The true start of next-gen gaming and one of the best games I have played in a long time.
This game is a mixture of just about everything done right in games so far. There is the obvious prince of persia acrobatic feature but it has part of a GTA style open ended come here to get a mission way of doing things. While another part is a hitman-esque style hiding with the crowd to get close to your target. The game also brings brand new formulas to the table by making the player do his own dirty work instead of having all the information conveniantly placed in their lap. It was also VERY refreshing to see a game that doesnt rely on light and dark stealth tactics but instead relies on planning and thinking ahead.
The story is worth buying the game for alone. The idea and premise behind it is something I have never seen before and it is extremely refreshing to find a game or any item of media these days that leaves you with questions about the world around you. This brings me to the end of the story. Not everyone is going to like it but the game seems to close one book only to open a brand new one.
The gameplay is phenominal depending on how deep you find yourself in this game. How the game works is simple you find info on your target then kill your target then run away from angry guards then skip town. Now the hit itself is where the fun starts. This can go extremely well or you can botch it. The game gives you the option to explore where the hit is going to take place (you know where it is by talking to informants) you can figure out escape routes after you kill the target then save a citizens along the path so you have extra help. This is a stroke of genius. The game rewards patience and preperation. As stated you dont have to do this and you can improvise and things can work out just fine too.
To continue with gameplay running around was REALLY fun! You feel really cool jumping from building to building especially after killing a target and everyone is after you. One problem that is more or less annoying is sometimes this game is unforgiving. In one particular scenario an informant asked me to kill a few templar so off I go walking through the street when a crazy person walks up hits me right into my target who runs away and I have half the town trying to kill me. I would be okay with this once or twice but this happened about 7 or 8 times. There are a few places in the game like this buy with some patience it doesnt effect the game too much.
Controls is where this game losses a lot of points. The controls were playable but you could tell this was designed for a console. The way they are set up is very strange but once you get the hang of it, its very easy to play with. The controls were not as responsive as I would have liked them to be. In many cases your pulling off moves at a very quick pace and then you hit a wall you cant scale so you climb up then fall back down but sometimes I would do this three or four times with guards trying to kill me
I had no problems with graphics and for the most part my computer has the minimum except for my video card. I was able to max out all the settings and have no lag at any part of the game. The cities were breathtaking and so beautifully made. I cant stress that enough this game is gorgeous.
To wrap all of this up lets do a spiffy little pros and con thingy.
Pros: Amazing story (will make you think about it for weeks after playing it), Gorgeous looking game, This game is just fun from jumping to building to building to standing in a crowd of people pouncing out of seemingly nowhere and running off is probably the coolest thing I have ever done in a game. No light and dark stealth.
Cons: Controls are unresponsive at times but still very managable. Not everyone will like the ending.