Through this plot device, details emerge about a millennia-old struggle between two factions: the Assasssin Brotherhood (inspired by the real-life Order of Assassins), who fight to preserve peace and free will, and the Templar Order (inspired by the Knights Templar military order), who believe control is needed to maintain peace. The player character is a modern-day man named Desmond Miles who, through a machine called the 'Animus', relives the genetic memories of his ancestor, Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad.
The plot is set in a fictional history of real-world events, taking place primarily during the Third Crusade in the Holy Land in 1191.
The game was released for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in November 2007 and was made available on Microsoft Windows in April 2008. It is the first installment in the Assassin's Creed series. Assassin's Creed is an action-adventure video game developed by Ubisoft Montreal and published by Ubisoft.
