Assassin's Creed

This is Assassin's Creed at its most simple. But simplicity isn't bad, mind you. In fact, it's this game's rawness that still makes it feel a bit different than what followed.

As the very first game of its kind and the first entry to one of the largest gaming franchises, it definitely feels like its goal was to set the foundation of what was to come. In other words, setting up an ambitious and promising framework. As a result, AC1 takes some risks. It's avant-garde in nature, but it's that very nature that makes the subsequent titles seem so sanitized and accessible in comparison.

AC1's story is daring and thought-provoking, questioning life on Earth and religion. It's very much a game that prioritizes its themes over a deep character arc and a nuanced plot. Altaïr's character arc is still good, just not as prominent as one would expect. The plot is straight forward, but leaves enough room for the mysterious and thematically-driven narrative to flex its muscles. The storytelling feels very akin to Ghost in the Shell (1995) at times, with lots of dialogue and philosophical discussions. But the arguments presented here are genuinely well thought-out, and that is partly due to the strong script. Then there's also the suspensefully mysterious worldbuilding that makes the story much more expansive than it already is. The ability to leave the player with more questions than answers, but in a fair and compelling way, is the story's greatest strength.

The gameplay may seem simple on the surface (because it is), but there's more going on when you actually engage and experiment with it. The parkour may seem slow when you engage with it in a casual way, but when you add a bit of tactic, you'll realize that there's a deeper system behind it than you originally thought (even with special animations that you wouldn't see via casual play). The combat sees a similar level of depth, but to a lesser extent. Another interesting layer to the gameplay is the marriage of narrative exposition and how it can open up opportunities during gameplay. Doing certain missions will inform you about secret pathways for assassinating targets - granted, the player remembers that information.

Lastly, there's the atmosphere and art direction. AC1 has a bleak and gritty look, but the atmosphere and art direction go hand-in-hand very well. Certain environments are characterized by particular color schemes and the soundtrack informs the player of what kind of culture and history settles in these environments. A lot of the time, during story moments, this game has a very eerie vibe to it. The mix of ominous sci-fi and dark history only makes the atmosphere even more unsettling.

AC1, despite being the most simplistic game in the mainline series, still feels like the most unique entry. Its ideas are presented in ways that have been trivialized in later games. Its much more niche because of that. The series would go on to be a much more accessible historical/sci-fi epic, but this first entry is what Assassin's Creed could've been. An eerie and challenging series that analyses philosophy and questions conspiracies.

One of the pinnacles of my childhood; a game I've probably played and beaten 10 different times since I've owned it. Before this game, I never played anything like it; it truly was something special in my eyes back in the day. Altair was a character I embodied; when I wasn't playing this game, I would pretend I was an assassin just like him, pretending to climb churches and towers, jumping from roof to roof tracking my target, and finally, sprinting and thrusting my hidden blade into my opponents neck.

Yeah, this game was one of those games I incorporated in my personality. And now rediscovering it in my mid 20's, it's a damn fine throwback to my childhood, to the frameworks of the Assassins Creed franchise, and to freerunning video games in general.

This game introduces a bunch of lore/mechanics/characters that would be extremely important to the future of the Assassins Crees franchise, most notably, The Animus(the machine you use to see in the past), Abstergo Industries (the corporation that runs the animus project), Desmond (the main character you play as in present day), Altair( the Master Assassin you play as in the 1200s), The Assassin Brotherhood (the secret society you pledge your allegiance to as Altair), and well, a artifact that changes the entire scope of the game (and becomes the basis for the franchise) toward the end. Many of the mechanics become basis like wall climbing, parkour, stealth among crowds, assassinating fellow targets, combat like hidden blades, swords, throwing knives, and of course, synchronizing locations by climbing tall structures. All of it becomes the staple to the series, and is quite impressive to see all of it done so well in the very first entry.

When I first played this as a kid, I could follow along the story to an extent, but doing the quests involving Altair finding, killing, and then questioning his targets, it never really clicked as a kid. Replaying them now as an adult, the games plot makes way more sense, and gives the viewer 2 different POVs with every assassination you uptake. Also something I never noticed with the game; before going back to the Assassin hideout to turn in your evidence, if you go to every viewpoint in the area and synchronize it, you can get more investigation missions to do, which I can't say fleshed out A TON of plot, but I think it was enough to add to the game is a positive way. The side stuff, like saving villagers, wasn't bad, although just one of those repetitive side missions that end up giving assistance with guards. The one thing I absolutely, and I mean, ABSOLUTELY, despised was the flags and templars. Now, don't get me wrong; I really enjoy finding collectibles and discovering areas of the map I wouldn't normally check out in main missions, but how this game handles them are so ridiculous. For one (and this is the biggest factor) none of the collectibles or templars are shown on your map. You cant use eagle vision to find them either, so you literally would have to scour each area thoroughly to even come close to finding all of them. Second, there are over 400 flags to find, none of which show up on your mini-map or don't have any indicators at all except when you're physically looking at one. I'm sorry, but this is stupid, and I'm forced to use a guide to find all of em. And what do you get when you find all the maysaf flags? Nothing. What about the King Richard flags? Nothing. Oh, but the Damascus flags??? Still nothing. Yeah, the flags don't do anything except unlock you a anchoevment, so I wouldn't recommend it to casual gamers. Only diehard assassins creed fans or achievements hunters should go for it. Now, at this point in my playthrough, I only needed to collect the Jerusalem flags and kill the last 10 templars in Jerusalem, but for some reason, I decided to take a hiatus. The hiatus ended up lasting an entire year, but recently I started it back up to finish it and guess what? The cloud saved data was corrupted.... So I painstakingly started the game back from the beginning, with the goal to just beat the game, do all side missions, but only getting the Jersusalem flags and killing all 60 Templars since those were the only 2 achievements I didn't get yet. Replaying the game ONCE again, I would of thought it would of been more annoying having to go through it all again, but surprisingly, this game has a neat nostalgic feel to me that always transports me to its era, always picking up on some dialogue I missed the first 10 times I've played it. After replaying and collecting the remainder of the achievements, witnessing the ending to this game once again was a great time. Brung back plenty of memories, especially back in 2010 playing and witnessing that twist ending for the first time.

If you haven't played this yet, I would recommend if you enjoy 3rd person RPGs with heavy story, as while this game does seem to end right when it gets super interesting, it's a awesome setup to what's to come to the franchise.

Assassin's Creed delivers a new generation of game play. A bit of how the grand theft auto games are set up; you can do the missions, but you can just free-roam as you please! This game also had a great storyline that had everyone questioning. This game has four awesome weapons at your disposal (well sort of 5 as throwing knives and the short sword are of the same block) the sword, the hidden blade (my favorite), the short sword and throwing knives, and the legitimate weapon for thugs, fists. A great buy EPIC! (great price as well)I think anyone can enjoy it, and it being on a wide variety of platforms makes it one of the greatest games of all time.

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.

I just love this game, parkcore through buildings and excelent mechanics make this game fun and amazing. The campaign is amazing with a story that leaves you wanting more.