Assassin's Creed is an odd game. It has many ideas and concepts that are intertwined together to make a unique package. However it seems that the developer could not let go of ideas and gameplay mechanics used in their previous games. The results is a game that feels like Prince of Persia's crack whore cousin. It can be exciting and confusing. It can have its highs and lows. And it will end up repeating itself time and time again. When all is said and done you will either be very pleased with your outing in Assassin's Creed or trying to forget it ever exsisted.
If you have played any Prince of Persia (except for 2008's Prince of Persia which played nothing like the rest) then you will feel right at home with the platforming and combat. The games protaganists Altair runs, climbs and fights in the exact same way that the Prince did. What really differs the gameplay between the two is Assassin's Creed's stealth mechanics. The whole idea of Assassin's Creed is not to be seen. The target is just supposed to die. This means if you want to get a target without alerting a nearby guard you need to approach carefully and plan every move. In execution though this an extremely difficult task.
It is much easier to run in swords drawn and swing your arms about, killing any guard insight, until you finally reach your target. And for the most part this will work. There was only one mission in the entire game that i actually needed to use stealth on. And when i say stealth all I did was waltz on in there and used a throwing knife for a quick kill. Most of the strategy in this game comes from the escape. But even then its fairly easy to get away from your guards without them finding you. Diving into any hay bail or tent will immedietly render the guards clueless. And eventually they just give up. The combat is interesting with a heavy and light attack and varying counters. Different weapons work better on different guards so it is fun switching blades and finding the perfect way to take down your foes.
The climbing mechanics are enjoyable. In fact all the movement in this game is extremely well polished. Every move feels different and the momentum you can build jumping from roof top to roof top always brought a smile to my face. Climbing buildings is a slow process but that is by no means a bad thing. My only problem is sometimes the game does not know where you want to jump to and picks a direction for you. In one mission i had to jump between boats on a harbour and the amount of times I fell to my death was astonishing. Traveling between towns at the start of the game requires you to ride on horse back before you have the ability to fast travel. This is probably the weakest part of the game. There is no way to be stealthy when riding a horse which means every man and his dog ends up chasing after you. This part of the game feels tacked on. It is obvious that it is there to brake up the already repetitive assassinations. The constant stoping to climb up a tower so you can reveal more of the map and know where you are traveling is tedious to say the least.
The story starts of extremely interesting. The idea is that a bar tender named Desmund Miles (voiced by the always brilliant Nolan North) is kidnapped by a cooperation and using a machine called The Animus he must enter the memories of his ancestor to find an artifact. Desmund's story is the main reason to stick with the game. The story of your ancestor Altair (voiced by what sounds like a thirten year old) is far from entertaining. In fact at one stage I muted the game when in the animus and created my own dialogue. The cutscenes are extremely dull and get kinda Days of Our Lives-ish. The final cutscene which ends up being a massive cliff hanger will leave you scratching your head and will ultimatley be the defining factor as to your opinion on the game.
After all this my time in Assassin's Creed has been mixed. If you enjoy action adventure games it is definitely worth a try. But it won't appeal to everyone. I played through most of it and then placed it aside for months on end before finally finishing. The sequel is by far a better game and in a way I wish I had started there and discoved the plot through wikipedia. In the end the story will be what holds you. If you're not a fan of sci-fi and 12th century assassins then you may want to leave Assassins Creed on the shelf.