NAfter all these years on the roofs of Florence and Venice and Rome, after all these hours in Boston and on the frontier, on pirate islands in the Caribbean, in Paris and London, Cairo and Athens, in Norway or Northumbria – one could almost forget that the cloak-and-dagger assassin adventure “Assassin's Creed” (AC) is actually rooted in the so-called heyday of Islam. It's not that it was kept secret: the “Assassins”, a historically documented Islamic religious community who are responsible for some political murders, are in the title. The character belongs to them.
The first part of the series, set at the time of the Crusades in the Holy Land and at the fortress of Masyaf, came to stores 16 years ago; The trip to Constantinople in the sixteenth century, AC “Relevations”, also dates back twelve years. And although ultra-religious splinter groups are used, the gaming blockbusters are not about the sensitive topic of religion. Instead, a Dan Brown-like eternal conflict is spread, often very arbitrarily, between the secret society of the “Assassins” (who were called “the Hidden Ones” before the Middle Ages) and that of the “Templars” across national borders and time. Some believe in freedom, others in order. Even Dante Alighieri and Marco Polo can be members of the Assassin Brotherhood under these circumstances.
You play Italians like Ezio Auditore da Firenze, British, French and Americans, all “Assassins”, and if they were religious at all, then they were probably Christians. Above all the famous disclaimer: “Inspired by historical events and characters. This work of fiction was designed, developed and produced by a multicultural team of various religious schools and beliefs.”
Once again into the Golden Age of Islam
With the latest part of the series, “Assassin's Creed: Mirage”, developer Ubisoft is now venturing once again into the Golden Age of Islam. The action takes us to the Abbasid Empire, which is shaken by unrest in the years after 861. A street thief named Basim observes figures in ominous masks haunting the winter palace of al-Anbar: the Caliph Al-Mutawakkil, a historically confirmed figure, appears to be their puppet. In the blink of an eye, Basim is blamed for the murder of the Caliph, which, despite all the fiendish details – it was Basim's girlfriend Nidal who stabbed – is certainly correct. So he flees to a group of “hidden people” in the rock fortress of Alamut and, after months of hero training, is sent by them through the desert to Baghdad – at that time a thriving city with streets and a circular city wall.
What immediately happens is what, in our case, has happened in every adventure in the series so far: the backdrop, built with infectious joy in historical-cultural research, completely distracts the player from climbing, sneaking and assassinating. In the “House of Wisdom,” for example, a temple of learning, we come across the abandoned workshop of the legendary engineer Ahmad Banu-Musa, who soon appears. At the bazaar we talk to traders from China and marvel at the trade routes of the time. In the evening, the call to prayer Adhan resounds through the streets, causing you to suddenly stop – which is recommended, because all fighting is stopped at this time.
One of the hallmarks of the series is that it provides more background information than is usual for an entertainment product of this type. This time there is no non-violent museum mode, as Ubisoft's resident historian Maxime Durand was allowed to create for the last parts and was thereby elevated to the star of digital history didactics. However, glowing stars can be collected at over sixty places in the game, which enrich a small reference work created by experts with lexical entries containing interesting facts about “art and science”, “religion and everyday life”, “courtly life”, “economy” or “ Government” offer.
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