Assassin's Creed

Online at GameFly

* Release: 13 Nov 2007
* ESRB rating: M
* Publisher: Ubisoft Entertainment
* Developer: Ubisoft Montreal


Also Available: PC, DS, X360

What is Assassin's Creed?
Set in the ancient holy lands, Assassin's Creed is a single-player, multi-path action game that pushes the boundaries of next-generation graphics and gameplay. As Altair the assassin, you must bring down corrupt officials during the time of the Third Crusade, using the environment and people around you to accomplish each mission.

Assassin's Creed: Review
Visit the Crusades and kill a few days in the gorgeous Assassin's Creed.

Pros:

* Absolutely awesome graphics and animation
* Open accessible gameplay
* Spectacular swordfighting

Cons:

* Contrived, Baffling storyline

Assassin's Creed is a heady cocktail of stuff you've seen in other games. Take one part Grand Theft Auto's open city, one part Crackdown's crazy acrobatic antics, and one part Hitman's painstakingly engineered assassination missions. Now top it off with a spicy historical Middle Eastern setting and serve it up in some of the most jaw-droppingly amazing graphics you've ever seen. The result is another masterpiece from Ubisoft Montreal.

You begin the game as a haughty member of a secret society of assassins. After a fall from grace, you have to work your way back up the ranks of your sect by taking out nine targets for your master. These targets are spread among three cities, which are separated by a "kingdom" area you can cross on horseback. Once you reach a city, you have to explore it in order to gather information about your target.

You'll engage in side activities like picking pockets to snatch maps, running courses in a set amount of time, bullying public speakers when they retire down dark alleys, or doing a little freelance assassinating. All the while, you're trying to keep a low profile in the context of Assassin's Creed's system of socially acceptable actions vs. socially unacceptable actions. If you don't behave yourself, the city guards will be on you faster than a SWAT team from San Andreas.

These cities have to be seen to be believed. There are open marketplaces, courtyards, mosques, castles, villas, barracks, harbors, and more. And it's all actually in the game. If you can see it, you can reach it. It's amazing that Ubisoft was able to combine so much photorealistic details and elaborate architecture with such a ridiculously long viewing range.

When you consider that it's not uncommon to have 50 characters milling around in an open marketplace, this is a stunning achievement. And it's not simply cosmetic. You'll learn to hate those stupid beggars who get in your way, and you'll find yourself looking for thugs from whom to steal more throwing knives. The crowds also offer plenty of commentary if you break away and start climbing walls. They'll panic when a fight breaks out. If you save persecuted citizens, you can even recruit vigilantes who will help you during a fight.

The animation for the characters is every bit as good as it was in Prince of Persia. But instead of that game's dungeons, your acrobatics are now an option for moving around an entire city, from steeples to alleyways to balconies to castle walls. At first, it's easy to get stuck on ladders and ledges, but once you get used to the simple control system, you'll be nimble beyond your wildest dreams.

The animation and simple controls really come into their own during the swordfights, which are a spectacle in their own right. This isn't one of those stealth games where you're too weak to put up a fight. Here you'll engage in some of the most detailed swordfighting we've ever seen in a game, and we can't get enough of it. Which is a good thing, because there's a lot of it in Assassin's Creed.

The storyline is a bit bizarre, and by the time it's over, it's hard to figure out what just happened. It doesn't help that the game flashes back and forth between specific timeframes (to avoid spoilers, we won't say any more).

But Assassin's Creed is a solid enough game to overcome its awkward plot device. It doesn't much matter why you're in the situation you're in. What matters are those wonderful moments when you're sitting on a tower overlooking one of the most gorgeous cities you've ever seen in a game, and you know it's all yours to play in.

Assassin's Creed: 5 Reasons to Go Back to the Crusades
Ubisoft's acrobatic action-adventure breaks new ground left and right; here are the top five reasons you need to play it.

1. A Tale of Three Cities

You're not limited to one urban locale. Three major cities populate the game, and you'll have multiple assassination targets and investigations in each. Acre, Jerusalem and Damascus are modeled after their 12th century counterparts, with liberties taken to emphasize stealth and fun rather than history. Finding the highest vantage points in each will open up gameplay maps and missions. To get from one town to the next, you'll travel between the city gates on horseback along dangerous roads. The streets of each burg are dense and complex, with a huge variety of citizenry, mercenaries, soldiers and other honest (and not so honest) folk.

2. Acrobatic Assassination

Prince of Persia players will recognize the combat system in some ways. There are nice touches that allow for a quick combination of offensive and defensive moves -- anti-hero Altair can bounce swiftly from throwing knives to deflecting and countering attacks. Combat works side by side with the game's high-climbing navigation potential, and you can also pull off classic moves like the drop-down kill. That one has a bad side effect: namely being stranded in a sea of enemies. Better to use the retractable stealth blade quietly and get away clean.

3. Medieval Parkour

Anyone who saw the Bond flick Casino Royale knows parkour; it's the free-running city sport originated in Paris, and it's also a good way to describe the exploration in Assassin's Creed. Since we first saw the game we've been in love with the ability to climb and jump on any surface large enough to grab a finger or foothold, and in practice the sense of total freedom is even more impressive. Simple analog stick movements do it all. You won't want to navigate a game city in the same old way after you get a feel for this one.

4. More Than Meets the Eye

Look beyond the confines of the game's three cities and you'll see a few odd things about the story told within Assassin's Creed. For one, there are those decidedly electronic HUD displays and the weird references to modern technology that you'll see when pausing the game. Combat also displays some techno-flourishes, and there are other telltale signs that your character isn't merely an assassin during the days of the Third Crusade. We can't tell you the real nature of the truth, but it is out there.

5. Social Standing

Not only will your own position within society increase simply by owning one of the fall's best games, your avatar Altair's position within society will constantly rise and fall during the storyline. Your standing can change during the course of any of the investigations that lead to assassination missions; these often require less than desirable actions like pickpocketing and roughing up informants. Guards can see your devilish actions or be informed of them; instead of running openly you'll have to move slowly among the crowd, perhaps posing as if in prayer to deflect attention, or even grabbing a seat on a bench between good citizens to hide while the guards dash by.

Assassin's Creed: Tips and Tricks
When you're ready to whip out your blade, here are five helpful tips for the enterprising assassin looking to ply his trade on the mean streets of Damascus, Acre, and Jerusalem. Happy hunting.

Close to the madding crowd

Don't fight alone. When you're about to face down some city guards, retreat to the nearest group of vigilantes. These guys are good for more than helping you escape; they'll also help during a fight by grabbing some of your opponents. This leaves the grabbed opponent vulnerable to a cheap attack. You're not above that sort of thing, are you?

Pointed advice

Stock up on knives before starting an assassination mission. These are an invaluable way to quickly thin out your opponents or to clear the rooftops of archers. You can pick a thug's pocket for five knives, or visit the local bureau for a full refill. Select your throwing knives during a sword fight to use a dagger in combat. This is helpful not just for the faster attacks, but it also lets you chuck a blade if you get some distance between yourself and your target.

Mapmaker, mapmaker, make me a map

Make liberal use of your marker on the map screen, which will help you find your way with the minimap. For instance, during the timed assassination missions, the clock is paused while you're on the map screen. Study this to plan the order you'll take out each victim. Then put a marker on your next target to guide you to him. During a chase, you can also set a hiding place as your destination, which will be easier than running willy-nilly and hoping to stumble onto one.

The eyes have it

Get in the habit of briefly checking your eagle vision when you're around a lot of people, particularly if you're about to engage in some mischief. Before picking someone's pocket or stabbing someone with your hidden blade, it's easy to miss a guard by just scanning the crowd. But by turning guards bright red, your eagle vision ensures that you won't overlook the local fuzz.

Know when to quit

Don't bother hitting on Kristen Bell once she's told you to go to bed. We can tell you from first-hand experience it won't do any good. Just go to bed already.

-from yahoogames

Uhm nice review . . actually Ive seen it on the adv. yet for me its like the little brother of (Tenchu stealth assassins) series he he ! I mean its all been said and done . . . still Love it I guess ? GO Ayame ! Kick some bad ass! he he ! Oppzzz! thats a Character from Tenchu !

i want to play this game.. T_T