Albeit being a glitchy adventure, Assassin's Creed is a fresh one you won't forget.
Does all of this seem to mesmerize you? At first glance, these words seem only fit for a history bluff to know, but this is but the setting of which Assassin's Creed is based on. Assassin's Creed is a fresh, new IP developed by Ubisoft, the same people who created legendary series such as Rainbow Six, Ghost Recon, Splinter Cell, and Prince of Persia. This bright title is perceived by many as "the baby of Splinter Cell and Prince of Persia." This is often said as the game blends ancient scenery and acrobatic skills with stealth action. A videogame with important names behind it and numerous years of development delivered upon it, Assassin's Creed is an innovative work of art that has been blessed with both creativity, and functionality of mechanics.
The basis of Assassin's Creed is rather simple. There is a war going on between the Christians, Muslims, and Jews for control over the Holy Land, another term for the territories where Biblical stories took place. At the beginning of the game, you are on a hunt for a certain treasure. On the way, you betray the tenants of the creed (do not kill civilians, do not pose unnecessary actions, do not betray your allies, etc.). Your arrogance causes you to fail at receiving the treasure and fail at assassinating a Christian Templar in the way that did not need to be killed. All of this alerts the Christian Templars and an attack is made on the Assassin castle. Although many lives are lost, you manage to drive away the Templars from doing more harm to your people. Your master then punishes you for your foolish actions by resetting your rank as an assassin back to a novice rank and strips your weapons and skills off of you. Your master then gives you a chance for redemption; a chance to help him free the Holy Land by assassinating Templar leaders and, the most important one, Robert de Sable. This review is spoiler-free, so details will not be included of the science-fiction twist or the ending of the story.
The story of Assassin's Creed is very long and interesting. The game utilizes real life history and blends it with stealth action to produce a very satisfying, meaty campaign. Although the game offers no multiplayer, the singleplayer story is extensive and fulfilling. The gameplay is grand; cities are immensely scaled to great heights, and cities go on for in-game miles. Horse rides are thrillingly swift, and traveling to and from areas is appealing. Climbing walls and jumping from rooftop-to-rooftop is one of the most thrilling experiences in a game of this genre; however, the gameplay suffers from numerous bugs and glitches. The game engine is new, and being so, the game needed more testing in order to fascinate players more. Glitches range from simple falling from buildings to glitching through walls and dying. Minor graphical glitches can also hinder the experience gamers receive of this game, though not as much as the game glitches. Swordplay is another key role in Assassin's Creed, as it plays heavily upon your combat with guards and enemies. Though all your weapons and skills are taken at the beginning of the game, you eventually receive them back- one by one- and you must carefully learn how to master every skill of the blade as enemies become more and more difficult. Your five weapons are the Hidden Blade (a stealth assassination blade, a knife hidden in your wrist that instantly kills foes), the Long Blade, the Short Blade, Throwing Knives, and your fists. Skills range from counter attacking other people's attacks at split-second timing to grabbing and throwing enemies to guard breaking their guard.
The graphics in this game have come a long way since the graphics of earlier Xbox 360 games. Textures are crisp and sharp, and lighting is fabulous. But most importantly is the color tone of each city in the game. Different cities and areas have different color tones than others. For example, Jerusalem has a green tint to it, while Acre has a blue tint to it, and Damascus has a red tint to it. Combining this with the reflective and absorbing grain of the environment, and the next-generation tool known as motion blur, the game's graphics are a nice touch to its presentation.
The audio in Assassin's Creed is also very impressive. Throughout the game, audio is a key factor that can determine who are assassins and who are master assassins. The audio helps distinguish differing people, from noisy merchants in the market, to babies crying, to beggars asking for money, to guards looking for a nearby murderer. The audio works well on Surround sound and provides an excellent immersion of what it felt like during the Third Crusade.
Overall, Assassin's Creed is a lengthy adventure, worthwhile to any gamer who enjoys stealth, platforming, or swordplay. The masterpiece is an innovative work of art, combining the swordplay, acrobatics, and visuals of Prince of Persia, while retaining the stealth operation-like missions of Splinter Cell. The glitches and bugs seem to hinder game experience, but overall, it is a revolutionary adventure worth the time of any Xbox 360 owner.