Memory Block Two
After jacking into the Animus again, we are back into the
third crusade. Altair is amazingly still alive after being stabbed by his boss
and is standing in front of his desk. Al Mualim says that Altair sees only what
he wants him to see and that he was just sleeping the sleep of death. Altair
was stabbed so that he could find his peace within and stop being such a
dickweed. Mualim could have just taken away his weapons. He didn’t have to stab
him with his magic “fake dead” knife. Altair is now “reborn” and has to earn
all his weapons back. Like Samus progressing through every Metroid, Altair gains
more and more abilities as he gets further.
The first step to regaining Altair’s rank is to ferret
out one of the guild’s traitors. Head
out of the main library and out to the courtyard. Before descending into the
city of Masyaf, Altair is
stopped by a fellow guildsman who volunteers to show him the ropes of an
assassin investigation. Altair cuts him off like an asshole. How did a jerk like Altair ever secure
the chance to pass on his genetics to Desmond?
Follow the icons on your map
to find the conversation target. Sit on the nearby bench and listen to the
busybodies surmise that the basket maker is in on the scheme. You are prompted
to pickpocket the Basket Weaver. This should prove tricky considering flowing
robes don’t usually have pockets.
Find the Basket Weaver by looking at your map. It will be identified by an icon that looks like a hand reaching into a pocket. Well a hand reaching into a rectangle. When you get there listen to a
woman complain about her deficit of baskets. When the conversation is over,
follow the man lock on to him and when prompted press the arm button. You will steal an incriminating letter from his 12th
century fanny pack.
The letter implicates Masun in the attack on the HQ. When
you find him, he is standing on a balcony yelling loudly to whoever will listen
about the evils of Al Mualim. This guy is in the dark ages, he should really be
complaining about a lot more. Such as, the lack of sanitation, restrictive
social classes, and the uneven distribution of wealth. Al Mualim is small
potatoes compared to that. Anyhow, punch him a few times and he concedes that
he works for the Templar Knights and opened the gates because he believes it
was right. Submitting to Altair, Masun is brought in front of Al Mualim and
freely admits to his crime. Strongly refusing to repent, Al Mualim stabs Masun
with a blade much longer and deadlier than that “fake dead” dagger he stabbed
Altair with earlier.
Al Mualim then gives Altair that
sword saying that he earned the right to wield it. He then tells Altair that he
has a list of nine men who must die because their political standing corrupts
the land. I guess we just found out who Joseph McCarthy’s distant relative is. Rubbing
out these nine will restore Altair’s full rank. The first kill is in Damascus.
When the speech is over, there
is a mini animation of Altair examining his newly acquired Assassin’s blade. As
pointed out by N’gai Croal in his November 1st Vs. column, this little
animation is quoting Link’s item obtaining animations in The Legend of Zelda
games.
Memory Block 2 Tamir (Damascus)
This camel-tinted town is Damascus.
According to wikipedia it was Saladin’s capitol during the Crusades. Capitol of
what I don’t know, I was using wikipedia, what do you expect. You can
definitely see the Arabic influences with the prevalence of Horseshoe arches
and the classic red and white voussoirs that we have seen before.
The first task is to find the
Assassin’s Bureau. Climb any of the towers that are identified with the eagle
icon to reveal more of the map. Then, head for the Bureau, identified by the
Assassin’s Creed Logo (TM property of Ubisoft).
The Bureau is quite the
respite from the hustle and bustle of the city; there are cushions on the
floor, vines lining the excellently maintained walls, even a fountain that
creates some beautiful white noise and that is just the outer garden. Inside,
there is the Bureau Chief who gives Altair information about the cit and his target.
Altair is not allowed to assassinate until he gets confirmation that the target
is in the city and is indeed the
one they want. For that reason, Altair has to hit the streets to pick up
information.
Investigation:
A man named Tamir is
the target and through Altair’s sneaky assassin way of pick pocketing,
ease dropping, interrogating, and obstacle coarse running, he deduces
that Tamir will be in the local marketplace (called the Souk) to
discuss an extra large shipment of weapons. With the hit fully
researched, return to Dalmasca’s Bureau to register the information.
The chief makes it official by giving Altair a feather.
The Assassination:
When Altair reaches the Souk, the target, Tamir (who is
dressed in red), is berating his blacksmith supplier (dressed in white). The
weapon producer is behind schedule and tries to justify it by saying that
Tamir’s schedules are unwieldy and that he can’t fulfill the orders. Oh and
then he spits on Tamir. As expected this doesn’t go over well and Tamir gives
the blacksmith a whole lot of speed holes. At this point that blacksmith
probably wishes he hadn’t made that knife so sharp. The scene ends with the
blacksmith left for dead in the fountain as a lesson to the rest of the Souk. I
feel bad for the blacksmith but if there is one thing I have learned in my
decade of being a working stiff it’s that if you can’t meet a deadline it is
best just to tell your boss early so that you can each reach a compromise. The
poor guy waited too long and is now feeling the consequences.
The Kill:
Follow Tamir and ready the assassination blade. If you
sneak up on him you can stab him without causing a ruckus.
The Blue Screen Of Death:
When he is finally assassinated, the outside world is
replaced by a pastel blue cloud and Altair and the target are in this semi
dream state. It is like someone took a hit of a very diluted acid that was made
from lavender and instead of discussing the typical acid trip stuff (ie: the
growing dependence on wind generated from cockroach eyes) everyone talks about
their feelings.
Using the fabulously gaudy yet poetic line “you think me
some petty death dealer suckling at the breast of war,” the rapidly fading Tamir
makes no apologies and claims that he is not in the arms trade for the money
but for a far greater cause. The “petty death dealer’s” soul then wanders off
into the mist as Altair coochie coo’s his throat with the assassination
feather.
Memory Block 2: Abstergo Labs
Desmond awakens from the
Animus because Lucy convinced the doctor that it was enough work for the day. The
Doctor leaves the office and Desmond takes this opportunity to confront Lucy
about how...”fucked” this kidnapping situation is. With the tantrum over,
Desmond rightfully wonders why everyone speaks English in this supposedly
Arabic country. As she explains, the Animus translates the language to one
Desmond can understand. I assume that this speech translation software is still
in beta because it makes the accents sound phony and the acting horrible. Lucy
insists that he read up on the company on the nearby terminal. This was a ruse
by Lucy as she was really trying to sneak him information about how evil the
company is that kidnapped him is.
Steer Desmond back to bed.
Notice that modern day alternative to Altair’s white moo-moo is an American
Apparel Pullover hoody .
It’s like Desmond and his ancestors are pre-disposed to like white garments
that cover their heads.
The following morning ...
Doctor Vidic comes in, tells
Desmond that time is wasting and it is time to start. Waking up surprisingly
early and easily for a bartender, Desmond heads out and towards the animus.
Memory Block 2: The Kingdom
The Assassin’s Headquarters you are in now is where all of your
missions are assigned. It is, in essence, Crackdown's Agency Tower, it
is the security room in Dead Rising, the Imperial City in Oblivion, CJs
house in San Andreas and the Castle in Shadow of the Colossus. It is
interesting that all these sandbox games have a central point from
which all missions are assigned. The building that is chosen in
Assassin’s Creed (as well as in Oblivion, Shadow of the Colossus, and
Crackdown) is so imposing and vertically prominent. Its as if these
games need a solid anchor to center all the free-roaming craziness that
can leave you wandering around the sandbox aimlessly.
Anyway, from the central hub of Masyaf head down the hill to the
stables steel a horse. You control Altair on his ride through the
Syrian countryside before reaching Damascus. Open your map by pressing
select button and head for Damascus’ cross icon. You can stop and
ascend any of the guard towers (identified by the eagle icons) to
reveal addition map details, however it is not at all necessary.
Scattered among the various bushes, barrels, stone walls,
and guard towers are a rabble of flags (this game’s collectable whats-it.) You
can’t redeem them for additional outfits for Altair and they definitely do not
unlock big head mode. Other than the XBOX 360 achievement points, there is no
reason to collect them. In fact, the game’s creative director Patrice Desilets
“suggested he could have done without them but said others on his team thought
players would enjoy gathering them.” So, because the game’s director didn’t
have the balls to tell someone “no,” you are stuck wasting hours collecting the
flags.
Whether you collect the flags or not, you should spend a
little time exploring the off-the-path wilderness of this over-world. The
landscape is pretty well-kept
considering this is a war ravaged nation. It is amazing how little
details like an extra cypress tree here or there can make the world feel so
much more real. I haven’t tried it yet but I bet ridding through Shadow of
the Colossus’s over-world again will seem sterile and unnatural.
When you finally do get to the
Damascus’ city gates, they are
blocked by guards. Climbing a nearby tower unveils a citizen who is under
attack. When you kill the attackers and free the citizen, a cluster of white
clad scholars/monks appear. Use them for cover and slink into the city.