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THE GOOD: * Huge, gorgeous world that feels wholly alive * It's fun to run across city rooftops * Joyous mix of stealth, action, and platforming * Stunning sound design features fantastic voice acting and a beautiful musical score * Tons of small details will constantly amaze you. THE BAD: * Confusing ending * Remarkably high system requirements and some small glitches * New mission types aren't as good as the others. Assassin's Creed features one of the most unique gameworlds ever created: beautiful, memorable, and alive. Every crack and crevasse is filled with gorgeous, subtle details, from astounding visual flourishes to overheard cries for help. But it's more than just a world--it's a fun and exciting action game with a ton of stuff to do and places to explore, rounded out with a complex story that will slowly grab you the more you play. The PC version has a few more issues than its console counterparts, and the keyboard-and-mouse controls strip away some of the smooth magic of exploration. Nevertheless, if you don't mind plugging in a gamepad and have a system that exceeds the system requirements, you'll find the same free-form travels and atmospheric game world that console owners enjoyed last year. Not enough can be said about the living, breathing universe that you'll inhabit in Assassin's Creed. As assassin extraordinaire Altair, you'll explore three major cities of the Holy Land in the 12th century: Jerusalem, Damascus, and Acre. Each city is beautifully rendered from top to bottom and features meticulously crafted towers that reach for the sky, bustling market squares, and quiet corners where citizens converse and drunks lie in wait to accost you. As you wander the streets (and rooftops), you'll push your way through crowds of women carrying jars on their heads, hear orators shout political and religious wisdom, and watch town guards harass innocent victims. Altair has a profound effect on this world, but the cities are entities all their own, with their own flows and personalities. The visual design has a lot to do with how believably organic everything feels. The cities are absolutely huge, and though you don't get full exploration privileges in the first few chapters, they eventually open up to let you travel seamlessly from one side to another. Everything is beautifully lit with just the right amount of bloom effect, and almost everything casts a shadow, from tall pillars to Altair's cloak. In fact, sometimes the shadows get to be a bit much and may make you think for a moment that there is artifacting on your screen, when in fact it's a character's head casting a shadow on his or her own neck. Every object, from scaffolds to pottery, is textured so finely that you'll feel as if you could reach out and touch it. Animations are almost as equally well done. Altair scales walls, leaps majestically from towers, and engages in swashbuckling swordfights that would make Errol Flynn proud. And he does it all with fluid ease, generally moving from one pose to another without a hitch. Minor characters move with less aplomb, but that's easy to forgive, considering that the cities are populated with thousands and thousands of individuals.Read full review
You play Altair, an assassin assigned to eliminate nine historically prominent figures from 1191, The Crusades. The way you approach these assassinations is partially up to you, and I say partially because it may seem that you have total control of your actions when you first play but as the game progresses, you quickly learn that it gets to become pretty linear with a dash of freedom. To view the map, you essentially press the "back" button but not everything is revealed immediately. In order to truly see what your surroundings consist of, you must climb high structures (usually mosques, towers, etc.) and this is truly an exhilarating experience. You run up buildings by holding down the right trigger and holding down the A button. Climbing buildings is very easy and Ubisoft made it very fun. As soon as you reach the top of these structures, you synchronize with your surroundings and everything in that radius is revealed to you. Before you assassinate your target, you must complete 3/6 investigations and this can be done through eavesdropping, pick pocketing, or interrogation. None of these can be done at random, there are set targets for each action and they are all very well done. Once you are actually ready to assassinate your target, you must retreat the Assassin's Bureau (and every town has one,) from which you will rest before you assassinate your target. Once you reach your target, an elaborate cut-scene/interaction occurs (with optional different angles!) and you have the choice of approaching your target quietly or openly. There are numerous plot twists and a dissonant back story to the game which cannot be revealed and essentially, this game is the first in a trilogy so don't expect to have all your questions answered. All in all, Assassin's Creed is not a perfect game although it is very well done.Read full review
My son wrote the following review: "Assassin's Creed is a great game by Ubisoft. For those of you that don't know, (and I hope you do), in this game you play as an assassin named Altaïr, who, through his arrogance and cockiness, has failed to take down a major target, and his master makes him go through the ranks again. Lots of stealth in this game, a little bit of history (some of it may or may not be true), and cool gadgets, like the hidden blade (love making assassinations with it). The reason I bought this from eBay is because when I played it originally, I borrowed it from my friend, and now my brother wants to experience its awesomeness. The graphics are good, the story is excellent, but sometimes the gameplay just doesn't work the way you'd like (or expect) it too. However, it is still a very excellent game and worth getting a copy. Oh, and if you do, and you like it, the second one is awesome as well, so you should try that one as well."Read full review
Graphics: Breathtaking 9.5/10 The player movements, backgrounds, cities, landscape and scenery are thorough and breathtaking. The dreary colors and drab buildings give a sense of this era. The graphics in this game immersed this game reviewer. Sound: Good – 7/10 The sounds, music, effects, and voices take you immediately into the game, then right back out. It is great to hear the dialogue between all the citizens and soldiers, but it grows tired and repetitive. The score is decent, but it does not carry, nor make up for the faults in the area of sounds. Gameplay: Spectacular – 8/10 Smooth animations, large levels, smart enemies and A.I., different possibilities for battles and puzzles – makes this game fun and interesting. The controls, camera angles, and finicky battle controls sticks out and hurts the gameplay. Replay Value – Above average 6.5/10 Without multiplayer, this game is going to have a hard time getting someone wanting to play again without wanting to go back to get all the flags. With over a million copies sold, something tells me there are going to be a lot of copies for sale soon. Overall – Great 8/10 This has some great story telling and is pretty edgy for what it is trying to say (message wise) for a game. Though once you go through and do everything you want to do in this game, it will sit on your bookcase like a forgotten trophy. This game will not appeal to everyone though. Let me begin by saying that this game is not for everyone. This is one of those games you are either going to love or hate. Assassin’s Creed is a mix of a sandbox adventure game with RPG elements. The reason the reviews on this game have been mixed because it depends on how you play through this game. I played through this game going through almost every quest/side mission, minus finding all the flags, and must say that this in an involved and fun game. More fighting than assassinating, this game shows that a lot of minor details were looked during development. The big assassinations come when you take down each “levels” end target, and doing this the right way makes the game that much more fun. My biggest gripe was the last 1/10 of the game. Gameplay wise, it was disappointing, story wise, it was awesome. I like story telling and this game hit it in a new direction, but I must say, either buy it used or rent it.Read full review
After playing this thriller, the first thing that comes to mind is hope for a sequel. This game is so good that one can only hope that its creators decide to make Assassin's Creed 2. Why am I so impressed with this game that takes place in 12th Century Crusades? Well, awesome graphics, an enticing plot, and a phenomenal ending. The game-makers leave a lot of freedom for the gamer, as goals can be achieved in a variety of ways. After getting absorbed in this game, you will really feel like an ancient hitman, and it is very, very interesting to get into that mindset. My only con about this game is the level of difficulty. At times, the game was downright hard and extremely tricky. But hey, who doesn't love a little challenge? Overall, this is a great game, one of the best of the year, and I definitely recommend it to anyone.Read full review
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