6 Time Periods ASSASSIN'S CREED Needs to Visit
The Eagles by RockLou
Ubisoft recently confirmed that Assassin’s Creed Unity is a real thing, and is one of two games being released this year. Unity has been announced for PS4 and XBox One (the trailer of which you can catch below), but there will be another entry for PS3, 360, and maybe Wii U (but don’t hold your breath for that last one). Unity is set in Paris, but that is about all we know of the now current gen title, but it got my wheels turning a bit on what other eras are ripe for sneaking around and getting all stabby-stabby on people. For your perusal, here is a roundup of my best proposals.
Art by: Mateusz Dabrowski
1930’s Noir
Early Casinos, hubs of NY and Chicago, and interacting with people like Franklin Roosevelt, Amelia Earhart, Charles Lindbergh, and Al Capone. All of these pockets of history would be open for interpretation if Ubisoft went down this road. It would also provide a compelling backdrop to the action, being the era of the Great Depression and all. Seeing how the Templars would take advantage of that situation would be a story worth telling, as long as it was handled with care.
It should be noted that this would also allow me to live out a childhood fantasy of mine. I've always wanted to be one of the Untouchables, and this would allow me to live that little dream out, albeit with blades and a cool hood. Just for me Ubi, please name a templar Nitty, just so I can utter the fantastic one liner reply, "he's in the car".
Art by: Txikimorin
Feudal Japan
This is an era that many have been clamoring for, and while Shao Jun represented the Chinese brotherhood in the animated Embers movie, we haven't been exposed to the Japanese contingent. The better question is, how have they not done this yet?! It lends itself so well to the blades and stealth aspects of the franchise. Let the player create their own weapons, and possibly even pick a combat style to personalize the experience more, breaking up combat into different styles of martial arts, letting you customize your combat experience even more.
World War 2
What? Another World War 2 game? Really? Yes, and the reason being that Assassin's Creed has a unique flair all its own that would fit the setting really well. Ever played The Saboteur? If not, it's worth the $7 you can get it for on Amazon. The game didn't live up to what it could've been, but it still was worth a playthrough, this could be all that game aspired to be and so much more. Working with different generals and political figures, traveling to different fronts of the war, and showing how the Templars operated around or with the Nazi’s could prove to be a very memorable installment in the franchise.
Assassin of the Future by LunaeMaster
The Future
Not to get all Days of Future Past here, but it would be a nice foundation for this entry in the Assassin Templar conflict. Templars have won the war, but there are still a few Assassin's fighting the overwhelming odds, and you are one of those few remaining of the brotherhood. Your goal? To manifest the other assassins that Abstergo has mined for profits and secrets into the physical world, creating an unstoppable army that can end the Templars rein once and for all. Pretty rad right?
Child of the 1980s
Just for fun really, but Ubisoft could make it work. It could be like Vice City but with a much more serious tone. There have been many takes on the 80s, but most lean towards caricature rather than realism (and the ones that did were not very good, such as the recent Miami Vice reboot a few years ago). A more run down protagonist, possibly one who has been kicked out of the Assassins and is having to rebuild his reputation. It's something we haven't seen from an Assassin's Creed protagonist so far.
Side note: The best DLC ever would consist of downloadable Cosby sweaters in various colors. An assassin clothed in Huxtable gear is an idea that just needs to happen.
United States of Assassin's by SyNDiKaTa-NP
The Civil War
At first I was not sold on this, but after thinking about it a bit more (as well as a recent viewing of Lincoln), the Civil War era would be worth exploring. Templars tend to pick a side in any conflict, but if they were pulling strings for both sides to further the war, it could make for good drama. You’d also encounter characters like Harriet Tubman, Abraham Lincoln, General Lee, etc. While it doesn't need to have the protagonist involved in every major event in history, there are some great things that you could work with as plot points. What if one assassin could change the events of history by stopping Lincoln's assassination? What if Abstergo finally stopped just observing events but began proactively changing them? These could be fun rabbit holes to go down, just to break things up.
Those are my pitches, now it's time to hear yours. Let us know what you think in the comments!
preview art by: Nefar007
