Dead Space Gameplay

Dead Space

Dead Space is a survival horror third-person shooter video game, developed by EA Redwood Shores for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Microsoft Windows released in October 2008. The player takes on the role of an engineer named Isaac Clarke, who battles a polymorphic, virus-like, alien infestation which turns humans into grotesque alien monsters called "Necromorphs", on board a stricken interstellar mining ship named the USG Ishimura.It was revealed in September 2009 that Dead Space 2 is in pre-production.

Gameplay

The player takes the role of Isaac Clarke (named after science fiction writers Isaac Asimov and Arthur C. Clarke), an engineer who must fight his way through a stricken mining ship infested with hostile, grotesque monstrosities called Necromorphs, which are human corpses transformed and reanimated by an unknown alien organism. The game features an 'over the shoulder' third-person perspective.Players can upgrade modules, including suit and weapons.

The interface of Dead Space does not feature a traditional head-up display. Instead, all information is relayed to the player via holographic projections and the features on the suit and the weapons themselves. For example, a small display on the weapon shows an ammunition count; also, the 'health meter' that indicates Isaac's condition is integrated into the spine of Isaac's armor.Via floating holograms projected in front of Isaac, the player can check the current objectives and the 3D map, or access the inventory screen to manage items. Meanwhile, however, the game still progresses through time, and the player is always in danger of being attacked.The only menus in which the game is not still in progress are the pause and save menus. The player can still be attacked when using the store or upgrade bench, meaning there are effectively no "safe" points.

In combat, the already-dead Necromorphs do not simply die after receiving a certain amount of damage. In fact, depending on how they are wounded, Necromorphs can adopt new stances and tactics, even sprouting new limbs or giving birth to new enemies in the process.[8] To defeat Necromorphs, Isaac must use "strategic dismemberment", the methodical severance of specific limbs or sections of the Necromorph.

In keeping with Isaac's profession as an engineer rather than a soldier, the weapons in Dead Space are mostly improvised from mining tools,such as a plasma cutter, rotary saw, a hydrazine torch used as a flamethrower, and a force cannon emitting powerful shock waves.A military automatic rifle is also available.All weapons feature a secondary-fire mode;for example, the plasma cutter can be rotated 90 degrees for an optimal angle, and the flamethrower can set fire traps. The player must scavenge for ammunition and other various items, which are found throughout the ship or dropped by Necromorphs when killed. Automated stores throughout the ship can be accessed to buy and sell items or store them for later use. Also, the player can use work benches and spend "power nodes" to upgrade Isaac's suit and weapons.

Other than weapons, Isaac is also equipped with other tools to help him survive, solve puzzles, and combat enemies more effectively. These are all contained in his suit, the RIG. Isaac's Stasis ability can be used in the game to slow down enemies and objects temporarily, and a Kinesis module allows Isaac to pick up and throw items.Dead Space also features zero gravity and vacuum environments, and Isaac can navigate through them using his pressurized suit and magnetic boots. Isaac can also enable a GPS laser that will point to the next point of interest.Isaac will eventually suffocate while in a vacuum or a toxic environment as his suit can only contain a limited amount of air, so the player is forced to proceed quickly when in these situations. Also, Isaac can jump from platform to platform in weightless environments. Some levels even lead out onto the surface of the ship's hull. Floating debris presents a hazard, however, and if they hit Isaac can lose his footing and simply float off into space.

Plot

Dead Space takes place in the 26th century. The USG Ishimura ("石村" literally "Stone Village") "Planet Cracker" ship, during the process of mining the planet of Aegis VII, sends out a distress signal to the Concordance Extraction Corporation (CEC); the CEC dispatches the USG Kellion to investigate. As the Kellion attempts to dock with the Ishimura, a malfunction occurs and the Kellion is badly damaged, crashing into the Ishimura's dock. The crew then begins to seek another means of transport by venturing into the Ishimura. As they explore the apparently abandoned ship, they are attacked by grotesque monsters, who kill off all but Clarke, Hammond, and Daniels. Hammond recognizes that many of the ship's systems are failing, threatening the ship due to a nearby asteroid belt, and sends Clarke around the ship to fix the core systems to keep them alive.

During these treks, Clarke discovers various text and audio logs scattered throughout the ship and pieces together the events that transpired before his arrival: the ship's captain was actually an agent of the "Church of Unitology", a large and influential religious cult. The Ishimura is assigned to retrieve his religion's most deified relic, known as "The Marker", from Aegis VII, under the guise of an illegal mining operation as the planet itself has been deemed off-limits by the Earth government. Soon after the Marker was extracted and brought to the Ishimura the civilians, first on the planet-side colony then the ship, suffered from mass hysteria brought on by violent hallucinations, before subsequently killing each other. The captain cuts off traffic and communications between the two sides and later goes insane as well, prompting Dr. Terrance Kyne, the Chief Science Officer, to relieve him of duty, only to accidentally kill him in a struggle. An alien organism then began ravaging the colony, infecting the bodies of the dead and turning them into "Necromorphs" - mindless abominations that kill to spread the infestation. It then spread to the Ishimura via a colony shuttle that crashes into the docking bay, carrying several Necromorphs on board. Though Hammond states that he is unaware of what the Marker is, Daniels confides to Clarke that she believes Hammond is lying. Clarke later encounters his girlfriend Nicole, one of the Ishimura's crew, though they are unable to meet directly.

With the critical systems repaired, the three are able to launch a beacon, attracting a nearby military ship, the USM Valor. However, the Valor, having picked up an escape pod launched earlier by Hammond containing a Necromorph, is overrun and crashes into the ship. Hammond then deduces, from the heavy military equipment he finds on board, that the Valor was actually assigned to destroy the Ishimura. The group then decides that they must find a shuttle and escape while they can. Clarke and Hammond retrieve the Valor's power core in order to repair an available shuttle, but Hammond is killed by a Necromorph Brute in the process. Dr. Kyne, one of the few survivors, later contacts Clarke and urges him to return the Marker to Aegis VII, believing that it was a means of restraining the Hive Mind that controls the Necromorphs. After assisting Clarke in loading the Marker onto the shuttle, Kyne is murdered by Daniels, who reveals her position as a government operative ordered to retrieve the Marker for her superiors. She further reveals that the Marker is a reverse-engineered copy of an artifact found on Earth, and was placed on Aegis VII by the government to monitor its effects. She then leaves on the shuttle without Clarke, but Nicole arrives and is able to help him recall it, prompting Daniels to flee via an escape pod.

Clarke takes the shuttle with the Marker back to the colony, and replaces it there. This pacifies the Hive Mind, but also disrupts the gravity tethers holding a large portion of the planet several miles off the surface, threatening to destroy the colony. As Clarke attempts to escape, Daniels appears and starts to take the Marker back to the shuttle. She shows Clarke (through a fully recovered distress transmission) that Nicole actually committed suicide by injecting herself with what appears to be a poison before they arrived on the Ishimura, and Clarke's visions of her had been the Marker's way of attempting to bring itself back to the planet. Clarke makes his way back to the shuttle where Daniels is loading the Marker. Before she can leave, the gigantic Hive Mind kills her, but Clarke is able to defeat it. Leaving the Marker behind, Clarke flies off in the shuttle before the colony is destroyed. As he sets course away from Aegis VII, Clarke removes his helmet and watches Nicole's first transmission again. Lost in thought, he then suffers a hallucination of a "dead" Nicole, caused by his dealings with the Red Marker. The screen cuts to black and the game ends.

Characters

Isaac Clarke - The main character and silent protagonist of the game. Isaac is a ship system specialist and an engineer traveling aboard the shuttle Kellion to investigate and repair the USG Ishimura, accompanied by three security personnel and a computer specialist, Kendra Daniels. Unfortunately for them, they are thrust into the middle of the nightmare that the USG Ishimura has become. Clarke is also trying to find his girlfriend, Nicole, a medical specialist assigned to the ship, whose fate is unknown at the start of the game. Throughout the game, Isaac stumbles across a conspiracy involving the Church of Unitology and the government. It is also implied that Clarke's mother is a high ranking member of The Church Of Unitology. Isaac is the only non-speaking character in Dead Space, only producing unarticulated sounds.
Kendra Daniels - Kendra is a technologist and part of the team sent aboard the Ishimura to repair communication systems. She helps the player through the Ishimura in many ways, giving directions and assisting through areas of the ship that would otherwise be inaccessible. She frequently expresses distrust of Hammond, but turns out to know more about the situation than anyone previously thought. Tonantzin Carmelo provides her likeness and voices Kendra.
Zach Hammond - The senior security officer on board the Kellion who travels with both Isaac and Kendra to the Ishimura. Hammond's initial desire to complete the original mission and not immediately abort puts him at odds with Kendra, who finds this suspicious. Throughout the game, he works to fulfill their original mission, but as time goes on, he becomes more disillusioned and focuses instead on getting himself and the rest of the surviving team off the ship. Peter Mensah is the voice and likeness of Hammond.
Dr. Challus Mercer - A doctor aboard the USG Ishimura, a devout Unitologist and one of the main antagonists of Dead Space. In the wake of the calamity that has gripped the Ishimura, Mercer has become a religious fanatic, attempting to convince the crew of the Ishimura to commit mass suicide. Mercer often works to bar the progress of Isaac and even attempts to kill him outright, sending a "prototype" regenerating Necromorph nicknamed "Hunter" after Isaac several times throughout the course of the game. He may be responsible for getting rid of most the escape pods in the Ishimura in order for the crew to be killed and become Necromorphs, as he eventually allows himself to be killed by a Necromorph "Infector". To Mercer, everything that has happened is God's will; he insists repeatedly that Isaac should allow himself to die and let Mercer's "children" to take over. Navid Negahban is the voice and likeness of Mercer.
Doctor Terrence Kyne - The Chief Science Officer of the Ishimura who appears later in the game and asks for help from the surviving members of the Kellion team. He is suffering from dementia but offers to aid Isaac in stopping the nightmare that has gripped the Aegis System and the Ishimura. Kyne attempted to relieve Captain Matthius of duty during the crisis on the ship, but instead seems to have been complicit in the captain's death either in whole or in part. He regularly interacts with his dead wife, an apparition caused by the Red Marker that can't be seen by the player. He also believes the Marker was containing the Hive Mind, and that the only way to contain the Necromorphs is to put the Marker back into place on Aegis VII. He is then shot and killed near the end of the game by Kendra as she flees the Ishimura with the marker. Keith Szarabajka is both the voice and likeness of Dr. Kyne, and also provided that role in the animated movie Dead Space: Downfall.
Nicole Brennan - Isaac's girlfriend and a medical specialist assigned to the Ishimura. The game starts with a video from Nicole, asking for help after the ship's infestation, establishing one of Clarke's reasons for coming to the Ishimura. He meets and receives messages from Nicole several times as he moves through the ship and she, like Dr. Kyne, believes that the Red Marker must be returned to the surface of the planet, repeatedly asking Isaac to "make us whole again." Her voice and likeness is provided by Buffy the Vampire Slayer actress Iyari Limon. She also appears in Dead Space: Extraction.

Necromorphs

The major threats of Dead Space are a species of violent aliens known as "Necromorphs", most of which are human corpses that have been reanimated by a strange alien microbe. Several logs and other information throughout the game explain as to how it was created or originated.

The main strategy employed by the virus is the rapid transformation of deceased humans into Necromorphs. This is usually performed by an "Infector" type that latches onto a corpse, penetrating the skull with a proboscis. Other mutations are largely variable, including short tentacles, large tumorous growths, and corroded flesh. This is the main form of Necromorphs, but many others exist, including tentacled creatures called Lurkers, which are made from the converted corpses of infants, and heavily mutated crawling variants, known as Leapers. Some of the Necromorphs are made up of multiple corpses merged together to form very large monstrosities, such as the massive, gorilla-like Brutes. In addition to the humanoid Necromorphs, known as 'Slashers', encountered in the course of the game, there also exists an extensive presence of some biological material seen clinging to the walls of the ship's interior. Furthermore, Isaac encounters several enormous Necromorphs, far too large to have been formed out of human bodies, and which vary greatly in physical composition.

The virus' DNA code was engraved on the Black Marker, an obelisk-like alien artifact discovered on Earth by Michael Altman, founder of Unitology. Experiments with the DNA code for purposes of biological warfare resulted in a polymorphic virus that responds only to necrotized tissue, transforming dead bodies into the ravenous Necromorphs. As it is put in the game, the Infectors' task is to turn corpses into Necromorphs, and the other variants' job is to create more corpses.

Dark Sector Gameplay

Dark Sector

Gameplay

In Dark Sector, the gameplay revolves around the use of the glaive. The glaive is a three-pronged boomerang-esque weapon which returns to Hayden after every throw. The glaive can be used for long-distance dismemberment, solving environmental puzzles, and picking up various items. When up close to an enemy, context-sensitive actions may appear, allowing the player to execute enemies with "finishers". Environmental puzzles in the game usually focus upon capturing various elements (fire, electricity, ice, etc.) with the glaive. For example, a web that is blocking your path can be bypassed by capturing fire with the glaive and then launching it at the web to burn it down. The glaive is dual-wielded with a gun in Hayden's left hand. This allows for combos like stunning an enemy at long-distance with the glaive, running up close, and then shooting them down. As the game progresses, the glaive is given several new abillites; it can be guided through the air, being able to kill multiple enemies (This feature is controlled via the Sixaxis on the PlayStation 3 and by analog stick on the Xbox 360); a charged up throw for deadlier attacks, and is able to make the user invisible for a short period of time.

The gunplay is similar to that of Gears of War, Resident Evil 4 and Dead Space. The camera is positioned over the shoulder for third-person shooting, and the player can also take cover by standing next to an object such as a pillar or wall. While in cover, the player can pop out and fire, and also throw the glaive; however there is no blindfire. There is also a sprint function, which works similar to that of Gears of War. The game has no HUD (except for the ammo counter); Hayden's health is shown by the screen flashing red when he takes damage. If the player takes too much damage, the flashes will be faster, and a heartbeat will be heard, indicating Hayden is "bleeding out".

Dark Sector also has an online multiplayer aspect. There are only two modes (titled 'Infection' and 'Epidemic' respectively) and they feature: One randomly selected Hayden character in a deathmatch against many soldier characters. Another mode involves two Hayden characters on separate teams; with one team attempting to kill the opposing teams Hayden first. In both modes, Hayden will have superior powers compared to the soldiers. Hayden will be able to become invisible, use the glaive, etc. whereas the soldiers cannot. The developer of Dark Sector, Digital Extremes, has also developed the critically acclaimed Unreal Series, well-known for their frantic and robust multiplayer.

Plot

The game begins with Hayden, an American special forces agent, sent to a military-esque compound in the fictional Soviet nation of Lasria. He tries to back out of his mission before it has hardly begun, but his superior, communicating via radio, says that he is "past the point of no return." Hayden makes short work of all enemy resistance and finds himself face to face with his target, a fellow agent named Viktor, tied to a chair. Viktor is under the impression that Hayden is here to rescue him. He even tells him information to aid him on his way. Hayden swiftly puts a bullet right through his skull. After reporting that he has completed his mission, his superior decides to send him after Mezner, the man responsible for the Technocyte infection that has been ravaging the country of Lasria. Hayden proceeds through the compound; defeating several dozen more soldiers and even a helicopter, as well as planting C4 charges throughout the compound. Hayden then finds himself face-to-face with a seven foot tall metal creature of some sort (Nemesis). Hayden attempts to defeat the monster by way of firing an RPG at it, but the metallic figure stops the RPG mid-air and redirects it at Hayden. Hayden is forced to jump off a cliff to avoid the missile, and upon waking up, once again finds himself face to face with his target, this time laying on the ground as Mezner lectures him. As Hayden attempts to reach for his gun, Nemesis appears and stabs his right shoulder. Upon instruction from Mezner, it transfers the infection into Hayden via the wound. It appears that he was going to kill Hayden, but Hayden quickly detonates the C4 charges set earlier and manages to escape.

He then arrives at a radio station to contact his superior for further instructions, with his right arm's skin degenerated and exposed flesh. The superior is informed of the situation and tells Hayden to meet up with their sleeper agent, Yargo Mensik, to obtain boosters for the infection. Soon, he hears the footsteps of an enemy soldier and attempts to ambush him. The soldier quickly gets the upper hand and pins Hayden down. Hayden's infected arm then produces the Glaive, and slits the soldier's throat. Another soldier enters the shed and shouts that he has "found him!" over his radio, only to be brutally decapitated by the Glaive as Hayden throws it at him. Hayden continues along the coast, slowly gaining new abilities with the Glaive as the infection progresses and produces some kind of metal that eventually surrounds his right arm completely, encountering both soldiers, Haz-Mat soldiers in masks, and the infected (people infected with the virus and driven mad from pain.) Eventually Hayden encounters a massive, ape-like monster with flesh covered in the same type of metal as Hayden's infected arm. After a short conflict in which both Hayden and the creature come to a neutral standstill, the monster is called back by some sort of signal.

Hayden then makes his way further up the coast to a temporary military base set up in an abandoned pier. After fighting his way closer to the main building he overhears a Lasrian soldier calling for help on a radio as he is slowly driven insane by the infection. Hayden then delves into the basement area and after taking care of several infected makes his way to the roof. It is there he gains a new mutation ability and finally finds Yargo. He tells Hayden that his orders have been updated and gives him the booster to help slow the infection. Hayden refuses and asks about the new intel.

Yargo tells him that he and the Agency believe that Mezner wants to recapture the infected which Hayden released when he detonated the Lasrian military base. Mezner had retrieved an old transmitter which emits a signal that attracts Technocyte creatures to its location and concealed it within an old church. We also learn that Nadia, a woman Hayden knows, is also working for Mezner. Hayden moves on towards the church to destroy the transmitter all the while taking care of legions of both Lasrian soldiers and infected. Being infected himself Hayden is also attracted to the transmitter. On his way he fights a Jackal Tank and is knocked out after a fight with an agile, humanoid Technocyte creature. He wakes up at night and continues his mission. Eventually, he makes it into the church building where Hayden and the Colossus have one final showdown, after killing the Colossus he makes his way into the catacombs and finds the transmitter. Nadia, who has a deep- rooted hatred for Hayden after his last meeting with her, confronts him. She escapes and leaves him to fight his way through a swarm of infected and escape before the C4 he set goes off.

After making contact with his superior again he is told that Mezner has some infected on a ship and is trying to export the Technocyte virus to the rest of the world. After fighting and hijacking another tank Hayden pushes to the coast and hitches a ride on a helicopter to the ship. Fighting the crew, he makes it into the cargo hold and accidentally releases a highly evolved Technocyte monster which sinks the ship. Hayden escapes with his life but Yargo has been found and captured by the military.

Hayden rushes back to Yargo's place all the while killing huge amounts of infected and a large power-armoured soldier. He finds the place but Yargo has been moved to another location where Nadia is torturing him, demanding that he let her into "The Vault". His superior, seeing the horrible mess of things, contacts Hayden and tells him that he's coming to take over and to stand down. Hayden doesn't listen and goes to save Yargo anyway.

Making his way to the train station he fights through more evolved versions of the infected and even more Lasrian soldiers. He finds Yargo as well as the creature he let out of the ship. After killing it and mutating again he gets Yargo and attempts to use the booster, but Yargo tries to say something. Before Yargo can get the words out, Nemesis appears and forces them to split up. Hayden attempts to take Nemesis head on but he soon finds out he's still not strong enough to fight it. Mezner arrives and offers Hayden a chance to kill him, however Mezner has grown powerful enough to mentally control Technocyte infected victims, and begins to mentally overpower Hayden. In a last ditch effort, Hayden injects himself with the booster, which breaks Mezner's control while simultaneously preventing further mutations. Mezner tells him that he had the same booster and both he and Hayden were being prepared for the Technocyte's release. Hayden passes out and both the Nemesis and Mezner leave him for dead.

Hayden wakes up later with Yargo, who tells him that he laced the booster with Enferon, a chemical that kills the infected. He claims that he was worried that Hayden would turn out like Mezner because he had the same injections and the same infection, he also tells Hayden that he can get a suit similar to the Nemesis' in the same building; the Vosro Research Facility, where the Technocyte virus was made during the Cold War. Hayden saves Yargo by sending him through the ventilation system and makes his way down towards the labs where the other suit is kept. After killing hordes of Technocyte infested mutants and bypassing automated security systems, Hayden discovers the suit in an airtight chamber. He enters the room, shooting the lock as he goes so nothing can follow him inside. Just before he puts on the suit, Nadia arrives outside the door and Hayden pleads with her to leave before things get worse than they already are. She says that she's in too deep to get out now and that she is taking Yargo to open the vault.

Hayden gets the suit and slaughters his way through infected and non infected alike, taking down 3 powered armour soldiers and finally finding Nemesis. In the final showdown, Hayden kills the Nemesis and learns that it was actually Nadia all along. She apologises for infecting Hayden and tells him Mezner is planning a worldwide transmission to spread the Technocyte virus everywhere, Hayden says that he can't stop him because the organization is in the way. Nadia then tells him that she knows he'll "...do the right thing this time", leaves him with the key to the vault, and then dies. Hayden then hijacks another Jackal tank and kills everyone in his path on his way to the vault.

He arrives at the entrance of the vault to rendezvous his superior (His name is revealed to be "Dixon" as seen on his uniform), who says he has made a deal with Mezner and gives him a booster "for the road". Hayden is outraged and stabs him in the neck with the booster, and tells him that he "likes it" [the infection] and goes to destroy Mezner. He kills all of the men under his superior's command and then enters the vault. Once inside, Mezner tries to convince Hayden to join him. This doesn't work and Hayden goes deeper into the vault. He then finds the source of the Technocyte, or at least the first known source: the submarine that appeared off the coast of Lasria, only Hayden finds out that the submarine was actually American (Either by accident or on purpose, we don't know; it is implied that the American government knew all along). After the final showdown with Mezner, and the Technocyte Hydra-like monstrosity he controls, Yargo arrives to tell Hayden that the transmission is still going out. Hayden tries to fry the circuitry by using his glaive but before the dying Mezner, who is not quite dead yet attacks him one last time stunning his right arm, before telling him "You are one of us now". Hayden then catches the now electrified Glaive with his left hand and impales Mezner's skull with it. With the transmission finally halted, the game ends with Yargo saying "That was how it started, the irony of this disease, that in all the others it made evil, but for him it saved his soul".

Characters

Hayden Tenno (Voiced by Michael Rosenbaum) is the game's main protagonist and anti-hero. Infected by the Technocyte virus, he sets out to stop the virus from spreading across the world.
Yargo Menshik (voiced by Jürgen Prochnow) is a "sleeper agent" and a scientist who knows the origin of the Technocyte virus.
Robert Mezner (voiced by Dwight Schulz) is the game's main antagonist. Cruel and ruthless, he plans to expand and spread the virus around the world. He claims he wants to create a new utopia.
Nadia Sudek (voiced by Julianne Buescher) is a woman who works along side Mezner. Hayden and Nadia apparently know one another, but their connection isn't dwelled upon. She later turns out to be Nemesis, a metallic creature with the same powerful abilities as Hayden's.
Viktor Sudek is a minor agent captured by the Lasrian hazmat team. He becomes infected and is promptly killed by Hayden under orders to kill him by his superior.
Dixon is Hayden's CIA superior. He gives Hayden's orders to guide him of out Lasria. However its later revealed he used Hayden for his own evil purposes and he later makes a twisted deal with Mezner. Hayden becomes enraged and kills Dixon.
Colossus is a powerful creature from the infected virus. It appears to be a large powerful entity which can climb walls and utterly level a building in seconds. Hayden has a few encounters with this creature.
Stalker is another powerful creature Hayden encounters. This one however is completely invisible and it only reveals itself when shot or frozen in place.
The Blackmarket Dealer is an arms dealer who supplies weapons and equipment without the governors on them to Hayden for a number of Rubles. He hides in the Lasrian sewers all over the city.

Brother's In Arms:Hell's Highway Gameplay

Brother's In Arms:Hell's Highway

Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway is the third entry in the Brothers in Arms series of video games which follows the men of the 101st Airborne Division (502nd Parachute Infantry Regiment). This game once again puts players in the role of Staff Sergeant Matt Baker during Operation Market Garden in the later stages of World War II.

The game was released for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 on September 23, 2008 in North America, and were in stores on September 24, 2008. The Microsoft Windows version was released two weeks later,on October 7,2008.

Gameplay

The game has many new features, including a selection of new specialized units (bazooka and machine gun teams). When a command is issued, the player model uses hand signals to issue the command to his squad, similar to its predecessors. The player also has the ability to take cover behind objects and fire from a third person perspective which is an integral part of the game's strategy. A new “health” system has replaced the more punishing set health per mission system of previous titles in the franchise. With this system, the player's screen begins to turn red as they expose themselves from cover and will return to normal when they return to cover; failure to do so will result in Baker getting shot and killed. The original 'Situational Awareness' system of the first 2 games has been replaced with a simple tactical map that includes historically accurate recon reports based on period reconnaissance of the exact missions the player is currently playing.

The AI has been drastically improved, and the player's team will adapt to whether or not they are seen by whispering. The enemy AI has also been improved, allowing the Germans to counter the player's actions. The game is built on the Unreal Engine 3. Using weapons is "much more effective" according to the publisher of the game.

One of the newer features of Brothers In Arms: Hells Highway, is the "action cam". Whenever the player gets a head shot, good grenade kill or orders a particularly explosive bazooka blast, the camera will sometimes zoom in on the action and go into slow-motion. The slow-mo grenade kills produce quite a bit of gore.

History and Setting

Operation Market Garden was an extremely daring and hasty plan devised by the commander of the 21st Army Group, Field Marshal Bernard Law Montgomery. The plan was to drop three airborne divisions, two American (82nd Airborne Division and the 101st Airborne Division) and one British (1st Airborne Division), later to be reinforced by the Polish 1st Parachute Brigade and the British airportable 52nd (Lowland) Infantry Division, thus making it the largest Airborne operation ever mounted. These three divisions would land in the Netherlands, behind German lines, and secure multiple bridges and towns across the western part of the country, primarily at Eindhoven, Nijmegen and Arnhem. British XXX Corps, led by Lieutenant-General Brian Horrocks, would then make a rapid advance along a two-lane paved highway that ran from Eindhoven in the south, all the way 60 miles north to Arnhem and cross the Rhine River at Arnhem (the furthest bridge from the front line and XXX Corps' ultimate objective in the operation), this would then cut the German lines and leave the possibility for exploitation into the Ruhr Valley in Germany, and would hopefully "End the War by Christmas". The operation was executed on 17 September 1944, four months after Operation Overlord, which was covered in the previous games of the series.

Unfortunately, whilst initially successful with bridges at both Eindhoven and Nijmegen eventually secured, the well equipped II SS Panzer Corps, stationed in Arnhem to rest and recuperate, were thrown into action and proved too much for the under equipped 1st Airborne Division. The British LZ's were captured early in the battle, resulting in the supply drops falling into the hands of the Germans, which made it extremely difficult for the British in Arnhem to survive as they could not rearm and thus found it near impossible to fend off the attacking Germans until XXX Corps arrived. Arnhem was all but turned to ruins, the battle kept going day after day, but the British 1st Airborne remained defiant to the bitter end. XXX Corps never arrived to reinforce them. The armor reached just past the Nijmegen bridge over the river Waal, but could not advance further to capture Arnhem, as the bridge was now in German hands and around 4,500 British paratroopers were captured. The Allied advance was halted outside Nijmegen, the top Allied commanders decided that attempting to push toward Arnhem was simply going to continue to be a bloodbath causing more harm than good. The Allied troops' position along one stretch of linked roads was hit by repeated and brutal German counterattacks, locking the Allies onto a narrow stretch of Dutch land which extended beyond the previous front line. The narrow stretch leading up from Eindhoven to Arnhem (which the 101st Airborne Division had to defend from counterattacks whilst XXX Corps advanced) became known to the men of the 101st Airborne who fought, suffered, and died on this road as "Hell's Highway", where this game derives its name from. The Dutch would not see complete liberation for another 7 months.

The semi-fictional Staff Sergeant Matt Baker is a squad leader in the 101st Airbone Division's elite Reconnaissance Platoon. He, and characters from the previous game are reassigned to the unit before the drop into the Netherlands. The game follows the 101st's assault and securing of Eindhoven, and the subsequent defense of the surrounding area from German counterattacks, which in turn leads to the countless deaths of Sgt. Baker's squad.

Characters

Staff Sergeant Matthew Baker: The player character and squad leader. Born in St. Louis, Missouri and 25 years old ,and his helmet has the trademark goggles on it, Baker provides monologues throughout the game showing an insight into the development of his brotherly relationships with his men. Baker takes the death of his men and anybody close to him very hard, and vows to. He uses an M1 Garand Rifle and the Thompson submachine gun. Baker seems to be suffering from hallucinations and some form of PTSD. In several missions he sees "ghosts" of his former men who died under his leadership. He is nearing the breaking point, and several other people notice that, and begin to question his competence to lead.Matt's "cursed" pistol is a highly polished nickel-plated Colt M1911 .45 caliber pistol given to him by his father (who also was armed with it during the First World War), who after he retired, had the pistol engraved with the words "For Matthew, Brothers in Arms". Col. Joe Baker wanted his son Matt to carry the gun with him should another war arise, with his father expecting him to be a great soldier someday. Matt isn't sure he can satisfy his father's high expectations, and never wanted the .45 in the first place. Before D-Day, Matt gives his pistol to Sgt. George Risner, who told him he'd give it back to him after they linked up in Normandy. On D+1, near St. Come Du Mont, while Baker is escorting Risner to the town, Risner's M5 Stuart light tank is hit by a Panzerfaust, and after Risner runs out of Thompson ammunition, he fires the pistol, and is hit repeatedly in the arms, chest, and neck. Later, the pistol is picked up by Pvt. Larry Allen and Pvt. Michael Garnett. While on patrol on a farm near St. Come Du Mont with Leggett, both are killed with the pistol, but Leggett is not, forcing the rest of the squad to become suspicious of Leggett and blame him for their deaths. On D+7, at Hill 30 during the defense of the counterattack on Carentan, Leggett stands on the top of a hedgerow with the pistol, begging for a Panzer to take his life, and is killed. Matt's father also died with the pistol. Matt is the only one who seems to survive. Possibly it is because his name is engraved on it, Baker refuses to believe in the superstition, but ironically, refuses to let anyone other than himself touch it, hinting that Baker just may believe the rumors.

Staff Sergeant Joe "Red" Hartsock: So named for his fiery red hair, "Red" has a wild past full of bar-fights, and overnight arrests. Born in Laramie, Wyoming and 24 years old. One bar fight saw Hartsock confronted by a drunken lumberjack armed with a broken beer bottle, the result was a nasty scar on his left cheek. Sometime afterward, he met and fell in love with his wife, Erma, who saw Joe as her "project", after a few months, she'd managed to do the seemingly impossible, she had turned Joe into a God-fearing man, and had even given him a baby daughter, Carol, who he'd never met because he'd enlisted when Erma was 9 months pregnant. Hartsock wants to win the war so he can get back to his ranch and family in Wyoming, and see the daughter that he has been so anxious to meet, Carol will turn 3 years old in December. In the military, Hartsock began as a Corporal back in Brothers in Arms: Road to Hill 30. He was promoted at the end of the Hill 30 game to Sergeant, becoming the squad leader of 2nd squad himself. Matt Baker does not lead Red in Hell's Highway, instead Red is a Staff Sergeant with a full squad of his own who will fight alongside Baker, being supported by and supporting Baker in certain missions of the game. Joe "Red" Hartstock is then paralyzed in the end of Hell's Highway by a mortar round that hits a cafe that Baker and Friar were also in, it is the same mortar that kills Friar. The building collapsed and it did damage to his spinal cord so he "cant walk, but he can talk"- Staff Sergeant Baker

Corporal Sam Corrion: Another familiar Brothers in Arms character, Corrion leads the squad's assault team. Born in Augusta, Georgia and 26 years old, Cpl. Corrion was in charge of a textile mill before the war where he made a rather good living, but always wanted a grand adventure after being in the small Georgia town all his life. Corrion was a corporal with Baker and Hartsock before the jump into Normandy and is still a corporal going into the Netherlands, much to his dismay. He believes that he can perform better than Baker and Hartsock on the battlefield, if only given the chance. He uses a M1A1 Thompson submachine gun. He is shot in the mission "Hell's Highway" that barely misses his heart but survives the bullet.

Private First Class Gary "Jas" Jasper: He is a replacement soldier armed with an M9A1 Bazooka. He named his weapon Stella, after his girlfriend. Jasper is also a member of Baker's machine gun team, so he also carries a .30-caliber Browning M1919. Jasper is a larger-than-life soldier with a great personality and sense of humor, he also is a great soldier and can manage to draw a chuckle even in the worst of conditions. Jasper is a very playful person and is well-known and liked by everyone. Pfc. Jasper is the only team leader who is not a corporal.

Private First Class Timothy Connor: Jasper's assistant on the machine gun and Bazooka.He is a rather quiet man, but shares Jasper's humor and is always glad to do his job, and do it well, and always backs up Jasper should he be unable to find the right joke for the given situation. He carries two ammunition belts for the machine gun or a backpack containing bazooka shells whenever he uses the machine gun or Bazooka. He mainly uses an M1A1 Carbine. Connor also has a cigarette box attached behind the elastic band on his helmet. He is only heard in the level "Baptism of Fire" when Baker tells Connor to " Suppress the Krauts."

T/5 Nathan Holden : The radioman in Baker's platoon, a job that fits him perfectly, he is constantly concerned with the efficiency of the communications and tactics and he is quick to question the squad's methods or orders, the rest of them don't take him seriously in the fact being that his logic rarely applies when things go FUBAR. He uses an M1 Garand Rifle. Nathan was born in San Diego, California and is 23 years old.

Private First Class Mike Dawson: A transfer who served in the 502d PIR Pathfinders in Normandy; a mysterious character, Dawson doesn't wear a helmet saying it distracts his aim, and he speaks with an English accent. He finds interest in Baker's and Hartsock's stories, it is because of this he is isolated from the rest of the squad for they would rather not re-live those events but the others still listen to him and respect him as an equal. He is a member of Baker's assault team. He uses a M1 Carbine. Dawson starts off on a friendly note with Baker but gets on his bad side after attacking a British soldier who apparently found (and wore) Franky LaRoche's jacket. In the final cut-scene he notices Baker talking to himself. Dawson simply ignores this. He is 24 years old and from Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, England.

Corporal Franklin Paddock: Red's Assault-Team Leader introduced in Brothers in Arms: Earned in Blood. Paddock is a great soldier all around, though having a comical, and often irritating personality. Paddock has the reputation of being a bit of a Redneck, and is proud of it. He uses an M3A1 Grease Gun. Franklin is a capable and courageous assault team leader (Though his loud and boisterous chatter and taunting of the enemy may be distracting in combat) for Red's squad despite being somewhat arrogant and reckless, and always has a rude, but funny comment toward anyone who tries to talk down to him. He often refers to Corrion as "Sammy-Boy." Paddock is shown to have saved Baker's life in Hells Highway by throwing a German out a church bell tower in Eindhoven, the Netherlands, (Ironically, the same German who killed Lt. Col. Cole). He is shown in the level Written In Stone to end up on Baker's assault team as the only soldier separating himself from his original squad. He helps Baker hunt down the sniper and his platoon that killed Lt. Col. Cole. After Hartsock is wounded Paddock is promoted and placed in lead of 2nd Squad.

Corporal Jacob Campbell: Red's Fire-Team Leader introduced in Brothers in Arms: Earned in Blood. Campbell is shown to be distraught about the death of Marsh on the ambush of the 2nd Squad, causing him to wonder how Paddock possibly knew it was going to happen. Jacob is a dedicated soldier who wants to prove himself in battle and isn't one for small-talk. He uses a M1 Garand. Campbell is wounded in the explosion that wounds Baker and Hartsock and kills Friar ; he survives, but is wounded in the neck, preventing him from speaking for the rest of the game. It is unknown as of now if this is temporary or permanent.

Private First Class James Marsh: A member of Red's fire-team introduced in Brothers in Arms: Earned in Blood. Marsh is a combat veteran of the African-Campaign and is a more than capable soldier, and has a great personality, shown to have perished in the Baptism by Fire mission due to sniper fire. Supposedly Paddock predicted that a team member would die (the team member was Marsh). He carried a M1 garand rifle, but in the Playstation 2 version of previous games, he carried a Thompson M1A1 submachine gun.

Private First Class Dean "Friar" Winchell: A member of Red's Assault-Team introduced in Brothers in Arms: Earned in Blood, Friar was the man who bandaged Hartsock's mangled ring finger after it was apparently shot off while entering the town of Baupte in Normandy. He used an M1 Garand rifle. He is killed in the mission "Black Friday". His death was also predicted by Paddock.

Private Franky "Beans" LaRoche: LaRoche is a young soldier in Baker's squad who lied about his age to join the army. Young, and filled with heroic ideals, he is eager to rush into action-and all too willing to put his life on the line. He is the replacement on the assault team and the youngest in 3rd squad. During the celebration in Eindhoven, Frank meets a young Dutch girl and then reveals that he has never really had a girlfriend. This is proven to be true, due to the fact that Frank risks the safety of himself and his squad just to rescue her during the Baptism of Fire mission. Franky is killed in "The Rabbit Hole" after being shot several times in the chest.

Corporal Thomas "Zano" Zanovich: An old friend from Brothers in Arms: Road to Hill 30, Zanovich is now Baker's fire team leader. The "old man" and another veteran of the squad, Zanovich served in the French Foreign Legion for many years, and fought at Dunkirk in 1940, with the British, before enlisting in the U.S Army, he is more than capable of doing his job, and is a great leader should the situation call for it. Despite all the combat he's seen, Tom remains good natured and has a strong sense of humor, even when the situation doesn't exactly call for it, he is the type to draw a quick laugh in a smooth casual tone without going to great lengths to get it. Tom is a cynical soldier, and always is the first one to ask "why" about whatever the squad is doing, and often questions the knowledge of the officers who assigns the squad orders. Zano also dislikes the Jeep columns the paratroopers drive in. He uses an M1918 Browning Automatic Rifle and a M1 Garand, and is Baker's ever trusty B.A.R. gunner.

Private First Class Jack Courtland: Another familiar face from Brothers in Arms: Road to Hill 30, Courtland is a member of Baker's assault team and is a member of the bazooka team and machine gun team. He uses a M1A1 Thompson submachine gun. A bit of a hot-head, Jack joined the paratroopers with dreams of glory and impressing French girls with his tales of valor. His eagerness to be a hero quickly faded after being lost for days in Normandy. Now, Courtland just wants to get back home and fighting for the man next to him is the best way to do it.

Lieutenant Colonel Robert Cole: One of the game's true to life characters, Robert Cole was the commander of the 3rd Battalion 502nd PIR of the 101st Airborne Division Lt. Col Cole was a larger-than-life man, and always led by example, and would never send a soldier to do something that he would not be willing to do himself. He led his men when they jumped into Normandy on D-Day, and during Market-Garden. On September 18(D+1), a pilot instructed Cole to place orange smoke flares in front of his unit's position so that the air support would see where the friendlies were located, Cole performed the action himself, rather than send in one of his men to do the risky deed, A German sniper located in a nearby farmhouse shot and killed Cole while he was making sure his soldiers were at a safe distance from the incoming air attacks, Only a couple weeks later, Col. Cole was nominated for the Congressional Medal of Honor for a bayonet charge he'd led outside of Carentan early on June 11, 1944 during the Normandy invasion. He never saw the medal he was awarded, and he is buried in the Netherlands. He used a M1A1 Thompson submachine gun.

1st Sgt. "Top" Greg "Mac" Hassay: He appears in a cameo role and indeed survives his wound received during the events in Brothers in Arms: Earned in Blood. In the first game he was Baker's platoon sergeant and was a close friend of Baker's father, Col. Joe Baker and his family for many years, and always has a close eye on Baker, Hassay is much like a father-figure to Baker, and the men. In Hell's Highway, he is now a 1st Sgt of what is presumably Baker's old company. He uses a M1A1 Thompson submachine gun.

Private First Class Dale "Kid" McCreary: Another face from Brothers in Arms: Road to Hill 30, McCreary is a member of Baker's fire team. It is believed he is the character who Baker stops from hitting the ground during the demonstration video (he does not die in the actual game). He uses an M1 Garand Rifle. Dale has a small packet on his helmet most likely because it's to distinguish him from other soldiers.
Tank Commander Henry Redwood: Redwood is the player character during the first tank mission in Eindhoven. He may be a part of the Irish Guards, due to his accent and the fact that is the forward unit of XXX Corps. He introduces himself to Baker by saying "My name's Redwood, we're here to help you get through this shitehole".

Private First Class James "Jimmy" Roselli: Roselli is a replacement for Hartsock's assault team, he is shown in most videos to be another one who rarely speaks and acts when time calls for it. James replaces Marsh who was switched to the fire team after Normandy. Jimmy was first seen in the second developer's diary fighting with Paddock and Hartsock, holding Roselli back. He also has a cigarette box attached behind the elastic band on his helmet. He uses an M1918 Browning Automatic Rifle.
Colonel Robert Sink: Commander of the division's 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, also known as the Five-Oh-Sink, who appears as a cameo role. Voiced by Captain Dale Dye, who also portrayed Sink in the ten-part miniseries Band of Brothers.
T\5 Bob Doran: He is only seen once on "First Bad News" when he is taking to Holden for back up.Cole keeps on yelling at him and a mortar or artillery kills him,and he died a few minutes before Lt.Col. Cole.

Assassin's Creed 2 Gameplay

Assassin's Creed 2

Assassin's Creed II is a third person action-adventure video game developed by Ubisoft Montreal and published by Ubisoft. It is the sequel to the action-adventure game Assassin's Creed, and was released on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in November 2009,with a PC version scheduled for release in 2010.

As in Assassin's Creed, the story revolves around the "Animus", a machine which makes it possible for the player to view the genetic memories of protagonist Desmond Miles' ancestors, as the descendant of a long line of Assassins. In Assassin's Creed II, the machine is used to view the memories of a young nobleman-turned-assassin named Ezio Auditore da Firenze in the late 15th century in Italy, during the Renaissance. The game thus incorporates numerous real-life historic events, places, and people throughout Italian Renaissance history, all of which playing a key part in the plot and in Ezio's journey to uncover a hidden conspiracy after the murder of his family.

Assassin's Creed II received largely positive reviews, with critics praising the games stronger emphasis on open world exploration and interaction, nonlinear gameplay and greater mission variety compared with the first Assassin's Creed. The game was also credited with improved non-player character AI, a new in-game economy for buying items, weapons, and armor, and a deeper, more finely-tuned combat system.

Gameplay

Assassin's Creed II takes place in an open world with nonlinear gameplay, allowing the player to free roam within several regions throughout late 15th century Italy, such as Venice, Florence, and the Tuscan countryside. A new version of the Animus is used in the game, providing in-game context for changes and additions to several game elements. A database is available, providing extra historical information about key landmarks, characters and services that the player encounters. The health system has been made more dynamic, with synchronisation to the Animus only recovering minor injuries.More grievous injuries require visiting a street-side doctor for medicine.

The player may now swim in water, and eagle vision – the ability to identify specific people and landmarks – is now used in third-person view.A young Leonardo da Vinci is present in the game, aiding the player by creating new weapons and translating documents.Within the game, the player will be able to use Leonardo's flying machine (based on real-life plans by Leonardo), while on a mission.



While Leonardo provides the player with new weapons such as a poison blade and a miniature firearm, there is also a variety of swords and maces, as well as axes and spears. The combat system is more complex, with the ability to disarm opponents, stealing their weapons.Six additional weapons can be unlocked by connecting a PSP with Assassin's Creed: Bloodlines to the PS3.

The Auditore family's countryside villa acts as Ezio's headquarters, and the surrounding property can be upgraded, drawing income for the player's use. There are several outlets for using currency, with vendors selling items such as medicine, weapons, upgrades, and colored dyes for their character's outfit.

There is now a broader array of methods for hiding or blending in the area. One can dive underwater to break the guards' line of sight, and blending may be performed with any group of people, rather than only a specific type, as in the first Assassin's Creed.The game features a notoriety system, with Ezio becoming more recognizable depending on his behaviour, location, and current mission. This infamy can be reduced with bribery, removing wanted posters, or assassinating corrupt officials.A day and night cycle has been added to the game, giving the sense of time, in addition to setting missions and events at certain times of the day.There are many ways to interact with non-player characters, with some NPCs available for hire, to serve as a distraction, or to fight alongside the player. Money thrown to the ground may also serve as a distraction. There are also several types of enemies, some more agile or stronger than others.

The missions in the game now have an expanded variety, with different structuring. For example, a mission may have the objective to escort someone, but may change to a chase and assassination. Investigation is less explicit, and instead missions may follow people and/or a narrative. There are roughly 200 missions in this game; about half are part of the main storyline, while the rest are side quests. Cities also contain hidden locations such as catacombs and caves, the design of which have been compared by the developers to the Prince of Persia series, where the objective is to navigate the area. Exploring these locations eventually rewards the player with an item.

Like Assassin's Creed, characters based on historical figures are present in the game including Leonardo da Vinci, Niccolò Machiavelli, Caterina Sforza,Lorenzo de' Medici,the Pazzi Family,and Pope Alexander VI.

Locations in the game include Venice, Florence, the Tuscan countryside, Monteriggioni, San Gimignano and Forlì.Specific landmarks include St Mark's Basilica,the Grand Canal,the Little Canal,the Rialto Bridge,Santa Maria del Fiore, Santa Croce,Palazzo Vecchio,Ponte Vecchio,and Santa Maria Novella.

Plot

The game continues shortly after the events of Assassin's Creed, where, in 2012, Desmond Miles has been abandoned by Abstergo Industries after searching the memories of his ancestor Altaïr in the Animus. Abstergo, the modern-day equivalent of the Knights Templar,had been using Desmond to locate powerful out-of-place artifacts called "Pieces of Eden".Due to the "bleeding effect" from overusing the Animus, Desmond is able to see messages written on his bedroom wall, written in blood, later revealed to be that of an earlier Animus user known only as "Subject 16",warning of the end of the world. Lucy Stillman, a former researcher for Abstergo and a member of the modern-day Assassins, frees Desmond and brings him to a secret hideout for herself and two other Assassins, Shaun and Rebecca.With their own version of the Animus, they invite Desmond to help them discover the memories of his ancestor Ezio Auditore da Firenze; to train Desmond in Assassin skills through the bleeding effect,and to find other Pieces of Eden.

Ezio, residing in Italy during the Renaissance in the late 15th century finds his family in Florence the victims of a political plot, and is unable to save the hanging of his father and two brothers. His father's final instructions lead Ezio to a chest containing Assassin garments and tools, and soon meets his uncle Mario who allows him and his mother and sister shelter in their countryside villa, while training Ezio in the art of combat. Mario further provides leads to those in on his family's betrayal, and Ezio follows the trail of clues, leading from Florence to Tuscany, Romagna, and eventually to Venice. Along the way, he encounters several allies that assist in his pursuit; including Leonardo da Vinci, who is able to help decode pages of a "Codex", creating new equipment. After assassinating many people involved in the plot, Ezio is able to identify Rodrigo Borgia as the leader of the conspiracy, aimed to bring down the Medici family. Borgia later arrives in Venice with the "Apple", a Piece of Eden that Altaïr originally had found. He believed himself to be the "Prophet" that would lead to the discovery of "The Vault", supposedly containing more Pieces of Eden. Ezio, joined by his allies, stop Borgia, who flees. His allies, including Niccolò Machiavelli, reveal they are all members of the Assassins, and bring Ezio into their ranks, and that Ezio is likely the Prophet that will lead them to the Vault.

During one break on using the Animus, Desmond suffers an hallucination that returns him to the body of Altaïr in Acre, who makes love with Maria, a Templar he had earlier spared; when Altaïr departs, Desmond finds the memory staying with Maria, and leaves him confused when he recovers. He also learns of the case of Subject 16, and that Abstergo has been using numerous Animus devices to seek out the Pieces of Eden. When Desmond returns to Ezio's memory after he fought off Borgia, they find several corrupted memories, and instead return to Ezio in the year 1499, where Borgia has since become Pope Alexander VI at Vatican City. Ezio's memories reveal that he and his allies have completed the Codex and discovered that "The Vault" lies in Rome, and realize that the Papal Staff is another Piece of Eden; Borgia's plan, upon deposition of the Medici family, would allow him to become Pope and gain access to the staff and the Vault.

Ezio and his allies travel to Rome; while his allies distract the rest of the city, Ezio discretely enters the Vatican and attempts to assassinate Borgia. Borgia manages to escape with both the Apple and the Cross, and attempts to use them to open the Vault, but Ezio catches up and defeats him. In Ezio's hands, the Apple and Cross open the Vault; inside, he finds a holographic figure that ignores him and speaks directly to Desmond and the others watching through him. The figure, calling herself "Minerva", reveals that she and others were part of a more advanced society that lived alongside humans, though they eventually came to war. However, a natural, celestial disaster had occurred, wiping out nearly all life on the planet; the few remaining rebuilt humanity and had constructed several other temples around the world that will help them prevent the same disaster from reoccurring. As the hologram vanishes, Minerva directly tells Desmond that the "rest is up to you". As the memory ends, Desmond finds that Abstergo has discovered their hideout, and, with his assimilated skills from Ezio, assists Lucy in dispatching their forces while Shaun and Rebecca pack away their equipment. As the four escape, Lucy postulates that Minerva may have been talking about the Sun's geomagnetic reversal, and with time short, Desmond prepares to continue searching his memories for more clues to the location of the temples.

Subject 16

During Desmond's time in the Animus, he also encounters a series of out-of-place glyphs through Ezio's memories. They are found to be the same ones drawn in blood at Abstergo, and analysis reveals that they contain computer code for the Animus. "Subject 16", the Animus user preceding Desmond, had placed the encrypted code as a message, and Lucy had taken this data when taking Abstergo's Animus' memory. The encrypted code contains a great number of historical artworks, photographs, and messages, past and present, with information on historical uses of several Pieces of Eden. Unlocking all of the glyphs reveals a brief video, labeled "Subject 16, Session 12, Classified Date B.C.E." A man and woman rush through a garden-like area and a futuristic complex, with a glimpse of other people performing manual labor. On the roof of the complex, the woman holds up the Apple of Eden, and she and the man identify each other as Adam and Eve.

Assassin's Creed

Assassin's Creed is a third person action-adventure video game developed by Ubisoft Montreal and published by Ubisoft. It was released worldwide in November 2007 on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 video game consoles,and April 2008 for Windows and a ported version in Q2 2009 for the iPhone/iPod Touch.

Plot

In 2012, Desmond Miles is a bartender kidnapped by the company Abstergo Industries for use as a test subject in the "Animus", a device that can stimulate the recall of ancestral memories. Abstergo intends to put Desmond in the device to recall the role of his ancestor, Altaïr Ibn La-Ahad, in the "Assassin Clan" during 1191 as part of the Third Crusade in the Holy Land. Desmond has trouble adjusting to the device, but eventually relives Altaïr's exploits over the next several days. The game then primarily takes Altaïr's view point, with occasional swap with Desmond, due to glitches in the Animus.

Altaïr is first shown attempting to retrieve one of a series of artifacts known as the "Pieces of Eden" from Solomon's Temple with the help of other assassins, but is stopped by Robert de Sablé, Grand Master of the Knights Templar and sworn enemies of the assassins. While retrieving the treasure, Altaïr breaks all three tenets of the Assassin's Creed ("Do not harm the innocent," "Be discreet in your work" and "Do not compromise the Brotherhood") within the opening minutes of gameplay to attempt to kill de Sablé, but fails. Upon returning to the Assassins' stronghold at Masyaf and after narrowly defeating a retaliatory attack by the Knights Templar, Al Mualim, leader of the Assassins, demotes Altaïr to an initiate but gives him another chance to rise through the ranks of the Brotherhood. Al Mualim assigns Altaïr the task of assassinating nine key figures across the Holy Land in Jerusalem, Acre and Damascus, to attempt to bring peace between the Crusader and Saracen forces. Each target is based on a real life character who from around 1191, including Majd Addin (Regent of Jerusalem), Garnier de Nablus (Grand Master of the Knights Hospitaller), Jubair al Hakim (a eminent scholar in Damascus),Abu'l Nuqoud (the wealthiest man in Damascus), Robert de Sablé, Grand Master Sibrand of the Teutonic Order and William V,Marquess of Montferrat (Regent of Acre).

Altaïr completes each task, learning how each target is connected to Robert and the Templars, and how together they aim to end the Crusade and place the Holy Land under their own control. With men on both sides killed, he discovers that de Sablé's last ploy is to attempt to unite Christian and Muslim against their new-common enemy, the assasins themselves. Altaïr defeats de Sablé before Richard the Lionheart, failing to convince the king that an end to the war would be welcome to both sides. From de Sablé he discovers that Al Mualim is himself a member of the Knights Templar, and used Altaïr to kill the other members so he could keep the treasure for himself. Altaïr quickly returns to Masyaf to accost his master, who reveals the truth: the Piece of Eden which he had received from one of the men in the Temple after Altaïr's transgression creates illusions. He denounces religion and other seemingly supernatural events (e.g. the parting of the Red Sea, the Ten Plagues of Egypt and the presence of the Greek Gods in the Trojan War) as illusions caused by it, then states his intention to use the artifact to compel mankind into a brainwashed state and so bring an end to all conflict. Altaïr is eventually able to see through deceptions created by the artifact to kill Al Mualim. When Altaïr recovers the artifact, the Piece of Eden activates, showing a holographic view of the world with numerous locations of other Pieces of Eden marked across the globe.

When the process is complete, Desmond learns that Abstergo is a modern-day version of the Knights Templar, and are already seeking other artifacts at locations identified in Altaïr's memory. He further learns that the modern-day assassins had tried to rescue him before the memory was complete but had failed. Desmond was to be killed after completion, but a researcher named Lucy Stillman saves him from death. Though Desmond remains trapped in the Abstergo laboratory, his experience in the Animus has created a "bleeding effect" of Altaïr's life in his own, allowing him to see strange messages painted on the walls of his room, as well as allowing Desmond to use Altaïr's eagle vision (which proves to him that Lucy, who earlier bends down her ring finger as if to show him that she's on his side, is indeed an ally, as she glows blue). The messages all deal with various forms of the end of the world from different cultures, including several references to the date December 21, 2012, the date that Abstergo plans to launch a satellite that will "permanently end the war". It is hinted at that this will be by the same method that Al Mualim hypnotized Masyaf, only on a larger scale.

The Assassins

The character of Al Mualim and his clan are based on an Islamic sect known as the Order of the Hashshashin from which the term assassin originates, the idea for it coming from Blitzkrieg to Desert Storm: The Evolution of Operational Warfare by Robert M. Citino along with Bartol's novel Alamut.[10][11] The order follows a code of honor called the "Assassins Creed". The Creed is as follows: 1) Do not harm the innocent 2) Be discreet and 3) Do not compromise the brotherhood. They also follow the famous rule of Hashshashin founder Hassan-i Sabbah "Nothing is true; everything is permitted". Al Mualim's character is roughly based on Rashid ad-Din Sinan, who was the leader of the Syrian branch of the Hashshashin in 1191 and was nicknamed "The Old Man of the Mountain".



Assassin's Creed is an action-adventure video game in which the player primarily assumes the role of Altaïr as experienced by Desmond. The primary goal of the game is to carry out a series of assassinations ordered by Al Mualim, the leader of the Assassins. To achieve this goal, the player must travel from the Brotherhood's headquarters in Masyaf, across the terrain of the Holy Land known as the Kingdom to one of three cities, Jerusalem, Acre, or Damascus, to find the Brotherhood agent in that city. There, the agent, in addition to providing a safe house, gives the player minimal knowledge about the target, and requires them to perform additional intelligence gathering missions before attempting the assassination. These missions include eavesdropping, interrogation, pickpocketing and completing tasks for informers and fellow assassins. Additionally, the player may take part in any number of side objectives, including climbing tall towers to map out the city, and saving citizens who are being threatened or harassed by the city guards. There are also various side quests that do not advance the plot such as hunting down and killing Templars and flag collecting. After completing each set of assassinations, the player is returned back to the Brotherhood and rewarded with a better weapon and then given another set of targets, with the player free to select the order of their targets.



The player is made aware of how noticeable Altaïr is to enemy guards as well as the current state of alert in the local area via an alertness level meter. To perform many of the assassinations and other tasks, the player must consider the use of commands distinguished by its type of profile. Low profile commands allow Altaïr to blend into nearby crowds, pass by other citizens, or other non-threatening tasks that can be used to hide and reduce the alertness level; the player can also use Altaïr's retractable blade to attempt low profile assassinations. High profile commands are more noticeable, and include running, scaling the sides of buildings to climb to higher vantage points, and attacking foes; performing these actions at certain times may raise the local area's awareness level. Once the area is at high alert, the crowds run and scatter while guards attempt to chase and bring down Altaïr; to reduce the alert level, the player must control Altaïr as to break the guards' line of sight and then find a hiding space such as a haystack or rooftop garden, or blend in with the citizens sitting on benches or wandering scholars. Should the player be unable to escape the guards, they can fight back using swordplay maneuvers.



The player's health is described as the level of synchronization between Desmond and Altaïr's memories; should Altaïr suffer injury, it is represented as deviation from the actual events of the memory, rather than physical damage. If all synchronization is lost, the current memory that Desmond is experiencing will be restarted at the last checkpoint. When the synchronization bar is full, the player has the additional option to use "eagle vision" which allows the computer-rendered memory to highlight all visible characters in colors corresponding to whether they are friend or foe or even the target of their assassination. Due to Altaïr's memories being rendered by the computer of the Animus project, the player may experience "glitches" in the rendering of the historical world, which may help the player to identify targets, or can be used to alter the viewpoint during in-game scripted scenes should the player react fast enough when they appear.