Assassin's Creed – The definitive stealth action game.
You, Altair, starts off in a cave racing after a treasure. You and your fellow assassin's are tasked with a simple retrieval mission. The mission goes wrong, and Altair becomes stripped of his weapons, abilities, and rank. You basically start out with your long sword, short blade (sheathed weapon attached to the wrist), and common sense. Throughout the course of the game you'll unlock a short sword, throwing daggers, more throwing daggers, and special combat abilities which are extremely useful in the later portion of the game.
Assassin's Creed is actually an assassination game. You'll get nine targets to take in a specific order, the game follows a closely knitted story arch (no spoilers in review), which takes place in three different cities throughout the third crusade. The cities are Jerusalem, Damascus, and Acre. Each of the three cities has their own unique feel to them, and at the same time they don't play completely different.
Let's start with Damascus. Most religious scholars, or most religious people, will recognize this place as a city from holy text. Many miracles were performed here long before the crusades. The city is a fort, much like the other two, surrounded by a large wall, protecting the citizens inside (except your unlucky prey). It has this sort of blue filter over it, which has a look similar to what can be found in "Kingdom of Heaven". It isn't bad since during the third crusade King Richard of England actually did conquer this city.
Acre is located in the dessert. It has a very dry theme to it. Occupied by the Saracens, you'll find the architecture uninfluenced by Europeans here. It's probably the only city that never fell to the Crusaders during the not so holiest of holiest times for Christendom.
Jerusalem, a city which a lot more people should be familiar with, is lush and beautiful. It is after all the "holy" land. Jerusalem is occupied by the Saracens during this game. Saladin's forces defeated the French prior to the third crusade. You'll find synagogues, mosques, and maybe a church or two, within this city.
Each city is highly populated with crowds of people walking within its walls. The screen is constantly littered with hundreds of NPCs at any given time during the game. You'll never turn a street corner and find it empty. This adds a great aesthetic feel to the game, since Altair is supposed to be just a "blade in the crowd". The NPCs have various models, so you'll more less than often see different variations of them.
All three cities are extremely huge; however, the world of Assassin's Creed is even bigger. Separating the three cities is the kingdom. No, it isn't some castle with a moat, it's a large marsh land divided by Crusaders and Saladin's men. Neither side is friendly to you, so you'll move through the kingdom as you would through the cities. The only difference is you'll probably be on horseback.
Also, Altair has a place where he and his fellow assassins call home. It's located away from the cities, so you'll have to cross the kingdom to reach this little enclave. In this guild you'll find an excellent and safe environment to practice wall crawling, building hopping, and combat (in the pit area). On top of all that, it's huge, not as big as the cities, but big enough to believe that the Hassassins have strength in numbers, and small enough to remain secluded.
Since the game world is so large, exploration is encouraged. The game has several types of flags you can collect. They don't offer any significant meaning; they're just there for something extra to do. Another cool thing is the Templar Knights. 60 of them are in the entire region, and killing these dudes can be satisfying since they have a stronger looking demeanor than the common city guards.
Assassin's Creed's looks aren't the only thing it's offering. The games sound design really immerses the player into the world. Crowds sound like crows with crazy people screaming, merchants conning, and thieving thieves getting caught. It all draws you in so you feel as if you're a zit on someone's triple chin.
The games musical score is fitting as well. It fits with the setting and the theme of the story arch. It also chases pace when you're blending in, fighting, or running away. You won't want to stop playing just to listen, but it does add to the overall experience.
Another great aspect about the sound design is the SFX. Horses sound real, swords clinging and clanging, sound amazing. Voice work is extremely good, well except for Altair. Altair's voice sounds unbelievable. It's not befitting a true Hassassin. It sounds overly Caucasian rather than Arabian. Other than his voice though, the nine targets, your teacher, and various other characters, along with the NPCs roaming about sounds amazing.
So Assassin's Creed looks and sounds great. So what? Who cares? Many games look and sound great. How does it play?
Well, Assassin's Creed is that game you pick up, and start playing. Altair's movements are as fluid as a bird. It's actually befitting his name, considering Altair in Arabic actually does mean Flying Eagle. He's agile. He can go from blending in, to leaping onto his prey. In combat, he's ruthless, cunning, and homicidal. That's right. Altair defends himself by killing his foes.
Combat is a lot of fun. However it can get repetitive in latter portion of the game. Altair has his long sword, short sword, throwing daggers, and his switch blade which is sheathed by his robes and attached to his robes (it's triggered by something on his body, but I won't reveal where). While it may seem like you have a lot of options, two out of the four are only useful when sneaking around. The other two are great for sticky situations in which you don't want to run away from.
Using the long sword and short sword is relatively simple. You have your standard attack mapped to the "X" button. The "B" button controls your free hand which is used to grab opponents and throw them, and you play from there. The games counter system is relatively simple, and anything the enemy AI can do with their swords, you can do, except you're extremely lethal.
The throwing daggers are rather obvious. You throw them at enemies who are too far for your switch blade. Your switch blade can be used to pounce on unsuspecting prey, or silently assassinate someone not expecting to be gutted. It's a useful tool that the player can use to take out beggars, drunks, or the deranged mad men who feel the constant need to hit you when ever they're in range. Use it wisely.
As far the games AI goes, it's pretty straight forward. A blade in the crowd must behave like a blade in the crowd. If you've assassinated people, the guards will suspect an assassin. If you're behavior is socially unacceptable, such as scathing walls, walking around with your sword, running, or just knocking people over, the guards will treat you like a criminal.
It's pretty easy to differentiate how aware the guards are. You have an icon in your heads up display. If it's yellow, they know nothing. If it's red, they're searching for something. For more detailed information on the guards, you just have to observe them. If their swords are sheathed, they know nothing. If their hands are on the hilt, and the sword is still sheathed, they suspect something. If the blade is drawn, and they've gathered, they're searching, and they're searching for Altair.
Now, Assassin's Creed isn't exactly a short game. The single player can last up to 15 hours, depending on how involved you are in doing the side quests. You're nine targets need to be executed, and it's up to the gamer here to decide how to collect the intelligence. You can use an informant, pickpocket a messenger, or intimidate a loud mouth fanatic. The choice is yours, and so is how much you want to do. You're required a minimum of two, but can only have a maximum of six. The minimum will increase throughout the game, as tales of your dark deeds will spread throughout the land. Your targets will become more protective of themselves.
Now, finding one man amongst a crowd can be difficult. How is Altair supposed to move about these people? Well when walking, Altair can use the "B" button to gently push people out of his way without making himself suspicious, or causing a negative reaction. He can, but while running he can fall over. The best way to move about is upwards.
Altair is the Spider Man of Middle Ages. He can scathe just about any building. If the surface he can grasp his fingers on, he can grab onto it and make is way to the top. You have to climbing, as it's not only the fastest way to travel between the cities, but the surest way to escape guards. There isn't much button pressing when hopping between buildings to building, you just hold the right trigger, and the "A" button, and Altair will latch on to whatever is nearest to him. Just make sure it's in Altair's near line of sight, otherwise you may plummet to ground. In the latter portion of the game, you'll get the ability to grasp on to ledges, which can mean life or death if you miss a ledge by just that much.
With all that said, Assassin's Creed is probably one of the better games released in a long time. Some gamers may find it repetitive due to the combat system, or the mission structure. Players may find that essentially gathering intelligence is constantly the same as each mission, even though some intelligence may require different tasks. Either way, Assassin's Creed is an excellent game which every gamer should experience. It's certainly worth a purchase, or at least a rental.