken post-effects on DirectX 10.1 enabled cards

Unfortunately, those of you with DirectX 10.1 installed are out of luck. You’ll have to revert backwards. But the removal of DirectX 10.1 was a good thing because it allowed for better performance of Assassin’s Creed.

In Assassin’s Creed it is possible to run out of throwing knives. It makes the game more realistic by limited the number of throwing knives Altair can carry at any given time. If you’re stuck running around in the world of Assassin’s Creed and you have no more throwing knives, here are a few tips to get more.

Pickpocket a thug. You will notice these guys while running around. They have knives strapped to their bodies. Just pickpocket them like any other side mission you’ve done.

Bureaus. Go to any of the Bureaus before an assassination and you will have your throwing knives replenished.

That’s really all there is too it. I have heard of so many gamers not knowing what to do to get more knives. They’ll run all the way back to Masyaf when really that isn’t necessary. Stay tuned for more Assassin’s Creed tips.

This is a pretty sweet video made by a gamer. It is a compilation of a bunch of silent kills he made. If you’re wondering how to become a true assassin, then you need to watch this video and take notes on what he does. No one does it better.