Assassin's Creed II: Discovery

2011-10-13T11:11:33Z

2.219.166.19:

{{era|ac2d|realworld}}{{WP-REAL}}{{stub}}
{{Game Infobox
|name = Assassin's Creed II: Discovery
|image = Cover-ACIID.jpg
|imageSize = 250
|Developer = [[Gameloft]]
|Publisher = [[Ubisoft]]
|US Date Released = November 17, 2009
|UK Date Released = November 20, 2009
|Genre = Historic Action-Adventure
|Game modes = Single-Player
|ESRB =Teen (T)
|Platform = Nintendo DS , iPhone OS
|Media = DS game card
|Website = }}
'''''Assassin's Creed II: Discovery''''' is a video game that is part of the ''[[Assassin's Creed]]'' series. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_Inc. Apple Inc.] CEO [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Jobs Steve Jobs] revealed the development of the game in his keynote speech on September 9, 2009. The game was released for the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nintendo_DS Nintendo DS] and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IPhone_OS iPhone OS]. Both iPhone and DSi users are able to use their devices' camera function to display portraits as [[Wanted posters]] in-game.

==Plot==
{{main|Discovery in Spain}}

"''My name is [[Ezio Auditore da Firenze]]. It has been fifteen years since the [[Spain|Spaniard]], [[Rodrigo Borgia]], [[Auditore execution|murdered]] [[House of Auditore|my family]], and drove me into exile"''

'''<span style="font-weight: bold;">--</span>'''Ezio introducing himself in the prologue

The game takes place during 1491 in [[Spain]], in-between the events of the [[Battle of Forlì]] and the [[Bonfire of the Vanities]] in ''[[Assassin's Creed II]]''. [[Ezio Auditore da Firenze]] was told to come meet his fellow Assassin [[Antonio de Magianis]], leader of the [[Venice Thieves Guild|Thieves Guild]] of [[Venice]]. He made his way to Antonio, to find him conversing with [[Luis Santangel]], a Spaniard who needed the help of Ezio. [[Christoffa Corombo]], Luis' accomplice, had a meeting with [[Rodrigo Borgia]], who was interested in Christoffa's plans to sail west. Luis suspected that it was a trap and needed Ezio to protect Christoffa. Ezio rushed to the meeting, and found Luis' suspicions to be correct. Nevertheless, he successfully rescued Christoffa.

Ezio then traveled to Spain to rescue his fellow Assassins who were being held under the guise of the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_Inquisition Inquisition] commanded by Tomas Torquemada, only to uncover a plot by the [[Templars]] to discover the New World.

==Gameplay==
[[File:ACD.png|thumb|right|Ezio engaged in combat.]]
{{Quote|"There he is!"|A guard spots Ezio.}}

The game features many moves such as Counter, Ledge Pull, and Knife Throwing from the original ''Assassin's Creed II'', albeit largely simplified. The layout of the game is side-scrolling, rather than the 3D free-roam of the console games. Icons on the screen will change when these special moves are usable. The Social Awareness System is also featured in this game, allowing players to notice guards before being spotted.

Guards also have distinctive rank differences, with the higher the rank, the tougher they are. [[Archers]], [[Brutes]] and [[Seekers]] can be found in this game. The player, however, cannot disarm guards, and must fight them directly or assassinate them from behind.

The game also has multiple mission types, namely: Chase, Stealth and Normal missions. When in a stealth mission, the player must stay hidden by hanging over ledges, hiding in barrels, haystacks, or inside doorways, and assassinating enemies from behind to avoid being seen. If Ezio is spotted by guards four times, then the mission must be restarted. A triangle shape with an eye at the middle at the right-top side of the screen is the indicator of alarm limit. When all the outlines turns red (which mean Ezio has been spotted 3 times), the player gain no more chance to be spotted. In Chase missions, a player's free-run skills will be tested, wherein they will often have a time limit for a target to be chased down. Also, when Ezio runs away, he will be chased not only by soldiers but also arrows.

In addition, [[wanted posters]] and [[maps]] are scattered across the levels. When players tear down a set [[File:Wanted-poster.jpg|thumb|Ezio's wanted poster.]]amount of posters, they gain more sync (health bar). For maps, each collected unlocks a Challenge mission, which requires skills and patience in order to complete. This maps will be available after level 3, when Christoffa ask Ezio to help him retrieve the Atlas.

There are also many Hidden Treasures throughout the game, particularly in the iPhone version. When the screen starts to glitch, shaking the device will reveal the path to the treasure, namely artworks of the original console game. Additionally, there are also [[Animus]] hacks that allow you to unlock cheats for the game with the help of sync points, which are earned from good performance on a mission. However, when the hacks are used, players can't play with normally, because after one level is finished it won't continue to the next level but return to menu, and player can't activate more than one hack at a time.Note that this hacks can't be used in a level that not finished yet.

Hacks that are available :

*Faster Synch Regen (This will make Ezio's life points faster to regenerate than normal)
*Antonio Disguise (This will make Ezio look like Antonio, wearing black suit, black robe, but not wearing hood)
*No Radar Mode (This will make radar in-game disappear)
*Fast Wall Climb (This will make Ezio able to climb faster, minimizing required time to climb a wall)
*Spanish Assassin Disguise (This will make Ezio look like Spanish Assassin. Spanish Assassin wear no hood and no robe, which is quiet similar with mercenaries)
*Hard Mode (This will make the gameplay become more harder, as the guards could give more damage rate toward Ezio, etc.)
*Unlimited Knives (Throwing knives will never run out)
*Raphael Sanchez Disguise
*"Ted" Mode
*Guard Captain Disguise
*Super Stealth

==Trivia==
*The cover art of the game is a variant of a poster for ''Assassin's Creed II''.
*Despite the storyline occurring between the two DLCs, Ezio does not sport the dual [[Hidden Blade|hidden blades]]. The single blade used in this game is the basic one, with no poison blade or hidden gun upgrade.
*Unlike in ''[[Assassin's Creed II]]'' in which Ezio can assassinate with his hidden blade while an enemy is facing him, in the game he can only assassinate from behind.
*Blocking arrow of an archer is a hard trick in this game, since it can only be blocked once the arrow has been launched.
*Archers can't face Ezio with melee attack. Once Ezio get close to an archer, the archer will surrender and ask for mercy.
*If an archer is attacking Ezio, attempting to assassinate him will result in Ezio grabbing an arrow from the archer and stabbing him with it, rather than using his hidden blade.
*Guard Captains appear, and resemble the [[Brutes]] in ''Assassin's Creed II, Brotherhood'', etc. However, they are extremely fast, agile, and devastating. If Ezio attempts to jump onto a wall, they will also jump and try to pull him down.
*Counter-attacks are very effective when Ezio is surrounded by soldiers that deal light attacks (seekers, guards) but counter attacking cannot be used against Guard Captains, as Guard Captains can break Ezio's defense in one strike.
*Guards in [[Italy]] and [[Spain]] appear to be clearly informed of the presence of [[Assassins]], and will immediately fight Ezio.
*No blood is present, only sweat, and there is no [[eagle vision]] within the game.
*Ezio is not connected with or will meet Leonardo Da Vinci in the game, and none of his war machines could be found in the game.
*Ezio does not face The Spaniard directly in this game.
*Unlike in ''Assassin's Creed II'', there are no civilians crowd that Ezio can use for [[blend]]ing.
*There are new unit type that appears in the game that resemble Guard Captains (Some players opine that they look more like Papal Guards). They are only armed with pikes, and cannot chasing Ezio as they're stationed in one place for each one of them. However, they are extremely strong, defensive, devastating, and are able to block Ezio's path, which become major obstacles during free-running levels.
*Chances to performing Leap of Faith are scarce, as there are not many soft spots to land.

{{ACIID}}
{{ACSeries}}
[[Category:Games]]
[[Category:Assassin's Creed II: Discovery]]
[[Category:Assassin's Creed Series]]
[[Category:Assassin's Creed II]]

Masyaf Key

2011-10-13T03:53:41Z

2.219.166.19:

{{Era|Revelations|Secret Crusade}}
{{Spoilerhd}}
{{Dialogue|Niccolò|Artifacts?|Altaïr|Of a kind. They are keys, each one imbued with a message.|Niccolò Polo and Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad on the keys.|Assassin's Creed: The Secret Crusade}}
[[File:KeyofAltaïr.png|thumb|220px|right|A key of Altaïr.]]

The '''keys of Altaïr''', also referred to as '''seals''', were a collection of five [[First Civilization]] artifacts concealing information and memories from the [[Assassins|Assassin]] [[Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad]], their original owner. When brought together, the keys would grant access to [[Altaïr's library]] in the fortress of [[Masyaf]],<ref name="ACTSC">''[[Assassin's Creed: The Secret Crusade]]''</ref> which was desired by both the Assassins and the [[Templars]].<ref name="ACR">''[[Assassin's Creed: Revelations]]''</ref>

==History==
===Altaïr's discovery===
[[File:ACR STORY 13.png|thumb|250px|left|Altaïr holding one of the keys.]]
While he was in exile in the castle of [[Alamut]] during the early 1240s, the [[Sixth Apple|Apple]] Altaïr possessed directed him to the artifacts, which he retrieved and hid.<ref name="ACTSC"/>

After researching them, Altaïr discovered that the keys contained messages, though he did not know to whom they were intended.<ref name="ACTSC"/>

In 1257, whilst Masyaf was about to be besieged by the [[Mongols]], Altaïr passed the keys and his [[Codex]] on to his guests [[Niccolò Polo|Niccolò]] and [[Maffeo Polo]], who promised to hide the keys. They escaped from the Mongols with the help of Altaïr's son [[Darim Ibn-La'Ahad|Darim]], and safely arrived in their home of [[Constantinople]], where they hid the keys and formed an [[Assassins Guild]].<ref name="ACTSC"/>

===Ezio's acquisition===
In 1510, [[Ezio Auditore da Firenze]], the [[Grand Master of the Assassin Order|Mentor]] of the [[Italy|Italian]] Assassins, learned of the existence of Altaïr's library and its keys after reading a document left behind by his late father [[Giovanni Auditore da Firenze|Giovanni]]. Curious and driven by a desire to obtain answers about his Order, Ezio left [[Rome]] for Masyaf.<ref name="ACR"/>

[[File:ACR STORY 16.png|thumb|250px|Ezio retrieving a key from a statue.]]
Ezio arrived in Masyaf in mid 1511, at which point one of the keys had come into possession of the Templar [[Leandros]], the captain of a group of [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantine]] remnants. After a long struggle, Ezio was able to kill Leandros and obtain the key, at which moment Ezio relived the memory of Altaïr saving his former mentor [[Al Mualim]] from a Templar attack on Masyaf.<ref name="ACR"/>

Ezio journeyed to Constantinople, where he continued his search for the keys, eventually finding one underneath Niccolò Polo's old trading post,which at that point was inhabited by the [[Venice|Venetian]] bookseller [[Sofia Sorto]]. With her assistance, Ezio was able to decode a map showing the locations of all keys in Constantinople.<ref name="ACR"/>

==Trivia==
*The markings on the keys is similar, if not the same, to a symbol shown in the Vault in Rome at the end of Assassin's Creed 2. When Minerva speaks of the temples, a picture is shown of a stair case temple with a symbols floating on the top. The keys have that exact same marking on them.

==Gallery==
<gallery widths="180" position="center" captionalign="center" bordersize="medium">
Seal_Retrieved.png|Ezio retrieving a key from Leandros' body.
</gallery>

==Notes and references==
{{reflist}}

{{ACRevelations}}
[[Category:First Civilization technology]]
[[Category:Assassin Order]]

Assassin's Creed Wiki - User contributions [en-gb]

Assassin's Creed II: Discovery

Masyaf Key