The Hidden Blade Assassin's Creed in Depth

Canadian domination continues with The Hidden Blade's featured member for December, DarkAlphabetZoup. We interviewed DAZ and here's what he had to say:

Tell me about the first time you played AC1 and/or AC2.

The first time I played Assassin's Creed, I had heard about the game, and I saw that it was about a ninja dressed in white robes stabbing people. But the BIG thing.. *gasp* was that he was doing PARKOUR! My hobby, that I do in real life, was in this game, and it was portrayed pretty well, to be honest. I got it for 20 bucks off of a Best Buy, and I sat down to play it... I saw Desmond. I was all "WTF... this is.. not in the past?" I got more interested in the Desmond story than the Altair story. I loved it immediately.

When I played ACII, it was everything I could have hoped for, and MORE. The ending blew me away, and I knew that I had a new favorite game series. The Assassin's Creed games had knocked Prince of Persia off the ladder.

What do you like most about the games?

What I like is that the stealth mechanics actually make sense, and the parkour. In games like MGS, using stealth like that is next to impossible in practical situations. But Social Stealth makes so much sense. As long as you're not ACTUALLY wearing Assassin White, it's pretty easy to walk through a crowded street, gently pushing your way through people. To most onlookers, you're just a generic guy in the crowd. Being able to free-roam literally anywhere was awesome as well. I knew the amount of care and detail that the developers put in was NOT accidental. But by far (as if you couldn't tell already), I love the story.

What is your favorite style of assassination?

I enjoy the stealthy type, where I get in, make the kill, and get out. I guess it varies from target to target. My favorite assassinations are the ones that happen at the end. I try to make them with the series' iconic Hidden Blade, epically finishing off my opponent in a final encounter that I would have NEVER seen coming.

What is your favorite quote from the games?

I have a few. One of them is "Nothing is true, everything is permitted." That is basically the series' motto. I mean, "Nothing is true", basically means exactly what it says. Look at all main AC games so far, and tell me that you haven't been blown away by the ending. Anything can happen. Nothing is true. The other major half of the Assassin's Creed series is that, "Everything is permitted." It's true. You can climb, go on street level, kill with stealth, kill with brutality, not kill at all, pretty much anything. The world is open to you. I like that. I like it a lot.

What would you like to change about AC?

There are two things I'd like to change about Assassin's Creed. One of them is the amount of Desmond exposure. I'm aware that some people don't really LIKE Desmond's part in the games.. but really, to me, he's the main reason I'm playing them. Desmond is viewing the memories of his ancestors through an Animus. And I am viewing Desmond's memories through an Animus of my own: My PlayStation 3 He's the common denominator. The next thing I'd like to change would be what happens to a major character in the story.. I let my controller fall, and I dropped to my knees. Really. And speaking of an Animus of my own and what happens to characters, what do you think of this:

Spoiler: Highlight to view

When the man at the end of the game says that "he's in shock." I was fairly certain he was talking about ME. I was in shock. The only way to stop me from dwelling too much on the devastating events that happened (and I WAS emotionally devastated, believe it or not) was to put me get me to play more, to find all flags and solve all Subject 16 puzzles, in an effort to make me forget.

What AC accomplishment are you most proud of?

The AC accomplishment I am most proud of is probably getting all trophies in ACII. Soon to be followed by AC:B. Coming close behind that is the fact that I bought AC:B on the DAY it came out, at LUNCH. Here's a little convo. Good to know I can er.. use my Assassin skills to persuade people

Me: Hi
Cashier: Sup?
Me: Just wondering, you guys got a game I'm looking for?
Cashier: Which one?
Me: Assassin's Creed Brotherhood.
Cashier: Sure, here ya go.
Me: Thanks.
Cashier: You over 18?
Me: (slow mo effect) *thinking, Oh man, uh.. I'll try it, and if it doesn't work, I'll go to another store and/or get my older brother to get it for me*.
Me: Uh, yup.
Cashier: Have a nice day.

-68 florins.
It was great.

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

I've always been an atheist. I like the way the game deals with religion, and it has opened my eyes to many different aspects of religion and things like that. After playing the first Assassin's Creed game, I read the Bible, the Torah and the Quran. Not the way they're meant to be read, I read them very quickly. But I was interested.

I also started to look up the history behind the games, and I came away with the same things happening. One of which was me saying "IT MAKES TOO MUCH SENSE TO BE A COINCIDENCE", and the second being me saying to myself "It's a work of fiction. It's a coincidence."

There are some great philosophical quotes or ideas in these games, one of which being the concept of the Creed. Even though Assassins end others' lives, they do NOT strike at innocents. I enjoy that a lot more than the cold brutality of GTA games, where I frequently see players kill a bunch of innocent people. It's also why I enjoyed Scarface: The World is Yours. I wanted to see what would happen if I tried to shoot someone, already aware that if Tony was true to his reputation, he wouldn't do it. You know what he said when I clicked the mouse button? "I'd rather shoot myself mang." What a guy. Amazing.

Is there anything else you'd like to add or promote?

An interesting little side-note. I was born with 4 toes on my right foot, and with my right leg being several centimeters shorter than my left. I underwent many surgeries to try to fix it, and I'm getting closer every time. There's only a few millimeters difference, so another surgery won't even be necessary.

In a way, going into an Animus in the game, I sort of understood what Desmond was feeling. There's a bright white light RIGHT above you, you're on a cold hard table, made of steel or something, there are people dressed in white coats around you. You lose consciousness. In a way, that helps me connect with him.

But one thing I've noticed is that, no matter how much I think my leg has dragged me back, it doesn't. I used to do Tae Kwon Do, and even with my leg shorter than most people, even with my only having 4 toes (which greatly upsets one's balance, mind you) I was STILL Master Rim's best student. I'm not bragging. He told me himself. There was a downside to it though: He always made sure I was the one who did all the demo push-ups and sit-ups and whatnot . But the moral of this not-very-interesting story is that, no matter what you think your flaws are, you can always push past them, as if they're not even there.

I'm also currently dealing with a slight case of depression. I'm pushing past that.

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

Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood is my favorite AC game. Soon to be replaced by whatever comes out next. This is because it has the most of Desmond, it has the most of Desmond and Lucy. I am for some reason a big fan of relationships in media. Especially games. I felt a great ROOTING feeling to Elika and Prince, Prince and Farah, and now Lucy and Desmond. I was surprised at what happens between them. Very interesting. AC Brotherhood has the most gameplay, most Desmond and most everything improvements.

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

When I'm not playing AC games, my other favorite game of all time is anything related to StarCraft. I also like parkour, doing parkour with my friends, and Creative Writing. I want to be a writer when I grow up. I know it's ambitious, I know it's difficult and most of all, I know there are MANY people out there who are competing with me to be the same thing. I'm still gonna go for it.

My favorite drink is Mott's Clamato Spicy Tomato Juice-thing. My favorite foods are Samosas, Rice Pudding, a Bulgarian dish made with yogurt, cucumbers and some herb that I don't know the English name for, unfortunately. By the way, I'm Bulgarian. There's a lot of churches reminiscent of AC games in that country. I moved to Canada with my parents when I was 4. My brother joined soon after.

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

Have you attempted any of the actions shown in Assassin's Creed games, where, why, how and did it work? Sure to be interesting.