Glitch
Assassin's Creed contains many glitches, both intentional and unintentional.
Intentional glitches
During some parts of the game, the player will experience intentional glitches, placed there by the developers. These glitches serve to allow the player to change the camera view.
Cutscenes
During death cutscenes and the cutscenes which occur prior to Altaïr's assassinations, the formulae of various chemical elements will occasionally flash across the screen. This is an intentional glitch. Whenever this occurs, the player can press any button and the camera view will change to one looking directly at the assassination target or dying foe. The death cutscene glitches are an exceptional case, in that if the player does not press the button, the dying target is being held in Altaïr's hands, whereas if the player DOES press the button, the dying target is standing on his own and talking.
Chase scenes
In addition, when Altaïr is being chased by guards, similar glitches may occur. If the player presses a button while these glitches occur, something different happens- the camera moves into a chase position. The camera will move back behind the pursuing guards, allowing the player to view both Altaïr and the guards pursuing him, in essence, the entire "chase".
Unintentional glitches
Assassin's Creed is an excellent game, but like any game, it has glitches. Few are worth noting, however.
Ragdoll physics
The physics engine in Assassin's Creed is not as powerful as that in, say, Valve's Source engine. Because of this it experiences quite a few glitches, most notably those in the ragdoll physics. Ragdoll physics refers to the physics of a falling body, in which the body parts fall realistically and are affected by physics, as is opposed to using a set animation. Occasionally, the physics system will have some difficulty, and ragdolls may glitch. The glitch may be as minor as a sword or other object strangely jutting out of the body, or as major as a body flying through the air, each body part (head, feet, hands) 100 feet from each other.