Product Description

The first game in the Assassin's Creed franchise is set in 1191 AD, when the Third Crusade was tearing the Holy Land apart. Shrouded in secrecy and feared for their ruthlessness, the Assassins intend to stop the hostilities by suppressing both sides of the conflict. Players, assuming the role of the main character Altair, will have the power to throw their immediate environment into chaos and to shape events during this pivotal moment in history.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1093 in Computer & Video Games
• Brand: UBI Soft
• Released on: 2007-11-16
• Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
• Platform: PLAYSTATION 3
• Dimensions: .26 pounds

Amazon.co.uk Preview
It’s easy to see why there was so much fighting amongst the console manufacturers to try and make this game a format exclusive. Where early launch titles may have disappointed this game not only looks like a next generation game but it plays like it too. Taken at face value the story casts you as an Arabic fighter in 1191, out to assassinate the nine Western leaders of the Third Crusade. There is more to the story than that though making it more than simple historical adventure it first seems.

Since it’s developed by many of the same team behind Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, it’s no surprise to find the game using many of the same ideas. With the bold claim that you can climb on or over anything in the game world that sticks out more than two inches, this allows incredible freedom of movement, with a style of acrobatics heavily influenced by Parkour/free running. The game also innovates in terms of combat, with each of the face buttons controlling a different area of the body, rather like a marionette. As such one button controls the feet, one your open hand, one your weapon hand and the other your head.

As an assassin stealth plays an important role in the game too, but here it’s often a case of hiding in plain sight as you mill around inside large crowds of people. Everyone will react to you realistically though, so if you go around pushing people out of the way, or even killing them, the crowd will react and report you. With stunning graphics and genuinely innovative gameplay this is destined to be one of the most important releases of the year.
HARRISON DENT

Manufacturer's Description:
Assassin's Creed is set in 1191 AD, when the Third Crusade was tearing the Holy Land apart. Shrouded in secrecy and feared for their ruthlessness, the Assassins intend to stop the hostilities by suppressing both sides of the conflict. Players, assuming the role of the main character Altair, will have the power to throw their immediate environment into chaos and to shape events during this pivotal moment in history.

Our story follows a disgraced master Assassin (ALTAIR) who embarks on an epic quest to restore his status within the Assassin Order. After failing to assassinate the Templar Leader (ROBERT DE SABLE) and recover the legendary Templar Treasure, Altair is demoted to Uninitiated (the lowest rank in the Assassin order).

SINAN, Leader of the Assassins, offers our hero an opportunity to redeem himself. Altair must venture out into the Holy Land and assassinate men said to be exacerbating and exploiting the hostilities created by the Third Crusade. In doing so, he will stabilize the region, allowing Sinan to usher in an age of peace.

When our game begins, Richard the Lionheart has just recaptured the port city of Acre from occupying Saracens. With a base of operations established, the Crusaders prepare to march south. Their true target is JERUSALEM – which they intend to recapture in the name of the Church. However, SALADIN, leader of the Saracen Army, currently rules Jerusalem. Stinging from his army’s defeat at Acre, he will now allow Richard to humiliate him again. The Saracens are massing at the ruins of Fortress Arsuf, intending to ambush the Crusaders and prevent them from reaching Jerusalem.

These war maneuvers have left the rest of the Holy Land wide open. While Richard and Saladin battle one another, the men left to govern in their stead have begun taking advantage of their newfound positions of power. Exploiting, manipulation, and provocation rule the day. It is into this chaotic mess our hero now finds himself thrust. He is ordered to assassinate those most active in their exploitation.

And so Altair begins his missions.

Along the way, however, he will begin to discover that his targets are bound by more than just a shared interest in personal gain. They seem to share membership in a secret society – a group all too familiar to the Assassins. And they are not simply looking for profit. The true goal, and how they plan to achieve it are secrets to be discovered during the course of our story.

Customer Reviews

Suits my busy life!!
There are lots of people saying that the gameplay on this is too simplistic and it is repetative, there is little skill involved in the eavesdropping and pick pocket missions. Personally this suits me down to the ground.

Many years ago I was a great gamer. I could play for hours and master all the skill and moves involved. Now life has overtaken this. Work and home life ensures that while in my heart I enjoy playing games, I really do not have the time to master the complexities these days.

The graphics are breathtaking. The controls are simple and I can pick it up after a week and still play the game. I can see an end to it (having completed 5 assassinations so far). Recently I sell games when they get too complicated or difficult to play after weeks away.

If you are a gamer at heart, but feel that you can not give the hours to master tricky moves etc then I would recommend this to you.

Sets the new standard..
I would agree with the majority of views that criticise the gameplay for asassins creed - it is definitely lacking in variation.

But I dont think anyone has given the control system the credit it deserves - it is truly stunning. The character can move in such a fluid, natural way around the cities you have to explore. Absolutely everything you think you should be able to get a grip on you can. When running away from guards you have spooked you can genuinely run and climb anywhere and move as quickly as you can think...

The graphics and detail is amazing - its a pleasure to look at as you move around the cities.

This isnt enough though - the missions are slow and the dialog tedious. I can only hope that the sequel combines the amazing control system with some decent gameplay..

So near, yet so far....
Assassins Creed is really going to divide opinion due to 2 very straight forward reasons, firstly, LOOKS and secondly, GAMEPLAY.

Let's start with the LOOKS. The actual in game visuals are truly stunning and incredibly cineamtic. The cities you play within have the hustle and bustle of their real counterparts and the rooftop vistas and the climbing sequences deliver jaw-dropping horizons and camera work. The main character design is exceptional, with his movement being incredibly smooth and intuitive; climbing never feels unnatural, with handholds seamlessly blended into the city architecture. As a result you will genuinely want this to become the experience the PS3 so richly deserved.

Herein lies the problem - beautiful scenery and characters do NOT make up for underdeveloped GAMEPLAY. What this game does, it does with definite finesse, however ultimately the experience lacks involvement and therefore a real sense of achievement. Firstly, CLIMBING and ROOF-RUNNING (great fun for a couple of days) are almost too straight forward; the over-simplicity of the controls means there is a distinct absence of interaction and danger. Secondly, the game is ultimately repetitive - go to city, visit the assassins bureau, find a view point, get information, assassinate victim. This is not helped as "climbing", getting information via "eavesdropping" and "pickpocketing", are essentially skill-less activities. The fighting control system has also been over-simplified to incorporate impressive fighting moves. This means that once your character's abilities develop you can fight off hordes of soldiers by a few simple well timed button presses; once again you'll start to wonder where the edge of your seat action is. The stealth element of the game actually works superbly well, largely because you will have to plan your strategy and execute it well to meet your objective. Once you become accustomed to the fact that guarding soldiers will start to get twitchy once you are in their "line of sight", hanging off buildings and carefully picking them off one by one becomes very rewarding.

Ultimately Assassins Creed is a style over substance game. Unfortunately the repetitive nature of the gameplay and a lack of involvement and excitement in the key areas of climbing and fighting means this is set to become little more than a weeks fun or a glossy in-store demo to sell more PS3 consoles.