Great start for a promising franchise
From the team that brought you Jade Raymond comes this epic third-person action/adventure game. Assassin’s Creed is a game with a lot of hype behind it, for a good reason. At first glance, it’s obviously a very visually impressive game that oozes of production value and artistic quality. It’s simply a delight to watch the main character, Altair, run around in the Middle-Eastern cities, cutting up templar knights.
But visuals aside, there’s of course some gameplay involved. The acrobatic / sword-dueling gameplay is not that far away from the team’s earlier Prince of Persia games, but to me Assassin’s Creed has a bit more appeal than the old prince’s adventures. This is not only due to its art direction and tone, but also because of the game’s storytelling and mission structure.
Most people who followed this game will remember that a certain “twist” overwhelmed the media buzz around this game. While I will not reveal the twist in itself (even though the game’s been out for quite a while at this point), I will say so much that it opens up for sequels that don’t necessarily take place in the setting of this first game. This is probably a deliberate choice of the studio/publisher for that exact reason, but it does serve other purposes as well. It gives Assassin’s Creed a unique attribute that really stands out.
Assassin’s Creed is an enjoyable game with very simple but fun game mechanics. Altair is a wonderful character to control, and his ninja-like agility and abilities would put most videogame ninjas to shame. The downside, however, is that the game is very repetitive. With a long list of main targets and a number of side missions at your disposal, it doesn’t take long until you start to grow tired of the routines you’ll have to go through to finish a “level”. But players who’re willing to push through the somewhat weak middle part of the game are sure to be rewarded by an excellent finish that only leaves you hungry for more.
Assassin’s Creed is far from a perfect game. It’s main downsides are by far the repetition and some quirky AI problems, but it still managed to keep me hooked the whole way with its engaging story and high fun factor. It’s going to be very interesting to see what waits in the next chapter.
