Review: Assassin's Creed

I will begin just by saying that the Assassin's Creed franchise is one of the greatest concepts in the history of gaming. I don't necessarily agree with the direction that Ubisoft has taken it but the original plot and setting are so utterly amazing that I constantly remember playing this in 2007 with an open jaw. Very few games live up to the hype that they gain, but Assassin's Creed was definitely one of them. It takes a big game to still be noticed as one of the biggest games of the year with other brilliant titles such as Call of Duty 4 and Halo 3 coming out at the same time.

The game is set during the crusades and a modern metropolis which the Scimitar Engine perfectly captures. If the gameplay is a little rough around the edges the thing that Ubisoft really accomplished with this title is appearance. The game looks and feels beautiful, from the brilliant musical score to the view from the top of spires this game feels like a historical epic. It is the first ever title I have got the sense that the setting is 'living'. The two stories coming together is also a nice feature as they compliment each other nicely, however, the modern segments are definitely the most tedious and often poorly constructed.

What the Ubisoft team accomplished in this edition is blurring the line between juxtaposing settings and between good and evil. The player will usually start as a firm Assassin but as the game wears on may switch to the 'evil' Templars as their regime just seems to make sense. I started in the same boat but I found that as the game wore on the Assassin order was just as corrupt and tyrannical as the Templars. It is quite difficult to pick a side when the concept of the game is based around killing people because of their religion, an idea Ubisoft must have gained from the shocking title Ethnic Cleansing. (It should also be pointed out that Al Mualim, the leader of the Assassin order, is based off a historical figure known as 'The Wise Man of The Mountains' who founded a group of Islamic extremists. Who are the bad guys now.)

Another reason why I love this series so much is that it is based off history. With this game you genuinely feel like you are part of history and even though the war between Assassin's and Templars is fictional it still feels as though you are ultimately changing your characters fate. The story itself is set into two parts. The first in a modern corporation run by antagonist Warren Vidic with an assistant ; Lucy. You are introduced to a machine known as an animus which can travel to an ancestors memory through DNA sequences. I don't know what I just said but I WANT ONE. This strand in the storyline is intriguing if anything and is a nice subtle backdrop from slaughtering ethnic minorities.

The second part of the story is the historical element. Unfortunately as innovative as this section is it feels rather linear. The main missions all follow the same premise of, yep you guessed it, slaughtering ethnic minorities. This means that although the game contains many great features it always feels predictable and so the ending is just alright. It's just so predictable that it just isn't surprising and therefore slightly anti climatic.

However, the main reason Assassin's Creed is such a good title is because of the game defining features. The main feature is the ability to free run, on any building. This feature makes the whole map so vast and open and flows so effortlessly making this feature more of an art form made so simple by the brilliant control system. The combat leaves a lot to be desired. It feels rather wooden and relies on timing rather than actual skill and any enemy can be simply mowed down by using counter kill.

Instead of any form of side missions there are various flags to collect. There are hundreds of them and there is no benefit at all. Apart from an achievement they are completely pointless. In Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon, Rex will sometimes say "I hope I don't have to collect any fucking flags." Another example of another flawed feature. This contributes to the fact that this game does get boring. After a quarter of the story it just gets predictable and repetitive, the missions just don't have enough variety and often end in a massive sword fight that only emphasizes the rather lackluster combat system.

Overall Assassin's Creed is more of a missed opportunity. The game that looked so good in the previews and looked even better when starting to play soon wore out on me. The story seems to have been sacrificed for gameplay, which isn't necessarily a bad thing but there is no substance here to elevate the gameplay. The repetitive story is saved by the fact that this title is forward thinking. This is genesis for one of the most loved franchises in console history and players will look back a lot more fondly on this game for what would become of the series.

The Christoforge Rating:  84/100  

Favorite Quote:  "Ironic isn't it? That I your greatest enemy kept you safe from harm. But now you've taken my life, and in the process, ended your own."- Robert De Sable
Favorite Moment: Climbing the spires of Jerusalem and admiring the view
Worst Moment: Those fucking flags. Why?