Fans only....
The game has no intro, you just jump into Altair's shoes and get moving. I miss the beefy story of the console version already....
I am pretty impressed with the scope of the environments and the familiar music score that went along with them (albeit noticeably compressed).
The gameplay, however, is more like a cross between AC and Prince of Persia, which is not necessarily a bad thing.
-As a side note, I am a big fanboy of Prince of Persia-
The core gameplay is linear platforming which includes many familiar obstacles, including spikes, pitfalls, and spinning blades. This all may sound good on paper, but be prepared to die, alot. The controls are not spot on, leaving you to over jump gaps often.
The combat leaves much to be desired, I thought that after Ubisoft worked magic with the simple fighting system on the consoles, that at least some remnants of it would be present here, unfortunately, I'm mistaken. The moves that are in there aren't half bad, but the three different combos get old really fast.
*CONSOLE SPOLIER*
The story is not all its cracked up to be. The only reason I knew it was a prequel to the console version, is because Al Mualim is still master of the Assassins
*SPOLIER OVER*
BOTTOM LINE:
Overall, I'm indifferent about this release, I definitely think this could have been something special if it spent more time in development. But hey, I love Assassin's Creed, and if you do too, its a must buy.....or at least wait a week and get it used instead.