Assassin's Creed V: Messiah

Assassin's Creed V: Messiahis a 2013 historical action-adventure open world video game developed by Ubisoft Montreal and published by Ubisoft. It was released worldwide for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 on November 30, 2013, for the Wii U on December 1, 2013, for the PlayStation 4 and on Microsoft Windows on December 23, 2013, and for the Xbox One on December 24, 2013.

It is the seventh main installment in the Assassin's Creed series. The story is set in Biblical Israel, during the birth and life of Jesus Christ, and follows Yehoushua Hershel, a solitary Jewish Rabbi Assassin who is tasked with keeping Jesus Christ safe from Templars who seek to kill him throughout his life. The game focuses on exploration in an open world, this time through a desert map, where reaching oases is the main objective. Stealth, combat, and multiplayer are also key aspects in the game.

The game recieved many poitive reviews, and was considered one of the best Assassin's Creed games yet. Critics praised the games open world features, as well as it's story and side-quests. Messiah also recieved critical response from members of the Christian church, stating that the main storyline revolving around Jesus Christ was "unprofessional." Religious leaders did praise some aspects of the game, such as how Jesus was described and the actions of goodness he carried out.

Gameplay
There are four main cities in the game; Nazareth, Jerusalem, Jericho, and Bethlehem. These cities are set in a large, desert covered map, with the cities of Shechem, Cana, Hebron, Sephorris, Masada, and the ruins of Scythopolis spread out across the map, with the River Jordan and Dead Sea as a border to the east and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. The map is also set into two regions, Judea and Galilee. Some areas of the map are arid desert, some mountainous, and some arid desert. Small villages and nomad settlements can also be found throughout the map. Nomad settlements spawn randomly and can be found in many different places across the map, and can be used for selling goods or escaping the harsh desert...for a price.

The game introduces a new feature: Exposure. If the player is out in the open desert too long, their exposure meter will go up, rendering the player slower and more groggy with impaired vision. The exposure level can be lowered by visiting cities or findning oases before the player dies from exposure. Sandstorms are also a danger in the open desert, as well as bandits.

Transportation across the vast desert is mainly by camel, although horses are mounts in the game as well. Fast Travel is also implemented in the game as well, as is a boat system on the River Jordan. Mounts also suffer from exposure. Camels are more hardy mounts and will last longer in the desert, while horses will not last very long and are good mostly for short distances. The player can also choose to travel with caravans to prevent attacks by bandits.

There are more than 50 oases spread out across the map, and are the primary source of hunting in the game. The animals available for hunting include: leopards, onyxs, foxes, crocodiles, lynxes, gazelles, honey badgers, and scorpions. Leopards, crocodiles, honey badgers, and scorpions are predators, and will attempt to attack the player. Crafting is also in the game, including craftable campsites and water canteens for larger exposure meters. Poison arrows can also be crafted from killing scorpions.

The weapons in the game include many types of swords and bows. The player starts with dual-wield scimitars, and can upgrade or buy new swords as the game progresses and the player gains more money. Bows are also availible as long-range weapons. NPC enemies mainly carry scimitars, shortswords, maces, or crossbows, all of which the player can pick up.

The game is similar to the last in the fact that the player is working at Abstergo Industries. Hacking and puizzle-solving are also included in the present-day.

Multiplayer is also included in this game, and is similar to the other versions.