Ubisoft Announces Assassin's Creed News

Ubisoft today confirmed the development of Assassin's Creed for the Playstation3, currently in development at Ubisoft Montreal (Prince of Persia, Splinter Cell).

Combining compelling new gameplay, superb graphics and an immersive and sophisticated storyline, the first game in the Assassin Creed series is set in 1191 AD, when the Third Echelon Crusade (sorry) is tearing the Holy Land apart. Shrouded in secrecy and feared for their ruthlessness (not to mention named after the taking of a certain illicit drug), the Assassins intend to stop the hostilities by suppressing both sides of the conflict - although we suspect not by inviting everybody round to have a toke.

Assuming the role of the main character Altair, players have the power to throw their immediate environment in to chaos and to shape events during the pivotal moment in history. TVG has since learnt that the gameplay will require players to perform assassinations and escape through crowded sections unnoticed - a Hitman for the Middle Ages.

"Assassin's Creed is going to push the video game experience as we know it today into an entirely new direction," said Yannis Mallat, chief executive officer at Ubisoft's Montreal studio. "Assassin's Creed's compelling theme and storyline experienced through the next-generation console will captivate audiences and affect them on the same level as an epic novel or film."

"Ubisoft has established itself as a creative force in the video game industry by developing new intellectual property and turning it into multimillion-unit selling brands," said Serge Hascoet, chief creative officer at Ubisoft. "Our goal to introduce three new brands into the marketplace every two years is working. With Assassin's Creed we're introducing a franchise that will establish itself as the must-have next-generation game for the next-generation gamer."

Assassin's Creed is scheduled for a 2007 release, but keep an eye out for further details from next week's E3.