Assassin's Creed

My best friends were always pestering me to try the "Assassin's Creed" games, but I would tell them every single time that I wasn't interested, mostly because I had no idea what they were about. So, on one of my last trips to my favorite game store (before it shut down), I saw the first game in the series on the shelf for $13.99, and I had the money, so I picked it up.

I'm glad I did.

First up, story. In this game, it has been discovered that the memories of past people are passed down as genes through their descendants, and an unnamed scientific organization has built a machine called the Animus, that it allows them to access these memories. The organization has kidnapped a man named Desmond Miles, a bartender who is a descendant of a Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad, a member of the Assassins (a real-life eponymous group who existed at the time). On a mission, he violated all three tenets of the Assassin's Creed, and he is sent out on a mission to kill nine specific members of the Knights Templar to regain his honor. The organization won't let Desmond leave until they get the information they want from him, through the Animus. The story is well done. Altaïr's character develops, and many of the conversations that other characters have with him are deep and thought provoking. It manages to keep you playing.

Next, sound. The music (what little there is) is good and fits the situation when it's there, but is fairly forgettable and not outstanding. The sound effects are done better, but the sounds of the blades clashing together is loud and obnoxious. The voice acting is done very well. Everyone delivers a strong performance, and the voices fit for everyone.

Next, graphics. The landscapes tend to glow one color, and there is very little detail put into most characters (especially the Templars). Altaïr and Majd Addin are the best looking models in the game, but Altaïr simply carries a lot of gear, and Majd Addin has a simple pattern on his robe. However, the buildings and clothing that the characters wear are very accurate to the time, no matter where you are.

Finally, game play. Your goal for every target is simple: learn what you can about them by conducting three specific investigation types (interrogation, eavesdropping, or pickpocketing), get approval from the head Assassin in the city, then go and kill the target. There are a few things you can do along the way, which usually consist of the following: saving citizens from guards that are harassing them, climbing tall buildings known as viewpoints and surveying the environment to reveal parts of the map, and helping fellow Assassins in each city with a specific task. There is some variety in the side missions, and that is appreciated, but unfortunately, the game is so focused on the main objective and taking steps to accomplish. You feel like you're doing something wrong if you don't work towards the main goal the whole time. That being said, the assassination jobs are fairly straightforward, and are fun to play through. The control, however, is a bit stiff. The letter buttons are presented as being linked to a part of Altaïr's body; A for the legs, X for the right arm, B for the left arm, and Y for the head (these are Xbox controls, translate them for yourself if you have a PS3). However, it's a fancy way of saying that these buttons run, fight, and use Eagle Vision. Altaïr moves very stiffly on the ground, and every movement feels like it needs to be forced. Additionally, Eagle Vision can only be used you are standing still and at full sync. Because of this, you may get very, very frustrated within the first few hours of playing it (I got so mad, I was considering returning the game). However, stick with it. You will eventually become better and better at controlling Altaïr's movements, and by the end, he will move naturally. The free running element is done well and flows when done just right. Lastly, the stealth. This game employs a social stealth system that can make or break a mission. There are 5 stealth settings: Anonymous, Vanished, Vanishing, Unseen, and Exposed. Anonymous is what you (should) desire, at all times, as guards will not interfere with any of your actions at these time. If you are Exposed, you have committed a crime and the guards will attempt to kill you. Unseen means that they have lost sight of you, but are still on the hunt. Vanished and Vanishing can only be achieved by using a hiding spot, and the guards will not find you in either of these states. You can sit on benches, hide in roof gardens, or blend with scholars to hide. It's well done, but you can spend a long time in Exposed, because the guards are spaced all over the cities, so it can be hard to escape and go back to Anonymous status.

Lastly, the content. While the game is rated M, it's only because of blood and violence, and language; there is no gore whatsoever. Some of the kills that Altaïr can perform are somewhat brutal, such as kicking a man in the kneecap, and then stabbing them in the neck with a short sword. Blood emerges from the wound and dissipates into a red mist in the air. However, it disappears in less than a second, and the blood can be turned off entirely in the options menu. Overall, I really don't think it deserves the M rating. There is no gore, and blood can be removed entirely.

To end it, the story is great, the sound and graphics are okay, but the game play and controls are great if you can get past the stiffness. This is certainly not the best game I've ever played, but it is a great game regardless.

For me, this game comes incredibly close to being a masterpiece. But it's let down in just one area, and unfortunately it's a key one. The missions.

It has a great many positives, for example:

Graphics. The graphics are good enough that the game is still perfectly playable today, especially the environment models, however I would say the character faces are somewhat lacking.

Mechanics. The game still plays beautifully, the combat mechanics are extremely good fun, as is all the parkour. It isn't as smooth as a modern game but who would expect it to be, that's just advancement.

Story. The story is brilliant. It's clever, interesting in my opinion the games best aspect. If anything it is worth playing just for the story, as it sets up the series, and for that reason, the game is a must play for any assassin's creed fan who hasn't already played it.

However, there is one huge negative to an otherwise great game. The missions are far too repetitive. They essentially consist of go to a place, gather information, kill person. It feels like they put so much effort and creativity into the overarching story that they just forgot about the missions within that. Additionally, it's quite tedious to have to ride between locations the first few times, as the horse riding isn't fun in itself and the area between the cities isn't too much to look at.

Overall, although the missions cause the game to have little replayability, it is definitely worth playing once, especially now it is reasonably cheap, even if you're only playing it for the great story.

A rare beauty of this game just tickled the inner thigh of my brain when I first saw the trailer for this game. First I thought I can't play this, I don't have a proper machine for this. But, years later I bought a new, proper machine, and I got this game. And fu*k me sideways that was a brutal experience. That was definitely one of the most beautiful games I have ever played.

Perhaps, the best thing I like, is the FACT that the game is based upon some historical events. Finally, an educational video game, that makes you want to read a book. To do a little research yourself. So, we are going to talk about this special stuff here. First of all graphics - holy sh*t! They are awesome! Greatly done graphics. The sound effects are great. Visually, the game is very, very beautiful. The landscapes, the characters (characters visually and their personality, also), the way they created Damascus and Jerusalem, that was impressive! Music score was good, very atmospheric, fits perfectly in the game.

The story is good, I don't know how precise is, when it comes to the historical events, but it's up to you to do a research. Now, you are an assassin (a word that comes from Arabic 'hashashin', the killer sect that used to assassinate specific people, war leaders, religious leaders, politicians, etc ) named Altair. The name 'hashashin' constantly reminded me of Eddie Izzard's famous joke about hashish and Arab assassins. Altair makes a mistake in the first mission which is actually a tutorial, but after that, his leader strips away his skills and weapons, so that you can go and start the game properly, and to upgrade yourself sh*t But, before that you realize that the gameplay is actually an virtual memory image from a guy named Desmond Miles, who is a descendant of Altair. And he is kidnapped and persuaded to take place in an scientific experiment to discover deepest memories of ancestors via machine called Amnibus. Sounds pretty cool, right? Now, every time you lay down on amnibus, you become Altair. And then, you take various missions, assassinations primarily, pickpocket, spying on people, interrogation and other minor challenges. The gameplay is decent, not that hard, you just need to adapt to these kind of controls, and to a fact that this is an third person, adventure stealth game. I don't like stealth games, I prefer first person shooters, where I can enter the But, after this game, I learn to love stealth in video games more. You really need patience for this game, for every moment of it, because, here's the thing that makes me angry. The cut scenes are pretty long, it takes a pretty long time to enter the game, it takes a hell of a lot more to exit the damn thing so just give patience and everything will be just fine. And get use to the controls, sometimes Altair can be clumsy in battle and sometimes it happens that he can't grab onto a building, but you need to get use to it. So, that's about it, take your console, and go ride assassinate, survive, adapt, hide and defile evil and traitorous enemies.

Let's start with the good... - The game is smooth and looks very good - The Parkour is very good - The combat is great - The story is great - It was very innovative at the time

Now the bad... - Incredibly repetitive - Ridiculously frustrating at times - Often boring

Not a great game, but it's playable. The main reason for playing would be the story. I'm just getting into the series, and I wanted to start from the very beginning, which is basically the only reason anyone would ever have to play it.

Compared to some of the other additions in the franchise, this game is horrible. But compared to E.T. The Video Game, this game is The Shawshank Redemption. It's all about perspective.

Assassin's Creed is basically a cross between Grand Theft Auto and the Hit-man series set during the Third Crusades. The game has a strange premise, it is both set in 2012 and 1191 and you play two characters. In 2012 the main character is Desmond a former assassin who is kidnapped by a company called Abstergo who wanted to access the memories of one of his ancestor. Abstergo place him in a machine called the Animas and the theory behind it was that DNA also contends the memories of out ancestors. In 1191 the playable character is Altaïr Ibn La-Ahad, an assassin. He is a young skilled assassin, but also an argonant man. After a mission to Solomon's temple which led to death of one of his companions Altair was demoted and had to work his way back to ranks (its all an excuse to teach you new skills). The master of the creed sends Altair on missions to assassin leading Knight Templars who had taken control of key cities.

The game is action packed and takes you the cities of Jersulaum, Damasacus and Arce and it does take a little getting use to. But once you master it then the gameplay is pretty easy. It is also very cinematic in it approach and violence with the sword play. The plot is weak, but it doesn't matter so much with games.

However I did find two major problems with the games. First I found it too easy and repetitive; the games doesn't challenge you as much as GTA and Hit-man do and you are just repeating yourself with your actions. Secondly the games is too short and ends too quickly.

It is a decent game a sequel is one its way.