So you've finished Assassin's Creed 3. Confused? We don't blame you. The series' mythology is a dense, complex beast, and even though a lot is revealed in the finale, it still leaves us with many lingering questions.
It's pretty obvious that this is the end of the trilogy, but it's not like Ubisoft are going to just drop their most lucrative franchise. Assassin's Creed will almost certainly return, and the ending of the latest game gives us some pretty big clues about the direction the next one will take.
First, let's recap. After retrieving the amulet buried by Connor, Desmond unlocks the Grand Temple's inner chamber. Juno appears and tells him that she knows a way to save the world from the incoming solar flare, but at a cost. He has to die, and she will be reborn in the physical world. Minerva warns Desmond that freeing her will have dire consequences.
Further reading: Review Q&A; | Assassin's Creed 3 guide | 360 vs PS3 video comparison | Assassin's Creed 3 review | Assassin's Creed 3 Liberation review
Juno, as it turns out, is the real villain of the Assassin's Creed series. She's been locked away in the Grand Temple for thousands of years, secretly manipulating human history to lead Desmond Miles to her. Before they were wiped out, Juno's people interbred with humans - who were more likely to survive the solar flare because of their greater numbers. This allowed the First Civilization's DNA to live on, and Desmond, who has these genes, is the key to her release.
So Desmond has two choices. The first is to allow the solar flare to engulf the planet, then rebuild society with the survivors. The second is to liberate Juno and save it now, but at the risk of humanity being enslaved by her. Desmond reluctantly goes for option two, perhaps thinking that if he saves the planet now, the remaining Assassins will be able to stop her.
He activates the device containing Juno and is seemingly killed in the process. "It is done," she says, materialising next to his lifeless body. "The world is saved. You played your part well, Desmond. But now... now it's time that I played mine." She steps forward in the direction of the temple entrance, and the credits roll. But what does it all mean?
DARK DAYS
Juno being released is potentially very bad news for Earth. We know from previous games that human beings were used as slaves by the First Civilization. In Subject 16's video, The Truth, we see a figure in similar garb to Juno and Minerva using an Apple of Eden to control a workforce of humans. So they obviously don't think much of us (except, perhaps, Minerva), and Juno may see her newfound freedom as a way to subjugate humanity once more.
Desmond unlocking the Grand Temple on December 21, moments before the solar flare, was all part of Juno's plan. If the Assassins had arrived earlier, they may have found a way to save the planet without freeing Juno. But with only minutes to decide, it was their only real option to save humanity. If Desmond had gone for the other option, Earth would have been reduced to ashes; a wasteland, almost entirely devoid of life. Billions of people would have died.
So he bit the bullet and freed Juno, the lesser of two evils. The irony is that the Assassins devote their lives to preserving free will, but in the end they're forced to make a choice that's more in line with Templar thinking. Did Desmond make a mistake? That all depends on whether they can defeat Juno. With him dead, the Assassins will have to find another subject whose ancestors hold the key to humanity's salvation: the perfect opportunity to introduce a new hero.
Comments
18 comments so far...
stan-117 on 1 Nov '12 said:
SPOILER ALERT! or not the games only out and you ruin the ending for all..good going
TheRandyNinja on 1 Nov '12 said:
Title does say assassins creed ending lol but i do agree have just spoilt it for myself
AndyCVG on 1 Nov '12 said:
If you click on a story – of your own free will – called 'ending analysis' and are surprised to find spoilers, there is something wrong with your brain.
zombificus on 1 Nov '12 said:
Still, bad timing for this kind of article, I think you'd have had more reads if you'd waited a couple of weeks.
(I haven't read it yet btw but I was interested to see the comments).
Bambis Dad on 1 Nov '12 said:
I read it as I've only played the first and thought it was pedestrianly average, going by what is discussed in the article, well that's for me to know.
Buns, ladies front buns.
Nimron Tang on 1 Nov '12 said:
Precisely, I managed to click on it and then quickly scroll down as I don't want to know what happens. I was more interested to see if anyone had completed it yet. (I'm nowhere near)
Andy, apologies if it seemed as though I was having a go at your review yesterday. Yours was one of the better written reviews out of all of those I read (didn't completely agree with it, but that's life). I think we just had different expectations from the game. Did you enjoy fighting with the Scottish Redcoats? I love constantly being shouted at by Scottish blokes who don't like me messing about on the roof!
Stryker89 on 1 Nov '12 said:
Blimey, how fast do you think we're going to finish this game? I'll read this when I'm good and ready.
Down with robots on 1 Nov '12 said:
DO NOT PUT UP ARTICLES DISCUSSING THE ENDING OF ANY GAME JUST AFTER IT'S BEEN RELEASED.
photoboy on 1 Nov '12 said:
Sounds like Ubisoft are having a competition with Bioware to see who can come up with the crappest ending to their trilogy.
Joeward94 on 2 Nov '12 said:
Just finished the game, it was a great game. Sadly let down by an ending that reduced me to heavy drinking. If you have a great game set in an interesting time period do not toodle off into endless videos about godlike creatures with motives just introduced. i would of prefured an ending of perhaps a more worthy status. Hell even if they had simply seen had all died but revealed that time was cylical. oh well great game will continue playing but would rather the ending wasnt as such.
kiddoblivion on 2 Nov '12 said:
Assassin's Creed 4 may be a next gen title but that doesn't mean ACIII will be the last Assassins game we see before then.
They purposely ended ACIII's story on a cliffhanger so that they have somewhere to go, story wise, in their annual "expansion packs".
Not complaining though, if Assassin's Creed: Genesis (or whatever it'll be called) takes place in the per-historic alien cities of Those Who Came Before then I'll willingly part with my cash.
kiddoblivion on 2 Nov '12 said:
DO NOT READ ARTICLES DISCUSSING THE ENDING OF ANY GAME JUST AFTER IT'S BEEN RELEASED!!!
AndyCVG on 2 Nov '12 said:
Too late.
AndyCVG on 2 Nov '12 said:
No worries; I like a bit of spirited discussion!
As a Glaswegian, the guard who shouts "GET DOON!" is my favourite.
Nimron Tang on 2 Nov '12 said:
He's my favourite as well, didn't know that was the Glaswegian dialect. You learn something new everyday!
I always feel slightly bad taking out the Scots and the guard dogs, typical bloody English Government roping in innocent people and animals to fight their battles for them.
shhno1cares on 2 Nov '12 said:
I don't really see how Desmond's decision is more in line with the templar in the end. In the end game wouldn't a templar want to be desmond in the world with only a few people, ruling them as a god, having order through power?
I'm pretty sure her husband was not killed during the rebellion, but by her. Didn't he want out of being a machine?
Also they're already done a whole game without actually advancing Desmond's current storyline. Think it was Revalations? Where he was stuck in the coma.
I really feel like these games are losing the feel from the older games. Less sneaking around, less history in the gameplay, shortened character storylines. I would take a game every 2 years if they felt like AC1-BH again, but that probably wouldn't pay the bills
AndyCVG on 2 Nov '12 said:
Yeah, that's a good point. My thinking was that the Templars would want Juno to enslave humanity so they could side with her and be part of her evil dictatorship. I guess both options would suit them in the end.
shhno1cares on 2 Nov '12 said:
Interesting thought. Now, what would a real assassin do? Work in the darkness to serve the light. If, we think that both sides have equal ups and downs, then his current choice is the choice of a true assassin. Work in the darkness(die) to serve the light(end apocalypse). If he ends the world as it was he would have followers, but not be serving in the darkness.