Odi et amo. I love and I hate. No blockbuster game this holiday season has created a big of a schism between gamers as Assassin’s Creed has. Much brouhaha has been unleashed upon the internet gaming community between the two entrenched camps of people who either loved the game or hated it. Regardless of critics’ opinions of the game, the fact remains that Ubisoft Montreal’s big-budget production is one of the most anticipated games of 2007.
From the time I viewed the incredible initial trailer of the game, I had it filed away under my short list of “must purchase” game titles this year. As release date neared, though, the increasingly negative buzz that emanated from early reviews and word of mouth nearly swayed my decision. However, after tempering my expectations and finding a great deal on the game ($39.99 from Fry’s), I took the plunge anyway. I’m not regretting the purchase one bit.
While being far from perfect, Assassin’s Creed is still a genuinely entertaining video game title. The presentation, graphics, animation, and plot are some of the best seen on the medium. However, several flaws keep it from being the true “must-play” experience it was hyped up to be. Nevertheless, Ubisoft has a great first entry in what should become one of their flagship franchises.
At its core, Assassin’s Creed is an open world/”sandbox” type of game, similar to Grand Theft Auto or Crackdown. If you absolutely despise the gameplay those titles bring to the table, then you may want to avoid Assassin’s Creed. The game differs from other sandbox titles in that it is divided into distinct chapters and tied together by one coherent plot thread. Being a fan of structured games, this made playing through the game much more palatable for me.
You’ll play as Altair, an assassin in the era of the crusades. Being an assassin, the game’s goals center on the planning and killing of 9 marked men. Achieving these goals boils down to three major gameplay mechanics: combat, platforming, and stealth. Combat was hit and miss for me. Even after completing the game, I still don’t feel as if I have a great grasp on the system. Many have likened the game’s combat engine to a rhythm game and while I see how the comparison could be made, I found myself resorting to controlled button spamming. It’s not for lack of ability, having played several real instruments and conquering the hard difficulty of DDR, Amplitude, and Guitar Hero. The move in question is the “combo kill”, where you are supposed to hit the attack button right as you see your sword clash with the enemy’s. The problem is, even fighting versus a singular enemy, I never was able to reliably reproduce this move despite trying countless timings. Unfortunately, rarely do you fight one enemy at a time. Most skirmishes involve Altair being surrounded by several simultaneously attacking enemies. Trying to tap the attack button in rhythm usually ended with some dude stabbing me in the back. Eventually I resorted on a steady diet of spamming the attack button while trying position myself to counter as much as possible. This is not to say the combat is completely atrocious. When you pull off a great counter followed by an attack, the feeling is awesome. One second you’ll see Altair clashing swords with one enemy, the next you’ll see him swiftly move to sidestep an attacker coming from behind, stab him in the foot and then gutting him like a fish with one smooth motion. It looks as good as it sounds and it’s not a rare occurrence either. I just found it discouraging that I could not get to the point where I could reproduce this asskickery on demand.
Another pillar of gameplay in Assassin’s Creed is it’s platforming and here is where the game feels truly fun. Platforming in Assassin’s Creed is unlike platforming in, say, Super Mario Galaxy. You never actually press a button to make Altair jump. Instead, Ubisoft has implemented a system they call “freerunning.” Basically, you’ll hold down the right trigger and the A button on your controller while you move Altair around with the left thumbstick. If there is a gap to be crossed, or a ledge to grab onto, he will automatically jump or grab onto the ledge, whichever is contextually correct. On the surface, one might think this “dumbs down” the game, but this is not the case. Just because you don’t have to time jumps doesn’t mean the game plays itself. You’ll still have to plan your routes ahead of time and you’ll still have to attempt feasible actions. Altair won’t bound over buildings like Superman, nor will he automagically grab ledges four stories above him. The system allows you to perform (and see) some breathtaking jumps and daring escapes without the need to be absolutely perfect at timing button presses. Essentially you are practicing the art of parkour all over the Holy Land in the year 1191. It’s perfect for what the game is trying to accomplish as the assassinations are the focus here, not linear platforming ala Prince of Persia: Sands of Time.
Much has been said of the “revolutionary” stealth system in Assassin’s Creed, dubbed “social stealth.” Instead of trying avoiding eye contact with a handful of guards by hiding behind boxes, like in Metal Gear Sold, the focus in Assassin’s Creed is in blending in with the crowd and not drawing attention to yourself by actions such as climbing up the sides of buildings next to a large crowd. Admittedly, this sounds like an interesting idea, but in practice, had little to no bearing on the gameplay. There are four levels of alert on your social stealth indicator: white, yellow, red, and actively pursued. Aside from killing people in front of guards, nothing you do will turn the stealth meter from yellow to red. You can climb up all the buildings you want, tackle people, even engage in fisticuffs, all in front of guards and you will not get pursued. Essentially, the only thing you have to worry about is killing targets in front of guards. Hmm… this sounds a lot like the stealth games we’ve played before. Blending in with the crowd in order to escape pursing guards is only an option when you have broken line of sight with them AND there is a group of scholars nearby. Since scholars only appear in one or two static places in each assassination territory, the chances of being able to blend in with them in a given chase sequence is pretty small. It would have been much cooler if you could disappear into a large crowd of people by removing some of your more identifying clothes after you have broken line of sight with your pursuers.
Perhaps the game’s greatest achievement is its superb graphics and art direction. Creative director, Patrice Desilets, and his team have created a beautiful living, breathing world in which to play in. The architecture of the buildings of the three cities are an amazing achievement in that they seamlessly blend design with game functionality. All of the buildings you climb in Assassin’s Creed are done so using only what is shown on the screen. There are no artificial markers or contrived architectural designs – if it looks like you can grab onto it and climb, you can. Altair’s model is animated with almost uncanny realism. Having gone rock climbing before, I can confidently say that Altair’s body animations as he scales buildings eerily mimic that of a real climber’s.It goes without saying that the graphics are phenomenal. You’ll be hard pressed to find a better looking game on any system period (Crysis notwithstanding). The sound is also top notch. Assassin’s Creed does the little things to increase immersion, like hearing random people gasp and exclaim “What is he doing?!” from your rear speakers.
The game’s world is so grand and epic in scale that it quickly draws to attention the game’s biggest flaws, namely that there isn’t much to do in this world of note. Altair can eavesdrop, interrogate, pickpocket, kill guards, find flags, climb buildings, and assassinate targets. The context of these actions may change, but that’s basically it in terms of moving the game along. Sure you can do things like walk around pushing beggars down all day, but if you’re someone like me who likes having your actions matter for something, you might wish there was more structure to it. I played the game on the Xbox360 and I couldn’t imagine playing it on the Playstation 3 because of one thing: achievements. The game’s achievements are not as creative as Crackdown’s, but they do provide some more structure and tangible goals with rewards. This is perfect for gamers like me, who like more direction, because it kept me motivated to do tasks that don’t necessarily have to do with game progression.
A dearth of unique missions doesn’t necessarily make the game unplayable. All games are repetitive, it’s just a matter of pacing that changes the perspective of the player. Due to the open-ended nature of the game, there is no set pacing to the missions – the player can do what he wants at his own pace. The enjoyment one derives from Assassin’s Creed may very well be linked to their playing style. Someone who methodically follows objectives via the gps arrow may find the game insufferably repetitive, while someone who likes to explore and take in the scenery may find the game jaw-droppingly awesome. Either way, the game would have benefited from a broader range of tasks to do, and I’m sure that is the number one thing Ubisoft will look at for the sequel.
Along a similar line of thinking, I wish the cities were even more unique and lively. While the art direction and building architecture are miles ahead of any other sandbox game to date, there’s still a ways to go before it approaches real world similarity. The game has three large cities, yet I couldn’t tell you the defining characteristics between them other than the fact that Acre has a harbor and the other cities don’t. It would be great if there were enough differences in building architecture and citizen behavior to make each city feel truly unique. The non-player characters in the game also could be more unique. Every single one of the “save citizen” missions says the same canned lines and they’re always in fixed locations with the same character animations (two guards playing tug of war with a generic citizen’s body). It would feel more immersive if citizen saving happened more organically. For example, as you walk by a woman, you see thugs approach her and try to take her away. Or you spot vagabonds approaching a merchant stand holding him up. I realize that many things were probably cut for the oft-delayed game to finally ship, but they would certainly be welcomed the sequel.
Finally, Assassin’s Creed’s plot and presentation may be its most overlooked elements in the wake of complaints over its repetitive gameplay. The game’s voice acting is generally serviceable, with the exception of Altair. It’s appalling that Ubisoft did not care to cast an actor even remotely skilled as the main character of the game. The actor that plays Altair not only has a heavy American accent, he sounds like he’s reading the script out loud for the first time in a monotone. It’s distracting and almost singlehandedly destroys the great presentation that the game otherwise has in spades. If Ubisoft has the resources to cast Kristen Bell, surely they have the ability to make sure Altair is played by a competent actor at least. Hell, make the lead character a female and put Kristen Bell under the hood. She’s a great actress, I’m sure Veronica Mars would nail an 11th century assassin with aplomb.
Assassin’s Creed’s plot starts off very interesting, but reaches a lull in the middle sections before ramping up the revelations at the end of the game. Without spoiling the story, the game’s plot inspiration draws from elements of The Matrix and The Da Vinci code. I found the game’s plot to be the biggest reason to look forward to the sequel. Stories that gradually reveal connections between the past with the present fascinate me to no end. The much-maligned ending of the game was not an issue for me at all. Maybe it’s just because I’m prepared to deal with cliffhangers, having been weaned on comics and television series, but I actually liked having something to look forward to for the next installment. The game ends with a great cliffhanger, much like one of the better episodes of Lost. It definitely got my imagination churning as to what awesome scenarios I’ll be able to experience in the sequels. Ubisoft has a great foundation for an entertainment franchise here. To put it in other words, if Assassin’s Creed was a television series, I would have a season pass programmed on my Tivo for it.
Assassin’s Creed is not a game for everyone. Those who love open ended games and/or are interested in the plot should definitely pick this one up ASAP. It will most assuredly be a game of the year candidate for you. Those who are more on the fence should take the plunge if they can find a good deal for the game or should wait until early next year when there is a gaming release lull. Even if you hate everything about the game, it’s still worth seeing in action at least once. Ubisoft Montreal has created a gem of a game, it’s just too bad there are enough imperfections on it to not be unequivocally brilliant.
