Developer / Publisher: Ubisoft | Format: PS3
Assassin's Creed is finally here. After months of anticipation and hype, we can all finally decide for ourselves if it was worth the wait. Hype is a dangerous entity, more often than not it can raise expectation so high that nothing short of God and Mohammed rising from the dead and playing deathmatch on Quake will suffice.
How to make the perfect Assassin's Creed cocktail. Take one part GTA, one part Crackdown, throw in some Hitman and stir till set. Taking place both in the present day and in the Middle East during the third crusade, AC has you take on the role of an upper level member of a secret society of assassins. Following a disastrous mission you are demoted and must work your way back up the ranks to your former position. To accomplish this you must first dispatch a number of targets, who just so happen to be spread across three separate cities, each one separated by an expanse of land.
The cities are large and open with plenty of depth and room for exploration. To identify a target you have to seek out information by eaves dropping on conversations, pick pockets for maps and other information all the time avoiding the notice of the city guards and patrols. Alert them to your presence and they be all over you like, cream cheese on a bagel.
The cityscapes on offer in AC are breathtaking. From the wide open market places, to towers which touch heaven. And it’s all in the game, if you can see it then you can go there and climb it. AC most impressive attribute is how the developers managed to fit all this in, it’s astounding that the near photo realistic environment and characters work so well. Add to this that when standing atop towers you can literally see for miles. Next gen consoles finally have a game which tests their graphical capabilities and they come out on top.
The only real negative draw back to the gameplay is the repetitive feeling of it all. There is no real variety. you run around, pick some pockets, eavesdrop a little, jump like a mad man and kill the odd enemy. And thats about it. Don't misinterpret that, it's not a bad thing but a little variety would have been nice. actually there is one other slight draw back, the bizzare storyline is at times incomprehensible. It takes place in a lab in the 21st century for some of the running time. By the end of the game it's difficult to figure out what just happened.
Assassin's Creed is more than capable of overcoming it's plot difficulties and offers such a wild array of places to explore that you're literally spoilt for choice. To not explore the game on either the PS3 or 360 would be a shame. Forget the hype, and decide for yourself.
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