With Assassin’s Creed III now officially confirmed to have a colonial American setting, the PlayStation LifeStyle staff share their thoughts on where they would have liked to series to go.
Sebastian Moss, Managing Editor:
As much as I’d love to go around stabbing annoying hoodies like in the picture, I think it’s too early for a present day AC. An interesting change for the series (which is at risk of becoming stale) would be a move to Feudal Japan. Renaissance and western European architecture has been done to death, as has Middle Eastern and a Byzantium mix – but Japanese architecture would be a first for the franchise. Think about climbing Himeji Castle – which had three moats, passageways that purposely confused you and led to dead ends, secret entrances and more – only to find yourself faced by an army of highly trained Samurai soldiers. Ninja’s would make for a perfect brotherhood of Assassin’s, with their design having clearly influenced the AC artists already. Japanese folklore says that ninjas descended from a demon that was half man and half crow – something that ties into the bird-based eagle references of western Assassin’s Creed assassins. The franchise has often chosen times of extreme class friction, and considering ninjas are thought to have evolved as an opposing force to upper-class Samurai, it would make perfect sense for the Samurai to be the baddies.
It’s an area rich in history, and filled with tons of potential.
Nick Michetti, Daytime News Writer:
One of Desmond’s ancestors walking about during the times of Ancient Egypt could be very interesting, as he could climb pyramids and all kinds of ancient stone structures, in addition to exploring tombs. His covert wrist knives wouldn’t exactly be out of place there, either. Pharaohs could add interesting historical twists to the game/series as well, for all of the mystery and political power that they had during that time. All kinds of conspiracies and possible ties to the past could be unraveled as well — pharaoh bloodlines, ancient unknown figures from tombs be discovered, and more. Ancient Egypt could prove to be a new and interesting time for the Assassin’s Creed series to explore.
Josh Fernandes, Podcast Producer:
Not enough games feature Space New York….or New New York. Imagine a city that is flying through space, so that it has really low gravity. This makes it so the protagonist can jump up to the top of building in a single leap. You might be thinking, “but how would he do those awesome aerial takedowns? He’d fall at a really slow rate!” The answer is simple: rockets. He will have rockets on his feet that he will use to jettison himself into his unsuspecting victim. Also, he will have a jetpack to escape from guards. Who needs to swing on plants when you can fly away at 80 mph?
Now, this doesn’t exactly mesh with the story since it is supposed to be Desmond’s ancestors, but what if Desmond is the ancestor of some other dude (lets call him Trevon) and the player has been playing as Trevon in an animus, to experience Desmond ‘s life, who has been inside another animus to experience Ezio’s life. Animus-ception! Now, the player can just play as some other ancestor of Trevon.
Cameron Teague, PR Manager:
To be honest, I don’t want to see Assassin’s Creed take place anywhere because I don’t want to see the series anymore. It has run its course for me and is no longer is relevant in the gaming industry. I refuse to get excited over an action game that takes the sports release approach with no where near the replay value and a main character who climbs at the speed of a injured fat kid who has a fear of heights. Ezio, Altair, and whoever else he cosplays as on the weekend can stay in the past for all I care.
Alex Osborn, Daytime News Writer:
Present day New York City would have to be my locale of choice. While historic set pieces are awesome, I’d really like to see what Ubi can do with a modern urban setting. Assassin’s Creed fans have been clamoring for answers to the mysteries that tie the franchise’s mind-bending narrative together, and a present day game that focuses on Desmond rather than one his ancestors would be the best way to bring the pieces together. Plus, you have to admit that scaling the Empire State Building – while incredibly unrealistic – would be pretty epic.
Dan Oravasaari, Writer:
Basically during the time of Jack the Ripper. The assassins guild would be falsely portrayed as being Jack the Ripper, which would tarnish the credibility of the guild and push them into the shadows even farther.
Given that there were a great deal of immigrants from all over Europe who came to England it would explain the lineage arriving in London. Have his mother be a prostitute (could be the key aspect as to why they used prostitutes to tarnish the guild). Say his mother was murdered and while trying to stop it, he was blamed for it and since then he was accused of the murders committed by someone else. The major arc would be him tracking down the true killer, which would tie into the Templars.
While none of these will be the setting for ACIII, there is of course the chance that Assassin’s Creed Vita will be in one of these times and places.
But where would you have liked to see AC go? Let us know in the comments below.
