Controls

From Assassin's Creed Wiki

The controls in Assassin's Creed are quite different than the typical setup.

Instead of each specific action being directly linked to a unique button (such as A to attack, B to jump, etc.), UbiSoft has assigned the four face buttons (A/B/X/Y on Xbox 360 and cross/circle/square/triangle on PS3) to four major body parts - head, feet, weapon hand, and free hand. When pressing these buttons, sometimes in conjunction with the analog stick, the game determines what action should be executed based on the situation at the time. An example would be running up to a short wall. If you press the "feet" button (A on Xbox 360, cross on PS3) you will jump on top or over it, while pressing the free hand button (B on Xbox 360, circle on PS3) will make you vault over it. Also, moving through the environment, such as walking, running, climbing, jumping from beam to beam, or swinging from pole to pole, is practically all done with just the left analog stick.

The right trigger/R1 button acts as a modifier. While holding it and the "feet" button down, you activate probably the most important action of the game - free run. If you simply run up to a building with free run active, you will often be able to jump up to a handhold and climb up the building, without any additional button presses. With free run you can also perform the amazing feats seen in the gameplay videos.

A common use for the "head" button is the Intuition feature seen in gameplay demos. Activating it gives you a "eagle eye" or "mind's eye" view of the crowd around you, in which any foes will stand out visually with a glowing effect around them.