The First Templar
Encyclopedia
The First Templar is a action-adventure
video game developed by Haemimont Games
and published by Kalypso Media
for the Xbox 360
and Microsoft Windows
. It was released on both platforms on May 2011 in Europe and North America.
The First Templar follows the story of two characters - French Templar Celian d'Arestide, and his companion, Marie d'Ibelin, a noble lady who has been proclaimed a heretic by the Dominican
Inquisition
. Taking control over these two unlikely allies, the player must uncover the mysteries behind the Templar Order, play a role in a grand conspiracy, and discover the secret of the Holy Grail. The First Templar features both single player and co-op modes. When playing solo, the player can switch between the two characters, leaving the control of the second hero to the game’s AI. At any moment a second player can join in and take control of the AI controlled hero.
Marie d'Ibelin - The granddaughter of Guy d'Ibelin
, Marie was raised in Saracen traditions. She joins Celian after being branded a heretic by the Inquisitors. Taught to fight and defend herself at an early age, she utilizes twin daggers in combat.
Roland - A senior member of the Templar order who fought alongside Celian in several campaigns in the East.
Wilhelm of Beaujeu - The Grand Master of the Templar Order and Celian's longtime mentor. He is described as a wise leader who is physically robust despite his advanced age.
Phillip IV
- The king of France, and one of the primary antagonists. He betrays the Templar Order and allies himself with the Inquisition.
The Byzantine - A secondary antagonist introduced in the Arena DLC pack. He lives in a fortified castle with a large arena, and forces his prisoners to engage in gladiatorial combat.
the last Christian city in the Holy Land
is under siege and about to fall to Saracen
hands.
Celian and Roland, two Templar knights have just arrived in Cyprus
in order to talk to the Templar Grandmaster seeking advice in their quest for the Holy Grail
. Upon their arrival they find out that the island is being attacked by Muslim
warriors and hurry the protect it. In doing so they encounter a kidnapped messenger from Guy d'Ibelin who says that her master's daughter - Marie d'Ibelin - is being held prisoner by the Inquisition
.
After consulting their Grandmaster the two of them go to an undetermined location in Europe
where they discover that the Inquisition - led by a shadowy agent called Isaiah - is plotting something of monumental proportions. They release Marie but Roland is left behind during their escape, henceforth becoming Celian's partner for most of the subsequent game.
Celian and Marie - believing Roland to have been killed - continue their quest for the Grail fighting a great deal of Muslim enemies in the process and helping those in need - even if the idea to help always come from Celian and is criticized by Marie who will remark that they are wasting time. At some point they discover that Guy d'Ibelin is also dead and that the Holy Land is lost for good. They finally find the Holy Grail Temple but learn that it was emptied long ago. In the temple however they find a dying Templar who mistakes Celian for the Grandmaster in a scene that seems very odd at the moment. Running out of options they decide to go to France
in order to get some help and advice from the Grandmaster and the main body of the Order.
They arrive in France in 1307, the year when King Philip IV and Pope Clement V
start their accusations against the Templar Order. Both the heroes fall into The Inquisition's trap and just when they are about to be imprisoned they find Roland, who has not been killed but instead was tortured and then pledged his allegiance to the anti-Templar movement becoming its Black knight
.
Roland's friendship to Celian though, turns out to be much stronger than his newfound allegiance so he helps his friend to reach an escape port through the woods where Celian is reunited with Marie. From that point on, Roland tells them they are on their own and so they depart for a fortified Templar stronghold where they intend to join forces with the Grandmaster to fight back the French king armies.
The Grandmaster reveals that Celian is in fact Hugues de Payens the founder of the Templar Order. His memory loss was a side effect due to an assassination attempt by the current Grandmaster himself on him because he had hidden the Grail, which was responsible for prolonging the lives of the nine founders of the Order far beyond the natural lifespan of a normal human being. After the deaths of three of the original nine - probably due to internal power struggles - Hugues realized that the Grail was dangerous and so took it and hid it. The Grandmaster - who is himself also one of the original nine - wanted the Grail back so he took advantage from Hugues memory loss and gave him the task of finding the cup in hopes that something inside him would lead him straight to it.
After the plot twist
the player realizes that the true enemies are in fact the Templar Order - who become the main antagonist of the game from now on. By remembering his true identity, Celian - or Hugues - also concludes that his castle would be the place where he would hide something he didn't want anyone to ever find.
In the end, the player defeats both the Grandmaster and Isaiah - from the Inquisition - and a choice is put before him: does he want to destroy (option defended by Marie) or to keep (option defended by Roland - who pops up virtually out of nowhere) the Holy Grail? The result of the option only affects the final words of the narrator without any other consequences.
The three characters may be defined in a traditional action roleplaying game style - much like that of Dungeons and Dragons - as a Fighter (Roland), a Rogue/Assassin (Marie) and a Paladin (Celian).
The main action is about swordplay with attacks and shield - or sword - defenses being central. Minor skills are also in existence some being common to all characters and some being exclusive to one or another. Magic is an absent concept being Celian's prayer ability the only one resembling it. The enemies are also of an unmagic kind.
the PC version received an aggregate score of 57% (as of Oct 2011); the combat system, visual style and story received some positive feedback, but was criticised for a dated design, and budget game quality, the Xbox 360 version also received mostly average reviews, and similar feedback to the PC version scoring 52% (as of Oct 2011) on metacritc,
The Eurogamer
review described it as "..the good kind of 6/10, the sort of zero-expectation, low-budget game that approaches the score from below .. [and] .. a decent hack-and-slash brawler ... Not a great one"., GameZone
gave the game a 3.5 out of 10, stating "This is a game that you’re going to want to like. You’re going to want it to succeed, but it’ll only let you down. The entire time you’ll be thinking about what they could have done differently and better."
Action-adventure game
An action-adventure game is a video game that combines elements of the adventure game genre with various action game elements. It is perhaps the broadest and most diverse genre in gaming, and can include many games which might better be categorized under narrow genres...
video game developed by Haemimont Games
Haemimont Games
Haemimont Games is a Bulgarian video game developer founded in September 1997 and based in Sofia. The company primarily concentrates on producing medieval and ancient history strategy games and has about 50 employees, making it Bulgaria's largest video game developer.-Games:-External links:* * *...
and published by Kalypso Media
Kalypso Media
Kalypso Media is a German video game developer and publisher. Founded in summer 2006 by industry veterans Simon Hellwig and Stefan Marcinek, the company has published and/or developed a number of successful titles such as Sins of a Solar Empire, Ceville, Dungeons, Patrician IV, Tropico 3 and...
for the Xbox 360
Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
and Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
. It was released on both platforms on May 2011 in Europe and North America.
The First Templar follows the story of two characters - French Templar Celian d'Arestide, and his companion, Marie d'Ibelin, a noble lady who has been proclaimed a heretic by the Dominican
Dominican Order
The Order of Preachers , after the 15th century more commonly known as the Dominican Order or Dominicans, is a Catholic religious order founded by Saint Dominic and approved by Pope Honorius III on 22 December 1216 in France...
Inquisition
Inquisition
The Inquisition, Inquisitio Haereticae Pravitatis , was the "fight against heretics" by several institutions within the justice-system of the Roman Catholic Church. It started in the 12th century, with the introduction of torture in the persecution of heresy...
. Taking control over these two unlikely allies, the player must uncover the mysteries behind the Templar Order, play a role in a grand conspiracy, and discover the secret of the Holy Grail. The First Templar features both single player and co-op modes. When playing solo, the player can switch between the two characters, leaving the control of the second hero to the game’s AI. At any moment a second player can join in and take control of the AI controlled hero.
Characters
Celian d'Arestide - The player character, Celian is noble, chivalrous knight who fights to preserve his order amid the Inquisition. Unlike many of his contemporaries, Celian received a formal education in addition to his combat training. Due to an untold event in his past, Celian has lost all the memories prior to his adulthood, which does not seem to have any special meaning - other than release the game creators from the task of creating a background for the character - in the beginning of the game.Marie d'Ibelin - The granddaughter of Guy d'Ibelin
Guy of Ibelin, constable of Cyprus
Guy of Ibelin was marshal and constable of the kingdom of Cyprus. He was the fifth son of John of Ibelin, the Old Lord of Beirut, and of Melisende of Arsuf...
, Marie was raised in Saracen traditions. She joins Celian after being branded a heretic by the Inquisitors. Taught to fight and defend herself at an early age, she utilizes twin daggers in combat.
Roland - A senior member of the Templar order who fought alongside Celian in several campaigns in the East.
Wilhelm of Beaujeu - The Grand Master of the Templar Order and Celian's longtime mentor. He is described as a wise leader who is physically robust despite his advanced age.
Phillip IV
Philip IV of France
Philip the Fair was, as Philip IV, King of France from 1285 until his death. He was the husband of Joan I of Navarre, by virtue of which he was, as Philip I, King of Navarre and Count of Champagne from 1284 to 1305.-Youth:A member of the House of Capet, Philip was born at the Palace of...
- The king of France, and one of the primary antagonists. He betrays the Templar Order and allies himself with the Inquisition.
The Byzantine - A secondary antagonist introduced in the Arena DLC pack. He lives in a fortified castle with a large arena, and forces his prisoners to engage in gladiatorial combat.
Plot
In the beginning of the 14th Century, the Crusades are coming to an end. AcreAcre
The acre is a unit of area in a number of different systems, including the imperial and U.S. customary systems. The most commonly used acres today are the international acre and, in the United States, the survey acre. The most common use of the acre is to measure tracts of land.The acre is related...
the last Christian city in the Holy Land
Holy Land
The Holy Land is a term which in Judaism refers to the Kingdom of Israel as defined in the Tanakh. For Jews, the Land's identifiction of being Holy is defined in Judaism by its differentiation from other lands by virtue of the practice of Judaism often possible only in the Land of Israel...
is under siege and about to fall to Saracen
Saracen
Saracen was a term used by the ancient Romans to refer to a people who lived in desert areas in and around the Roman province of Arabia, and who were distinguished from Arabs. In Europe during the Middle Ages the term was expanded to include Arabs, and then all who professed the religion of Islam...
hands.
Celian and Roland, two Templar knights have just arrived in Cyprus
Cyprus
Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
in order to talk to the Templar Grandmaster seeking advice in their quest for the Holy Grail
Holy Grail
The Holy Grail is a sacred object figuring in literature and certain Christian traditions, most often identified with the dish, plate, or cup used by Jesus at the Last Supper and said to possess miraculous powers...
. Upon their arrival they find out that the island is being attacked by Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
warriors and hurry the protect it. In doing so they encounter a kidnapped messenger from Guy d'Ibelin who says that her master's daughter - Marie d'Ibelin - is being held prisoner by the Inquisition
Inquisition
The Inquisition, Inquisitio Haereticae Pravitatis , was the "fight against heretics" by several institutions within the justice-system of the Roman Catholic Church. It started in the 12th century, with the introduction of torture in the persecution of heresy...
.
After consulting their Grandmaster the two of them go to an undetermined location in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
where they discover that the Inquisition - led by a shadowy agent called Isaiah - is plotting something of monumental proportions. They release Marie but Roland is left behind during their escape, henceforth becoming Celian's partner for most of the subsequent game.
Celian and Marie - believing Roland to have been killed - continue their quest for the Grail fighting a great deal of Muslim enemies in the process and helping those in need - even if the idea to help always come from Celian and is criticized by Marie who will remark that they are wasting time. At some point they discover that Guy d'Ibelin is also dead and that the Holy Land is lost for good. They finally find the Holy Grail Temple but learn that it was emptied long ago. In the temple however they find a dying Templar who mistakes Celian for the Grandmaster in a scene that seems very odd at the moment. Running out of options they decide to go to France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
in order to get some help and advice from the Grandmaster and the main body of the Order.
They arrive in France in 1307, the year when King Philip IV and Pope Clement V
Pope Clement V
Pope Clement V, born Raymond Bertrand de Got was Pope from 1305 to his death...
start their accusations against the Templar Order. Both the heroes fall into The Inquisition's trap and just when they are about to be imprisoned they find Roland, who has not been killed but instead was tortured and then pledged his allegiance to the anti-Templar movement becoming its Black knight
Black Knight
The black knight is a literary stock character, often contrasted with the white knight. The character famously appeared in Arthurian literature and has been adapted and adopted by various authors, in cinema and popular culture...
.
Roland's friendship to Celian though, turns out to be much stronger than his newfound allegiance so he helps his friend to reach an escape port through the woods where Celian is reunited with Marie. From that point on, Roland tells them they are on their own and so they depart for a fortified Templar stronghold where they intend to join forces with the Grandmaster to fight back the French king armies.
The Grandmaster reveals that Celian is in fact Hugues de Payens the founder of the Templar Order. His memory loss was a side effect due to an assassination attempt by the current Grandmaster himself on him because he had hidden the Grail, which was responsible for prolonging the lives of the nine founders of the Order far beyond the natural lifespan of a normal human being. After the deaths of three of the original nine - probably due to internal power struggles - Hugues realized that the Grail was dangerous and so took it and hid it. The Grandmaster - who is himself also one of the original nine - wanted the Grail back so he took advantage from Hugues memory loss and gave him the task of finding the cup in hopes that something inside him would lead him straight to it.
After the plot twist
Plot twist
A plot twist is a change in the expected direction or outcome of the plot of a film, television series, video game, novel, comic or other fictional work. It is a common practice in narration used to keep the interest of an audience, usually surprising them with a revelation...
the player realizes that the true enemies are in fact the Templar Order - who become the main antagonist of the game from now on. By remembering his true identity, Celian - or Hugues - also concludes that his castle would be the place where he would hide something he didn't want anyone to ever find.
In the end, the player defeats both the Grandmaster and Isaiah - from the Inquisition - and a choice is put before him: does he want to destroy (option defended by Marie) or to keep (option defended by Roland - who pops up virtually out of nowhere) the Holy Grail? The result of the option only affects the final words of the narrator without any other consequences.
Gameplay
The game may be played solo or cooperatively either way Celian is always present with its partner being alternated between Roland and Marie.The three characters may be defined in a traditional action roleplaying game style - much like that of Dungeons and Dragons - as a Fighter (Roland), a Rogue/Assassin (Marie) and a Paladin (Celian).
The main action is about swordplay with attacks and shield - or sword - defenses being central. Minor skills are also in existence some being common to all characters and some being exclusive to one or another. Magic is an absent concept being Celian's prayer ability the only one resembling it. The enemies are also of an unmagic kind.
Reception
The First Templar received mostly average reviews; on the review aggregation s ite metacriticMetacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
the PC version received an aggregate score of 57% (as of Oct 2011); the combat system, visual style and story received some positive feedback, but was criticised for a dated design, and budget game quality, the Xbox 360 version also received mostly average reviews, and similar feedback to the PC version scoring 52% (as of Oct 2011) on metacritc,
The Eurogamer
Eurogamer
Eurogamer is a Brighton-based website focused on video games news, reviews, previews and interviews. It is operated by Eurogamer Network Ltd., which was formed in 1999 by brothers Rupert and Nick Loman. Eurogamer has grown to become one of the most important European-based websites focused on...
review described it as "..the good kind of 6/10, the sort of zero-expectation, low-budget game that approaches the score from below .. [and] .. a decent hack-and-slash brawler ... Not a great one"., GameZone
GameZone
GameZone is an American multiplatform video game website. GameZone's daily coverage includes reviews, previews, news, hints & cheats, and editorials. Additionally, GameZone offers downloads, a child-targeted website and in association with GameStop, hosts GZGameShop, an online retailer...
gave the game a 3.5 out of 10, stating "This is a game that you’re going to want to like. You’re going to want it to succeed, but it’ll only let you down. The entire time you’ll be thinking about what they could have done differently and better."
External links
- The First Templar at Kalypsomedia.com
- The First Templar Official website.
- Interview with designer of The First Templar' Gamestar.com