Assassin's Creed

Assassin's Creed takes place in the year 1191 and in the not-so-distant 2012. Confused? You play as Desmond Miles in 2012, kidnapped and held captive by a group called Abstergo who supposedly is responsible for all modern innovations. Desmond's heritage goes all the way back to the original order of Assassins (thus how the word assassin became used to describe one), his ancestor is the incredible Altair (All-Tie-Ear). The group hooks him up to a machine called the Animus that allows someone from the present to view "ancestral memories" and in this way you play as Altair for about 98.5% of the game. The story itself is filled with conspiracy and controversy and is a plot so thick it'll crush you like a ten ton hammer. Truly a step forward in modern gaming story telling with it's unique approach, driving suspense and shocking twists and turns. The gameplay of Assassin's Creed is easy to grasp yet has a flavor all it's own. You'll be surprised at the fluidity of movement and your ability to go everywhere in the huge environments the game has to offer. The game takes Altair to Masyaf, Damascus, Acre and Jerusalem. Not to mention the massive area simply known as the Kingdom. The side missions and many investigations you must complete to gather information on your main targets range from eavesdropping, pick-pocketing, interrogation, assassinating targets for other assassins and collecting flags. While this is fun after a while, it stagnates a bit, but the story and the gameplay just keep egging you on to keep playing. Weapons include the standard sword, throwing knives (which are great) and the games trademark "hidden blade" that comes out where Altair's ring finger should be to cut the throats of those he targets. The combat is unique and feels a bit like a dance rather then the norm of cut 'em down and keep moving that has become standard with so many games now a days. The flaws of Assassin's Creed (other then the repetitive feel sometimes) are varied. Glitches with riding horses or being unable to move and forced to reload a previous save are minimal. The biggest issue with the game is it's terrible auto save feature. Collecting a flag (which there are many) serve a double purpose of getting achievements and saving but falls short of the latter. Often you will find yourself dying and restarting a point far back into the game and having to replay many things you don't want to. This can be fixed by simply saving alot on your own but in this day and age auto save should be a standard and Assassin's Creed fails to give it any meaning. All-in-all though this game will have you playing for days taking Templars out in the hopes of uncovering more story and learn the secrets of Abstergo and the Assassins. I highly suggest you give it a play through.