| Product: |
Assassin's Creed (Xbox 360) |
| Date: |
07.02.08 (87 review reads) |
| Rating: |
 |
Advantages: Beautiful world, animation, reasonably compelling story.
Disadvantages: A little slow at times, kinda repetitive missions.
~ # ~ What's it about? ~ # ~
Well you play a character called Desmond Miles, a mild mannered bar keep who is forced to go back in time by a team of science types using a machine called the Animus. Desmond is the descendant of a long long line of assassin's and as such contains within him a deep connection with his ancestors memories, (so we're told), and the Animus machine is able to relive the memories from the host, i.e. Desmond. Taken back into the past to the Third Crusade the majority of the game is played as Desmond's long dead relative Altaïr (Flying Eagle in Arabic apparently) who is a disgraced member of the assassin brotherhood who must redeem himself by carrying out 9 assassinations of 9 historical figures who according to history and Ubisoft who developed the game existed and died or disappeared during the crusades.
So that is the general gist of it, do away with 9 people who are all in some way linked together, although you learn more about this as the game goes on. To this you must start as a basic assassin stripped of many of the cool weapons and move of which you are given a taste of early on in the game when the crusaders invade the assassin town of Masyaf. Following this initial prelude to the game play you must build up your weapons and abilities by completing each of the assassinations where upon you are reinstated to the next grade.
~ # ~ The Game World ~ # ~
Frankly this is where the game really shines. The Kingdom is huge and soooooo beautifully created. You begin in the modern labs of the organisation running the experiment where you are brought back to at various times throughout the game. From here you are teleported into the Masyaf assassin stronghold which is a fortress and small township in the mountains. From Masyaf you can ride your horse into the main Kingdom which is a sparsely populated landscape of mountains, planes and canyons which link the 4 main cities together. Each of the 4 main cities is further divided into 3 areas, each of which are locked to you until you have completed relevant tasks and assassinations. The 3 areas are known as the poor, middle and rich districts and tend to contain relevant people for each class with bustling markets in the poor and middle district and big stone buildings in the rich district although you could be forgiven for not noticing any difference as it's not really relevant to the game.
All the areas and stunning and very well drawn etc and if you persevere to the end of the game you will need to be prepared to dedicate some considerable time to getting through it as it really is a big game.
~ # ~ Game play ~ # ~
Control of Altair is through the tried and tested third person view and the character animation is no less amazing than the game world with fluid movements and realistic facial movement in the cut scenes which are done in game as many next gen games are now. Controls are fairly easy to master with no complex button combinations to learn. You are able to move in both slow and quick movements but some situations require stealth and patience so as not to draw attention to yourself, not every situation is possible but running in blades flailing so be prepared to take you time with certain missions.
Movement - The real beauty in this game is the free running movement where you hold the trigger and just run and your character will climb, leap and clamber in fluid motion across roof tops and through busy streets leaping through market stalls and diving over walls, this really is fun and easy to master. My only gripe is the Gears of War problem of the character suddenly grabbing onto a ledge as he passes causing you to fall into the clutches of the guards chasing so allow for this giving a clear birth of things you don't want to grab onto. This is really the only floor in otherwise impressive movement system.
Fighting - For those times when you can't make a clean run for it, and there are many, you will need to fight for your life against many enemies at the same time. More often than not you will find yourself surrounded by half a dozen or more soldiers of varying strength and difficulty, generally speaking the more armour they are wearing the harder it is to dispatch them. For the most part they will attack one at a time and you must time your attacks and counter attacks carefully. Each of these can be practiced in Masyaf before going out on the main missions. I find it easiest to block and wait for attack and then counter and in the main this will result in a short animation of Asair running through his prey in one of many blood spurting ways. Again the animation is great and battles can last for a few minutes before you run for hiding leaving a pile of bodies behind you. You have a variety of weapons ranging from a trusty sword to bare fists. Best to start of a fight with the short dagger when you have many enemies as the movement is quicker than the full sword which can quickly be selected as you deplete their numbers and finish off the last two or three in style. As the game progresses you will gain a variety of new attacks including throwing knives which are good for those pesky archers who will try and keep their distance and fire on you from the roof tops. Fights are satisfying but brutal and many.
~ # ~ The Missions ~ # ~
As well as the obvious 9 assassination missions you also have a veritable feast of side mission to complete if you wish, on arriving in a city you will be able to explore one area of the 3 possible to begin with and the only location on your map will be the assassins guide building, make your way here first in order to get permission for the hit and then head out into the city.
Flags - First off there are flags hidden all over the game world which you can collect but there are a lot of em and some are well hidden. Apart from the satisfaction of collecting them and a few gamer points you don't seem to gain much more.
Templars - These are rock hard knight type crusaders who are dotted around the world about 60 in total and take a good battle to finish off. Again finish them all for a gamer point type reward.
Saving Citizens - In each city you will find a number of people being harassed by groups of soldiers, save em, do away with the bullies and a group of vigilante types will line the street to help hinder any pursuers when you make a run for it.
Eves Drop - Find pairs of chatting people and you can take seat on a nearby bench and listen in to find out useful information about your target and their surroundings.
Interrogations - Certain public speakers can be battered in a fist fight which is not the most satisfying event in the game but the reward for the scruffy looking bit of game play is more information on the target and surroundings.
Pick Pocket - These are infuriating missions where you listen in from a distance and then follow the target before attempting to grab whatever they are carrying without being seen. This is easier typed out than done and may take a couple of goes, which means running off and hiding for a bit and then going back to have another go.
Eagle View Points - In each area there are several high points, towers and tall buildings usually which you climb in a slightly too easy fashion for my liking in order to get a good look around the area you're in. By doing this you will be able to find all of the other missions mentioned previously which will not be on the map until you climb one of these high points which are signified by circling eagles. I sort of want the climbing routes to be harder but most points you can just run on up the side.
You need to complete about half of these missions in each area to be allowed to carry out the hit but if you're like me you'll want to go back and do all the missions or the game won't feel done, word of warning, do them all while you're there or you will have to do them all again if you don't because they don't stay done once you have killed your mark.
~ # ~ Other Bits ~ # ~
You can hide around the world when you raise suspicion, this needs to be taken with a pinch of salt as they don't look very hard once you are hidden although you can't use a hiding place whilst pursuers can see you. You can hide in hay stacks, in little tent like boxes on the roof tops or by simply sitting on a bench which is the least believable but you'll be pleased it works when your being chased by a dozen sword wielding lunatics.
Other civvy type characters are also important in the game as they can help you through guard posts by allowing you to pretend to be a monk and walking with them. Others carry pots and if you knock them down then as the pot breaks you will raise suspicion so be careful, you can blend in to the crowd if your careful or if your clumsy then they'll expose you to the guards, nice feature of the game.
~ # ~ Disappointing Bits ~ # ~
When you climb really really high buildings you can swan dive off into hay piles, not wholly realistic but hey a small gripe.
Glitchy moments as you run, i.e. getting caught on things so keep a wide birth when being chased.
Some missions are repetitive but somehow I never seems to really get bored, odd because I know it was just the same format 10 times over with slightly harder guards each time.
~ # ~ Good Bits ~ # ~
Stunning graphics, animation, good storyline and pretty good game play.
~ # ~ Overall ~ # ~
This is a great adventure/action game which looks better than it plays but it looks amazing so the fact that game play is only good is not really an issue. Sometimes you wonder why you are still saving people running about another city but somehow you never stop. The storyline is good and characters are believable and set in a realistic world. This is game worth playing and if you can pick it up for about £30 then I highly recommended.
Summary: If you can get it for about £30 I recomment this...
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