Assassin's Creed (PS3) > Reviews > PS3 Next gen game launch?

Author's product rating:   

Playability & Enjoyment	A good game - playable and enjoyable
Originality	Good
Graphics	Excellent
Sound	Good - relevant music & effects
Difficulty & Complexity	Average - suitable for most

Advantages:	Graphics are neat and realistic, lighting is incredible .   Maps and environments rich and detailed
Disadvantages:	Not much new in actual gameplay

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

I was expecting a lot. I bought my PS3 long before there was anything of "next gen" quality to play on it and had Assassin's Creed on preorder from the moment UbiSoft started their marketing assault.
I ordered the special edition (comes in a quite well designed tin) and contains 4 post cards along with the game. Paying £39.99 for this, I did not feel ripped off, as it was a good launch price against the standard offering on the shelves, being simply the case and gamedisc.

Why was I so excited about this game? Was it because it promised us the real potential of PS3 or was it the story and character? I think a bit of both from my perspective.

What we knew from the start was that you are an Assassin in the historical 'Crusades' timeline, which I would estimate around 1188, given some references in the game. Your role is to infiltrate, seek information and kill. Familiar stuff huh! There is a twist though…you are in present day or later, and are connected to the memory of your ancestors through DNA interrogation process in a lab. What ?!. Yep, I was slightly confused and felt there was no value on this additional storyline, but I guess it allows a vehicle upon which UbiSoft can span the ages with the same model; changing only the historical period your "puppet" is set within. Personally, I would have been happy to continue with the game without this distraction.

So…what is it like then?. You are Altair. A crusader and assassin.
Opening scenes are focussed on basics of training, but this is so subtle you barely feel this is happening to you. There are various methods of control presented either interactively to you or as mission based elements. I was still being "tutored" some hours into the game without ever distracting me and without me being fully aware. It is balanced very nicely and UbiSoft have the calculated this absolutely right for someone like me. When you stop to think about this, too many games stick you into a training camp and throw the whole manual at you. By being spoon-fed the commands, and how to intelligently use the combinations, sticks with you more intuitively.
The first missions are simple enough and set in a blue-hazy and smoggy environment. My first thoughts were that this was employed to keep the distance drawing to a minimum in order to improve performance. UbiSoft had me shocked within an hour or so of gameplay. Once I moved to the next destinations (Nazareth being one), the light and scenery that they used was sumptuous!. It was one of the loveliest looking representations of a game area that I have seen on a console. I promise you a treat if you play this game on PS3. You are not constantly in battle, so there is a good element of free-roaming that is possible. Look around. Not every building looks the same, not every tree is the same. It is a lovely environment and deserves your attention.

Free running is where highly athletic folk run over roofs, jumping and clawing their way along almost impossible roofs and paths. This is represented in-game as you take Altair though the locations, exploring as you go. If you have seen the trailers, you may recall the character perched high on some tall structure or building. This becomes a necessity in game. The vantage point offers you a "map reveal" in that area, showing hideaways and a host of other elements that you would have taken an age to find on foot at ground level (if at all). When you stand aloft and the camera pans around you, you feel a great sense of achievement. As each town is markedly different, the panorama is equally pleasing the 6th time as it was the first.
You can get off the towers using the "leap of faith" option. I won't spoil anything in here, but it is always cool and only very slightly comedic.
So, I have not even mentioned assassination yet. Yep, it is there. Bold open attacks or quiet and subdued killings are possible. Hidden blades, swords, throwing knives and even pushing someone off a roof are all ways you can achieve your aims. You get to eavesdrop and pickpocket to further your information gathering. Blending in is important, as there is nothing more alarming to guards than an oaf barging his way through the interactive crowds and getting on their nerves, giving your location away. You have many methods of dissolving into the town with little to give you away. If you do get busted….run and break line of sight and then hide. Simple ….well nearly.

Fighting is a little "Errol Flynn" and each guard tends to take his turn, but I am only on "recruit" mode, so I may not be doing it justice on harder settings.

If I am being fair to all games of this genre, there are enough new elements to keep it interesting and fresh, but it does not reinvent the general gameplay of overall capabilities. The movement of the characters is rich, rewarding and believable. The fighting is fair enough. The scenery is beautiful and the towns and villages detailed
in incredible ways.

It deserves 80% of the hype. It deserves a purchase if you like this type of game. It also deserves boasting to your Wii-owning friends on what proper console graphics should look like.

Not breathtaking, but certainly a valuable addition to Next-Gen potential.