Enthusiast blog Go Nintendo has obtained the boxart for a prequel to the Assassin’s Creed, named Assassin’s Creed: Altair’s Chronicles. The game is compiled for the Nintendo DS and the story takes place sometime before the events in the console version. It is rated Teen by the ESRB for violence.

To be released in February, in the new game for the DS the touch screen can be used to pickpocket the unsuspecting, and rough up informants for information while navigating through well-designed 3D environments.

The original game, developed by Ubisoft’s Montreal Studio runs on PC, Xbox 360 and PS3. The first game in the Assassin’s Creed franchise is set in 1191 AD, when the Third Crusade was tearing the Holy Land apart. Shrouded in secrecy and feared for their ruthlessness, the Assassins intend to stop the hostilities by suppressing both sides of the conflict. Players, assuming the role of the main character Altair, will have the power to throw their immediate environment into chaos and to shape events during this pivotal moment in history.

The France-based developer Gameloft also created the mobile edition of the game last year, as well as the Xbox Live Arcade revamping of the classic Prince of Persia. Gameloft also won an award for "Best Mobile Games Studio" which was given by The Develop Industry Excellence Awards.