Assassin's Creed: Bloodlines Basics

Part of being an expert assassin is keeping a low profile. However, that can be difficult when people near you mysteriously keel over and die without a known cause. This, then, could arouse suspicion of guards nearby. The icon in the upper left corner reflects Altair's degree of anonymity to his enemies. Whenever something catches a guard's attention, such as sprinting or other out-of-the-ordinary behavior, an eye appears over the icon and emits a beeping noise. This means you are being closely monitored and cautions you to keep a lower profile before the warning erupts into a full-fledged conflict. Some high profile moves include sprinting, grabbing, and bumping into soldiers. The last one usually incites the offended soldier to engage Altair.

In order to keep a low profile, either jog or blend. Blending is actually quite useful and keeps guards out of Altair's hair. Blending also allows him to get closer to his enemies for a very devastating stealth kill.

There's not a whole lot of depth to the combat system in Bloodlines, but Altair has access to four types of weapons: a long sword, throwing daggers (that can also be used in close combat), a hidden blade, and his fists. The hidden blade is used for stealth kills. Never ever try to assassinate a target whose weapons are drawn; you will only reveal yourself and invite more trouble. Block by pressing the right shoulder button. Blocking is your best friend, but when surrounded Altair becomes vulnerable to enemies who attack from the side or behind. While blocking, he can perform an effective counterattack move on his enemy. This works only if you hold down the block button and attack only as the enemy starts swinging.

Press the Cross button to dodge, which comes in real handy when blocking is not an option. Finally, Altair can perform up to four attacks, strung together in a combo. The timing for the combo can be tricky at first—each attack must be connected as the previous swing contacts its target. Often times, Altair will be able to break the target's guard and deliver a finishing blow that makes him invulnerable to other attacks during this animation. Most enemies will be dealt with in this fashion, anyway.