Just pipping Mass Effect to the number 1 spot, Assassin's Creed, somewhat totally opposite to Mass Effect, is set during the end of the 12th century during the Third Crusade in 3 cities; Damascus, Jerusalem and Acre, as well as the locations inbetween. You play as Altair, a member of the very real Hashshashin (believed to be the original Assassins). As the game begins you begin as a, for want of a better word, Pro; you have all of the abilities, weapon and moves of a great Assassin. However, you soon lose many of those abilities and weapons and have to start from scratch - here is where the player will begin. Your task, to win back to respect of your piers, is to assassinate 9 key individuals, on either side of the Third Crusade, to prove your worth. How you do this is up to you...
What's so good?
Bottle. It took some unbelievable bottle and creative vision to attempt something on the scale of Assassin's Creed.
Parkour like you've never parkour'd before!
(You probably never have!)
First and foremost, Free Running has never been so Free; where as in the past you have been able to climb walls (Spiderman, anyone?) or the odd fence (GTA SA, huh?) it was all scripted, and very repetitive. Now, instead of a wall, fence or building being interactive - the environment and, as Jade Raymond (producer and total hottie) says "Any architectural detail that sticks out more then 2 inches can be used as a hold for your hands or feet."* Reading that description doesn't do the visuals justice however, and seeing it in action is something beautiful to behold. Altair does not just climb up; if there is nothing for him to grab with his hand or stick his big size nines into then he won't, he'll look for something close and within reach to do so - and thus why this game is amazing: realism.
You'll actually grab 'sticky-outty' bits when you climb.
Fight like a freakin' Ninja!!
Although this is perhaps the first game when running away like a big girls blouse actually looks cool, there will be occasions when you need and/or just feel like kickin' some guards' ass. The fighting style isn't a button masher, nor does it seem particularly difficult to use (perhaps, to master though...). It seems as though there will 3 different types of ways to attack an opponent: grapple and to then stab or push/throw, block and then counter-attack, or simply swing for them. There also seems to be 4 types of weapons; the uber cool Assassin switch blade (used for assassinations), a short and long sword and throwing knives. All of these weapons are interchangeable and make for some beautiful combinations.
Take the target out head on without a second thought.
Variety is the spice of life!?
So, you've got your uber cool climbing, jumping and basically spiderman-like moves and you've also got your somewhat ninja-like cut throat abilities for when things get up close and personal, but what else? Well, games like to give us gamers things in 3's and this is no different. The final and perhaps most original idea (although I think IO Interactive may have something to say about that) is the new social stealth concept which seems to be the coders new toy; next gen has given programmers the ability to program multiple A.I for each NPC (non-playing character) and thus the birth of social stealth). Social stealth is a pretty simple idea; to avoid looking suspicious you perform tasks or mimic actions of others to remain inconspicuous: think "that" peeping tom who pretends to attend to his garden every time you catch his eye!
In Assassin's Creed, the idea is the same. Perhaps you want to get close to your target but have no buildings near by, or perhaps there are just too many guards. Well, with social stealth you will be able to blend into a crowd, or small group of people (say, a bunch of monks) and make your way towards the target within said crowd. This will allow you to get as close as possible without your target or his bodyguards becoming suspicious of the guy in the hood with the multiple weapons on his back. It can also be used when splegging it (see "running away, fast") to lose the guards; perhaps there's a group of individuals sitting on a bench? Sit next to them and watch as the guards go running on past you!
Feeling sneaky? Use crowds of monks to approach the target without being seen
It's the next stage of gaming-evolution!
We're at the stage now where next-gen games are now, finally making an appearance. Sure, Gears of War introduced us to what could be achieved and even the game play was pretty darn good too. But it didn't really push the boundaries game play wise, it didn't introduce us to any new ideas or innovative game play techniques. It was, if we're being fair, a very beautiful looking 3rd person shooter!
Assassin's Creed (and Mass Effect) are pushing the envelope to the extreme, offering players as much freedom and high quality of content that games such as Oblivion (lots of space, lacking on quality), GOW (again, looks nice - but a rehash of old ideas and very short), and so on, failed to do. It's clear to see that the final quarter of 2007 will see the rise of the true next gen games.
So...?
So?! You need more? Well, let me take this opportunity to turn into the hormone driven guy that I truly am and present to you Jade Raymond...
We love you Jade..!!!!! <3
Ahem, quite..
Pencil your calenders folks. November has been announced as the release date for Assassin's Creed - it's gunna' be one helluva month!
E3 Game Play Video
Newest Trailer
PS. The song from the new trailer is Lonely Souls by Unkle with vocals from Mr Richard Ashcroft himself. I promptly downloaded that song, as it's so damned good!
You'll actually grab 'sticky-outty' bits when you climb.
Take the target out head on without a second thought.
Feeling sneaky? Use crowds of monks to approach the target without being seen
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