I have to admit it: I’m old. I’m an old guy for a gamer (late 30′s) and I don’t have a ton of time to throw at a videogame these days. While I love immersible, story-driven action adventure games, they take me a long time to finish, if I ever do, because I just can’t put in the couch time. Because of that, I don’t own a whole lot of games for my XBox 360. I rent quite a few. It helps me separate the wheat from the chaff, if you will, and truly find out if I want to invest $60 into a game that I can’t play as often as I’d like.
So, after hearing about Assassin’s Creed and how it is based on historical persons and regions, I rented it. I figure, why not? And I’ll tell ya, I’m pretty much amazed at how much fun this game is.
Plot
The game starts out in media res, and I’m an Assassin in the 12th century AD in the middle of a job with two other assassins. Apparently, I’m something of an ass, as I don’t listen to these guys and just boldly go in and mess up the mission. I mean, eventually, I get the job done, but it sure goes wrong. Everyone dies and I barely make it back to the main palace. My boss is pretty pissed off at me, too. Especially when one of the guys I went in with shows up and tells him how badly I screwed up.
This is a classic action RPG trope: having great powers to suck you into playing, then losing them, and having to learn them all again, a bit at a time. The developers make this fin, though, in that each time I complete a mission (read: assassinate someone), I go back to my boss and get some new armor, weapon and fighting technique to use on the next mission.
As if that weren’t enough, there’s a secondary portion of the game, and I think it’s a really clever, story-driven way to explain some of the familiar gaming cliches, like save points and respawning.
You see, I’m not really an Assassin. I’m a bartender. In the near future. I find out that I’m being held as a polite prisoner in a place where they can dig into my DNA and pull out genetic memories. It’s these that I’m reliving though the magic of technology. What fun! If I die as the Assassin, I’m kicked out of the memory, and have to try again. I can reload a memory and jump in and do all the fun fighting and stuff. There’s some sort of “figure it out as you go” plot that happens in this near-future setting as well, and it’s pretty well done. Fairly creepy and interesting, and you get info by talking to the lab assistant (voiced by Kristin Bell, ooh ahh) and rifling through the different computers in your off time.
Graphics
The graphics are right up there with current 360 games, which means they’re stunning. The characters in the game, including Altair, hit that uncanny valley between digital perfection and human imperfection, but the lip syncing is pretty good. Better than many I’ve played before. And since there are many scenes of exposition and dialogue (I talk to the Assassin Guild guy in each town I hit to get info about the…err…hit), this helps me immerse myself further into the game. Another nice feature during the dialogue is the ability to switch camera angles. Keeps it fresh.
Controls
The controls took me about an hour to feel totally comfortable with . The advantage of the system they employ to train you, though, is that you only really have to focus on one new button combo at a time, slowly building your skill level up until you have many fighting and defensive moves at your disposal. For someone that can’t devote more than an hour or so at a time, this is helpful.
Audio
The audio is lush, but not distracting, and the voice work is superb. As I walk around the towns, stealthing my way from assassination to interrogation to saving a hapless citizen, the diversity of dialogue and voice types is amazing. It honestly feels like I’m there.
Nitpicks
OK, the gameplay gets a bit repetitive, especially if you just focus on the main assassination attempts. The system of talk to the guild guy, get 3 clues, find the target and assassinate is pretty basic, and it can feel pretty familiar, even at the 5 – 10 hour mark.
Joys
However, there’s one thing I get to do over and over again that I just can’t seem to stop doing. Honestly, I’m addicted: Leap Of Faith. One way you find out what’s happening in each town (and along the way between towns) is by climbing up to really high buildings, called viewpoints. This is how you get more info on your map, the way to get the “lay of the land.” The cool part, the part I canNOT stop doing, is jumping from this highest point, straight down into a cart or pile of hay. Yeah, I know, hay. But it’s beautiful. It’s stunning and gorgeous and feels so freeing. What a fantastic addition to the game.
There’s also a lot to be said for the whole stealth system. I have an indicator I can watch, that tells me whether I’m being watched passively or actively hunted. If I trip a guard’s notice, he yells and starts chasing me. I can turn and fight, but that’ll take time and bring other guards. I can run, climb buildings, rush down alleyways, and duck into haystacks or public gardens. When I walk into a city that’s on watch for me, I can duck into a group of scholars, and pretend to be one of their ilk. Or, if I’ve saved a few citizens in the town, vigilantes will get in the way of the guards as I rush away. Brilliant fun and like playing hide and seek.
Bottom Line
I’ll be honest, I bought this game because it was on sale for $30 instead of the typical $60 price point. But I rented it with the intention of returning it. The gameplay and storyline, graphics and audio, plus jumping off really high buildings made me want to buy it. I might have even bought it at $60. Lucky me it was on sale.
I’d say rent it, then see if it captures you like it did me. Then buy the heck out of it.
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