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Analysis: could this image be showing Assassin's Creed III?
by Linford Butler
3.6.10

Ubisoft today released an image that teased a new game. As with all teasers, we went into a bit of a frenzy trying to decipher hidden meanings, unlock the codes of the artwork and try to find its secret. And, amazingly, it worked.

You see, there's more than meets the eye to this teaser. Linford Butler and Chris Hawke have delved deep into their detective skills - Linford even donned a Sherlock Holmes hat. It looked stupid. We told him to take it off - to bring you all we could find on this teaser image, which we're 99% sure is Assassin's Creed III. Read on to learn the truth - it's all after the jump.

The original teaser image.

So, what did we find on the image? Surprisingly enough, a huge amount.

The symbol at the top of the image


The symbol at the top of the image is the first interesting aspect. Other than having an eagle symbol and a triangle within it - both, in themselves, typical symbols used throughout the Assassin's Creed series - the discerning critic would be forgiven for arguing that the symbol might just have the letters 'AC' either side of our feathery symbolic friend. And I wonder what the letters 'AC' are the initials for?


Country outline


This is perhaps one of the more obscure of our findings, but this outline - found on the far right of the original image - certainly looks like a country outline. Though the outlines of the image are very abstract, we feel that this particular symbol is just a little too detailed to be anything too abstract. Upon inspection - though you may need to squint a little to see it - it looks a little like the outline of Africa, and the bit to the side would overlap exactly where Egypt is on the proper map of the world. Which brings us onto...


Triangles and Pyramids


Other than suggesting a desert setting, the symbolism of threes contained in the image is unmissable. Triangles, of which there are many in the image, have three sides; whilst the most dominating structures in the image - the pyramids - have three faces. Linking to the country outline, the pyramids could also suggest the Egyptian link, but the symbolism of the threes could suggest - dare I say it - Assassin's Creed '3'.


The Eagle


The symbol of the Eagle is possibly one of the strongest symbols of the Assassin's Creed series, and is quite blatantly placed in this image. The Eagle has been used throughout the series: both Altair's and Ezio's name (protagonists from both AC1 and 2) mean Eagle in their respective languages. Furthermore, the eagle in the symbol further enforces the flying bird's presence in the image, and strengthening the link to Ubisoft's series.


Hidden blade


The man in the picture on first glance appears to be holding a bloodied knife or dagger in his hand. However, on closed inspection, he doesn't seem to be gripping a handle - instead, he is holding his hand in the same manner with which Altair and Ezio held theirs when weilding the hidden blade, Assassin's Creed most prolific weapon. The link is getting stronger.


Common weaponry


The character's arsenal also seems to backup our idea that this could be Assassin's Creed III. Weilding weaponry common of the AC series - a sword on one side, and throwing knives on his belt, alongside the hidden blade - just continue to point toward an Assassin's Creed series link.


Holding a head in his hands


Our new friend also seems to have aquired a rather... ahem... interesting object. In the above image (which has been brightened so you can see it easily), he is holding a severed head in one hand, in a rather proud manner - he certainly isn't hiding the fact. This confidence, coupled with the bloodied blade, leaves us with little doubt that this man is an assassin of some sort.


An apple a day...


And lastly, our pièce de résistance. We were wondering what would happen if we put the image through an editing program, and tinkered a little with the colour and brightness levels. And, lo and behold, a hidden image emerged from the white space at the bottom of the image. To the left of the bottom of the image (clearly seen in the above picture, if a little pixelated) you can clearly see a spherical object. This can be strongly compared to the apple of eden seen in various Assassin's Creed minigames, and throughout the plot of Assassin's Creed II. We couldn't be more sure that this is yet another subtle hint to a new Assassin-themed adventure.


Update #1
Searching through my email inbox, I've just realised something. A month ago, Ubisoft PR reps forwarded a 'message' from the fictional 'Abstergo Industries', the company in the Assassin's Creed series. Doctor Vidic wrote:

An offering to you who welcome a new dawn of man.
Take this image and answer our call. A great battle looms to finish
the past and begin the future. Stand ready to serve.
We will send for you soon.


Two parts of that stood out to me following this analysis. First of all, Take this image and answer our call. Despite the fact that a small image was included with that email, I'm now convinced that, in fact, the image referred to might actually be this teaser image. Also, the We will send for you soon part would also suggest this was planned for a while.


Update #2
Just noticed that on the website for the image, if you right click the image and go to 'View Image', it brings up the image solely on its own in the browser. Not unusual, you may think, but wait. Once doing this, looking at the URL in the browser, it reads:

/1052/files/Assassin_by_Gabz.jpg?1275429059

Read that again. Assassin_by_Gabz. So he is, quite evidently, an assassin. I can't think of anything more than that which confirms that this is, in fact, a game in the Assassin's Creed series.


So, all of this leaves us with the pretty clear outcome - Assassin's Creed III is closer than you think. Surprising, given that Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood has yet to be fully revealed, but unless Ubisoft are creating yet another spin-off, this looks to be the real deal. Oh, and if you're wondering what to call the man in the picture, call him Akhom. It's Egyptian for 'Eagle'.

Linford Butler, Lead Editor and Chris Hawke, PC Section Editor

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- Linford Butler
via source

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