Gamers once again don the hooded cloak and hidden daggers of Altaïr for more Crusades-era assassinations and open-world acrobatics in Assassin's Creed: Bloodlines. Though released at the same time as its Renaissance-themed console cousin Assassin's Creed II, this PSP exclusive takes place immediately after the events of the original game, sending Altaïr to Cyprus where he must track down and kill all of the island's Templar officers. Altaïr retains all of his weapons and skills from the original game, and PS3 compatibility means that players who collect special Templar coins in Bloodlines and Assassin's Creed II can unlock and share new abilities across platforms. There are nine different mission types, including tailing, interrogation, and treasure hunts, and the action takes place in two sprawling cities, with gamers once again scaling the tallest monuments and towers in order to locate their next target. The Animus system returns, with seven different "memory blocks" serving as the game's levels, but Assassin's Creed: Bloodlines eschews the futuristic sojourns, protracted missions, and expositional death conversations of the original game in favor of shorter, more direct action aimed at on-the-go portable gamers.
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