Alright! I get to review Assassin's Creed! Let's chat about it.
First of all, this game is about an Assassin (duh) named Altair. He works for his leader by helping take out the Knights Templars, who are a threat to the kingdom in Masyaf. (did I spell it right?) Actually, when I first played this game, it was way different from what I expected. You think that's what the game is about, but what it's really about is a former Assassin in the present, who experiences his ancestors life through a simulator. Personally, I think the game was better off without that simulator, because those scenes are kind of boring and unnecessary, and the game was better off with just the ancestor. Also there's a tutorial where the simulator uses a robotic voice to teach you. Ancient things and modern things weren't put well together in this game, so point's off for that.
Graphics are the most impressive I've seen from any game to date. You can see everything in the game from a distance, there are a bunch of people in the streets which Altair pushes aside very realistically, and jumping from a really tall building is graphically amazing. There are 4 cities, Jerusalem, Acre, Damascus, and Masyaf. I like visiting Jerusalem, it's colorful, cheerful, and fun to explore. Acre is the worst, because everything is too........... grey. But, most of the fun missions are there. (sigh) Then there's Damascus, where everything is different shades of brown. Well, at least it's not GREY!
But one thing I have a problem with in the game, is the text. I don't have widescreen, and even if you have a 24 in standard, I still can barely see the font.
Controls are solid, top notch, and weird. Why weird? The buttons are assigned to your body parts. Y (triangle) for head, X (square) for left hand, B (circle) for right hand, and A (X) for your feet. You can even ride a horse. The right trigger activates high profile (in other words, run). For some reason, the LB button doesn't do anything. You even have four weapons, but most of your attacks are tied to your left hand. The attack combos change depending whether your tapping or holding the left hand button. Sometimes you can grab and throw people with your right hand, which is fun when you toss them over the roof or into collapsing wooden structures. Ha! Take that!
How fun is this game? Well, there are many different ways to complete your objectives, so that adds to the entertainment. Sometimes, there's only one way to do it. But basically it's like this:
Wow, this is very repetitive. How did this game get a high replay value? Step 5, you can do any of those things in any order, and there are plenty of missions. Digging up dirt on you enemy is repetitive, you eavesdrop, interrogate, pick pocket, and do other people's dirty work, such as collect flags, kill three guys, something else... Going to the Assassin's Guild is just a long boring chat waiting to happen. One time, it was fun to listen too, but talking to your leader is another story, because it's as boring as reading a book. The game is fun when you kill your assassination target. I chased a fat guy down with my stabbing knife. Really fun!
Anyways, Step 4 is fun. Seriously, just tell me "HEY! Go jump off a building," and I'll pop in the game and do it. WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!
So, as for a score, lets tally up. Playability's good, music's good, concept's good. I jump off buildings, it's fun.
I hate Acre, why do they make me go there? It's so dull! Game is repetitive 90% of the time, which is annoying. Text is tiny, but you can fix it by changing the screen format on your system.
And for some oddball reason, you can't swim. A skilled assassin can't swim. He drowns. Wow! But, that adds to the challenge in some conditions.
Overall score... 9. 5. I could make it higher if I wanted, but I didn't. The only problem is the repetitive missions, but jumping off roof tops, traversing buildings, and sneaking and killing your target is bad butt fun. So, pick up this game when you see it, and give it a shot. Find out if you'll like it.
Good Review
A decent review... but dated seeing as how we now have Ezio and Assassin's Creed 2 to play.