Assassin’s Creed Review

Platform: Xbox 360, PS3 (reviewed on 360)
ESRB: M for Mature
Genre: Stealth Action
Number of Players: 1
Publisher: Ubisoft
Release Date: November 14th, 2007
Official Website
Writer: KagoMegan

Rating: 9.7
Buy

Assassin’s Creed is one of those games that comes along once in a console generation that inevitably comes to define the genre. It tells the tale of the ancestor of an assassin who has strayed from the creed of his clan. His master attempts to teach him a lesson by stripping him of his rank and abilities (ever so conveniently) after the introductory sequence of the game. As you play through, you eventually unlock and upgrade abilities along the stages of the game as you successfully complete each major assassination.

You play as Desmond Miles, a former assassin himself, in the skin of one of his ancestors, Altair, via the technology of the Animus. Constructed by Abstergo, the Animus is is being run and used by a small team of scientists who work for the company. They are holding him captive in order to extract his ancestor’s memory and point the way to an ancient all-powerful artifact. Along the way a brilliant and engaging plot emerges from a beautiful, deep and intricately told story.

Graphics:
The graphics in Assassin’s Creed are beyond compare. As soon as you get into the game you will notice a stunning amount of detail on everything from the folds of Altair’s cloak to the bricks on the sides of the buildings. Not to mention the fact that whenever you climb a structure, you can literally see for miles. The character designs are outstanding and the facial details and movements are extremely close to reality. At any point in the game in which you acquire an upgrade, the weapon that he uses actually changes. Whenever you climb a building, the climbing animations are dead on, never letting Altair miss a beat. Every little crack you see on a building can be used to climb it.

Controls:
The controls in this game are amazingly well done. Anytime you pick a fight with anyone, you have the option of how to attack them. There are a few different ways to fight your enemy. There’s a simple counter system wherein you tap X at the right time while blocking to do a one hit kill counter. There’s also the offensive version which is a little more difficult. There are also different reactions from the AI depending on the circumstance. Attack a civilian with a weapon, and you’re in trouble with the guards. However, a barehanded fight will cause the guards to stand by and watch you duke it out. It is, however, frustrating at times when you’re trying to move swiftly through a crowd or from rooftop to rooftop as the same button for sprinting makes you run up a wall.

Flow:
The game has a wonderful pace that you can choose yourself. It is non-linear, but not overwhelmingly so. Some of the cut scenes are seamlessly interactive where you can run up to a mission point and all of a sudden you are right in the action. There are also a number of “memory glitches” which are glitches in the Animus’ system and require you to press a button (any button) to view the action from a different angle. The missions get a bit repetitive, but all-in-all it’s up to you to choose how you play. You aren’t forced to play every single mission to beat the game. Using altered references from the historical era in which the game takes place in unique way allows this game to really connect to it’s audience like no other through real life references.

Fun Factor:
I can tell you now, I’ve never had so much fun slaughtering random bad guys. Running around rooftops and constantly hiding from pissed off guards was ever so much fun. My favorite thing to do was throw daggers at unsuspecting guards from adjacent rooftops, causing them to fall into the crowd of civilians and create a scene of screaming civilians and shocked guards. The game doesn’t do needless things such as make you traverse the entire world to get from point A to point B either. Once you have visited an area, they allow you to teleport (basically fast forward the memory) to the town of choice. This element removes a lot of the needless romping through the gigantic Kingdom to your next destination.

Female Aspect:
The only major female role in the game is played by that of Veronica Mars’ Kristen Bell who’s face and voice they have applied to the character of Lucy. Lucy is a very interesting character who looks after Desmond while he spends some quality time at Abstergo. She is responsible for some of the best plot twists in the game.

Replay Value:
You will want to replay this game just for the sheer fun of it. But there are also the hundreds of collectibles in the form of flags for the hardcore scout to go after. There are also 60 Templars hidden throughout the vast world for you to find and kill. They’re supposed to be harder to beat than regular guards, but you can also cheat a little by knocking them to the ground then slicing away. Once you beat the game, you’re free to replay any scenario of the game from any section that you choose without loosing your extra collectibles. This gives the game a tremendous replay value. There are a few secrets in the game as well, no necessary to complete the game of course, but they do add greatly to the story.

Assassin’s Creed is an incredible masterpiece of a game that I recommend everyone to play through at least once. The gameplay will suck you in and the story will keep you hooked long after it’s over.