Assassin's Creed is truly a next-gen game that delivers an amazing experience that will leave you wanting more.
This game had so much hype to live up to, from E3 in 2006 and E3 2007, that it was amazing the game looked this good as an end result and it really did live up to the standards it created..
The game itself was truly magnificent. There is no doubt there. The cities had so much detail it was impossible not to notice it. Every nook and cranny, every crack and dint and every splinter and shard. To get three or four cities to look so good is amazing. There were millions of building and they all had their own unique architectural design which is genuinely spectacular. There were so many buildings to do this too that you start to think about the creators and how much time and effort they put into making such awesome details.
Gameplay over all was satisfying. The free running system was easily the most enjoying feature. It wasn't complicated like holding in buttons and pressing the 'jump' button over again to jump form a building to another... All you needed to do was hold in two buttons and control with the analog stick. You could run on for hours, sprinting on roof tops, jumping from plank to plank of wood, running up walls and last but not least, jumping from high places and landing in a bale of hay. But the missions, where you retrieved information about your assassination target were a let down. The missions were only eavesdrop, pickpocket and interrogation. In addition there were informants who lent you information only if you did their dirty work. These missions were got really repetitive. You'd get another assassination target thus meaning to do some missions. And it would be like "No, not again." These missions were too easy as well. Eavesdrop is when you sit on a bench and listen into a conversation and that's it! Pickpocket is too easy because when the victim is looking at you while walking, you can still pickpocket him. Interrogation is when you beat up some poor guy just talking to some preaching on some leader and you follow him to an isolated place and retrieve info out of him via fistfight and these battles are just too easy. A couple of punches to the face and he breaks down. Imagine doing these missions over and over and over again and you might get the picture.
The crowds of the cities and the people who walk by and interact with each other as well as you is what next-gen gaming is all about. The people who inhabit these cities are all different. No person is the same as any other; well the face features are different at least. You could be roaming down an alley way and then decide to got to the other side of town and all different people would be there. And the interaction is well achieved. A couple of drunken guys might come over and start pushing you around which really annoy you because they usually blow your cover. A homeless girl might approach you and pester you about money which often results with you throwing her to the ground.
The combat is what practically makes the game. From watching the videos of the net, I only recognized the counter-attacks as the only attack. And if that was the case, this game would get a bit boring and frustrating. But the gameplay of the combat was pretty straightforward. You could be versing five or six guards but only one would attack you at a time making it too easy to ram a sword through all their throats. But the counter-attacks a very helpful. It makes it so much easier. Sure advancing on a scared opponent, stepping on both his legs thus snapping it, then grabbing his neck and breaking it is really cool, but blocking an attack then stabbing a guy twice in the heart with a shortsword wins hands down and it's easier to execute.
The puppet system is a quite different but adds a good sense of control for you character. It's handy for the first-time players to show them what button they've pressed or what buttons to press.
The sounds of the games were well performed. But many a time I've counter-attacked by slapping a guy in the head…and no sound is heard. So that was a bit of an issue because it just simply annoyed when you were expecting a good 'whack' to the face but nothing comes out. Other than that the sound was all good. There was this one counter-attack where you thrust your shortsword on top of the man's head. Then you hear a gruesome 'crack' sound which could only be sword penetrating the skull and then you yank the sword out offloading a gut wrenching 'crunch' from the sword out of the skull.
Also you have your sword slicing a man with the perfect 'shling' sound that makes it an attack.
The storyline of Assassin's Creed was well thought out and very different to the way you think it might have turned out. So that I don't spoil anyone the BIG surprise, the ending is very confusing and frustrating. It's one of those games where you've played your heart out the whole way through and you're ready to accept the ending. Then when you think things start to get really interesting and things really heat up, the game concludes with a BIG question. The game, I think, could have bit more of an ending instead of a Massive Cliff-Hanger. But hey, it leaves for a Killer sequel which I think promises to be in the running for game of the year.