Australian Gamer Review :: Assassins Creed

SOMETHING TO DO WHILE WAITING FOR PAL RELEASES

Assassins Creed

Reviewed on: Xbox 360
Available on: Playstation 3, Xbox 360

Assassin�s Creed, in a nutshell is, free-running around a sand coloured GTA3 sandbox acting like an ancient Sam Fischer with a box cutter fetish.

Players: 1 Player
Genre:
Release: 2007-11-21

Developer: Ubisoft Montreal
Distributor: Ubisoft

Discuss in official forum

View Screenshots

view profile

Assassin�s Creed has received an interesting spread of reviews. Whilst everyone who has laid eyes on the game agrees that it looks fantastic, there is a lot of discussion over whether the game is overly repetitive or falls short of its true potential. The game has copped more than its fair share of nitpicking over everything from bad voice acting to bad AI. Unfortunately those reviewers really must�ve been struggling for something bad to say, because frankly it�s a pretty awesome game.

Assassin�s Creed is really, at its foundation, a mesh of Prince of Persia and Splinter Cell. Given that both games were developed by Ubisoft Montreal, that�s not altogether surprising. The engine built for Assassin�s Creed (Scimitar) is even being used for the next Splinter Cell game due out sometime in 2008. Splinter Cell: Conviction will be a fairly large departure from previous installments in that it will be set in an open city environment similar to those found in Assassin�s Creed. Hell, even Eagle Vision is rumored to make an appearance in Splinter Cell as �Focus Vision� or �Heroes Instinct�. The combat will be similar and even the level structure is said to be similar. If you think of Assassin�s Creed in the same light as Splinter Cell, suddenly a lot of the issues that people had with the game become less important. If you go into this game expecting a non-stop rollercoaster ride, then you�re going to be disappointed; purely because a lot of the game involves sitting around and waiting. On the other hand, if you get a buzz out of stealth, planning in-routes, and making use of pre-planned escape routes, then Assassin�s Creed has a lot to offer.

Altair - camping bastard.

The plot is an interesting one. As you probably know by now, you don�t always play as the medieval assassin, Altair. Sometimes you play as a weedy American kid locked up in a facility having strange experiments conducted on him. I won�t say too much, because it will ruin the plot� suffice to say, you play as him playing as Altair. Why the hell everyone complains that Altair therefore has an American accent is beyond me, but hey... what do I care? The plot jumps back and forward between the two times as you slowly piece together what is really going on. It�s not overly imaginative, and you could pick the plot twists from a mile away, but it does make pretty good use of real historical figures and places and through some hefty poetic license, manages to come up with a pretty convincing pseudo-historic setting for you to run around stabbing people.

The highlight of the game is definitely the free running. Altair using super human strength can scale just about anything in the game allowing him to get away from pursuers or to gain a better vantage point over the city. Most of the time it works seamlessly, allowing you to run full speed across rooftops, beams, huts, posts and walls. Occasionally Altair has a substantial error in judgment and throws himself 6 stories to his death, but such risks are expected when behaving in such a way. The fact that he can�t swim is also a major pain the ass... although fortunately water is only a problem once during the entire game.

The one thing Assassin�s Creed probably failed at is making it clear what the game is about. The game is deliberately open ended, to the point of there being no right or wrong way to make your assassination. You can either use every stealth tactic you can think of and execute the perfect stealth kill, or you can run in sword swinging and do it Conan style. Either way works, and as long as you get the job done, no one seems to care too much. The same goes for doing your research. You can find out every scrap of information about where the guards are, or where the archers are, or you can do the bare minimum to complete the mission. Again, either way works. There is no right or wrong way to play, and as a result you often feel like nothing you do has any real consequence. You will likely play the first few missions like Sam Fischer, collecting every scrap of information, surveying the target area, taking out rooftop archers with stealth kills one by one... it�s all very cool and very fun. But then something strange happens. The first time you stuff up a stealth assassination is when it all goes to shit. A dozen or more soldiers pounce on you and start tearing you a new one, and after a while you kill them off, push over your target and stab him violently in the throat with your knife, thus completing the mission sans-stealth. All still good fun. Then you realize about 3 missions into the 9 possible �eavesdropping� missions that they are all a complete waste of time, as it is much quicker and easier to simply march into the bad guys house shouting, �I�m a lumberjack and I�m ok� before taking on every man and his dog before eventually stabbing victim number two in the throat. This is where Assassins Creed takes a bit of an Eagle dive off the top of the Church tower.

Gamers don�t care if stealthy killing is more fun. Gamers don�t care if there is more satisfaction to be gained from quietly assassinating a dozen archers before silently slipping off a rooftop and knifing some misbehaved Donkey salesman. The path of least resistance is the one where you don�t listen to the story, don�t do the side missions and just play through the whole game mashing the X button. Unfortunately, that is where most players live... the same players hated Bioshock and not surprisingly LOVE Halo 3.

The �Assassin�s Creed� itself is the key to enjoying this game, and whilst it is highlighted at the start of the game, it easily becomes lost because the rules aren�t enforced. The rules are, Don�t kill innocent people, stay hidden and don�t compromise the brotherhood. Whilst it is possible to run through the game killing everything that moves, it kind of misses the point of the game. People who play Assassin�s Creed as if it is GTA3 are going to hate it. They will hate the combat system, they will hate having to sit on seats to eavesdrop on people and they will hate the long winded dying monologues of their victims. This game isn�t for those with ADHD. On the other hand, if you are a fan of stealth/action games, and you�re prepared to play the waiting game a lot of the time, then Assassin�s Creed has a whole lot to offer. The fact is, yes there is a lot of repetition in the missions, but the little information gathering sessions are such a small part of the game that it barely matters. You could literally spend hours just roaming rooftops assassinating evil archers, or flicking knives at loathsome guards whilst perched high above them and then watching the chaos unfold below you as people scatter madly screaming, �Oh my god, who would do this!??!�.

The horse whisperer.

There are also a lot of complaints about the horse riding, in that it is kinda sucky to have to go back to the starting point after each mission and have to ride back to each city for each new mission. But after the first time visiting each city, you don�t need to ride all the way there anyway�so quit your whining. And, yes if you ride full speed past guards they will be alerted, but so what? You�re on a horse; they�re not� keep riding. It�s not rocket science. Besides, riding full speed through a battalion of 30 guards is quite possibly the best fun to be had in the game. As for going back to the start to talk to what�s-his-name at the start of each mission; it is important for plot development, and for a chance to train any new skills you pick up. Oh, you didn�t realize you got new skills?

Which reminds me... another thing which makes the hit list of complaints against Assassin�s Creed is the combat system. A lot of people say it�s a real button masher. And I�d have to say sadly it is entirely Ubisofts fault. They made the game too easy initially AND took away all your skills and weapons, thus training you to use the X button and the X button alone. The result of this is that for the first few missions, just mashing X with your sword will work just nicely. As you pick up new weapons and skills there isn�t really any incentive to use them. The X mashing works, so why change? The problem here is that there is a lot more fun to be had with a combination of the sword, small blade, throwing knives, counter attacks, pushes, dodging, stepping and whatever else you get given by the end. The combat system, like the mission system can be played with dull and boring brute force, or with tactics and skill. The step then attack move is effective for putting your opponent off balance, the counter attack is essential later in the game against tougher opponents, as is the ability to shrug off a push, or dodge an attack with up to a dozen guys after your gonads.

Where's Wally?

Whilst games like Mass Effect, Bioshock and Fable ding a little bell to tell you when you�ve been �good� and send you to hell when you�ve been bad. Assasin�s Creed makes no such distinction. Finesse or force... it�s up to you and both will succeed in the end. If anything is learned from this for the sequel (and yes there will be one), it is that the Creed itself should play more of a role in the game. The player should be reward for using stealth, for staying out of sight and for silent kills, and equally the player should be more severely punished for slaughtering innocents or conducting assassinations with a four piece death metal band marching in behind them. Players can�t be trusted to have fun on their own; they need to be shown a large pink neon arrow with a flashing sign saying �This way to the fun�.

Discuss in official forum

View Screenshots

Final Verdict

Assassin�s Creed is a heap of fun if you play it the right way. Unfortunately, it is really easy to not play it the �right� way. Whilst it is repetitive in parts, the game gives you enough freedom to avoid it, and enough freedom to have a damned good time just running around rooftops being a menace to society. The sequel will be better, as will the new Splinter Cell.

Pros
Looks fantastic. Free-running is just plain awesome. Stealth kills are a serious buzz... does that make me a bad person?
Cons
A little repetitive. Those big blue walls that say �memory cannot be accessed at this time�. Not being able to stab beggars without attracting the damned guards.