Assassin's Creed Review

Assassin’s Creed

Spoiler Warning : This review will include minor spoilers that are within the first ten minutes of the game.

Assassin’s Creed has been one of the most hyped games of the year along with Halo 3, The Orange Box, Mass Effect and the like, thanks to the game’s producer Jade Raymond and Ubisoft’s relentless effort to get her in front of the camera every ten minutes. Like so many games though, Assassin’s Creed could easily have become a victim of its own hype, or a game that lived up to it. What the final product does however, is a combination of the two.

Pieces of Eden

The year is 2012 and bartender Desmond Miles wakes up in a mysterious research facility having been kidnapped earlier. The company, Abstergo Science, are trying to use Desmond’s genetic memory for some purpose unknown to him. To do this, they have developed a machine called the Animus which allows him to take control of his Assassin ancestor Altair and view his memories. The story that develops from this has an almost cyberpunk feel to it, having obviously been influenced by films like The Matrix. While the story that takes place inside Desmond’s memory via the Animus is full of every cliché under the sun, the story that takes place in Abstergo between Desmond and the two scientists, Vidic and Lucy, still manages to retain some originality and is genuinely interesting thanks to the ambiguous morality of what they are doing. This could have been a good thing, but since the game doesn’t actually have an ending, it just feels like a bunch of broken promises.

Altair’s storyline is vastly different from Desmond’s, taking place in 1191 during the crusades. Your mission as Altair is to track down nine men profiting from their peoples suffering and assassinate them in order to regain your position within the assassin’s clan. While this initially starts out well and has some good twists, it eventually descends into the realm of overused clichés. The major plot points are delivered via conversations with the assassination targets in which the world of 1191 is abandoned for a setting that looks more like they are inside a computer, surrounded by data, and these conversations are later revisited and discussed by Altair and his master, which works at the beginning but quickly becomes repetitive and tedious. Why a muslim living in the east has an American accent is also anyone’s guess.

Uninitiated

The time spent in control of Desmond is not all that interesting, gameplay-wise. All you really do is walk from the bedroom to the Animus, with the occasionally conversation with Lucy and Vidic or reading the odd e-mail or two. The majority of the time is spent as Altair anyway, so it’s not that big a deal.

When in control of Altair, actions are split between low and high profiles. Low profile moves are actions that won’t bring any attention to the assassin, such as blending with scholars, gently pushing through a crowd, or just a normal paced walk. High profile moves are just the opposite – actions that will attract attention and should only be used when absolutely necessary. These include attacking enemies, tackling your way through a crowd, climbing up buildings and running.

Blending is a key part of the game as it will give you complete anonymity from guards. If you find a group of scholars you can use their similar appearance to disguise yourself as one of them, or if you find a bench you can hide as just another face in the crowd. This can be one of the most exciting parts of the game as trying to find a place to hide while on the run adds a high level of tension and requires a little brain powers. Performing a stealth assassination is also a lot of fun as you have to sneak up on the guards carefully and stab them from behind, one wrong move being all it takes to go from hunter to prey.

The controls also feel really natural, particularly climbing the buildings and making your way from one to the other. Rather than making some over complicated way of doing this, it’s all been kept very simple and it really works quite well. All you have to do is switch to high profile, hold the free step or jump button and move in whichever way you wish to climb or jump. This is easily one of the highlights of the game as jumping from building to building and finding ways to climb the highest ones, some of which are huge, never gets old.

Early on in the game Altair loses all of his abilities which is both annoying as a player and almost completely unnecessary, apparently Altair’s decrease in rank also causes him temporary amnesia of how to counter an attack. Over the course of the game however, you’ll regain them all and it doesn’t really feel like it’s making a difference which just causes it all to feel like a waste of time.

There are many side quests to take part in too. In each city there are a number of flags to collect, tall buildings that serve as a “view point”, a place to uncover more of the map, and citizens to rescue from guards who have decided to flaunt their authority. All of these initially start out fun but get boring as you continue to do them. The best is probably climbing to find view points as any time spent on top of the buildings is generally a lot of fun. The worst is the repetitive rescue missions, though they have the added benefit of unlocking groups of scholars to blend with and groups of vigilantes who will fight any guards that are chasing you. Both become useful after having carried out an assassination when the guards are at their most threatening.

The crowds are also a fun element to the game. If you decide to jump from a building and land in a group of people, you’re immediately going to be noticed by anyone who is close enough to hear you or see you, usually prompting a loud gasp from the crowd. This immediately makes escaping from the guards more troublesome as a single slip up is enough to get noticed and hunted down. The enemy AI is a bit mixed though, since some times they really seem to be thinking and other times they barely notice you. For example, if you begin to climb a building they will begin to search for other ways to get to you by throwing rocks at you or finding another path up the building, but if you use the gentle push move on them a lot they won’t even turn to look at you despite the suspicious behaviour.

Combat is yet another example of a gameplay element that goes from being good fun to repetitive and tedious. There’s only one attack button that kind of limits your offensive abilities, though if you get in to a fight on top of a building you can also grab your opponent and send them to the streets below. When you get used to the combat it really starts to shine as pulling off a perfect counter and delivering a sword to a guard’s stomach or slicing into their neck never gets old, and delivering an after touch by hitting the attack button when your swords collide is much the same. The only problem with this is that after a while it all becomes a little too easy as you start to get the timing right. Enemy AI in combat is also quite mixed. If you pull off a particularly gruesome counter and spray blood everywhere, they will occasionally react by turning away in horror giving you an opportunity to strike, and they’ll also run away when they realise they’re fighting a losing battle. On the negative side though, the guards usually stand around waiting for you to attack and given that Altair will mostly be doing the same thing in order to pull off a counter, there’s lot of standing around and waiting which gets old really fast. The camera also gets stuck and obscures your view of the fight far too easily.

When travelling between cities for the first time you enter the Kingdom which is a large area filled with the occasional tiny village or viewpoint. This is easily the most boring part of the game, though fortunately you’re only required to do it four times. The problem with it is that you’re forced to use the blend ability on your horse to avoid detection, as any movement of higher speeds will attract the guards, which just makes it dreadfully slow and boring. Eventually it just becomes far easier to switch to high profile and ride over the guards, though this defeats the purpose of stealth that the rest of the game works hard to create.

One of the most bizarre and infuriating parts of the game comes a fair bit later on when Altair has to kill someone at the docks. Apparently despite assassins needing to learn how to climb impossibly tall buildings and jump in to piles of hay, nobody ever thought that it might be a good idea to learn how to swim as any contact with water results in game over. This especially annoying when you have to jump from one submerged pole to the other but despite aiming the jump perfectly, you’ll somehow wind up jumping left or right and drowning.

Eagle Eyes

Visually the game is stunning, easily on par with anything else released in recent months. The menus are suitably futuristic and the occasional glitches that Desmond gets from the Animus while in control of Altair suit the futuristic feeling perfectly. When the visuals of the game really shine though is while you’re in control of Altair in the cities.

When you reach Damascus for the first time and you’re stood atop the hill and looking out over the city, it’s difficult to not be impressed at the distance you can see and how detailed it is. The lighting is also great and really makes it feel more like a real world. The character models are also fine for the most part, though it’s hard to see the resemblance between Lucy Stillman and Kristen Bell.

The visuals aren’t without flaw though, as none of the cities really feel unique as they begin to look like all that’s changed from city to city is the colour palette, everything else is still so square and box-like, stripping the cities of any individuality. There’s also the occasional screen tearing though it is a rarity, and the framerate really starts to suffer from the large crowds, though the size of crowds it can handle before this kicks in is quite impressive.

Silent Like An Assassin

The audio is an odd one. It’s not really good, but it’s not bad either. It’s just there. Most of the background music is fine and really does suit the mood of the cities, such as the “Arabian Nights” and Aladdin feel of the Damascus music, but it doesn’t really stand out in any remarkable way. The combat and escape music is much the same, though it does add some suspense to the game though it doesn’t do as good a job as the other aspects.

The sounds of the crowd are good too, as are the wind sounds that you’ll hear on top of the tallest buildings which is a really good effect when you’re so high up that the bustle and hustle of the crowd below is unnoticeable.

One of the biggest problems with the audio however is the voice acting, particularly Altair’s voice actor who delivers his lines with the charisma and enthusiasm of Arnold Schwarzenegger. The best VA is probably Vidic’s, who really gets across the madness of the character and the situation. Most of the conversations throughout the game also suffer from one character speaking before the other is finished, something that really ruins any immersion.

13.0.0.0

All in all, Assassin’s Creed is a good game that’s only real fault is not living up to the hype that Ubisoft have built up around the game. Despite it’s repetitiveness, it never really gets boring by some miracle and there’s plenty of reason to visit Altair in 1191 after reaching his story’s conclusion. Hopefully the sequels can expand on the combat and actually provide an ending to the game.

7/10

Crysis Not Selling Too Well

Surprisingly, it's been reported that Crysis isn't selling too well. If this gets them to put it on console, it's definitely good news.

But they won't.

XBox Live Movie Marketplace Online

Today marks the day that Microsofts XBox Live Movie Marketplace goes online in the territory that matters; the United Kingdom! Movies include the Matrix Trilogy, Risky Business, Looney Tunes Back In Action, and... not much else really. Personally, I'll be downloading Zodiac in HD for sunday night since Top Gear isn't on! Though I don't quite understand why that and 300 are priced higher than the rest.

Guitar Hero III Review

Guitar Hero 3

When I first heard that Neversoft had taken over the reins of the Guitar Hero franchise from Harmonix for the third instalment, I have to admit to being a little worried for the future of everybody’s favourite rhythm-action game. I am not only glad, but ecstatic to find that these worries were not only unnecessary, but completely ridiculous in light of the final product.

Punk Rock Tried To Kill The Metal

The first thing you’ll see upon starting up the game is obviously the menu. These menus are so easy to navigate with the guitar controller that it doesn’t even require any getting used to. This is thanks largely to everything being listed in one long column rather than rows, apart from the bonus and downloaded songs which are navigated via the colour buttons, which is just as easy.

Visually, the game isn’t exactly a huge technical achievement in comparison with games such as Mass Effect, Assassin’s Creed or Halo 3, but it’s not going to make your eyes feel like they’ve been dipped in vinegar either. The character themselves are an odd looking bunch who have been given a more realistic look compared with the wacky Loony Tunes-like look of the previous game, but they still look more cartoon-like than your Gordon Freemans and Master Chiefs, which is nothing but a good thing and suits the game as a whole. You’re also unlikely to become confused with the characters as they all have a very individual look, from the Punk chick Judy Nails to the Glam Rock Izzy Sparks, the KISS lookalike Lars Umlaut to the Japanese rocker Midori. Also joining the cast are real life Guitar Heroes Slash of Guns N Roses and more currently Velvet Revolver, and Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine. Both not only have some of their more famous songs in here, but have also composed entirely new tracks for their boss battles.

The arenas that your Guitar Heroes and Heroines perform in can also be described in much the same way as the characters themselves: nobody is going to call it the most impressive looking game, but it serves its purpose and is certainly not an eyesore. Also similar to the characters is the fact that, at the risk of repeating myself, they all have their own individual look and feel. There are all kinds of venues to play in, including the small crowd of the backyard, the Johnny Cash reminiscent prison, and that massive arena of the Kaiju Megadome.

New Wave Tried To Kill The Metal

In terms of gameplay, not a whole lot has changed as Neversoft have obviously decided to stick with Harmonix’s winning formula. You hold the colour buttons and hit the strum bar to play a note, use the whammy bar to increase the number of points and star power from the longer notes, and tilt the guitar to activate the star power. Thankfully they haven’t tried to change too much.

It’s certainly not entirely flawless though, as the alterations to the way star power is displayed to you can often become distracting. Rather than just telling you when you can use your accumulated star power by turning blue, there are now three more levels of star power which extend the amount of them it is activated for. What this means is that rather than merely glancing at the star power meter, you now have to count how many light bulbs you have active and weigh up the pros and cons of using it now or waiting until you’ve gained just one more bulb of the stuff. This can become slightly infuriating when you’re trying to five star Through The Fire And Flames on Expert and this sloppy design decision costs you 3 or 4% from your score.

The new guitar controller also takes some getting used to as it is a lot heavier than the previous model and has the annoying bump which just so happens to be where your arm rests on it, though this doesn’t take long to get used to. The boss battles that I previously mentioned can also seem a bit pointless as they seem to largely be decided by luck, which you’ll find usually favours you.

For all it’s faults though, it also has some strong positive things going for it. The learning curve has been hugely improved over the previous game, the jump from medium to hard no longer feeling like you’re driving into a wall at 70 miles per hour and hoping it doesn’t hurt. I tried to see how it was for a newcomer for this review and so had a novice come over for some co-op action. It took him about half an hour before he started getting five stars on easy, whereas the previous game took far, far longer.

The only other negative point to the game is that the career mode only takes about three hours on the difficulty you’re most comfortable with. Admittedly though, there’s plenty of extra content in the higher difficulty modes, the unlockable bonus songs, the downloadable content (of which I highly recommend the Foo Fighters pack) and trying to climb up the leaderboard, making this point a little moot.

There is also the new online mode, allowing you to play co-op, face off, or battles over Xbox Live. Even the online battles seem a little pointless though, but the face off and particularly the co-op will prove hours of fun with both friends and those weird American people who seem to inhabit the Xbox Live servers.

Grunge Tried To Kill The Metal

Moving on to the most important thing of any music oriented game, the music. The soundtrack is, as expected, pretty much perfect for a game of the genre. Lots of guitar solos and catchy songs that are hard not to enjoy. Obviously a track list can be found on wikipedia so I won’t list them all here, but personal highlights include Black Sabbath’s Paranoid, Muse’s Knights of Cydonia, Slipknot’s Before I Forget, Guns N Roses’ Welcome To The Jungle, and Slayer’s Raining Blood. The only problem I can find with the soundtrack is that the emphasis was clearly on the older songs from the 70’s and 80’s, which just made it feel a little bit out of touch and left me wondering what the hell all these granddad rock songs were.

The other audio is a bit of a mixed bunch, like a picnic basket with both sausage rolls and pears. The music in the backgrounds of the menu are all just the songs that you’ll be playing in the game at a lower volume, so it suits the game and anything else would just be a bit weird. The main audio problem is that when you make a mistake in a song, you’re met with the most irritating and distracting clang noise you’re likely to have ever heard. This is one of the few games where these kinds of distractions are both inexcusable and largely detrimental to the game.

Techno Tried To Kill The Metal

This game is a difficult one to review. On the one hand, I absolutely love it. On the other, there are several flaws that I can’t just ignore. It’s incredibly close to gaining a perfect ten, but just misses it by a hair or two.

9/10

Some Old JRPG Game Coming To Europe

Me and JRPGs have been singing "We Used To Be Friends" to each other since the dreadful Final Fantasy XII. Despite this, part of me longs to pick up another game of the same quality of the wonderful XBox 360 JRPG, Blue Dragon.

Odin Sphere, then, is some old JRPG on the PS2 that Square Enx are now just deciding to bring to Europe. They didn't make it, but they'll bring it here anyway and sell it like a lanky drug dealer in a torn and stained Nike hoodie. Personally, I think I'll just go get Persona 3 when it comes out provided it's PS3 compatible.

Viva la Jeff! Gamespot Boycott

Just got this off the Gamespot forums:

I urge all of you who support the video game journalism integrity to join us on December 3rd. On that day, we will log out of Gamespot and do not visit the site for 24 hours.

For everyone who ask "what is boycotting one day gonna do?" Here is my answer. In the short run, it does nothing. But this is an attempt to get people organized. I don't expect anyone here can just walk away from Gamespot for months. We also need to check back here to see how everyone did and exchange ideas. So this is really an excercise of will. It is a demonstration.

Just like people holding signs outside of government building. The protest don't change anything right away, but the protest sends a message out and when more people hear about us, they might gather together. If we simply sit here and do nothing, no one will hear us and nothing will change.

CNET is a rich company and we cannot expect to have things changed tomorrow. We should think of this as a long term battle, and we need actions that not only has impact, but also can persist. The one day boycott is only the start. We need to show CNET that we, as a community, has the power to band together and stand for what we believe!

So, show your support for journalism integrity and all that and boycott Gamespot, at least for one day.
Personally, I think one day is too short.

Humpsters

Just found this over at the2bears.com blog. Humpsters is a cool little game in which you put together a freakish creature called a "Humpster", and make it fight other Humpsters. Pretty basic concept but the games a little fun, even if it does feel like it's over before it began. Should provide some fun to any bored office workers out there.

Hit the image for the link.