Despite being repetitive, the games concept and story makes it one of 2007's finest games, and a unique experience.
Story
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Assassin's Creed's story can somewhat being described as The Matrix. No matter how much you viewed the trailers, there was a surprise twist in the story that the trailers didn't even hint at. I would keep it a secret, but everyone else probably spoiled it due to the last two AC games, so why not?
The game takes place in 2012, Desmond Miles, a bartender, has been kidnapped by Abstergo, who forces him to enter the Animus, a machine that lets him experience the life of his ancestor, Altaïr, a member of the secret Assassin's Brotherhood during the Third Crusade. After nearly getting a member killed during a mission (despite actually succeeding it), he is removed of all his weapons and rank and sentenced to a mock execution. However, Altaïr is given a chance to redeem himself...
The concept is unique and something that haven't been seen before in a video game. The characters are likeable and well written, and the story is intriguing and by the end, it keeps you on the edge of your seat and wanting more. The ending itself however ends very abruptly, but given that AC2 is out, the abrupt ending is a little more forgiving. Still, it's a memorable story with a unique concept, and one that is incredibly intriguing.
10
Gameplay
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Part of the development team for AC had a hand in creating the Prince of Persia Trilogy, and it shows. The gameplay is similar to the Prince of Persia series, albeit in its climb everywhere freedom. Every building you see can be climbed on, and it all works flawlessly.
The aim of the goal is to assassinate certain people, but you can't assassinate them right from the get go. First, you enter a city (Jerusalem, Acre and Damascus) then you need to climb some towers, in order to figure out where a agent from the Brotherhood is. After you found him, you need to perform a few side missions, which include pick pocketing, eavesdropping and interrogation, and then you can move on to the assassination.
This is where the repetitive nature of the game comes shining through. Every time you get a new target to kill, you have to do the same side missions over and over again. It's really repetitive, and can make the game painfully boring at times. The assassination missions themselves though are pretty cool, with some intense moments that's well executed. The game lacks quick time events (thankfully), but during the cut-scenes, glitches will often appear and if you press a button when that happens, you gain a different view in the cut-scenes, which is actually pretty cool.
The world in AC is a living breathing world. People are walking carrying on with their daily lives, priests pray and soldiers guard the various places, and it's portrayed really well, and similarity to Shenmue & Grand Theft Auto. However, it's not a realistic world by any means. The guards can be actively looking for Altaïr if he steals or murders people in plain sight, or enters restricted areas. When the soldiers are on to you, you can blend in with the crowd, or hide in haystacks, to avoid getting spotted by them. While it makes sense, the game has some stupid mechanics that can achieve the same thing. Sitting on a bench for example practically makes you invisible, and if you pretend like your praying, then they all of a sudden can't see you, which results in various stupid moments where your just killing soldier after soldier, then walking like your praying to escape.
The combat isn't terribly good either. While it's simple, the game doesn't really present a lot of challenge, and when you're fighting more than one enemy, one or two may try to kill you, while the rest will just stand still and happily wait until it's their turn, usually when you've killed one of their mates. The controls works well when you need to climb, but they can be a bit imprecise.
That being said though, the controls works really well when climbing, and the assassination missions do present some intense moments, so while it's repetitive, the assassination missions, and story will at least keep you going (and intrigued) till the very end.
The game has a good length for its type, taking around 15-20 hours to finish, but after the game's done, there's no reason to return. You can collect flags, yes, but they don't unlock anything, so there's no reason to collect them, and though there are clues to be analyzed after the end credits, there isn't really a reason to play it again, once it's been finished.
7.5
Presentation
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Back in 2007, the game looked good, and they still look good today. The characters animate and look well, and the world is stunning. Though the game isn't free from visual bugs, and the shadows have tendency to just pop in when you approach buildings. Plus some frame rate hiccups here and there, but despite that, the game looks good.
The sound is amazing though. The voice acting is pretty good, with believable dialogue. However it's still a bit quenstionable. The game takes place in the middle east, but a few characters (Altaïr especially) speaks with either an american accent, whoops! The atmosphere in the various cities is really good, and the music, composed by Jesper Kyd, is stunning.
9.0
Overall
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Despite the game suffering from repetitive missions, Assassins Creed is actually a pretty good game. Its concept is unique and the story is very intriguing, which is more than enough to keep you playing through the game. It's a special game, because of its story, concept and setting. It's a memorable game that deserves to be played, as games as unique and memorable as this, doesn't come around very often.