Foreword:

Assassin’s Creed is a stealth action game developed by the same people that brought you two highly acclaimed game titles Splinter Cell and Prince of Persia. Thus, upon its introduction, expectations were indeed high among the industry. In this game review, we intend to uncover the highlights and drawbacks of this game.

The game’s concept is pretty good. In the game, you play a character named Altair who is a member of the Hashshashin. The game was actually based on a real-life events and the Hashshashin was a group of assassins that executed a series of murders between the 11th and 13th century for political reasons. The game is rich in historical facts suggesting that it was indeed well researched, making for a very immersive storyline. The game environment is also worthy of praise. The third crusade of the game is set in the Middle East. The cities of Jerusalem, Damascus and Acre are all recreated remarkably. Staring at the graphic renditions, it’s hard not to be convinced that this is indeed what these cities looked like during those times. It takes quite awhile for the game to load but this is all worth, considering the huge scope of the environment. You can climb up the tallest structure in the game and jump right back on the city streets in mere seconds.

Did I mention the word climbing? Indeed, there is a lot of climbing involved in the game. You need to do this a lot of times in executing your assassination missions. Yes, the game is about assassinating people, Altair is an assassin after all and this is another area that the game prides itself in. On your missions, you are tasked to assassinate specific individuals. This would involve stealth and infiltrating certain key locations. You are not limited to this though as you can switch to a direct assault should you be discovered or if you find that escaping detection isn’t possible. It’s a great action game, featuring an intensive combat system. The best way to describe the game’s combat system would be a cross between the action system that made Prince of Persia so remarkable and Splinter Cells adrenaline paced stealth features.

Having mentioned the good things about this specific game, I found that there are a few elements in which Assassins Creed is a letdown. First is regarding the main character’s voice. Altair’s voice was certainly not pleasant for the main character of the game. The voice talents on the other character seemed more suitable for the star of the game. Sound quality and features aren’t so great as well. The game environment is indeed vast but it’s hard not to notice the same background audio such as the side talk of the many people you come across on the streets, it’s like being playing in some kind of loop. There is also a problem with the enemy’s AI that needs some serious fine tuning. It takes you out of the game when you get the impression that the enemy isn’t acting as it should.

+Ves:

• Highly immersive and historically based story line
• Stunning and vast game environment
• Very engaging stealth and combat system

-Ves:

• Considerably long loading time
• Main character’s voice is not as pleasant as we’d like it to be
• Enemy AI needs some improvement
• Sound is not as diverse as one would expect from a game that features a vast environment.

Final Word:

Despite it’s let downs, Assassin’s creed is a great game. Certain key elements are missing to make it the best. Its success lies in introducing something unique and different in the stealth action category. The gaming environment has created very high expectations for its upcoming sequel and gives its avid fans something to look forward to.