In the first PlayStation3 Game review on The Shelf we take a look at Assassin’s Creed, the first title in a potentially explosive series produced by Ubisoft.
This unique story line is the most interesting concept of the title, as simply put there is nothing else available quite like it. As the story is gradually unveiled you learn with the character, experiencing all the twists and turns the narrative has to offer and how each different assassination target has something in common with the last. Superb videos in between missions don’t make watching the story unfold boring, as can be the case with similar titles, making Assassin’s Creed as much a movie as it is a computer game.
The game is set across three cities in the time of the crusades, and it is the architecture of these cities that make this game so good. Superb graphics coupled with brilliant view points and scalable structures means you truly can go anywhere within each city. With each building uniquely scalable you can navigate your way through the city or over it, each giving a completely unique game play experience. Within each city there are over a thousand virtual citizens, so interacting with the different types of people; whether pick pocketing, saving victims or fighting drunks, never gets boring.
Each mission takes you to different areas within the three cities as you gradually progress throughout the game. By completing all the bonus missions in the form of investigations and interogations, you can ensure you get to see everything these carefully sculpted cities have to offer. Each mission is unique to the last with the common factor being that a different target has to be assassinated each time, but it is the gradual unfolding of the story with each mission that makes completing the game so satisfactory.
The only slight disappointment in the game is the ending. After an emphatic build up, the story seems somewhat unresolved and defeating the final bad guy is fairly easy.
The combat moves in the game are also an impressive feature of the game. Starting from a fairly repetitive strike attack, as the game progresses and player level increased, new combination attacks are learned and counter strike skills gained. In the beginning of the game players really don’t have to fight if they choose not to, however towards the end of the game these skills are needed when confronted with a dozen plus adversaries with no where to run.
Coupled with the array of amount of combat moves available, the choice of weaponry the character can utilise is one of the most impressive things about the game. Ranging from using your fists to interrogate people, to a dagger for close combat to a swords for big battles there are plenty of combinations to perfect which keep you entertained throughout the entire game.
There are two cheats available for the title that I know of, both of which are applicable once the game has been completed. The first enables you to hone your assassination skill further by killing any person (civilians included) throughout the levels without penalty. The second enables the player to use eagle vision at any point throughout the game.
I thought this was an exceptional title and eagerly anticipate the squeal. Overall rating 4.5/5.