Post by George Willson on Jan 27, 2012 15:24:24 GMT -5
I'll just kick off by posting about this game, which I recently finished the basic story on. I know it has been out a few years, and I actually have the 3 sequels that have come out since then, ready to play. However, it is the first Xbox game that I've played to any level of depth, so this will work well as an honest review.
The gist of this game is that you're a member of these assassins who live by a few basic rules and your group is fighting against its rival, the templars during the time of the crusades. The guy in charge of it all gives you targets in 3 historic cities after you've disgraced yourself by jumping into a battle at the beginning and getting your fellow assassins killed or wounded. Little by little, you start to get your gear and skills back as rewards for shwoing that you're as lethal as ever.
The levels progress easily enough and there is a lot of world to explore in a well detailed environment. Other than the main mission, there are side mission you have to accomplish to gain information about your target, and you can optionally rescue citizens by picking fights with the guards and collect a ridiculous number of flags placed in completely random locations throughout the open range kingdom and cities you have to work in.
Control of the character was very simple and intuitive, and even gave me the option of reversing both the X and Y axes, which makes it easier for my brain to comprehend the controls. Jumping and climbing was basically autopilot. You point where you want to go and Altair executes the move without a lot of thought. As long as the jump is within his range, he makes it look easy and skillful. Same with climbing. You point toward a valid handhold, and he hops to it.
Not only was the game a pleasure to behold with its highly detail environments, but it was really fun to play. Altair has four options of weapon in this game: throwing knives, hidden blade, sword, and fists. All of them had their place in the tasks he had to perform, and in the case of the sword combat against the guards, once you got the timing of the fights down, the game launched into a brief animated "death sequence" that honestly never got old, regardless that there were only a few variations of it. Watching him "assassinate" someone with the hidden blade also brought a devious little smile to my face every time.
The problems that I had were only a few and they didn't spoil the game for me. The biggest annoyance for me were the beggars and drunks/looneys. The beggars always solicit you, and they do it incessantly. You have to weave your way past them to not cause a scene, and it gets worse in the upper levels when the guards are always on the lookout for you. Honestly, one of the greatest pleasures I had in this game was when I found I could give them a swift punch to get them out of the way. The drunk/loons (I'm not sure if they were wasted or asylum escapees) would ALWAYS attack you. Every time. You could not walk past them without them at least trying to punch you. Again, sometimes, they were easily avoidable, but in those upper levels, you can't move as fast and one loon out of line, and you end up running from the guards.
The other thing was minor. For some weird reason, Altair can't swim. He hits the water, and he drowns. Period. Seriously? Talk about taking you out of the experience. He can climb a towering church spire, but he can't swim.
Some have complained of the repetitive nature of the game, but that didn't bother me. That's the nature of video games. You find the groove and stay with it. The best games ever made have been somewhat repetitive. What keeps the repetition from being boring is the varying nature of the maps and the storyline that unfolds. Not only the storyline in Altair's time, but the other storyline that you find yourself in near the beginning of the game. I didn't know anything about it when I started playing, so I was intrigued.
In the end, it was a very fun game, and I can see why they made a bunch of sequels to it. I am looking forward to part II.
The gist of this game is that you're a member of these assassins who live by a few basic rules and your group is fighting against its rival, the templars during the time of the crusades. The guy in charge of it all gives you targets in 3 historic cities after you've disgraced yourself by jumping into a battle at the beginning and getting your fellow assassins killed or wounded. Little by little, you start to get your gear and skills back as rewards for shwoing that you're as lethal as ever.
The levels progress easily enough and there is a lot of world to explore in a well detailed environment. Other than the main mission, there are side mission you have to accomplish to gain information about your target, and you can optionally rescue citizens by picking fights with the guards and collect a ridiculous number of flags placed in completely random locations throughout the open range kingdom and cities you have to work in.
Control of the character was very simple and intuitive, and even gave me the option of reversing both the X and Y axes, which makes it easier for my brain to comprehend the controls. Jumping and climbing was basically autopilot. You point where you want to go and Altair executes the move without a lot of thought. As long as the jump is within his range, he makes it look easy and skillful. Same with climbing. You point toward a valid handhold, and he hops to it.
Not only was the game a pleasure to behold with its highly detail environments, but it was really fun to play. Altair has four options of weapon in this game: throwing knives, hidden blade, sword, and fists. All of them had their place in the tasks he had to perform, and in the case of the sword combat against the guards, once you got the timing of the fights down, the game launched into a brief animated "death sequence" that honestly never got old, regardless that there were only a few variations of it. Watching him "assassinate" someone with the hidden blade also brought a devious little smile to my face every time.
The problems that I had were only a few and they didn't spoil the game for me. The biggest annoyance for me were the beggars and drunks/looneys. The beggars always solicit you, and they do it incessantly. You have to weave your way past them to not cause a scene, and it gets worse in the upper levels when the guards are always on the lookout for you. Honestly, one of the greatest pleasures I had in this game was when I found I could give them a swift punch to get them out of the way. The drunk/loons (I'm not sure if they were wasted or asylum escapees) would ALWAYS attack you. Every time. You could not walk past them without them at least trying to punch you. Again, sometimes, they were easily avoidable, but in those upper levels, you can't move as fast and one loon out of line, and you end up running from the guards.
The other thing was minor. For some weird reason, Altair can't swim. He hits the water, and he drowns. Period. Seriously? Talk about taking you out of the experience. He can climb a towering church spire, but he can't swim.
Some have complained of the repetitive nature of the game, but that didn't bother me. That's the nature of video games. You find the groove and stay with it. The best games ever made have been somewhat repetitive. What keeps the repetition from being boring is the varying nature of the maps and the storyline that unfolds. Not only the storyline in Altair's time, but the other storyline that you find yourself in near the beginning of the game. I didn't know anything about it when I started playing, so I was intrigued.
In the end, it was a very fun game, and I can see why they made a bunch of sequels to it. I am looking forward to part II.
