Fictional British historian and Templar-fighter Shaun Hastings is not cowed by the greatness of the United States or its history. It is in Hastings’s voice that the Assassin’s Creed series’ excellent historical databases are written. In previous games, he skewered figures from the Renaissance. In Assassin’s Creed III he finds some American targets.
The game’s writers don’t confine Hastings’ snark to the database and instead give him voice to some of the more pointed and explicit political commentary I’ve ever seen in a major video game. We’ve got two clips here, pulled from optional conversations players can access during the game’s modern-day interludes.
The first one is a doozy.
I guess we can conclude that Hastings — and maybe his writer-is not a Strict Constructionist..
In fact, they damn near walk up to a defence of gay marriage and other issues that opponents argue may not align with the Founding Fathers’ expressed values and practices. But you’ll have to read between the lines for that interpretation.
The second is a slightly unconventional take on the American Revolution.
Enjoy. Or be enraged. Or… hey, it’s nice when game creators let their characters actually say something, no?
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