Assassin's Creed

UPC: 008888343394

Platform: PlayStation 3

Publisher: Ubisoft Entertainment

Developer: Ubisoft Montreal

Category: Action

Style(s): Third-Person 3D Action

Synopsis: The paradoxical life of a man dedicated to death comes to the PlayStation 3 in the form of Assassin's Creed. This is no Hitman clone however, as Assassin's Creed plants gamers in the midst of the Third Crusade as a member of the sect responsible for the creation of the word "assassin." Gamers take control of Alta?r, a young Assassin who begins his quest shortly after the Christian capture of the city Acre. With avian traits (Alta?r is Arabic for "eagle") and a ritualistically severed finger replaced by a talon-like dagger, he is out to expedite the Assassin's goal of bringing an end to the Crusades with as little bloodshed as possible. But it's up to gamers to decide just how much blood he spills. Featuring the sort of open-ended storytelling, gameplay, and side-missions as the Grand Theft Auto games, Assassin's Creed is designed to immerse gamers in the medieval world of religious conquest. Set between July and September of 1191, the game features three full cities to explore in Acre, Damascus, and Jerusalem, as well as Masyaf, the smaller base of Assassin operations, and a sprawling wilderness area which connects the four cities. Each city has a distinct atmosphere, and nearly every part of the world is interactive. This lets gamers use Alta?r's acrobatics and strength to bound around rooftops, scale walls, and interact with anything that juts out more than two inches from its surroundings. The game also makes use of a unique control system where buttons correspond to appendages rather than particular actions. Developed by a Ubisoft Montreal team that features many of the people responsible for creating the fluid character graphics of the Prince of Persia games, Assassin's Creed is designed to feature the most realistic and lifelike characters ever seen in a video game. Alta?r's movement is governed by over 4,000 character animations, and NPCs (non-playable characters) are all designed to have their own needs and concerns, which will lead some characters to aid him, while others may fight him or run away. Similarly, if Alta?r dispatches a few soldiers quickly, other soldiers are more likely to flee for their lives or run for help than eagerly attack and meet the same fate as their fallen brethren. There are nine central targets who must be eliminated to end the Crusades. After each assassination the dying victim relays some bit of information to Alta?r, moving the narrative along and giving gamers a fuller understanding of the overall mission. There are also dozens of side missions spurred by communication with peasants and merchants, and a number of flags for Alta?r to track down. Assassin's Creed features one final twist that brings gamers back to the present and takes them into the future, opens the door for sequels to come, and gives some insight into the Assassin's creed: "Nothing is true. Everything is permitted." ~ Christopher Brown, All Game Guide

Package Contents: 28-Page Instruction Manual

Controls: Joystick/Gamepad

It's hard to say which is more exciting in Assassin's Creed: the character you control or the ancient cities you'll explore. Both are the game's clear standout features, and they are so well visualized that you can almost forgive the developers for not focusing more attention on expanding the gameplay. It's as if they spent so long in crafting the character and environments, they ran out of time to give players something to do outside of the same specific tasks. In Assassin's Creed, you are essentially doing the same thing over and over again, on a loop of sorts, but you'll still keep playing because you haven't seen any world so lavishly created outside of a Rockstar game. The story is also intriguing. What initially looked like a game set in ancient times is essentially a flashback courtesy of a futuristic machine called the Animus, which combs through the genetic "memories" of its subjects to look for clues in the past. Part of the game has you watching Desmond Miles, believed to be a descendant in a long line of assassins, in lengthy sequences where you're not doing much other than walking to a certain spot or talking to a female assistant named Lucy Stillman. The true "game" is played from within Desmond's mind, as he recalls memories of an ancestor, Altair, who goes about his business of hunting down powerful people that are believed to be corrupt or deemed a threat to the order of assassins. The action is played from a third-person view set behind the hooded Altair as he patiently strolls through bustling, impeccably detailed versions of Damascus, Acre, and Jerusalem. You'll be impressed by Altair's context-sensitive controls and fluid animations, as you nimbly scale buildings and towers in order to get better vantage points of the surrounding areas, leap across rooftops to silently take out guards, and blend in with the crowd or duck into a haystack to elude capture. The gameplay will appeal to those who enjoyed titles in the Thief or Hitman series, with the focus of the game being the nine different assassinations. Each target poses a different challenge, from being surrounded by guards while giving a speech to being deep inside a fortress that you'll need to infiltrate. The problem is that the buildup to each assassination is exactly the same, forcing players to eavesdrop on a person, beat up a person, and/or pickpocket a person multiple times. There's nothing else to do in these beautiful cities, other than collect hidden flags or find hidden Templar knights that offer no reward or purpose. While Assassin's Creed would seem to have a lot in common with other stealth games, success isn't based on trial and error. While you are rewarded for a "perfect" assassination, you can botch things up and still complete your task, engaging foes in dramatic, action-packed sword fights and making harrowing escapes across the entire city while guards are in hot pursuit. There are plenty of thrills in Assassin's Creed, as there are plenty of missed opportunities with its open-world design. Assassin's Creed has the right ingredients but the wrong recipe, a flawed game that somehow manages to be monotonous and exhilarating in equal amounts. ~ Scott Alan Marriott, All Game Guide

the game requires Joystick/Gamepad.