Review
Release Date: 11.13.2007
Platform:
Xbox 360Developer:
Ubisoft MontrealPublisher:
Ubisoft EntertainmentReviewed by
Justin Fassino on 11.25.2007
| Review Rating: 9/10 | User Rating: 7.78/10 |
From a technical perspective,
Assassin's Creed might be the most ambitious console game ever. The amount of effects and environmental happenings going on at any given time is staggering, even moreso when one considers the size of the game world. What is essentially contained on the disc is a vibrant, living replica of some important locations in the Middle East circa the 12th Century; that replica also happens to be a wondrous playground for the player to explore and climb.
Spoiling as little as possible,
Assassin's Creed is about a company trying to extract some information from a man named Desmond Miles' memory. The company has developed techniques to withdraw memory from the human genetic code, and through a marvelous machine can observe events in the past. Desmond Miles himself is a distant relative of a Middle Ages assassin by the name of Altair; he's the white-clad guy who acts like Spider-Man. While most of the gameplay takes place in the cities of Damascus, Jerusalem, and Acre nearly 1,000 years ago, most of the story actually revolves around Desmond Miles. It's an intriguing dichotomy, but it remains interesting to the very end of the game, when the story upgrades to captivating. Some will find the conclusion to the game inconclusive and abrupt while others will enjoy the mystery; one fact is certain:
Assassin's Creed is the first game in a series to come, and thus contains no neat tie-up in the finale, at least not in the grand scheme of things.
The developers at
Ubisoft Montreal deserve some real credit for their artistic vision and adherence to detail. Each city looks unique and contains its own unique spirit. The architecture tells its own story: for example, the high steeples and fortresses of Acre betray the fact that the city is under crusader control while the golden-domed mosques of Damascus show that it is definitively Muslim territory. Jerusalem has a nice mix of both, as is expected, and even contains some well-known landmarks like the Temple Mount. Each NPC that walks the street is appropriately dressed for both the environment and the time period, and there are a multitude of body models so there is rarely the effect of cloned character models. Guards patrol the avenues, public speakers shout their agenda to the crowds, and citizens go about their business around the city. Every locale has its own tangible breathing soul, and Altair is the focal point to observe all of it. Immersive might be too weak a word to describe the depth of the game world.
Altair himself is a wonder of animation. He can pull off a host of acrobatic maneuvers, including jumping and running across rooftops, perching on posts, grabbing ledges, shimmying across eaves, and much more. More impressive is the fluidity of the animation when performing these tasks. Altair can climb anything that has some sort of hand or foothold, and the game makes sure you know where these are as Altair's hands and feet accurately place themselves on each individual notch in the surface; he actually climbs those buildings and surfaces, not just performing a canned animation on texture maps.
The game will have players visit each city three times; each city has three districts, and each district is home to a character Altair must kill. Before any assassinating can take place, Altair must complete a couple of side missions, like pick-pocketing important documents that tell where the target will be at a given time, or sitting quietly on a bench to eavesdrop on an important conversation. The game requires completion of only two or three of these missions to advance, but there are six per assassination for all the completionists out there. The missions aren't deep whatsoever, and they can eventually start to become repetitive and annoying, but they aren't compulsory.
The main assassinations are the true draw of Assassin's Creed. Taking place in different set-pieces, it's up to the player and Altair to figure out how to take down the target without arousing suspicion. While Altair himself could simply fight his way through a couple dozen guards (and do so with a deceptively simple-yet-elegant combat system featuring some of the most brutal kills in video game history), that is not the way of the creed. The "proper" option is for Altair to bide his time, watch the proceedings, and then sneak undetected behind the target before stabbing him in the back. This can be achieved a number of ways, including watching from a nearby roof and then jumping when the target's back is turned or blending in with a crowd of monks by praying with them as they walk closely by the victim. In every case, the kill is immensely satisfying and exhilarating every time, especially when one considers that after the kill, it's time to hightail it back to the assassin's bureau with the city guard on high alert. Once the guards give chase, Altair will have to break their line of sight and hide somewhere inconspicuous until the coast is clear, which leads to some intense moments across rooftops and alleyways.
Between each city is a large rural overworld containing small villages and settlements ripe for exploration and platforming, though there are no overt goals in that setting aside from collecting optional hidden flags. Between the highest city towers and hilltop peaks, the world of
Assassin's Creed contains an epic beauty not found in many other titles. The scope and scale of visual experience delivered to the player is better than any other game this year.
Assassin's Creed will be a polarizing game to many people: some will love it for its open-ended and immersive nature while others will hate it for the feeling of having a huge sandbox to play in with nothing very deep to do. Whatever the feeling, Ubisoft Montreal took some chances with this highly original and ambitious design, and for the most part they succeeded. The story is unique and will make the player beg for more while the action will make anyone who plays feel like an extreme badass. Some technical issues crop up every now and then (like graphical clipping, an unstable frame rate, screen tearing, and rarely, game freezing) that make it seem like one final level of polish was needed before the game shipped. These flaws, combined with the divisive nature of the entire design, keep
Assassin's Creed from a perfect score. Still, it's one of the most beautiful and original titles of the year.
