The twist in Assassin’s Creed, released on Xbox 360 and PS3 today, has been a closely guarded secret. Even the developer, Ubisoft, has given little clues as to what it might be. And although we mentioned it briefly inour recent review, we thought it was about time to blow the whole thing wide open. Warning: Spoilers ahead

You play as Desmond Miles who is plugged into a machine, called an Animus, that can render genetic memories in 3D. Using this machine Desmond can revisit memories that are imbedded in his DNA, allowing him to experience exactly what his ancestors did thousands of years ago. And it’s in these memories that Altair, Desmond’s ancestor, becomes the central character and where most of the game takes place.

You will occasionally be “unplugged” and returned to the real world where you’ll get to wander around the lab before your next session. But these moments aren’t just filler, as it’s here that you’ll learn things that’ll cast a disturbing new light onyour ancestorsstory.