Assassin's Creed: Altaïr's Chronicles

Assassin's Creed: Altaïr's Chronicles is a video game released for the Nintendo DS, Android, iOS, webOS, Symbian, Java ME and Windows Phone. It is a prequel to the 2007 video game Assassin's Creed, developed by Gameloft Bucharest and published by Ubisoft.[1] It was released in the United States on February 5, 2008. It features two new cities, Tyre and Aleppo; and the three original cities, Jerusalem, Acre, and Damascus; but does not include Masyaf. Unlike the original Assassin's Creed, the game is not told through the perspective of Desmond Miles, but rather the perspective of Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad, although the menu screens do take place in the Animus.

Assassin's Creed: Altaïr's Chronicles
Developer(s)	Gameloft Bucharest
Publisher(s)	Ubisoft
Producer(s)	Antony Faby
Designer(s)	Bogdan Lucaci Cristian Soare
Artist(s)	Arthur Hugot
Composer(s)	Mathieu Vachon
Series	Assassin's Creed
Platform(s)	Nintendo DS Android iOS webOS Symbian Java ME Windows Phone
Release	Nintendo DS: NA: February 5, 2008 AU: April 3, 2008 EU: April 11, 2008 iOS: April 23, 2009 Palm WebOS: January 25, 2010 Windows Phone 7: November 11, 2010
Genre(s)	Action-adventure, stealth
Mode(s)	Single-player

Plot

1190 AD during the Third Crusade, Crusaders clash with Saracens for control of the Holy City, Jerusalem.

Altaïr is tasked by Al-Mualim to retrieve the Chalice. It is said to have the power to unite all factions and end the Third Crusade in victory for the side that possesses it. However, the Chalice is too powerful and must be found and destroyed.

The assassin, Altaïr, begins his journey at Damascus, where he learns that the Chalice is kept in the Temple of the Sand and that Altaïr needs three keys to enter it. Altaïr obtains the first key in Damascus, then heads to Tyre for more keys.

Arriving in Tyre, he learns that Roland Napule is head of the hospital. Altair infiltrates the hospital and gets the second key from a prisoner of Roland, an old man who has been to the mysterious temple of the Chalice.

Altaïr then travels to Jerusalem, learning that the Templar leader, Basilisk, has the third key. The king is going to have a party somewhere soon. He finds out the location of Villa where the party is about to begin, infiltrates it and encounters Lord Basilisk for the first time. After a battle with him Altair gets the key, but has no time to kill him.

Later in Jerusalem, Templars attack an assassin agent, Hazad, and steal the map to the desert temple. Altaïr chases them to their tower, where he meets the Master, an assassin-like figure who is actually a high-ranking Templar. Altair kills him and takes the map.

Altaïr then proceeds to the Temple of the Sand, where the Chalice is probably kept. There, he finds an empty chest and Lord Basilisk, who hints that the Chalice is in fact a woman. Basilisk taunts him, and Altaïr runs back to Tyre.

In Tyre, Altaïr pursues Basilisk and finally agrees on a deal: Basilisk's life in exchange for information. Basilisk reveals that the Chalice is in Jerusalem, and that the Templars are sieging Acre and are going to poison the water to quicken the siege.

Altaïr journeys to Acre and helps the city by fighting off attacking Templar soldiers. He then goes to Jerusalem, where he successfully rescues the Chalice from a group of Templars. Altair identifies the Chalice as Adha, the woman he knew and liked before the events of the game. From her, he learns that the Templars have paid off Harash, the second-in-command of the Assassins.

Altaïr plans to attack Aleppo, the assassin fortress, kill Harash and run away with Adha, but after making his way through Harash's assassin guards and killing him, Adha is kidnapped by Basilisk and taken to their port in Tyre.

Altaïr fights through the Templar knights and kills Lord Basilisk in one final confrontation on his ship. But Adha is on a different ship, which escapes before Altaïr can catch it.

Gameplay

Assassin's Creed: Altaïr's Chronicles takes advantage of the Nintendo DS features.[2] The game's main gameplay featured a 3D platform-puzzle game format with third person hack-and-slash combat and more limited stealth maneuvering. The touchscreen is utilized for mini-games, like interrogation and pickpocketing, as well as displaying a map during standard gameplay. The game's combat system consists primarily of weak attacks, strong attacks, blocks, and combos of the three with the sword, while bombs and projectiles are made available in later gameplay. Seven different weapons are available, including the hidden retractable blade, a sword, crossbow, explosive bombs, smoke bombs, and throwing knives. The game also features three different levels of difficulty, allowing for more experienced players to take on a bigger challenge. Unlike the console/PC versions of Assassin's Creed, however, the game does not feature open-world gameplay or any form of free-roaming.[3]

The Symbian mobile version is almost an identical port of the DS version.

Reception

The game has been received with mixed to positive reviews; IGN gave it a 7/10,[4] GameSpot gave it 6/10,[5] Nintendo Power gave it a 7.5/10, X-Play gave it a 2/5, and Game Informer magazine gave it a 6.5 out of 10. Official Nintendo Magazine gave it 69%. In Slide to Play's review of the iOS version, they gave it a 2/4.

References

1. Perez, Ryan (April 2008). "Assassin's Creed: Altair's Chronicles". GamePro. 235 (40).
2. "Assassin's Creed: Altaïr's Chronicles". Gamer Vision. 22 February 2008. Archived from the original on 7 February 2010. Retrieved 17 May 2018.
3. https://www.ign.com/articles/2008/02/06/assassins-creed-altairs-chronicles-review
4. Harris, Craig (2008-02-06). "IGN: Assassin's Creed: Altair's Chronicle review". IGN. Retrieved 2009-12-17.
5. VanOrd, Kevin (2008-02-11). "Gamespot: Assassin's Creed: Altair's Chronicles review". GameSpot. Archived from the original on 8 December 2009. Retrieved 2009-12-17.