The Assassin’s Creed franchise has always been as much about the historical eras that it explores as it is about stabbing people. As flawed as the franchise can be at times, their historical research tends to show in their work and the little tidbits that turn up while you play the games.
And they do pick some fascinating historical eras to stab people in. So far, the games have featured the Third Crusade, the Italian Renaissance, the American Revolutionary War, and the upcoming Vita game, Liberation, will be set during the period of New Orleans’ history where it was a French colony under Spanish rule.
These are all fascinating eras. But since Ubisoft is probably unlikely to keep going forwards in time for the series since it raises the question of firearms, here are a few suggestions for historical eras they could explore next.
The English Restoration
The key event here is the return of Charles II after Richard Cromwell basically demonstrated he was unable to clean up his father’s mistakes. Needless to say, switching from a repressive Puritan to Charles II, who was in favor of religious freedom (while the government of England wasn’t), made for some interesting times. Theaters reopened, society started loosening up in some respects… and the Puritans starting thinking about going somewhere else.
It’d make for a good game because of the social turmoil at the time. Charles especially found himself fighting for freedoms that Parliament wasn’t eager to grant. It makes a great backdrop to the intrigue the Assassin’s Creed games love.
The Early Reign of Saint Louis
Louis IX, who actually is a saint, was actually a horrible anti-Semite, but in the early years of his reign, there were constant plots to seize the throne from him partially due to the fact that the rules of succession weren’t entirely clear. So it seems like the kind of thing Templars and Assassins would get involved in fairly quickly.
The Opium Wars
Put it to you this way: If you can’t write a compelling story around a government declaring war over its right to sell addictive drugs to people they view as beneath them, you need to get into the used car business.
It’d also give the series a chance to step away, a bit, from European history without ditching it entirely.
Speaking of which…
The Gupta Empire
Widely considered India’s golden age, the Gupta Empire saw some incredible advances in the sciences, mathematics, and the arts. It’s also a pretty fascinating period in terms of gameplay, because if you’re going up against the Gupta Empire, that means you’ll be running into lots of archers.
There’s a lot of history from this time to dig through, and it’d be a great way to add some variety and a unique setting to the series.
17th Century Africa
Granted, there’s really no way to talk about African history without dealing with some of the lowest points in human history. This is right when the Atlantic slave trade was beginning. But first of all, avoiding these moments doesn’t really do us a service; forgetting history has never achieved anything.
Secondly, properly done, a game would be a great way to learn about this history, especially from an African perspective. And on a more practical level, slavers are like Nazis and zombies, you can do pretty much anything to them and not feel bad about it.
Those are my five. Throw us a few in the comments with some links: Let’s be history geeks and game geeks!
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The French Revolution and the Napoleonic era. That turned into a war that took over a whole continent and beyond, I totally see Assassin’s being mixed up in it somewhere.
French Revolution would be brilliant.
I’d like to see that myself, not going to lie, but I wanted to shake it up a bit.
I could see them doing that like they did with the Ezio line of AC games. It’s only 20-30 years after the timeline they’re doing with AC3.
I was thinking the same thing. I’ve never played AC, but that era, sort of like the American Revolution, always seemed a bit under served in games.
probably not an extension of this game the main guy is part or whole native I think his only interest overseas would be in contract killing? Well, we’ll see I bet this one has a Brotherhood style sequel
Do some stuff in Russia, final mission is kill Rasputin (Joke’s on you, he’s unkillable!)
Yup, would like to see Russia for real, scramble for power post ww1 left country in a lot of turmoil
BOSS LEVEL
Thirty Years War seems right up their alley; lots of turmoil and lots of players involved.
Ooooooh, good one!
Shogunate era Japan might also be a good one.
It would have to be a Japanese protagonist since the only foreigners let into the country during this time were Dutch and only got a little man-made island in Nagasaki.
But that would be a sweet game.
now i want to read clavell’s “shogun” again. and maybe tai-pan, and gajin, and the rest of the asia saga. time for boooooks
I thought of Japan, but there’s not really a lack of games about an assassin sneaking around during the Tokugawa Shogunate.
War of 1812, Civil War and Boer War all have good potential. I don’t know why you mention fire arms as a negative. The new game seems to use them. I like that Conor will actually be able to pick them up. I had a hard time with Ezio not being able to grab an arquebus or rifle when they were dropped. Shogun japan would be badass with a Japanese character.
The Boer War would be interesting if for no other reason than getting shot from a thousand feet away would make sense for once.
It was sort of touched on with Africa but also the colonial expansion into South America in pursuit of gold/land/spices etc. The slave trade there as well as the unique environments of recreating Mayan/Aztec or Incan architecture would be phenomenal. Also the protagonist would be the least caucasian of the series. I’m against China/Japan just because we’ve seen those eras in so many games before and also because all the Japanese fanboys would cream their collective パンツ over it.
I think colonial expansion in general is a good place for the games to go. They seem to want to explore the dark sides of history and really, that’s the place to go.
Of course, the problem that you’d have with the Restoration is – who are the bad guys? I mean, on the one hand the Puritans are kind of puritanical dicks, but on the other hand they’re also the nice folks who founded America and, despite dying like flies, managed somehow to become the ancestors of everyone who has ever gone into politics since.
Meanwhile, the Royalists have better hair and better parties, but they also have that whole moral degeneracy.
Puritans: ehhh not so nice. Plus they were just trying to not pay taxes on their crazy made up religion.
I don’t know that moral ambiguity is a bad thing.
Well, yeah. I haven’t played any of the Assassin’s Creed games, but last time I went to the cinema there was a trailer for one of them. Its premise seemed to be: Evil British people! Evil British people! Evil British people! Heroic revolutionaries! Bloodbath time!
(This, by the way, was in England. It’s okay, we’re used to it. But it didn’t look like they were playing up the moral ambiguity of the situation)
That’s nothing, you should see what the series does to the Italians. I do agree that the whole AMERICA! FUCK YEAH! tone of the advertising is condescending to… well… everybody involved, but I suspect the game will be a little more nuanced.
Would have loved to seen an entire game st in Egypt.
Fire arms aren’t a huge deal until the early 20th Century. Even during WW1, bayonets were commonly used. They were very limited in range and accuracy.
My criteria here is really Civil-War era. It’s around then that I think historically speaking firearms would become a problem for the game.
Probably a little after when the Winchester repeaters hit the market. We’re still talking single shot muzzle loaders at that point. It’s not like Gattling guns were all that common.
Hell, those could even enhance the difficulty.
What? A gun with a bullet hopper was the height of accuracy and precision! THE HEIGHT I SAY!
I don’t know how far back in time the games should go, but I think a good concept would be expand upon what they did for the Savonarola storyline in AC2, in that it’s an unaffiliated 3rd party (i.e. not a Templar or an Assassin) who’s using a Piece of Eden for their own purposes. That’s why I think a game where the historical backdrop is the conquests of Alexander the Great might be very promising where you are trying to stop him from conquering the world. You could do the same thing with Napoleon I suppose.
Kinda combining a couple of the ideas on here, but what if Alexander the Great was a 3rd party conqueror with a piece of Eden, the Templars were entrenched in Persia and as an Assassin you are trying to promote Alexander in his conquest but also trying to get the piece of Eden away.
All these ideas are good… which means we will get Nixon and Watergate
Something about an assasin storming the white house to confront nixon seems entertaining to me
SAINT LOUIS! GO CARDINALS!
Actually, I would pay money for “Assassin’s Baseball.”
Assasins Creed: Modern Warfare will probably be what we get. But I’d personally love to see some sort of prequel in Ancient Rome even though Rome has already been done. Also, Spanish Inquisition or Pre-Civil War Underground Railroad.
Or go against the shadiest organization of our time, into the heart of darkness: the Penn State Locker room
Actually, you know what would be a good game if they wanted to stay in America (the country, I assume you do not get regularly penetrated by video games)? Bloody Kansas.
@Dan Seitz: John Brown Boss Battle!
Lots of good options. The American Revolution is a brilliant choice and I can’t wait to get this game.
Some South American independence wars could be pretty awesome to follow. The Libertadores Jose San Martin and Simon Bolivar were major players and liberated several countries. You’d get exotic locales from jungles to mountains to cities. Interaction with both native communities and Spanish royalty (who you presumably kill) would be fun. Chock full of good history and plenty of crazy battles. Plus hot latina chicks!
Yeah, the more people point it out, the more I can’t believe I slipped on including South American history.
If we want to go crazy with Latin history… why not Spanish-American War? Fight along side Teddy in the Battle of San Juan Hill? Fighting in Cuba? Sounds good to me…
RUSSIA!!!!
My suggestions:
- European colonised Africa. Seeing the interplay between the various groups of competing motivations would be interesting. Also, I would be intrigued to see a game tackle the idea of Europe being the bad guys. A little ‘Heart of Darkness’ inspired Assassins Creed action.
- Somewhat related, French Indochina/British-India/Netherlands-occupied-South-Asia. For similar reasons as above.
- Expansion of America to the west. From frontier to metropolis. Development of the railroad. The Gold Rush. All of these could create interesting gameplay moments.
- A modern example, the rise and fall of the Latin dictatorship of the 20th century.
Oh man, I’m totally on board with the railroad/gold rush stuff.
The Gupta empire I’m on board with (reads further) THE HELL YOU MEAN MORE ARCHERS ARE A GOOD THING?
For one thing, the Gupta archers could actually hit a target from more than a foot away (seriously, ACII’s archers were just stabbing practice with dialogue).
Holy hell, I can’t believe nobody has mentioned China or the Ottoman Empire. Both have many eras in time where assassinations were the norm.
China during the Boxer Rebellion would work.
They kind of already covered the Ottoman Empire in AC: Revelations
The trick is finding an era that makes sense for Desmond’s ancestors to be in. So while a game in Africa during the slave trade would be GREAT (and, as a history buff, I would love such an opportunity for an often-overlooked history to get out there), I can’t really think of a good reason for Desmond’s ancestors to be there that doesn’t come off really bad (read: slave trader). Same can be said for the Gupta Empire.
That being said, why not move forward? The problem with firearms is only a problem if you give them to the main character. With guards, they provide an extra level of difficulty, and puts emphasis on stealth over action. Desmond’s ancestor could probably have a small pistol or (when appropriate) a sniper rifle, but that’s it.
With all that in mind, the following eras could work:
1) Revolutionary France – As stated above, this would work best as an AC:R-style sequel to AC3. Like how AC:R took place entirely (for all intents and purposes) in Rome, this game would take place entirely within Paris. One of the missions involves the Storming of the Bastille.
2) Europe in WWII – Desmond Miles’ great-grandfather is an American spy sent deep behind enemy lines. The cities involved are Berlin, Nazi-Occupied Paris, and Stalingrad (which is a war zone). One of the missions involves breaking into a concentration camp; another an assassination at a chateau, similar to the end of the movie “The Dirty Dozen”. If there’s a game set in Revolutionary France, some of the collectibles may be related to events of that game. Furthermore, as this game takes place in the recent past, the game should break from the series tradition and make the targets fictional characters.
3) Cold War – An AC:R sequel to the WWII game. The entire game takes place in the divided Berlin with added difficulty due to the increased presence of guards, and there are more guards the more times you are caught during a mission. Like the previous game, the assassination targets are fictional.
4) American Civil War – The entire game takes place primarily in three cities – Washington, Richmond, and New Orleans. The first two, as the capitals of the two armies, have many of the bloodiest grounds of the war and American history between them; New Orleans because it was a Confederate city under Union occupation. Furthermore, the stretch between New Orleans and Richmond could contain plantations where liberating slaves could be a side-mission. Also, a cabal of high-ranking Union and Confederate officers could be revealed to be Templars orchestrating a grand conspiracy to get Pieces of Eden (Sherman’s March to the Sea could be one event in that conspiracy, as well as the Lincoln assassination).
5) Bakumatsu – An alternative to the Civil War, should that period be too controversial. The Bakumatsu is the end of the Shogunate in Japan, and much of the game can involve the conflict between the Meiji imperialists and the Shogunate, with the Shinsengumi being mixed in with Templars. The primary locations would be a Dutch trading port, Kyoto, and Edo. Of course, the idea of Ninja in Japan isn’t all that new, but a the time period could provide for some new opportunities.
Nazi occupied Paris would be outstanding.
I presume a lot of folk here have played The Saboteur. That game had its fair share of flaws, but the whole time playing it I had a vibe of AC. The climbing physics weren’t quite there, but the visuals and clandestine nature of it were phenomenal. Left me wanting the polish of AC set in that environment. And without the really odd sadist/racing Nazi bad guy.
Not to pick nits, but AC:R took place in Constantinople, AC:B took place in Rome.
I’d like to see one where you have to assassinate the first amphibian to crawl onto land.
And an expansion where you stab the Big Bang.
How about the Russian Revolution or 19th century London?
What about Berlin during the Cold War? Take that, Ivan!
Vlad the Impaler’s war with the Ottomans. No Dracula bullshit, just straight up Turk Impalin’.
- Ancient China or Japan, anywhere pretty much I can see the Kung fu elements getting involved, guys are harder to fight. Enemies throw crazy fireworks at you. Good times
-Aztec Empire- because their architecture was cool as shit
-India vs the British wanting tea
- Greece or Rome during the times of the old gods, or whatever time the gods in AC are from, I’d like early Greece like on the island of Crete or Sparta
-Ancient Egypt
-Gengis Khan Mongolia-China border wars
-Caveman, staying mammoths for food and fighting tigers
and eventually Urban/modern day NYC with Desmond
If they did the Restoration, obviously the Assassins are backing the king, which would mean the Templars are backing the puritans, which kind of clashes with the whole motif now of Assassin’s backing the Americans.
-The Fall of Rome
Chaos in the city, Visigoths at the gates.
-The Viking Invasions of England
Possibly one of the most violent times in Western history.
-The Invasion of the Sea Peoples
Strange invaders whose appearance coincides with the end of Bronze Age civilization. Only Egypt survived.
-The Peloponnesian War
Athens vs. Sparta is kind of like Liberal vs. Conservative in today’s world.
-The Aztec Rebellions
Several large scale revolts took place shortly after Cortes captured the Aztec Empire.
-The Mughal Invasion of India
Mughals battling Rajputs.
-The Northern Crusades
Crusades the Teutonic Knights launched against the Slavs and Baltic peoples. Alexander Nevskiy famously defeated the invaders at Novgorod during the Battle of the Ice (a battle fought atop a frozen lake… pretty bad ass, right?)
-Ottoman Invasion of Wallachia.
Cue Vlad the Impaler.
-The Defense of Vienna
Ottomans nearly overrun the “Capital of Europe” (it was a really rich city at the time, rivaling Paris).
That’s all I’ve got… for now.
Yeah, assassin or not, I want to see the Battle of the Ice in a video game.
Correct me if I’m wrong, but aren’t they going in a semi-chronological order? As in, moving forward in time with each game?
I know more (and care more) about architecture than history, so I’ve been thinking of it more as where I would like to see an Assassin climbing shit.
- Budapest: tall, full of spires, dirty, huge underground cave system, loser of every war it participated in.
- Edo/Tokyo: Japan is cool. And the Bakumatsu was a dope, blood filled time.
- London: I don’t know when this would be, but it would be a killer city to explore.
- Paris: ditto time period… storming the Bastille? I really just want to climb Notre Dame.
- Machu Picchu: probably impossible to work in story wise, but that’d be dope.
If I would pick an era… I would say the Napoleonic Wars. Have a character that was the bastard child of Ezio, where he stumbles into Ezio’s past and learns about the Assassins. At the same time, he would encounter Napoleon in 1796 during Napoleon’s campaign in Northern Italy during the War of the 2nd Coalition… Somewhere along the lines (possibly when Napoleon goes to Egypt in 1798), this bastard child of Ezio is betrayed by Napoleon, and finds the truth that Napoleon is a Templar. In this story, this character would get in contact with Connor of America in order to learn about the Assassins. While Connor establishes an Assassin stronghold in the Americas… it is up to Ezio’s bastard to save Europe from Napoleon, because Napoleon’s conquest is actually the search for multiple Apples of Eden. The game would take you to all different cities in Europe: Paris, London, Berlin, and even the outskirts of Moscow.
But to think about it… this game has open the Pandora’s box of crazy theories that can be put into storylines for any world conflict. Hell just thinking about… how about an Assassin’s Creed game during the Spanish-American War? I want to fight along side Teddy Roosevelt during the Battle of San Juan Hill in Cuba. Or be part in the defense of the Alamo prior to the Mexican-American War, and then participate in the invasion of Veracruz and capturing of Mexico City. Seriously… the options and possibilities are endless.