Half platformer, half stealth-action, Assassin’s Creed will undoubtedly make you feel like Batman, if only for a little while. With breathtaking vistas and unparalleled art direction, it oozes style. But, at the end of the day cycle that never ends, it’s little more than the best tech demo ever.
The Eagle and the Apple
Assassin’s Creed centers (mostly) around the exploits of Altair (Al-ta-ir), a twelfth century disgraced assassin forced to restore his status by assassinating nine targets throughout three historical cities. Our anti-hero starts in Masyaf, which serves as the main assassin outpost. Travel to each city is accessed through the Kingdom, an open area world where anything can happen, and almost nothing does.
In order to eliminate a target, you’ll have to gather information about them. This is handled through the game’s side missions, of which there are few. You can sit on a bench and eavesdrop, pickpocket valuable information, brawl with a target to interrogate them, or complete some minor assassinations for an informer. Once you complete the requisite number of missions, you can contact the assassin bureau chief in each city to claim the marker for your target.
The assassinations are easily the most fun that the game has to offer. Since your character can scale most any part of a given city, you can scout your target and take out any guards, effortlessly leaping across rooftops, slip in, and be treated to a cutscene that reminds you every time that you’re the good guy, despite your tactics.
There are three other features to the game that I’ll briefly touch on. There are certain areas in the world that can be climbed called view points. Reaching these heights allows you to view more of the map and potentially open up missions pertaining to your investigation of a given target. Also, there are several missions to save various citizens within each city that basically consist of you picking a fight with guards, killing them, and then being thanked by the person. They add some elements to the game which make travel through the cities easier, but are wholly unnecessary. Lastly, hidden throughout the world, are flags of varying types. Collecting these yields achievements and (according to the game) a few new missions. They’re similar to the orbs in Crackdown, less any incremental benefit.
Everything’s Denver Omelet
It’s important to note in the review the game’s dual storylines, as ultimately they end up dueling. Altair’s adventures, while the bulk of the game, are contrasted by those of his descendant, Desmond. Desmond, an assassin himself, has been kidnapped and held hostage by a shadowy organization that seeks to utilize his genetic memory of Altair through a device called the Animus. The Animus works sort of like the Matrix, but at this point in gaming that’s more of an insult than a compliment. Several points in the game you’re jarred out of the 12th century Middle East and brought into 2007 for adventure game like segments.
One wonders why Ubisoft bothered with this premise. It’s dangerous to mix the sci-fi elements in play with those of realistic past, potentially causing confusion among gamers. The Altair segments are laden with sci-fi elements as well, including a DNA synchronization bar instead of life, and fast forwarding memories at certain points in the story. It almost seems that with the game’s setting, political and religious overtones, Ubisoft wanted to add an extra layer of artificiality to the assassinations for gamers who couldn’t differentiate between real life and a video game. The opening disclaimer claiming that Assassin’s Creed was developed by members of varying faiths seems to further this speculation.
Where’s the Beef? Here’s The Beefs!
It is important to note the successes in Assassin’s Creed. As stated, it offers beautiful art direction and stunning animations. Graphically, the game is top notch with excellent environments and very good character models. The game engine itself is solid, only stuttering near the last third and under heavy pressure. The controls are fairly tight, but falter a bit when being chased by guards. There are few times you’ll do something you didn’t want to, but only a few. On the surface, and even in the first several hours, the game shines.
At the start, Assassin’s Creed seems to have limitless potential. And it squanders every bit of it. The repetition kills the game. Climbing becomes as boring as it is necessary, presenting no challenge other than pressing up on the left stick. Combat at first seems deep until every scenario becomes exactly the same. Guards vary little in animation or tactics. Cut scenes cannot be skipped and a failed mission offers the exact same lines of dialogue. It’s not uncommon to save five or six citizens in a row and have them say exactly the same thing. Entering each city unnoticed occurs the same way each time.
The repetition wouldn’t be so noticeable if not for the lack of any substantial rewards as you progress through the story. At first, you’re offered a few interesting tweaks to combat, but the latter half just adds ammo and damage, which are mostly overlooked.
With no incentives, total focus is placed on the story as the only real source of gratification. And ultimately, it comes to an unsatisfying end which mixes up its sci-fi, political, and religious themes and offers little conclusion.
It’s terribly unfortunate that a title that starts out so strong falters so poorly. This becomes fully realized towards the last segment of the game as Ubisoft decides to break its own model and engine. The game completely throws its stealth elements out the window, forcing combat in tiny sections with frustrating camera angles and disorienting shimmering blue walls. Sections become incredibly difficult and can only be completed with a few elements of the combat system, and enemies toss you around like a beach ball at a Green Day concert. The culmination of these events leads to a “boss” battle straight out of an early 90’s Megaman title. And that’s about the time you check the trade-n value.
