Access the Animus - Assassin's Creed: the Official Collection

Assassin's Creed: the Official Collection

Sary & Markuz, March 6th, 2017
Translated by: Markuz

Hello everyone and welcome to this new article by Access The Animus!

In the last days we were contacted by Hachette for a chance to review the first issue of “Assassin’s Creed: The Official Collection” and so here we are with our opinions about it for all of you fans!
For those who have no idea of what this collection is, Hachette launched it on February 22nd and it will include 80 issues, released every fortnight, that are made up of a hand-painted figurine and a short illustrated magazine with information related to the Assassin’s Creed universe. Sadly for the collectors all over the world, this product will be available for UK and Ireland only so, unless you have some friends there to help you getting all the issues, for now you’ll have to wait and hope for a worldwide release.

So, as mentioned before, each issue includes a 1:21 scaled, hand-painted figurine and for the first one, the chosen character was, of course, Altaïr. It couldn’t be otherwise!

The first time we saw the pictures of the figurines on the website, back in March last year, we were a bit skeptical about them because they didn’t seem to be on par with the quality that the AC fans and especially AC collectors are used to. It was a surprise to actually have the figurine in our hands and realize that it is actually pretty nice. Hachette’s Altaïr is pleasant to look at and loyal enough to the Revelations version of the character. The colors are respected (apart from some small details on the robes) and the beak of the hood is pretty good if compared to what was shown in the game. The only big mistake in this figurine is that the designers forgot to remove Altaïr’s ring finger even if the hidden blade is there and ready to hit. We know it is a very small detail but the missing ring finger of the first main character of the franchise is something that identified him compared to the others and, as such, it’s important to hardcore fans.

Of course, if you decide to start this collection, you shouldn’t expect statuettes like those, for example, by Ubicollectibles or Play Arts. With “The Official Collection” you might be getting small and well done figurines but they obviously cannot be compared to the ones we mentioned, and that can be said about the price too. The issues of Assassin’s Creed: The Official Collection cost £2.99 (€4.99) for the first one, £6.99 (€9.99) for the second one and £9.99 (€14.99) for following ones. Thus, keep in mind that if you are willing to buy them, to complete the collection you’ll need to be constant about it for more than three years (80 issues released every 15 days) and to spend more or less 800£. In addition to that, if you want to be sure to receive all of them, you can subscribe directly on Hachette’s website for this collection. As mentioned on the site, there are two different types of subscription:

Standard Subscription - £9.99 (€14.99) per issue, with 2 issues a month. It includes 4 free gifts (a magazine binder, a wallet, a tankard and the display stand for the figurines) and one free issue.
Premium Subscription - £10.99 (€15.99) per issue, with 2 issues a month. It includes the aforementioned 4 free gifts and one free issue plus a set of 6 art prints.

The difference between the two subscriptions is that the Premium Subscription will require 80 additional pounds on the whole collection (1£ for every issue) and its subscribers will receive 6 mounted art prints by Dennis Calero (the artist of the Assassin’s Creed Templars comic book series). Of course, it’s your call to choose what you like the most.

The four free gifts

The package also contains a booklet dedicated to the main character of the issue, Altaïr. You can see it as a companion text to describe the character represented with the figurine.
Of course a booklet isn’t enough to describe in-depth all the events involving the life of a character such as Altaïr, but we have to say that it does a decent job of representing the main events and facts related to the famous mentor through its main chapters:

The figurine – An explanation of the details of the character that were reproduced on the figurine
Character Profile – A very brief description of Altaïr’s life during the events shown in AC1
Friends and Enemies – A list of the Templar targets that Altaïr assassinated in AC1
Assassin’s Abilities – A focus dedicated to the Leap of Faith
Mythology – Another very brief description of the Assassin Brotherhood with a small box dedicated to Altaïr’s Codex
Weaponry & Equipment – A two-page article dedicated to the history of the Hidden Blades, not only in the Middle Ages but also in the Renaissance and in the Modern Times
Environments – A description of “The Levant” and of Jerusalem, Damascus and Acre, the three main cities that could be visited by Altaïr in AC1

As mentioned before, don’t expect super detailed texts that describe every single event of Altaïr’s life, that’s something that you can find in the Assassin’s Creed Encyclopedias. Still, the booklet provides several specific details that don’t only come from the main games of the franchise but also from the expanded universe (of course, don’t expect to find anything new).

If you have any more doubt about this collection, you’ll find more information on the dedicated website by Hachette.

We would like to thank Hachette for giving us the chance to review the first issue of this series, which can be a good supplement to the Assassin’s Creed fans’ collections! In addition to that, to celebrate the release of the Assassin’s Creed: The Official Collection, Hachette is giving one of our fans the chance to win a free premium subscription! This will of course be available to fans living in the UK and Ireland! Stay tuned with our Facebook page in the coming days for more information!

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