The Hidden Blade Assassin's Creed in Depth

For May the featured member spotlight turns to Fed981, our resident expert on speedruns. He just celebrated his one year anniversary as a member of The Hidden Blade. It seems like yesterday that Fed showed up, talking about his latest conquest. At the time I think his "home base" was Speed Demos Archive. Eventually he came around and made THB his home. He chose wisely.

Tell me about the first time you played AC.

I saw the TV spot about AC2 and I decided to buy the game. Then I discovered a powerful assassin, in a very big area of gameplay. I was also surprised by the various ways to fight, from silent to stunt assassination, and by the immersive feeling.

What do you like most about the games?

What I like most is the progress during the game. I mean the memories/targets and the various ways the game wants you to realize/assassinate them. It's like an awesome movie. You want to know what will happen next and you're a part of it.

What AC accomplishment are you most proud of?

I'm most proud of the speedrun of AC2. The games are generally known for being quite long (a few dozens hours) but completing (and recording) AC2 in about 5 hours and 42 minutes is something amazing. It was also very pleasant to plan, find the shortest routes and prepare strategies for assassinations.

What is your favorite quote from the games?

In AC2 when Ezio kills Vieri de' Pazzi he doesn't tell him anything. Then Mario comes and say (in French) "Que la mort t'apporte le repos auquel tu aspires. Requiescat in pace." (Let death bring to you the rest you would like, or something like this). This sentence shows all the respect of the assassins for anyone, even for their targets.

What would you like to change about AC?

First of all, I would like to change the multiplayer part of the games. It's totally different from the solo part.
Then, I would like AC games to be more realistic. For instance, since ACR, Ezio is able to carry 12 bullets, 30 arrows, 25 knives, some poison, the hidden blades, a dagger, a hammer, 15 parachutes, etc. Also, I was quite impressed by the killstreaks but they should be more realistic too.

Which Assassin's Creed game is your favorite? Why?

My favorite one is AC: Brotherhood. In this one you can feel the atmosphere of AC2 but with a much more interesting gameplay (especially because of the crossbow) and in an interesting area. I was also very happy to fight many types of guards, to use a horse even inside the town, or to climb the Colosseum, for instance.

Who is your favorite Assassin's Creed character (main or secondary)?

I think my favourite character is Claudia, Ezio's sister. She looks like a very sensitive young girl, but then we discover that she's also part of the brotherhood, that she can fight quite efficiently. We don't know much about her but I hope her "company" will grow.

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

There aren't many philosophical aspects that interest me (generally speaking). Nevertheless, despite religion being very present during Renaissance, I wonder why Ubisoft focused so much on religious aspects (pieces of eden, etc). I also wonder why "those who came before", who were so smart, couldn't predict and protect them from the giant disaster.

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

About the other games: I like role-playing games (t4c, Demon's souls for instance), the Tomb Raider series, racing games like Gran Turismo or Test drive unlimited, and Minecraft, Counter-strike, Portal series, Blood omen, etc.

I also enjoy physics, that's my job. I'm currently becoming a teacher (with the French "agrégation").

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

About the previous question: don't hate or even ignore physics. It's very useful in the everyday life. Without it you wouldn't have the internet, or phones, etc.

And I would like to promote AC: Revelations. I know the story isn't very interesting, but the gameplay is very pleasant. And I'm sure AC3 will give us something awesome.

I'm also honored to be chosen as member of the month.

What question would you like me to ask the next featured member?

What scenario/part(s) of the game(s) would you imagine for a movie about AC?

And here is a question from the last featured member, Slembroccoli:
If Abstergo was real, what company would it be? Motivate!

I would say Microsoft. With the computers, this company tends (at least a few years ago) to dominate the entire world. This one would certainly be able to have a secret research platform.