23 Fascinating Facts You May Not Know About Assassin's Creed
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1. Connor was voiced by a Native American
Ratonhnhaké:ton—otherwise known by his adopted name, Connor—in Assassin's Creed III was voiced by actor Noah Watts, a descendent of the Blackfeet nation.
2. Hunters gonna hunt
Influenced by Red Dead Redemption's open-world, hunting system, Assassin's Creed III introduced hunting to Ubisoft's franchise.
3. This is a ginormous squid
In Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag, players can find the easter egg of a squid doing an underwater-takedown of a whale. It's at the Antocha shipwreck.
4. Top-selling Ubisoft franchise
As of 2014, the Assassin's Creed franchise has sold more than 73 million games, making it Ubisoft's bestselling game franchise.
5. First Video Game Character Voiced By Kristen Bell
Kristen Bell (Veronica Mars) lends her voice as Lucy Stillman in three of the Assassin's Creed games. It was the long-time video game fan's first foray into the gaming industry. Her voice acting career now includes Frozen.
6. It was almost a Prince of Persia game
Assassin's Creed was originally titled Prince of Persia: Assassins.
7. Co-Op took a while
Co-Op Mode has been a popular add-on feature to plenty of single-player games, but Assassin's Creed didn't allow you to play cooperative with a friend until Assassin's Creed: Unity.
8. The spy who shunned me
Easter eggs and references to other games are laid throughout the franchise. In Assassin's Creed: Revelations, one of the missions named "The Spy Who Shunned Me," a pretty easy James Bond reference.
9. Hat Tip to Batman
While you're freerunning over buildings in Assassin's Creed II, an NPC can be heard saying "another caped crusader."
10. The Jackdaw's Original Name
The Jackdaw is the ship captained by Edward Kenway in Assassin's Creed: Black Flag. The ship's original name was El Dorado, but Kenway renamed it when he took over. Because, you know. Jackdaw is a pretty great name for anything.
11. First Female Hero
The main character in the Assassin's Creed games has usually been a male, until Assassin's Creed III: Liberation when Aveline was our protagonist.
12. I'm a Real Boy!
According to Ubisoft, approximately 80 percent of the named characters in Assassin's Creed III were historically accurate.
13. Desmond Miles' Voice
Miles plays an integral part in the series' first handful of games, and is voiced by veteran actor Nolan North. You may recognize his voice from other video game characters, such as Nathan Drake, the Penguin, and Cyclops.
14. Desmond's Body
Spoiler Alert: Desmond doesn't make it out of the end of Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag. But what happened to his body? Apparently recovered by Abstergo agents in an attempt to harvest his DNA.
15. Scalping!
Scalping was originally planned as a tactic Connor could use in Assassin's Creed III, but the developer thought it was too graphic for the installment.
16. Inspired by a Novel
In case you were wondering about the origins of Assassin's Creed, it's reportedly based on Slovenian writer Vladimir Bartol's "Alamut."
17. WWII Is Out
According to Assassin's Creed writer, Corey May, the Assassin's Creed franchise will explore a lot of historical moments, but World War II is not one of them.
18. Hook Blade an Upgrade?
In Assassin's Creed: Revelations, the Hook Blade was originally conceived as an upgrade to the hidden blade. In the end, the Hook was added as an additional weapon.
19. Ezio's Story
Ezio has a storied past in the Assassin's Creed games, but we are never sure of the span of time we controlled the man from House of Auditore. Until now, with his story apparently taking approximately 23 to 30 years.
20. Ezio in Other Games
Ezio's story might have ended in Assassin's Creed, but that hasn't stopped him from showing up in other games. Ezio has made appearances in Soul Calibur V and Academy of Champions: Soccer.
21. So. Many. Games.
Ubisoft has released 8 core console titles and about a dozen other games (mostly mobile or social). And there's no end in sight.
22. Assassin's Creed: The Movie
As with anything that is incredibly popular, Hollywood wants a piece of the action. The movie adaptation is in production with Michael Fassbender set to star as...an assassin!
23. The End is Already Written
Although Assassin's Creed doesn't seem to be wrapping up anytime soon, apparently the way the series ends has already been written. It's always good to know where you're going, right?