Reviews// Assassin's Creed - Xbox 360

Posted 14 Nov 2007 18:54 by
Companies:
Games: Assassin's Creed
If you’ve not been paying much attention over the last 18 months then you might not be aware that Assassin’s Creed is a massive, free-roaming, stealth/action-style genre-buster in which you play a gymnastic, (free running) parkour-skilled assassin called Altair during the time of the Third Crusade. Oh, and there’s a major narrative twist as well (on which more, later).

This is a classically Triple-A (AAA) game supported with a media blitz (yes, we bought into it as well), lots of PR and marketing hype, and an attractive talking head who we’ve all swooned about – a lass called Jade Raymond. Yes, since it was first unveiled many moons ago at E3 in 2006, Assassin’s Creed has been building up expectations in the same way that going to a party in order to definitely get laid does... erm, did.

Ubisoft has consistently presented the game to the media as being up there among the first batch of games that are really pushing new generation console technology. So, is Ass Creed (as we fondly like to refer to it) up there with those other giants that fight for your time and your hard-earned this autumn and winter? Can it stand proud alongside BioShock and Halo 3 this Christmas? Is it merely a stand-in while we wait for Mass Effect ? Is UbiSoft only really good at things like the brilliant Ravin' Rabbids? Read on to find out what SPOnG’s reviewer made of it.

First things first, Altair is a member of the Hashshashin (or Assassins) – no, not a bunch of stoners (well, historically, yes they were a bunch of stoners but that’s more history than we’ve got time for). This lot were a radically ‘political’ group that laid waste to its enemies with extreme prejudice back in the time of the crusades.

SPOILER-ISH NOT REALLY BUT YOU’VE BEEN WARNED
The first thing that you will notice about the game, after you have played through the initial tutorial which bizarrely reveals the Matrix-a-like story twist literally minutes into the ‘experience’, is that it’s a real looker. The graphics, lighting and use of shadow are nothing less than jaw-droppingly beautiful, amongst the best I’ve yet seen on a 360 and the character animations are smoothly, lovingly executed (execute, see…)

The next thing you come to grips with (literally) as you familiarise yourself with the at-first-strange controls is the fact that the hugely expansive three cities in the game are Altair’s massive and amazing playground.

Buildings, walls, rafters and other objects in the surrounding cityscape – things that normal mortals would consider barriers to movement – are merely playground obstacles or minor impediments to Altair.

He smoothly dances, skips, hops and jumps his way across the rooftops of the city. Actually, wait - using your hands and brain and the game's control systems he skips etc and so on... but this is only once you've gone through the incredibly clumsy tutorials (hey, Ubi! It's a training level... it's supposed to be like fun... not homework).

Anyway, this parkour-style element of Assassin’s Creed’s gameplay does not lose its ability to trigger the pleasure centres of the brain throughout the entire experience. DO try this at home though, kids! Just not the real thing…

The game’s setting and storyline is also historically very accurate, for the historians and anal-retentives out there who give a flying one about such things. The extensive cities of Jerusalem, Acre and Damascus have been (so we’re told, we’ve never been there, and especially not there but back in time) accurately recreated.

Get this though: the nine poor saps that Altair has to take out throughout the course of the game (which provides the game’s overarching mission structure) actually died or went missing in ACTUAL history. Who’d’ve thunk it eh? A game that gives you a history lesson as you leap across rooftops while shoving an array of knives into evil soldier’s throats.

Control-wise, it’s a bit niggly and weird at first, but that’s because (like EA’s equally innovative skate.) the developers have done something a little bit clever and new with the control mechanism. Overall, controlling Altair is more like controlling a puppet than traditional third-person action controls; his feet, hands and head are mapped to your controller’s face buttons. Slightly weird, initially, but you soon get used to it.
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Comments

hollywooda 15 Nov 2007 09:59
1/13
Umm... still not sure about this 1, it amazes me that developers can achieve such great things but not cover the basics!!??? i mean didnt someone on the team play this through & go, "Dont you think its a bit repetative?" or "Guys, the AI of these Guards SUCK!!!!", i just dont see how developers can miss things in games that the average gamer can see like a dog dick!?!?!?......its baffling!?. anyway, very disapointed by what i've read & hope they make a sequel SOON & listen to all the reviews.... Isnt she called Jade Redmond?? or is it Raymond?... Anyways Cheers guys for the review.
TimSpong 15 Nov 2007 10:41
2/13
hollywooda wrote:
Umm... still not sure about this 1, it amazes me that developers can achieve such great things but not cover the basics!!???... Anyways Cheers guys for the review.


I've been playing the PS3 version - and will do more of same this today/tonight so I'll be putting up perspective on Monday.

My initial reaction is that there is way too much control taken away from you early in the game. By this I mean that it is almost irrelevant what you do to the outcome of the 'scene' (and that's how it feels). I fell nannyed (and not in a good way).

As for all the exposition - reduce that to 30 seconds, people, let me work things out for myself!

Then the firmly 'on rails' aspect could have been freed up a little more to the extent that - right now - I'm wouldn't be yelling at the SixAxis "It appears that you don't need me to complete this! You bloody do it! Go on! You little non-rumbling bastard!"

That said, it is still early in the game...

...that said, if it was early in a film and I felt like this, I'd be up out of my seat and heading for the refreshments stall to buy non-Coca-Cola produced beverages and non-Nestle produced snacks before looking at the Uncharted (movie equivalent) trailer again.

...that said, there really has to be more to AssCreed than I'm experiencing right now.... it can't really be an emperor in some spiffy new threads...

Cheers

Tim

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hollywooda 15 Nov 2007 10:51
3/13
ummmm now i'm even more confused!?.. so do you like it or not? haha, i think i'll wait for Zero Punctuations review!!! hahah, man i love that guy!!...... nearly feel off my chair laughing at his Clive Barkers, Jericho review!, its fcuking awesome anyone who hasnt heard this guy & seen his animations is missing out big time!.
Check this out!!
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/editorials/zeropunctuation/2633-Zero-Punctuation-Clive-Barker-s-Jericho

TimSpong 15 Nov 2007 10:56
4/13
hollywooda wrote:
ummmm now i'm even more confused!?.. so do you like it or not?


Bear in mind that Adam's 360 review is already up - and mine is simply going to be another perspective from the PS3.

Right now - I would wait for a budget release.

However, it's early in the game for me - hence no review until Monday when I've been able to give it the time any game deserves.

Cheers

Tim

hollywooda 15 Nov 2007 11:12
5/13
Cool, cheers.
me 19 Nov 2007 12:22
6/13
meh, dunno what you lot are babbling about. Played it all weekend and loving it. The engine is fantastic - cant beleive you complain about the glitches, was expecting something bad after reading this but the game looks amazing and no slow down at all.
hollywooda 19 Nov 2007 12:43
7/13
I bought it on Friday (couldnt resist) & maybe becuase i'd read some quite bad reviews about it & i didnt have high expectations, I....I really love it!!!. I can see what people mean about the obvectives being the same for each assasination, but its so much fun doing it all that i really didnt mind?, i think if u play this game constantly from begining to end u mind be disapointed, but i've mixed it up inbetween COD4 online & PGR4 this wkend & i've been gaggin to get back to it each time. The controls are great, yer it does feel like it plays itself sometimes but i've been playing Tomb Raider annivesary earlier in the week & i'd take the way AC makes u feel like a s**t hot roof runner over dying the millionth time on the rocks below because my jump wasnt pixel perfect!!!!. The combat felt a little strange to start with but once you nail it & level up with the combos & awesome kill moves its a joy to watch & play. And you really, really cannot say how beautiful this game looks, it just has to be seen.
Bentley 19 Nov 2007 13:44
8/13
It's amazing that developers can miss simple flaws. But only as amazing as how Internet forum posters can miss how utterly appalling their spelling and grammar can be. Not to mention the fact that if you are using exclamation marks, you only need one to signify the fact you are exclaiming. Any more screams "I am a bit mad and crazy and one day hopefully society will shun me".
It amazes me that people don't look back over what they have typed and think "actually, do I need to post this? Is it interesting, relevant or entertaining? Or does it just make me come across as a six-year old over-excited illiterate retard?"
As for Assassin's Creed, I've been saying fo9r ages that while looking promising from afar, as it drew closer and more was revealed it was looking more and more ropey. The whole twist is just a total nonsense. A waste of what could have been an amazing franchise.
hollywooda 19 Nov 2007 14:09
9/13
Bentley, these are forum posts, Not f**king essays!, & if we wanna use a million exclamation marks then we f**king will!!!!!!, who died & made you God?. Your post may have perfect punctuation, but who gives a monkeys f**k, give urself a pat on the back.
bentley is a ladyman 20 Nov 2007 12:21
10/13
Bentley wrote:
It amazes me that people don't look back over what they have typed and think "actually, do I need to post this? Is it interesting, relevant or entertaining? Or does it just make me come across as a six-year old over-excited illiterate retard?"
As for Assassin's Creed, I've been saying fo9r ages


.... nice Bentley real nice. If you are going to complain about people's typing then how about checking your own out? I aint too bothered how i say what, this is the txt nation now wether we like it or not and bang goes spelling, puncuation and et al.

My most over hyped game of the year? Bioshock. Does Assasins Creed come close to being disappointing? not to me, freerunning is way of the future, level design is perfect. Should it have more mix of tasks? sure. But until Creed 2 comes out this will do my fine. Cant put it down.
JAMES 20 Nov 2007 12:24
11/13
( hay bales, rooftop gardens, and so on)

<<Shudders>> Rooftop Gardens!
hollywooda 20 Nov 2007 12:32
12/13
their not really roof top gardens, more little huts.....
james 21 Nov 2007 12:24
13/13
hollywooda wrote:
their not really roof top gardens, more little huts.....


It wasn't even as good as little huts in Wakefield!
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