Desmond Miles, an average bartender, was kidnapped by an unknown group in 2012. Desmond is bound to a weird gadget known as “Animus,” which allows him to access the memory of his ancestor, an assassin named Altar. The captors require the reconstruction of Altar’s memories for whatever purpose.
After accessing Altar’s memories, Desmond can relive the events that occurred in the Holy Land in 1191, during the Third Crusade. Al Mualim, the assassins’ leader, tells Altar to assassinate nine notable historical personalities who allegedly let violence and corruption flourish across the Holy Land.
The player controls Altar throughout most of the game, yet it is evident that managing him is part of Desmond’s experience. The player can also control Desmond in the “Animus” between sessions.
The freedom of decision and movement is the game’s most innovative element. Every architectural detail, such as window ledges, stone carvings, or wooden bars, can be used to move about on the walls. This provides for intense chase scenarios if you happen to be pursued by the guard.
There are various ways to achieve your objective in the game. You can learn about your next victim by eavesdropping, interrogating, and pickpocketing. You can then use this knowledge to decide whether to attack the targets head-on or from the shelter of the rooftops with an adequately positioned throwing knife.
Depending on your choice, you must deal with city people and knights who will get suspicious of a disguised individual wandering around on rooftops or near mission targets. There are various scenarios where you can blend in with the crowd and, with luck, take out your target without anybody noticing. Altar possesses a tiny but effective array of weapons, such as swords and throwing knives, and he can learn new combat skills to aid him in his objective.
