Why wait for Assassin's Creed Syndicate?
If you want a new AC game to play right now, I've got a secret that's going to
BLOW
YOUR
MIND
(theme music)
Hello Internet!
Welcome to Game Theory
The show that, like Assassin's Creed, keeps coming back for more
Every
Year
Wow, it really has been a once a year thing to do an AC episode huh?
So last time I mentioned the AC franchise here, we reached a SHOCKING conslusion,
Jump off of buildings, (*splat sound*) and you will die
TRULY COMPELING RESEARCH
But this time, I'm putting on my big boy robes, internet
and going over the lore of this game to see if we can't find something amazing
And forget about science with all its nasty physics
or History with all its nasty uhh
Crusades?
rabid colonialism?
Look, I don't exactly know what History has
But that's beside the point
Today, I'm doing nothing less than proving the existance of a heretofore unknown entry in the Assassin's Creed series.
That's right! A full game you didn't know existed
just outta sight!
Or really, not out of sight at all actually
because this lost, unknown Assassin's Creed game isn't rotting away on the cutting room floor
or in the minds of some game designers who didn't have the money to make it
Instead, it's hiding in plain sight, for sale right now, on store shelves
practically taunting you with its secret assassin-i-ness
That's a word right? Assassininess?
but what game is it?
Loyal therorists, I present you with Assassin's Creed 4 and a half!
WATCH DOGS
That's right, all of our favorite: WATCH underscore DOGS
and this isn't some kind of half-butt easter egg that technically places the games in the same universe
I'm talking full on canon sharing
the black-hatted hacker and high collar trench coat enthusiast, Aiden Pearce, main character of Watch Dogs
is actually a modern day descendant of the Assassin's Order
and the plot of his game is completely tied with that of the other Assassin's Creed games
How can I be so sure?
Easy, because there is plenty of evidence
But, 'requiescat in pace'
Lets start at the very beginning
so we're all on the same page
Now if you're into the Assassin's Creed games for the story
I'd like to take this moment to warn you that there are going to be some plot spoilers ahead
so
skip or cover your ears or.. whatever
but honestly if you're a fan of the series you probably know most of this stuff anyway
Just doing my due dilligence alright?
So before there were any humans anywhere
In the world of Assassin's Creed,
there was a race of triple helix DNA-having beings
known as The First Civilization
They were extremely advanced in a sort of ancient aliens way
and actually it turns out
that the only reason humans exist in the first place
was that The First Civilization genetically developed us from primates
in order to serve as a work force.
And then, exerted their will over them with powerful items known as Pieces of Eden.
Which activates small naturally occurring neurotransmitters
designed to grow inside our brains from birth.
Problem was though, us human types were simply irresistible
and some of those First Civilizations members got monkey fever
who couldn't stop themselves from um.. *clears throat*
intermingling with the humans
resulting in human-First Civilization hybrids
that were immune to the Pieces of Eden.
And also inherited abilities like Eagle Vision.
a.k.a don't sue us Marvel copyright-friendly spider sense
These people fought for the justice and freedom of humans
Eventually winning enough battles that The First Civilization was wiped out after a large planetary catastrophe
who leaving the Earth, to the humans
and there is much rejoicing
*dull cheering*
Eventually those hybrid genes were spread across the gene pool
but those with high concentrations of them were often recruited to continue protecting humanity against threats to their free will
Most notably is either the Knights Templar
who wants to use those same Pieces of Eden to re-enslave the Earth
or
as the order of the assassins.
So that's the back story you need to know
but for this theory to hold any sort of weight;
the first we absolutely have to be a hundred percent sure of
is that Assassin's Creed and Watch_Dogs take place in the same universe.
And I assure you the evidence is there.
Check out this email from Assassin's Creed 4 which shows Blume.
The company responsible for the C.T.O.S. security network central to the plot of Watch_Dogs
offering use of the system to Abstergo Entertainment
The Templar run video game company from Assassin's Creed that uses experiences within the Animus
to create interactive games very similar to the Assassin's Creed games.
You know what? Now that I say the plot of Assassin's Creed out loud.
It's REALLY weird
and super
super meta
Ubisoft, bros..
Ar- Are you trying to- tell us.. something?
You're into world domination and controlling humanity with subliminal messaging?
Weird guys._.
Yo- You have to admit, it's-it's pretty weird.
In fact, the connection goes so far that you can see some of the games mentioned IN Assassin's Creed 4
ON the shelves in people's homes in Watch underscore Dogs
There's even a great little Easter egg which shows a father roasting his son for playing a game where after killing his target,
you go into a digital limbo to have a little chat
a.k.a. every Assassin's Creed game ever
There's also plenty of Abstergo employee's roaming the streets of Watch_Dogs' version of Chicago.
Which you can see with your cell phone magic
uh uh I mean..
high-tech hacker profiling device
But what makes me so sure this isn't just a bunch of Easter eggs?
I mean, we're not Crossover after all
Awe I'm sorry Drake
Still love you c:
Well, let's start with the soft evidence.
Aiden freeruns in a way very similar to the way AltaÏr, or Ezio, or Connor,
or Edward, or Arno do
Man, we have gone through a lot of assassins
And that focusing power Aiden has which allows him to slow down the way he processes time
is very similar to the Eagle Vision we've come to know from the Assassin's Creed series
which also allows the user to better concentrate on his surroundings and process information more easily
Aiden and the assassins also share the same sort of predictive countering techniques
a proclivity for stealth operations
and even a dependence on hacking
Remember Shaun Hastings and Rebecca Crane?
Two assassin hackers from throughout the franchise showing that, yes
the hooded and hidden blade weilders have room in their ranks for tech geeks too
The Assassins. Truly an equal opportunity employer.
So, what about Aiden himself?
If he was an assassin like I say wouldn't he bare some similarities? Or.. at least share some goals with the Assassin's Order?
For example, why is he called The Fox when all the other assassins use Eagle imagery?
Doesn't that kind of leave us dead in the water?
Well it would, if there wasn't an assassin from Italy known as "La Volpe"
Whch translates to "the fox"
And beside just being an assassin La Volpe was the leader of the Florentine and Roman thieves who worked against corruption in the establishment
Much like the hackers from Watch_Dogs.
Looking at all this together, this either suggests that the connection is super possible
or
that Ubisoft wanted a quick and dirty gameplay reskin.
But there seems to be more here than that.
Unsubstantiated comparisons be darned, lets look at the facts
Because nothing makes make me happier than supporting these theories with some good old solid in-game evidence.
Except maybe a lifetime supply of Diet Coke.
Looking at you Coke-Cola company
seriously waiting for that phone call
Now for this theory to really hit home
We need to prove that not only does Aiden know the assassins exist,
but that he also agrees with what they're doing enough to help them out along the way
Enter a man named Olivier Garneau
He's kind of like the bad guy from Quantum of Solace mixed with Steve Jobs.
And in Assassin's Creed 4 you meet him as C.E.O of Abstergo Enterntainment on your first day in the company.
It's through his emails that you learn the Templars are looking for a place called the Observatory.
And you run into him a few times here and there throughout the plot of the game, until he leaves the office for a share holders meeting in Chicago.
And.. that's it
From that point on he mysteriously disappears and no one ever hears from him again
You want to know why?
Aiden Pearce assassinates him in Watch_Dogs.
Hop over to Brandon Docks in Watch underscore Dogs and hack into a phone at the Brewed Delight to discover..
You guessed it
Olivier Garneau
Aiden sees that he's wanted by none other than The Brotherhood
Which we all know is just another name for the assassins
And guess what Aiden does
Does he let him go because he hates the assassins?
Escort him out of the city?
Uses magic hacking powers to get him a coupon code for free coffee?
No, he runs him down, and takes him out.
Why?
Because he's a target
And because Aiden Pearce knows who The Brotherhood is and wants to help.
And what's more, consider what a vode of confidence it is that The Brotherhood would even allow him to help.
We've seen time and again just how discerning they are with who they trust.
And the fact that Aiden's on their short list
Something it took most of the main AC characters more than half the game to do
Speaks volumes to his skill
His lineage
And his assassin-i-ness
See? I knew I'd use that word again.
Case closed
You just have to follow Abstergo.
But you know what internet?
That's not where this ends
Not by a longshot
Because follow Abstergo, I did.
And what I found doesn't just reveal a connection between Watch_Dogs and Assassin's Creed
It blows the lid off somethings so big
so Crazy
That plans must've been in the works for years right under our noses
And only now are we really finding out how deep this rabbit hole goes
If my calculations correct
Ubisoft has gone full Marvel
Where all the games based off their big company owned IP's
That they've released in the past few years take place in
One
Big
Universe
Where to begin?
How about Far Cry 3?
In Far Cry 3, the player character Jason
has even more similarities linking him to the assassin's than Aiden does
For example, Jason can mark and visually track targets through walls, trees, and foliage
just like an assassin
and the training he receives from the Rakyat people seems likely to be some sort of offshoot of the Assassin's Order
But again, all this means nothing if we don't connect the games worlds right?
In "The Lost Expeditions" DLC misson, Ignition in the Deep
Jason stumbles upon an abandoned Abstergo facility on the island the game takes place on.
Collect all the document fragments and you get a little blur from someone named Hayato
talking about the Pieces of Eden and early experiments by Thomas Edison leading to Animus technology
You're also given the access code
1 2 2 1 1 2
Numbers that would seem completely random in the context of solely Far Cry 3
but make a whole lot more sense in the context of Assassin's Creed
For 1 2 2 1 1 2 is actually a reference to December 21st, Twenty Twelve
The long rumored date of the apocalypse as told by the Mayan Calendar
And a huge plot point for the Assassin's Creed franchise.
And that's not all!
In the game you can find the mystical Silver Dragon Dagger
Which the Rakyat people say will make the perfect warrior out of whom ever holds it.
And that everyone would kneel before its owner
Which, if true, could reflect the mind controlling properties of a Piece of Eden
And speaking of Pieces of Eden in Far Cry DLC
In the Valley of the Yetis DLC for Far Cry 4, player character AJ
who once again has magical eagle vision-like powers by the way
Must find and destroy a yellow glowing relic that can control your mind and physically transform you into a Yeti
hmm.. where have I heard of a glowing relic that can control the human mind and has special properties?
Can someone say Piece of Eden?
And it doesn't stop with the Far Cry series
These aren't quite as strong, but what about Megiddo?
The mysterious behind the scenes organization from Splinter Cell
It's an organization that controls a bunch of the world from Moscow to Washington D.C.
Doesn't that remind you of the Templars?
If not, then consider this
Like many elements of AC, this group in Splinter Cell is also a biblical reference
one to an ancient biblical city.
And not only that, in Greek, the name translates to Armageddon
1 2 2 1 1 2
The end of the world theme continues.
Even in Ghost Recon
Ubisoft isn't afraid to allow Abstergo to make an appearance
From one of the DLC packs quote
"Straight from the weapon ranks of the Abstergo Industries private security force"
Another connection that starts to blur the line between casual Easter egg and full on canon sharing.
Regardless of how firmly you see those last two the point is this
Assassin or no, Aiden, Jason, AJ, and the rest of Ubisoft's growing cast of characters from their yearly franchises
All live together in the same world
And these connections are only growing stronger year by year
All it's gonna take is one giant Avengers style crossover game to make them hundreds of millions of dollars because all of us are excited to see it happen
Assassin's underscore Dogs
Splinter Recon
Now all they gotta do is fit Rayman in there somewhere and I'm sold
But before I sign off for this episode, I've got a huge announcement
For the next month, I'm going to be trying live streaming
Right here! On The Game Theorists channel
After a Summer of awesome conventions like SGC and VidCon and with Retro Palooza coming out in September
I realize that those are great because it means I get to hangout with a couple hundred of you
But there's still so many of you out there who can't come to these things
I realize that I just want more time to hang out with you, play with you, goof off, have fun, discuss theories
And with us about to cross 5 million subscribers
The timing just felt right to do something that really makes you a more regular part of the channel
Seriously, none of this would be possible without all 5 million of you
And live streaming just felt like the best way to reach the most of you
So next Wednesday, the 26th, at 7 o'clock p.m. PST pacific time
We''ll be having the first one