The Hidden Blade Assassin's Creed in Depth

It's the first of the month again. Time to shine the spotlight on another outstanding member of The Hidden Blade. For July we interviewed Calvar The Blade who has steadily become a fixture on the forums over the past six months. Here's what he had to say:

Tell me about the first time you played AC.

I was at a friends house and he booted up AC1, which had just come out. Everyone else got really bored during the intro but I was really interested, and then I saw Altair's failure in Solomon's Temple and his apparent execution. I was hooked. I borrowed the game, and played through most of it. Then I got tired of doing investigations and gave it back. A few years later Assassin's Creed 2 came out, and from all the previews and E3 footage I was thinking that this could be the game that made AC (which I had really liked except for the repetition) my favorite series. I was right. I've played AC2 for more than 160 hours and done 3 full playthroughs.

What do you like most about the games?

The thing I like most about the games is the way the cities are so huge and beautiful, how you can go anywhere in them, and also the story. I love reading about all the time periods and locations Assassin's and Templars have fought on Project Legacy, and I love playing some of those periods and places even more. The ending of each AC game has never failed to make me go: OMG this makes no sense and is awesome!

What is your favorite style of assassination?

My favorite style of assassination is killing no-one but my target, and slipping away as unnoticed as is possible.

What is your favorite quote from the games?

Nothing is true... just joking! Too obvious. I think it would have to be: "Rest, prepare, cry in the corner, do whatever it is you do before a mission, only make sure you do it quietly." - Malik

What would you like to change about AC?

I'd like for the free-running to be made more complex yet easier to use, resulting in a smoother system of movement both visually and mechanically, so that I can choose between jumping to the ledge or jumping to the pole under the ledge, instead of being forced to accept the free-run pathing. I'd also like the combat to stay as fun and empowering as it was in brotherhood but to be more precise, and with more intelligent and active guards, as well as more athleticism from the Assassin to make up for the guard's aggressiveness. Also "elite" guards that present a different, more challenging style of combat, not just a big health bar. *cough*PapalGuardsCesareRodrigo*cough*

What AC accomplishment are you most proud of?

I'm most proud of pretty much any assassination mission I managed to pull off exactly the way I wanted: in quick, out quick, with as little people noticing as possible.

Are there any philosophical aspects of the game that intrigue you?

I really support the idea of not telling people what TO believe, but telling them what YOU believe, and letting them find their own path to whatever they end up believing, and not judging them for whatever they choose.

Which Assassin's Creed game is your favorite: AC1, AC2 or AC:B? Why?

AC2 was my favorite because it took the awesome mechanics of AC1 and put them in a vibrant, changing location, with story-driven investigations that were not as rigidly structured, as well as adding or improving upon the mechanics. And it had humor and wit, blood and action, drama and conspiracy, and a really freaky ending! AC:B was better than I had hoped but I believe the main reason that it wasn't as big or sandboxy a game was because the team working on it was too small to make a perfect AC game in one year. AC1 was amazing at 13 parts. But those 13 parts were held together by a whole lot of what was presented and really was, unnecessary padding. Also, I found the story to be quite predictable, with each target believing he was right and the obviously evil guy being evil. It had great potential, though, and served as an avenue for most of the people on this site to innovate and strategize in a different way than any other game.

When you're not playing Assassin's Creed, what other games or activities do you enjoy?

I like music, Longboarding, Art, Halo, Guild Wars, Portal, and surfing the web.

Is there a question that you would like me to ask the next featured member?

What time period would you like the animus to go to in AC3?

And here is a question from the last featured member, Phi:
How would you react if the information/assassination mission style of AC1 was brought back and how would you change it?

I would make 10 distinct types of missions, and diversify those types into sub-types, and only two investigations would be required.