#but that's less desmond becoming a templar and more of desmond being a member of the royal court

[teecupangel]

I know morally wise Desmond would never be a Templar but what if it was a more reluctant association? Like if one of them helped him out or a yew branch where he grew up as their son? Especially if it was a more moderate Templar.

Different variations of this idea had been flying over my head but there is this one:

A rough overview of how Desmond would react to being associated with the Templars (includes Italian Rite Civil War, Desmond becoming Haytham's Jiminy Cricket and... honestly Starrick looking reasonable when the Frye twins' actions are seen from the outside)

In a nutshell: Desmond has a high chance of 'allying' with Haytham due to his desire to give Ratonhnhaké:ton a better life, Monsieur de la Serre's moderate party in Unity (they did have a 'secret' alliance with the Parisian Brotherhood) and Starrick (mainly because the Frye twins did fuck up London and that looks super bad).

As for growing up connected to the Templars as some kind of Yew Branch setup, there's this:

One of the Unity AU Ideas was Desmond being reborn as Élise's twin brother and this one does end with him taking over the Templars (warning: this does go Arno x Desmond later on with Desmond and Élise doing the whole twin switcheroo... repeatedly)

[mediaeval-muse]

Video Game Review: Assassin’s Creed Rogue (Ubisoft, 2014)

Genres: action-adventure, third person, open world

Premise: During the mid-18th century, Assassin Shay Patrick Cormac uncovers a First Civilization temple in Lisbon and unwittingly triggers an earthquake that kills thousands. Desperate to keep the Assassins from finding more of these temples and harming more innocents, he joins the North American Templars, whose hold over the British colonies is starting to grow. In the present, research into Shay’s memories triggers a server failure at Abstergo Entertainment, and the unnamed employee from Black Flag must help restore the system.

Platform Played On: PC (Windows)

Rating: 4/5 stars

***Full review under the cut.***

I am evaluating this game based on four key aspects: story, characters, gameplay, and visuals. Because I played this game on a PC, I will not be reviewing the Remastered version, which is only available for consoles.

Content Warnings: violence, blood

Story: Assassin’s Creed Rogue primarily follows Shay Patrick Cormac, an Irish Assassin-turned-Templar who operates during the French and Indian/Seven Years War in North America. Starting as a member of the Brotherhood, Shay is sent to Portugal by Achilles Davenport (the mentor of the North American chapter of Assassins) in order o recover a First Civilization artifact. Unbeknownst to Shay, removing the artifact from the temple triggers an earthquake, killing thousands of innocent people. Furious that Achilles (and perhaps other Assassins) knew this would be a possibility yet refusing to tell Shay, Shay leaves the Assassins and joins the Templars in order to prevent the Brotherhood from accessing more temples and artifacts and from harming more innocent people.

I really liked the overarching story because it gave us clear goals and a clear structure. Shay has one purpose: prevent the Assassins from gaining access to the next First Civilization site. To do that, Shay has to track down and neutralize all of his former Brotherhood colleagues, which adds a level of personal involvement and angst. Structurally, I think this plot made a lot of sense and was well-done, and though it wasn’t as involved as a headliner game (like Black Flag), it did present the player with a straightforward narrative.

The Seven Years War/French and Indian War was an interesting backdrop, though it didn’t have the same entanglement with history as headliners. Shay isn’t really involved with any landmark historical events, but he is responsible for the Templars gaining a foothold in North America, which serves as the setting for Assassin’s Creed III. In that sense, I think this story is more meaningful for people who have played both Assassin’s Creed III and Black Flag. I also think this plot works better for those who intend to continue to Unity, since the end of Shay’s story serves as the beginning for Arno’s.

The main thing I didn’t like was the game’s treatment of Native Americans. While I don’t think it was outright offensive, there was a point in the narrative where Shay had to rescue an Oneida tribe from Assassin thugs, and Shay does have to confront and kill one of his former friends, who is Native. In that sense, Rogue may be triggering for some people, but I personally didn’t find it egregious like the brutal scenes in Assassin’s Creed III. Rogue does contain some missions where Shay has to seek out Native “totems” to unlock some special Native armor, so that could be appropriative, but I’ll defer to Native gamers on that issue.

I also just wish the game was longer, mainly because it’s the only one where we get a full Templar perspective, and it had interesting missions. If it had been a headliner and gotten the amount of time and resources other headliners receive, I think this game could have done really well.

The present-day Abstergo arc continues to be less compelling than the Desmond Miles frame from previous games. I didn’t find the system failure to be very exciting, nor did I think the unfolding narrative about Otso Berg was communicated in a particularly engaging way. I do think the idea of the Assassins confronting the flaws in their belief system is an interesting one, but we barely see any Assassins in the modern day arc, so it’s difficult to feel like there are stakes.

Characters: Shay is a compelling protagonist in that he has complicated motivations and grey morality. He’s obviously very concerned for ordinary people, even as a Templar, and is very conflicted over the prospect of confronting his former friends. I liked that he seemed to have legitimate concerns about the Assassins and the way their hierarchy is constructed, which made his turn to the Templars more understandable. I liked the opportunity to see why someone might join the Templars, especially if that someone wasn’t completely on board with the authoritarian viewpoint the Order holds.

Shay’s Assassin companions are interesting in that they each seem to have their own combat abilities, which made for unique confrontations. Hope, for example, is an Assassin who is skilled with poisons, and Liam is pretty precise with a firearm. Encountering them, therefore, felt like several different boss fights that avoided repetition. I also think Shay spent enough time with each person at the beginning so that confronting them felt like an emotional challenge. I think the emotional stakes could have been enhanced if the game was longer and contained more time for character interactions, but with what it had, I think Rogue used its time effectively.

Shay’s Templar companions are also well-used in that the game makes clear that Shay feels an emotional bond with them. Shay first grows attached to Colonel George Monro, and it’s clear from the outset that Monro’s fondness for Shay is what motivates the latter to devote himself to the Templars, not necessarily the Order’s ideology. I liked this personal dimension to Shay’s Templar companions because it parallels how people in the modern day become drawn to harmful ideologies or groups: they mainly stay out of fear of being socially rejected. It was a pretty nice touch, and I think it worked better than just having players experience a “gritty” game centered on being unambiguously evil and just wreaking havoc and misery everywhere.

I also liked that we got some familiar faces, such as Achilles Davenport and Haytham Kenway. The conflict between Shay and Achilles serves as background for why Achilles is so broken in Assassin’s Creed III, and I think Rogue does a good job in showing how Achilles’ motivations are just as complex and grey as Shay’s are. Haytham continues to be ruthless, and I liked the budding mentor-mentee relationship between him and Shay. It served as a nice counter balance to the lack of affection between Shay and Achilles, while also giving us more of Haytham’s witty banter.

I will say that I am conflicted on whether or not this game did Adéwalé justice.  Adéwalé was an NPC in Black Flag and a playable character in Freedom Cry, so players who have completed both will have some investment in the character. Since Adéwalé is one of the companions Shay must track down and confront, it may seem like an unfair end to Adéwalé’s story, but again, I’m conflicted - mainly because Shay is supposed to be something of a villain.

Gameplay: The core of Rogue’s gameplay is not that much different from Black Flag’s: players explore the open world using Shay’s ship, the Morrigan, uncovering chests as well as collectibles, such as Templar maps (which are functionally the same as Black Flag’s treasure maps), animus fragments, pieces of a Viking sword, totems, shanties, and others. The Morrigan is upgradable, just like the Jackdaw, and Shay can use it to attack French ships to acquire resources such as wood, stone, metal, and cloth. Doing so will raise Shay’s notoriety, just as in Black Flag, but instead of lowering Shay’s wanted status by defeating enemies, Shay can only reset his wanted level by leaving an area until things quiet down. This made for a scaled-back version of ship combat and exploration, but it wasn’t a huge drawback to my gaming experience.

I did like that even though Rogue borrowed heavily from Black Flag, it did put its own spin on several gameplay elements to make them feel more integrated with the setting. For example, the weather at sea revolved more around cold weather than tropical weather, so instead of thunderstorms and cyclones, Shay was subject to icebergs and freezing water. Shay could also go hunting and craft like Edward, but the wildlife included new animals such as polar bears, arctic foxes, narwhals, and other North American or Arctic creatures. On land, Shay can intercept assassin contracts instead of accepting them, so instead of killing a target, Shay will have to protect a target by getting to the Assassin(s) before they can complete their mission.

Players are also able to unlock zones on the map by capturing forts, just like in Black Flag, but there are far fewer of these than in the game’s predecessor. Rogue relies a bit more heavily instead on “Assassin gang hideouts,” which function something like the Borgia towers in Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood or the forts in Assassin’s Creed III. For each hideout, Shay must complete a number of objectives (like kill the gang leader, cut down the flag, sabotage a poison barrel), which will then unlock the area’s harbormasters and general stores. Doing so will also unlock renovations, which Shay can complete to increase his revenue, similar to how renovations gave Ezio an income in previous games.

Shay can also gain income by managing a fleet, similar to Edward’s fleet in Black Flag. Players capture ships via boarding them during gameplay, and then send them out on missions to “progress the Seven Years’ War.” Aside from the resources, which change a bit, this aspect of the game was functionally the same as Black Flag, so it was fairly familiar and didn’t take long to pick up.

In terms of weapons, Shay has access to the staples: hidden blade, pistols, smoke bombs, rope dart, etc. Shay can dual wield with a sword and dagger (rather than Edward’s two swords), but the change is mostly aesthetic. Shay also has access to sleep darts, berserk darts, and firecracker darts via an air rifle rather than a blowgun, but again, the change is mostly aesthetic. The biggest change to equipment is probably the grenade launcher, which can fire sleep, berserk, and shrapnel grenades to affect multiple enemies, and the presence of gas as an environmental weapon (the effects of which Shay can mitigate on himself by using a gas mask).

In terms of combat and stealth, not much is different. Shay can use eagle vision, hide in bushes or tall grass, whistle to draw enemies closer to him, etc. The only thing that’s tricky is that Assassin gang members will hide randomly in the environment, ready to take Shay out as he passes through. Shay can avoid attacks by listening for “whispers” and using eagle vision to spot Assassin thugs before they jump him.

I think that in sum, the lack of innovation regarding mechanics isn’t as bothersome as some people make it out to be. Because the “flavor” of the mechanics changed, I do think Rogue did a good job adapting what it could in the short amount of time it had. Enough is the same where picking up mechanics is easy if the player has completed Black Flag, but narratively, enough is different to make the experience at least feel tailored to the setting.

Visuals: Rogue’s primary strengths in terms of visuals lies in the unique settings and Shay’s Templar aesthetic. Although Rogue doesn’t have the beautiful tropical waters of Black Flag, I do think it rendered the snow-covered mountains well and made the world feel like a cold environment. It took the best elements of Assassin’s Creed III (the trees, the city layouts) and combined them with the spirit of exploration from Black Flag. I particularly liked exploring the shipwrecks, which were not underwater, but fused with ice to create fun sites where I felt like I was playing “the floor is lava” (the lava, in this case, was freezing cold water that could kill you).

I also really loved Shay’s Templar aesthetic, which consisted of a lot of fancy 18th century coats and vests, combined with a strong black and red color scheme. Everything from the Morrigan’s sails and captain’s cabin to Shay’s “house” in New York repeats this color scheme, which was a nice change from what we typically see of the Assassins. I also liked that a lot of Shay’s design contained nods to his Irish heritage, from the Morrigan’s hull to the knotwork details on his coat. It was a nice touch which made everything feel a little more personal.

In terms of animations, I didn’t notice anything that set Rogue apart from other games. Shay didn’t have appealing finishers, nor did I encounter a lot of bugs that affected my impression of the game. There are some here and there, but I’ve come to expect bugs in every Assassin’s Creed game, so...

Final Verdict: Although Assassin’s Creed Rogue replicates much of the gameplay from its predecessors, the complex protagonist, solid narrative structure, and unique settings make it a memorable game that gives players new insight into the Assassin-Templar conflict.

[ladye11e]

Deception pt 32

The conflict between the Assassins and the Templars is getting out of hand. Lies, deceit and subterfuge, now you must pick a side...

Sorry for the late update peeps, Tumblr was being it's usual crappy self and wouldn't post! 😣

Tagging @geekgoddess813 @sweet-flash @ermergerd517 @i-wontgivein @imakemyownblog 💕💕

Link to the full fic so far is Here.

Pressing your hand against the stitch in your side after running down thirty eight flights of stairs, you burst through the exit and slammed it shut, leaning up against it while the others pushed up a dumpster, blocking it entirely so the dozen odd guards couldn't continue pursuing you.

"Well, that didn't exactly go as planned," Desmond panted, resting his hands on his knees as he tried to catch his breath. "Hopefully we got what we needed though. (Name), you coming with?"

Nodding as you figured you had better tag along; so you didn't raise any suspicions, you caught his spare helmet when he chucked it at you, tugging it on and sliding onto the back of his bike. Quickly winding your arms around him, you burst out laughing and held on for dear life as he apparently thought it would be amusing to race Altaïr, when he pulled off with a wheelspin in his Camero.

Just managing to pry your white knuckles from around Desmond's waist when he pulled up to the Homestead in record time, you cursed under your breath before taking off your helmet, as you hadn't managed to nab the memory stick out of his hoodie pocket thanks to his Moto GP style riding.

"Are you sure you went fast enough Desmond? We aren't supposed to draw attention to ourselves, remember?" Altaïr chided as he got out of his car about a minute later.

"Says you who burned rubber on the way out. You're just a sore loser!"

Biting your lips so you didn't laugh at Altaïrs glaring, you followed them up to the manor and walked straight past the guards; as Desmond just waved them off, and down a corridor to the right, somewhere you had never been since the renovations.

"Can't tell at aaaall you're back, whats next, blood sample?" You scoffed, after passing the palm reader and retina scanner to the central security office.

"Given the circumstances, that might not be a bad idea (name). This way."

Taking in every little detail as you were led through the security room; that now looked somewhat similar to the facility hidden above the suit shop, your mouth dropped open in awe when you came to a large console at the end, standing behind Desmond when both the men took their seats at the desk respectively. Twelve state of the art screens were attached to the large framework in front of you, each one with a different purpose. Flight plans, a list of active members in the field, security footage of the night of the ball and suchlike, until they all went dark when Altair took the USB off Desmond and plugged it in, cracking his knuckles before typing at his usual slow and steady pace.

"Well, looks like it weren't a total loss, there's something on here at least."

You gripped the back of the chair when several folders popped up onto each of the screens; including the Warehouse 25 and video files, and they began opening them one by one, dismissing anything irrelevant like nondescript business-related matters, schedules or banking documents.

"So boys, you gonna tell me about this traitor then? I didn't have a chance to get filled in with everything going on."

Altaïr stopped what he was doing and spun his chair so he could face you; gesturing for Desmond to continue working on the files, his eyes flickering to your hands that were unconsciously on the verge of ripping off the back of Desmond's chair.

"Firstly, you can tell me why you are so, fidgety?"

Letting go and flexing your fingers when you realised what he was looking at, you scowled at the screen when Desmond had already reached the halfway point of his perusing, putting one hand on your hip while wafting the other at the monitors.

"Traaaaaaitooooor... Aren't you just a little bit pissed off?!"

"A valid point. We have noticed some wrongdoings for some time now, and the situation has become progressively obvious. The Templars always know what we are up to, and then there was the theft. I am assuming that you don't know, but after your mission in London, the money that you retrieved was stolen from the safe house mere days later?"

Raising your eyebrows and shaking your head, you glanced back at Desmond's progress and clenched your jaw to act as if you were annoyed at this information, running several scenarios in your head that would distract them enough to stop what they were doing, but none of them seemed feasible at this moment in time.

"No, I didn't. That's not all you've got to go on, surely?"

"Of course not," Altaïr grumbled irritably, leaning over the desk to pull over a thick file and flicking it open. "We had a contact at Templar headquarters, until recently. She informed one of our members that she heard Kenway and Lee conversing, well more, arguing, about the risks of having an assassin spy. That is why we were there, to see if Kenway kept any information on this defector. I'm assuming you remember Arno?"

"Vaguely, one of your friends that came over from Europe last year?" You mumbled, your attention almost entirely focused on where Desmond was one away from opening the Warehouse folder.

"Yes. He relocated to over here because he was seeing a woman, who just happened to turn out to be a Templar. Elise, I think he said her name was, one of Kenways assistants. Well, before they broke up, she was the one who told him this information, and of course, Arno contacted us straight away."

Your eyes widened when he passed you the folder; which was a dossier on the apparent informant, your gaze settling on the photograph of the redhead that you had a slight encounter with earlier today, wishing you had done more than nearly snapped her finger off now.

"Hey, there's a thought! How about I set you up with Arno? I know you like them tall, dark and foreign."

Slapping Desmond on the arm with a scoff when he spun around and wiggled his eyebrows at you, you handed the folder back to Altair and chose to reveal your 'relationship', as if anything, it would keep him distracted for just a little while longer.

"I appreciate the sentiment, but I've already got someone. Thanks though."

"What? Who?! Since when? It's not that bloke from before, is it??"

"It is actually," you huffed when he frowned at you in disapproval. "Bit of crossed wires after all that, it wasn't him that was dicking about. Found out that it was actually his friend I caught doing the dirty."

"That is enough of this idle chatter you two. We came here to gather intelligence, not to discuss our personal lives."

Pulling a face behind Altaïr's back and mumbling jealous cos you haven't got one; which Desmond chuckled at before turning back around and carrying on with the computer, you lent over his shoulder when he finally opened the warehouse folder, screwing up your nose when it was nothing but list upon list of eleven digit numbers and letters.

"What the... Those look like the numbers of our shipping containers down at the docks?!"

Your eyes didn't once leave the screen as Desmond scrolled through the list, familiarity swarming through you as he went past a sectioned off block, placing where you had seen them before a split second later. They were from the message William Johnson had asked you to give to Haytham, urgently. Before you had any chance to ponder it further, all of the screens jumped about in a flash of green and yellow before going black, loud trumpet fanfare ringing through the speakers. You quickly bit your lips together, so you didn't laugh when Woody Woodpecker filled the monitors, but you failed to keep your composure when Wile E. Coyote followed, sitting on an Acme rocket with a devious grin before lighting it up and splatting himself against the screen.

"You find this amusing (name)?!"

Wincing when Altaïr glared at you as if you had just insulted his mother, you cleared your throat and lowered your head ashamed, but still grit your teeth together with a smirk when Elmer Fudd crept on the screen and pretended he had a Tommy gun and, was shooting towards you.

"No, sir. Not the situation, I was laughing at the cartoons. Don't you like them?"

"No. I do not. Only a weak mind would find these funny," he scolded while throwing Desmond a filthy look, who was now staring at the Tv's and grinning. "Didn't you run the antivirus software??"

"Hey, don't you blame me for this! Of course I did, if you don't trust me, you can do it yourself next time."

Altaïr waved his hand irritably before picking up another report; thinner this time, eyeing you up dubiously before handing it to you.

"As I was saying before this disaster, Arno contacted us straight away, and also helped us compile a theory. We believe that the person we are looking for had to be at both theft locations, which narrows the pool down significantly."

Flicking through the paperwork and reading it at your usual rapid speed, you trailed your finger down the sheet when you came across a list of the people that were in your group in London, all of the names crossed out, apart from three. Henrys, Jacobs, and your own.

"As you can see we have narrowed it down to less than a handful of people, who had the opportunity to contact the Templars, due to a, disappearance during each event. I have my own idea of who it could be."

You rolled your tongue in your cheek as you carried on reading times and dates of when you were all unaccounted for, until you glanced up through your eyelashes to him staring at you blankly.

"Y-you think it's m-"

"Henry Green."

Dropping the file on the floor and wholly gobsmacked for a moment, you fell to your knees so you could pick up all of the documents that were now scattered about, bursting out into hysterics when you snatched up several surveillance photographs from London.

"Henry?! Really? You've gotta be kidding," You blurted when you finally managed to calm yourself down slightly and catch your breath. "He's the last person I'd suspect, the man doesn't have a devious bone in his body!"

"Do you have another suggestion then?"

Shaking your head quickly as his eyes narrowed and you felt like you were under a microscope, you finished stuffing all of the papers back into the folder and handed it back, now rather eager to get out of here as soon as humanly possible.

"No, sir. But I do think you're wrong. Why him?"

"He cannot account for his whereabouts for a portion of the ball for starters, while you were dancing I believe? And then there is the fact he has access to all of our intelligence, plus numerous contacts and allies all over the world. It was also he that suggested that specific safe house in Whitechapel. All of the evidence is against him. Desmond, fix this. Now. Or so help me I'll have you scrubbing toilets for the next week."

Satisfied you were in the clear for now, you slowly began inching your way towards the door as it looked like the men were about to get into a full blown argument; and you didn't want to be caught in the middle, freezing to the spot when they both suddenly stopped mid-sentence and turned to face you as soon as you turned the door handle.

"Where are you going?!" They both chanted simultaneously, Altaïr irritably and Desmond pleading.

"Umm, home? Not exactly much I can do here as it looks like a virus has wiped what we've stolen, and it is gone three in the morning."

"I'll give you a lift."

You didn't even have a chance to reply before Desmond jumped up out of his chair and grabbed you by the arm, almost giving you whiplash as he dragged you out of the manor in his haste to get away from his boss.

As soon as you made it to your apartment, you ran inside and slammed the door behind you, slumping down it and rubbing your face in your hands vigorously. This was all going so very wrong, and there was not a chance in hell that you would let Henry take the fall for this. Pulling out your phone and seeing that it was nearly eight in the morning in London, you stared at the wall after going through your contacts list, trying to think of what you could say as the ringing continued in your ear.

This is the voicemail of Henry Green. If you would be so kind, please leave a message after the beep.

Oh for fuck's sake .... "Henry! You need to call me back asap! It's urgent!"

Hanging up your phone and dropping it down on the floor next to you, you banged your head on the door out of habit more than anything else, wincing when you jumped and did it again; harder this time, as your ringtone blared in the air.

"Henry?!"

"(Name), what's the matter? Are you in trouble??"

"I'll explain in a minute, you need to answer me something first. Achilles birthday, you ran off for a bit while I was dancing? Where did you go??"

You rubbed your temples when only silence returned, but you knew he was still there as you could hear him breathing down the line.

"Henry. Come on, this is important!"

"Okay. I was with Jacob, trying to calm him down when you went off with Sergei. His temper was through the roof, and I was afraid he was going to do something stupid. Well, more stupid than normal anyway. What does it matter?"

"Can anyone else vouch for you?"

"I don't think so, other than Jacob. Are you going to tell me what's going on?"

Great. The only person who could help dig Henry out of this just happened to be the one other that was being suspected of treason. You didn't care about yourself anymore, your only goal was to get Henry's name cleared as this was all of your fault in the first place.

"You're being investigated as a potential traitor, working with the Templars."

Holding your phone away from your ear when he began yelling down it; saying that was absurd and he would never betray anyone, you pressed the loudspeaker button when you couldn't get a word in edgeways, and to save your eardrum from exploding.

"Henry... Henry! HENRY! Will you shut up for one damned second!! Thank you." You grumbled when he finally stopped being hysterical.

"I know it's not you, I told them as much. It's all a big misunderstanding okay? Right, now here's what we're gonna do..."

Dragging yourself up off the floor and stomping over to your kitchen, you flicked the kettle on, to prepare yourself for yet another sleepless night.

[teecupangel]

What if Desmond was reborn as Shay’s son and the same age as Connor

We have this idea where Desmond is reborn as Shay’s son but, in that one, we made Desmond the same age as Arno for that sweet, sweet angst.

For this one, we need to talk about the timeline for a bit.

Ratonhnhaké:ton is born in 1756 and Shay put his lot with the Templars the same year.

This means Desmond has to be conceived in 1755 before Shay leaves for Lisbon. Specifically: Desmond must be conceived months before November 1 1755. (If you want, we can put it his birth date as March 13 then Desmond would have to be considered around June 1755)

He returns to the homestead late 1755 to early 1756 and there was a lot of snow during the cutscenes during that time so we can say Winter Months (December ~ February)

Why is this important?

Because we have a prime ‘candidate’ for Desmond’s mother:

Hope Jensen.

Hope would definitely hide the fact that she’s pregnant and would never say that Shay was the father.

Perhaps it was simply a night of passion that they never talked about.

Maybe there was a sliver of ‘something more’ but it was postponed when Shay sailed to Lisbon.

Regardless, Hope would still join the hunt for Shay and she would watch as he ‘dies’ after failing to persuade him into returning the manuscript (maybe even hint on her current ‘situation’)

After that, she would never tell anyone who the father of her son was.

Desmond would be born in one of her gang’s hideout.

He would stay with her while she worked for the Brotherhood and he would know she’s an Assassin early on. Her gang would serve as both his bodyguards and his nannies when she’s away.

He would be 1 year and 8 months old when his mother died while he was taken away by her most trusted gang members, running away when she noticed Shay spying on them while she was talking to Liam. Desmond was nearby and was taken away while Hope slowly filled the warehouse with poisonous gas.

Desmond would then watch the fall of the Brotherhood and his mother’s gang as Shay hunted them down.

By the time Desmond is four years old, the only living gang members that he knows of are the ones who took care of him.

To him, Shay Cormac is the man who betrayed the Brotherhood and joined the Templars to hunt them all down.

The man who killed Desmond’s mother.

And now we have the setup for Desmond’s revenge plot (with a twist).

So, in this one, Desmond comes to Achilles around the same time Ratonhnhaké:ton does. Maybe he timed it that way, maybe it was fate. An important thing to note is that he has been making a name of himself by rebuilding his mother’s gang.

Of course, it’s less of a gang and more of a Brotherhood by its own rights. They stick to the shadows and follow the Creed and its tenets.

People see him as a genius youngster.

The ones who raised him after Hope died believed that he’s a prodigy like his late mother.

So he didn’t come to Achilles to ask for him to train him, he came there to learn about Shay Cormac and if he knows his current location.

This is where our plot can diverse into specific plot points:

(1) Desmond learns Shay is his father but Shay remains oblivious.

(2) Shay learns Desmond is his son but Desmond doesn’t know about this.

(3) They learn of their connection with one another in different ways.

For Desmond, either one of the people who raised him (maybe the ‘nanny’) knew the truth, maybe she was a servant of the Jensen family who came to care for Desmond, or Hope left a letter for Desmond to read when he was older if she died to one of the people who cared for him beforehand.

For Shay, it could be the good old ‘Hope Jensen had a son’, ‘said son is around this age’, Shay remembers they had sex around that time, and did the math himself. Or the Templars learned of the connection and informed Shay.

This would change how tragic this becomes, especially on Shay’s side.

Desmond’s side though?

He already had a bad father as Desmond Miles. His father being the one to kill his mother? Yeah, that just another nail in the coffin he would be carving for Shay Cormac, to be honest.

Shay though? If he learned that Desmond is his son, he would absolutely try to connect with him.

He would be the reason why Shay would return to the colonies during AC3.

So if you want Shay to be part of AC3 then Shay must know that Desmond is his son.

Or…

He learned that Hope Jensen’s son has been wrecking havoc with Haytham Kenway’s son and felt that it was his duty to ‘finish’ what he started.

.

Whatever situation they have, Desmond would be loyal to the Brotherhood. Not Achilles’ Brotherhood but the one he made himself. He’d support Ratonhnhaké:ton on his missions while suggesting Ratonhnhaké:ton join them.

Haytham would even comment on how their relationship is a bit similar to Haytham’s relationship with Shay but with the ‘roles’ reversed.

Desmond would clarify that he sees Ratonhnhaké:ton as an equal.

Desmond and Ratonhnhaké:ton would also bond over having bad fathers (although Ratonhnhaké:ton would remind Desmond that Shay Cormac doesn’t even know that he has a son so it was less ‘bad father’ and more like ‘bad Assassin’). In the end, Desmond would never betray Ratonhnhaké:ton and he has no memories of Shay being anything ‘good’ to him. Being his mother’s killer definitely soured their entire relationship before it even started.

So… it’s not going to have a happy ending.

.

.

.

Or, you know, Desmond’s mother could be some random woman Shay slept with and he found out about him after betraying the Brotherhood. He raised him away from his Templar business and Desmond becomes an Assassin anyway because of Ratonhnhaké:ton. This one’s angst would be the hesitation of fighting his father.

Pick your poison. XD

[teecupangel]

So, we've had Desmond in the P5 universe. What if he landed earlier during the events of P3/FES/Reload? I think he would have a deep connection/bond to the protagonist considering both died to save the world. How would things play out in your headcanon?

The Persona 5 with Desmond idea for those curious.

I haven’t played P3R yet but I did play the OG P3, FES and Portable when it came out so we’ll be focusing on the og one for this.

Or maybe we’ll focus on the idea that P3R is a stealth ‘sequel’ and set it up first with Desmond waking up and talking a young boy with dark blue hair, asking him to sign in.

Desmond thought that he was in the afterlife and, sure, it looked like an average looking homey hotel but fine, he’d seen weirder shit in his life thanks to the Isus and the Animus so he just signed in.

He wakes up in a small apartment and a Japanese guy looking over him, telling him that he found Desmond where garbage bags were placed for the garbage truck to get them (Monday, Wednesday and Friday, Monday and Wednesday for burnable, Friday for not. He found Desmond on a Tuesday)

The man introduces himself as Edogawa and lets Desmond stay as he feels weak for some reason. By the time Desmond is strong enough to check his surrounding…

He finds out he’s in Japan, a city called Tatsumi Port Island.

And…

It’s the year 2009.

His phone isn’t working at all. No matter how much he tried to turn it on. When he borrowed Edogawa’s computer, there is no mention of Abstergo in the internet at all.

And the email he remembered his team had and the emergency email that Erudito gave him bounced back.

It took a few days before Desmond finally agreed that he wasn’t kicked into the past.

This was another world.

A world where the Assassins and the Templars didn’t exist.

Things turned weirder because the first time Desmond stays late at night, the city transforms and he is attacked by strange creatures…

He manages to take care of them thanks to his hidden blade and the knife he still had on his bag but their battle only ‘invited’ more creatures that tried to attack Desmond.

So he runs. He turns the corner…

And finds himself in a bar mostly painted in blue velvet.

And on the counter stands a woman who calls herself “Elizabeth”.

She welcomes him as a ‘unexpected guest’ and tells her about the Dark Hour and the Shadows.

She opens her book and shows him the page of the Fool Arcana, explaining to him that he signed the contract and is now able to serve as an ‘authorized representative’. Elizabeth will serve as the host of his Velvet Room.

She requests him to defeat the Shadows and challenge the Avatar of the Fall.

… and…

To change the ending.

Unorganized Notes:

I kinda like the idea of this being FeMC instead of the og MC of P3 but you decide XD

We are going to use a lot of FeMC’s alternate scenes (mainly because I want Shinjiro to live)

He becomes the bartender in Club Escapade and meets the MC during his first visit there. He keeps an eye on the MC because the MC likes to ‘pay’ the fortune teller there to check his fortune or something.

Desmond actually appears to the SEES members during the High Priestess boss fight. He can’t believe that kids are fighting the Shadows. He recognized the MC and also Junpei who has also visited the club before.

Desmond is more or less ‘recruited’ by the Kirijo group and Desmond agreed because they’re kids, he can’t just let them do this on their own. Desmond transfers to the dorm as a… ‘caretaker’

… which he actually does. He cooks them food (thank you, Ratonhnhaké:ton’s bleed) and cleans. He also walks Koromaru whenever he does grocery. By that point, he quits his job in the club.

SEES members think of him more like an older brother. He gets roped with Fuuka’s cooking and jogs with Akihiko at times. He helps out Junpei with his English assignments. He makes Ken coffee and is even roped by Ken to teach him how to make coffee the way he does. He also more than once slips inside the school because Yukari asked him to help her with her archery for some reason. His favorite is Mitsuru though because she tells him he can borrow her motorcycle any time he wants.

Aegis is wary of him which is fair and she’s always confused to why she always feels the need to have him in her sight. It becomes a running joke how Aegis has imprinted on both Desmond and the MC.

We never talked about Desmond’s Persona, right?

That’s because he doesn’t have one.

The first Persona he summons is a Pixie and the book that Elizabeth has is already filled completely. He can summon the Personas there as long as he pays the price and he can fuse them.

But he cannot overwrite the Personas in the book.

Desmond is the Avatar of the Fool.

… specifically… he is the Avatar of the original messiah that became a door to halt the end from happening.

The young boy who asked him to sign?

That wasn’t Pharos.

It was the male main character’s child form. To be more exact, how he looked when he lost his parents. He connected with Desmond so Desmond could become his avatar and changed the ending of this ‘repeat’ (aka Reload) that Elizabeth managed to create. He appears in Desmond’s dream as a glowing figure (and the red herring is making us think he’s the Reader but he’s not). The book Elizabeth is using to support Desmond is his compendium.

So yeah…

This is actually a fix it fic idea for Persona 3.

[teecupangel]

I’m thinking about Edward and Benjamin because I miss them both dearly! 💙

Let’s say Desmond time travelled back to that era. Do you think he’ll get along with Ben just as well as his ancestor did?

Alternate scenario: Edward and Hornigold raising baby Desmond together 🥺

This is gonna end in tragedy considering Hornigold became a Templar later on.

How about we make this much more painful by making Desmond an orphan he had taken in during the time he was training Thatch. Ben hadn’t been planning to take him in but Desmond, even as a kid, served to be more agile and smarter than most of his crew members. Thatch also noted it would be a waste to let the boy stay in the port so Ben took Desmond in. Desmond really had no actual plans at that point, thinking of just waiting till he grows up a bit more and get a ship of his own.

So he goes with Ben and Thatch, not knowing that Thatch would later be known as Blackbeard while Ben was a formidable legendary pirate of his own.

This would be set before they get their own fleet. At first, it’s just a crew that sails the seas and plunder Spanish ships sailing to war.

Desmond wasn’t totally into the whole plundering business and Ben realized that he had some sort of code.

It was a flexible one though.

If someone attacks them first then he’d take them down.

‘Self defense’.

That’s what Desmond liked to call it.

When Desmond was around 15 or 16 years old, that’s when Thatch brought a newcomer on board.

Edward Kenway.

Desmond immediately recognized him.

He might not have any vivid memories of him but the name and the aching loss in his heart were all he needed to know that this was Haytham’s father.

Ratonhnhaké:ton’s grandfather.

Desmond naturally gravitated to Edward because of this and they become friends. Brothers in arms.

They were both taught by Ben and Thatch with Desmond preferring Ben’s more reserved approach while Edward was… closer to Thatch.

Later on, Ben gives one of the fleets to Desmond to sail on his own, believing he was ready.

A few months later, Desmond becomes part of the Pirate Republic "the Brethren of the Coast" in Nassau. He was there for its founding but he passed on being one of its leader, something Ben thinks is a mistake because he believes Desmond would make be able to rein in the more ‘aggressive’ of the leaders.

Desmond said no to that because… well… he didn’t want any leadership roles for pirates.

Hell, he was known as the ‘Pirate of Retribution’ because he only attack ships that attacked him first. He wasn’t cut for pirating. His ship was more or less a smuggler ship and Desmond’s ‘clients’ were those in desperate needs.

But that was the day he met ‘James Kidd’.

He only heard of the supposed child of the great Pirate Kidd, their paths have never intersected before the founding of Nassau.

And he clocked the pirate immediately.

An Assassin.

It was the movements, the footsteps, the silence…

And it seemed that James Kidd realized that he was an Assassin as well.

They spent a few months feeling each other out, trying to understand each other’s goals in terms of all these pirating business.

When they finally confront one another, that’s when Desmond realized what had been bugging him this entire time.

James Kidd had more secrets than just being an Assassin.

And, by god, it took Desmond reminding himself he was an adult to not blurt out “what is this sorcery!” just to make a joke.

He was led to the Assassins and finally got an overview of the current state of the Brotherhood around these parts.

He has no idea why they’re so hung up on all this Sage business until he realized that whoever this Sage is? He was connected to the Isus.

Which meant Desmond had a lead on a way to contact Minerva or find a POE or some shit that can help him make sense on why he’s here in this time period.

So he helps the Assassin lay in ambush when they learned of the Sage’s location, having been captured by the Templars.

And his eyes widened when he realized that Edward Kenway is with the Templars.

Unorganized Notes:

There’s a brief moment that Desmond assumed that Edward is a Templar then he remembered that Edward was mentioned to be an Assassin in Ratonhnhaké:ton’s memories so he assumed that Edward was a Templar turned Assassin. That all went out of the window when he talked to Edward (secretly) and Edward told him that he’s there for gold, not to join some weird ass posh cult.

Desmond’s closest to Edward and Mary. Ben treats him as a son and Thatch treats him like a younger brother who needs to lighten up. Desmond thinks Thatch is a good man who really needs a minder.

Desmond gets entangled with the Sage plot thanks to Edward but he’s worried about Edward’s focus on the gold.

Desmond would agree that trying to provoke the British would backfire on them but he would also agree that they do need medicine when Nassau is hit by the unknown disease. Thanks to Desmond being more of a smuggler than a pirate, he was able to do something about it.

But because the world is conspiring to keep the timeline intact, Thatch still attacked the British to get medicines a day before Desmond returns to Nassau.

In this scenario, Ben would still take the pardon and he’d beg Desmond to do the same. Desmond sees no reason why not until they order him to hunt down the other pirates. That’s where he and Ben have their falling out with Desmond not wishing to hunt down people he knew, especially the ones he knew were good men dealt with bad cards and making the best for it. His ‘insubordination’ causes the British to take his ship and imprison his crew while Ben tries to keep him out of harm’s way, ending with Desmond staging a prison break with… well… lots of Constantinople approved ‘fireworks’.

Desmond could be the reason why Ben would not become a Templar… or not. Ben believes he’s doing the right thing and he might see Desmond as a son but he’s a rebelling son who needs to be pulled away from his ‘friends’ who were influencing him.

Desmond loses his ship because of this but he and his crew commandeered a British ship and runs away, returning to Nassau to talk to the others about these new pirate hunters.

Desmond’s loyalty is the Brotherhood and that will be the source of conflict between him and Ben (and even Edward). If Ben becomes a Templar, this will end in a tragedy.

[teecupangel]

Hi. I'm one of your greatest fans.

Sooo... I was watching avatar the last air bander and I was just wondering which clan desmond and his ancestors ( or whoever you want) whould be from.

Or were there still a kind of assassin's order like them in avatar world?

Hello! It’s always fun to hear from you guys!

Oooohhh, then may I interest you in this Avatar AU ask that has both “what if Desmond and his ancestors were the next line of Avatars?” and “Okay, but what if, they were like… Pro-bending pros?”

So, for this ask, I think we can just go and use the Pro-bending AU as our basis.

In that AU, I suggested the following:

Altaïr - Fire Nation, born and raised to be a soldier but left because he grew tired of being told “If only you’d have been born as the Avatar…” and became a Pro-Bender to show that, even if he isn’t the Avatar, he was still the strongest Firebender. (can also Lightningbend)

Ezio - Born in Republic City, his family was surprised to learn he could Airbend. They had Air Nomad ancestors but they haven’t had an Airbender for generations. Instead of joining the Air Nomads in Air Temple Island, he learned from old texts left by his ancestors and decided to be a pro-Bender to get the attention of a woman named Cristina who is the daughter of a wealthy industrialist from the Republic City. Well, that was the reason why he joined but he stayed because he enjoys pro-Bending and he likes to joke that his teammates would be lost without him.

Ratonhnhaké:ton - He said once he was from the southern part of Earth Kingdom (actual location is unknown), he appeared in Republic City when he was fourteen to find his father. He doesn’t talk about why he was looking for his father but his team knows it didn’t end well and he began to live with his grandfather instead who was an ex-Pro-Bender and their manager.

Desmond - Doesn’t like to talk about where he’s from but he did admit that he was born in ‘one of the smaller islands of Fire Nation’ and that’s as far as he was willing to say. He came to Republic City to start his life (his words) and ends up being Edward’s assistant. It pays the bills and he lives with the rest of the team in the apartment Edward set up for them for cheaper rent and living expenses in general. Other hints he gave about his birthplace: shaped like a moon and has a volcano. Altaïr immediately thought of Crescent Island and Desmond just laughed but he never confirmed nor denied it.

Edward Kenway - Born in Southern Water Tribe and he likes to say he was a descendant of one of the most feared pirates of the Southern Water Tribe but there’s no real proof of it. He left his tribe and came to Republic City to become a Pro-Bender, leaving his wife with a promise he would get enough money to buy her a house in Republic City and send for her once everything is ready. Edward doesn’t talk about what happened to him during his latter years as a Pro-Bender (although there were rumors with some talking about how one of his team members died or something) but his wife died back home and his daughter was escorted to him. He later remarried a woman from a wealthy family from Earth Kingdom that was staying in Republic City and had a son (Ratonhnhaké:ton’s father) although they’re divorced now.

I think the Assassin Brotherhood and the Templar Order would be… well… quite different in an Avatar AU. Less Assassin-y, more on the side of shadowy organizations using their ‘power’ to influence the world with the Brotherhood more on the side of ‘everyone should have the right to use their power as they wish but within reason’ and the Templar Order more on the side of “humans are unreasonable creatures that must be controlled to keep the peace.” (So it’s still Free Will and Absolute Order but less stabby-stab-stab and ancient alien BS and more fire-water-earth-air power with a bit of stabbing as a treat) Hidden Blades are still a thing but they’re mostly an old tradition kind of thing (Altaïr did learn how to use them and one of his techniques is to create a thin blast of fire from his wrist at close range. Desmond seemed unsurprised by Altaïr’s ‘signature move’.)

Okay, so other characters time!

Also known as… Unorganized Notes:

Haytham is a Water Bender but he was born and raised in Republic City. He travels a lot as he inherited his mother’s family’s company. He says he has no interest in Pro-Bending but Shay had seen him watch matches of his son once or twice.

Speaking of Shay, he’s from the coldest parts of the Northern Water Tribe. He can be a Water Bender or a non bender. If he is a Water Bender, he’s in his element in icy locations and liked to use ice as part of his moves.

Arno Dorian is a rival Pro-Bending Team with Jacob and Jayadeep. He was born and raised in Republic City (and sorta childhood friends with Ezio… distantly). He’s a Water Bender and acts as the leader of his team “The Rooks”.

Jacob Frye is a Fire Bender born in the United Republic of Nations (although he wasn’t born in the capital). Together with his twin, they ran away from home and went to Republic City without the approval of their guardian after their father’s death. He became friends with Arno and helped him create a Pro-Bending Team because it looked fun.

Evie Frye, Jacob Frye’s all-time suffering older twin and a Fire Bender as well. She’s also officially a backup member of the Rooks (there was one time that Jacob got an injury that made him unable to play for a few months and she 'helped out') and where Jacob’s fire is all-consuming and full of flair, her fire is more precise and quicker (and with enough training, stubbornness and actually stalking Altaïr which embarrasses Jacob so much until Altaïr finally agreed to teach her, she learns how to Lightningbend). She’s currently studying at a university in Republic City and has a part-time job in the public library where she met Jayadeep.

Jayadeep is from Earth Kingdom and is an Earth Bender. A certain incident made him and his family leave their hometown when he was young and he’s been living in Republic City ever since. Has been roped by Jacob into joining the Rooks but he’s enjoying it… also… Evie always comes to cheer him on when they have a match. (“I’m here for Jayadeep, not for you.” “Love you too, my dear sweet sister.”)

I like to imagine Bayek as a non-bender who became the president of the United Republic of Nations. If a fic was to be written about this AU, the characters would usually just hear his name from the news like “President Bayek has signed the…” or “Today, President Bayek was seen in…”

Aya is a Fire Bender who disappeared after the death of her son. It’s not that well known but she had been President Bayek’s wife as well. No one knows her current location or if she was even still alive.

Kassandra is a Fire Bender and she’s a Pro-Bender as well. Born in Fire Nation in a family known for having lots of military achievements, she left her family and started to wander around, ending up in Republic City and getting roped into joining the Pro-Bender team composed of Eivor and Tahira. She has a younger brother named Alexios who she regularly spars with. Alexios always jokes about making his own Pro-Bending team so he can show everyone who the hotter sibling is.

Eivor is part of a small clan in the Northern Water Tribe. She left with her half-brother for Republic City to make a name for themselves. Her brother, Sigurd, is a rising politician and she’s using her popularity in Pro-Bending to support her brother. Pictures of Sigurd cheering loudly and always supporting Eivor’s matches endears him to the people because it’s clear that he’s being earnest in supporting his sister.

Basim is Sigurd’s personal assistant of unknown origin and unknown Bending capabilities. He has a son (adopted? Biological? Eivor isn’t sure) named Hytham who is an Earth Bender and always watches Eivor’s matches.

Tahira is from the Earth Kingdom and is an Earth Bender. She actually came to Republic City to come live with her cousin’s family. She’s a big supporter of President Bayek.

Rebecca and Shaun are the main commentators of Pro-Bending matches. Shaun is a Water Bender born and raised in Republic City. Rebecca was born in one of the small villages that lie on the border between Earth Kingdom and United Republic. She’s an Earth Bender but her skills actually lie in Metal Bending.

Clay is an Air Nomad who sorta slips in and out of the Air Temple and Republic City. He’s friends with Ezio and Ezio introduced him to Desmond. He’s a bit strange but Desmond believes his strangeness is deliberate to make people underestimate him.

The name of the landlord of Desmond and the other’s apartment is Edward Thatch. He looks a lot like the Fire-Bender Blackbeard who was Edward’s old team member and the one rumored to have died. They call him Uncle Eddie and he just laughs whenever anyone tells him he looks like Blackbeard.

Mary Read (Earth Bender) and Anne Bonny (non Bender) own the bar that Edward likes to frequent. Mary was the other member of Edward’s team and she used her savings and retirement fund to build the bar called Bad Weather. Desmond part times there for extra cash and to help up whenever it gets busy and he didn’t have anything to do anyway.

[mediaeval-muse]

Video Game Review: Assassin’s Creed II (Ubisoft, 2009)

Genres: action-adventure, third person, open world

Premise: Players assume the role of Ezio Auditore as he completes missions in the conflict between the Assassins and Knights Templar during the Italian Renaissance (15th century). In the present day, Desmond Miles is whisked away from Abstergo by undercover Assassin Lucy Stillman. He is brought to a safe house where a team of rebels have constructed their own Animus.

Platform Played On: PC (Windows)

Rating: 4.5/5 stars

***Full review under the cut.***

I am evaluating this game based on four key aspects: story, characters, gameplay, and visuals.

In-Game Triggers: violence, blood

Story: Although this game revolves around the Templar-Assassin conflict (as any Assassin’s Creed game does), it couches a lot of the events in the complicated politics of 15th century Italy. While I wouldn’t say this game will give people an “accurate” view of history, I think the Templar conspiracy blended well with the political intrigue, since both, at their hearts, are about power. I also liked the personal angle that connected Ezio to the plot; the game begins with Ezio’s male family members being framed and executed for treason, which launches his whole journey into becoming an assassin and getting involved with Italian politics. It’s a tale of both a larger conspiracy and about personal vengeance, which made me care, as a player, about stopping the bad guys.

Assassin’s Creed II also does a much better job regarding the frame narrative. In the first game, I didn’t much care for Desmond’s story, since we saw so little of it compared to Altair’s world. In this game, players still spend most of their time in Ezio’s world, but Desmond’s story kept bleeding through, particularly during moments when players have to collect glyphs in Ezio’s world in order to unlock “The Truth” about the Apple of Eden. I also really liked that while in Desmond’s world, the stakes were quite high. We not only get the sense that there’s actual resistance to Abstergo, but when Desmond starts to “see” (hallucinate?) his ancestors’ memories, suddenly, I felt like a cared a lot more about his well-being.

Characters: Assassin’s Creed II also supersedes its predecessor by giving players a protagonist that has more story behind them. While I loved Altair, we ultimately didn’t get to learn much about. Ezio, on the other hand, has friends, family, and a personal goal, which kept me invested in his story. Every time he interacts with another character, we see a range of emotions from him, as well as his tendency to be charismatic and charming. The only thing I didn’t like about him was his tendency to be flirtatious; it made me view him as something of a womanizer, which I just personally don’t care for.

The supporting characters were likewise well-developed, from Ezio’s uncle and fellow assassins to - yes - his friend, Leonardo da Vinci. I loved seeing the dynamics form between them, and I got the sense that I was following a full cast, rather than focusing on a gruff loner.

Desmond’s personality also shines through a bit more in this game. He’s charming, which is probably helped by the fact that he is voiced by Nolan North, and has a pretty admirable commitment to the assassins’ resistance. I found myself caring more for him and I was interested in seeing how all the time in the Animus would affect him.

Gameplay: Assassin’s Creed II is a major step up from the first installment in terms of complex gameplay. While this game has some familiar elements (like accessing view points and performing leaps of faith), it also introduced new things, such as armor and weapon upgrades, civil works projects, collecting items (beyond just flags), “tombs” to explore and loot (in the style of Tomb Raider), puzzles, and hiring factions (such as thieves, mercenaries, or courtesans) to help with missions. It gave me, as a player, a lot to chew on, and I very much enjoyed having a lot of different tasks to choose from, without so many that it felt overwhelming.

The controls for movement were also a bit more streamlined, so I had less problems jumping and climbing than before. Combat also made more sense and stealth was a bit easier, though it still isn’t as sophisticated as, say, the Dishonored games. Guards also had varying levels of reactiveness (reactivity?) based on how many illegal things Ezio did, and I liked that players had control over how reactive the guards were using the notoriety system. Players could control how “notorious” Ezio was (and thus, how likely guards would react to his presence) by not only acting stealthily, but also by lowering notoriety using a variety of tactics (like tearing down wanted posters, bribing heralds, and assassinating corrupt politicians).

Admittedly, there were some moments where controls were a bit wonky, and the camera still had the tendency to whip around at moments that caused me to lose my target or miss a jump. But on the whole, I had an easier time navigating the world and moving quickly than I had with the first game.

Visuals: Just like the first Assassin’s Creed game, the landscapes are absolutely stunning. I loved how well-rendered the buildings were, and the views from the high points in each city were breathtaking. The cities themselves were also very visually interesting and had their own layouts and aesthetics so that nothing felt truly replicated across maps. The interiors of “tombs” were also beautifully done, with many of them decorated to look like the inside of a church.

Likewise, the visual design of the characters were also very appealing. I loved the look of Ezio’s armor, from the characteristic white and red to the darker colors that accompanied Altair’s armor (the best armor you can get in the game).

Recommendations: I would recommend this game if you’re interested in the Italian Renaissance, the conflict between the Medici and Borgia families, stealth, action-adventure games, and parkour.

Final Verdict: Assassin’s Creed II is a delightful action-adventure game that ultimately improves upon the mistakes of its predecessor while remaining true to its roots.