By Arryn Zech
Yes, I understand that this game has been out for… awhile, but I’m what you’d call a late bloomer when it comes to getting my hands on games of the future. So, without further adieu, Assassin’s Creed.
After putting the disc into my XBox, the game opens with a short scene to introduce our main character. The white-hooded assassin, who still remains nameless, breaks from a crowd of people and swiftly kills a nearby executioner then races back into the masses, only to completely disappear in a sea of white-robed scholars. What an entrance.
Story:
The games is said to be based off of real people and events, which is clearly seen considering the game is set primarily in the time of the Crusades, Templars and all. The actual story is a simple one, though, pretty easy to follow. You begin the game as Desmund Miles, a man who ran away from home after believing his parents were crazy hippies after being told he is an assassin by blood and must follow his lineage when the time comes. A company named Abstergo, who is aware of his history, later finds Desmund and holds him captive. Desmund is put into a machine called the Animus where he must relive the memories of his ancestor, Altair.
Altair is a member of the assassins brotherhood who are currently on the hunt for treasures they call “Pieces of Eden.” You’re sent off to kill a group of men in neighboring cities for their various wrongdoings by the leader of the assassins, Al Mualim, to further your search for the treasure, or so you’re told.
After all of the assassinations you learn that, spoiler alert, Al Mualim is actually a Templar and you were sent to kill his competition. I won’t give away any more spoilers, but after all the assassinations (the bulk of the game), the game does kind of get better.
Gameplay:
The first assassination that you commit is actually pretty cool, as it’s the first one. But it’s the following assassinations that get pretty redundant. The formula is pretty much as follows:
– Ride horse to city that’s far and forces you to go through cities where everyone hates you.
-Save a citizen, who will help you sneak into the city.
-Pickpocket this guy, eavesdrop on that guy, and interrogate that other guy, all while saving a few citizens here and there.
-Go to assassin’s bureau to get assassination green light.
-Kill the bad guy.
-Go back to bureau and be like “Yo, I just killed that guy you said I should.”
-Go home.
If you think that’s a lot of steps, try doing it seven times in a row. I almost didn’t finish this game because of how completely repetitive it gets, but I hear the next game gets better.
Graphics:
The game’s graphics are great, especially when you first enter a city’s boundaries. Altair pauses for a moment at each city’s entrance to let you take in the beauty of the location. Ubisoft spent four years creating the world you wander in as Altair and it clearly shows in the details of the cities you enter. Each city has its own character and feel to it. Jerusalem has a mosque and houses with curved roofs while the English city of Acre is complete with a church and stone buildings with steep, pointed rooftops.
It’s interesting to see the different styles of architecture in each city as well as the different types of people and clothing that each city holds. I think Ubisoft really did some research with this game, as they should.
Replay value:
I won’t play this game again. No matter how many secret flags you hide for me to find, no matter how many citizens I can potentially save, I won’t do it. It was fun, mostly, the first go around, but it took too much effort to even want to finish the game, let alone play it again.
Final decision:
Overall the game was good, aside from the obvious issues I had with it. I’d recommend it to friends, but only so they can start the Assassin’s Creed games as a whole. I honestly wouldn’t blame them if they didn’t finish it though.
