Now that the holidays are long gone, and the amount of new releases has slowed to a trickle, I finally have time to go back to the pile of un-played games in my collection. First up to the plate is the 2007 Xbox 360 game, Assassin’s Creed.

Since the time that Assassin’s Creed had been released, I have heard a mixed bag of reviews. Both within the gaming press and from friends. Despite everything I had heard up until this point, I somehow avoided spoilers and was able to walk into the game knowing almost nothing about it. (Which as we all know is nearly IMPOSSIBLE these days.) So I was excited to dig in.

WARNING: SPOILERS MAY BE AHEAD! (I realize most of you have played this long ago, but I hate spoilers!)

I am many hours into the game. I still have many hours left to play, and I know this because I was told I needed to assassinate 9 people throughout my journey, and I just assassinated my 5th. I’m at that point where I realize that the next four will be exactly like the last five, so I’m confident that my opinions on all aspects of the game will be the same after I finish it as they are now.

You start as a man named Desmond who is being used as a guinea pig for a device that helps you re-live memories of your ancestors through your DNA. While living out these memories, Desmond becomes Altair, the assassin. Altair has to repent for a wrong he committed. To do that he needs to assassinate nine men. Being the bad ass assassin that Altair is, he can climb buildings, hide in the shadows, and kill instantly. When running on the rooftops and climbing buildings is working the way you intend it to, controlling Altair is an amazing experience. But when it doesn’t exactly pan out the way you wanted and Altair jumps when he should have climbed, it can get a touch frustrating. The combat is decent, and if you can learn to time your attacks/blocks right, it leads to bloody results.

Since the game takes place in the Holy Land (Jerusalem, Acre and Damascus), there are very few opportunities for color. Which is something I have gotten used to in games recently. But what Assassin’s Creed lacks in color, it makes up for in scenery and music. Those who have played know what I mean. Some of the highest synchronization peaks allow for some fantastic visuals.

The biggest complaint I have heard about Assassin’s Creed is that it’s very repetitive. Normally, that is something that would bother me, but Assassin’s Creed somehow does repetitiveness in a way I really enjoy. Here’s how every assassination pans out. You are given a name of a person who is evil (maybe?), you gather intel proving this person needs to die, as well as information on where you can find him. Next, you kill that person. Of course there is a lot more involved than that, but that is the premise of every assassination you deliver. Simplicity aside, I’m enjoying every minute of it.

I will have a follow up post once I finish Assassin’s Creed to allow for a more in depth discussion.

Tags: Assassin's Creed