Assassin's Creed

Assassin's Creed has a well-developed story than most games in the same genre. You play as Altair, but you are actually his ancestor, Desmond Miles. Using a machine that allows Desmond to view the memories of his ancestor, Desmond can view the events Altair went through to uncover mysterious artifacts and defend them from his organization's rivals, the Templers.

Story:

The story progresses very well from start to finish. There are some major plot twists, but instead of letting the player revile in the shock, it moves on to the next part of the story. The last major plot twist with Altair is surprising, but it's not that much as a major "I didn't see that coming". While you will be surprised, you might of thought about the idea once or twice before the scene even occurred. The characters develop well.

Altair is a good main character. He has the "I don't care, I won't spare you" anti-hero mindset(similar to Kratos from GOW series), which is always refreshing to see in a main character. Desmond is alright, but he mainly complains and whines throughout the game, which may fit the situation he's in, but still annoying.

Gameplay:

While the storyline was well developed, what brings the game down is the gameplay. Every way to get information for an assassination is the same. You can eavesdrop, interrogate, pickpocket, or do a mission fo an informer, which is either get all the designated flags or kill these designated people. After acquiring the go-ahead, you can go take down the target. Based off the game's title, stealth should be the main idea to take the target out, but the gameplay says otherwise. You can just walk in the area and take the target out. Once performed, you must get out of there without attracting attention, which isn't the case after Altair learns an attack counter. Once learned, you can just walk in, kill the target, and take on all of the guards, which removes the point of stealth from the game. They should of put some kind of restriction to the technique. Also, if you are in the middle of the counter, if another guard tries to attack you, the attack of the guard will not register, which, if done right, would of been a good limitation on the technique.

Another thing I did not understand is the AI of the guards. The citizens' AI act their role. Cause a disturbance and they will stare at you, making you more aware to the guards, while acting normal makes you unsuspectable. The guards on the otherhand are idiotic. Kill a guard and blend in with the scholars, and they will ask who killed the other guard, while people are yelling that you did it. Kill a guard on the rooftop, and another will ask who killed him, while you walk right behind him.


Music:

The music is pretty good for the setting of the game and the situation at the time. When you are running from guards, the music will be fast-paced, while just in the city, the music is normal-paced. The score does not stand out though. Most people will not be online looking for the soundtrack compared to the soundtrack from a game such as Final Fantasy or Guilty Gear, but for the game itself, it suffices.

Graphics:

The graphics are pretty good.  It is very fluid from the transitions from Altair's position during a cutscene to the scene of another character speaking. The characters fit the setting and mood of the game. if you love graphics, you will be satisfied with the game's use of  the Blink video software.

Overall:

The game is pretty good for a game that I got for $20. I would recommend renting the game or buying it used(like I did) since the game has no replay value. Once you beat it, you might go back to perform some optional tasks, but you probably won't start the game over to play it all over again. if you have some extra cash to burn and you have most of the games you want for the moment, check this game out.