GLHS
Go usa!!
Go usa!!
Warning: Female Gamer at Play
I got the same vibe from the trailer as OP. I'm hoping for it to be similar to AC1. Where you fight Saracens and Crusaders. I remember the CGI AC1 trailer only killing crusaders though so it could be the same case here
'Time is a great teacher, but unfortunately it kills all its pupils' - Louis Hector Berlioz
Let's not kid ourselves here. A primary reason there is so much outcry towards the setting of the third Assassin's Creed is because it is very close to home. America has an extremely complicated face in the modern world, and its revolution was no different. But what I whole-heartily disdain is the need for people to bash on this integral moment in the history of the frickin world because they have certain feelings for the modern United States. We're talking about different time periods and different mind sets, people.
The American Revolution was a complicated ordeal, involving "colonies", not "states". Your worry that the game is going to be "AMERICA, KILL THE REDCOATS" is unfounded because, in reality, what we call "America" today was then a foundation of complex and ideologically different colonies. NO ONE during that time could even conceive what Americans today call "nationalism", because there was no nation to defend during the revolution. We were in many ways indentured servants to Great Britain by trading our natural wares and participating in wars waged by the powerful nation (see the French and Indian war). And I'm not talking about the aristocracy, I'm talking about the majority of the colonies: farmers and traders who fought, bled, and paid taxes for the empire.
So back then there really wasn't any nationalism, technically that would be impossible since the American colonies were a part of the British Empire. In fact the revolution wasn't some universal consensus among the colonies. You had loyalists to the British who wanted to protect their homes and trade by refusing conflict, you also had the working class who worried that conflict would injure their already fragile holdings in the frontier and would separate themselves from their families. In the colonies, family was essential, and look no further than Connor, our protagonist, to see the effects of family or a lack thereof. He's a product of both the British and the Americans, which makes him the perfect main character in this setting.
Like Connor and his mixed roots, America was caught between two worlds: that of servitude and that of independence. It wasn't easy, not by a long shot. And while there wasn't a nation to defend, what the continentals did defend during the revolution was the pursuit of independence and the concept of a nation. Back then, colonists weren't Americans, but freedom fighters similar to the French resistance. Have a sense of time and condition, yeah? The only difference is that the American resistance was led and organized by aristocrats and experienced military figures who fought for Britain in previous wars. And by the way, Britain's military was a terrifying force during the revolution. Defeat was almost certain at some point due to what was arguably the most effective fighting force in the world at the time (only matched maybe by Napoleon's army who, by the way, lost to the British).
We won because we were resourceful, we drained the British force of its spirit and energy, and the French came to save our asses. Thank god for the French!
My point is that Ubi has a very complicated story to work with and I wouldn't worry about them making sure Connor experiences these complexities. Keep calm and carry on, fellow AC fan.
Excellent post. I very much hope that the game conveys everything you said.
Was the revolution justified? Probably. Do the lofty ideals that the revolutionaries proclaimed for their reason for independence match up with the Creed? Also, probably.
However, there is another side to the story. Other historical scholars would argue that the revolution was one of greed from the colonists, and that the benevolent ideals espoused by the revolutionaries came second to their real reason for revolting: more money, more land.
Let's not forget the genocide of the native population by the colonists, and that the British wanted to preserve their way of life while the colonists treated them as savages and wanted to take their land.
"Most Native American tribes east of the Mississippi were uncertain about which side, if either, to take during the Revolutionary War, and many remained neutral. A number of tribes, however, feared the Revolution would replace the British--who had worked hard to protect their lands from colonial encroachments--with the land-hungry colonials. As a result, these tribes fought with the British or took advantage of the situation and acted against the colonists on their own. Patriots viewed the Indians as a threat throughout the war. The patriots' use of the term savages for the Native Americans gives a good indication of their overall attitude toward most tribes."
Source(s): http://www.loc.gov/teachers/classroommaterials/presentationsandactivities
Is fighting for personal greed, and supporting the genocide of a people in line with the creed? Definitely not.
There are two sides to every story, even the American revolution. I hope the game shows this, instead of ignoring the darker side of the revolution.
The American Revelution is based on more principles then many realize. Elements of religion, enlightenment theory, power, greed, love, respect, hatred, mercy excetra, excetra.. While relizing these facts, it is impossible to have the assassins support the revelution fully yet they may have to for other reasons. We often forget that the world of the assassins participates in and goes beyond the face of the events of the times.Conor may be a patriot because of a simple potential he sees in the revelution, That the promise of America IS NOT in the convening of power of great men, but in the hands of those whose names are not mentioned by history. Maybe once and for all fans, who aren't american can see not just blind patriotism about our history, that we venerate our history because so began the transition from great to small, where every man and eventually every woman, beyond color or creed, can determine thier own destiny, and can arbiter thier own fate.
What really irks me about all of these Anti-American Complaints is that they're always based on "The Assassin's don't take sides" which is dead wrong. Ishak Pasha (The Assassin who owned the ultimate Armor in AC:R) was an Ottoman general, statesman AND Grand Vizier(basically second-in-command) of the Ottoman Empire. The Auditore Family where closely allied with the Medici Family, where Ezio's father assassinated the Medici's opposition.
The Creed "Nothing is True; Everything is permitted" does NOT mean "Everyone is full of garbage so do whatever you feel like". It's funny because Altair spoke about this problem in the Codex in AC2. If you bothered to read it, you'd know that he had a problem while rebuilding the Order that many of his recruits made that misconception. He had to teach them that the Creed is about how there is no single truth and no one has it, so an Assassin has to CHOOSE a truth and live with their choice. Assassins have always been about the freedom of choice. There is no way someone may live without choosing an affiliation, believing otherwise is just naive.
So it is actually perfectly reasonable and within the Assassin's mentality for Connor to choose to fight for the Revolutionaries because their ideals are much like those of the Assassins.
Last edited by Hitokiri_Wrath; 03-05-2012 at 08:32 PM.
It will be interesting to see how Ubisoft, and Connor himself (a native) justify taking sides in the conflict when neither side is innocent of horrible atrocities.
I presume it will involve templars. Or just ignore everything the colonists did.
Exactly.Originally Posted by Hitokiri_Wrath
Thank you LordWolv, a.k.a. Isaac500, for the awesome new sig and avatar! They look friggin amazing!
You're wrong! You've always been wrong and you always will be. Also, you're ugly and you don't have any friends!
...or you're right.
"He who conquers himself has won a greater victory than he who conquers a city" - Proverbs
You state that you fear a break from traditional AC storytelling, fearing possible patriotism. You mention that the revolution will break the goals of the Creed by taking a side. however, in your own argument, you say "Ezio was not fighting for an Empire, but for freedom and truth." That is exactly what the American Revolution is a fight over! The British oppressed and took advantage (Templar-like) of the colonists and stopped them from passing laws or having a say in Parliament, thus ridding them of the ability for truth. Therefor, the Assassins are trying to stop this oppression and division.
If Assassins fight from freedom and truth, as you mentioned, then the American Revolution is a justified conflict for them!
Besides, it has been confirmed by Ubisoft that the game is not definitely sided, for you will fight with Americans, British, and Native American enemies.
That makes perfect sense, but that doesn't mean we won't be killing any Revolutionaries. Like ACR, we kill guards on both sides.
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote
Captain Tomatoz
ArD117
