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| The Entertainment Review |
| Genre: Action Developer: Ubisoft Publisher: Ubisoft |
“Assassin’s Creed” could have easily been one of the best games to be released in 2007. It is very impressive in a variety of ways, but
the developers made a few missteps along the way. A poor storyline, repetitive game play and poor AI lead to the downfall one of the
most promising titles to be released. Unfortunately it turns into just another action game.
Players take on the role of Altair, a member of the Hashshashin, or Assassins, a real life group that performed politically motivated
murders during the 11th and 13th centuries. Set in the Middle East during the third crusade, the game is full of historical facts. Players
play through three main cities, each that has obviously been well researched and amazingly recreated. All of the men that are to be
assassinated were real people that died or disappeared around the time that the game takes place. It is the attention to details and
historical accuracy that make this a very interesting game.
Though “Assassin’s Creed” is an action game, the story plays a very important role to the overall game. The story heavy title proves to
be a problem in the long run. There is a major twist in the story, one that will make players enjoy the game even more. Sadly, the big
twist is given to the players in the first five minutes of the game instead of towards the end of the game, where most twists should take
place. The moments that players take on the role of Altair are amazing and interesting, but every time the twist elements come into play,
the entire game grinds to a halt. With over ten to twelve hours of gaming experience the bounce between the two elements gets to be
very grating.
A weak storyline is nothing new to video games; it is the game play that really makes a big difference. “Assassin’s Creed” does a lot of
great things, it does some innovative things. It also does some things very poorly. Though the game never becomes a truly great
experience, there are a lot of elements in the game that lay the ground work for an incredible sequel. Each of the three major cities is
broke into three main sectors: poor, middle class and rich. That is nine sections for nine assassinations to take place. As standard
video game procedures go, a new section of the city is opened when players receive orders for a new target. It is only when all the
sections of the city are unlocked that players will be able to fully enjoy the best aspect of the game, vertical exploration.
Running along the rooftops and climbing buildings is a simple execution, but ends up being a lot of fun. When players begin sprinting
across rooftops, Altair will automatically leap from one rooftop to the next. This may sound like a cheat, but the action moves so quickly
in this game that this form of jumping is the best way to keep the game running smoothly. The fast and easy free run mode works well
and makes for some very enjoyable chases and escapes. Players are also able to make their way to the tops of buildings. When
players are finally at the top of buildings, they are able to check out View Points. View Points aren’t just for show in this game. When
players are on an assassination mission, a View Point allows players to spot certain people of interest. Players are required to
investigate at least three people for each assassination. The more investigations players perform the more information they will have
available about the target in question. This includes maps of guard locations, the proper place to attack the target and hints on how to
best proceed with the assassination.
If players happen to get caught by guards in the city during a chase, Altair can use his combat skills to get out of a sticky situation. The
combat system seems to be simple, but this time around players need to be able to do more than simply pull the trigger to attack.
Some may see this game almost like a dance game, based on rhythm. For those who learn this rhythm, it becomes quite easy to
dominate battles with impressive kills that never seem to get old. For those players who rely on button mashing, the combat system
will get old and frustrating.
If the game would have focused more on its open world, on being a little bit more clever, it could have turned out to be one of the most
exciting games ever created, but this title delivers too little. There are some amazing design decisions in the game. Though players
take on the role of an assassin, the final hour of game play breaks down into a series of combat exercises, there is no chance to be
stealthy, no rooftop attack opportunities, things that the game should have relied on. Players will fight and fight and continue to fight until
they finally reach the final boss. The game gets to be too slow and repetitive, a real shame because there are a lot of great things in
“Assassin’s Creed.” Unfortunately for the game, there were just as many bad things in the game as well.
For players who play the game for an hour, this is a great game. However, as the game progresses, the storylines and repetitive
quests begin to grow tiresome. There are a lot of great elements in the game, but they are lost among the laundry list of bad decisions
made in the development stages. If the good elements are carried over, and the bad elements are fixed, “Assassin’s Creed 2” could
be an amazing game, if it is ever created, which many should hope it will be.
the developers made a few missteps along the way. A poor storyline, repetitive game play and poor AI lead to the downfall one of the
most promising titles to be released. Unfortunately it turns into just another action game.
Players take on the role of Altair, a member of the Hashshashin, or Assassins, a real life group that performed politically motivated
murders during the 11th and 13th centuries. Set in the Middle East during the third crusade, the game is full of historical facts. Players
play through three main cities, each that has obviously been well researched and amazingly recreated. All of the men that are to be
assassinated were real people that died or disappeared around the time that the game takes place. It is the attention to details and
historical accuracy that make this a very interesting game.
Though “Assassin’s Creed” is an action game, the story plays a very important role to the overall game. The story heavy title proves to
be a problem in the long run. There is a major twist in the story, one that will make players enjoy the game even more. Sadly, the big
twist is given to the players in the first five minutes of the game instead of towards the end of the game, where most twists should take
place. The moments that players take on the role of Altair are amazing and interesting, but every time the twist elements come into play,
the entire game grinds to a halt. With over ten to twelve hours of gaming experience the bounce between the two elements gets to be
very grating.
A weak storyline is nothing new to video games; it is the game play that really makes a big difference. “Assassin’s Creed” does a lot of
great things, it does some innovative things. It also does some things very poorly. Though the game never becomes a truly great
experience, there are a lot of elements in the game that lay the ground work for an incredible sequel. Each of the three major cities is
broke into three main sectors: poor, middle class and rich. That is nine sections for nine assassinations to take place. As standard
video game procedures go, a new section of the city is opened when players receive orders for a new target. It is only when all the
sections of the city are unlocked that players will be able to fully enjoy the best aspect of the game, vertical exploration.
Running along the rooftops and climbing buildings is a simple execution, but ends up being a lot of fun. When players begin sprinting
across rooftops, Altair will automatically leap from one rooftop to the next. This may sound like a cheat, but the action moves so quickly
in this game that this form of jumping is the best way to keep the game running smoothly. The fast and easy free run mode works well
and makes for some very enjoyable chases and escapes. Players are also able to make their way to the tops of buildings. When
players are finally at the top of buildings, they are able to check out View Points. View Points aren’t just for show in this game. When
players are on an assassination mission, a View Point allows players to spot certain people of interest. Players are required to
investigate at least three people for each assassination. The more investigations players perform the more information they will have
available about the target in question. This includes maps of guard locations, the proper place to attack the target and hints on how to
best proceed with the assassination.
If players happen to get caught by guards in the city during a chase, Altair can use his combat skills to get out of a sticky situation. The
combat system seems to be simple, but this time around players need to be able to do more than simply pull the trigger to attack.
Some may see this game almost like a dance game, based on rhythm. For those who learn this rhythm, it becomes quite easy to
dominate battles with impressive kills that never seem to get old. For those players who rely on button mashing, the combat system
will get old and frustrating.
If the game would have focused more on its open world, on being a little bit more clever, it could have turned out to be one of the most
exciting games ever created, but this title delivers too little. There are some amazing design decisions in the game. Though players
take on the role of an assassin, the final hour of game play breaks down into a series of combat exercises, there is no chance to be
stealthy, no rooftop attack opportunities, things that the game should have relied on. Players will fight and fight and continue to fight until
they finally reach the final boss. The game gets to be too slow and repetitive, a real shame because there are a lot of great things in
“Assassin’s Creed.” Unfortunately for the game, there were just as many bad things in the game as well.
For players who play the game for an hour, this is a great game. However, as the game progresses, the storylines and repetitive
quests begin to grow tiresome. There are a lot of great elements in the game, but they are lost among the laundry list of bad decisions
made in the development stages. If the good elements are carried over, and the bad elements are fixed, “Assassin’s Creed 2” could
be an amazing game, if it is ever created, which many should hope it will be.
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