Ever since seeing the movie The Professional, I’ve had an affinity for the assassin. I wouldn’t condone the act or ever partake in it in real life, but when it comes to movies and videogames, the idea of experiencing the life of an assassin has always been one I enjoy. After getting some early info on Assassin’s Creed and learning about the gameplay and mechanics, I eagerly waited, and waited, and waited again, until finally the game was released. Has the wait been worth it? Is Assassin’s Creed a victim of its own hype? Will I have an assassin themed videogame that I love as much as The Professional movie?

THE STORY SO FAR
Caution:The story of Assassin’s Creed has been at times the most well-guarded secret and yet at others the biggest instance of someone letting the cat out of the bag (thanks Kristen Bell). We won’t spoil anything late in the game, but when it comes to what that mystery is that Ubisoft hid for so long, we’ll spill the beans, because when it happens within five minutes, we don’t consider it very spoilerific. If you don’t want to know anything about that, however, just skip over the story section and know that it’s an interesting and well-told narrative that will have you playing till the end.

Assassin’s Creed is a double-sided story that takes place in the present, but is very much affected by the past. You play as a young man who finds himself waking up within some strange device, which moments earlier had you believing you were an assassin during the Crusades. The people keeping you captive tell you that the reason people know how to mate, for one thing, is because of genetic memory that is passed on from one generation to the next. It turns out that within you lies a great secret, which could possibly change the world. Will you be able to discover the secret, and is there any chance of escape?

I actually found myself playing to experience the story in the present more than anything else, even though there isn’t much time actually spent during this element. I’m a huge fan of Lost, and there was just something about the scientific mystery that reminded me of that excellent series. Though the present story was the reason I continued on, the past story was pretty good as well, featuring plenty of historic references given a fictional slant. The story also tackles religion and secret societies very well, and does a good job of presenting historical ideas in a way much like The Da Vinci Code – it’s obviously a work of fiction, but presented in such a way that it could be real.

Though you wouldn’t think a game about the past and present could possibly come together and blend so well when the topics and settings are so greatly different, by the time everything is said and done a really excellent tale has been told, which manages to go from one extreme to the next, and takes the story to places you probably won’t expect. And after seeing how the game ends, I can only hope the story of Altair continues.

GAMEPLAY
The game is split into gameplay sections, which essentially play the same from beginning to end. Yes, the same fundamentals being carried out over and over from beginning to end does get too repetitive near the end, but the story and gameplay still works well enough to overcome this biggest shortcoming.

You start off by getting missions, which have you traveling around and being tasked with killing a select group of nine men. Until you’ve visited one of the major cities for the first time, you’ll have to manually leave your base and make your way by horseback to the city’s gates, traversing many obstacles and dodging many guards who stand in your way. Once you’ve made it to the city of your hit, you’ll then make your way to the Assassin’s local branch, who will then give you a little info on your target.

Once you’ve checked in with your local boss it’s time to gather some Intel, because your boss refuses to let you kill your target without a plan of attack. In order to discover the Intel you’ll first need to make your way to the highest towers in the city, climbing up to the top so you can view the city, basically letting you get used to the area and pinpoint where special events are on your map. Events include such things as helping civilians who are being bullied, but mostly they involve one of several things: interrogation, pick pocketing, eavesdropping, or helping a fellow assassin out for some info. Once you’ve gone through three of the Intel gathering missions, you’ll then be able to report back to your boss and take the target out once and for all.

The Intel gathering isn’t too hard of a task, as the acts involved include things like sitting on a nearby bench and pushing a button, pummeling someone when they are alone, or walking up behind someone and holding down a button when they don’t have their head turned to discover what you are doing. As for helping the assassins out for info, we actually didn’t like these moments all that much, and so we never did them to get our required three pieces of Intel.

Once you’ve been cleared to take the target out, you’ll then rush over to where they are at, experience an in-game cutscene showing these villains as the plights on society that they are, and then once those scenes have ended it’s up to you how to proceed. Do you attack right away or do you wait for your moment? Though you’re killing people over and over as your final task, not every one of them will go down the same way; some you can walk right up to while others you might have to chase through the city first.

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