Assassin's Creed reviews

Assassin’s Creed is the first entry in Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed franchise. It is not the first game chronologically (this would be Assassin’s Creed Odyssey) but it is the best game to play to introduce someone to the franchise. Like many of the games, Assassin’s Creed contains two storylines one set in the modern day (in or around 2012) and the other one set in the past. The game centers on Desmond Miles, a seemingly uneventful character who has had a very interesting past regarding his family. Desmond and his family were part of the Assassin Brotherhood, an organization dedicated to preserving freedom in the world. Desmond is captured by the reclusive Abstergo Industries and is tasked with using a machine called the Animus to relive his genetic memories of his ancestors to accomplish their own nefarious goals. The corporation is focused on one of Desmond’s ancestors named Altair Ibn-La’Ahad, an assassin active in the Holy Land during the Third Crusade (1191). Altair is tasked by his order with unraveling a conspiracy involving key figures on both the Crusaders and Saracen sides of the war (Templars). The Templar order seek to use the Crusades to conquer the Holy Land and then liberate it from the tools that they deem are holding its people back (religion, politics, etc). The story is interesting but the segments of the story regarding the targets are kind of choppy. It’s a rinse and repeat cycle of pickpocket, interrogate, eavesdrop or help an informant all to gather information and then the only interesting part occurs in which you use the information to assassinate the target. Not much occurs in the “modern day” setting, really besides seeing how the past has and continues to impact the present day. The game is viewed as a stealth game, but the stealth elements aren’t as emphasized as they later will be in other installments (and later de-emphasized). The sword play is a mixed bag for me. I like that the sword play isn’t flashy and smooth. It’s very clunky and simple, which is how people would have fought with these kind of weapons during this time period. But at the same time, that clunkiness results in some very bad fighting mechanics. The graphics are kind of dating, but they still hold up good. The setting is very interesting and the series has defiantly stated that they will continue to feature and set their games in time periods like this where video games do no often get set in. The city designs are cool, Damascus, Jerusalem, and Acre are so distinct and memorable in their own ways. The side missions are very bland and typical. Either collect items, save citizens or synchronize viewpoints……nothing much to offer. The writing in the game is fantastic. Corey May does a wonderful job handling a story that can get very muddled and confusing but at the same time he treats the material with a very impressive amount of respect for a video game. Overall, this game is very good. Probably the best way to begin a series. Keep it simple and confined but also leave the door open for more content to come.
Rating: 4.5/ 5