The Princess is in another Castle

Whoa! Since I’m a great fan of stealth-action and tactical espionage games like Metal Gear Solid or Splinter Cell, the first game that I bought for my new Xbox 360 was the ultra-cool looking game ASSASSIN’S CREED. I mean, what’s cooler if you’re a master assassin who can climb on nearly every wall, jumps over roofs like a frog and kills his enemies with such stylish moves? I dunno!

NOTE: If you have a problem with reading in English, please check out my school review in German.

Before I bought it, I collected some information. So when I started the game, it was even more obvious: the game itself plays in a nearer future. You are the assassin’s descendant, a barkeeper called Desmond Miles, who has been captured by a mysterious science corporation called Abstergo. You are hold by the crazy and impatient professor Warren and his helper, the beautiful female assistant Lucy. Both are forcing you to make use of a special computer called “Animus”. With this machine, you can access a secret genetical memory of a human to get specific information. And so, you enter the past, the time of the third crusade, approx. 1191 AD.
You now get to control the real Assassin, known as Altaïr Ibn L’Ahad. In a tutorial, you learn the controls a tricks of the Assassin. Then, you “tune in” to the real Story.

The Story begins with a failure: Altaïr (like “Al-Ta-Iir”), full of arrogance, is not afraid of breaking the Creed of the Assassins, and makes a fatal mistake. One of his comrades dies due to that mistake, and Altaïr returns to the master, Al Mualim, with a failure. But, the other comrade also returns a bit later, heavily wounded, but with the requested object they were sent for. Suddenly, the fortress of the Assassins is being attacked by the leader of the Templars, Robert de Sable. You must activate a trap to get rid of him and his big bunch of soldiers.
As done, Al Mualim summons you to the palace again, and another short movie sequency begins: Al Mualim blames Altaïr for the death of his comrade, for the almost-failure of an important mission, and the attack of the templars. In the end, Al Mualim stabs Altaïr with a golden knife.
You wake up later as fully alive, but you have lost your ranking. Now, you have to assassinate 9 special people to restore your ranking. But, with the ranking, you also lost some abilites and weapons. You start with the long saber and the Hiddenblade. For each killed person you will get either a new weapon or a special ability.

The gameplay of Assassin’s Creed is really clever and easy to use. You have a kinda “Pupperteer-Control”, so you got one button for each part of the body:
Y = Head
B = Right Arm
X = Left Arm
A = Legs
You don’t have something like health, but you have a Synchronisation-Bar, which shows how synchronal Desmond and Altaïr are. If the bar reaches zero, you’ve lost the connection to Altaïr and he’s dead. The Animus will then tune in to the last saved memory.
You have a simple choosing option for the weapons, and each of it has it’s strengths and weaknesses:
Big Saber: Heavy and strong attacks, but a bit too slow. Only good for a few enemies.
Battle Dagger: Swift and fast attacks, with a big possibilty to inflict fast and big damage to an enemy. my favourite weapon for fightings.
Hiddenblade: A special gadget on your left arm. The only way to assassinate a requested person in the story. Unfortunately very useless in close combat, since you can only use it in a counter-attack.
Throwable knives: Up to 15 knives to throw them at enemies from a distance. Instant kill. Not usable in close combat.
Also, another hint for close combat: Altaïr is fast and strong, but he has no good armor, and when he takes a hit, he usually takes another one. So it’s a good idea to stay clam and defensive in a close combat, especially when the enemies have surrounded you. You can then strike them down with a single counter-attack.

Since every even great game had it’s weak points, even such an awesome game like Assassin’s Creed has some:
- The storymode can quickly become a lame repeat. You have to do the same thing 9 times. It can get boring.
- The game has a great environment for exploration, but there is nothing much to explore. You collect some flags which are scattered around in different regions or you have to find and smack some templars for “additional memories” and achievements – and therefore for Gamerscore. But even if you know the region like your own wallet, you will walk on a place for 10 times and on the 11th time you’ll notice the flag. Just annoying.
- I don’t really think it’s a weak point, but it’s annoying me. During the game, you will also be able to leave the Animus and walk around in the furute. Since there will be another 2 parts of the trilogy, there will be a big f**king bunch of hints for the next part. Also, you get some information about a conspiracy, but propably go mad because you won’t get all of it. I can’t wait for the next part anymore.

Don’t be afraid of the future-past thing, this game has good balance with it, and still you get to use the true power of the assassin. My recommendation: Go to a store, grab this game and walk to the Checkout. Seriously.