Assassin's Creed: Altaïr's Chronicles

Assassin's Creed: Altaïr's Chronicles is an action-adventure game from 2008. Gameloft Bucharest developed it, and Ubisoft published it. This was the first spin-off in the Assassin's Creed series, acting as a prequel to the 2007 original. The story takes place in 1190, one year before the events of that game. Players control Altaïr Ibn-LaʼAhad as he hunts for an artifact called the Chalice, a quest that pits him against the Templar Order. Altaïr travels through several Middle Eastern cities: Jerusalem, Acre, and Damascus (all seen in the main game), plus Tyre and Aleppo, which were new to the series at the time.

The game first came out for the Nintendo DS in February 2008. Later, it was ported to Windows Phone, Android, iOS, webOS, Symbian, and Java ME. Critics gave it mixed to positive reviews. Two more spin-offs followed in November 2009: Assassin's Creed: Bloodlines, another Altaïr story, and Assassin's Creed II: Discovery, a spin-off tied to Assassin's Creed II. The iOS and Android versions were pulled from the App Store and Play Store in 2013.

In terms of gameplay, Altaïr's Chronicles is a third-person 3D action-adventure title. Unlike the main Assassin's Creed game, it is not open-world. It uses the Nintendo DS's features and combines hack-and-slash combat with stealth kills and parkour for exploring. Players can use weak and strong attacks, blocks, and combos in fights. Later, bombs, throwing knives, and a crossbow become available. There are three difficulty settings: Easy, Medium, and Hard.

The plot unfolds during the Third Crusade in 1190. Altaïr arrives in Aleppo, which Templars are besieging while searching for someone on orders from their Grand Master, Lord Basilisk. A dying Assassin gives Altaïr a sword, and he fights off the attackers. Then Al Mualim, the Assassin Brotherhood's Mentor, tasks Altaïr with finding the "Chalice"—an artifact said to unite all factions and end the Crusade in victory for its holder. The Chalice must be destroyed before it falls into wrong hands.

Altaïr starts in Damascus, where a Rafik tells him the Chalice is in the Temple of the Sand, requiring three keys to enter. He gets the first key from a dancer and mystic named Fajera. In Tyre, he learns the second key is with Roland Napule, the twisted head of a local hospital. Altaïr kills Napule and takes the key.