Foxkei

Nothing is true. Everything is permitted.

Lead man Altair’s phrase of choice ironically manages to summarize the vastly divided opinions circulating online about this title. That is, the experience and enjoyment you glean from this game will depend wholly on your approach, patience, and creativity. Nothing in any review about this game you read will relate directly to your potential experience, which has everything to do with your composition as a gamer.

That being said, there seems to be one area every reviewer is content to agree upon: visuals. The graphical flair present in this title rivals that of Bioshock and Uncharted at times, incorporating breathtaking overworld vistas and incredibly expansive cities, all three of which are filled with meticulous detail and drenched in sunlight. All this said, Assassin’s Creed really shines in animation. The oft-hyped “Free-Running” mechanic gives you the exhilarating feeling of smoothly bounding from rooftop to rooftop, in spite of its rather simply integration. Climbing, however, is where Assassin’s Creed blows away the competition. No doubt, a healthy portion of your time with this game will be spent watching with amazement as Altair traverses building and towers, seamlessly switching between animations and realistically grabbing onto any handhold available to him.

And that leads me to the most important aspect of any game: the gameplay. And for the most part, Assassin’s Creed delivers. The feeling of tension preceding an assassination, and the adrenaline-filled escape afterwards, has not been integrated this well since Metal Gear Solid 3. On top of that, the aforementioned Free-Running and climbing dynamics make this title the most fun to maneuver in since 2003’s Prince of Persia, fitting considering both were developed by Ubisoft Montreal. There is, however, a single hitch in the gameplay, a hitch of greater or lesser impact to you as a player depending on how you approach the game. Assassin’s Creed can get repetitive. On the other hand, you may play through the game and never notice this repetition. There are less than a half-dozen different Investigations to complete over the course of the nine assassinations. If you approach each of these the same way, you will come away disappointed. Vary your plan of attack, however, and you will come to appreciate Assassin’s Creed’s open-world gameplay, and the myriad possibilities that come along with it.

The final point of controversy in the game is undoubtedly the ending. Without spoiling anything, I will say that the ending wraps up this first game satisfactorily, yet blatantly leads into the inevitable sequel with an enraging cliffhanger of epic proportions. This, along with the not-so-secret present-day aspects (don’t worry, it’s revealed in the first five minutes, honest!) succeeds in weaving a compelling tale, one which will be vaguely and eerily familiar to any fan of Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six (the novel, not the game).

Although not exactly the game it’s been hyped up to be for the last few years, Assassin’s Creed manages to deliver on the vast majority of its promises. Hopefully Ubisoft manages to iron out the kinks in time for this new franchise’s inevitable sequel in the coming years.

Score: 9.0

[ original post on PSRT's 1UP Page ]