The Hidden Blade Assassin's Creed in Depth

While on his current vacation, stabguy wrote to Lisa and me that Arrrogance had returned to the forums here at THB. We jumped at this opportunity to interview him as the Featured Member for October. Here's what he had to say:

Tell me about the first time you played AC.
Well, it was a rainy sunday...just kidding. It was some day of the week and I was bored of the usual Call of Duty rage session. So I called my friend up and he was going to come over. What did he say on the phone call? "Dude! I just got this new game, Assassin's Creed 2. It's awesome! You gotta try it." I'm usually very hard to please but I figured it looked alright. So he came over, and I played it, fell in love with it. I've beaten it at least 10 times just because I like to play the storyline. I remember the first time I played, he was showing me all you could do. "Man check this out, you can climb like anything! Watch me climb to the top of this building!" Of course I was just staring in amazement. It really did look like a great game, but it wasn't until after the 2nd time beating it did I really fall in love with the storyline. It also took me a good few hours to understand what an Animus was. It wasn't till a few months later when I was so in love with the storyline, I had to go out and buy the original Assassin's Creed. Which took me a week to beat. My first thoughts; "Why am I climbing so slow?! Why can't I attack with the hidden blade?! Who is Altair (I prounced All-tear)?! Isn't this the guy from the second game? Where am I? Why is this so repetetive? OMG I have to kill my mentor?" I was so lost. But I eventually got the hang of it and started to love this series once more (not that I ever stopped). After a while, I started looking up something along the lines of "Fun in Assassin's Creed 2" and somehow, lead me to Ian's videos. "OMG!!" was my first reaction seeing all the stunts and exploits that were possible. I had to do this! So I signed up here at TheHiddenBlade, and for a while I just watched in the shadows, contributing every now and again. By March 2010, Brotherhood was available for Pre-Order, so I did it. 7 months later, when Brotherhood was released, my thoughts were "New game, I got to get me some of those cool stunts!" So I ran around frantically trying to get some cool stunts or eagle strikes. And I did, my first ever Assassin's Creed Video (that was good) was an Eagle Strike on Il Carnifece. (I made a rough-stunt video on Bernardo in Ac2, but that was just me jumping off things.) I was dissapointed how little Assassinations are actually in Brotherhood, but it was still a fun game. A few months after Brotherhood released, I started to get into Multiplayer, it was kind of a rough start...now (at least 6 months later) I am actually getting good at it. I play maybe 2 or 3 games a day. Anyway...after Brotherhood started to lose my interest, I began to become inactive here at THB. Stopping by every now and again to see what you geniuses have come up with. (I really enjoyed Jack-Reacher's Multiplayer videos). With the announce of Revelations, I was laying in bed one day saying, "man, these people are dumb. Why can't I just sit down and have a mature and well-thought talk with somebody about Revelations" then it hit me, The Hidden Blade! I had forgot! So I came back and started posting again. In Pty Jame's words, I "came out from my shadowed corner" or something along those lines.

What do you like most about the games?
The sense of freedom. Most people say Assassin's Creed is all about Stealth. I prefer the freedom you have, you can do pretty much anything. Coming from a world of MMORPGs, I've always enjoyed freedom. It was just something about Assassin's Creed 2 though, the freedom in it I loved. In Ac2, when I learned I had to assassinate somebody, and a direct approach was not an option, I loved the feeling of climbing the nearest building and jumping down to get your kill. Or instead of rushing to complete the storyline, you can stop and maybe take down a Borgia Tower, or go save a citizen in Acre, or harass Malik.

What AC accomplishment are you most proud of?
Honestly, none of my AC accomplishments are to monumental, in my eyes at least. I do have 2 I am quite fond of. Firstly, I was the first (recorded) person to pull off an Eagle Strike in Brotherhood, maybe because I was trying too hard? Yes that was definitely it, but it happened. It looked kind of odd and the height wasn't to great, but it was an Eagle Strike as defined by whoever defined it. Ian I'm assuming. Secondly, I figured out how to Super/Hyperblend on Horseback in AC Brotherood, and was the first (recorded) person to show people. Although signs point to the fact Ian had already discovered it, and somebody else here figured it out to, I think it was Joey. Maybe I just beat them to the upload, or it wasn't that big a deal

What is your favorite style of assassination?
A stealthy, low-profile Assassination of course. Ezio's one-man-army thing is always nice, but it does get old. A stealthy approach is always more fun, as it does require a lot of timing and more skill then running in with your hidden gun and blasting your target's head off. (Although who doesn't enjoy that from time to time?) I use to play a game called Kingdom Hearts, and people would post up what they called 'Restricted' fights. Meaning you can't use certain abilities, take no damage, blablabla. I gave that a go with Brotherood, not the same. I tried things like "No eagle vision, no fast climbing, no climb leap, only hidden blade, no crossbow, etc" didn't feel any more fun, I had actually recorded a full mission with 'Restrictions' of Exit Stage Right. I decided not to upload at the last second. Jack's version of Restricted missions are "Ghost Runs".

What is your favorite quote from the games?
Man, that's a hard one. I'd have to say when Minerva says "The rest is up to you, Desmond." but she is speaking to Ezio. And Ezio is like "????". It may not be the most inspirational or heart-warming thing, but it blew my mind like mad. (We all know of course Desmond was in the animus controlling Ezio.) I think thats the first time ever my mouth actually dropped (like those cartoons.)

Which Assassin's Creed game is your favorite: AC1, AC2 or AC:B? Why?
Assassin's Creed 2, didn't even have to think about that. Not just my favorite Assassin's Creed, my favorite game hands-down. For all you that started with Ac1, you know what I mean, the massive ammount of changes from Ac1 to Ac2, but I started out with Ac2 so I was spoiled, I did learn to appreciate Ac1 after a while. Rome is cool an all, but visiting Florence and Venice in Ac2, I loved it. Such beauty and color. It made me wish I lived back then. Also the combat system in Ac2 was a tad easy, but not to easy. And quite honestly, I loved Ezio in his original Assassin robes (Giovanni's), the just look so right for him. I think they are my favorite Robes of any Assassin. In Ac2, you get Altair's Armor, which I thought was so awesome. It made Ezio look even cooler. In Brotherhood you get the Armor of Brutus, which made Ezio look like a giant bird(?)

What is your opinion on Ubisoft making the series a yearly title?
I am touchy on this subject. I love the idea of a new Assassin's Creed game to fufill my boredom for the year, but I don't like the fact this gives Ubisoft even less time to make their next AC game amazing. Ac1 had, what, 3-5 years of work? Ac2 had 2 years I believe, now its yearly. I think Ubisoft should go back to releasing a game every 2 years, they could perfect it. You can tell Brotherhood was rushed because of glitches and such. A glitch that makes me not like Brotherood for some reason, is Ezio's back high profile assassination, when he pushes the guard down on his knees and stabs the back of his neck with the Hidden Blade. In Ac2 and Ac2, this looked so amazing. In Brotherhood, your arm goes through half the guy's body, which ruined the entire thing for me. As a side note: Ubisoft REALLY needs to work on their multiplayer, it was a great concept and after watching Revelations Beta gameplay, I'm glad to see they've improved things. But when you die, I prefer that you can spawn immediately, or have a 1-2 second delay. Not stare at your falling body for like 10 seconds. At least in Revelations you don't go from death to profile-set selection. This made at least 20-30 seconds inbetween dying and getting back in to the game (Brotherhood.)

Who is your favorite Assassin's Creed character (main or secondary)?
Ezio, sorry Altair fanboys, I love Ezio. His character is so developed, we know his inside and outisde, we know what he thinks, when he thinks it. His character and story are so strong. A young Florentine Noble, without a care in the world besides girls, with the greatest life one could ever hope for, suddenly has it all ripped away from him and he finds himself on a quest for Vengeance. In Ac2's opening, when Ezio and Federico have the discussion on top of the church, at first, I thought "Awh that was nice." But after I played through the game and started my 2nd time, I said "That is so sad!!! I can't believe this!" You'd think this would be my favorite quote, but it's not. Very sad though

What time and place would you like the animus to go to in AC3?
I will miss the Italian Renaissance (credits to Google for the spelling . I loved it so much, it was the right setting for Ezio. Honestly, I don't have any idea where I'd like the Animus to take us in Ac3, I sleep through most of my history classes. To be honest, I wouldn't be to upset if Desmond finally got his own game, all about him...but bringing ancient things in to the present would be difficult. (Such as then there were Crossbows and repeating rifles, now there are hand guns and sniper rifles.)

When you're not playing Assassin's Creed, what other games or activities do you enjoy?
I do parkour as an EXTREMELY minimal hobby. Not like I go out and practice it, because I look like a big freak, but if the option comes up to walk around a fence or climb it, I will always go for climb. I like parkour a lot haha. I'll parkour whenever I can, but more as a way to get from point A to point B faster, I don't really do it to have fun.
I play the drums! Yeah, I play the drums. I love them, great way to express my anger instead of beating up a pillow or yelling at kids on CoD. I use to play Xbox a lot, but have recently stopped that. It's quite boring and honestly, I've outplayed it. I pick up Brotherhood from time to time for some Multiplayer, or when my friend calls up and wants to do some CoD. Most of my friends still play CoD but I've moved on. I'm preparing my Xbox with short bursts of gaming for when Revelations comes out, my Xbox will be on all day!
I was talking to my friends and they start talkin about Xbox, so the first thing that came to my mind was "Call of Duty sucks" and I said it out loud, so they suggested me Elder Scrolls IV. Anybody can give me a review on this game? Also, I am pursuing a love interest, wish me luck ?

Is there anything else you'd like to add or promote?
Fun Fact: My Assassin's Creed disc is lost, my Assassin's Creed 2 Disc is cracked down the middle, and my Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood disc is showing signs of cracking. Bad luck or overplayed? Hehe.
Fun Fact 2: I got my Xbox 360 Arcade 2 years ago, USED, and it's running flawlessly to this day.
Fun Fact 3: I purchase the AC:Brotherhood Novel, and read it in 2 days. It's the same as the game really, except it tells you of Ezio's adventure's between Cesare's arrest in Rome and death in Spain. I like to call it, "The Adventures of Ezio and Leonardo." because Leonardo accompanies him. Those 2 are the perfect team, I wouldn't have it any other way.
Fun Fact 4: Back in early December 2010, I very much wished to become the featured member. Haha. Glad to see 9 months later my dreams are coming true.

Is there a question that you would like me to ask the next featured member?
Do you think Assassin's Creed should be further pursued beyond gaming, such as a novel series or movie? (With the right writer/director of course)

I would like to thank Ian, Stab, and Lisa for nominating me for Featured Member. It's an honor really and you all have made me feel so welcome here at The Hidden Blade.