The Animus is probably the best storyteller's get-out clause ever conceived: thanks to the machine's gene-plumbing VR magic, Ubisoft is free to take the Assassin's Creed series to any location and era on record.
The forthcoming Assassin's Creed: Revelations is the last set in Renaissance Italy, bidding a fond farewell to grizzled pretty-boy Ezio Auditore and his spectral forebear Altair. Where will Assassin's Creed 3 raise the flag? Here are some ideas...
Medieval Europe
Assassin's Creed has gotten better the nearer it comes to the present day, so taking a step backward chronologically might risk some kind of karmic backlash. That aside, a Robin-Hood-flavoured edition would tie into the events of the first game nicely. While Altair duffs up Crusaders in the Holy Land, players could meddle with the machinations that spawned the Crusades in the first place. The northern European nations may be blunter-spoken than silver-tongued Italy, but political shenanigans aren't hard to find - bishops pressuring knights to join the religious rampage, lords wresting power from an absentee king, witch-hunts, peasant revolts. All the best bits from Monty Python's Quest for the Holy Grail, essentially.
Feudal Japan
There's a reasonably strong case for this - Ubisoft's art director Mohammed Gambouz broached the prospect of an Asian Assassin's Creed in April. Ninjas, of course, are the archetypal game assassins; they'd feel right at home in Ubisoft's urban sandbox. Japan's sweeping temple roofs and pristine ornate gardens have always stood up well as videogame levels, and the country's rich folk history could lend itself to "creative" stealth options, like distraction techniques that call on the four mystic elements. Leaving aside the spiritual stuff, who wouldn't want to chase a courier through the canopy of a bamboo forest, House of the Flying Daggers style? Or use a blowpipe to poison a sleeping daimyo? Or hold a katana duel by moonlight?
Ancient Rome
We know Renaissance Rome like the backs of our hands, but Ancient Rome is a totally different city. Imagine climbing around newly built aqueducts or a Colosseum that's still open for business. Roman technology was somewhat ahead of its time, so there'd be little problem unearthing some interesting weapons to play with, particularly portable siege weapons like the Scorpion - essentially a miniature ballista. We suspect we could find some creative uses for that. We also suspect we'd enjoy infiltrating and sabotaging a legion in the midst of a battle with barbarian hordes, or re-enacting the death of Julius Caesar. Et tu, Desmond?
The American Revolution
Oi, descendants of our former colonial subjects! Wouldn't you like to relive the overthrow of the mother country? Assassins of this era would be a different breed, facing armies equipped with guns, pistols and cannons besides the ever-popular sharp pointy objects. Stealth would be of paramount importance - even Ezio can't outrun a fusillade of bullets. Some kind of light/dark visibility meter, like that of seminal stealth hit Thief, could be handy, as could a full disguise system. Moving away from the Limey-Yank throwdown, how about a Native American protagonist, Ubisoft, patiently tracking his foes through woods and across plains? Tomohawks equal extra-messy counterkills...
The French Revolution
Always room for more revolutions. There's been speculation on this front since the ending of Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, which we won't spoil - many believe it contains clues to future settings, one of the potentials being 18th century France. Two words: Scarlet Pimpernel. If this semi-mythical saviour of beleagured blue-bloods wasn't an Assassin turned rogue, we'll eat our feathered velvet hats. The series' faction systems could blossom in revolutionary Paris, with ramshackle barricades on every street corner and dirty proles mobbing anything vaguely aristocratic. The storming of the Bastille would make a magnificent setpiece. These are only a few ideas plucked from the inspiration-fest that is all of history ever. Where do you think Assassin's Creed is heading? Is there anywhere you *don't* want it to head?
22 comments so far...
Waffles2541 on 11 Sep '11 said:
I reckon it is almost guaranteed to be the american revolution, as it needs to explain how desmonds relatives got to america. Its also likely because of the dates. the first assassin's creed was dated to 1176, while AC2 started in 1476. Since that is an extra 300 years on each then it is likely that another 300 years could be added, making it 1776, the start of the american revolution. Since the American revolution went on til 1783, it seems like a good amount of time to set a game. They could also then use the French Revolution and Napoleonic Wars as a backdrop for any add-ons they want to make, like AC: Brotherhood and AC: Revelations. They could even make the revolutionists Templar and even Napoleon as one, setting him up as the main adversary of the new character.
KernowDevil23 on 11 Sep '11 said:
Victorian London. That is all.
exhausted on 11 Sep '11 said:
I'm not worried if it doesn't fit in with the rest of the story but the Ninja Assasins Creed has to happen.
hugheyb on 11 Sep '11 said:
Exactly my thinking sir. Imagine hunting down the Ripper with Holmes and Watson. And also, a gentleman thief assassin? The fog of London would be ideal for stalking targets, and imagine the technical wizardry of that era!
Bezza89 on 11 Sep '11 said:
I noticed I've been misquoted in this issues OXM, I never speak that eloquently. Do you touch up the wording?
Volitive_hownow on 11 Sep '11 said:
To be honest I would rather they finished Desmond's story. Instead of having him in the animus we would be playing as him the entire game, since he has learned Ezio's abilities. Desmond's life is set in 2012 and if they bring out the next game a year after Revelations then it's 2012 in reality and I think it would be great to bring Desmond's story to a close like that. Then they could continue with a new character and the asian setting or whatever other exciting settings there could be. I just don't want them to drag out Desmond's story so that by the time the conclusion does come about we would have all lost interest.
Decent_Jam on 11 Sep '11 said:
You've not been marginalised but positively enhanced...I'm sure that's not the way journalism is supposed to work
buckleboff94 on 11 Sep '11 said:
I was fixated on ninjas!
great detective work for the american revolution Waffles 2541,i dont think thats coincendental on ubi's behalf at all..
After seeing so many good ideas, I genuinely cant wait to see where AC3 is set- hopefully a hint will be present at the end of Revelations
the end of desmonds story would end the series really though wouldnt it? :/ besides in 2012 theyll have to use guns and the skyscrapers aren't that suitable for free running really are they? so itd end up being a third person cover shooter maybe? :')
Volitive_hownow on 11 Sep '11 said:
I don't believe it would end the series just that story arc. I don't want it to stop after Desmond's story is complete, I just don't want to be drip fed the main story because they want to produce more sequals with exciting new locations.There's no reason for them not to introduce a new main character after Desmond. I do think that my want for a modern day Desmond story is flawed, because I don't know how they would do it without the gameplay changing dramatically and there would possilbly be guns. At the end of AC 2 the abstergo guys could have carried guns but didn't. I'm sure that whatever they do next will be amazing.
Grummy on 11 Sep '11 said:
Bognor Regis. Stalking around Butlins would be epic.
Mr Scarecrow901 on 11 Sep '11 said:
Feudal Japan. Ninja stars and Samurai swords FTW!
ridinglikesatan on 11 Sep '11 said:
Love the idea of Japan, letting your Pikachu go around and assassinate people for you
, but seriously, it would be a great setting.
wishface on 11 Sep '11 said:
Disneyworld.
Cdr JamesCool on 11 Sep '11 said:
I would like to see London being the next setting and I mean London in it's entirety!!
guttridgeb on 12 Sep '11 said:
it might be a bit too recent but WW1 russia would be interesting
CunningSmile on 14 Sep '11 said:
They covered that in the surprisingly good AC comic. Not sure if they are releasing a collected graphic novel but I hope so as I only managed to read the last issue.
Gerishnakov on 14 Sep '11 said:
Except Holmes and Watson are fictional characters, and AC is based loosley on historical reality.
Cokney Charmer on 16 Sep '11 said:
Would love to see the series come to my home town and country of London England
But the story in Assassin's Creed is so rich and deep that where ever it gets located in AC III its going to be amazing, it is genuinely becoming the must have game franchise to have in your collection and shows that an SP game can be very rewarding!
Metalratex on 16 Sep '11 said:
I vote for French Revolution. Maybe Victorian England could be interesting. I don't like the American Revolution scenario since it could lead to some The Patriot style storyline. And don't think about Japan, I don't want to play a generic Shinobi.
VillainofGotham on 28 Jan '12 said:
I don't think they should risk messing up the gameplay for the finale of Desmond's story with something like the American Revolution; seeing as Ubisoft have already declared that they plan to continue the series with different characters after Assassin's Creed III, I think they should try out settings like that afterwards, to create a completely different feel for the series.
For this one, though, they should stick to what they know in terms of gameplay, while of course adding some new features like all the other games have done. So I'm all in favour of a Japanese setting, or, above all others, the Victorian London setting that some people have suggested. I know the series tends to stick primarily to actual historical characters in their storylines, but if they actually did include characters like Sherlock or Moriarty then that would make things very interesting indeed XD
hellhound on 30 Jan '12 said:
yeah ww1 russia would be cool
Amerterasu16 on 15 Feb '12 said:
I think it should be Japan,Ninjas?! Yes Please indeed Ubisoft!