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Beautiful world; Boring gameplay- which is more important?

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 6 / 10
Date: November 18, 2007
Author: Amazon User

Let's just say it, Assassin's Creed is visually impressive. That aside, the gameplay is far too repetitive to actually merit a purchase. Think about playing for 6 hours straight and using the same button presses over and over again while only actually being in peril twice.

Things are far too easy in this button masher. The game never feels challenging and the tasks are so repetitive that you simply want to go on a random slashing rampage to vent your frustration. Alas, not even this is comforting because after about two hours, all of the bystanders seem to be the exact same people placed in different alleys. The AI is absolutely flawed (it feels like you are pursuing a clone of the exact same guy around everywhere) and in no way would even a casual gamer feel challenged by the bumbling soldiers with swords. Fun factor is rated at 2 out of 5 and my overall rating is a 2 out of 5 (which is a tough call because of the beautiful visuals).

Nonetheless, don't buy into the hype-- just because the setting is beautiful, doesn't mean you should spend $60 on mediocre gameplay. After you accomplish the first assassination, this game will have you asking why you bought it in the first place...even worse, you'll catch yourself thinking, "8 more to go?...groan."

Bottom-line: Great eye candy but a very boring game after the first few hours. Climbing is easy, fighting is mechanical, and killing random guards in the exact same ways will not hold your interest. I don't see myself working up the will power or wasting my time to finish the game. Do what I should have done...spend your money elsewhere.

Never Look a Gift Artifact in the Mouth

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 6 / 10
Date: February 09, 2008
Author: Amazon User

Here's an interesting combination. Take your basic action/adventure platform game, throw in a stealth kill element, set it in a reasonable accurate semblance of the Middle East during the Crusades and you have a game that surprised me enough to merit two playthrus. Keep in mind that this is not a favorite ganre of mine. I thinks the tidbits of fairly accurate eleventh Century history and the lavish illustration and animation are what drew me in, and the glorious fun of slaughtering Knights Templar and punching out irritating beggars kept me going.

You are actually two players. One is Desmond Miles, and escapee from the modern Assassin Cult, who falls into the hands of the Abstergo Corporation. Tis huge drug company wants one thing - Desmond's DNA memories of one of his ancestors. And this is your second character - Altair, a true assassin who fumbles a treasure hunt for an ancient artifact hidden under Solomon's Temple so badly that he is stripped of all rank by his master and given a string of assassination assignments so that he might prove himself again. There is a common thread running through the men he is sent to kill, and thereby hangs a tale.

The Desmond episodes are really pretty lifeless. Considering that he is being subjected to a machine that forces him to relive his genetic memories, and will certainly be killed once the secret is pried out of his cells, Desmond is almost passive in his acceptance of his fate. Fortunately, you will spend little time in the present. Altair may be a cold and calculating protagonist, but he makes up for it in his potential proficiency as a killer and a thief. You will leap about cities, ride wildly through the desert, and, incidentally, experience some breathtaking scenery. The assassinations require as much skill in planning and approach as they do bladework and brute force.

Be warned though, the complaints about the missions being repetitive are not unmerited. Each quest means a run through the desert, and a set of mapping and information gathering activities that vary only because the three main settings (Damascus, Acre, and Jerusalem) are different. The only real variations are the assassinations. But all the activity, in which you can set the pace instead of the evil game designer is fun, assuming you like slaughter. And if you don't, this isn't really the game for you. The assassinations are all different though and there are moments of great satisfaction when a villain impales himself on your hidden dagger.

Another plus for the game is it's historical context. Most of us Westerners have a vision of the Crusades as a collection of heroic deeds by white Anglo-Saxon Catholics in hard shells. The truth is much more complex than that, and Assassin's Creed makes it clear that there was a good deal more corruption and cruelty (by all the participants) than there was heroism. I found this eye opening, and this may be the first game to awaken my normally dormant interest in history.

The game plays well on the Sony PS3. I experienced only a few hang-ups and action is quite fluid, although load times can be atrocious. I did discover one feature that exists in the XBOX 360 version that isn't in the PS3 game -- one the XBOX the game keeps track of your achievements, major and minor, and assigns you a score. It's a minor lack, but one I would have enjoyed having.

Realistic in everyway

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: November 18, 2007
Author: Amazon User

Assasin's Creed is one of the most anticipated games during the next-gen era and i can see why. You play as this Assasin named Altair who works for this assasination organization, based on the original Shia-Muslimi Hashasin orginization during the crusades. As historical accuracy goes, this game is accurate. All the leaders you will kill are in fact leaders from that era that "mysteriously" disapeared. This is my evaluation of the Game:

Graphics: Coming from a PC Extreme gamer, one of the best I'v seen. Of course they are not CRYSIS graphics, but nobody really cares. There are some flaws with the textures, but it won't really matter.

Sound: Great. Its fun in surround sound since you can hear people in the croud talking to you from every direction, but I don't reallly care about sound.

Gameplay: Its pretty unique. If you're thinking this Prince of Persia 4, you are mistaken. You do climb stuff, but you can't take 10 stabs to the chest. The gameplay is pretty realist, and its not for the gamer who enjoys defying reality. You basically go around, and listen to conversations to discover where to kill your targets. You can also go around the city and steal horses. You also do some mini missions, which aren't really significant to the plot. What makes it less realistic, however, is that you can getaway with the murder of a hundred people by hiding from the guards for a few minutes. But its better than spending the rest of your gameplay hiding from the guards. Basically, its GTA meets PoP meets Hitman.

So thats my review. This is must buy for the gamer than enjoys the game titles I mentioned. Don't listen to the IGN review, their review is based on 1 flaw of the game.

Not perfect, but still amazing.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: November 20, 2007
Author: Amazon User

Alright, where to begin... I've been awaiting this game for quite some time. The first trailer I saw that showcased Altair rappelling down a church steeple into a crowd and then leaping onto a scaffold to lodge a hidden blade into a guard's throat left me drooling. I was not quite sure what to think other than, "This game will be great."

Here we are months later, game in-hand. What's so great about this Creed? Well, there are a few reasons: It is as visually impressive as I'd hoped. The game play is smoothe, really smoothe. Actions flow seamlessly together, allowing one fluid motion from alleyway-window awnings-rooftops. The story was decent, which surprised me. After playing through the first half an hour or so, I was frightened at what it could have turned into. It finished much better than expected. The voice acting and dialogue is passable, but a bit cliche at times. Essentially, the game moved very well for quite some time.

Enter the "Ninth Hour". I am approaching the end of the game with a slew of new weapons and skills. I have honed my abilities to the fullest extent possible with the game. Here's what I've found: 1.) Many complained of slowdown and frame-rate issues, however I never found these to be a problem. Near the end of the game, there is a large crowd at one point. My PS3 slowed for about a minute and continued on fine. Not normal slow, REALLY, REALLY slow. 2.) The actions do get kind of repetitive. What began as a love-lust of the Creed, soured after only a nine hour affair. I felt as though we were just going through the motions. 3.) Graphic pop-in was only noticed once or twice. The game ran great straight through aside from the aforementioned slowdown. 4.) Dialogue from the citizens eventually wanes in its believability due to a combination of about five different things they could say. "My husband'll hear about you!" (Inside joke you'll get very soon...)

So is it worth the $60? I'd say so. The game is definitely worth a play through. The problems were so minute on my system and were overshadowed by the positives included in the package. A truly innovative gaming experience coupled with a decent storyline and minor design issues. If you're looking for something new, I would give this one a try.

Highly recommended PS3 game

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: December 21, 2007
Author: Amazon User

I am not your average gamer. I am 60 years old and have been playing video games of all vintages (starting with Pong)for over 30 years. This game is simply fantastic. The story line is interesting, the game objectives are challenging but not impossible to attain and the graphics are simply amazing. I have always found this period of history (the Crusades) to be fascinating. Assasin's Creed allows you to immerse yourself in this virtual world of the Middle East where at times you feel you are really there. I don't recommend this game at all for younger children or even immature teens. There is a significant amount of blood and violence, as there would have been during the historic period virtualized in the game. I had just purchased my PS3 to replace a broken PS2 and have not been able to bring myself to play other games I purchased. If you are a gamer who likes role playing games, I highly recommend Assasin's Creed.

Marred by an unfixable bug.

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: January 06, 2008
Author: Amazon User

This game is extremely entertaining if you enjoy stealth games. After some practice I was able to elude guards and disappear quickly into the crowd, or dispatch them using a well made combat system. If I'd played only until I reached the last assassination target, I would be rating this game a 4.

Upon reaching the next to last stage, however, all sound originating from my character disappeared. I thought this odd and annoying, but not unplayable. To my horror, after I'd fought my way through wave after wave of henchman and reached my target, I found that all dialog had also disappeared. The climactic scenes involving King Richard, the target, etc. were filled with characters moving their mouths but not speaking. This continued, and loading areas of the game that had worked flawlessly before, I discovered that they too were now silent. I uninstalled/reinstalled, erased save game data, and searched relentlessly on the Internet for a fix, but all I found are a few other descriptions of the same problem with no answers, and not even a "We're working on it" from Ubisoft.

My recommendation would be to rent this game or borrow your friend's. It's extremely frustrating to work through so much game and really get into the slowly unfolding plot only to have it ruined irreparably right before the end.

Great Game but, lack a few things.

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: March 15, 2008
Author: Amazon User

The graphics were great very realistic, not to mention the whole medieval thing going. Very fun game to play the assasins are pretty cool and killing the guards are fun as well. Walking through the crowds and just the interacting between the people is amazing.

But here is what it lacking:

The game can be very repetitive though because you do the same thing every mission and after hours of play you dont want to play any more.
Changing the missions objectives up would be great becasue than it would be a challenge and keep you interested. They also should have added weather changes to the game. Assassinated targets in rain would have been great. There also wasnt many hiding places which is weird for a big city you would think that maybe you could hide in a tree or barrel or something or inside a building.
There also were a few glitches in the game. At times he would just freeze in the middle of the air and you would had to restart the system.

Overall the game was good but could of been much better. Hopefully the sequel will be better.

Unforgettable Game

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: April 30, 2008
Author: Amazon User

Was a little skeptical at first after hearing some reviews about the games repetitiveness, but I'm sure glad I didn't pass this one up. It was so addicting I couldn't put it down. After I finished I had to play it again from beginning to end immediately. Altair's counter attacks are so awesomely brutal that I loved getting into fights to see them.

My one complaint is that I wished they put more cities in, maybe Constantinople (the most beautiful city at the time of the Crusades). Other then that this is a great game that will stay with me for years to come as a beautiful work of art. I look forward to the sequel and hope to have more of Altair's story explained. Great job Ubisoft.

Assassination

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 7 / 14
Date: November 15, 2007
Author: Amazon User

This game is quite something, it brings unique gameplay and flexibility. I really enjoy doing the side missions and trying to figure out how to plan the assassinations. You really can play however you'd like, depending upon your own style.
Personally, I think the best part is just having fun and running along the rooftops.
Graphics are great, everything looks visually stunning. Gameplay and cinematics are seemless and interactive.

good game but falls short of hype

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 4 / 6
Date: December 13, 2007
Author: Amazon User

Visually stunning; Good but not great gameplay. Mediocre -but doesn't live up to the hype due to one button combat and frustrating camera angles

Assassin's Creed is clearly a visually dynamic creation. The programmers and graphic artists are to be commended. The cities are brilliantly rendered and are populated with numerous different types of non-player characters with whom you interact. Jumping across rooftops in acrobatic fashion is oddly reminiscent of the Prince of Persia series, but in my opinion, done much better. Its good, but does not live up to the hype

Combat is entertaining, but simplistic. It can be enjoyable as there are probably 50-70 different contextual combat moves depending on which weapon you are using (one of 5 available -sword, short sword, throwing knives, fist and what is bound to be everyone's favorite- the concealed blade). However, it can be frustrating when bad camera angles frequently make it extremely difficult to fight in confined spaces.

The AI is above average, although not quite realistic. The guards get smarter, more alert, more numerous and better at combat as you get deeper into the game. However, after around the fourth or fifth assassination target, I began to find the missions somewhat repetitive.

Difficult combat situations are easier when you manage to knock an opponent to the ground (either by grappling or combat) and you use the hidden blade. The countermoves are not easily predictable as they are primarily rooted in the reaction to the NPCs attack rather than just what you are doing in relation to the attack.

The best parts of the game involve acrobatic movements across city rooftops, and various beams and structures, and leaping through various kiosks in order to escape from pursuing guards. Attack (high profile) assassinations are rewarding -- jumping in the air and stabbing the NPC through the neck with your hidden blade.

I initially had a glitch where the game would randomly lock up- necessitating a hard reboot of the PS3. However, I believe the patch has fixed this problem.

To give you a frame of reference: I would rate God of War as a 10, Grand Theft Auto as a 9, Metal Gear Solid-sons of liberty - 8.5.; Resident Evil 4 - 8; Splinter Cell double agent 8.5

I would give Assassin's Creed an overall score/ Fun Factor of 7.5 out of 10. This is primarily due to the graphic design and appeal. Visual appeal is 10/10 - although there are a few minor ticks and issues that I would like to see improve if the game makes it to a sequel. Combat gets a 7 of 10 -primarily due to the many varied ways to kill (although you have only limited control and one button combat (moderately doubled by squeezing R1) However, one button combat and bad camera angles (when fighting in confined spaces) is extremely frustrating; several times bad angles in combat caused me to want to quit and play again later. Story line - 8 of 10. Replay factor 6 of 10. Although I enjoyed the game, now that I have beaten the game, I would not characterize it as one I would feel immediately compelled to replay - except to try to get a few more stealth kills.

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