Assassin's Creed: Bloodlines

About Assassin's Creed: Bloodlines

Ubisoft Montreal released Assassin's Creed: Bloodlines on November 17, 2009, specifically for the PlayStation Portable. This title serves as a direct sequel to the original game and marks the franchise's first entry on handheld hardware. Players control Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad immediately after his victory in Jerusalem. The story follows him as he hunts down surviving Templars who fled to Cyprus. You sail there with Maria Thorpe, a captive turned reluctant ally. The setting shifts from the desert of the Holy Land to the island's medieval cities and ruins. It is a single-player adventure built around stealth, combat, and exploration on a portable screen.

Gameplay

You spend your time climbing structures, sneaking through crowds, and executing enemies with precision strikes. Combat relies on light and heavy attacks alongside counter moves that require precise timing. You explore detailed versions of the Cypriot cities while hunting specific targets like Frederick the Red or the Dark Oracle. The game includes a hidden blade for stealth kills and a rope dart for crossing gaps quickly. Sessions involve traveling between locations, interacting with resistance fighters, and engaging in boss battles against Templar leaders. You must manage Altaïr's health and avoid detection by guards to progress. The controls are tight enough for the handheld format despite limited screen space.

What Players Think

The PlayPile community and critics remain divided on this portable entry. IGDB lists a score of 51.9 out of 100 based on 106 ratings, which suggests a lukewarm reception overall. Many players report an average playtime hovering around eight hours, indicating a concise but sometimes repetitive experience. Community moods often reflect frustration with the controls or the short length compared to console titles. Review snippets frequently mention the technical limitations of the PSP hardware holding back the franchise's potential. Completion rates show that about 60 percent of users finish the main story without tackling side objectives. Few players return for replayability once the credits roll.

PlayPile's Take

This game works best as a short diversion for dedicated fans who want more Altaïr content. It costs very little on the secondary market, making it an easy buy for collectors. You earn ten achievements that track specific story beats and combat milestones. The narrative wraps up Maria's arc and bridges the gap to future entries effectively. However, the technical issues and short runtime prevent it from standing alongside the main console releases. If you own a PSP or want to see how the series adapted to handhelds, pick this up for a weekend session. Do not expect a masterpiece.

Storyline

Beginning shortly after the end of the first game, Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad learns of a plan of the remaining Templars to escape to Cyprus, and so infiltrates one of their strongholds in Acre to stop them from doing so. Although he does not succeed in this regard, he does defeat and capture Maria Thorpe, who attempted to avenge her former master, Robert de Sablé, who died at Altaïr's hands. Managing to charter a ship, Altaïr also heads to Cyprus in pursuit of the apple, with Maria in tow. Once there, he learns of the presence of Armand Bouchart, who has succeeded Robert de Sablé, as Grand Master of the Templar Order. Altaïr also learns, and gains the assistance, of a resistance movement in the city opposed to the presence of the Templars, who, after purchasing the island from King Richard, have formed a repressive government to control the land and its people. He also learns of a Templar "archive", a trove of Templar knowledge and artifacts, hidden somewhere on the island. True to the way of the Assassins, Altaïr makes to both locate the archive and free Cyprus from Bouchart's grip, firstly by slaying his underlings: Frederick "the Red"; Moloch "the Bull"; Shalim and Shahar "the Twins", and the Dark Oracle "the Witch," eventually confronting and defeating Bouchart at the archive, whose contents have been evacuated and relocated by Templar soldiers. Following Bouchart's death, the archive begins to collapse, but Altaïr manages to escape. The game also details the relationship between Altaïr and Maria. At first, Maria is hostile and sarcastic towards Altaïr (in her own words, "the man who spared my neck but ruined my life"), but as the story develops, she gradually warms to the assassin who, despite her repeated escape attempts, repeatedly rescues her from harm and does not punish her. Eventually, she decides to assist Altaïr by killing a Templar mole in the resistance when he attempts to kill Altaïr and confronting Bouchart alongside him in the final battle, at this point having fallen in love with the assassin. After their escape from the Templar archive, the two of them decide to head east towards India.