By now every fan of Assassin’s Creed should have played Black Flag (If not, you’re not a true fan and shame on you). That said, your boy just finished a crusade into the hearts of Liberation HD and the Freedom Cry DLC, two “Holdover” AC titles to stem off the agony of waiting for the next game in the series to release. “Holdover”– because, although wonderful to take on the reins of an assassin again — even for a little bit of time — the two additions do little more than salivate the palate before the main course of the series next title. That said, even a small dose of air assassinations can help hold over your withdrawal symptoms until this fall (hopefully and most likely).

LET FREEDOM CRY WITH…A (HAND) CANNON

Assassins Creed IV: Freedom Cry lets you take control of Edward Kenway’s quartermaster Adawale 15-years after the events of Black Flag. Toting around a vicious bloodthirsty machete, ‘Wale slices and dices his way through slavers and French soldiers in the colony town of Saint-Domingue, better known today as Haiti. The DLC starts off with our new hero attacking a Templar ship, killing its Admiral and stealing a package destined for Saint-Domingue. After stealing the package, Adawale’s ship Victoire sinks in a storm and he miraculously washes ashore on the very island the package was destined for.

Right from the get-go, Adawale sees the oppression of the enslaved peoples of Saint-Domingue and decides to take a stand. Having escaped the bonds of slavery himself, he can’t help but feel the plight of the “Maroon” rebels. As an assassin he must try to return to his brotherhood, but in the meantime he decides to have a little fun with the locals.

If I hear one more “sorry”outta Macklemore…

In this DLC, money is only good for upgrading Adawales ship, the Experto Crede. To get all the awesome weapons and pouches you have to earn a different kind of currency: RESPECT! You earn all your weapons (and let me tell you, some of them are bad ass…can you say hand cannon?) by freeing oppressed slaves. You have the opportunity to free small numbers of slaves all over, but the biggest and most gratifying experience is liberating plantations and boarding slave ships. The more you save, the better stuff you unlock.

The world map in Freedom Cry is roughly 1/6 the size of the map in Black Flag, but that is still saying something when you think of the enormity of the game. Unfortunately, there was only one town and a few scattered plantations in the world. The only real reason to board your ship was to hunt down slavers and dive on the ruins of an infamous shipwreck; and because, hell, it’s crazy fun to blast ships out of the water, especially corrupt French slaver ships.

But what happened to that package Adawale stole? What about hints on the next big Assassin’s Creed location? More on that later…

THE SMALL EASY

Whaddya know…folks who aren’t 12-years old (or who actually purchased a Vita for themselves) are now finally able to play Liberation. The game is packed with HD graphics this time around, giving it a one two punch that the PSP just couldn’t create. The game lets you take control of Aveline de Grandpre, the daughter of a Merchant and a slave. Set in New Orleans just a few short years before the events of the American Revolution, Liberation lets you see the seedier side of the time period.

Aveline can take on three “roles” by changing what she is wearing, be it the clothes of a highborn lady, the rags of a slave, or the infamous cloak of the assassin. Each persona has its own special abilities and certain missions give you a choice of what to wear, thereby changing the tactics you have to use to complete the mission. The assassin is by far the best at combat, but is immediately recognized as a threat if seen. The slave lets you have access to some of your weapons but also lets you be incognito. With the lady you only have your hidden blade and a “Blowpipe parasol.” The lady can’t even climb, but gains notoriety extremely slow. Using the correct combination of guises can make the gameplay interesting and leaves you thinking before each mission on what you think you should do.

Sorry; I don’t drink.

One neat little feature of Liberation is how it implements the Chain Kill from the Vita. Originally designed to be used with the systems touch screen, it allows you to pause the game and line up kills when facing multiple enemies. Aveline will then dispatch them gruesomely and effectively, creating a nice little cut scene for your viewing enjoyment. Unfortunately, other aspects of the Vita were included. For example, in the original game there was a puzzle where you had to tilt the Vita to try to make a little ball go into a hole (remember that game we all played on long car rides when we were kids!). When the same puzzle was converted to the current platforms, you have to control the tilting with the control stick. This just sucks and is just ultimately frustrating.

Although the graphics are great, the size of the world is the same as it was on the Vita: small. There are only three main areas you get to explore and you can get 100 percent completion in less than 15 hours. When I say 100%, I mean finding all the optional objects and doing every mission. Don’t let that get you down though. If you’re a fan of the series it is definitely worth checking out for the story alone, chock full of little bits of assassin lore. It answers some questions, and leaves many unanswered (something Ubisoft is all too known for).

NOT EVEN APOLLO…

The best part of Assassin’s Creed DLC is always the hints that get dropped about the location and time period of the next game. In AC3, Tyranny of King Washington Conner talked about how his grandfather Edward was a pirate… “But that is a tale for another time,” he stated. The same can be said of this DLC pack. The hints for the next games location “is right in front of your eyes” said Ubisoft. So here is the big question…

Where, and for that matter WHEN, will the next game take place?

There are three rumors floating around the internet that take precedence over all the others. These locations are… Drum roll please… Egypt, China, and France. Both places were hinted at in the data collected by hacking in as a picture of an assassin in front of the pyramids, and even leaked footage that showed an early prototype believed originally to be a new Prince of Persia title. In Freedom Cry you get a Lions Head mast-head, a wheel made of slaves’ melted chains, and sails depicting breaking the bonds of slavery. These hints lead one to believe that the next game will take place in ancient Egypt, around the time of Moses, breaking the chains of the Pharaohs. Ubisoft even stated to “Look at the stars” when you look for the clues. The pyramids of Giza line up with the constellation Orion’s Belt. Let’s be honest, that would make for an AWESOME game. The thing is, most of the clues point to China, and one particular Assassin…

Hope it isn’t me.

In Assassin’s Creed Embers DLC, Ezio gives Shao Jun a mysterious box, Ezio says that it “may be of use one day” and asks Shao to open it “only if she loses her way.” The small box… the small package… coincidence anyone? In the data collected from hacking, we learned that was the inventor of the Rope Dart. Also, there were references to Assassin’s Creed: Rising Phoenix. Could Shao Jun be the Chinese phoenix? There was also a reference to an Assassins Guild in China that was eliminated by the Templars. Could they have missed one, maybe the great female Chinese Assassin, who then goes on a quest of vengeance and retribution?

Or will it be set in France? Adawale’s ship the Victoire seems to point to the daughter of King Louis XV of France. She lived from 1733 – 1799. That’s when the French revolution happened people! That would easily fit into an Assassin’s Creed title. Add the fact that Freedom Cry was all about fighting the French and Liberation HD happened in the French colony of New Orleans. Talk about right in front of your face, eh Ubisoft!

Ubisoft has stated that there will be a conclusion for the Assassins Creed genre. With so many games already released, how many more can there possibly be before all of our questions are answered? What did Ezio give Shao Jun? What was in the package Adawale stole? Where will it all end? As of right now all of this is just rumor, but the evidence is there. Where and whenever the next game takes place, let’s just say this fan can’t wait to sink his hidden blades into some Templar scum (The bad ones, not the good Templar like your boy).

Freedom Cry DLC & Liberation HD = 3 Bibles