Game Review: Assassin's Creed (Xbox 360)

Assassin's Creed (Xbox 360)

Overall Score: 9/10
Pros: An interesting story, beautiful graphics, compelling gameplay
Cons: No real conclusion, aggravating fights

Basically, the end of 2007 was an interesting one in the world of gaming. Towards Christmas you had three games coming out, each one vying to become Game of the Year, with two other close contenders having been released just a couple of months earlier. The three games were Call of Duty 4, Mass Effect, and Assassin's Creed. The two other games that would have been contenders were BioShock and Halo 3.

In the end, BioShock won most GotY awards, though in my opinion Mass Effect should have held the crown. People loved Call of Duty 4 and quickly embraced its amazing graphics and addictive multiplayer. Assassin's Creed also received a lot of critical love, as well as high sales numbers, but in the end it is rarely now referred to, and is definitely pushed to the side a lot more than Call of Duty or BioShock or Halo.

I went into Assassin's Creed hoping that it would be a game that I could finish. One that was complex and deep and awesome, but not overly complicated or too complex.

The story, following a medieval assassin as he takes down nine targets throughout three large cities, was definitely involving and interesting and the modern day frame story helped it along. However, in the end I was left with a feeling of emptiness. The ending lacked finality. Basically you were told that you would be needed again eventually. Then the credits rolled and you were allowed back in the game to walk around or do whatever you please. That sucked, and what really sucked about it was that that line of, "We'll need you again soon," wasn't even spoken dramatically. The one guy just said it and then you watch as he walks out of the room. There wasn't anything to lead you up to such a dramatic moment, no music nothing, and then when it came there was another period of at least a minute before the credits rolled. A full minute of walking around at an excruciatingly slow pace and, really, doing nothing. That was the only part of the story that really sucked. One other thing about the story. It starts off slow and you basically have no information about what is going on. You are just thrust into the situation and as you go about the game your targets give you information and eventually you learn what it all means. Then the final conclusion, the final boss and all that, is a little bit too mystical for my taste. It just wasn't as realistic as the rest of the game.

The real meat of the game, which is actually not the story, is the gameplay, whereby you run around three gigantic cities, jumping off of buildings, climbing up buildings, leaping and flying everywhere; using your sword to fend off large groups of enemies, assassinating drunks and beggars, and then eventually driving your hidden blade into the neck of those nine men you are sent to kill. I was a bit worried about the fact that this game was being touted as letting you leap everywhere and do everything, because I was worried that the 360 controller just couldn't handle it, that there wouldn't be enough buttons to let you do everything that you should be able to do. I'm happy to say that not only do the controls work pretty much perfectly, but they do so without utilizing the shoulder buttons on the 360 controller. The control scheme uses the triggers, just not the bumpers, and to great effect. Running, climbing, dodging, diving, everything controlled perfectly, and, just like I said I could play hours worth of conversations in Mass Effect, I could also stand just running and jumping in Assassin's Creed for hours on end. My only complaint with the running, dodging, exploration controls are city specific. In Acre, near the docks, one mission, which takes place at the docks, gives you a route through the playable area that has you jumping from basically a log turned vertical to several other logs arrayed in a specific route in the middle of a harbor. The targeting in this area absolutely sucked. I can't tell you how many times I fell into the water, and to my death, before finally hunting and finding an alternate route to my objective. Also the combat controls are a bit wonky until you get the hang of them. When you do get the hang of them, however, then you will just roll over your enemies, and instead of feeling like the game's too easy because of this, you'll finally feel how truly awesome you really are. Assassinations go as smooth as possible, most of the time, and the hidden blade is one of the coolest and most functional video game weapons of all time. What I found out, and then went crazy over, is that you actually have access to the hidden blade all the time, not just when you're on specific assassination missions, and so you can use it to kill anyone that you want to. I used this many times when I was on rooftops I wasn't supposed to be on and there was a guard nearby. There was nothing like a flying leap that ended with my blade in the guard's neck. Then there were the memorable moments when I was walking through the city streets and suddenly there was a beggar in front of me, not letting me go forward, stopping me and bothering me with her requests for money that I didn't have. One tap of a button and I would stab her with my blade and continue on without a second glance, leaving her body to eventually fall to the street for someone else to discover. My only complaint about the combat was that sometimes they just overwhelmed you in a frustrating, not fun, sort of way. There was one fight in particular where I was facing about ten men at once, which isn't much as it turns out, with an archer overhead. I kept getting hit with arrows and I wasn't able to defend as more and more attacks came towards me. I bet I played that one fight ten times. That's when a game isn't fun. That's when it's annoying. However, later on when I got more experience with the combat system, I handled a crowd of 30+ enemies without any problems whatsoever. It was just that early battle that really got to me.

The graphics of this game are what really impressed me the most. I'm not one to care much about graphics-if a game has horrible textures and blocky characters but plays well and has an awesome story, then I'm all for playing it over and over again. This game, however, made me sit up and take notice like no other title has. This game is unlike other games that try to look realistic and have a unique visual style in that it has a unique visual style by being just that, completely and utterly realistic. You won't find any sort of filters or anything like that over the visuals to give them a unique look, everything just looks practically photorealistic, and the game benefits because of it. The characters in the game all look a little bit out of place and chunky, as do all video game characters, no matter what people say, but the environments look truly stunning. To get to a View Point in the game and look over any of the three cities was to look out upon what 'next-gen' truly is. I mean, when I clime a spire in Damascus or Jerusalem or Acre and look out upon the whole city and see literally thousands of people in the crowd surrounded by hundreds of buildings, every single one of which I can climb upon and 'play' upon....that's just breathtaking to me, and when all of it is completely realistic....I could go on for days and days about the graphics and the environments and how truly amazing everything in the game world is, but I won't. Instead I'll just count on you to go buy and play this game and see and appreciate the world that Ubisoft Montreal has created for you.

Now, I have to write briefly about my absolute favorite aspect of the game, the Leap of Faith. Basically you climb to an extremely high place to get more of your map filled in, then you jump off of a small piece of wood and land in a cart full of hay sometimes hundreds of feet beneath you. It may not exactly be the most realistic aspect of the game, but the visuals and the feelings that accompany it make it something truly awesome to experience. My favorite was one spire in Damascus that was the highest one in the game. I got to the top, filled in the portion of my map that needed filling in, and then jumped. I knew that it was just a game, but I got goosebumps when I saw how high up I was and how low the cart was beneath me.

Now, one last issue with the game that I must present. I'm all for long cinematics, specifically because I love seeing well-made cinematics. I mean, watching the cinematics of Metal Gear Solid 3 gave me feelings and emotions and overall an experience that was better then some movies I've seen. This game, with it's interesting historical background and relatively interesting plot, however, has some of the most long winded cinematics that I've ever seen. They're well made and entertaining and informative and interesting, but they are also horribly long winded and in some cases downright boring. Whenever you assassinate a target you are treated to a sort of conversation with them in this sort of blue void. It is here that many plot points are revealed and you find out a lot of useful information. In fact, it's where all of the plot is revealed. However, these are the worst of the cinematics because there's nothing interesting going on in them at all. It's just two characters in a blue void....talking. I liked the plot and everything that went on, but some of these were so boring and frustrating that I almost gave up the game for good.

Overall I would say that if you are at all interested in a game with awe inspiring graphics, amazing gameplay and an adequate story, then you need to check out Assassin's Creed.

Concept: Create a living, breathing world with some of the most fluid gameplay and detailed visuals ever seen in a video game.

Graphics: I could go on and on. I'll just say that they are the most 'next-gen' graphics I've seen yet in a video game.

Sound: The music was okay, and really helped add tension to tense situations. The voice acting was adequate, though nothing to write home about.

Playability: The smoothest third person controls that I've ever experienced. This thing controls like a dream...except in a few combat situations.

Entertainment: Endlessly entertaining when in the medieval setting (I could run around on rooftops for days on end) but outside (if you've played in then you know what I mean)...gets a tad slow and boring.

Replay Value: Very high, just for the graphics alone!