I'm well on my way into Ubisoft's Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood for the Sony PlayStation 3 (also available for Microsoft Xbox 360) and have been enjoying it just as much as the previous game in the series. While I love leaping around Rome as the dashing Ezio Auditore, I also like the little interludes with Desmond Miles. I wasn't quite sure why I was enjoying those short sections at first, however. Desmond is merely an assassin in training, more or less, and he spends most of his time whining about his fate. He's not the most likeable character in the Assassin's Creed world. The more I thought about it though, the more I came to understand why I enjoyed Desmond's tale. I enjoy it because I watch it on NBC every Monday night where it's a show called Chuck. Do you not see the similarity? Strap into the Animus and let me guide you through the sequence...
For those of you unfamiliar with Chuck, allow me to explain the basic premise. Chuck follows the adventure of average everyday guy Chuck Bartowski. One day he discovers that all kinds of classified government secrets and abilities are stored in his brain via a sophisticated piece of technology called the Intersect. Enemy agents bent on world conquest want to kidnap him and learn what he knows, so the CIA assigns a handler — the beautiful blonde Sarah Walker — to protect Chuck and keep an eye on him so that these agents cannot abduct him and tap into his hidden knowledge. The secrets in Chuck's head take skill and practice to access, so Sarah also must work with him to help him tap into his latent abilities. With practice, he becomes capable of amazing combat arts and comes to know many secrets. Meanwhile, there's plenty of romantic tension between the two as Chuck's potential surprises and impresses Sarah, and their working relationship starts to develop into something more.
Now, for those of you who are unfamiliar with Assassin's Creed, allow me to explain the basic premise of that. Assassin's Creed follows the adventure of average everyday guy Desmond Miles. One day he discovers that all kinds of classified government secrets and abilities are stored in his brain via a sophisticated piece of technology called the Animus, and he's held prisoner by an enemy organization bent on world domination that wants access to these secrets. Desmond is rescued by one of the good guys — the beautiful blonde Lucy Stillman — who protects Desmond and keeps an eye on him so that enemy agents cannot abduct him again to tap into his hidden knowledge. The secrets in Desmond's head take skill and practice to access, so Lucy also must work with him to help him tap into his latent abilities. With practice, he becomes capable of amazing combat arts and comes to know many secrets. Meanwhile, there's plenty of romantic tension between the two as Desmond's potential surprises and impresses Lucy, and their working relationship starts to develop into something more.
It's no wonder that I enjoy both Chuck and Assassin's Creed: they share the same basic framework of a plot! I've often wondered what a Chuck video game would be like, but I guess now I can stop wondering. I didn't even make the connection when I played Assassin's Creed II, and it wasn't until I progressed through the first extended Brotherhood interlude where Desmond and Lucy work together to climb through an abandoned cavern that everything clicked into place. With Brotherhood surprising me on multiple levels this early in the game, I can't wait to see what happens next.
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