User Reviews

Nothing Is True, Everything Is Permitted

2011-12-15T16:18:00Z

There are few games out there that can perfectly weave a perfect web of story, solid gameplay, and keep your interest and excitement until the very end. Unfortunately Assassin's Creed isn't one of those games, but it was close.

You play as Altair, a member of a brotherhood of assassins. Sadly, I can't say too much at all about the story with fear of giving anything away, because it's one the game's strongest attributes. You spend the game traveling to 3 cities, Damasca, Acre, and Jerusalem.

Each mission consists of 3 stages. First, travel to the city and speak with the bureau leader. Second, gather information on the target from informants, eavesdropping, and pickpocketing. Third, assassinate the target and get the heck out of there. Traveling to each city is a bit of a pain at first since you have to first ride out of your base of operations to the countryside where you can reach each of the cities. It's quite a long ride, but once you travel to each of these cities you can fast travel to them from Masayaf (base of operations). The second stage is where the game finds some fault. To gain information on the target you first have to find a viewpoint, climb it, and then when you get to the top synchronize it with your map. Then you can see any side-missions nearby. Then you have to complete at least 3 investigation missions (there are six total per mission) and report back to the bureau leader of that city to commence the assassination mission. Once you assassinate your target, you have to either fight your way, or run like mad back to the bureau. There are nine missions and you have to all of this each time. So by the end of the game it tends to get tedious.

Combat is somewhat of an art form. On several occasions you'll find yourself surrounded by multiple opponents, and you'll have no way of escape. You can block, side-step, and counter when the guards take a swing at you, or go on your own offense. There's plenty of ways to deal with the guards, and it just adds to the feeling of "deal with each situation however you want" feel this game gives you.

Along with the main story grind, there's also a lot of exploring and collecting to do on the side. There's 400 flags scattered around all the cities to collect. As well as 60 secondary assassination targets to wipe from existence.

With breathtaking visuals, fun combat, well made soundtrack, and a plot that makes you pray for a sequel, Assassin's Creed is a great addition to any gamer's list of games to play. True, it has some shortcomings (repetitive missions, the crowd's reactions to you are often unrealistic, and you can't swim...?) but a great game like this doesn't come along too often that changes the formula and nearly perfects it on it's first try.

assassins creed is an awesome game (if youre interested in story)

2011-10-10T05:03:00Z

in assassins creed you play as two characters, desmond, in the present, and altair during the 3rd crusade. altair is a member of the assassin order, which is in opposition to the templars, a group trying to gain absolute power and opress the people in the holy land. he is tasked with assassinating 9 templar leaders, who are located in jerusalem, damascus, and acre. desmond, while not an assassin himself, is a descendant of altair, who has been kidnapped by abstergo industries, the present day templars. he is forced by them to use a device called an "animus" to go through his genetic memory, allowing him to relive the memories of altair. the templars want him to do this so they can gain information on the location of a "piece of eden".the idea is that, before history as we know it, there was another civilization, ruled by "the ones who came before". now, the ones who came before were essentailly very powerful humans, who created humans as slaves. the pieces of eden have immence control over the human mind, and they used them to force humans into slavery. they were eventually overthrown however, and the pieces of eden scattered around the world. altairs story ends in a big twist, and desmonds story ends with the door open for another game after this. now on to the review.

this game has so many things that are good about it. the gameplay consists of freeruning and climbing around buildings, stalthily assassinating people, and big open sword fights. you can clime on anything, and go almost anywhere, reaching even the highest points of a city. the cities themselves are created beautifully, immersing you fuly in the culture, while at the same time providing a great diversity in the culture of the cities. the story, while it might seem confusing, is done very well, and has deep psycological and philosofical elements, and incredible character development throughout the game. the voice acting is also superb. some have complained that the information gathering mission you have to do before assassinating a target gets repetetive, but i was very interested in the story while playing the game, so i actually enjoyed them a lot. the combat is a bit lacking, but this is forgiven by the difficulty of combat which kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time.

all in all this is one of my favorite games ever, but if youre not interested in a good story then you might find it somewhat slow paced. in the end, its graphics, gameplay and story go above and beyond the standard for games.

note: the only thing i took off points for was that you cant play after you finish the story without starting a new game.

Game Over... continue? Assassin's Creed

2011-02-02T00:49:00Z

If you’ve never seen the original Assassin’s Creed teaser trailer, here it is. For a long time I held Leon from The Professional as my quintessential assassin icon. Perhaps the Jackal or Agent 47? But now Altair has supplanted them all! While the trailer promises a lot in the way of gameplay, and for the most part it delivers, the clever use of historical fiction and an increasingly intriguing story are really what makes Assassin’s Creed stand out. Ubisoft took a risk with this game, but its success has ensured multiple entries for us to enjoy.

The story beings with a young man by the name of Desmond Miles awaking from a terrible dream rife with faceless people to discover that he is not, in fact, dreaming. He is hooked up to a machine called the Animus, which allows the person to relive the collective memories of his ancestors which, it turns out, are passed on genetically almost like instinct. Desmond is actually slipping into the shared memories of his progenitors. Being held prisoner against his will, his mind is being plumbed by the evil Abstergo Corporation.

But why? Well, the Abstergo Corporation is actually known by a much more common moniker: the Knights Templar. They have pulled the strings of world politics and industry for centuries. They are the puppet masters. But there has always been a resistance, those who have attempted to balance the scales. They are known as the Brotherhood of Assassins. They work tirelessly to foil the Templars nefarious plots which center around the search for the Pieces of Eden. These are artifacts of supposedly enormous power. That’s where Desmond comes in, forced to relive the memories of his assassin ancestor Altair ibn La-Ghad, back in the time of the Third Crusade in the Holy Land.

Desmond doesn’t have much choice so he acquiesces and flashes back to Altair who is trailing a Templar named Robert de Sable. He is looking for the location of the Arc of the Covenant. Altair is a crass, egocentric, arrogant bugger. When Robert escapes Altair must return to Masyaf, the stronghold of the Brotherhood, empty-handed. There he is punished by their leader, Al Mualim for his insolence and ignoring their creed. He’s stabbed, and if that wasn’t bad enough, he’s busted all the way down from master to lowly novice. To atone for his disgrace, Al Mualim demands he assassinate nine men who work towards the Templars evil ends in Jerusalem, Acre, and Damascus.

But as Altair completes his tasks, it soon becomes apparent that more is going on here than was initially suggested. Each target, while contemptible in his own way, speaks to Altair before they pass on. With their dying breaths, they hint that perhaps things aren’t so simple. It all builds to a clever and enthralling conclusion that I quite enjoyed. There were some surprising twists and turns that had me nodding and smiling as they came to light.

When you first get into AC you may find the controls take some getting used to… they certainly did for me. But with a little practice you’ll see how clever they actually are. There are essentially two different sets of controls, one passive and one active. By pressing 'RB' you put Altair in active mode, where you can run, climb, and fight. I'm not going to try to explain beyond that, it's just too confusing. Again, it takes practice, but once you learn the nuances you’ll be slicing your way through Templars and their minions with barely contained glee! Countering is the best though… if you time it right you can counter an enemy attack and pull off an instant kill with a cool graphical interlude. Even having seen these animations hundreds of times I still think it looks awesome!

But one of the things that makes AC so much fun is the parkour skills of our hero. Altair possess the almost super-human ability to climb up, over and around… well, pretty much everything! It’s great fun, but it’s definitely not a perfect mechanic. You’ll find yourself occasionally taking a flying leap off the side of a building because you didn’t have the camera angled properly and suiciding yourself in the process. By keep your eyes open and you'll discover the path to follow up the side of a structure, and a quick flick of the thumb will guide Altair there.

While a true assassin isn’t seen or heard, things don’t always go to plan. Guards have an alert level that goes from yellow to red. Keep a wary eye out, and disappear to avoid their notice… or alternatively you can kill them before they can raise an alarm. If you attract the notice of the guards by being naughty, you know, dashing up the side of a building or killing their friends, you’ll be well advised to hightail it out of there. As soon as you get out of a line of sight from your pursuers you can avoid them by hiding in haystacks, blending in with a crowd, or sitting on benches until they give up the search.

Whenever you get to a new part of one of the three major cities, you need to find the Brotherhood's lair and speak to your handler. He will require you to do some research on your target before he gives you the go-ahead to take him out. This involves things like eavesdropping on a conversation between conspirators, then pick-pocketing a map that may show where the guards are stationed. Sometimes you need to tail an informant to a secluded alley and beat the information out of him. Once you get enough intel, you can take out the mark. These are usually cleverly designed setups where you have to get close to the mark without being seen, take him out, and escape the scene. It’s thrilling stuff, especially if you can pull it off like a true assassin and keep it from turning into a brawl. The sense of accomplishment to a well-performed assassination is very satisfying.

As one might expect Altair is proficient with all sorts of weapons, from short blades to long as well as throwing knives and his now famous hidden blade. What I love about this though is how it affects your fighting style. Using a short blade obviously employs different tactics in battle, and the animations display that. Switching to a sword may be more powerful, but ultimately slower. Personally, I enjoyed experimenting with different styles and tactics depending on the situation. Oh, and the counter animations change for each weapon as well, so it’s fun to watch Altair mess up a group of guards in a different way.

There are some major design complaints with AC though. The main issue is that the game does get a touch too repetitive. From the mission structure to the combat, by the time you’re at the end of the game you’ll hardly be paying attention. Once the enemies get a bit tougher (and better at blocking), combat turns into a waiting game as Altair waits patiently for his foes to attack so he can counter. It still looks cool, but it doesn’t really take any skill and rather than the game getting more difficult towards the end, it actually gets easier. The structure for each assassination mission revolves around doing the same basic mini-missions over and over again. Find a tower, scope out the landscape, then pick-pocket/eavesdrop/beat someone up to get information, go assassinate the target and then repeat. Personally, I enjoyed the gameplay so it didn’t bother me too much, but it’s still an obvious problem.

I don’t normally talk about collectibles but I’m going to go ahead and throw this out there anyway… there is LOT of stuff to collect in AC. Flags litter up the place from the countryside to the cities to the mountain paths. There are Templar Knights all over the bloody place who need to be dealt with. Multiple vantage points need to be found, climbed, and leapt off of. And all of this does… nothing. I spent an inordinate amount of time finding every bloody flag and killing every *** Templar I could find only to get an Achievement/Trophy. That’s all well and good, but for that much effort there should really be some sort of in-game payoff like a lightsaber or the ability to fart on your enemies or… well, something! Fortunately, it appears that I’m not the only one to complain about this is in the subsequent sequels there exist similar collection mechanisms, but at least you get some cool stuff for your trouble.

Assassin’s Creed boasts some truly stunning vistas on a scale that, while we have seen similar since, was at the time completely mind blowing. Watching Altair perch on the top of a high tower and the camera panning around showing Jerusalem stretching out below was breathtaking. That said, the up-close cutscenes are far from perfect with the facial animations looking particularly blocky. The in-game animations are brilliant though, (albeit not without the occasional disappearance into the wall or through the floor) I particularly love the camera angle change when you time a counter move perfectly. It switches to a slightly different view as Altair does his dance of death, then returns to the normal view, blending together naturally. Those counter animations look painful!

I remember one sequence I played were I was surrounded by five or so guards. One would attack, I’d counter, and the next and so on, finally finishing the last with a throwing knife toss into his chest. Altair didn't have a scratch on him, and it took about 10 seconds. While it wasn’t particularly challenging from a game play standpoint (you just need to get the timing right), it looked phenomenal. It was so smooth and seamless. I can honestly say I’ve never felt like such an unadulterated *** before or since!

The sound work in AC is pretty good as well. There is some excellent voice-work done by the cast, particularly Nolan North as Desmond/Altair. The clang of swords, and the piercing cry of the eagle whenever Altair makes a dive sound great as well.

It’s always a nice surprise when a new, original game comes along and receives the recognition it deserves. Assassin’s Creed takes some pretty big leaps in gameplay and design, and while it’s certainly not perfect, it definitely sets a solid foundation from which Ubisoft can develop a long and fruitful franchise. The story, while clever and intriguing on it’s own, lends itself to any number of sequels. The gameplay is addictive even if it does get a bit repetitive, and the massive cities to explore are wonderfully realized especially since you can climb all over them! The actual assassination missions are not only cleverly designed, but devious as well. If you manage to pull them off properly, you’ll feel like a true assassin!

Score Factors
CONCEPT/STORY 46/50
GRAPHICS 44/50
DESIGN 42/50
GAMEPLAY 48/50
SOUND 43/50
REPLAY VALUE 40/50
ATMOSPHERE 46/50
ENTERTAINMENT 48/50

357/400 = 89.25% =

FINAL SCORE of 89.3

Final Word

Several more Assassin's Creed games have come out in the last couple of years (and I will be reviewing them shortly). The franchise has taken what didn’t work in the original, namely the repetitive structure of both the missions and combat, and improved upon it while leaving the core elements of what made AC so compelling in the first place. The ongoing narrative is a clever tale, one that virtually guarantees multiple installments because you can see them taking this idea and applying to any historical period. Sure, Desmond’s next trip takes him to Renaissance Italy, but what about feudal Japan with a different protagonist? Ancient Sparta? There are so many possibilities! But this was the game that started it all, so a big thank you to Ubisoft for letting us be the ultimate assassin we (I) always wished we could be!

Cheers,

P.S. Want to read more of my reviews? Go to Game Over... continue?!

incredible assassins creed

2010-12-02T03:58:00Z

this game is incredible,fun, awesome,amazing and i say those things because this game is full with realistic scenes and places and it also haves historical places like in jerusalem and the other places, though the game has alot of scenes that have to much talking.

A Great Game!

2010-12-01T19:40:00Z

This game is amazing. Its a game of nonstop action and fun. from assasinating targets to jumping from rooftop to rooftop this game pretty much does it all. The only bad part is at first it is rather confusing you have to climb up towers and gain viewpoints to find out where to go next. If you dont know what to do you pretty much get stuck and it can get boring. But once you figure it out you start to really enjoy it the graphics, sound, characters are awesome. The story line is good as well. This game is one of the best a game like this dosnt come along every day. My recmedation is that you buy this game!

Yod (Psalms 119:73-80) GBG

who wants to kill someone

2010-09-18T23:33:00Z

Guys don't hate on this game this is one of the best action advent i have ever played. when i got this game i was like what???...... but then i got used to it. i started doing what i wanted to in this game. trust me this game you will never forget.

FUN AT FIRST.... BUT SADLY GOT BORING REAL FAST.

2010-09-10T06:04:00Z

sadly the game got blan after a day or 2 of playing it. i got so bored of it i didnt even beat the game. the combat was good dont get me wrong... but the missions were incredably repetative.

ASSASSINS CREED REVIEW

2010-06-15T19:10:00Z

THIS GAME IS AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Assains's Creed Changed The stealth game

2010-04-05T14:40:00Z

Honestly people Assassins creed truly gave all assassins games the meaning of turth and it also explains, how to assassinate some faster and more quietly.I am big fan of the assassins creed series and all the years of i have played games that delt with assassination every guard was qucikly alerted wich made ninjas run quickly into battle.So my dearst readers Assassin's Creed will be one the biggest Legendary video games in history.

Altair Sets The Bar High For Character

2010-03-11T06:48:00Z

Assassin's Creed grips you from the moment you begin. What the heck is this? You look back at the cover of the box and look back at the screen. It looks the same but...I'm not in the Crusades. This is one of the classic twists in this console generation and props go to Ubisoft for keeping their staff tight-lipped on this subject to give a pleasant surprise. I've never been surprised by the beginning of a game before. But, that is just the brilliant beginning of a brilliant game. In Altair, we see a new character. Shrouded in a white hood and a secret blade under his wrist, he strikes at his targets from the shadows but he does so not out of a lust for anger or vengeance but to serve higher purposes of his Assassin's guild. He shares small moments with all his victims after he ends their lives. Many see these moments as unrealistic because dying people can't have conversations. I'm not making an argument for the logic of it but for the reasoning behind these conversations. Altair always offers his target peace, and wishes them no ill will in the afterlife. It is in these moments that Altair becomes more than just a cardboard character. He has emotion and depth and he understands how serious his killings are. It makes not only the character fascinating but gives the game so much more depth than it would have had if this had been removed. There are plenty of awesome and fun things to do in this game but none struck me more than these few tidbits. Do yourself a favor and play this game and become enraptured in one of the great adventures of this console generation.

I Want To Like This Game...

2010-02-23T04:49:00Z

I want to like this game. I really do, but I can't. It's just way too boring and repetitive. Everything from the game design to the way you assassinate people is just repetitive. There is no variation in gameplay. Even climbing up a wall is boring. You hardly control any of it. All you do is approach a wall and push forward on the analog stick and the game does the rest. Combat comes down to countering which gets very old.

While the setting is cool and interesting, the terrible and tinny audio immediately sucks you out of the experience. The sound is just very muffled and sounds like they recorded it with a sock over the mic.

This game had so much potential and I was hoping it would meet my expectations. It is such a cool idea with a great setting, but its execution is just terrible.

A Beautiful Death

2009-12-29T08:53:00Z

Assassins Creed is a game that any next-gen console owner should play. With a distinctive story line and very smooth gameplay physics, this game, a long with its sequel, is a game that you simply must play through. In my review, I will follow the Game Informer review style.

Concept

You are are an assassin known as Altair. Thrust into the 13th century, you must hunt and kill the corrupt Knights Templar. Using brute force and stealth action, you cut away anyone who stands in your path.

Graphics

Every environment that you go through as Altair springs with realism, ranging from characters to environments. Rarely, popup textures and strange fog effects hinder this games' quest for realism. Also, character animations aren't as fluid as they could be.

Sound

Nolan North, as always, delivers an excellent piece to the game as Desmond Miles, a protagonist related to Altair, set in the year 2012. Phillip Shahbaz, who voices Altair, also does a great job. Repetitive side character voices are noticeable. Sound effects and the games soundtrack are also well implemented.

Playability

Ubisoft did an excellent job in created butter-smooth controls for Altair. The assassinations, weapon transitioning, fighting, and movement are all mostly flawless. Lowering yourself from ledges can be a hassle, occasionally.

Entertainment

The feeling of assassinating your enemy during the peak of his speech of lies to the shock of dozens of townsfolk is something that this game provides that none other does. The events leading up to the beautiful kill, however, are very repetitive.

Replay Value

Moderate

All I can say is to either buy or at least rent this game. You will be amazed.

Thanks for reading my review! Hope you enjoyed it.

Hero of the Holy Land

2009-12-04T02:23:00Z

When I first heard about Assassin's Creed a year before its release, I was immediately drawn in. It resembled the Thief series, yet was heavily tied to the Prince of Persia style. As a history buff, watching them take the story of the Crusades and create an entire world within it seemed a bold and impressive move and at the end of the day, they were triumphant. The story and the control scheme drive this game, a complex and unique blend of narrative and adventure in which the player is aware of the past and the present. Of all the game franchises I have ever been entranced by, Ubisoft's Assassin's Creed is definitely my number one.

I am Altair, god of Assassination!

2009-11-23T01:19:00Z

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:

Talk to your leader
Go to the Assassins Guild in one of the cities,
Climb a building
Jump off it
Dig up some dirt on your assassination target
Repeat step 5 two more times.
Go to the Assassins Guild
Kill the one of the leaders of the Templar's
Go to the Assassin's guild
Go back to Masyaf
Repeat steps 1 through 10 eight times and beat the game.

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.

WHOA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2009-11-17T22:45:00Z

This game is amazing. i was sucked from begining to end. the graphics are amazing, the story is more twisted than a vine, and the counter attacks are just plain awesome. An elite game like this only comes out every so often. I highly recommend that every one tries out this game. if one thing could be changed it would br the repetitive blocking of the guaeds. But still, are'nt yuo supposed to wait for them to attack so you can counter? this game can compare to games like God of War, Bioshock and Dante's Inferno. You can't miss this game.