I recently returned from a trip to the Middle East circa 1191. Despite how weird that sounds, it's true, and that's how strongly I felt about my time playing Assassin's Creed. I can't really begin to describe the atmosphere of this game. I genuinely felt that I was placed in various cities — Jerusalem and Damascus among them — and I wanted to explore every street and every alley and take in every detail of the world. It's been a long time since a game has captured my imagination this way; I have been utterly entranced by Assassin's Creed. I think I spent 10 hours playing it the first night, simply amazed and unaware at how much time had passed. It's been years since I've let a game take me on that kind of ride.
For a little backstory, in 1191, Richard the Lionheart captured Acre during the Third Crusade, which was to serve as the base of operations for the eventual recapture of Jerusalem, at the time occupied by Saladin. With most people involved in the war on one side of another, there was great opportunity for personal gain and mischief This is where our story begins.
When you first start Assassin's Creed, you aren't the main character that you've probably seen in commercials — Altair. You'll begin in a sub-plot that will soon make things clear and open the way to the Assassin's Creed main plot. The most enjoyable parts of game obviously occur during your time as Altair.
We begin with Altair on business for Al Mualim, head of the Assassins. Altair botches the job and breaks several tenets of the Assassin's Creed. On returning to Masyaf, the Assassin stronghold, he is demoted and nearly expelled from the order. Al Mualim, of course, gives him a chance to redeem himself by undertaking a series of assassinations that will give Altair enlightenment about the Creed that he has sworn to uphold. Instead of a traditional leveling game, after each mission, Altair regains weapons and skills that were taken away from him. As he completes these primary quests, our story unfolds, and we see who really is behind the evil that is afoot and how Altair's involvement is having an impact. According to Ubisoft, all of Altair's targets were real historic figures that died or disappeared from history in or around 1191.
This isn't a combat game; at its best, it's a stealth game. Everything is based on the concept of drawing as little attention to yourself as possible. Walking thru a crowd can be an adventure: Push someone out of your way softly and perhaps nothing happens, but shove them and you hear them say something, which means you have attracted some attention. Jump to climb a wall in sight of a commoner, and you may hear "What does he think he's doing?" You'll end up spending time trying to engender goodwill with people, say by killing guards who might be stopping an innocent citizen. By doing tasks like this, you'll impress the people, and from time to time, vigilantes will offer help - which you'll welcome - because they will grab and slow down guards if you are being chased.
While on this series of quests, Altair does travel from the stronghold of Masyaf to the cities of Acre, Damascus and Jerusalem. This isn't instant travel, but done by horseback through the countryside. In fact, there seems to be an overabundance of horses, so if for some reason you lose a horse, you can easily find another. While traveling, you will discover various "high points," at the tops of churches, mosques, towers and such. You can climb these objects and have an eagle-eye view of the surrounding countryside. These views, I have to say, are some of the most stunning images I've seen from a video game. What they do is just drag you deeper into the game and enhance the feeling that you really are in the year 1191 and that this is what you'd see if you really were there.
As an Assassin, your job isn't simple — did you really expect it to be? As you travel, you'll report to the Assassin contact in each city, and he'll start you on your path. He'll give you a clue or two about where you need to look for your target. After all, investigation is a big part of what you'll be doing, and as such, you'll be gathering information that puts things together for you, so you can understand that bigger picture. If you do the minimal work, after those quests, you'll usually be able to locate your target, but if you also visit all the high points, you'll find a couple of other quests that give you more information, and they do extend the game and are worth it.
While doing all of these things, you'll be climbing walls, jumping from rooftop to rooftop with the greatest of ease. Ubisoft really came thru with the controls on this one, and while they did take a bit to get comfortable with, they shortly became natural. It will feel confusing at first, as you work to understand low-profile and high-profile actions. However, there is quite a thrill as you scale these incredibly high towers.
Feeling comfortable with the surrounding city, with its citizens and with the knowledge of your target, it's time to complete your mission. Combat is explained fairly well, and each time you receive a weapon from Al Mualim, you can practice with it in the courtyard of Masyaf. You'll eventually have a sword, short sword, hidden blade, throwing knives and your hands — all of which are lethal weapons.
With my first mark, I had the thrill of running at my target, jumping in the air, watching my hidden blade extend and punching forward, resulting in an instant kill. Of course, I had the wrong person targeted, and that alerted my mark, who then was off to the races. It wasn't exactly the beginning I had expected, but it did teach me a very valuable targeting lesson!
As much as Assassin's Creed is a game, it's also a gateway to a vision of the Middle East in 1191. While I'm not a history expert, the feel that I get from this game fits; Ubisoft conveys exactly what they set out to express. They want you to have an adrenaline rush; they want you to feel wonderment and awe; and for the time that you are there, they want you to live in their version of the Middle East. Ultimately, it's a success. The gameplay could get repetitive, but for me, I just could not get enough of feeling like I was a part of a living, breathing, vibrant world. I played through it once, and I'll play through it again so I can continue to experience this world. No game in my recent memory has captured me this completely or taken me on this kind of ride. It took me only two days to play through it, because I was just that engrossed. If you enjoy that period in history, if you enjoy a stealth game or if you just want to have the feeling that your playing is impacting a realistic world, then Assassin's Creed is perfect for you.
