Stop the presses—there’s a new game-to-film adaptation, and it’s… it’s actually pretty good. Yeah, I know; us gamers have suffered through some pretty awful movies, hoping that they would live up to the games they were based on, but let’s face it—in the past, the ambition was there, but the technology and acting quite frankly wasn’t even close. Assassin’s Creed Lineage is a three-part short film series looking to change that, though, and it’s doing a laudable job so far.

I’ll admit that the film’s abuse of the green screen (or blue screen… red screen?) was incredibly apparent, but it seems as though that was for the better, as the various vistas looked much sharper for it. I’ll even admit that the action was a lot slower than what’s expected of anything involved with Assassin’s Creed, in that Giovanni, the film’s protagonist, moved much slower than Altair ever did. But the small missteps in replicating the formula of the game definitely shouldn’t overshadow what was done properly here.

First of all, we’ve finally got a watchable cinematic adaptation of a game. Second of all, it faithfully represents an integral layer of the Assassin’s Creed plotline without contradicting the plot of the video games. And third of all, it has done all of this within less than fifteen minutes, which is a key factor. Lately everyone has been actively acknowledging their addiction to having instant access to sizeable amounts of media. With episodic content on the rise, emergent gameplay heading into the forefront, and DLC gaining extensive support, it is critical that Assassin’s Creed Lineage provides the most entertainment it can offer in the smallest window of time possible if Ubisoft is ever to capitalize on the opportunity it has.

And Ubisoft’s unique approach to delivering its story outside the gaming world will have lasting effects on all of us inside the gaming world. If Lineage proves to be a flop, it’s likely that such a venture will never again be attempted, and it may fall into the endless pit that is the collection of failed innovations in the gaming industry. But should Lineage do well and put more money in Ubisoft’s pocket, we may eventually find that a Halo movie isn’t such a stretch after all (despite the project’s current lack of a director). Perhaps we’ll even see games like Super Mario Galaxy be translated into animated films as charming as Shrek or Ice Age.

The possibilities are immeasurable in amount, and definitely a reason above all else to be rooting for Assassin’s Creed Lineage. That is, of course, assuming you aren’t a fan of the series on its own merits. If you already loved the film and were always a fan of the games, now you can show double the love. We’ll have to keep a close eye on Lineage as the remaining two episodes are released. The first can be found on youtube right now and is available in HD. As for the game it’s based on, Assassin’s Creed II is set for release on November 17^th.