Xbox Member ReviewAssassin's CreedBy Dimorphic Skulking through the shadows you move in on your target, a flick of your wrist is all it takes and as quickly as it happened you are gone, the man falls to the ground, but you are nowhere to be seen. Assassin’s Creed is an interesting concept. From the outside looking in it seems as if it is just a sandbox game set in a medieval time period. But it is also a science fiction Matrix type story. Confused? Basically you are a character named Desmond who has been kidnapped by a mysterious organisation in the year 2012 that is trying to find out a secret buried in your mind. They have discovered that ancestors memories are genetically recorded through each generation and hook you up to a machine that relives these memories. When you hook into the machine, which is where the majority of the game takes place, you are an assassin named Altair in The Holy Land 1191 AD during the Third Crusade with access to several ancient cities. After you botch an important mission you are stripped of rank and tasked with assassinating nine targets (who are all intertwined in some way) to regain you honour.
The story, though it sounds simple, is actually quite involving and does a good job of keeping you playing. Ubisoft have also created a fantastic world. Each city has its own distinct feel and visual style and the graphics are fantastic. Each city in the game is connected by a central Hub, which is also very large. The hub is somewhat of a ‘wilderness’ where there are encampments and towns setup through the country-side that you can explore. To make trekking this large space easier you are able to ride horses and even attack from them, which is helpful because if you are spotted going any faster than trotting speed you are instantly seen as an assassin. The level of detail is fantastic, everything looks like it should. And Altair is rendered and designed to near perfection. Voice acting is also top notch with everything sounding in place for the time period except for Altair. This is because Ubisoft is trying to link him to Desmond in the future but it doesn’t come off well. The music score is well written as well, the music that you would find in that time period makes its way through your speakers. The music also sets the mood and tone of the current situation, if you are blending in its a soft background noise, if you are in a full fledged fight the rythmic pace picks up. Sound effects such as clashing swords, blades cutting flesh, guards screaming in anguish as their life slips away and the noise of a busy market and crowd all sound realistic. It’s a shame that inside such a fantastically stylised world that there really isn’t much to do.
You actual missions consist of speaking to the Assassin’s Bureau in each city to find out about your target. You then have to go out and learn details about how best to strike him which consists of a number of mini games such as pick pocketing information or interrogating a target. You complete this, see the Bureau again and then can complete the assassination. It’s simple and effective, but gets repetitive after a while and when you consider this is what you do for the majority of the game its not the most groundbreaking gameplay. Thankfully, the combat is actually quite fun. Continuing with the trend of the game (simple) you have a number of attacks assigned to the buttons on the controller. There is the basic swing, counter moves that look amazingly cool and gruesome. Throwing knives that Altair unleashes at long range, dodge moves and throw moves. All of these are controlled by a simple button, but some can only be used by holding the right trigger and entering high alert mode. This basically just means you are in combat mode. Combat is in fact probably second only to the climbing aspect of the game. If you go into Assassin’s Creed with no preconceived notions you will find an amazingly fun game that may a little too on the simple side for accomplished gamers, but nonetheless will leave you with a feeling of satisfaction after playing it. Play Creed without the hype and you’ll have a great time with it but if you can’t put what you’ve heard out of your mind be prepared to be let down. Graphics: 9/10
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