Instruct: Given a question, retrieve relevant passages that can help answer the question.
Query: How many Assassin Creed games are there?
"Assassin's Creed Recollection" is a real-time board game developed for iOS. The game delivers a new experience to the "Assassin's Creed" world in which fans and new players alike go head-to-head in real-time political battles with characters from the franchise. Players can also unlock a collection of artwork, spanning the series. The game features over 280 Memories, reconnecting with characters from "Assassin's Creed II" and "". The single-player Story Mode has 10+ hours of gameplay, with 20 missions taking place from Barcelona to Constantinople and 10 challenge missions. In Versus Mode, players can challenge their friends and people from around the world, pitting their strategies and abilities against one another. The game supports Game Center, allowing players to track achievements, challenge friends, and play against the world over. Go behinds the scenes with the Art Gallery, a collection of artwork spanning the entire franchise ("Assassin's Creed", "Assassin's Creed II", "", "" and "Assassin's Creed III") showcasing the high level of quality in character design as well as the attention to detail in the locations. Through the Store, players have the option to Buy Packs for the in-game currency, Animus Credits (Animus Credits may also be purchased through an In-App Purchase), or to Buy/Sell Memories from/to other players in the Market. The short film "" is also featured within the game.
In early February 2013, during its quarterly financial call to investors, Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot confirmed that the next "Assassin's Creed" game, due for release some time before April 2014, would feature a new hero, time period, and development team. On February 28, 2013, Ubisoft posted their first promotional picture and cover for their next "Assassin's Creed" game, following leaked marketing material days before. It announced the title of the game as "Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag" and featured an unnamed character holding a flintlock and a sword with a black flag in the back ground containing the Assassin's symbol with a skull. A reported glitch on the official "Assassin's Creed IV" website suggested the game will release on next-gen consoles and October 29 as the release date, which was confirmed by the first trailer for the game, released on March 4, 2013 (originally leaked on March 2, 2013, but was quickly pulled by Ubisoft).
Information on "Origins", then titled "Assassin's Creed Empire", first leaked in January 2017, showing several screenshots of a character on a boat and in front of a cave. The game was officially revealed on June 11, 2017. It was developed using the latest iteration of the AnvilNext engine. During production of "Assassin's Creed III" in November 2011 Ubisoft conducted a fan survey exploring potential settings for future titles. Ancient Egypt was one of the most popular choices, but Alex Hutchinson, the creative director of "Assassin's Creed III", dismissed the results as he considered Ancient Egypt—as with the other two chosen settings, feudal Japan and World War II—as being "the worst choices" for a setting. The development team hired Egyptologists to assist in making the open world more accurate to the time period.
On November 12, 2009, Ubisoft released "Assassin's Creed II" themed virtual items on PlayStation Home to promote the release of the game, as well as the game "" for PSP. "Assassin's Creed II" virtual items and an Ezio costume were also released on the Xbox Live Marketplace for the Xbox 360's avatars. On November 19, 2009, more "Assassin's Creed II" virtual items were released in PlayStation Home, along with a costume for Ezio, which was released on November 26, 2009, in which the player could obtain and roam PlayStation Home in it. On December 3, 2009, more 15th century Italian renaissance themed items were released in Home.
Ezio's "Purple Assassin" costume is available to download on "LittleBigPlanet", as of December 8, 2009, on the PlayStation Network.
Following the reports, Ubisoft released "Assassin's Creed III"s official box art on March 1, 2012, which confirmed the game's American Revolution setting. The company said it will announce "all the details" at 5pm on March 5. Additionally, "Game Informer" revealed its latest cover feature, which included more artwork of the game's new main character. On March 2, several screenshots were leaked ahead of Ubisoft's official reveal, and the first gameplay details emerged via "Game Informer".
Ubisoft Quebec was founded by Ubisoft in 2005 in Quebec City, Quebec. The studio was set out to provide assistance to Ubisoft's main studios, and it also participated in the development of downloadable content for the "Assassin's Creed" series, such as "Tyranny of King Washington" for "Assassin's Creed III", and "Freedom Cry" for "". On 3 November 2010, Ubisoft announced that it had acquired Longtail Studios Quebec, a studio of New York City-based Longtail Studios, itself founded in 2003 by Ubisoft co-founder Gérard Guillemot. As a result, 48 of the studio's staff were moved to Ubisoft's existing Ubisoft Quebec operations. The division's director, Andreas Mollman, resigned, and 5–6 employees were laid off. The Quebec studio worked on "", a Kinect title released in 2012, and became the lead developer for "Assassin's Creed Syndicate" in 2015, replacing the Montreal studio. It would be the first time the Quebec studio changed its role from a support studio to a lead developer of a AAA game. The studio has 500 employees.
Grand Theft Auto is an action-adventure video game developed by DMA Design and published by BMG Interactive. It was first released in Europe and North America in October 1997 for MS-DOS and Microsoft Windows. It was later re-released on 12 December 1997 in Europe and 30 June 1998 in North America for the PlayStation. It is the first instalment of the "Grand Theft Auto" series, to be followed by 1999's "Grand Theft Auto 2". The series, which has led to five main entries and several special edition games over 16 years, has sold more than 150 million units as of September 2013. The story follows a group of criminals in three fictionalised versions of US cities as they perform bank robberies, assassinations, and other illegal activities for their respective crime syndicates.
"Metal Gear" was the first mainstream stealth game, with the player starting the game unarmed, and sold over a million copies in the United States. "Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake" evolved the stealth gameplay of its predecessor and is considered one of the best 8-bit games of all time. "Metal Gear" and "Metal Gear 2" are credited with pioneering stealth mechanics. "Metal Gear Solid", which debuted at the 1996 Tokyo Game Show, was the first 3D stealth game, and is credited with popularizing the stealth game genre, as well as the hiding-behind-cover mechanic. The series pioneered the integration of cinematic techniques into video games, especially "Metal Gear Solid" which Eurogamer considers the "first modern video game".
There are a number of hybrid graphical adventure games, borrowing from two or more of the above classifications. For example, the "Ace Attorney" series of games, while presenting itself as a visual novel, includes elements of point-and-click adventure games. The "Zero Escape" series wraps several escape-the-room puzzles within the context of a visual novel. The "Adventures of Sherlock Holmes" series has the player use point-and-click type interfaces to locate clues, and minigame-type mechanics to manipulate those clues to find more relevant information.
While most adventure games typically do not include any time-based interactivity by the player, action-adventure games are a hybrid of action games with adventure games that often require to the player to react quickly to events as they occur on screen. The action-adventure genre is broad, spanning many different subgenres, but typically these games utilize strong storytelling and puzzle-solving mechanics of adventure games among the action-oriented gameplay concepts. The foremost title in this genre was "Adventure", a graphic home console game developed based on the text-based "Colossal Cave Adventure", while the first "The Legend of Zelda" brought the action-adventure concept to a broader audience.
The X-Men are a fictional superhero team in Marvel Comics' Marvel Universe. The group debuted in 1963 in an eponymous comic book series. Beginning in 1989, the characters appeared in video game adaptations for home consoles, handheld game consoles, arcades, and personal computers. An earlier game was planned for home computers in 1985, but the developer went out of business before its launch. The first games were released on 8-bit home platforms, and the series expanded onto handheld consoles and arcades in the early 1990s. Most X-Men games, especially those released in the 2000s, were released on several platforms. Several companies have developed entries in the franchise, including Paragon Software, Software Creations, Konami, and Capcom. The titles are action games that pit the X-Men against Marvel supervillains, typically taking the form of beat 'em up and fighting games. Each game features different groupings of X-Men heroes and villains, and typically allows players to control multiple characters.
"Tomb Raider" is the first game in the titular franchise, and introduced the series' gameplay standards and its protagonist Lara Croft. Developed by British studio Core Design, "Tomb Raider" was a commercial and critical success, and was followed by five successive games between 1996 and 2000. Their sixth "Tomb Raider" game "" was beset by developmental problems and rushed to release, resulting in low sales and mixed critical reception. The game's failure and Core Design's fatigue with the series prompted franchise publisher Eidos Interactive to move development of "Tomb Raider" to the American studio Crystal Dynamics, who rebooted the franchise with "". "Legend" released in 2006 to critical and commercial success.
With the arrival of the seventh generation of video game consoles, the first "next-gen" "Grand Theft Auto" clones were released in 2006, beginning with "Saints Row" from 2006 and "Crackdown" from 2007 both introduced online multiplayer to the genre, a feature that had been requested by many fans. "Crackdown" attracted attention for being created by David Jones, the developer of the original "Grand Theft Auto", and featured the ability to develop the player character's superpowers in a semi-futuristic setting. Meanwhile, "" and "" entered the market in 2006, and attempted to apply the "Grand Theft Auto" formula to popular movie franchises. Still, reviewers continued to measure these games against the standard set by the "Grand Theft Auto" series. "Grand Theft Auto IV" was released in April 2008 and featured a large, detailed environment, redefining gameplay and even adopted the GPS navigation system seen in "Saints Row". The game broke numerous sales records, including the record for the fastest selling game in its first 24 hours. Since its inception, this genre has evolved to include larger settings, more missions, and a wider range of vehicles. In 2010, Rockstar Games published "Red Dead Redemption", an open world Western themed game. On the day of "Grand Theft Auto V" 's release on September 17, 2013, Volition released a free downloadable content pack for "Saints Row IV" titled "GATV", purposely playing the similarity in the abbreviated titles to promote their game due to the confusion raised on various social networks.
According to Human Head's associate producer Matt Bisenius, all the previous work on the game up to its acquisition by ZeniMax/Bethesda was "bouncing ideas around" rather than any detailed development, believing 3D Realms/Radar Group had announced this sequel too early. As they started more in-depth planning and development for the game, the team came to an idea of a bounty hunter, and decided to take the core ideas from "Prey" while providing a game with more activities for the player do, partially inspired by the then-recent release of "Red Dead Redemption". Bisenius noted that "We didn't look at "Prey 1" and pick out mistakes as much as look at it and pick out the core themes of "Prey"."
Arkane's "Prey" is largely unrelated to the 2006 game "Prey" developed by Human Head Studios, and is considered a reimagining of the intellectual property set in a wholly new narrative. While "Prey 2", a sequel to the 2006 game, had been planned by Human Head, it fell into development hell following transfer of the intellectual property from 3D Realms to Bethesda Softworks, and was eventually cancelled in 2014. Arkane's game does not use any of the planned sequel's assets, and only incorporates the previous game's name and the broad theme of the protagonist being hunted by aliens. Arkane built "Prey" as a spiritual sequel to "System Shock", providing the player with several potential means of progressing within the game.
The first two games in the series, "Castle Wolfenstein" and "Beyond Castle Wolfenstein", were stealth-based and featured a 2D top-down perspective. The third game in the franchise, "Wolfenstein 3D", developed by id Software, introduced a first-person perspective with faster-paced action. Because of this, it is widely regarded to have helped popularize the first-person shooter genre. In 2001, the series was rebooted with "Return to Castle Wolfenstein", developed by Gray Matter Interactive. It was followed in 2003 by "", by Splash Damage. Raven Software's "Wolfenstein" followed in 2009. After ZeniMax Media acquired id Software, Swedish developer MachineGames released "" in 2014 and a standalone expansion "" in 2015. A direct sequel to "The New Order" entitled "" was released on October 27, 2017.
1998 is seen as a turning point in gaming history because of the release of "Metal Gear Solid", as well as "" and "". The ninja-themed game "Tenchu: Stealth Assassins" was released several months before "Metal Gear Solid", making it the first 3D stealth based-game. The highly anticipated "Metal Gear Solid" transformed its modestly successful franchise into a large mainstream success. The increased power of the PlayStation console over previous platforms allowed for greater immersion in terms of both story and game environment. "Metal Gear Solid" has been credited with popularizing the stealth genre. The core elements of these games, such as avoiding confrontation, minimizing noise, and attacking antagonists from "the shadows", influenced many future stealth game series.
Crash of the Titans is a platform game developed by Radical Entertainment and published by Vivendi Games for the PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable (ported by SuperVillain Studios), Wii and Xbox 360. The Game Boy Advance and Nintendo DS versions of the game were developed by Amaze Entertainment. The game was first released in North America on October 3, 2007, in Europe on October 12, 2007 and in Australia on October 25, 2007. It is the first game in the "Crash Bandicoot" series not to have a Japanese release.
In an interview with MacGamer, an online magazine dedicated to gaming on Mac PCs, game designer Chris Taylor had this to say about "Supreme Commander 2" and its spiritual link to his previous Total Annihilation series: "I think they are indeed the spiritual successors, because of the way I approach RTS Real-time strategy design. I don’t like a lot of rules, and I like big, open worlds. Some might say the economy systems play a role in that, but I think it goes much deeper than that. I think many folks will see our upcoming Kings and Castles game as a continuing extension of those previous RTS titles."
The first game in the series is based on the video game "Age of Empires III", and was originally titled Age of Empires III: The Age of Discovery before being renamed to Glenn Drover's Empires: The Age of Discovery in 2011 following the loss of the naming rights to the "Age of Empires" series. It was originally published in 2007 by Tropical Games, and is currently distributed by Drover's own publishing company, Eagle Games. The game may be played by up to five players, though pieces for a sixth player were available in limited supply, and are included in the "Builders Expansion", released in 2011 along with the renaming of the series.
1998's "Half-Life"—along with its 2004 sequel "Half-Life 2"—enhanced the narrative and puzzle elements. In 1999, the "Half-Life" mod "Counter-Strike" was released and, together with "Doom", is perhaps one of the most influential first-person shooters. "GoldenEye 007", released in 1997, was a landmark first-person shooter for home consoles, while the "Halo" series heightened the console's commercial and critical appeal as a platform for first-person shooter titles. In the 21st century, the first-person shooter is the most commercially viable video game genre, and in 2016, shooters accounted for over 27% of all video game sales. Several first-person shooters have been popular games for eSports and competitive gaming competitions as well.
Four official novels have also been written. The first three, set within the original timeline, were published between 2003 and 2005. The first novel, "The Amulet of Power", was set after the events of "The Last Revelation", while its sequels "The Lost Cult" and "The Man of Bronze" are set after the first novel. Another novel set within the 2013 reboot timeline, "Tomb Raider: The Ten Thousand Immortals", was published in 2014 as a continuation of the original story. A fifth book, titled "Lara Croft and the Blade of Gwynnever", also written by Dan Abnett and Nik Vincent was published in late 2016, and is a stand-alone adventure.
"Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood" was developed by Ubisoft Montreal. Montreal also worked on both of the other main "Assassin's Creed" games in the series and was thus chosen to lead production for the third installment. A new "Assassin's Creed" episode featuring multiplayer was announced during Ubisoft's 2009 fiscal third quarter results while not revealing its name. In early May 2010, a GameStop employee published on the internet some images of a pre-order box featuring the "Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood" title while Ubisoft was teasing the game on Facebook and Twitter. Ubisoft then confirmed the authenticity of these pictures. "Brotherhood" has not been numbered unlike "Assassin's Creed II" because players, and even developers themselves would have expected a new setting and a new ancestor while this is only the continuation of Ezio's story.
The game passed the one million sales mark in less than a week after its release. "Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood" has become Ubisoft's fastest-selling European title ever. It also had the best Ubisoft's launch in Europe and is the best-selling launch title ever as of November 2010. As of May 2011, Ubisoft announced the game had shipped 7.2 million units, and franchise shipments stood at 29 million units.
On May 5, 2011, "" was revealed to be the next major installment in the "Assassin's Creed" franchise. It was released on November 15, 2011. The game is the second to have three playable characters (Altaïr, Ezio and Desmond) after "Assassin's Creed II", which focused on Ezio and Desmond while Altaïr made a brief playable cameo. It is set in Constantinople, at the peak of the Ottoman Empire. "Revelations" brought back the multiplayer experience first introduced in "Assassin's Creed Brotherhood" with "more modes, more maps, and more characters" according to the official announcement. It is also the last game featuring Ezio.'
This caused dissatisfaction in some video game community outlets. Brenna Hillier of VG247 noted how there were nine development teams working on the game, and said "Ubisoft has here trotted out a tired, stupid, constantly refuted excuse for why it has perpetuated the cycle of sexism and under-representation in the games industry." Tim Clark of PC Gamer made note "that previous "Assassin's Creed" games have had playable women as part of the multiplayer component, and that "Brotherhood" had you supported by on-call assassins, many of whom were female, so it's hardly like it can't be done." Clark also looked to the way Amancio and Therien answered the question and felt how they referenced "how much the team wanted to include playable female characters suggests... that this is probably a decision which hasn't gone down well internally." Former "Assassin's Creed" designer Jonathan Cooper responded by saying, "In my educated opinion, I would estimate this to be a day or two's work. Not a replacement of 8,000 animations." He also revealed that Aveline de Grandpré, the female protagonist of "", "shares more of Connor Kenway's animations than Edward Kenway does." Fans also created petitions urging Ubisoft to change their stance. Additionally, former "Assassin's Creed" game designer Patrice Désilets commented that Amancio's reasoning was valid, but that Ubisoft should put in the effort to let players have gender options.
Using a newly updated Anvil game engine, "Assassin's Creed II" began development shortly after the release of "Assassin's Creed". The game received critical acclaim from video game publications, with praise directed towards its Renaissance setting, narrative, characters, map design and visuals, as well as improvements from its predecessor. It has sold more than 9 million copies. It is considered to be one of the best games ever made, and it popularized the "Assassin's Creed" franchise. The PC version was met with some criticism in relation to the digital rights management system and, thus had the always-online DRM permanently removed. The game spawned a follow-up, "" and its direct sequel, "". Remastered versions of all three games were released for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on November 15, 2016 as part of "The Ezio Collection".